THB w o o, THOMAS PAINE, CONTAINING COMMON SENSE. ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. LETTER. TO THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE. ,TO THE AUTHORS OF THB RE- PUBLICAN. TO THE ABBE SYEYES. PART I. RIGHTS OF MAN. PART II. RIGHTS OF MAN. ADDRESSED TOTHE ADDRESSERS* ON THE LATE PROCLAMATION. PART I. AGE OF REASON. j£s '*¦., PART II. AGE OF REASON, j ; DISSERTATION ON' FIRST-PRIN CIPLES, OF GOVERNMENT. HIS TRIAL WITH THE ARGUMENTS 10 OF COUNSIL FOR AND AGAINST. Man -knows no Mafler fave creating Heaven, Or thofe whom, choice and common Good ordain. Thomson; LONDON. 1796 INTRODUCTION. Jl ERHAPS the fentiments contained in the fol lowing pages, are not yet fufficiently fafhionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a fuperficial appearance of being right, and raifes at firft a for midable outcry in defence of cuftom. But the tumult foon fubfides. Time makes more converts than reafon. As a long and violent abufe of power|: is gene rally the Means of calling the right of it in ques tion, (and in matters too which might never have been thought of, had not the Sufferers been aggra vated into the inquiry) and as the K — of England had undertaken in his own Right, to fupport the Parliament in what he calls Theirs, and as the good people of this country are grievoufly oppreffed by the combination, they have an undoubted privi lege to inquire into the pretentions of both, and equally to reject the ufurpation of either. a 2 iv INTRODUCTION. In the following fheets, the author hath ftudi- oufly avoided every thing which is perfonal among ourfelves, Compliments as well as cenfure to in dividuals make no part thereof. The wife, and the worthy, need not the triumph of a pamphlet; and thofe whofe fentiments are injudicious, or un friendly, will ceafe of themfelves unlefs too much pains are beflowed upon their converfion. The caufe of America is in a great meafure the caufe of all mankind. Many circumflances hath, and will arife, which are not local, but univerfal, and through which the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affe&ed, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interefted. The laying a Coun try defolate with Fire and Sword, declaring War againft the natural rights of all Mankind, and ex tirpating the Defenders thereof from the Face of the Earth, is the Concern of every Man to whom Nature hath given the Power of feeling ; of which Clafs, regardlefs of Party Cenfure, is the AUTHOR. INTRODUCTION. v P. S. The Publication of this new Edition hath been delayed, with a View of taking notice (had it been neceffary) of any Attempt to refute the Dodrine of Independance : As no Anfwer hath yet appeared, it is now prefumed that none will, the Time needful for getting fuch a Performance ready for the Public being considerably part. Who the Author of this Production is, is wholly unneceffary to the Public, as the Object for Atten tion is the DoSlrine itfelf, not the Man. Yet it may not be unneceffary to fay, That he is uncon- neded with any Party, and under no fort of In fluence public or private, but the influence of rea- fon and principle. Philadelphta, February 14, 1776. CONTENTS: Common Senfe, ' 5 Page E] Anfwer to the Abbe Raynal, - = 45 Letter to the Marquis of Lanfdowne, 'i s 85 Letter to the Anthers of the Republican, ¦* 93 Letter to the Abbe Syeyes, • B 95 Part I. Rights of Man, - 99. Part II. Rights of Man, B 183 CHAPTER I. * Of Society and Civilization, E 186 CHAPTER II. Of the Origin of the prefent old Governments, S 189 CHAPTER III. Oj the Old and New Syjiems of Government, = I9t CHAPTER IV. Of Conflitutions, - '- 201 Ways and Means of improving the condition of Europe, inter- fperfed with Mfcellaneous Obfervations, - 2 1 8 Letter addreffed to the addrejfers on the late Proclamation, 265 Part I. Age of Reafon, - - 299 Pdrt II. Age of Reafon, - - - 341 ¦ Uiffertaiion oafirfl Principles of Government, - A°9' His Trial, with the arguments of Coiinfel, for and again/i. 424' PAINE's WORKS. COMMON SENSE. &f the Origin and Defign of Government in General. "on the Englifh Confiitutian . With ctndfe Remarhi OOME writers have fo confounded fociety with' government, as to leave little or no diftinflion between them ; whereas they are hot only different; but have different origin's. Society is produced by our wants, and govern ment by our wickedneis ; the former promotes our hapmnefs fqfiiively by uniting our affections,' the latter ne gatively by reftraining our vices. The one encourages int'ercourfe, the other creates diftinctions. The firft is a patron, the laft a punilher. Society in every ftate is a bleffing, but government even in its beft ftate is butaneceffary evil ; in its worft ftate an intolerable one ; for when we fuffer, of are expbfed to the fame' miferies by a' government, whfch we might expecr. ill a> country 'without government, our calamities are heightened by Teflecting that we furnifh the means by which we fuffer. Government, like drefs',, is' the badge of loft innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradife. for were "the impulfes ofconfcience clesr, uni form, and jrrefiftibly obeyed, man would need no other law-giver ; but that not being the cafe, he finds it neceffary to furrender up a part of his' property to furnilh means for the protection of the reft 5 and this he is induced to do by the fame prudence which in every other cafe advifes hirii out' of' two evils to choofe the leaft. Wherefore, fecurity being the* true defign and end of government, it un- anfwerably follows,' that whatever form thereof appears moffi likely to> ehfure it to us, with the leaft expence and greateft benefit, is preferable toi all others. In order to gain a clear arid ;uft idea of the defign and end of govern ment; let us'fuppofe a nnall number of perfons fettled in fome fequefteredt part of the earth, unconnected with the reft, they will, then reprefent the firft peopling of a;ny country, or of the world. In this ftate of natural liberty, fociety will be their firft thought. A thoufand motives will excite them thereto, the ftrength of B PAINE'S WORKS. ' owe man is fo unequal to his wants, and his mind fo unfitted for perpetual folitude, that he is foon obliged to feek afliitance and relief of another, who in his turn requires' the fame. Four or five united would be able to raife a tolerable dwelling in the midft of a wildernefs, but one man .might labour out the co*Timom period, of life without accomplifhing any thing; when he had felled his timber he could not remove it; nor erect, it after it was removed ; hunger in the mean time would urge him from his work, and every different want call him a different way. fiifeafe, nay even misfortune would be death, for though neither might be mortal, yet either would difable him from living, and reduce him to a ftate in which he might rather be faid to perilh than to die. Thus neteffity, like a gravitating power, would foon form our newly arrived emigrants into fociety, the reciprocal bleffings of which would fuperfede, and render the obligations of law and government unneceffary while they remained perfectly juft to each other ; but as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice, it will una voidably happen, that in proportion as they furmount the firft difficulties of enrgration, which bound them to gether in a common caufe, they will begin to relax in their duty and at tachment to each other'; and this re - miffnefs will point out the neceffity of eftablilhing fome form of govern ment to fupply the defect of moral virtue. , Some con ven ient tree will afford them a State-Houfe, under the branches of which, the whole colony may alTem- ble to deliberate on public matters. It is more than probable that their firft laws will have the title only of Regulations, and be enforced by no other penalty than public difefteem. In this firft parliament every man, by1 natural right, will have a feat. But as the colony increafes, the public concerns will increafe likewife, and the diftance at which the members may be leparated, will render it too inconvenient for all of them to meet on every occafion as at firft, when their number was fmall, their habita tions near, and the public concerns . few and trifling. This will point out the convenience of their coiifenting to leave the legislative part to be ma naged by a feleft number chofen from the whole body, who are fuppofed to have the fame concerns at (take which thofe have who appointed them, and who will aft in the fame manner as the whole body would aft were they prefent. If the colony continue in- creafing, it will become neceffary to augment the number of the reprefen- tatives, and that the iritereft of every part of the colony may be attended to, it will be found belt to divide the whole into convenient parts, each part fending its proper number ; and that the elected fnight never form to themfelves an intereft feparate from the electors, prudence will point out the propriety of having elections often ; becaufe as the eleBed might by that means return and mix again with the general body of the eleilors in a few months, their fidelity to the public will be fecured by the prudent reflexion of not making a rod for themfelves. And as this frequent in terchange will eftablifti a common in tereft with every part of the commu nity, they will mutually and naturally , COMMON SENSE. 'fiip'pof t each other, and on this (not ¦on the unmeaning name of king) de pends the ftrengih' of government, and the bappinefs of the governed. Here then is the origin and rife of government ; namely,- a mode render ed neceffary by the inability of mora' virtue to govern the world ) here too is the defign and end of government, viz. freedom and fecurity. And how ever our eyes may be dazzled with fttow, ou,r ears deceived by found ; however prejudice may warp our wills, or intereft darken our understanding/ the fimple voice of nature and of rea fon will fay, it is right. I draw my idea of the form of go- - vernment from a principle in nature, which no art can overturn, vizv that the more fimple any thing is, the lefs liable it is to be difordered, and the eafier repaired when difordered; and with this maxim in view, I offer a few remarks on the fo mncb boafted conftitution of England. That it was noble for the. dark and flavilh times in which it was erefted is granted. When the world was over-run with tyranny, the leaft remove therefrom was a glorious refcue. But that it is imperfeft, fubjeft to convulfions', and incapable of producing what it feems to promife, is Safily demonftrated.- Abfolute governments (tho' the difgrace of human nature) have this advantage with them, that they are fimple ; if the < people fuffer* they "¦ k-now the head from which their fuf- fering fprings, know likewise the re medy, and are not bewildered by a variety of carafes, and cures. But the . conftitution of England is fo exceed ingly complex, that the nation may fuffer for years together without being able to difcover in which part the fault lies ; forne will fay in one and fome in another, and every political phyfi- cian willadrife a different medicine. I know it is difficult to get over local or long ftanding prejudices, yet if we will fuffer ourfelves to examine the component parts of the English conftitution, we (hall find them to be the bafe remains of two ancient tyran nies, compounded with fome new re publican materials. Firjl. — The remains of monarchical tyranny in the perfon, of the king. Secondly.— '¦The remains of arifto- cratical, tyranny in the perfons of the peers. > ' Thirdly. -^The new republican ma terials, in the perfons, of tlfe com mons, on whofe virtue depends the freedom of England. The two fkft, by being hereditary, are independent of the people; where fore .in a conjHtutianal fenfe they Con- tribute^nothing towards the freedom of the ftate. To fay "that the Conftitution of England is a union of three powers reciprocally checking each other, is farcical,- either the words have no meaning, or they are flat contradic tions. To fay that the commons is a- check Upon the king; prefuppofes too things. Firjl. — That the king is not to be trolled without being looked after,' or in other words, that a third for abfo lute power is the. natural difeafe of monarchy.1 Secondly. — That the commons, by being appointed for that purpofe, are either wifer or more worthy of confi dence than the crown. But as the fame conftitution which gives the commons a power to check' B a P.AINE's WORKS. the king by withholding the fupplies, gives afterwards the king a power to check the commons, by empowering him to re;eft their other bills; it again fuppofes that the king is wifer than thofe whom it ha-s already fup- poS'ed to be wifer than him. A mere abfurdity ! There is Something exceedingly ri diculous in the composition of monar chy ; it firft excludes a man from the means oMnformation, yet empowers him to aft in.caS'es where the higheit judgment is required. The ftate of a king (huts him from the woi Id, yet the bufinefs of a king requires hiuj t ¦} know it thoroughly ; wherefore the^t rfforant parts, unnaturally ' oppofiri^Arf4^5ej itroying each other, pf'bvV tfe flSiole;. character to he. abfurd ar>d,!JM^lefs Some writers ^Vn/Ljt', .ained Englilli conftihittOn^TOus ;\.the kin fay they, is one,- ' thV^eoj^! anoiiiVr ; the peers are ah houfe in -bejwvt.of - the king ; the commons rn'-fiehalf of the people ; bat this hathitfthe distinc tions of an houfe divided againft it- felf; and though the expreffions be pleafantly arranged, yet when exa mined they appear idle and ambigu ous ; and it will always happen, .that the nicest construction that words are capable of* when applied to- the de- feription of fomething which either cannot exift, or is too incomprehen sible to be within the compafs of de- fcription, will be words of found only, and though they may amufe' the ear, they cannot inform the mind, for this explanation includes a previ ous question, viz. How came the king by a power which the people are afraid io truji, and always obliged to check ? Such a power could not be the gift of a wife people, neither can any power. which needs checking, be from Gody yet the provifion, which the conftitu tion makes, fuppofes fuch a power to exift. But the provifion is -unequal to the taik ; , the means either cannot or will not accomplish the end, and the whole affair is zfelo defe ; for as the greater weight will always carry up the lefs, and as all the wheels of a machine are put in motion by one, it only remains to know which power' in the conftitution has the moil weight, > for that will govern -r and though the others, or a part of them, may clog, or, as the phrafe is, check the rapi dity of^-its motion, yet fo long as thej^e&nnot ftop it, their endeavours bo ineffectual ; the firft moving power wiir" at laft have its' way, and what it wants in fpeed is fupplied by time. That the crown is this overbearing, part in the English conftitution needs not be mentioned, and that it derives its whole confequence merely from being the giver of places and penftdns ,- is felf-evident, wherefore, .thwfgh we have been wife enough to Shut and lock a door againft abfolute monarchy," we at the fame time have been fooIiSh enough to put the crown in poffeSfion of the key. The prejudice of Englishmen, in favour of their own government by king, lords, and commons, arifes as much or more from national pride than reafon. Individuals are un doubtedly fafer in England than in Some other countries, but the will of the king is as much the law of the land in Britain as in France, with this difference, that inftead of proceeding directly from his mouth, it is handed to the people under the moft formida- COMMON. SE'NS-E, Jsle fliape of an air. of parliament. For the fate of Charles the Firft, hath only ttiade kings more -fubtle^-not more juft. Wherefore, laying afide all national pride and prejudice in favour of modes and forms, the plain trath is, that itistaholly awing to the conJUtietios of ?fie people, and not to' the cenJHtution of the government that the crown is not as oppreffive in England as in Tur key. , An inquiry into the conptutionbfl errors in the English form of goveni-' ment is at this time- highly neceffary i for as we are never in a proper condi tio^ of doing juftice to others, while, we continue under the influence of fome leading partiality, fo neither are we capable of doing it to ourfelves while we remain , fettered by any ob- r ftinate prejudice. And as a man who is attached to a proftitnte, is y ; fitted to chooSe or judge of a wif/, any prepoffeSfion in favour of ' ..j ten .conftitution of governm'' difable us from difcerninr good Of Monarchy dkid Hereditary SucceJJion MANKl'NDVbein/ originally Species, is w th squiring '^0>™*- -equals in the order' «f-^reation, the whether tK are th^means ?> PP «quality could only be' destroyed by nefs or r mifery to mankind. fpme fubfequent c/cumftance ; the in;f»i early ages of the world, ae- diftinftions of ricj( and poor, may cord^S to the fc»Pture chronology,. in a great rneafure be accounted for, tJV'e were no kmSs ' the.confequenceo and that without haying recourfe to ,^hich was there were no wars ; it is t e theharSh, ill-founding narnes of op^f pride of ki-ngs;whi«h throws mankin preflion anft avarice. Oppreffion. if into eonfufion. Holland without a pften the confluence, but ftldorr/or king hath enjoyed more peace for this the means of ricjje's; and lall century than any of the monar chical governments, in Europe. An- never tne means or n though avarice will preferye a man from being neceSfitoufly poor!, it ge nerally .makes him too. timorous to be wealthy. But there is another afd greater 4iffi'nction for which no trr/ly natural, or religious reafon can be afligned,, and., .that is, the diftinftlon of men hito Kings and Subjects. Male and female are the distinctions of na- tiquity favors the fame remark,:, for the quiet and rural lives of the firft patriarchs hath a happy Something in them, which vanishes away when we come to the history of Jewifh royalty. Government by kings was firft in troduced into the. world by the Hea thens, from whom the children of •lure, good and bad the .distinctions of Ifrael copied the cuftom. It was the heaven; but how a race cf men came moft profperous invention the Devil into the world fo exalted above the ever fet on foot for, the promotion^ of reft, and -distinguished like fome new idolatry. The heathens paid divine PAIN.E's WORKS. impioufly invades the prerogative of heaven. Monarchy is ranked in fcnpture a, one of the fins of the Jews, fqrwhich a curfe in referve is denounced agaiftft them. The hiftory of that tranfacr tiop is worth attending to. The children of Ifrael being op- preffed by the Midianites, Gideon marched againft them with a fmall army, and viftory, thro' the divine interposition, decided in his favour. The Jews, elate with fuccefs, and at- *»* ProPhVmue>, expreffly distributing it to the generalfh.p >of proves of go\nmpnf hv kinffs. AllXGideon, propofed making him a king, faying, Rule thou over us, thou ana- thy fin and thy fin's fin. Here was honors to their deceafed kings, and the christian world hath improved on the plan by doing the ferne to their \living ones. How impious is ' the title ' of facred majejly applied to a yorm, who in the midft of his fplen- V>r is crumbling into duft ! As the exalting one man fo greatly « the reft cannot be juftified. on the\al rights of nature, fo neither can '*. defended on the authority of fcriptur^ for the wiU of the Al mighty; \ declared by Gideon and "iSap. .-„ proves of go'V^^ by kings. AllXGideon, propofed making is ern- anti-monarchic\ arts 0f fcripture have been very fmooth\_lo(red over ;n mo narchical gqvernmeL but they un doubtedly merit the aLtion 0f coun tries which have the\g0Vernments yet to form. " Render uZq^ tke " things -which are Cafahy ;s the fcriptural doctrine of courts,^. jt no fupport of monarchical ment, for thei Jews at that time -W without a king, and in a ftate of v falage to the Romans. Near three thoufand years paffed away from the Mofaic account of the creation, till the Jews under a national delufion requested a king. Till then fheir form of government, (except in extraordinary cafes, where the Al mighty interpofed) was a kind of re public administered by a judge 'and the elders of the tribes. Kings they had none, and it was held Sinful to acknowledge any being under that title but the Lord of Hofts. And when a man ferioufly reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the perfons of Kings, he ne'ed not wonder,' that the Almighty, ever jea- lous of his honor, Should disapprove of a form of government which fo temptation in its fulleSt extent ; not a kingdom only, but an hereditary or.e, but .Gideon in the piety of his foul replied, I will not rule over you^ neither Jhall my Jm rule over you, The Lord Shxll rule over you* Words need not be more explicit ; Gideon doth not decline the honor, but denieth their right to give it ; neither doth he compliment them with ivented declarations of his thanks, bV in the pofitive ftile of a prophet charges tiem with difaffeai°K to their proper fowreign the King of Heaven. About one hundred and thirty years after this, they fell again into the , fame error. The hankering which the Jews had for the idolatrous cuf- toms of the Heathens, is fomething exceeding!^ unaccountable,; but fo it was, that hying hold of the mifcon- duct of Sarriuel's two fons, who were entrusted with fome fecular concerns* they came in an abrupt and clamo rous manner to Samuel, faying, Be hold thou art old, and thy fons. walk not in thy ways, now make us a king to judge ' us like all the oilier nations! COMMON SENSE. And here we' cannot but obferve that their motives were bad, viz. that they might be like unto other nations, «. e. the Heathens, whereas their true glory laid in being as much unlike them as poffibje. But the thing dif- pleafed Samuel when they faid, give us a king to judge us ; and Samuel •prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord faid unto SamueU- Hearken unio the voice of the people in all that they fay. unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they bave rejetledme, that, I SHOULD WOT REIGN OVER THEM. According to all the works which they, have done Jince the day thatl brought them up out of Egypt, even unio this. day ; wherewith they, have forjakem me and ferved other Gods ; fo. do they. alfi unto thee. Nov) therefore hearken. unto their voice, hswbeit, proteji fo4, lemnly unto them and Jhevi them the manner of the king that JhdlL reign. over them, u a not of any particular, king, but the general manner of the Icings of the earth, whom, Ifrael was fo eagerly copying after. And riot- ' withstanding the great distance of time and difference of manners, the cha racter is ftill in faffiion, And Samuel told all the words of the Lord, unto the people, that ajied of him. a king. And he faid, This. Jhall be the manner, of the king that, Jhall reign over you ; he viill take your .fins .and appoint, them for Mmfelfi Jot his. chariots, and- to be his iherfemen, and fome Jhall run before his chariots (this., deSpription agrees with the prefent mode of. impreSJing men) and he viill appoint him captains over. thoufands and captains over fifties, and will fet them to ear his ground, and to reap his harveft, ami to make his in jiruments of war, and injiruments of his., chariots,; and he viill take your daughters to be confeBionaries and to be cooks and to be bakers (this defcribes the expence and luxury asr well as the oppreflion of kings) and he will take your fields and your olive yards, even the heft of them, and give them to his fervants; and tvill take the tenth of your feed, and of your vineyards, and give tbem to Us officers and to his fer vants (by which we fee that .bribery, corruption, and favoritifm are the Standing vices of kings) and he vjdl take the tenth of .your men fervants, and your maid fervants, an_dyoitr good- lieji young men, and your affis, and put' them. toMs work ; , and he 'will take the tenth of your Jheep, and ye. Jhall \e his fervants, andye Jhall cry out in, that day becaufe of yiur king which ye have. ehofen, and the Lord will not HEAR YOU IN THAT DAY." This accounts for the continuation of mo narchy ; neither do the characters of the few. good kings which have lived Since, either fanctify the, title, or blot out the finfulnefs of the origin; the high encomium given of David takes 00 notice of him officially as a king, but only as a man after God's own heart. Ne-verthelefs the People refufed to, obey the voice of Samuel, and fhey faid, Nay, . but we will .have a king over, us, that, vie may be -like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight out battles. Samuel continued to rea fon with them, but to no purpofe ; he fet before them their ingratitude, but all. woull not avail ; and feeing them fully bent on their folly, he cried out, 1 viill call upon the Lord, and hp Jhall fend thunder and rain • (which then was a punishment, being in the time of wheat harveft) that ye may perceive and fee thai your wick- £ PAIN.E's WO'KM ednefs is great which 'ye have done in the fight of the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord Jent thunder and rain thai day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people faid unto Samuel, Pray for thy fervants unto the Lord thy God that vie die not, for we have ADDED" UNTO OUR SINS THIS EVIL, TO ASK A kino. Thefe portions of fcripture are direct and . pofitive. They admit of no equivocal con- ftruftion. That the Almighty hath here entered his proteft againft monar chical government is true, or the fcrip ture is falfe. And a man' hath good reafon to belieVe that there is as much of king-craft, as prjeft-craft in with holding the fcripture from the public in Popifh countries. For monarchy -. ih every instance is the Popery of go vernment. To the evil of monarchy we have added that of hereditary fuccejfion; dnd as the firft is a degradation and; kffening of burfelves, fo the fecond,' claimed as a matter of right, is an irifult and an imposition on posterity J For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to fet up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for. ever, and though himfelf might deferve fome Recent degree of honors of his con temporaries, yet his defendants might lie far too unworthy to inherit them. One of the Strongest; natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature difapproves it, other- wife She would not fo frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind art afs fir a lion. Secondly, as no man 'at firft could ¦poffefs' any other public honors, than were 'bellowed upon him, fe the givers" of thofe honors could have no power to give away the right of posterity, and though they might fay, " We*-. choofe you for our head," they could not, without manifeft injustice to their children, fay " that your chil. dren and your children's children Shall, reign over ours for ever." Beeaulfc fucV an unwife* unjuft, unnatural compact might, (perhaps) in- the next focceflion put them under the govern ment of a rogue or a fool. Molt wife men, in their private fentimentsr have ever treated hereditary right with contempt ; yet it is one of thofe evils, which when once eftablifhed is not eafily . removed ; many fubmit from. fear, others from fuperftition, and the more powerful part Shares with the king the plunder of the reft. This is fuppofing the prefent race of kings in the world to have had an honourable origin ; whereas it is more than probable, that, could we take off the dark covering of anti quity, and trace them to their firft rife, we Should find the firft of them nothing better thart the princi . pal ruffian of fome reftlefs gang^/ whofe Savage manners or pre-eminence in fubtilty obtained him the title of chief among plunderers ; and who by increa!ing in- power, and extending his depredations, over-awed the quiet and defencelefs to purchafe their fafety by frequent contributions. Yet his eleftors cbuld have no idea of giving hereditary right to his defcendants, becaufe fuch a perpetual exclufiori of themSelves was incompatible with the free and unreftrained principles they profeffed to live by. Wherefore, he* >¦ redi-tary fucceflion in the early ages of monarchy could not take place as a COMMON S E.N Stf, $at*er of claim, but as fomething cafoal'. or eomplimental ; but as few or no records were extant in thofe days, and traditionary hiftory Stuffed , with fables, it was very eafy, after the lapfe of a few generations, to ' trump up fome fuperftitious tale, con veniently timed, Mahomet like, to cram hereditary right down the throats of the vulgar. Perhaps the diforders whiehthreatened, or ftemed to threat en,' on the deceafe of a leader and the choice of a pew one (for elections among ruffians coujd -not be very or derly) induced many at firft to favor hereditary pretenfions ; by which means it happened, as it hath hap pened fince, that what at firft was fubmitted to as a convenience, was afterwards plaimed as a right. England,; Since the conqueft, hath known fome few good monarchs, but groaned beneath a much larger num ber of b.ad ones, yet no man in his fehfes can fay that their claim under William the Conqueror is a very honorable one. A' French baftard, landing with an armed banditti, and eftablifhingjnmfelf king of England agairift the oonfent of the natives, is in plain terms a very paltry rafeally original.— .It certainly hath no divi nity in it. However, it is. rieedlefs to fpend much time in expoling the folly of hereditary right, if there are any fo weak as to believe it, Jet them promifcuoufly worShip the afs and Hon,' and welcome. > I Shall neither copy their humility, nor difturb their devotion J -Yet I Should be glad to.a|k how they fuppofe kings came at firft ? The queftion admits but of three ahfwers, viz. either by lot, by election, or by nfurparion. If the firft king was taken by lot, it ejtabliihes a prece dent for the next, which excludes he reditary fuceeffion.*" Skul was hy lot,. yet the fuceeffion was' not hereditary, neither does it appear from that trans action there was any intention it ever Should. If the Siril king of any coun try was by election, that llkewife esta blishes a precedent for the next ; for to fay, that the right of" all future ge nerations is taken away, by the aft of the firft electors,, in their choice not only of a king, but of a fomily of kings for ever, hath no parallel in or out of fcripture but the doctrine of original fin, which fuppofes the free will of all men loft in Adam ; and from fuch comparifon, and it will admit of no other, hereditary fuc eeffion can derive no glory. For as in Adam all finned, .and as in the firft eleftors all men obeyed ; as in the one all mankind were fubjected to Satan, and in, the other to Sovereign ty ; as our innocence, was loft in ths firft, and our authority in the laSt; and as both difable us from re-affum- ing fome former ftate and privilege, it unanswerably follows that original fin and. hereditary i. fuceeffion are pa rallels. DiSJionourable rank ! Inglo rious connexion ! Yet the mod Sub* tile fophift cannot produce a jufter Simile. As to ufurpation, no man will be fo hardy as to defendit; and that William the Conqueror was an ufurpei? is afaft not to be contradicted. The plain truth is, that the antiquity of English monarchy will not bear look- inginro". -/.^^, «r Butit_is not fo much the abfuraity as the evil of hereditary fuceeffion which concerns mankind. JDid it en- fure a race of good and wife men, it «0 PAINE's WORKS." would have the feal of divine autho rity, but as it opens a door to the foolijh, the wicked, and the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppreflion. Men who look upon themfelves born to reigr, and others to obey, foon grow infolent ; felefted from the reft of mankind their minds are early poifoned by importance ; and the world. they aft in difters fo materi ally from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they Succeed to the government are frequently the moft ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions. Another eyil which attends heredi tary fuceeffion is, that the throne is fubjeft to be poSTeSTed by a minor at any age ; all which time the regency, . acting under the , cover of a king, have every opportunity and induce7 ment to betray their truft. The fame national misfortune happens, when a king worn out with age and infirmity, enters the laft Stage of human weak- nefs. In both thefe cafes the public becomes a prey to every mifGreant, who can tamper fuccefsfully with the follies either of age or infancy. The moft plaufible plea, which hath ever been offered in favour of hereditary S'ucceSfion,. is that it pre- ferves a nation from civil wars ; and were this true, it would be weighty ; whereas, it is the moft barefaced fal- -. iity ever impofed upon mankind. The. whole history of England dif- owns the faft. Thirty kings and two minors have reigned in that dif- tra&id kingdom Since the conqtieft, in Which time there have been (in cluding the Revolution) no lefs than eight civil wars and nineteen rebel- ( hons,. 'Wherefore inftead of making for peace, it makes againft it, and deftroys the very foundation it feems to Stand on. The conteft for monarchy and fuc eeffion, between the houfes of York and Lancaster, laid England in a fcene of blood for many years. Twelve pitched battles, befides Skir mishes and Sieges, were fought be-- tween Henry and Edward. Twice" was Henry prifoner to Edward, who in his turn was prifoner to Henry. And fo uncertain is the fate of war and the temper of a nation, when nothing but perfonal matters are the ground of a quarrel, that Henry was taken in triumph from a priibn. to a palace, and Edward obliged to fly from a palace to a foreign land ; yet, as fudden transitions of temper are feldom lafting, Henry in his turn was driven from the throne, and Edward recalled to fucceed him. The parlia ment always following the Strongest ¦ fide. This conteft began in the reign of Henry the Sixth, and was not entirely extinguished till Henry the Seventh, in whom the families were united. Including a period of 67 years, viz-. from 1422 to 14S9. In Short, monarchy and fuceeffion have laid (not this or that kingdom only) but the- world in blood and afhes. 'Tis a form of government which the word of God bears testi mony againft; and blood will attend it. If we inquire into the bufinefs of a king, we Shall find that in fome coun tries they have none ; and after faun- tering^away their lives, without plea- fure to themfelves or advantage to the nation, withdraw from the fcene, and leave their fucceSfors. to tread the fame idle round. In abSbiute monarchies COMMON SENSE. the whole weight of bufinefs civil and military, lies on the king ; the chil dren of Ifrael in their requeft for a king, urged this plea, " that he may judge us^, and go out before us and fight our battles." But in countries where he is neither a judge nor a general, as in E— , — d, a man would be puzzled to know what is his bufinefs. The nearer any government ap proaches to a republic, the lefs bufir nefs there is for a king, It is Some what difficult tp find a proper name for the government of E r-d. Sir - William Meredith calls it a republic ; but in its prefent Slate it is unworthy, of the name, becaufe the corrupt in- fluence of the crown, by haying all the places in its difpofal, hath fo effectually fwallowed up the power, and eaten out the virtue of the houfeof com mons, (the republican part in the con stitution) that the government of Engr land is nearly as monarchical as that a caule of" greater worth. 'Tis not the affair; of a city, a county, a province, 'or a kingdom, but of a continent — of at leaft one eighth p°art of the habitable . globe. 'Tis not the concern of % day, a year, or an age ; posterity are virtually involved in the conteft, and ¦ will be more or lefs affected, even to Was end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the feed time of con tinental union, faith and honor. The leaft fracture now will be like a name ^engraved with the point of a pin on ' the tender rind of a young oak ; the wound will enlarge with the tree, and -posterity read it in full grown cha-, rafters. By referring the matter from argu ment to arms, a new sera for politics is ftruck ; a new method of thinking hatft arifen. All plans, propofals, &c. prior to the nineteenth of April, i. e. to the commencement of hosti lities, are like the almanacks of the lift year ; which, ^though proper then, [are foperfeded and ufelefs now. Whatever was advanced by the ad vocates on either fide of the queftion wit, terminated in one and the '. fim-e point, viz\. a union with Great jftirairi ; the only" difference between th\ parties was the method of effect ing it ; the one proposing force, the other friendship ; but 'it hath fo far happened that the firft hath/, failed* and the fecond hath withdrawn,' hef . influence. - As much' hath been faid of thead^ vantages of reconciliation, which, like an agreeable dream, hath paffed' away and left us as we were, it is> but right, that- we Should examine the contrary fide of the argument, and inquire into fome' of the many material injuries which thefe colonies- fuftain, and always will, fuftain, by being connected- with, and dependant-v, on Great Britain. To examine that connexion and dependance, on the principles of -nature and common . fenfe, to fee what we haVeto truft to/- if feparated, aiid what we are to ex pect, if dependant. I have heard it afferted by fome,' that as America hath flourished under her former connexion with Great- Britain, the fame connexion is ne-' ceffary to.war.ds -her future happi--*1 nefs, and will always have the fame effect. , Nothing can be more falla cious than this kind of argument. We may as we|l affert, that becaufe a child has thrived upon milk, it is never to have meat ; or that the- firft twenty years of our lives- is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is, admitting more, than is true, for I anfwer; roundly, that America would have. flourished as much more, had no Eu ropean power had any thing to do- with her. The commerce by which She hath enriched herfelf are the ne- ceSTariegb of life, and will always have a market while eating is the cuftom of Europe. But Sfie has protected .us, fay fome'. That (he hath engroffed us is COMMON .S.JS.NSEv*. #" true, and defended the continent at our expence as well as her own is ad^ mitted, and She would have defended Turkey from the fame motive, viz. the Sake of trade and dominion. Alas, we have been long led away by ancient prejudices, and made large facfifices to fuperftition;. We have boafled the protection of Great-Bri tain, without considering, that her motive was intereft not attachment ; that She did not proteft us from our enemieson our account,- but from her enemies on her own account, from thofe who had no quarrel with us on any other account, and who will al ways be our enemies on the fame ac count. Let- Britain wave her preten sions to the continent, or the con tinent throw oft" the dependance, and we Should be at peace with , France and Spain were they at war with Britain. The miferies of Hanover laft war ought to warn us againft Connexions. It hath lately been afferted in par liament, that the colonies, have, no re lation to each other but through the parent Country, i. e, that Penfylva- nja and the jerleys, and fo on for the reft, are filter colonies, by the way of England ; ^ this is certainly a very 'round about way of, proving relati onship, but it is the iieareft and only true way of proving enemyShip, if I may fo call it. Fraijce and- Spain never were, nor perhaps never will be our enemies as Americans, but as our being the fubjeSs of Great-Britain. '•'', But Britain is the parent " country, ifay forfie. Then the more Shame upon 'hfMonduft. Even brutes do not de vour their young, nor -favages make war. upon their families ; wherefore. the affertion, if true, turns to- her re- , proach i ~~ but it happens not to b* 'vtoe^ or only partly fo, and the phrafef; parent or mother country hath been je- fuitically adopted by the ,¦ • and his paraSites, with a low papistical defign of gaining an unfair bias oft the credulpus weaknefs of our minds. Europe,, and not England, is the pa-. rent country of America. This new world hath been' the afylum for .the perfecuted lovers; of civil and .religi ous liberty from every part of Eu rope. .Hither have they.-fled* not S'rom the tender embraces of the mo ther, but from the cruelty of" die monSter ; and it is fo far true of England, that the fame tyranny. which drove the firft emigrants from home, purfues their defendants ftili. In this exteniive quarter of the globe, we forget the narrow limits of three hundred and Sixty miles (th« extent . of England) and carry our friendship on a larger fcale ; we claim brotherhood with every Euro pean christian, and triumph in the generofity of the fentiment. It is pleafant toobferve by what re gular gradations we furmount the force of local prejudice, as we enlarge . our acquaintance with the works. A man born 'in any town in England- divided into parishes will naturally affociate moft with his fellow parishi oners (becaufe their interests in, many cafes will be common) and distinguish him by the name of neighbour; if he meet him but a few miles from home, he drops the narrow idea of a Street, and falutes him by the name of iownf- man ; if he travels out of the county, and meet him in any other, he for gets the minor divisions ?of Street and " tP.w™» anc* ca!'s h'u*i cmntrymcm, i. e., countyman ; but if in their foreign J>AlNE;s WORKS: excurfloriS they Should affociate in France or any other part of Europe, their local remembrance would be en larged into that of Englijhmem And by a juft parity of reafoning, all Euj ropeans meeting in America, or any other quarter of the globe; are coun trymen ;>for England, Holland; Ger many, or Sweden^ when compared with the whole, Stand in the fame places on the larger fcale,- Which the divifions of Street, town, and county do on the fmaller ones ; distinctions too limited for continental minds. Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province, are of English defcent. Wherefore I reprobate the tjj/h arms in either Alia, Africa, or Europe. > Befides, what have we to do with fetting the world at defiance ? Our plan is commerce, and that, well at tended to, will fecure us the peace and friendship of all Europe ; becaufe it is the intereft of all Europe to have America a free port. Her trade will always • be a protection; aud her bar- ?rennefs of gold Snd Silver fecure her' from invaders. I challenge the warmeft advocate for reconciliation, to Shew a Single advantage that this continent can reap, by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge, not Our phrafe of parent or mother country {a' Single advantage is derived. applied to England, only, as being, ? corn will fetch its price in any mar- falfei felfifh, narrow and ungeiie- ket in Europe, and our' imported rous. gOeds mud be paid for; bny them' 'But admitting that we were all of 'Where we will; English defcent, what does it amount % But the injuries and disadvantages' to? Nothing. Britain, being nowan /we fuftain by that connection, are open enemy, extinguishes every other j without number; and our duty name and title ! And to fay that re- to mankind at large, as well as to conciliation is our duty, is truly far cical. - The firft king of England, of the prefent line (William the Con queror) was a Frenchman, and half the peers of England are defendants from the fame country ; wherefore , by the lame method of reafoning, England ought to be governed by France. Much hath been faid of the united Strength of Britain and the colonies, that in conjunction they might bid defi ance to the world. But this is mere prefumption ; the fate of war is un certain, neither do the expreSiions mean any thing ; for this continent would never fuffer itfelf to be drained of inhabitants to fupport the Bri- ourfelves, inftruft Jus to renounce the alliance : Becaufe, any S'ubmiffion to or dependance on Great iBritain, tends directly to involve .this conti nent in European wars and quarrels ; and fets us at variance with nations* who would otherwife feek our friend- Ship, and againft whom, we have nei ther anger nor complaint. As Eu rope is our market for trade, we ought to form no partial connection ¦ with any part of it. It is the true intereft of America to fteer clear of European contentions, which She never can do, while by her depen dence on Britain, She is made the make-weight in the fcale of British politics. COMMON SENSE. »S Europe is too thickly planted with kingdoms to he long at peace, and whenever a war breaks out between England and any foreign power, the trade of America goes to ruin, becaufe of her connetlion with Britain. The next war may not turn out like the laft, and Should it not, the advocates for reconciliation now will be wifhing for feparation then, becaufe, neutra lity in that cafe, would be a fafer con voy than a man of war. Every thing » that is right, or natural pleads for fe paration. The blood of the Slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'Tis time to part. Even the dif- .tance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a Strong and natural proof, that the au thority of the one, over the other,. ¦-'was never the defign of Heaven. The time likewife at which the continent was difcovered, adds weight to the argument, and the manner in which it was peopled encreafes the force of it. The reformation was preceded by the difcovery of America; as if the Al mighty gracioufly meant to open a fanftuary to the perfecuted in future years, when home Should afford nei ther friendship nor Safety. The authority of Great-Britain over this continent, is a~form of go vernment, which fooner or later mud have an end : And a ferious mind can draw no true pleafure by looking for ward, under the painful and pofitive conviction, that what he calls " the prefent constitution" is merely tempo rary. As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not fufficiently lafting to enfure any thing whicji we may bequeath to pof- 1 terity : And. by a plain method of ar gument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to d*- the work of it, otherwise we ufe them meanly and pitifully. In order to dis cover the line of our duty rightly, wet Should take our children in our hand, and fix our Station a few years- farther into life ; that eminence will prefent a. proSpeft, which a few prefent fears and , prejudices conceal from our Sight. . Though I would carefully avoid giving unneceSTary offence, yet I am inclined to believe, that all thofe who efpoufe the doctrine of reconciliation,, may be included within the following; descriptions. Interested men, who aie^ not to be trailed ; weak men who can~ - not fee; prejudiced men-who.iwV/! not fee ; and a certain fet of moderate men, who think better of the European woijd than it deferves ; and this laft clafs by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the caule of more calamities to this con tinent than all the other three. . It is the good fortune of many to' live distant from the fcene of forrow ;, the evil is not fufficiently brought to their doors to make them feel the pre- caiioufnefs with which all American property is poiTeffed,. But let our im aginations tranfport.us for a few mo ments toBofton, that feat of wretched - nefs will teach us wifdom, and inftruft us for ever to renounce a power in whom we can have no truft. The inhabitants of that unfortunate city, who but a few months ago were in eafe and affluence, have now no other alternative than to Stay and Starve, or turn out to beg. Endangered by the fire of their friends if they continue within the city, and plundered by the foldiery if they leave it. ¦ In their pre fent condition they are prifoners with out the hope of redemption, and in a , general attack for their relief, they 16 PATNE^s WORKS. v w'ohld be expofed to the fury of both armies. Men of paffive tempers look forhe- ¦vvriat lightly over the offefices of Bri- tainj and, Still hoping for the beft, •' arj^apt toc'allput, " Come, *we Jhall be friends again for all this." But exa mine the paffions and feelings of man kind. Bring the doctrine of reconci- , liatlon to the touchstone of n'ature, and then tell me, whether you can hereaf ter love, honour, and faithfully ferve tfae power that hath Carried fire and fword into your land? If you cannot o alijtt|«fe^%then are you only de ceiv- -OTUrfelvesj »hd by your delay '¦brinfeijig ruin upon posterity; Your future|connection with Britain, whom" you cin neither love nor honour, will be fj&rced and unnatural, and being formet only -on the plan of preSent con venience, will in a little time fall into a relapfe more wretched than the firft; But if you Say, you can Still pafs the violations over, then I afk, Hath your houfe been burnt ? Hath your pro perty been destroyed before your face ? Are your wife and children des titute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on ? Have; you loft apparent or a child by their handstand yourfelf the ruined and wretched furvivor ? If you have not;" then are you not a judge of thofe who have. But if ySsThave, -and can Stilt Shake hands with they ' »- . **-- murderers, trjeii are you unworthy ftifc name of hufband,, father, friend, or lover, and wjfete^er may'be your rank or title in Me,fyoU have the heart of ^a coward, aSfd the Spirit of a fyt cophant. This is not inflaming or exag gerating matters, but trying them by thofe feelings and affections which na ture justifies, and without which, we Should be incapable of difcfiargirtg th* foeial duties of life, of enjoying the •• felicities of it. I mean not to exhibit horror for the purpofe of provoking - revenge, but to awaken us from fatal and unmanly Slumbers, that we may purfiie determirtately fome fixed ob ject: It is not in the power of Bri tain or Europe to conquer America/' if She do not conquer herfelf by delay and timidity. The prefent winter is worth an ^ge if rightly enp'loyed, but if loft or neglected, the whole conti nent will partake of the misfortune ; and there is no punishment which that man will not deServe, be he who,' or what; or wherfe he -will; that may be the means of facrificing a feafon fo precious arid ufeful. It is 'repugnant to reafon, to the ' univerfal order of things, to all ex amples from the former ages, to fup-i . pofe; that this continent can longer " remain fubjeft to any external power; The moft fanguine in Britain does' not think fo.' The utmoft Stretch of human wifdom cannot, at this, time, ' compafs apian Short of feparationi which can promife the continent even a year's fecurityj Reconciliation is now a fallacious dream.' Nature 'hath :•* deferted the connexion, and Art can not fupply her place. For as Milton1 wifely expreffes, " never cari true " reconcilement grow, where wounds ' of deadly hate have pierced fo'deep." Every quiet method for peace hath been ineffeftual; Our prayers have been rejected with difdain ; and only tended to convince Us,, that nothing flatters vanity, Or confirms obftinacy in Kings more than repeated petition ing—and nothing hath contributed more than that very meafure to make the Kings of Europe abfolute : Wit- : COMMON SENSE.' S7 .tvefs Denmark and Sweden. Where fore fince nothing but blows will do, • for God's fake, let us come to a final feparation, and not leave the next generation to be cutting throats, un der the violated unmeaning names of parent and child. I am not induced by motives of pride, party, or refentment to elpoufe the doctrine of feparation and inde pendance ; I am clearly, pofitively, and confcientioufly perfuaded that it is the true intereft of this continent to be fo ; that every thing Short of that To fay, they will never attempt it is mere patchwork, that it can afford again is idle and vifionary, we thought no lafting felicity, — that, it is leaving; Sb at the repeal of the Stamp- act, yet a year or two undeceived us ; as well we may fuppofe that nations, which have been once defeated, will never re new the quarreh ,.• As to government matters, it is not in the power of Britain to do this con tinent juftice : The bufinefs of it will foon be too weighty, and intricate, to be managed with any tolerable degree of convenience, by a power, fo distant from us, and fo very ignorant of us ; for if they cannot conquer us, they cannot govern us. To be always run ning three or four thoufand miles with a tale or a petition, waiting four or five months for an anfwer, which when obtained requires five or fix more to explain it in, will in a few years be looked upon as folly and childiShnefs — There was a time when it was . proper, and there is a proper time for it to ceafe. Small islands not capable of protect ing themfelves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care i but there is fomething very abfurd, in fuppofing a continent to be perpe tually governed by an illand. In no -inftance hath nature made the fatellite larger than its primary planet, and as England and America, with refpeft to each other, reveries the common order 'of nature, it is evident they belong t0 different fyftems : England to Europe* America to itfelf. the fword to our children) and Shrink ing back at a time, when, a little more, a little farther, would have rendered this continent the glory of the earth. As Britain hath not manifested the leaft inclination towards acompromife, we may be affured that no terms can be obtained worthy the acceptance of the continent, or any ways equal to the expence of blood and treafure we have been already put to. The object contended for, ought al ways to bear fome juft proportion to the expence. The removal of N — , or the whole deteftable junto, is a matter unworthy the 'millions we have expended. A temporary Stoppage of trade, was an inconvenience, which would have fufficiently ballanced . the repeal of all the acts complained of* had fuch repeals been obtained ; but if the whole continent muft take up arms, if every man muft be a foldier, it is Scarcely worth our while to fight againft a contemptible ministry only. Dear ly, dearly, do we pay for the repeal of the afts, if that is all we fight for ; for in a juft estimation, it is as great a folly to pay a bunker-bill price for law, as for land. As. I have always considered the independency of this continent, as an event, which fooner or later muft arrive, fo from the late rapid progrefs of the continent to maturity, the event could not be far C PAINE's WORKS. off. Wherefore, on the breaking out of hostilities, it was not worth the While to have difputed a matter, which time would have finally redreffed, un lefs we meant to be in earned ; other- v wife, it is like wafting an eftate on a fuit at law, to regelate the trefpaffes of a tenant, whofe leafe is juft expiring. No man was a warmer wisher for re conciliation than myfelf, before the fatal nineteenth of April 1775*, but the moment the event of that day was made known, I rejected the har dened, fullen tempered Pharaoh of 1 for ever 5 and dildain the wretch, sthat with the pretended title of father of his people can un feelingly hear of their Slaughter, and compofedly Sleep with their blood upon bis foul. But admitting that matters were now made up, what would be the event ? I anfwer, the ruin of the continent. And that for feveral rea- fons. Firjl. The powers of governing 'Still remaining in the hands of the k-^, he will have a negative over the whole legislation of this continent. And as he hath Shewn himfi-lf Such an inveter ate enemy to liberty,. and difcovered fuch a thirft for arbitrary power ; is he or is he not, a proper man to fay to thefe colonies, '' You Jhall make no laws but what I pleafi." And is there any inhabitants in America So igno- , rant, as not to know, that according to what is called the prefent conftitution, that this continent can make no laws but what the king gives leave to ; and is there any man fo unwiSe, as not to See, that (considering what has hap pened) he will Suffer no Law to be made here, but fueh as fuit his purpofe. We may be as effectually enflaved by the want of laws in America, as by fubmitting to laws made for us in Eng land. After matters are made up (as it is called) can there be any doubt but the whole power of the crown will be exerted, to keep this continent as low and humble as poffible ? Inftead of go ing forward we Shall go backward, or be perpetually quarreling or ridicu- lOully petitioning — We are already greater than the king wishes us to be, and will he not hereafter endeavour to make us lefs ? To bring the matter- to one point. Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern us ? Whoever fays No to this queftion is an independant, for inde- - pendancy means no more, than, whe ther we Shall make our own Jaws, or, whether the , the greateft ene - my this continent hath, or can have, Shall tell us " there Jhall be no laws but "fuch as I like." But the k — you will fay has a ne gative in England ; the people there can make no laws without his confent. In point of right and good order* there is fomething very ridiculous, that a youth of twenty-one (which hath often happened) Shall fay to {eve- . ral millions of people, older and wifer than himfelf, I forbid this or that aft of yours to be law. But in this place I decline this fort of reply, tho' I will never ceafe to expofe the abfurdity of it, and only anlwer, that England being the king's residence, and Amer ica not So, makes quite another cafe. The k — 's negative here is ten times more dangerous and fatal than it can be in England, for there he will fcarce- ' MaSTacre at Lexington. COMMON SENSE. i? Iy refufe his Content to a bill for put- tants would lay hold of the interval, ting England into as ftrong a ftate of to difpofe of their eSfoas, and quit defence as poffible, and in America the continent. he would never fuffer fuch a bill to be paffed. America is only a Secondary object. -in the fyftem of British politics. England confults the good of this country, no' farther than it anfwers her own purpofe. Wherefore, her own intereft leads her to fupprefs the growth of ours in every cafe which doth not promote her advantage, or in the leaft interfere with it. A pretty ftate we Should foon be in under fuch a Second hand government* Confidering what has happened ! Men do not change from enemies' to friends by the alteration of a name : And in order to Shew that reconciliation now is a dangerous doctrine, I affirm, that it would be policy in the k — at this time to repeal the ail, for the fake of teinfiating himfelf in the government of the provinces ; in ortler, that HE may accomplish by craft and subtilty, in the long run, what he cannot do by force in the short one. Reconciliation and ruin are nearly related. Secondly, That as • even the belt terms, which we can expeft to ob tain, can amount to no more than a ^ temporary expedient, or a kind of government by guardianship, which can laft no longer than till the colo nies come of age, fo the general face .and ftate of things, in' the interim> will be unsettled and unpromifing. Emigrants of. property will not choofe to come to a country whofe form of government hangs by a thread, and who is every day tottering on the brink of commotion and disturbance ; and numbers of the prefent inhabi- But the moft powerful of all argu ments, is, that nothing but indepen dence, i. t. a continental form of go vernment, can keep the peace of the continent and preferve it inviolate . from civil wars. I dread the event of a reconciliation with Britain now, as it is more than probable, that it will be followed by a revolt fome- .- where or other, the confequences of which may be far more fatal than all the malice of Britain; Thoufands are already ruined by British barbarity ; (thoufands more will probably fuffer the fame fate.) Thofe men have other feelings than us who have nothing fuffered. All they now poffefs is liberty, what they before enjoyed is facrificed to its fer- vice, and having nothing more to lbfe, they difdain fubmiffion. Be sides, the general temper of the colo nies, towards a British government, will be like that of a youth, who is nearly out of his time ; they will care very little about her. And a government which cannot preferve the peace, is no government at all, and in that cafe»we pay our money for no thing ; and pray what is' it that Bri tain can do, whofe power will be wholly on paper, Should a civil tunralt break out the very day after reconci liation ? I have heard- fome men fay» many of whom I believe Spoke with out thinking, that they dreaded an independance, fearing that it would produce civil wars. It is but Seldom that our firft thoughts are truly cor rect, and that is the cafe here : for there are teri times more to dread from a patched up connexion than C 2 20 PAINE's WORKS. than from independance. I make the fosterers cafe my own, and I proteft, that were I driven from houfe and home, my property destroyed, and my circumstances ruined, that as a man, ¦fenfible of injuries, Iicould never re- fi(h the doctrine of reconciliation, or cohiider myfelf bound thereby. The colonies have manifested fuch a fpirit of good order and obedier.ce to continental government, as is Suf ficient to make every renfonable perfun eal'y and happy on that head. No man can affign the 'leaft pretence for his fears, on any other grounds, than fuch as are truly childish and ridicu lous, that one colony will be Striving for.fuperiority over another. Where there are no distinctions .there can be no foperiority, perfect equality affords no temptatipn. The republics of Europe are all (and we may fay always) in peace. Holland and SwiSTerland are without wars, foreign or domeftic: Monarchical go vernments, it is true, are never long •at reft 4 the crown .itfelf is a tempta tion to enterprising ruffians at home; and that degree of pride and infolence ever attendant on regal authority, fwells .into a .rupture with foreign powers, in instances, where a repub lican government, by being formed -on more natural principles,, would ne- .gociatt the mi Hake. If there is any true caufe of fear respecting independance, it is becaufe no plan is yet laid down. Men do not See their way out— Wherefore, as an opening into that bufinefs, I offer the following hints : at the fame time modeftly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myfelf, than that they may be the means of giving rile to fomething better. Could the ftraggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently form materials for wife and able men to improve to ufeful matter. LET the aSTemblies be annual, with a President only. The reprefentation more equal. Their bufinefs wholly domeftic, and fubjeft to the'authority of a Continental Congrefs. Let each colony be divided into fix, eight, or ten, convenient districts, each diflrift to fend a proper number of .delegates to Congrefs, fo that each colony fend at leaft thirty. The whole number in Congrefs will be at leaft 390. Each Congrefs to fit and to choofe a prefident by the following method. When the' delegates are met, let a colony be taken from the whole thirteen colonies by lot, after which let the whole Con grefs choofe (byballot) a president from out of the delegates of that province. In the next Congrefs, let a colony be taken by lot from twelve only, omit ting that colony from which the pre fident was taken in the former Con grefs, and fo proceeding on till the whole thirteen Shall have had their proper rotation. And in order that nothing may pafs into a law but what is fatisfactorily juft, not lefs than three-fifths ' of the Congrefs to be called a "majority. — He that will pro mote difcord, under a government fo equally formed as this, would join Lucifer in his revolt. But as there is a peculiar delicacy, from whom, or in what manner, this bufinefs muft firft arife, and as it Seems moft agreeable and confident, that it Should come from fome intermediate body between the governed and the go vernors, that is between the Congrefs and the people, let a Continental COMMON SENSE. Conference beheld, in the following manner, and for the following purpofe : A committee of twenty-fix mem bers of Congrefs, viz. two for each colony. Two members for each houfe of affembly, or Provincial conven tion ; and five reprefentatives of the people at large, to be chofen in the ' capital city or town of each province, for, and in behalf of the whole pro vince for that purpofe ; or, if more convenient, the reprefentatives may be chofen in two or three of the moft populous parts thereof. In this con ference, thus afferrtbled, will be unit ed, the two grand principles of bufi nefs, knowledge and power. The members of Congrefs, ASfemblies, or Conyentions, by having had experi ence in national concerns, will be able and ufeful counfellors, and the whole, being empowered by the peo ple, will have a truly legal authority. The conferring members being met, let their, bufinefs be to frame a Continental Charter, or Char ter of the United Colonies; (anfwer - irt'g to what is called the Magna Cliarta of England) fixing the num ber and manner of chobfing members of£ongrefs> 'members of Affembly, wifWFlJieir date of fitting, and draw ing the?" line of bufinefs and jurifdic- tibn between them : (Always remem bering, that our Strength is cqrltinen- tal, not provincial :) Securing free dom and property to all men, and above all things the free exercife of religion, according to the; dilates of confcience ; with fuch other matter as is neceffary for a charter to contain. Immediately after which, the faid conference to diffolve, and the bodies Which (hall be chofen conformable to the faid charter, to be the legislators and governors of this continent for the time being : Whofe peace, and happinefs, may God preferve, Amen. Should any body of men be here after delegated for this or fome Simi lar purpofe, I offer them the fallow ing extrafts"'from that wife obferver on governments, Dragonetti. " The " fcience," fays he, " of the politi- " cian confi Is in fixing the true " point of happinefs and freedom. " Thofe men would deferve the gra- " titude of ages, who Should dii'co- " ver a mote of government that " contained the greatest fum of indi- " vidu il happinefs, with the leaft "' national expence. Dragonetti on Virtue and Rewards" But where, fays fome, is the King of America? I'll tell you, Friend, he reigns above, and doth ncjt make ha- vock of mankind like, the Royal : of Britain. Yet that we may not ap-, pear to be defective even in earthly honors', let a day be folemnly fet apart for proclaiming the charter ; let it he brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God ; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that fo far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is KING, far as in abfolute go vernments the King is law, fo in free countries the law ought to be King ; and there ought to be no other. But leff any ill ufe. Should afterwards arii'e, let the" crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and fet tered among the people' whofe right it is. A government of our own is bur natural right : And when a man feri- Oufly reflects on the precarioufnefs of human affairs, he will become con- PAINE's WORKS. vinced, that it is infinitely wifer and fafer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to truft fuch an interesting event to time and chance. If we omit it now, fome * MaSTanello may hereafter arife, who laying hold of popular difqui- etudes, may colleft together the dcf- perate and the difcontented, and by ¦ affuming to themfelves the powers of government, may fweep away the li berties of the continent like a deluge. Should the government of America return again into the hands of Bri tain, the tottering fituation of things, will be a temptation for fome defpe- rate adventurer to try his fortune; and in fuch a cafe, what relief can Britain give ? Ere She could hear the news the fatal bufinefs might be done; and ourSelves Suffering like the wretch ed Britons under the oppreflion of the Conqueror. Ye that oppofe indepen dance now, ye know not what ye do; ye are opening a door to eternal ty. ranny, by keeping vacant the feat of government. There are thoufands and tens of thoufands, who would think it glorious to expel from the continent, that barbarous and hellish power, which hath Stirred up the In dians and Negroes to deftroy us ; the cruelty hath a double guilt, it is dealing brutally by us, and treacher ously by them. To talk of friendship with thofe in whom our reafon forbids us to have faith, and our affections wound ed through a thoufand pores inftruft us to deteft,' is'madnefs and folly. Every day wears out the little remains of kindred between us and them, and can there be any reafon to hope, that as the relationship expires, the affec tion will increafe, or that we Shall agree better, when we have ten times more and greater concerns to quarrel over than ever ? Ye that tell us of harmony and re conciliation, can ye reftore us to the time that is pad ? Can ye give to prostitution its former innocence Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America. The laft cord now is bro ken, the people of England are pre- fenting addreffes againft us. v There are injuries which nature cannot for give ; She would , ceafe to be nature if file did. As well can the lover for- - give the raviiher of his miftrefs, as the continent forgive the murders of Britain. The Almighty hath im- . planted in us thefe unextinguilhable feelings for good and wife purpofes. They are the guardians of his image in our hearts. They distinguish us from the herd of common animals. The focial compaft would diffolve, and juftice be extirpated the earth, , or have only a cafual existence, were we callous to the touches of affec tion. The robber and murderer, would often efcape unpunished, did not the injuries which our tempers fuftain, provoke us into juftice. O ye that love mankind ! Ye that dare oppofe not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, Stand forth ! Every fpot of the old world is over-run with oppref fion. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Ada and Africa, * Thomas Anello, otherwife MaSTanello, a fifhermanof Naples, who after Spiriting up his countiymen in the public market piace, againft the oppreiTion of the Spaniards, to whom the place was then 'ftibjcft, promoted uiun to revolt, and in the fpace of a day became t> ing. COMMON SENSE. 2.3 have long expelled her. — Europe re- part. O! receive the fugitive, and gards her like a Stranger, and Eng- prepare in time an afyluni for nian,« Jand hath given her warning to de-r kind. Of the prefent Ability of America, -with fome mfcellaneous RefleBiom,, JL HAVE never met with a man, either in England or America, who hath not confeffed his opinion, that a Separation between the countries, would take place one time or other : . And there is no inftance in which we have Shewn lefs.judgment, than in en deavouring to defcribe, what we call, the ripenefs or Sitnefs of the Continent for independence. As all men allow the meafure, and vary only in their opinion of the time, let us, in order to remove mistakes, take a general furvey of things, and, endeavour if poffible, to find out the very time. But we need not go far^ the inquiry ceafes at once, for the time -hath found us. The general concur rence, the glorious union of all things prove the fact. It is not in numbers butin.unity, that -our great Strength lies; yet our prefent numbers are fufficient to repel the force of all the world. The Con tinent hath, at this time, the largeft body of armed and difciplined men of any power under Heaven; and is juft arrived at that pitch of ftrength, in which no Single colony is able tofup- port itfelf, and the whole, when united, can accomplish the matter, and either more, or, lefs than this, might be fa tal in its effefts. Our land: force is already fufficient, and- as to naval af fairs, we cannot be infenfible, that Britain would never fuffer an Ameri can man of war to be built while the continent remained in her hands. Wherefore we Should be no forwarder an hundred years hence in'that branch, than we are now ; but the truth is, We. Should be lefs fo, becaufe the timber of the country is every day diminish ing, and that which will remain at. laft, will be far off and difficult to. procure. Were the continent crowded with inhabitants, her Sufferings under the prefent circumstances would be into-; Ierable. The more fea port towns we had, the more fhould we have both to defend and to lofe. Our prefent num bers are fo happily proportioned to our wants, that no man need be idle. The diminution of trade affords an army, and the neceffities of an army create, a new trade. Debts we have none ; and whatever vve may contract on this account will Serve as a glorious memento of our virtue. Can we hut leave posterity with a fettled, form, of government, an independent constitution of its own, the purchafe at any price will be cheap. Brit to expend millions for the fake cf getting a few vile acts repealed, and routing the prefent ministry only, is unworthy thechargej and is ufingpof- terity with the utmoft cruelty ; be caufe it is leaving them the great work to do, and. a debt upon their backs, ' from which, they.deri.ve no advantage. Such a thought is unworthy a man of honor, and is the true characteristic of a narrow heart and a pedling poli- . tician. 24- PAINE's WORKS. The debt we may contract doth not deferve our regard if the work be but accomplished. No nation ought to be without a debt: A national debt is a national bond ; and when it bears no intereft, is in no cafe a grievance. Britain is oppreffed with a debt of up wards of one hundred and forty mil lions Sterling, for which She pays up wards of four millions intereft. And as a compenfation for her debt ; (he has a large navy ; America is without a debt, and without a navy ; yet for the twentieth part of the English na tional debt, could have a navy as large again. The navy of England is not worth, at this time, more than three millions and an half Sterling. [The firft and fecond editions of this pamphlet were published without the following calculations, which are now given as a proof that the above estimation of the navy is a juft one. See Entick's naval hijlory, intra, page 56.] '''.'' ' The charge of building a Ship of each rate, and furnishing her with mafts, yards, fails and rigging, together with a proportion of eight months , boatfwain's and carpenter's fea- ftores, as calculated by Mr. Bur- chett, Secretary to the navy. when it was at its greatest glory, confifted of the following Ships and guns : Ships. Guns. Coftofone. Coftofall, ' 6— 100 — 55.553*- — 4i3»3l8/- I2_ 90—29,886 — 353,632- I2_ go— 23,638 — 283,656 43 _ 7o— 17,785 — 764-.7SS 3S_ 60— 14,197 — 496,?9S 4.0 — 50 — 10,605 — 4i4-,24D 45 _ +0_ 7,558 — 34-°>"° 58 — 20— 3,710 — 215,180 85 Sloops, bombs, -1 and SireShips, one £ 2,000 170,000 with andther, at J Coft 3,266,786 Remains for gups, — 233,214. For a Ship of 1 00 j juns £¦ 35*553 90 — — 29,886 So 23,638 70 17,785 60 — — 14,197 S° 10,606 40 3° — _ — 7,55^ 5,846 20 3>7io And from hence it is eafy to fum up the value, or coft rather, of the whole British navy, which in the year 1757, Total, 3,500,000 No country on the globe is fo happily fitiiated, fo internally capable of tailing a fleet as America. Tar, timber, iron, and cordage are her na- rural produce. We need go abroad for nothing. Whereas the Dutch, who make large profits by -hiring out their Ships of war to the Spaniards and Portuguefe, are obliged to import moft of the materials they ufe. We ought to view the building of a fleet as an article of commerce, it being the natural manufactory of this coun try. It is the befl money we can lay out. A navy when finished is worth more than it- coft. And is that nice point in national policy, in which commerce and protection are united Let us build ; if we want them not, we can fell ; and by that means replace our paper currency with ready, gold and diver. In point of manning a fleet, people in general- run into great errors ; it is not- neceffary that one-fourth part Should be Sailors. The Terrible pri vateer, Captain Death, flood the COMMON SENSE. ho,tteft engagement of any Ship laft war, yet had not twenty failors on board, though her complement of men was upwards of two hundred. A few able and focial failors will foon inftruft a fufficient number qf active land- men in the common work of a Ship. Wherefore, we neyer can be more capable to begin on mari time matters than now, while our timber is Standing, our fisheries blocked up, and our failors and Ship wrights out of employ. Men of war of Seventy and eighty guns were built forty years ago in New- England, and why not the fame now? Ship-build ing is America's greatest pride, and in which, She will in time excel the whole world. The great empires of the eaft are moftly inland, ahd conse quently excluded from the poffibility of rivaling her. Africa is in a ftate of barbarifm ; and no power in Eu rope hath either fuch an extent of coaft, or fuch an internal Supply of materials. Where nature hath given the one, (he has withheld the other ¦ to America only hath ' She been liberal of both. The vaft empire of Ruffia is almoft Shut out from the fea; wherefore, her boundlefs forefts, her tar, iron, and cordage are only arti cles of commerce. In point ofsfofety, ought we to be without, a fleet ? We are not the little people now,' which we were Sixty years ago ; at that time we might have trufted our property in the Streets, or fields rather; and Slept fecurely without locks or bolts to our doors and windows. The cafe is now altered, and our methods of defence ought to improve with our ihcreafe of property. A common pirate, twelve months ago, might have come up the Delaware,. and laid the city of Philadelphia «5 under mftant contribution, for what fum he pleafed ; and the fame might have happened to other places. Nay, any daring fellow, in a brig of four teen or fixteen guns, might have robbed the whole Continent, and carried off half a million of money. Thefe are circumftances which de mand our attention, and point out the neceffity of naval protection. Some, perhaps, will fay, that after we' have made it up with Britain, She will proteft us. Can we be fo unwife as to mean, that She Shall keep a navy in our harbours for that purpofe ? Common fenfe will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to Sub due us, is of all others the moft im proper to defend us. Conqueft may be effected under the pretence of friendship ; and ourfelves, after * long and brave refiltance, be at laft cheated into Slavery. And if her Ships are not ' to be admitted into our harbours, I would aSk, how is She to proteft us ? A navy three or four thoufand miles off can be of little ufe, and on fudden emergencies, none at all. Wherefore, if we mv.1 hereafter proteft ourfelves, why not do it for ourfelves ? Why do it for another ? The English lift of Ships of war is long and formidable, but not a tenth' ; part of them are at any one time fit for fervice, numbers of them not in being; yet their names are pompoufly continued in the lift, if only a plank be left of the Ship : and not a fifth part, of fuch as are fit for fervice, can be fpared on any one Station at one time. The Eaft, and Weft In dies, Mediterranean, Africa, and other parts over which Britain ex tends her claim, make large demands upon her navy. From a mixture of prejudice and inattention, we have paine's works. contrafted a falfe notion respecting each other's hand, we need fear n» the navy of England, and have talked external enemy. as if we Should have the whoje of it to encounter at once, and for that reafon, fuppofed that we muft have one as large ; which not being in stantly practicable, have been made In almoft every article of defence we abound. Hemp flourishes even to ranknefs, fo that we need not want cordage. Our iron is fuperior to that «f other countries. Our fmall arms ufe of by a fet of difguifed Tories to equal to any in the world. Cannon difcourage our beginning thereon, we can eaft at pleafure. Saltpetre Nothing can be farther from truth and gunpowder we are every day than this ; for if America had only a producing. Our knowledge is hourjy twentieth part of the naval force of improving. Refolution is our inhe.i Britain, She would be by far an over rei>t character, and courage hath ne- match for her; becaufe, as we nei- ver yet forfakenus. Wherefore, what ther have, nor claim any foreign do minion, our whole force would be employed on our own caali, where we Should, in the long run, have two to one the advantage of thofe who had three or four thoufand miles to fail over, before they could attack us, and the fame distance to return in order to refit and recruit. And al though Britain by her fleet, hath a check over our trade to Europe, we have as large a one over her trade to the Weft-Indies, which, by laying in the neighbourhood of the Conti nent, is entirely at its mercy. is it that we want ? Why is it that we hefitate ? From Britain we can ex- peft nothing but ruin. If She is once admitted to the government qf America again, this Continent will not be worth living in. Jealoufies will be always arifing ; infurreftions will be constantly happening ; and who will gb forth to quell them ? Who will venture his life to reduce his own countrymen to a foreign obe-- dience ? The difference between Pen-. fylvania and Connecticut, reflecting fome unlocated lands, Shews the in significance of a B — !h government!' Some method might be fallen on to and fully proves, that nothing but* keep up a naval force in time of peace, if we Should not judge it ne ceffary to fupport a conftant navy. If premiums were to be given to mer chants, to build and employ in their Service, Ships mounted with twenty, thirty, forty or fifty guns, (the pre miums to be in proportion to the lofs of bulk to the merchants) fifty or fixty of thofe Ships, with a few Continental authority can regulate Continental matters. Another reafon why the prefent. time is preferable to all others, is, that the fewer our numbers are, the- more land there is yet unoccupied, which inftead of being lavished by the k— on his worthlefs dependants, may be hereafter applied, not only to the difcharge of the prefent debt, guard (hips on conftant duty, would but to the conftant fupport of govern- keep up a fufficient navy, and that without burdening ourfelves with the evil fo loudly compiained of in Eng land, of fuffering their fleet, in time of peace to ii- rotting in the docks. To uniie the Sinews of commerce and defence is Sound policy ; tor wheii cm Strength and our riches play into ment. No nation under heaven hath 'uch an advantage as this. - •" The infant State of the Colonies, as it is called, fo far from being againft, is an argument of indepen dance. We are fufficiently numer ous, and were we more fo, we might. be lefs united. It is a matter worthy GQMMQN SENSE. 27 of obfervation, that the more a coun try is peopled, the fmaller their ar mies are. In military numbers, the ancients far exceeded the moderns : and the reafon is evident, for trade being the confequence of population, men become too much abforbed there by to attend to any thing elfe. Com merce diminishes the fpirit, both of patriotifm, and military defence. And hiftory fufficiently informs us, that the braveft atchievments were always accomplished in the non-age of a na tion. With the increafe of commerce, England hath loft its fpirit. The city of London, notwithstanding its numbers, fubmits to continued infults with the patience of a coward. The more men have to lofe, the lefs will ing are they to venture. The rich are in general Slaves to fear, and Sub mit to courtly power with the trem bling duplicity of a fpaniel. Youth is the feed time of good habits, as well in nations as in indivi duals. It might be difficult, if not; impoffible, to form the Continent. into one government half a century hence. The vaft variety of interests, occafioned by ap increafe of trade and population, would create confu sion. Colony would be againft co lony. Each being able might fcorn each other's affiftance ; and while the proud and fooliih gloried in their little distinctions, the wife would lament that the union had not been formed before. Wherefore, the prefent time is the true time for establishing it. The intimacy which is contrafted in infancy, and the friendship which is formed in misfortune, are, of all others, the moft lading and" unalter able. Our prefent union is marked with both thefe characters : we are young, and we have been diftreSTed > hut our concord hath withstood our troubles, and fixes a memorable sera for posterity to glory in. The prefent time, likewife, is that peculiar time, which never happens to a nation but once, via. the time of forming itfelf into a government. Moft nations have let Slip the oppor tunity, aiid by that means have been compelled tq receive laws from their conquerors, inftead of making laws for themfelves. Firft, they had a king, and then a form of govern ment 5 whereas, the articles or charter of government, Should be formed firft, and men delegated to execute them afterwards : but from , the errors qf other nations, let us learn wifHom, and lay hold of the prefent opportunity— To begin govern ment at the right end. When W'Hiam the conqueror fub- dued England, he gave them law at tfie point of the fword ; and until we confent that the feat of government in America, be legally and authori tatively occupied, we Shall be in danger of having it filled by fome fortunate ruffian, who may treat us in the fame manner, and then, where will be our freedom ? where our pro perty ? As to religion, I hold it to be the indifpenfible duty of all government, to proteft all confcientious profeffors thereof, and I know of no other bu finefs which government hath to do therewith. Let a man throw afide that narrownefs of foul, that felfifh- nefs of principle, which the niggards of all profefficyns are fo unwilling to part with, and'he will be at once de livered of his fears on that head. Suspicion is the companion of mean fouls, and the bane of all good foci ety. For myfelf I fully and confci- entiouily believe, that it is the will of the Almighty, that there .Should 2« PAINE's WORKS. apiong us : It affords a larger field for our christian kindnefs. Were we all of one way of thinking, our reli gious dispositions would warjt matter for probation ; and on this liberal principle, I look on the yarious de nominations among us, to be like children of the fame family, differing only, in what is called their Christian names. In Page twenty-one, I threw out a few thoughts on the propriety of a Continental Charter, (for I only pre- fume to offer hints, not plans) and in this place, I take the liberty of rementioning the fuhject, by observ ing, that a charter is to be under stood as a bond of Solemn obligation, which the whole enters into, to fup port the right of every feparate part, whether of religion, perfonal free dom, or property. A firm bargain and a right reckoning make long friends. In a former page I likewife men tioned the neceffity of a large and equal reprefentation ; and there is no political matter which more deferves our attention. A fmall number of electors, or a fmall number of repre fentatives, are equally dangerous. But if the number of the -repre fentatives be not 'sonly fmall but un equal, the danger is increafed. As an inftance of this, I mention the following; when the, Affociators pe tition was before the Houfe of Af fembly of Pennfylvania ; twentyieight members only were prefent, all the Bucks county members, being eight, voted againft it, and had feven of the Chefter members done the fame, this whole province had been governed by two counties only, and this danger it is always expofed to. The unwar- rmtable Stretch likewife, which that houfe made in thrir laft fitting, to gain an undue authority over the De legates of that province, ought to- warn the people at large, how they truft power out of their own hands. A fet of instructions for the Dele gates were put . together, which in point of fenfe and bufinefs would have dishonored a fchool-boy, and after being approved by a few, a very few without doors, were carried into the Houfe, and there paffed in behalf of the -whole colony ; whereas, did the whole colony know, with what ill-will that Houfe hath entered on fome neceffary public meafures, they would not hefitate a moment to think them unworthy of fuch a truft. Immediate neceffity makes many things convenient, which if conti nued would grow into oppreSiions. Expedience and right are different things. When the calamities of America required a confultation, there was no method fo ready, or at that time fo proper, as to appoint perfons from the feveral Houfes of Affembly for that purpofe, and the wifdom with which they have pro ceeded hath preferved this Continent from ruin.. But as it is more than probable that we Shall never be with out a Congress, every well wiSher to good order, muft own, that the mode for choofing members of that body, deferves confideration. And I - put it as a queftion to thofe, who make a Study of mankind, whether reprefentation and eleBion is not too great a power for one and the fame body of men to poffefs ? When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not here- ' ditary. It is from our enemies that we often gain excellent maxims, and are frequently furprifed into reafon by their mistakes. Mr. Cornwall (one of the Lords of the Treafury-) treated be diversity of religious opinions '{ COMMON SENSE. 29 the petition of the New-York Af fembly with contempt, becaufe that Houfe, he faid, oonfifted but of twen ty-fix members, which trifling num ber, he argued, could not with decen cy be put for the whole. We thank him for his involuntary honefty*. To Conclude, however ftrange it may appear to fome, or however un willing they may be to think fo, matters not, but many ftrong and Striking reafons may be given, to Shew, that nothing can Settle our affairs fo expeditiously as an open and deter mined declaration for independance. Some of which are, Firft. — It is the cuftom of nations, when any two are at war, for fome other powers, not engaged in the quarrel, to Step in as mediators, and bring about the preliminaries of a peace : but while America calls her- Self the fubjeft of Great Britain, no power, however well difpofed She may be, can offer her mediation. Where fore, in our prefent State we may quarrel on for ever. Secondly .—It is unreafonable to fup- pofe, that France or Spain will give us any kind of affiftance, if we mean only to make ufe of that affiftance for the purpofe of repairing the breach, and Strengthening the connection be tween Britain and America ; becaufe, thofe powers would be fufferers by the corffequences. Thirdly. — While we profefs our felves the Subjects of Britain, we mud, in the eye of foreign nations, be considered as rebels. The pre cedent is fomewhat dangerous to their peace, for men to be in arms under the name of fubjefts ; we on the fpot, can folve the paradox : but to unite refiftance and fubjeftion, requires an idea much too refined for- ¦ common underftanding. Fourthly. — Were a manifesto to be published and difpatched to foreign courts, fetting forth the miferies we have endured, and the peaceable me thods we have ineffectually ufed' for redrefs ; declaring, at the fame time,. that not being able, to live happily or fafely under the cruel difpofition of the B — fh court, we had been driven to the neceffity of breaking off all connection with her ; at the fame time affuring all fuch courts of our peace able difpofition towards them, and of our defire of entering into trade with them : Such a memorial would pro duce more good effefts to this Conti nent, than if a Ship were freighted with Petitions to Britain. Under our prefent denomination . of Britiffi fubjects we can neither be re ceived nor' heard abroad : The cuftom of all courts is againft us, and will be fo, until, by an independance, we take rank with other nations. Thefe proceedings may at firft ap pear ftrange and difficult ; but, like all other Steps which we have already paffed over, will in a little time be come familiar and agreeable ; and, until an independance is declared, the Continent will feel itfelf like a man who continues putting off fome unplcafant bufinefs from day to day yet knows it muft be done, hates to fet about it, wishes jt over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its neceffity. * Thofe who would fully understand of what great confequence a large and equal reprefentation is to a State, Should read Burgh's Political DiSquiSitions, 3 vols. 8vo. 3° PAINE's WORKS. APPENDIX. OlNCE the "publication of the firft edition of this pamphlet, or ra ther, on the fame day qn which it came out, the 's Speech made its appearance in this city. Had the Spirit of prophecy directed the birth of this production, k could not ha^e brought it forth, at a more feafonable juncture, or a more neceffary time. The bloody mindednefs of the one, Shew the neceffity of purSuing the doctrine of the other. Men read by way of revenge. And the fpeech in ftead of terrifying, prepared a way for the manly principles of Indepen dance. Ceremony, and even Silence, from whatever motive they may arife, have a hurtful tendency, when they give the leaft degree of countenance ro bafe and wicked performances ; wherefore, if this maxim be admit ted, it naturally follows, that the — - — 's Ipeech, as being a piece of nnifhed villainy, deierved, ^rjd Still deferves, a general execration both by the CongrelV and the people. Yet as tire domeltic tranquillity of a na tion, depends greatly on the chaftity of what may properly be called na tional manners, it is often better, to pafs fome things over in filent dif- dain, than to make ufe of fuch new methods of difiike, as might intro duce the lead innovation, on that guardian of our peace and fafety. And perhaps, it is chiefly owing to this prudent delicacy, that the 's Speech, hath before now, fuffered a public execution. The Speech, if it may be called one, is nothing better than a wilful audacious libel againft the truth, the Common good, and the existence of mankind ; and is a for-" mal and pompous method of offering up human facrifices to the pride of tyrants. But this general maffacre of mankind, is one of the privileges* and the certain confequences of K— '* ; for as nature knows them not, theyl. know not her, and although they are beings of our own creating, they know not us, and are become the gods of their creators. The fpeech hath otfe good quality, which is, that it is not calculated to deceive, neither can we, if we would, be de ceived by it. Brutality and tyranny appear on the face of it. It leave* us at ha lofs : And every line con vinces, even in the moment ot read ing, that He who hunts the woods for prey, the naked and untutored Indian, is lefs a Savage than the of B . Sir J— n D -e, the puta tive father of a whining jefuitical piece,- fallaciously called, " The Ad- drefs of the people of England to the inhabitants of Ametuca," hath, per haps from a vain fuppofition, that the people here were to be frightened at the pomp and defcription of a king, given, (though very unwiSely on his part) the real charafter of the prefent one : " But," fays this writer, if yqu are inclined to pay compliments to an adminiftration, which we do COMMON SENSE. 3' ¦not complain of," (meaning the Mar quis of Rockingham's at the repeal of the Stamp Act) " it is very unfair in you to withhold them from that prince, by vahofe nod alone they •were permitted to do any thing" this is toryifm with a witnefs ! Here is idolatry even without a maSk : And he who can calmly hear, and digeft fuch doctrine, hath forfeited his claim to rationality—an apoilate from the - order of manhood ; and ought to be considered-— as one, who hath, not only given up the proper dignity of a roan, but Sunk himfelf beneath the rank of animals, and contemptibly crawl through the world like a worm. However, it matters very little now, what the ¦ of E either fays or does ; he hath wickedly broken through every moral and hu man obligation, trampled nature and confcience beneath his feet ; and by a Steady and conftitutional fpirit of in- iblence and cruelty, procured for him felf an univerfal hatred. It is now the intereft of America, to provide for herfelf. She hath already a large and young family, whom it is more her duty to take care of, than to be grant ing away her property, to fupport a power who is become a reproach to the names of men and christians — Ye, whofe office it is to watch over the morals of a nation, of whatso ever feft or denomination ' ye are, as well as ye, who are more imme diately the guardians of the public liberty, if ye wiSh to preferve your native country uncontaminated by European corruption, ye muft in Se cret wilh a iepaiation-^-But leaving the moral part to private reflection, I Shall chiefly confine my farther re- raarks to the following heads. Firft, That it is the intereft of America to be feparated from Britain. Secondly, Which is the eafieft and moft practicable plan, reconcili ation or independence ? withfome occafional remarks. In fupport of the firft, I could, if I judged it proper, produce the opi nion of fome of the ableft and moft experienced men on this continent ; and whofe fentiments, on that head, are not yet publicly known. It is in reality a. felf-evident pofition : For no nation in a ftate of foreign depen- dance* limited in its commerce, and cramped and fettered in its legislative powers, can ever arrive at any ma terial eminence. America doth not yet know what opulence is ; and al though the progrefs "which She hath made Stands unparalleled in the hif- tory of other nations, it is but child hood, compared with what She would be capable of arriving at, had (he, as She ought to have,' the legislative powers-in her own hands. England is, at this time, proudly coveting what would do her no good, were She to accomplish it ; and the Continent hefitating on a matter, which will be her final ruin if neglected. It is the commerce and not the conqueft of America, by which England is to be ¦benefited, and that would in a great meafure continue, were the countries as independant of each other as France and Spain; becaufe in many articles, neither can go to a better market. But it is the independance of this country on Britain or any other, which is now the main and only object worthy of contention, and which, like all other truths difcovered by neceffity, will appear clearer and Stronger every day. 32 PAINE's WORKS, Firft. BeCaUfe it will come to that one time or other. Secondly, Becaufe the longer it is delayed the harder it will be to ac complish. I have frequently amufed myfelf both in public and private companies, with filently remarking the fpecious errors of thofe who fpeak without re flecting. And among the many which I have heard,- the following feems the moft general, viz. that had this rupture happened forty or fifty years hence, inftead of now, the Continent would have been more able to have Shaken eff the dependance. To which I reply, that our military ability at this time, arifes from the experience gained in the laft war, and which in forty or fifty years time, would have been totally extinct. The Continent would not, by that time, have had a General, or even a military officer left ; and we* or thofe who may fucceed us, would have been as ignorant of martial matters as the antient Indians : And this fingle pofition, clofely attend ed to, will uuanfwerably prove, that the prefent time is preferable to all others, The argument turns thus — at the conclufion of the laft war, we had experience, but wanted numbers ; and forty or fifty years hence, we Should have numbers, without expe rience; wherefore, the proper point of time, muft be fome particular point between the two extremes, in which a fufficiency of the former re mains, and a proper increase of the latter is obtained : And that point of time is the prefent time. The reader will pardon this di- greffion, as it does not properly come under the head I firft fet out iwith, and to which I again return the fol lowing pofition, viz. Should affairs be patched up with Britain, and She remain the governing and fovereign power of America^ (which as matters are now circum stanced, is giving up the point en tirely) we Shall deprive ourfelves of the very means of finking the debt we have or may contract. The value of the back lands which fome of the provinces are clandestinely deprived of, by the unjuft extenSion of the limits of Canada, valued only at five pounds fterling per hundred acresj amount to upwards of twenty-five millions, Pennsylvania currency ; and the quit-rents at one penny fterling per acre, to two millions yearly. It is by the fale of thofe lands that the debt may be funk, without bur then to any, and the quit-rent re- Served thereon, will always leSfen, and in time, will wholly fupport the yearly expence of government. It matters not how long the debt is in paying, fo that the lands when fold be applied to the difcharge of it, and for the execution of which, the Congrefs for the time being, will be the continental trultees. I proceed now to the Second head, viz. Which is the eafitft and moft practicable plan, reconciliation or independence? with fome occa sional remarks. He who takes nature for his guide is not eafily beaten out of his argu ment, and. on that ground, I anfwer generally — That independence being a single simple line, contained within ourfelves; and reconciliation, a matter exceedingly perplexed and complicated, end in which, atreacher- COMMON SENSE. 35 ous, capricious court is to interfere', gives the anfwer without a- doubt. The prefent ftate of America is truly alarming to every man who is capable of reflexion- Without law, without government, without any other mode of power than what is founded on, and granted by courtefy. Held together by an unexampled con currence of fentiment, which is ne- verthelefs fubjeft to change, and which every fecret enemy is endea vouring to diffolve. Our prefent condition, is, Legislation without law; wifdom without a plan; a con ftitution without a name ; and, what is Strangely aftoniShing, perfect In dependence contending for Depend ence. The inftance is without a pre cedent ; the cafe never existed before ; and who can tell what may be the event ? The property of no man is fecure in the prefent unbraced fyftem •of things. The mind of the multi- 'tude is left at random, and feeing no fi,xed objeft before them, they purfue fuch as fancy or opinion ftarts. No thing is criminal ; there is no fuch thing as treafon ; wherefore, every one thinks himfelf at liberty to act as he pleafes. The Tories dared not to have affembled offensively, had they known that their lives, by that aft were forfeited to the laws of the ftate. A line of distinction Should be drawn, between English foldiers taken in ' battle, and inhabi tants of- America taken in arms. The firft are prifoners, but the latter traitors. The one forfeits his liberty, the other his head. Notwithstanding our wifdom, there is a visible feeblenefs in fome of our proceedings which gives encourage ment to diffentions. The Continen tal; belt is too loofely buckled. And if fomething is not done in time, it will be too late to do any thing, and we Shall fall into a Slate, in which, neither reconciliation nor independence will be practicable. The — and his worthlefs . adherents are got at their old game of dividing the Con tinent, and there are not wanting among us, Printers, who will be bufy, in fpreading fpecious falsehoods. The artful and hypocritical letter which appeared a few months ago in two pf the New- York papers, ahd likewife in two others, is an evidence that there are men who want either judg ment or honefty. It is eafy getting into holes and corners and talking jof reconciliation : But do fuch men ferioufly confider, how difficult? the taSk is, and how dangerous it may prove, Should the Continent divide thereon. Do they take within their view, all the various orders of men whofe Situation and Circumstances, as well as their own, are to be confidered therein. Do they put themfelves in the place of the fufferer whofe all is already gone, and of the foldier, who hath quitted all for the defence of his country. If their ill-judged moderation be fuited to their own private Situations only, regardlefs of others, the event will convince them, that " they are reck oning without their Hod." Put us, fays fome, on the footing we were on in Sixty-three : To which ' I anfwer, the requeft is not now in the power of Britain to comply with, neither will She propofe it ; but if it were, and even Should 1>e granted, I aSk, as a reafonable queftion, By what means is fuch a corrupt and faithlefs court to be kept to -its en gagements ? Another parliament, nay, even the prefent, may hereafter re- " D 34- PAlNE's WORKS. peal the obligation, on the pretence of its being violently obtained, or- unwifely granted ; and in that cafe, Where is our redrefs ?— No gO|ing to law with nations; cannon are the barristers of crowns ; and the fword, not of juftice, but of war, decides the fuit- To be on the footing of Sixty-three, it is not fufficient, that the laws only ^be put on the fame ftate, but, that our circumftances, likewife,' be put on the farile State ; our burnt and -destroyed towns re paired or built up, our- private loffes made good, our public debts (con trafted for defence) difcharged ; etherwife we Shall be millions worfe than we were at that enviable period. Such a request had it been complied with a year ago, would have won the heart and foul of the Continent — but jiow it is too late, " The Rubicon is paffed." BeSides the taking up arms, merely to enforce the repeal of a pecuniary law, Seems as unwarrantable by the divine law, and as repugnant to .liftman feelings, as the taking up arms to enforce obedience thereto. The object, on either fide, doth not juftify the ways and means ; for the lives of men are too valuable to be ca!t away on fuch trifles. It is the violence which is dpne and threatened to our perfons ; the deftruction of our property by an armed force ; the invaSion of our country by fire and Sword, which canfcientioufly qualifies the ufe of arms i And the infiant, in which S'uqi» a mode of defence became iieceSTaiy, all fubjection to Britain ought to have ceal'ed; and the inde pendency of America Should have been confidered, as dating its a;ra from, and published by, the firft muf- iti't that vias fired againft her. This line is a line of -consistency ; neither drawn by caprice, nor extended by ambition ; but produced by a chain of events, of which the colonies were not the authors. I Shall conclude thefe remarks, with the following timely and well intend ed hints. We ought to refleft, that there are three different ways by which an independency may hereafter be effected ; and that one of thofe three, will one day or other, be the fate of America, viz. ' By the legal voice of the people in Congrefs ; by a military power ; or by a mob : It may not always happen that our fol- diers are citizens, and the multitude a body of reafonable men ; virtue, as I have already remarked, is not he reditary, neither is it perpetual. Should an independency be brought about by the firft of thofe means, we have every opportunity and every en couragement before us, to form the nobleft, pureft conftitutiqn on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A fituation, frmilar to the prefent, hath not happened fince the days of Noah until now. The birth day of a new world is at hand, and a race of men perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the event of a few months. The Re flexion is'awful — and in .this point of view, How trifling, how ridiculous, do the little, paltry cavellings, of a few weak or interested nlen appear, when weighed againft the bufinefs of a world. Should we negleft the prefent fa vourable and inviting period, and an independence be hereafter effected by any other means, we muft charge the confequence to ourfelves, or to thofe C'OMMON SEN S E. 35 rather, whofe harrow and prejudiced for terms of accommodation. It is fouls,, are habitually oppofing . the our delaying it that encourages wr roeaitue, without either inquiring or to hope for conqueft, and our back« reflefting. There are reafons to be wardnefs tends only to prolong the given in fupport of Independence, war. As we have, without any which men Should rather privately good effeft therefrom, withheld our think of, than „be publicly told of. trade to obtain redrefs of our griev- We ought not now to be debating ances, let us nqw try the alternative, whether we Shall be independent or by independently redreffing them our- not, but anxious to accomplish it on felves, and then offering to open the a firm, fecure, and honorable bafis, trade. The mercantile and reafon- and uneafy rather that it is not yet able part of England will be Still began upon. Every day convinces us with us ; becaufe, peace nuith trade, of its neceffity. Even the Tories is" preferable to war without it. And (if fuch beings yet remain among us) if this offer be not accepted, other Should, of all men, be the moft fe licitous to promote it ; for, as the • appointment of committees at firft, protected- them from popular rage, fo, a wife and well eftabliShed form of government, will be the only cer tain means of continuing it fecurely to them.' Wherefore, if they have not virtue enough to be Whics, they ought to have prudence enough to wiSh "for Independence. In Short, Independence is the only Bond that can tie and keep us toge ther. We Shall then fee our ob ject, and our ears will be legally Shut againft the fchemes of an intriguing, as well as a cruel enemy. We Shall then too, be on a proper footing, to treat with Britain ; for there is reaion to conclude, that the pride of that court, will be- lefs hurt by treating with the American States for terms of peace, than with thofe, whom She de nominates, " rebellious fubjefts," courts may be applied to. , On thefe grounds I reft the matter. And as no offer hath yet been made to refute the doctrine contained in the former editions of this pamphlet, it is a negative proof, that either the doftrine cannot be refuted, or, that (die party in favour of it are too nu merous to be oppofed. Where- fore, inftead of , gazing at each other with fufpicious or doubtful cu- riofity, let each of us, hold out to his neighbour the hearty hand of friendship, and unite iri drawing a line, which, like an aft of oblivion, fhall bury in forgetfulnefs every for mer diffention. Let the names of Whig and Tory be extinft i and let none other be heard among us, than thofe of a good citizen, an open and refolute friend, and a virtuous fupporter of the rights of mankind and of the FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA. D z J* PAINE-'! .WORKS. To the Reprefentatives of the Religious Society of the People called S^uahrr, or to fo many of them as were concerned in publijhing a late fiece, entitled " The Ancient Testimony and Principles of the People called " Quakers renewed, with refpeft to the King and Government, and *• touching the Commotions now prevailing' in thele antl other parts of " America, addi-efTed-to the People in General." J. HE Writer of this, is one of thofe few, who never dishonors reli gion either by ridiculing, or cavelling at any denomination whatsoever. To (Sod, and not t» man, are all men accountable on the fcore of religion. Wherefore, this epiftle is not fo pro perly addreffed to you as a religious, but as a political body, dabbling in . matters, which the profeffed Quietude of your Principles inftruft you not to meddle with. As you have, without a proper au thority for fo doing, put yourfelves in the place of the whole body of the Quakers, fo, the writer of this, in order to be on an equal rank with yourfelves, i's under the neceffity, of putting himfelf in the place of all thofe who approve the very writings and principles, againd which your tedimony is directed : And he hath chofen their Angular . fituation, in order that you might difcover in him, that prefumption of character which you cannot fee in yourfelves. For neither he nor you have any claim or title to Political Reprefentation. When men have departed from the right way, it is no wonder that they Stumble and fall. And it is evident from the manner in which ye have managed your testimony, that poli tics, (as a religious body of men) is not your proper Walk ; for however well adapted it might appear to you, it is, neverthelefs, a jumble of good and bad put unwifely together, and , the conclusion drawn therefrom, both . unnatural and unjuft. The two firft pages, (and the whole doth not make four) we give you , credit for, and expect the fame civi lity from you, becaufe rhe love and defire of peace is not confined to Quakerifm, it is the natural, as weif ,' as the religious wiSh of all denomina tions of men. And on this ground, as men labouring to eftablilh an In dependent , Conftitution of our .own, do we exceed all others in our hopej end, and aim. Our plan is 'peace for ever. We are tired of contention with Britain, and can fee no real end to it but in a final feparation. We aft consistently, becaufe for the fake of, introducing an endlefs and unin terrupted peace, do we bear the eyils and burthens of the prefent day. We are endeavouring, and will Stea dily continue to endeavour, to fepa- rate and diffojve a connexion which hath already filled our land' with blood ; and which, while the name of it remains, will be the 'fatal caufe of future mifchiefs to both countries. We fight neither for revenge nor- conqueft ; neither from pride nor paffion ; we are not infulting the- world with our fleets and armies, nor ravaging the globe for plunder. Be neath the Shade of our own vines are we attacked ; in our own houfes, and On our own lands, is the violence .COMMON SENSE. 3* committed' againft' us. We view our enemies in the characters, of High waymen and Houfebreakers, and hav ing no defence for ourfehjes in the civil law, are obliged to punifh them by the military one, and apply the fword, in the very cafe, where, you have before now, applied the halter. — Perhaps we feel for the ruined and infulted. fufferers. in all and every part of the continent, with a degree of, tendernefs which hath not yet mad,e its way into fowe of your boSbms. But be ye fore that, ye mif- take not the caufe and ground of y^ur Teftimqny. Call not coldnefs of foul, religion ;' nor pujt the Bigot in the place of the Chriftian. " "' O ye partial ministers of your own- acknowledged, principles. If the bearing arms be Sinful, the firft going to war mult be more fo, ' by all the' difference between wilful attack and; unavoidable, defence. Wherefore if ye really preacrTfrorn confluence, and mean not to make a political hobby- horfe of your religion, convince the world thereof, by proclaiming your doftrine to our enemies, for they like- wife hear arms. Gjve us proof of, your fincerity by publishing it at St. James's, to the, commanders in chief, at Bofton, to (he Admirals and Cap tains who are piratically ravaging our cpafls, and to all, the murdering mif- creants who are acting in authority under him whom ye profefs to ferve. Had ye the honeft foul* of * Barclay ye, would preach, repentance to-your king ; Ye would tell the Royal -, his fins, and warn him, of eternal ruin. Ye would not fpend your par tial invectives againft the injured and the infulted only, but like faithful mimSJers, woiild cry aloud zndfpare none. Say, not that ye, are perfecuted, neifh'er endeavour to make us the au thors of that reproach, which, ye are bringing upon yourfelves,; for we teftify unto all men, that we do not complain againft you becaufe ye are, Quakers, but be'caufe ye pretend to fe-and are not Quakers'. ' Alas 1 it feems by the particular, tendency- of fome part of your testi mony, and other parts of your con duct, as if, all^ fin was reduced to, and comprehended -in the aB . of bear ing arms* and that by the people only. Ye appear to us, to have miftaken party for confidence ; becaufe the ge neral tenor of your aftione wants uniformity : a°d it is exceedingly difficult to Us to give credit to many of yqur pretended, fcruples ; becaufe we fee them made/"by the fame men, who, in the very inftant that they are exclaiming againft. the mammon, of this world, are neverthelefs, hunt ing after it with a' Step as Steady as. * " Theu.haft^tafted oj ' profpfrity.and adverftty ; thou knoweft tohat.it isjo.be hanijhed 1 thy native country , to be over-ruled as 'well as to rule, and fet upon the. throne ; and " being opprefled thou hajl reafon to know .bow hateful the oppreSTor is both to- God and man : If after all tbefe 'warnings and aavertijemen: s , thou daft not turn unto the Lord " with'all thy heart, but forget him who remembered thee in thy diftrefs, and give Up thyfelf to follow tuft and 'vanity, furely great will be thy condemnation. — Againft which " fnare, as well as the temptation of thofe who may or do feed thee, and prompt thee to " evil, the moft excellent and, prevalent remedy will be, to apply thyfelf to that light of " Chrift which, Jbtneth in thy conjcience and which neither&an^ nor ,will flatter thee, nor " fijfer,tbee to le at cafe in thy fins." * Barclay's AddreSs to Charles II. 38 PAINE's WORKS. Time, and an appetite' as keen as Death. The quotation which ye have made from Proverbs, in the third page of your tedimony, that, " when a man's ways pleafe t»e Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him ;" is very, unwifely chofen on your part ; becaufe it amounts to a proof, that the king's ways (whom ye are fo deiirous of fopporting) do not pleafe the Lord, otherwife, his reign would be in peace. I now proceed to the latter part of your tedimony, and that, for which all the foregoing feems only an intro duction, viz. " It hath ever been our judgment " and principle, fince we were called " to profefs _the light of Chrift Jefus, " manifeded in our confidences unto " this day, that the fetting up and " putting down kings and governT " ments, is God's peculiar preroga- " tive ; for caufes bell known to " himfelf: And that it is not our " bufinefs tq have any hand or con- " trivance therein ; no[ to be bufy " bodies &bove our Station, much " lefs to plot and contrive the ruin, " or overturn any of them, but to " pray for the king, and fafety of " our nation, and good of all men : " That we may live a peaceable " and quiet life, in all goodlinefs " and honefty ; under the govern- " ment which God is pleafid to fet " over us." If thefe are really your principles why do ye not abide by them ? Why do ye not leave that, which ye call God's Work, to be ma naged by himfelf? Thefe very prin ciples inftruft you to wait with pati ence and humility, for the event "of all public meafures, and to receive that event as the divine will* towards you. Wherefore, what occafion is there for your political teftimony if you fully believe what it contains ? And the very publishing it proves* that either, ye do not believe what ye profefs or have not virtue enough to praftife what ye believe. The principles of Quakerifm have a direft tendency to make a man the quiet and inoffenfive fubjeft of any, and every government which is fit over him. And if the fettfng up and putting down of kings and go. vernjnents is God's peculiar preroga tive, he moft certainly will not be robbed thereof by us ; wherefore* the principle itfelf leads you to ap prove of every thing, which ever happened, or may happen to kings as being his work. Oliver Crom well thanks you. — Charles, then,. died not by the hands of man ; and Should the prefent Proud- Imitator of him come to the fame untimely end, the writers and publishers of the tef timony, are bound by the doftrine it contains, to applaud the faft. Kings are not taken away by miracles, nei ther are changes in governments brought about by any other means than fuch as are common and human;" and fuch as we are now ufing. Even the difper-Sing of the Jews, though / foretold by our Saviour, was effected by arms. Wherefore, as ye refute to be the means on one fide, ye ought not to be meddlers on (the other'; but to wait the iffue in Silence; and' unlefs you can produce divine autho rity, to prove, that the Almighty who hath Created and placed this new world, at the greateft distance it could poffibly Stand, eaft and weft, from every part of the old, doth, ne- verrhelefs, ' difapprove of its being, independent of the corrupt and aban- COMMON SENSE. 3ft doned court of B— .n ; unlefs," I fay, jre can (how this, how can ye, on the ground of your principles/ juftify the exciting and Stirring up the peo ple « firmly to unite in the abkor- " rence of all fuch writings, and " meafures, as evince a defire and de- " Sign to break off the happy con- *' nexion we have hitherto enjoyed, " with the kingdom pf Great-Bri- " tain, and our juft and neceffary " fubordination to the king, and " thofe who are lawfully placed in " authority under hinu" What a flap in the face is here ! the men, who, in the very paragraph before, have quietly and paffivejy refigned up the otdering, altering and diipofal of kings and governments, into the hands of God, are now recalling their principles, and putting in for a Share of the bufinefs. Is it poffible, that the conclusion, which is here' juStly quoted, can any ways follow from the doftrine laid down ? The inconsistency is too glaring not to be feen ; the abfurdity too great not to be laughed at ; and fuch as could only have been made by thole, whofe un- derllandings were darkened by the narrow and crabby fpirit of a despair ing political party ; for ye are not to be considered as the whole body of the Quakers, but only as a factional and fractional part thereof. Here ends the examination of your testimony ; (which I call upon, no man to abhor', as ye have done, but only to read and judge of fairly) to which I fubjoin the following remark ; " That the fetting up and putting " down of kings/' muft certainly mean, the making him a king, who is yet not fo, and the making him no king who is already one. And pray what hath this to do in the prefent cafe ? We neither mean to fit up not to put down, neither to piake nor to unmake, but to have nothing to do with them. Wlrerefore your tedi mony in whatever light it is viewed Serves only to dishonour your judg ment, and for many, other reafons had better have been Jet alone than published. Firft. Becaufe it tends to the de- creafe and reproach of all religion whatever, and is of the utmoft dan ger to fociety, to make it a party in political disputes. ' Secondly. Becaufe it exhibits a body of men, numbers of whom dif- avow the publishing political testimo nies, as being concerned therein and approvers thereof. " Thirdly. Becaufe it hath a tenden cy to undo that continental harmony and friendship which yourfelves by your late liberal and charitable dona tions hath lent a hand to eflabliSh; and the prefervation of which, is of the utmoft confequence to us all. And, here without anger or refent- ment I bid you farewell. Sincerely wiShing,. that as men and christians, ye may always fully and uninterrupt edly enjoy every civil and religious right ; and be, in your turn, the means of feeuririg it to others ; but that the example which ye have un- wifely fef, of mingling religion with politics, may be difavowed and repro bated by every inhabitant of Ami- INTRO D U G T I O N. JTl-'LONDON translation of an original work in French, by the Abbe Raynal, which treats of the Revolution, of North-America, having been re-printed in Philadelphia and other parts of the conti nent, and as the diftance at which the Abbe is placed from the Ame rican theatre of war and politics, has occafioned hire to mistake fe- veral facts, or, mifconceive the caufes or principles .by which they were produced; the following traft, therefore, is published withxa view to rectify them, and prevent even accidental errors intermixing wish hiftory, 'under the fanftion of time and filence. The editor of the London edition has entitled it, " The Revc-lu- '* tion of America, by the Abbe Ravh.u," and the American printers have followed the example. But I have understood, and I believe my information juft, that the piece, which is more properly reflections on the revolution, was unfairly purloined from the printer which the Abbe employed, or from the manufcript copy, and is only part of a larger work then in the prefs, or preparing for it. The perfon who procured it appears to have been an Englishman, and though in an advertifement prefixed to the London edition, he has endeavoured to glofs over the embezzlement with profeffions of pa- triotifm, and to foftenuit with high encomiums oh the author, yet the aftion, in any view, in which it can be placed, is illiberal and unpardonable. ," In the cburfe of his travels," fays- he, " the translator happily " fucceeded in obtaining a copy of this exquisite little piece, which " has not yet made its appearance from any prefs. He publishes a " French edition, in favour of thofe who will feel its eloquent reafoning *' more forcibly in its native language; at the fame time with the fol- " lowing translation of it; in which he has been defirous, perhaps " in vain, that all the warmth, the grace, the ftrength, the dignity " of the original, mould not be loft. And he flatters himfelf, that " the indulgence of the illuftrious hiftorian will not be wanting to" a " man, who, of his own motion, has taken the liberty to give this «' composition to the public, only from a Strong perfuafion, that its 'j momentous argument will be ufeful, in a critical conjuncture, to " that country which he loves with an ardour, that can be exceeded «' only by the nobler flame, which burns in the fcotom of the phi* " lanthropic author, fqr the freedom and happinefs of all the coun- " tries upon earth." This plauGb-iluy of fetting off a dishonourable action, may pals for patriotifm and found principles with thofe who do not enter into its demerits, and whofe intereft is not injured nor their happinefs af fected thereby. But it is more than probable,-, notwithstanding the declarations it contains, that the copy was obtained for the fake of profiting by the fale of a new and popular work, and that the pro feffions are but a garb to the fraud. It may with propriety be remarked, that in all countries where literature is protected, and it never can flourish where it is not, the works of an author are his jegal property ; and to treat letters in any other light than this, is to banifh them from- the country or ftrangle them in the birth. The embezzlement from the Abbe Rayna!, was, it is true, committed by one country upon another, and there fore Shews no defect in the laws of either. But it is nevertheless^ breach ef civil manners and literary juftice; neither can it be any apology, that becaufe the countries are at war, literature Shall be en titled to depredation. * But the forestalling the Abbe's publication by London editions* both in French and English, and thereby not only defrauding hint and throwing an expenfive publication on his hands by anticipating the fale, are only the fmaller injuries which fuch conduft may occa fion. A man's opinions, whether written or in thought, are his own until he pleafes to publish them himfelf; and it is adding cruelty to injuftice, to make him. the author of what future reflection, or better information might occafion him to fupprefs or amend. There are declarations and fentiments in the Abbe's piece, which, for my own part, I did not expect to find, and fuch as himfelf, on a revifaT, might have feen occafion let- change ; but the anticipated piracy ef- ¦ factually prevented him the opportunity, and" precipitated him into * The State of literature in America, mull one day become a fubjeft of legislative confideration. Hitherto it hatfiteen a diftnterefted volunteer in the fervice of the re» volution, and no man thought of profits ; but when peace (Iiall give time and oppor- tutyty for (tudy, the country will deprive itfelf of the honour and fervice of letters and the improvement of fcience, unleiV fufficient laws are made to prevent depre dations on literary property. — It is well worth remarking, that Ruflia, who b.ut a ilw years ago, was Scarcely known in Europe, owes a large (hare of her prefent great- nefs to the clofe attention (he has paid, and the wife encouragement She has .given, to every branch of fcience and learning ; and we havealmdlt the Same inftance in France in the reign of Lewis X.IV. [ xliii 1 difficulties, which, had it" not been for fuch ungenerous' fraud, might not have happened. This mode of making an author appear before his time, will ap pear ftill more ungenerous, when we confider how exceedingly few men there are in any country, who can at once, and without the aid of reflection and reveal, combine warm pafijons with' a cool temper, and the full expansion of imagination with the natural and neceflary gravity of judgment, fo as to be rightly -balanced within themfelves, and to make a reader feel, fancy, and underftand juftly at the fame time. To call three powers of the mind into aftion at once, in a manner that neither ftiall interrupt, and that each Shall aid and vigo- rate the other, is_a talent very rarely poSTefTed. 'it often happens that the weight of an argument is loft by the wit of fetting it ofF; or the judgment difordered by an intemperate irri tation of the paffions : yet a certain degree of animation muft be- felt by the writer, and raifed in the reader, in order to intereft the atten tion; and a fufficient fcope given to the imagination, to enable it to create in the mind a fight of the perfons, characters and circum stances of the fubjedt ; for without thefe the judgment will feel little or no excitement to office, and its determination? will be cold, ilug- gifli, and imperfeft. But if either or both of the two former are raifed too high, or heated too much, the judgment will be jollied from its feat, and the whole matter, however important in itfelf, will diminish into a pantomime of the mind, in which we create images , that promote no other purpofe than amufement. The Abbe's writings bear evident marks of that extension and ra- pidnefs of thinking, and quicknefs of fenfation which of all others require revifal, and the more particularly fo, when applied to the living characters of nations or individuals in a ftate of war. The leaft misinformation or misconception ldads to fome wrong conclusion, and an error believed becomes the progenitor of others. — And as the Abbe has Suffered fome inconveniencies in France, by miftating certain circumftances of the war, and the characters of the parties therein, it becomes "fome apology for him, that thofe errors were precipitated into the world by the avarice of an ungenerous enemy. PAINE's WORKS. LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE ABBE R A Y N A L, ON THE AFFAIRS OF NORTH-AMERICA, T< O an author of fuch distinguished reputation as the Abbe Raynal, it might very well become me to apo logize for the prefent undertaking ; but as to be right is the firft wiih of philofophy, and the firft principle of hiftory.j he will^ I prefume, accept from me a declaration of my motives, which are thofe of doing juftice, in preference to any 'complimental apo logy, I might otherwise- make. — The Abbe, in the courfe of his ¦ work, has, in fome instances, extolled with out a reafon-, and wounded without a caufe. He has given fame where it was not deferved, and withheld it where it was juftly due ; and appears to be fo frequently in and out of temper with his Subjects and parties, that few or none of them are deci sively and uniformly marked. It is yet too foon to write the hif- tory of the revolution, and whoever attempts it precipitately, will una voidably mistake characters and cir cumstances, and involve himfelf in error and difficulty. Things like men are feldom understood tightly at firft fight. But the Abbe is wrong even in the foundation of his work ; that is, he has mifconceived and miftated the caufes which produced the rup ture between England and her then colonies, and which led on, Step by ftep, unftudied and uncontrived on the part of America, to a revolution which has engaged the attention, and effected the intereft, of Europe. To prove this, I (hall bring for ward a- paifage, which, though placed towards the latter part of the Abbe's work, is more intimately connected with the beginning ; and in which, Speaking of the original caufe of the difpute, he declares himfelf in the following manner — " None," fays he, " of thofe ener- It is probable, the Abbe has beeri led into this miftake by peruSing de tached pieces in fome of the Ameri can news-papers; for, in a cafe where all were interested, every one had a right to give his opinion ; and there were many who, with the beft intentions, did not chufe'the beft, nor indeed the true "grounds, to de fend their caufe uppn. They felt themfelves right by a general impulfe, without being able to feparate, ana lyze, and arrange the parts. I am fomewhat unwilling to exa mine too minutely into the whole of this extraordinary paiTage of the Abbe, left I Should appear to treat it with feverity ; otherwife I coujd Show that not a Single declaration is juftly founded : For inftance, the reviving an obfolete ait of the reign of Henry the eighth, and Sitting it to the Ame ricans, by authority of which they were to be Seized and brought from America to England, and there im- prifoned and tried for any fuppofed offence?, was, in the worft fenSe of the words, to tear them, "by the arbi* trary pozver of Parliament, from the arms of their families and friends, and drag them '.not only Jo dreary but dif- tant dungeons. Yet this ait was con trived fome years before the break ing out of hostilities. And again, though the blood of martyrs and pa triots had not Streamed on the Scaf folds, it Streamed in the Streets, in the maSTacre of the inhabitants of Bofton, by the British foldiery in the year 1770. Had the Abbe faid that the caufes which produced the revolution in America were originally different from thofe which produced reyolu- ANSWER TO THE ABBE RApJAL.' H tjo'ns-in other parts pf the globe, he- had been right. Here the value and quality of liberty, the nature of go vernment, and the dignity of man, were known and understood,, and the attachment of the Americans to thefe principles produced the revolution. as a natural and ajrnoft Unavoidable cpn- fequence. They, had no particular family to fet up or pull down. No thing of perfonality was incorporated with their caufe. . They Started even- handed with each cither, and went no falter into the feveral Stages of it, than they were driven by the unre lenting and imperious conduit of Bri tain. Nay, in .the laft ait, the de claration of independence, they had nearly been too late ; for had it not been declared at the exaft time it was, I fee no period in their affairs Since, in which it could have been declared with the fame effeS, and probably not at all. But the object -being formed before the reverie of for.tune took place, that, is, before the ' ppejsat,iori,s of the gloomy campaign of 1776, their honor, ^their intereft, their every thing caJled-Joudly on them to main tain it; and that glow of thought and energy of heart, which even a diftant proSpeft of independence in- fpires, gave confidence to their hopes and refplution to their cpndtift, which a ftafe of dependence could never have reached. They lopked .forward to happier days and fcenes of reft, and qualified the hardships of the cam paign by contemplating the establish ment of their new-born fyStem. If on the other hand, we take a review of what part Britain has ailed, Sue (hall find' every thing which pught to make a nation bluSh. The ,moft vulgar abufe, accompanied by fhat fpecies of haught'inefs, which diftin- guifhes the hero of a mob from the character of a gentleman ; ^ it was equally as much from her manners as from her injuftice that She loft the cplonies. By the latter She provoked their principles, by the former She wore out their temper ; and it ought to be hejd out as an example to the world, to Show, how neceffary it is to conduft the bufinefs of government with civility. In Short, other revo lutions may have originated in caprice or generated in ambition ; hut h«:e the moft unoffending humility Was tortured into rage, and the infancy of existence made to weep. A union fo extenfive, .continued and determined, Suffering with' pati ence and never in defpair, could not have (been produced by common caufes. It muft be fomething capable of reaching the whole foul of man and arming it with perpetual energy. In vain is it to look for precedents among the revolutions of former ages, to find out, by comparifon, the caufes qf this. The Spring, the progrefs, the object, the ccmfequences, nay, the men, the habits of thinking, and all the circumftances of the country are different. Thofe of other nations are, in general, little more than the history of their quarrels. They are marked by no important charaiter la the annals of events ; mixt in the mafs of general matters they occupy but a common page ; and while the Chief of the fuccefsful partizans Slept into power, the plundered multitude fat dpwp and forrowed. Few, very few of them are accompanied with re formation, either in government or manners ; many of them with the moft cpnfqmmate profligacy. Tri umph on the one fide, and mifery on E & PAINE* s WORKS. the other were the only events. Pains, punishments, torture, and death were made the bufinefs of mankind,' until compaffion, the faireft affociate of the heart, was driven from its flace, and the, eye, accuftomed to continual cruelty, could behold it without offence. But as the principles of the prefent revolution differed from thofe which preceded it, fo likewife has the con duct of America both in government and war. Neither the foul finger of diSgrace nor the bloody hand of ven geance has hitherto put a blot upon her fame. Her victories have re-* ceived luftre from a greatnefs of le nity ; and her laws been permitted to flumber, where they might juftly have awakened to punilh. War, fo much the trade of the world, has here been only the bufinefs of necef fity ; and when the neceffity Shall ceafe, her very enemies muft confefs, that as She drew the fword in her juft defence, She ul'ed it without cruelty, and Sheathed it without revenge. As it is not my defign to extend thefe remarks to a hiftory, I Shall now take my leave of this paSTage of the Abbe, with an obfervation, which until fomething unfolds itfelf to convince me otherwife, I cannot avoid believing to be true ; — which is, that it was the fixt determination of the BritiSh cabinet to quarrel wi(Ji America at all events. They (the members who compoSe the cabinet) had no doubt of fuccefs, if they could once bring it to the iffue of a battle ; and they expefted from a conqueft, what they could nei ther propofe with decency, nor hope for by negociation. The charters and conftitutions of the colonies were become to them matters of of fence, and their rapid progrefs in property and population were difguft- ihgly /beheld as the growing and na- tural means of independence. They faw no way to retain them long but by reducing them in time. A con queft would at once have made them both lords and ' landlords ; and put them in poffeffion jjpth of the reve nue and the rental. The whole trou ble of government would have ceafed in a victory, and a final end been put to remonftrance and debate. The experience of the ftamp aft had taaght them how to quarrel with the advan tages of cover and convenience, and they had nothing to do but to renew the fcene and put contention into mo-1 tion. They hoped for rebellion, and they made one. They expefted a declaration of independence, and they were not difappointed. But after this, they looked for viftory, and. they obtained a defeat. If this be taken as the generating caufe of the conteft, then is every part of the conduit of the British Ministry confiSlent from the com mencement of the difpute, until the figning the treaty of Paris, after which, conqueft becoming doubtful, they retreated to negociation, and were again defeated. Though the Abbe poffeffes and dis plays great powers of genius, and is a mailer of ftile and language, he feems not to pay equal attention to the office of an historian. His fails are coldly and carelefsly Stated. They neither inform the reader nor intereft him. Many of them are er roneous, and moft of them defective and obfcure. It is undoubtedly both an ornament and a ufeful addition to hiftory to accompany it with maxims and reflections. . They. afford li'kevviSe ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 5» an agreeable change to the Style and a more diversified manner of expf ef- fion ; but it is absolutely neceffary that the root from whence they fpring, or the foundations on which they are raifed, Should be well attended to, which in this work they are not. The Abbe haftens through his nar rations as if he was glad to get from them; that he may enter the more copious field of eloquence and ima gination; The actions of Trenton and Princeton in New- jerfey, in Decem ber 1776, and January following, on which the fate of America Stood for a while trembling on the point of fuf- pence; and from which the moft im portant confequences followed, are comprifed within a Single paragraph faintly conceived, and barren of cha- rafter, circumftance, and descrip tion. " On the 15th of December," fays the Abbe, " they (the .Ameri- " cans) croffed the Delaware, arid " fell accidentally upon Trenton, " which was occupied by fifteen hun- *' dred of the twelve thoufand Hef- " fiansj fold in fo bafe a manner by " their aviricious maSler, to the King " of Great Britain. This corps was *' majfacred, taken, or difperfed. " Eight days after, three English " regiments were in like manner " driven from Princeton, but after " having better fupported their re- ", putation than the foreign troops in " their pay." This is all the account which is given of thefe moft interesting events. The Abbe has preceded them by two or three pages on the military opera tions of both armies; from the time of General Howe arriving before New -York from Halifax, and the vaft reinforcements of British and fo reign troops with Lord Howe front England. But in thefe, there is fo much mistake, and fo many omiffions, that, to fet them right, muft be the bufinefs of hiftory and not of a letter. The action of Long-Wand is but barely hinted at ; and the operation at the White Plains wholly omitted i as are likewife the attack and lofs of Port Washington; with a garrifon of about two thoufand flVe hundred men, and the precipitate evacuation of Fort Lee, in confequente thereof; which loSTes were in a great meafufe the caufe Of the retreat through the Jerfies to the Delaware, a diftance of about ninety miles. Neither is the mariner of the reffeat defcribed, which, from the feafon Of the year, the nature 6f the country, the near- riefs of the two armies, (fometimes within fight ahd Shot of each other for Such a length of way) the rear of the one employed hi pulling down bridges, and the van of the other in building them up; muft neceffarily be accompanied with many interesting circumftances; It was a period of diftreffes; A crisis rather of danger than of hope^ There is no defcriptiOn can do it juf tice ; and even the aitOrs in it; look ing back upofl the fcene; are furprif- ed how they got through ; and at a lofs to account for thofe powers of the mind and fprings of animation, by which they withstood the force of ac cumulated misfortune; It was expefted; that the time for which the army was intifted; would carry the Campaign fo far into the winter, that the feverity of the fea fon, arid the eonfequent condition of the roads, wOuld prevent any material operation of the enemy* until ths 5* PAIlfE's WORKS. new army could be raifed for the next ' year. And I mentipn it, -as a matter worthy . of . attention, by all future historians, that the movements of the American army, until the attack; upon the Heffian poft at Trenton,. the j6th of December, are to be considered as operating to effe'ft no other prin cipal purpofe than delay, and to wear away the campaign under all the dis advantages of an unequal force, with as little misfortune as poffible. But the lofs of the garrifon at Fort Washington on the 16th of Novem ber, and the expiration of the time "of a confiderable part of the army, fo -early as the 30th of the fame month, and which were to be followed by al- moft daily expirations afterwards, made retreat the only final expedient. To thefe circumftances may be added the forlorn and deftitute condition of the few that remained ; for the gar rifon of Fort Lee, which compofed almofl the whole of the retreat, had been obliged to abandon it fo inftan- taneoufly, that every article of Stores and baggage was left behind, and in . this deftitute condition, without tent or blanket, and without any other utenfils to drefs their provision, than what they procured by the way, they performed a march' of about ninety miles, and had the addrefs and ma nagement to prolong it -to the fpace , of nineteen days. By this unexpefted or rather un- thought of turn of affairs, the coun try was in an inftant furprifed into cpnfufion, and found an enemy with in its bowels, without an army to op- . pofe him. There were no fuccours to be had, but from the free-will of fering of the inhabitants. All was choice, and every man reafoned for himfelf. It was in this fituation of affairs, equally calculated to confound or to infpire, that the gentleman, the mer chant, the farmer, the tradefman, and the labourer mutually turned from all the conveniencies of home* to perform the duties of private Sol diers, and undergo the feverlties of a winter campaign. The delay, fo ju diciously contrived on the retreat, aft forded time for the volunteer rein forcements to join General Washing ton on the Delaware. The Abbe is likewife wrong- in faying, that the American army fell aicidentally on Trenton. It was the very objeft for which General Wash ington croffed the Delaware in the dead of the night and in the midft of fnow, Storms, and ice ; and which he immediately recroffed with his pri- foners, as foon as he had accomplished his purpofe. Neither was the in tended enterprife a fecret to the ene my, information having been fent of it by letter, from a British Officer at Princeton, to Colonel Rolle, who commanded the Heffians at Trenton, which letter was afterwards found by the Americans. Neverthelefs the pod was completely furprifed. A fmall circumftance, which had the appear ance of miftake on the part of the Americans, led to a more capital and real miftake on the part of Rolle. The cafe was this. A detachment of twenty or thirty Americans had been fent acrofs the river from a poft, a few miles above, by an Officer un acquainted with the intended attack; thefe were met by => body of Heffians on the night, to which the informa tion pointed, which was Chriftrnas night, and repulfed. Nothing further apearing, and the Heffians, mistaking this for the advanced party, fuppofed ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 53 the enterprife difconcerted, which at that time was not began, and under this idea, returned to their quarters j fo that, what might have raifed an alarm, and brought the Americans »nto an ambufcade, ferved to take off the force of an information, and pro mote the fuccefs of the enterprife. Soon after* day-light General Walk- ington entered the town, and after a little opposition, made himfelf mafter of it, with upwards of nine hundred prifdners. This combination of equivocal cir cumstances, falling within what the Abbe ftiles « the wide empire of " chance," would have afforded a fine field for thought, and I wiSh for the fake of that elegance of reflection he is fo capable of ufing, that he had known it. But the aftion at Princeton was ¦accompanied by a ftill greater embar- raffment of matters, and followed by more extraordinary confequences. The Americans, by a happy Stroke of generalship, in this instance, not only deranged and defeated all the plans of the British, in the intended moment of execution, but drew from their polls the enemy they were not able to drive, and obliged them to clofe the campaign. As the circum stance is a curiofity in war, and not well understood in Europe, I Shall, as concifely as I can, relate the principal parts ; they may ferve to prevent fu ture historians from error, and reco. ver from forgetfulnefs a fcene of mag nificent fortitude. Immediately after the furprife of •the Heffians at Trenton, General Washington recroffed the Delaware, which at this place is about three quarters of a mile over, and reaf firmed his former poft on the Penn- fylvania fide. Trenton remained un occupied, and the enemy were pafted at Princeton, twelve miles diftant, on the road towards New- York. The weather was now growing very Severe, and as there were very few houfes near the Shore where General Wash ington had taken his Station, the greatest part of his army remained out in the woods and fields. Thefe, with fome other circumstances, indu ced the recrpffing the Delaware and taking poffeffion of Trenton. It was undoubtedly a bjld adventure, and carried with it the appearance of de fiance, efpecially when we confider the panic-fliuck condition of the ene my on the lofs of the HeSIian poft. But, in, order to give a juft idea of the affair, it is neceffary I Should de scribe the place. Trenton is fitiiated on a rifing ground, about three quarters of a mile diftant from the Delaware, on the eaftern or Jerfey fide ; and is cut into -two divifions by a fmall creek or rivulet, fufficient to turn a mill which is on it, after which it empties itfelf at nearly right angles into the Dela ware. The upper division which is to the north-eaft, contains about feventy or eighty houfes, and the lower about forty or fifty. The ground on each fide this creek, and on which the houfes are, is likewife rifing, and i the two divifions prefent an agreeable profpeft to each other, with the creek between, on which there is a fmall Stone bridge of one arch. Scarcely had General Washington taken poft here, and before the feveral parties of militia, out on detach ments, or on their way, could be collected, than the British, leaving behind them a ftrong garrifon at 54 PAINE's WORKS. Princeton, marched fuddenly and en tered Trenton at the upper or north eaft quarter. A party of the Ame ricans Skirmished with the advanced party of the British, to afford time for removing the Stores and baggage, and withdrawing over the bridge. ' In a little time the British had pof- feffion of one half of the ' town, Ge neral Washington of the other, and the creek only feparated the two ar mies. Nothing could be ahjore cri tical Situation than this, and if ever the fate of America depended on the event of a day, it was now. The Delaware was filling faft with large Sheets' of driving ice and was impa'f- fable, fo that no retreat into 'Penn- fylvania could be effected, neither is it poffible, ' in the face of an enemy, to pafs a river of fuch extent. The roads were broken and" rugged with froft, and the main road was Occupied by the enemy. About four o'clock a party of. the British approached the bridge, with a defign to gain it, but were repulfed. They made no more attempts, though the creek itfelf is paffab'le any where between the bridge and the Delaware. It runs in a rugged natural made ditch, over which a perfon may paSs with little difficulty, the ftream being rapid and Shallow. Evening was now coming on, and the British, believing they had all the advantages, they could wiih for, and that they could ufe . them when they pleafed, difcontinued all further operations, and held them felves prepared to make the attack next morning. But the next morning produced a fcene, as elegant as it was unexpected. The BritiSh were under arms and ready to march fo aftion,' when one of their light-hoffe from Princeton came furioufly down the ftreet, with an account, that General Washington had that morning attacked and carried the BritiSh poft at that place, and was proceeding on to feize the' maga zine at Brunfwick ; on which the BritiSh, who were then on the point of making an affault on the evacuated camp of the Americans, wheeled about, and in a 'fit of consternation, marched for Princeton. " This retreat is one of thofe extra ordinary circumftances, that in future ages may probably pafs for fable. For it will with difficulty be believed; that two armies, on which fuch important confequences depended. Should be crouded into fo fmall a fpace as Trenton, and that the one, on the etfe of an engagement, when every ear is fuppofed to be open, and every watchfulnefs employed, Should move completely from the" ground, with all its Stores, baggage, arid ar, tillery, unknown and even unfufpeft- ed by the other. And fo entirely were the BritiSh deceived, that when they heard the report of the cannon and fmall arms at Princeton, they fuppofed it to Be thunder, though in the depth of winter. General Washington, the better to cover and difguife his retreat from Trenton, had' ordered a line of fires to be lighted up in front of his camp. Thefe not only ferved to give an ap pearance of going to reft, and con tinuing that deception, but they eft feifually concealed from the BritiSh whatever was ailing behind them, for flame can no more be feen through than a wall, and in this fituation, it may with' fome propriety be faid, they became as a pillar of fire to the one army, and a pillar of a cloud fo the other : after this, by a circuitous ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 55 march of eighteen miles, the Ameri cans reached Princeton early in the morning. The number of prifoners taken w.ere between two and three' hundred, with which General Washington im mediately fet off. The van of the BritiSh army from Trenton entered Princeton about an hour after the Americans had left it, who continu ing their march for the remain der of the day, arrived in the evening at a convenient Situation, wide of the main road to Brunfwick, aBd about Sixteen miles diftant from Princeton — rBut fo wearied and ex hausted were they, with the continual and unabated fervice and fatigue of two days and a night, from aftion to aftion, without Shelter and alnioft without refreshment, that the bare and frozen ground, with no other covering than the Sky, became to them a place of comfortable reft. By thefe two events, and with but little comparative forcie to accomplish them, the Americans'clofed with advantages a campaign, which, but a few days before, threatened the country with deftruftion. The BritiSh army, ap- • prehenfive for the fafe'ty of their magazines at Brunfwick, eighteen miles diftant, marched immediately for that place, wh»re they arrived late, in the evening, and from which they made rio attempts to move, for nearly five month?. Having thus Stated the principal outlines of thefe two moft intereftirig actions, I Shall now quit them, to put the Abbe right in his miftated accounts of the debt and paper money of America, wherein, fpeaking of thefe matters, he fays, " Thefe ideal riches were rejefted. " The more the multiplication of " them was urged by want, the " greater did their depreciation grow. " The Congrefs was indignant at the " affronts given to its money, and " declared all thofe to be traitors to " their country who Should not re- " ceive it as they would have receiv- " ed gold itfelf. f Did not this body know, that " pi'spoffeSfions are no more to be con- " troled than feelings are ? Did it not " perceive, that in the prefent crisis " every rational man would be afraid "' of exposing his fortune ? Did it " not fee, that at the beginning of a " republic it permitted to itfelf the " exercife of fuch afts of defpotifm " as are unknown even in the coun- " tries which are moulded to, and " become familiar with, fervitude " and oppreflion ? Could it pretend " that it did not punilh a want of " confidence with the pains which " would have been fcarcely merited " by revolt and treafon? Of all " this was the Congrefs well aware. " But it had no choice of means. " Its defpifed and defpicable fcraps " of paper were actually thirty times " below their original' Value, whe'n " more of them were' ordered to be " made. " On '"the" 13th of Septem- " ber, 1779, thefe was of this paper " money, amongftthe public, to the " amount of £.35,'5++'I55- Tn<* '« ftate owed moreover £.8,385,3^6, " without reckoning the particular "' debts of fingle provinces." In the above recited paffages the Abbe fpeaks as if" the United States had contrafted a debt of upwards of forty millions pounds fterling, beiides the debts of individual States. After which, fpeaking of foreign trade with America, he fays, that " thofe f* countries in Europe, which are PAlNE's WORKS. " commercial ones, knowing that ";,North- America had^ been reduc- " ed to contrait debts at the epoch "of even her greafeft profperity, "wifely thought, that, in her pre- 'ffent diftrefs, She would be able to " pay but veay little, for what might '• be carried to her." I know it muft be extremely diffi cult to make foreigners underftand the nature and circumstances of our paper money, becaufe there are na tives, who do not underftand it them. felves. But with us its fate is now determined. Common conferit has cOnfigned it to reft with that kind of regard, whictTthe long fervice of inT animate things infenfibly obtains from mankind. Every (tone, in the bridge, that has carried us over, feems to have a claim upon our efteem. But this was a corner Stone, and its ufefulnefs cannot be forgotten. There is fomething in a grateful mind, which extends itfelf even to things that can neither be benefited by regard, nor fuffer by negleft ; — But fo it is ; and almoft every man is fenfible of the effect. But to return. The paper money, though iffued from Congrefs under the name of dollars, did not come from that body always at that yalue. Thofe which were iffued the firft year, were equal to gold and filver. The fecond year lefs, the third ftill lefs, and fo on, for nearly the fpace of five years ; at the end of which, I imagine, that the whole value* at which Congrefs might pay away the feveral emiffions, taking them toge ther, was about ten or twelve mil lions pounds Sterling. Now as it would have taken ten or twelve millions fterling of taxes, to carry on the war for five years, and, as while this money^was iiTuing- and likewife depreciating down to no thing; thefe were norie, or few valu able taxes paid, confequently the event to the public was the fame, whether they funk ten or twelve mil lions of expended money, by depre ciation, or paid ten or twelye millions by taxation ; for as they did not do- both, and chofe to do one, the mat ter, in a general view, was indiffer ent. And therefore, what the Abb? fuppofes to be a debt, has now no existence ; it having been paid, by every body consenting, to reduce at his own expence, from the value of the- bills continually paffing among theinfelves, a fum, equal to nearly what the expence of the war, was for five years. Again. The paper money having now ceafed, and the depreciation with it, and gold and filver fupplied its place, the war will now be carried on by taxation, which will draw frorrj the public a confiderable lefs fum than what the depreciation drew ; but as while they pay the former, they do not fuffer the latter, and as when they fuffered the latter, they did not pay the former, the thing will be nearly equal, with this moral advan tage, that taxation occafions fruga lity and thought, and depreciation produced dissipation and carelefTnefsi And again. If a man's propor tion of taxes comes to lefs than what. lie loft by the depreciation, it proves the alteration in his favor. If it comes to more, and he is juftly affeff- ed, it Shews that he did not fuftain his proper Share of depreciation, be caufe the one was as operatively his tax as the other. It is true, that it never was in tended, neither was it forefeen, that the debt contained in the paper cur: rency Should Sink itfelf in this man ner ; but as by the voluntary conduit of all and of every ope it has arrived ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 57* at this fate', the debt, is paid by thofe who owed it. Perhaps nothing- was ever fo univerfally the aft of a coun try as this. Government had no hand in it. Every man depreciated his own money by his own confent, for fuch was the effect, which the railing the nominal value of goods- produced. But as try fuch reduction he fuftained a lofs equal to what he muft have paid to fink it by taxation, therefore the line of juftice is to con fider his lofs by the depreciation as his tax for that time, and not to tax him when the war is over, to make that motley good in any other perfon? hands, which became nothing in his own. Again. The paper currency was iffued for the exprefs purpofe of car rying on the war. It has performed that fervice, without any other ma terial charge to the public, white it lafted. But to fuppofe, as Some did, that, at the end of the war, it was to grow into gold or filver, or become equal thereto, was to fuppofe that we were to get two hundred millions of dollars by -going to war, inftead of faying the coft of carrying it on. But if any thing in the fituation of America, as to her currency or her circumftances, yet remains not understood, then let it be remem bered, that this war is the public's war; the people's war; the country's ' war. It is their independence that is to be fupported ; their property that is to be fecured ; their country that is tobe faved. Here, government, the army, and the people, are mutually and reciprocally one. In other wars, kings, may lofe their thrones and their dominions ; but here the lofs muft fall on the majefty of the multi tude, ahd the property they are con. tending to fave, Every man being fenfible of this, he goes to the field, or pays his portion of the charge, as the fsvereign of his own pofleffions ; and when he is conquered a monarch falls. The remark, which the Abbe in the conclusion of the paffage has made, refpefting America contracting debts in the time of her profperity (by which he means, before the breaking out of hoftifities) ferves to Show, though he has not rnade the ap plication, the very great commercial dif ference between a dependent and an in dependent country. In a ftate of de pendence, .and with a fettered com merce, though with all the advan tages of peace, her trade could not balance itfelf, and She annually run into debt. But now, in a ftate of independence, though involved in war, She requires no credit ; her Stores are full of merchandize, and gold and Silver are become the cur rency of the country. How thefe things have eftabliShed themfelves it is difficult to account for : But they are fait,s, and iafts are more power ful than arguments. As it is probable this letter will undergo a republication in Europe, the rernarks here thrown together will ferve to Show the extreme folly of Britain, in retting her hopes of fuccefs on the extinction of our paper currency. The expectation is at once fo childiSh and forlorn,' that it places her in the laughable condition of a famiShed lion watching for prey at a fpider's web. From this account of the currency, the Abbe- proceeds to ftate the con dition of America in the winter 1777, and the fpring following ; and clofes his obfervations with mentioning the treaty of alliance, which was Signed in France, and the propositions of 5* PA INE's WORKS. the British Ministry, which were re- jefted in America. But in the man ner in which the Abbe has arranged his facts, there is a very material error, that not only he, but other European historians have fallen into ; none of them having affigned the true caufe why the British pfopofals were rejeited, and all of thein have afligned a wrong one. In the winter J 777, and fpring following, Congrefs were affembled at York-town in Pennsylvania, the BritiSh were in poffeffion of Philadel phia, and General Washington with the army were encamped in huts at the Valley-Forge, twenty-five miles distant therefrom. To all who can remember, it was a feafan of hard- Ship but not of defpair; and the Abbe, fpeaking of this period and its inconveniences, fays, " A multitude of privations, add- " ed to fo many other misfortunes, " might make the Americans regret ,E their former tranquillity, and in- " cline them to an accommodation «' with England. In vain had the " people been bound to the new go- " vemment by the facrednefs of oaths " and the influence of religion. In " vain had endeavours been ufed to " convince them, that it was ira- " poffible to treat fafely with a coun- " try in which one parliament might " overturn what Should have been •'¦ eftabliShed by another. In vain '-' had they been threatened with the " eternal refentment of an exafperat- " ed and vindictive enemy. It was «' poffible that thefe diftant troubles "' might not be balanced by the " weight of prefent evils. " So thought the British ministry " whin they fent to the New World " public agents, authorized to offer " every thing except independence t9> »' thefe very Arnericans, from whom. " they had two years before exaited " an unconditional fubmiSlion. It is " not improbable, but that by this " plan of conciliation, a few months " fooner, fome effeft might have been " produced. But at the period at " which it was propofed by the Court ¦5 of London, it was rejeited with " difdain, becaufe this meafure ap- " peared but as an argument of fear " and weaknefs. The people were " already re-affured. The Congrels^ " the Generals, the troops, the bold " and Skilful men, in ea^ch colony. 1" had poffeffed thefnfeJves of the au- " thority ; every thing had recovered "its firft fpirit. 'this was the effeft. " of a treaty of friendftiip and com- " merce between the United States and " the Court of Verf aides, figned the " 6th of February 1778. Qn this paffage of the Abbe's ] cannot help remarking, that, to unite time with circumftance, 's a material.. nicety in hiftory ; the want of which frequently throws it into endlefs con- fufion and miftake, occafions a totaj Separation between caufes and confe- quences, and Connefts them with others they are not immediately, and Sometimes not' at all, related to. ' The Abbe, in faying that the offers of the BritiSh Ministry " were re- " jefted with difdain," is right, as to the fail,, but wrong as to the time ; and this erorr in the time has occa sioned him to be miftaken in the caufe. The Signing the treaty of Paris the 6th of February,' 1778, could have no effeft on the mind or politics of America until it was known in Ame rica ; and therefore, when the Abbe fays,' that, ' the rejection of the ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 59 Britiffi offers was in confequence of the alliance, he muft mean, that it was in confequence of the alliance being known in America ; which was not the cafe: And by this miftake he not only takes from her the repu tation, which her unShaken fortitude in that trying fituatidri deferves, but is likewife led very injuriously to fup- pofe, that had flje not known of the trea ty, the offers would probably have been accepted j whereas file knew nothing qf the treaty at the. time of the re- jeftlon, and confequently did not re- jpft them on that ground. The propositions or offers above mentioned were contained in two tills brought into the BritiSh Parlia ment by J.ord North on the 17th of February, 1778. Thofe bil^s were hurried through both Houfes with un- ufual hade, "> and before they had gone through all the cuftomary forms of Parliament, copies of them were lent over to Lord Howe and General Howe, then ii) Philadelphia, who were likewife Commiffioners. Gene ral Howe ordered them 'to be printed in Philadelphia, and fent copies of them by a flag to Genera) Washing ton, to be forwarded to Congrefs 'at York-Town, where they arrived the 21ft of April, 1778. Thus much for the arrival of the bills in Ame rica. Congrefs, as in their ufual mode, appointed a corhmittee from their own body, to examine them arid report thereon. ' The 'report was brought in the next day (the twenty- ("econd) was ' read; and iinanimoufly • agreed • to, entered ori their journals, and published for the information of the country. Now this report muft be the ¦ rejeftion to which the Abbe alludes, beaaufe Congrefs gave no other formal opinion on thofe bills and propositions. And on a fubfe- quent application from the BritiSh. Commiffioners, dated the 27th of May, and received at York-Town the 6th of June, Congrefs immediate ly referred them for an anfwer to then- printed refolves of the 2zd of April. Thus much for the rejeftion of the ojfers. ' fin the 2d of May, that is, eleven days after the above rejeftion was made, the treaty between the United States and France arrived at York- Town ; and until this moment Con grefs had not. the leaft notice or idea, that fuch a meafure was in any train of execution. But left this declara tion of mine Should pafs only for affertion, I Shall fupport it by proof, for it is material to the charafter and principle of the revolution to Show, that no condition of America, Since the declaration' of independence, however trying and fevere, ever ope rated to produce the moft diftant idea of yielding it up either by force, diftrefs, artifice or perfuafion. And this proof is the more neceffary, be caufe it was the fyftem of the British Ministry at this time, as well as be fore and fince, to hold out to the European powers that America was unfixt in her refolutions and policy ; hoping by this artifice to leffen her reputation in Europe, and weaken the confidence which thofe powers, or any of them, might be inclined to place in her. At the time thefe matters were tranfaiting, I was fecrerary in the foreign department of Congrefs. All the political letters from the Ameri can Commiffioners refted in my hands, and all that were officially written went from my office ; and fo far 60 paine's Works. from Congrefs knowing any thing of the figning the treaty, at the time they rejeited the BritiSh offers, they had not received a line of information from their Commillioriers at Paris on any i'ubjeft whatever for upwards of a twelvemonth. Probably the lofs of the port of Philadelphia and the na vigation of the Delaware, together with the danger of the feas, covered at this time with BritiSh cruizers, cpnr tributed to the disappointment. One packet, it is true, arrived at York-Town in January preceding, I here fubjoin) which derive theif greatest glory by appearing before the treaty was known ; for that, which is bravery in diftrefs becomes infultin prosperity: Arid the treaty placed America ' on fuch a ftrong foundation, that had She then known it, the anfwer which She gave, would - have appeared rather as an air of tri umph, than as the glowing ferenity of fortitude. Upon the whole, the Abbe appears to have entirely mistaken the matter ; for inftead of attributing the rejec- which was about three months before, tion of the propofitions to our know ledge of the treaty of alliance ; he Should have attributed the origin of them to the BritiSh cabinet, to their knowledge of that event. And then the reafon why they were hurried over to America in the ftate of bills, that is, before they were paSTed into afts* is eafily accounted for, which is, that they might have the chance of reach ing America before any knowledge of the treaty Should arrive, which they were lucky enough to do, and there met the fate they fo richly me rited. That thefe bills were brought into the BritiSh Parliament after the treaty with France was figned, is proved from the dates : The treaty being on the 6th, and the bills the 17th of February. And that, the figning the treaty was known in Par liament, when the bills were brought in, is likewife proved by a fpeech of Mr. Charles Fox, on the faid 17th of February, who, in reply to Lord North, informed the Houfe of the treaty being figned, and challenged the Minister's knowledge of the fame fact.*) the arrival of the treaty; but, ftrange as it may appear, every letter' had been taken out, before it was put on board the veffel which brought it from France, and blank white paper put in their Stead. Having thus Stated the time when the propofals from the Britilh Com miffioners were firft received, and likwife the time when the treaty of alliance arrived, and Shewn that the rejeitian of the former was eleven days prior to the arrival of the latter, and without the leaft knowledge of fuch circumftance having taken place or being about to take place ; the re jection, therefore, muft, and ought to be attributed to the fixt unvaried fentiments of America refpefting the enemy She is at war with, and her determination to fupport her inde pendence to the laft poffible effort, and not to any new circumftance in her favour, which at that time She did not and could not know of. Befides, there is a vigour of deter mination and fpirit of defiance in the language of ¦ the rejection, (which *) In CONGRESS, April lid, 1778. " THE Committee, to whom was referred the General's letter of the 18th, con- laining a certain printed paper fent from I'hiladtlphia purporting to be the dranght •f ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 6* Though I am not furprifed to fee tory, acted a,t fo great a diftance fron> the Abbe mistaken in matters of hif- his fphere of immediate obfervation, of a Bill for declaring the intwiont of the Parliament of Great Britain, as to the ex- ercife of what they are pleafed to term their right of impofing taxes within thefe United States ; and alfo the draught of a Bill to enable the King of Great Britain t© appoint Commiffioners, with powers to treat, confult, aad agree upon the means. of quieting certain diforders -within the faid States, beg leave to obferve, " That the faid paper being induftriotifly circulated by emifTaries of the enemy, in a partial and fecret manner, the fame ought to be forthwith printed for the public information. " The Committee cannot afcertain whether the contents of the faid paper have been framed in Philadelphia or in Great Britain,, much lefs whether the fame arejreally find truly intended to be brought into the Parliament of that kingdom, or whether ,the laid Parliament will confer thereon the ufual folemnities of their laws. But are inclined to believe this will happen, for th.e following reafons .- " i ft. Becaufe their General hath made divers feeble efforts to fet on foot fome kind of treaty during the laft winter, though either from- a miftaken idea of his own dignity and importance, the want of information, or fome other caufe, he hath not made application to thofe who are invefted with a proper authority. , " 2dly. Becaufe they fuppofe that the fallacious idea of a ceffation of hostilities will lender thefe States remifs in their preparations for war. " 3dly. >Becaufe/ believing the Americans wearied with war, they fuppofe we will -accede to their terms for the fake of peace. ." 4thly. Becaufe they fuppofe that our negotiations may be fubject to a like cor rupt influence with their debates. " 5th.iv. Becaufe they expect frem this Step the fame effects they did from what one of their minifters thought proper to call his conciliatory motion, viz. that it will prevent foreign powers from giving aid to thefe States.: that it will lead their own fubje&s to continue a, little longer the prefent war ; and that it will detach fome weak men in America from the caufe of freedom and virtue. i " 6thly. Becaufe their King, from his own Shewing, hath reafon to apprehend that his fleets and armies, 'inftead of being employed againft the territories of thefe States, will be neceffary for the defence of his own dominions. And " 7 thly. Becaufe the impracticability of fubjugating this country being every day more and more manifeSl, it is their intereft to extricate themfelves from the war upon any terms. " The Committee beg leave further to obferve, That; upon a fuppofition the matters contained in the laid paper will really go into the Britifli Statute Book, they ferve to Shew, in a clear point of view, the weaknefs and wickednefs of the enemy. " Their Weakness, " ift. Becaufe they foimerly declared, not only that they had a right to bind the inhabitants of thefe States in all cafes whatfoevtr, but alfo that the laid inhabitant? ftiould ab'olutely and unconditionally fubmit to the exercife of that right. And this Sub. miilion they have endeavoured to exacT: by the fword. Receding from this claim, 'therefore, under the prefent circumstances, (hews their inability to enforce it. ' " idly. Becaufe. their PripceJiath heretofore rejected the humbfeft petitions of the -.-Representative^ of America, praying to be considered as fubjeQ% and protected in the enjoyment of pea"ce, liberty and fatety ; and hath waged a moil cruel war againft them, anaighty empire of Britain. «' Udoij ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 63 materials are his own ; created by himfelf; and the error, therefore, is an aft of the mind. Hitherto my remarks have been confined to circumftances ; the order in which they aroS'e, and the events they produced. In thefe my infor mation being better than the Abbe's, my taSk was eafy. How I may fuc- ceed in controverting matters of Sen timent and opinion, with one whom years, experience, and long esta blished reputation have placed in a fuperior line, I am lefs confident in ; but as they fall within the fcope.of my obfervations it would be improper to pafs them over. From this part of the Abbe's work to the latter end, I find feveral ex pressions, which appear to me to Start,- with a cynical complexion* from the path of liberal thinking, or at leaft they are fo involved as to lofe many of the beauties' which diftingiuSh other parts of the perfor- The following is the fcnfwer of Congrefs to the fecond application of the Co; miftisners : T SIR, X HAVE had the honor of laying your letter of the 3d inft. with the ails of the BritiSh Parliament which came inclofed, before Congrefs ; and I am ihftruited to acquaint you, Sir, that they have already expreffed their fentiments upon bills, not effentially different from thofe aits, in a pub lication of the zid of April laft. " Be allured, Sir, when the King His Excellency, Sir Henry Clinton, K. B. Philad. York Town, June 6, 1778. of Great Britain Shall be ferioufly dif- pofed to put an end to the unprovoked and cruel war waged againft thefe United States, Congrefs will readily attend to fuch terms of peace, as may confift with the honor of independent nations, the intereft of their consti tuents, and the facred regard they mean to pay to treaties. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your moft obedient and moft humble firvant, Henry Laurens, Prejident of Congrefs." " Upon the whole matter, the Committee beg leave to report it as their opinion, That as the Americans united in this arduous conteft upon principles of common in tereft, for the defence of common rights and privileges, which union hath been ce mented by common calamities and by mutual good offices and affection, fo the great caufe for which they contend, and in which all mankind are interefted, muft derive its Siiccefs from the continuance of that union. Wherefore any man or body of men, who fliould prefume to make any feparate or partial convention or agreement with Commifiioners under the crown of Great Britain, or any of them, ought to be con sidered and treated as open and avowed enemies of thefe united States. " And further your Committee beg leave to report if as their opinion, That thefe united States cannot, with propriety," hold any conference or treaty with any Commif fioners on the part of Great Britain, unlefi they Shall, as a preliminary thereto, either withdraw their fleets and armies,- or elfe in pofitive and exprefs terms, acknowledge the independence of the faid States. " And inafmuch as it appears to be the dtlign of the enemies of thefe States to. lull them into a fatal fccurity — to the end that they may a£t with a becoming weight and importance, if is the opinion of your Committee, That the feveral States be called upon to ufe the moft Strenuous exertions to have their reflective quotas of con tinental troops in the field as foon as poffible, and that all the militia of the faid 'States be held in readinefs to aft as occafion may require." H PAINE's WORKS. The Abb.e having broughtjiis work to the period when the treaty of al liance between France and the United i ¦ States commenced, proceeds to make fome remarks thereon. " In Short," fays he, " philpfo- " phy, whofe firft fenti'ment is the " defire to fee all governments juft' " and all people happy, in Calling " her eyes upon this alliance of a ,c monarchy, with a people who are " defending their liberty, is curious to " know its motive. ' She fees, at once, " too clearly, that the happinefs of " manlind. has no part in it." Whatever train of thinking or of temper the Abbe might be in, when he penned this exprefiion, matters not. They will neither qualify the fentiment, nor add to .its .defeft. If right, it needs no apology ; ..if wrongs it merits no excufe. ft is fent into the world as an opinion of philofo- phy, and may be examined without regard to the author. It feems to be a defect, connected with ingenuity, that it often employs itfelf more in matters of curiofity, than uSefuhiefs. Man muft be the privy counfellor of fate, or fomething. is not right. He muft know the Springs, the whys and wherefores of every tliinr, or he fits down unfatis- fied. Whether this be a crime, or only a caprice of humanity, I am not enquiring into. I (hall take the paf- fage as I find it, and place my objec tions againft it. It is not fo properly the motives which produced the alliance, as the confluences which are to be produced from it, that mark out the field of philofophical reflection. In the one we only penetrate into the barren cave of fecrecy, where little can be known, and every thing may be mif- conceived ; in the other, the rnind is prefented with a wide extended prof- peft of vegetative good, and fees a thoufand bleffings budding, into. ex istence. But the exprefiion, even within the compafs of the Abbe's meaning, fets out with an error, becaufe it is made to declare that, which no man has au thority to declare. Who can fay that the happinefs of mankind made no part of the motives' which produced the alliance ? To be able to declare this, a man ' muft be poffeffed of the' mind of all the parties concerned, and know that their motives were fomething elfe. In proportion as the independence of America became contemplated anc? understood, the local advantages of it to the immediate actors, and the nu- '" ' ' .- " - * rrrerous benefits it promifed to man kind, appeared to be every day en- creafing ; and we faw not a temporary good for the prefent race only, but a continued good to at! pofterity ; thefe mptives, therefore, added, ,to thofe" which preceded them, became the motives on the part of America, which led her to propofe and agree to the treaty of alliance, as the beft ef fectual method of extending and Se curing happinefs ; and therefore, with refpeft to us, the Abbe is wrong. France, on the other hand, was Situated very differently to America. She was not afted upon by neceffity to feek a friend, and therefore her motive in becoming one, has. the Strongest evidence of being good, and that which is fo, muft have fome. hap pinefs for its object. With regard to herfelf, She faw a train of conv.e-; niencies worthy her attention. By Ieffening the power of an enemy, whom, at the fame time, -She fought Answer to the abbe raynal. *i fceither to deftroy nor diftrefs, She gained an advantage without doing an evil, and created , to herfelf a new friend by affociating with a country in misfortune. The fprings of thought that lead to aftioris of this kind, how ever political they may be, are never - thelefs naturally beneficent ; for in all caufes, good or bad, it is neceffary there Should be a fitnefs in the mind, to enable it to aft in charafter with the objeft : Therefore as a bad caufe cannot»be profecuted with a good mo tive, fo neither can a good caufe be long Supported by a bad one, and as no man afts without a motive^ there fore in the prefent inftance, as they cannot be bad/ they muft be admitted to be good. But the Abbe fets out Upon Such an extended fcale, that he overlooks the degrees by which it is meafured, andrejefts the beginning of good, becaufe the end comes not at once. It is true that bad motive's may iri fome degree be brought to fupport a good caufe or piofecute a good objeft; but it never Continues long, which is not the cafe with France ; for either the object will reform the mind, or, the mind corrupt the object, or elfe not being able, either way, to get into unifcn, they will feparate ih difguft : And this natural, though unpereeived progrefs of affociation or contention between the mind and the objeft, is the fecret caufe of fidelity or defection. Every object a man purfues, is, for the time, a kind of ihiftrefs to his> mind : if both are good er bad, the union is natural ; But if they are in reverfe, and neither can feduce nor yet reform the other, the oppofition grows into difhke and a feparation follows. When the caufe of America firft made her appearance on the ftage of the univerfe, there were many, who, in the ftile of adventurers and for tune-hunters, were dangling in her train, and making their Court to her with every piofeflion of honour and attachment. They were loud in her praife and oftentatious in her fervice. Every place eihoed with their ardour or their anger, and they fe'emed like men in love. But, alas, they were fortune-hunters. Their expectations were excited, but their minds were unimpreffed ; and finding her not to their purpofe, nor themfelves reform ed by her influence, they ceafed their fuit, and in' fome inftances deferted arid betrayed her. There were others, who at firft be held her with indifference, and unac-» quainted with her charafter were cau tious of her company. They treat ed her as ofte, Who, under the fair name Of liberty, might conceal the hideous figure of anarchy; or the gloomy mOnfter of tyranny. They khew not what She was. If fair, fhe was fair irideed. But ftill She was fufpefted, and though born among us .appeared to be a Stranger. Accident with fome, and puriofity with others, brought on a diftant ac quaintance. They ventured to look at her. They felt an inclination to Speak to her. One intimacy led to another, till the fufpicion wore away and a change of fentiment Stole gra dually upon the mind ; and having no felf-intereft to ferve, no paffion of dishonour to gratify, they became en amoured of her innocence, and un altered by misfortune or uninflamed by fuccefsj Shared with fidelity in the varieties of her fate. P o'o PAlSE's WORfti This declaration of the Abbe's refpefting motives, has led me unin- tendedly into a train of metaphyfical reafoning ; but there was no other avenue by which it could fo properly be approached. To place presump tion againft prefumption, affertion againft affertion, is a mode of oppo sition that has no effeft ; and there fore the more eligible method was, to Shew that- the declaration does not eorrefpond with the natural progrefs of the mind and the influence it has uport our conduft. — -I Shall now quit this part, and proceed to what I have before Stated, namely, that it is not fo properly the motives which pro duced the alliance, as the confequen- ces to be produced from it, that mark out the field of phdofophical reflec tion. It is an obfervation I have already made in fome former publication, that the circle, of civilization is yet incomplete. A mutuality of wants have formed the individuals ot each country into a kind of national foci ety ; and here the progrefs of civili zation has ftopt. For it is eafy to fee, that nations with regard to each other (notwithstanding the ideal civil law which every one explains as it fuits him) are like individuals in a State of nature. They are regulated by no fixt principle, governed by no compuISive law, and each does in dependently what it pleafes, or what it can. Were it poffible we could have known the world when in a ftate of barbarifm, we might have concluded, that it never could be brought into the order we now fee it. The un tamed mind was then as hard, if not. harder, to work upon in its indivi dual State, than the national mind is in its prefent one. Yet we have Teen the accomplishment of the one, why then , Should we doubt that of the other ? There is a greater fitnefs in man kind to extend and complete the ci vilization of nations with each other at this day, than there was to begin it with the unconnected individuals at firft s in the fame manner that it is fomewhat eafier to put together the materials of a machine after they are formed, than it was to form them from original matter. The prefent condition of the wot Id differing fo exceedingly from what it formerly was, has given a new caSr. to the mind of man, more than what he ap-. pears to be fenfible of. The wants of the individual, which firft produced the idea of fociety, are now aug* mented into the wants of the nation, and he is obliged to feek from another country what before he fought from the next p;rfon. Letters, the tongue of the world, have in fome meafure brought all mankind acquainted, and, by an ex tension of their ufes, are every day promoting fome new friendship. Through them diftant nations be come capable of conversation, and lpfing by degrees the awkwardnefs of Strangers, and the morofenefs of fuf- picion, they learn to know and un~, derftand each other. Science, thepar- tifan of no country, but the benefi cent patronefs of all, has liberally opened a temple where all may meet. Her influence on the mind, like the' fun on the chilled earth, has long been preparing it for higher cultivation andj further improvement. The philofo-^ pher of one country fees not an enemy. in the philofopher of another : He. takes his feat in the temple of fciehce, and aSks not who fits befidc him. Answer to the abbe raynal. 6f This was not the condition of the barbarian world. Then the wants of man were few, and the objefts within his reach. While he could acquire thefe, he lived in a ftate of indivi dual independence, the confequence of which was, there were as many na tions as perfons, each contending with the other, to fecure fomething which he had, or to obtain Something . which he had not. The world had then no bufinefs to follow, no Studies to exercife the mind. Their. time was divided between Sloth and fatigue. Hunting and war were their chief oc cupations ; Sleep and food their prin cipal enjoyments. -Now it is otherwife. A change in the mode of life has made it necef- lary to be bufy ; and man finds a. thoufand things to do now which be fore he did not. Inftead of placing his ideas of greatnefs in the rude at- Chievements of the favage; he Studies arts, fcience^ agriculture and com merce, the refinements of the gentle man, the principles of fociety, and the knowledge of the philoibpher. There are many things which in themfelves are morally neither good nor bad; but they are productive of confequences, which are Strongly marked with one or other of thefe characters. Thus commerce, though in itfelf a moral nullity, has had a confiderable influence in tempering the human mind. It was the want of objefts in the ancient world, which occasioned in them fuch a rude and perpetual turn for war. Their time hung On their hands without the means of employment. The indo lence they lived in afforded leisure for mifchief, and being all idle at once, and equal in their circumstances, they were eafily provoked or induced to;. action. But the introduition of commerce fornilhed the world with objeitsjj , which in their extent reach every man, and give him fomething to think about; and fomething to do ; by thefe his attention is mechanic , cally drawn from the pUrfuits, which , a ftate of indolence, and an unem ployed mind occafioned, and he trades with the fame countries which former ages; tempted by their produftionsj and too indolent to piirchafe them* would have gone to war with. Thus, as I have already obferved, the condition of the world being ma~ terially changed by the influence of fcience and commerce, it is put into a fitnefs not only to admit ot, but to defire an extension of civilization. The principal and almoftonly remain ing enemy it now has to encounter, is prejudice ; for it is evidently the interest of mankind to agree, and make the beft of life. The world has undergone its divifions of empire; the feveral boundaries of which are known and Settled: The idea of con quering countries, like the Greeks and Romans, does not now exift 5 and experience has exploded the no tion of going to war for the fake of profit: In Short, theVpbjefts for war are exceedingly diminished, and there is now left fcarcely any thing to quarrel about, but what arifes from that demon of fociety, preju dice, and the confequent fulknnefs and untraftablenefs of the temper. There is fomething exceedingly cu rious in the constitution and opera tion of prejudice. It has the Singu lar ability of accommodating itfelf to all the poffible varieties of the F .* 6g PAINE'S WORKS. human mind. Some paSITons and vi ces are but thinly fcattered among mankind, and find only here and there a fitnefs of reception. But prejudice, like the fpider, makes every where its home. It has neither tafte nor choice of place, and all that it requires is room. There is fcarcely a Situation, except fire or water, in which a fpider will not live. So, let the mind be as naked as the walls of an empty and forfaken tenement, gloomy as a dun geon, or ornamented with the richeft abilities of thinking, let it be hot, cold, dark or light, lonely or inha bited, ftill prejudice, if undisturbed, will fill it with cobwebs, and live, like the Spider, where there feems nothing to live on. If the one prepares her food by poifoning it to her palate and her ufe, the other does the fame ; and as feveral of our paffions are Strongly charaftered by the animal world, pre judice may be denominated the Spider of the mind. Perhaps no two events ever uni ted fo intimately and forcibly to com bat and expel prejudice, as the Revo lution of America and the Alliance with France. Their effects are felt, and their influence already extends as well to the old world as the new. Our Stile and manner of thinking have undergone a' revolution more extraor dinary than the political revolution of the country. We fee with other eyes, we hear with other ears ; and think with other thoughts, than thofe we formerly, u fed. We can look back on our own prejudices, as if they had been the prejudices of other people. We now fee and know they were pre judices and nothing elfe, and relieved from their Shackles enjoy a freedom of m,ind, we felt not before. It was not all the argument, however powerful, nor all the reafoning, however elegatn%. that could have produced this change,- fo neceffary to the extenfion of the mind, and the cordiality of the worlds without the two eircumftances of the Revolution and the Alliance. Had America dropt quietly from Britain, no material change, in fen- timent, had taken place. The fame notions, prejudices, and conceits,. would have governed in both coun tries, as governed them before, and ftill the Slaves of error and education^ they would have travelled on in the bea ten track of vulgar and habitual think - ing. But brought about by the means it has been, both with regard to our* felves, to France, and to England, every corner of the mind is Swept of its cobwebs, poifon, and duft, and made fit for the reception of generous happinefs. Perhaps there never was an alli ance on a broader bails, than that between America and France, and the progrefs of it is worth attending to. The countries had been enemies, not properly of themfelves, but through the medium of England. They, ori ginally, had no quarrel with each other, nor any caufe for one, but what arofe from the intereft of England and her arming America againft France. At the fame time, the Americans at a diftance from, and unacquainted with the world, and tutored in all the pre judices which governed thofe who go verned them, conceived it their duty to ait as they were taught. In doing this they expended their fubftance to make conquefts, not for themfelves but for their matters, who in return treated them as Slaves. A long fuceeffion of infolent feveri- ty, and the feparation finally occasi oned by the commencment of hostili ties at Lexington, on the 19th of ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. April, 1775, naturally produced a new difpofition of thinking. As the mind clofed itfelf towards England, it opened itfelf towards the world, and our prejudices, like our oppressions un derwent, though lefs obferved, a men tal examination ; until we found the former as inconsistent with reafon and benevolence, as the latter were re pugnant to our civil and political rights. While we were thus advancing by degrees into the wide field of extend ed humanity, the alliance with France was concluded.. An alliance not formed for the mere purpofe of a day, but on juft and generous grounds, and with equal and mutual advan tages ; and the eafy affectionate man ner in which the parties have fince communicated, has made it an alii-, ance not of courts only but of coun tries. There is now an union of mind as well as of intereft ; and our hearts as well as our prosperity call on us to fupport it. The people of England not having experienced this change, had likewife no idea of it. They were hugging to their bofoms the fame prejudices we were trampling beneath our feet ; and they expefted to keep a hold upon America, by that narrownefs of thinking, which America disdained. What 'they were proud of, we defpif- ed ; and this is a principal caufe why all their negociations, conftrufted on this ground, have failed. . We are now really another people, and can not again go back fo ignorance and 1 prejudice. The mind once enlighten ed cannot again become dark. There is no poSEbility, neither is there any term to exprefs the fuppofition by, pf the mind, aaknowing any thing it already knows ; and therefore all at tempts on the part of England, fitted to the former habit of America, and on the expeftation of their applying now, will be like perfiiading a feeing man to become blind, and a fenfible one to turn an idiot. The firft ef which re unnatural, and the other im- poffible. As to the remark which the Abbe makes of the one country being a. monarchy and the other a republic, it can have no effential meaning. Forms of government have nothing to do with treaties. The former are the in ternal police of the countries feveral- ly ,; the latter, their external police jointly : and fo long as each performs its part, we have no more right or bufinefs to know how the one or the other conduits its domeftic affairs, than we have to enquire into the pri vate concerns of a family. But had the Abbe reflected for a mo ment, he would have feen, that courts or the governing powers of all coun tries, be their forms what they may, are relatively republics with each other. It is the firft and true principle of a] • liancing. Antiquity may have given precedence, and power vyill naturally create importance, but - their equal right is never difputed. It may like- wife be worthy of remarking, that a monarchical Country can fuffer no thing in its popular happinefs by ally ing with a republican one ; and re publican governments have never been destroyed by their external connecti ons, but by fome internal convulsion or contrivance. France has been in alliance with the, republic of Swiffer- land for more than two hundred years, ' and ftill Syvifferland retains her origir rial form, as entire as if She had allied1' with a republic like herfelf ; therefore this remark of the Abbe goes to, no- 70 PAINE's WORKS. thing. — Befides, it is beft that man kind mould mix. There is ever fome thing to learn, either of manners or principle; and it is by a free commu nication, without regard to domeftic matters, that friendship is to be ex tended, and prejudice destroyed all over the world. •But notwithstanding the Abbe's high profefiions in favour of libertyi lie appears fometimes to forget himfehf, or that his theory is rather the child of his fancy than of his judgment : For in almoft the fatrie inftant that he cen'fures the alliance as Hot origi nally or fuflicienfly calculated for the bappineSs of mankind, l.e, by a figure of implication, accufes France for having acted fo generoufly and unre-- fervedly in concluding it. " Why did *' they, (fays he, meaning the Court " of France) tie themfelves down by " an inconsiderate treaty, to conditi- " ons with the Congrefs, which they " might themfelves have held iti.de- " pendence by ample and regular *' Supplies." , When an author undertakes to treat of public happinefs, he ought to be certain that he does not miftake pafiion for light, nor imagination for prin ciple. Principle, like truth, needs no contrivance. It will ever tell its own tale, and tell it the fame way. But where this is not the cafe, every page muft be watched, recoIlefted> and compared,' like an invented fto-, I am furprifed at this paSTage of the Abbe. It means nothing or it means 511 ; and in any cafe it Shews the great difference between Speculative and practical knowledge. A treaty according to the Abbe's language would have neither duration nor. af fection ; it might have laSted to the end of the war, and then expired with it. — But France, by afting in a Stile, fuperior to the li : tie politics of narrow thinking, lias established a generous fame and won the love of a country She was before a Stranger to. She had to treat with a people who thought as na ture taught them ; and, on her own, part, She wifely faw, there wasnopre-. fent advantage to be obtained by uneT qual terms, which could balance the more lafting ones that might flow from a kind and generous beginning. From this part the Abbe advance^ into the fecret tranfaftions of the two Cabinets of Verfailles and Madrid re fpefting the independence of Ameri-j ca ¦; through which I mean not to foU low him. It ia a circumftance fufHci-v ently Striking without being comment ed on, that the former union of Ame rica with Britain produced a power* which in her hands, was becoming dangerous to the world : And there is no improbability in fuppofing, that had the latter known as much of the ftrength of the former, before She be gan the quarrel as She has. known fincej that inftead of attempting to reduce her fo unconditional fubmiffion, She would have propofed to her the con queft of Mexico. But from the coun tries fepafately Spain has nothing to apprehend, though from their union flie had more to fear than any other power in Europe. The part which I Shall more parti cularly confine myfelf to, is that wherein the Abbe takes an opportuni ty of complimenting the BritiSh Mi nistry with high encomiums of admi ration, on their rejecting the offered mediation of the court of Madrid, in 1779. It i-nuft be remembered that before Spain joined France in the war, She ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 7* undertook, ¦ %the office of a mediator and made propofals to the BritiSh King and Ministry fo exceedingly fa vourable to their intereft> that had they been accepted, would have be come inconvenient, if not inadmif- fible, to America. Thefe propofals were neverthelefs rejefted by the BritiSh cabinet ; on which the Abbe fays,— ". It is in fu.ch a circumftance as ' this ; it is in the time when noble ' pride elevates the foul fuperior to .' all terror ; when nothing is Seen c more dreadful than the fhame of receiving the law, and when there \is no doubt or hesitation which to ' chufe, between ruin and dishonour; * it is then, that the greatnefs of a « nation is displayed. I acknow- ' ledge however, that men, accuf- toined to judge of things by the eyent, call great and perilous re- ' folutions, herojfm or raadnefs, ac- ' cording to the good or bad luccefs ' with which they have been, atrend- ' ed'.. If then, I Should be aSked; ' what is the name which Shall in ' years to come be jjiven to the firm- ' .nefs, which was in this moment • exhibited by the English, I Shall ' anfwer ,that I do not know. But t that which it .deferves I know. I _'" know that the annals of the world * hold out to us but rarely, the au- ' gull and majeftic .Spectacle of a ' nation, which drafts rather to ' renounce its duration than its ' glory.?* .In this paragraph the conception is lofty and the expreffion elegant ; but the colouring is too high for the original, and. the likenefs fails through an excels of graces. To fit the powers of thinking and the turn of language to the fubjeftf fo as to bring out a clear conclufiqn that Sha^l hit the point in queftion and nothing elfe, is the true criterion of writing'. But the greater part of the Abbe's writings (if he will pardon the the remark) appear to me uncentral and burthened with variety. They reprer fent a beautiful wildernefs without paths ; in which the eye is diverted by every thing, without being par ticularly directed to any thing ; and in which it is agreeable to be loft', and difficult to find the way out. Before I offer any other remark on the fpirit .and compofition of the above paffage, I Shall compare it with the circumftance it alludes, to. The circumftance then does not deferve the encomium. The rejec tion was not prompted by her forti tude, but her vanity. She did not view it as a cafe of defpair or even of extreme danger, and confequently the determination to renounce her dura tion rather than her glory, cannot apply to the condition of her mind. She had then high expectations of Subjugating .America, and had no other' naval force againft her than Fiance : neither was She certain that i - ¦'. * rejefting the mediation of Spam would combine that power with France. " New mediation's might arife more favourable than thofe She had refilled. But if they Should not, and Spain Should join, She Still faw that it would only bring out her naval force againft France and Spain, which was not wanted and could not be em ployed againft. America, and habits of thinking had taught her to believe herfelf fuperior to both. But in any cafe to which the con fequence might point, there was no thing to imprefs her with the idea of renouncing her duration. It is not 7* PAINE's WORKS. the policy of Europe to fuffer the extinction of any power, but only to lop off or prevent its dangerous in creafe. She was likewife freed by Situation from the internal and imme diate horrors of invafion ; was rolling In diflipation and looking for con quests ; and tho' She fuffered nothing but the expence of war, the ftill had a greedy eye to magnificent reimburfe- irient. But if the Abbe is delighted with high and Striking Singularities of cha racter, he might, in America, have found ample field for encomium. Here was a people, who could not know what part the world would take, for or againft them; and who were venturing on an untried fcheme, in opposition to a power, againft which more formidable nations had failed. They had every thing to learn but the principles which fup- ported them, and every thing' to pro cure that was neceffary for their de fence. They have at times feen themfelves as low as diftrefs could make them, without Shewing the leaft Stagger in their fortitude ; and been raifed again by the moft unex pected events, without difcovering an unmanly difcompofure of joy. To hefitate or to defpair are conditions equally unknown in America. Her mind was prepared for every thing ; becaufe her original and final refolu- tion of fucceeding or perishing i«« eluded all poffible circumftances. The rejection of the British, propo. fitions in the year 1778, circurn- ftanced as America was at that time'j is a far greater inftance of unShakeii fortitude than the refufal of the SpaniSh mediation by the Court of London : And other historians, .be* fides the Abbe, Struck with the vafi> nefs of her conduft therein, have? like himfelf, attributed it to a circum.- (lance which was then unknown,,, the alliance with France. Their error. Shews their idea of its gieatnefs ; be, caufe, in order to account for itj they have fought a caufe fluted to its magnitude, withoift knowing,, that * the caufe exifted in the principles of; the country.*) But this paflionate encomium ofr the Abbe is defervedly Subject to moral and philosophical objeitions. It is the effufion of wild thinking,.- and has a tendency to prevent that humanity of refleftion which the cri minal conduft of Britain enjorhs on her as a duty. — It is a laudanum to courtly iniquity. — It keeps in intoxr;'- icated Sleep the confeience of a na tion ; and more mifchief is effected by wrapping up guilt in fplendid ex- cjife, than by direftly patronizing it. Britain is now the Only country which holds the world in disturbance and war ; and inftead of paying *) ExtraS from " A Jhert review of the prefent reign" in England. Page 45. in the New Annual Register for the year 1780. " The Commissioners, who, in confequence of Lord North's conciliatory bills, *' went'over to America, to propofe terms of peace to the colonies, were wholly un- " fucceffful. The conceflions which formerly would have, been received with the ut- " rnoft gratitude, were rejected with difdain. Now wa= the time of American pride f a~nd haughtinefs. ft is probable, however, that it was not pride and haughtinefs " alone that diftated the Refolutions of -Congrefi, but a diftruft of the fincerity of " the offers of Britain, a determination not to give op their independence, and, *' ABOVE ALL, THE FNGAGtMFHT= INTO WHICH TllliV HAD ENTER2D By THEIR *' LATE TREATY WITH FRANCE." ¦ ¦ k- ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 1% {Compliments to the excefs of her .crimes, the Abbe would have appear ed much more in charafter, had he put to her, or to her monarch, this ferious queftion— Are there not miferies enough in the world, too difficult to be encoun tered and too pointed to be borne, without Studying' to enlarge the liSt ahd arming it with new tleftruftion ? Is life fo very long, that it is necef fary, nay even a duty, to Shake the fand and haften out the period of du ration ? Is the path So elegantly fmooth, ft) decked on every fide and carpeted with joys, that wretched- riefs is wanted to enrich it as a foil ? Go afk thine aching heart when far row from a thoufand caufes wound it, go aSk thy Sickened felf When every medicine fails, whether ! this be the cafe or not ? Quitting my remarks on this head, I proceed to another, in which the Abbe" 'has let loofe a vein of ill-na ture, and, what is ftill worfe, of in justice. '¦ After cavilling at the treaty, he goes on to charafterize the feveral parties combined in the' war — " Is it " poffible," fays the Abbe, " that " a Strift union Should long fublift " amongft confederates of characters " fo Opp'oSite as the hafty, light, dif- " dainful Frenchman, the jealous, " haughty, fly, flow, circumfpeftive '* Spaniard, and the American, who " is fecretly fnatching' looks at the ?' mother country, ' and would re- " joice, were they compatible with " his independence, at the difafters *' of his allies." To draw fooliSh portraits of each- other, is a, mode of attack and repri sal, which the greater part of man- j£ind are fond of indulging. The ferious philofopher Should be above itf more especially in cafes from which no poffible good can arife, and mif- chief may, and where no received provocation can palliate the offence. — ¦ The Abbe might have invented a dif ference of charafter for eyery country in the world, and they in return might find others for him, till in the war of wit all real charafter is loft. The pleafaiitry of one nation or the gra vity of another may, by a little pen ciling, be distorted into whimfical features, and the painter become as much laughed at as the painting. But why did not the Abbe look a little deeper and bring forth the ex cellencies of the feveral parties ? Why did he not dwell with pleafure on that greatnefs of charafter, that fuperi- ority of heart, which has marked /the cpnduft of France in her conquefts, and which has forced an acknowledg ment even from Britain. There is one line, at leaft, (and many others might be difcovered) in which the confederates unite, which is, that of a rival eminence in their treatment of their enemies. Spain, in her conqueft of Minorca and the Bahama islands confirms this remark. America has been invariable in her lenity from the beginning of the war, notwithstanding the high pro vocations She has experienced. It is England only who has been infolent and cruel. But why muft America be charged with a crime undeferved by her con duft, more fo by her principles, and which, if a fail, would be fatal to her honour ? I mean that of want of attachment to her allies, or rejoicing in their difafters. She, it is true, Ira's been affiduous in Shewing to the world that She was not the aggreffor 7Sr PAINE's WORKS. towards, England, that the quarrel was not of her Seeking, or, at that time, even of her wishing,. But to draw in fo en ccs from her candour, and even from her juftificat ion, to Stab ber cha racter by, arid 1 See nothing elfe Srum which they can be luppofed to be. drawn, is unkind and unjuft. Does her rejection of the BritiSh propofitions in 1778, before She knew of any alliance with France, corres pond with the Abbe's description of her mind? Does, a fingle inftance of her conduct Since that time juftify it ? — But there is ftill better, evidence to ap ply to, which is, that of ail the mails, which at. different times have been way- laid on the road, in divers parts of America, and taken and carried into New-York, ami from which the moft fecret and confidential private letters, as well as thofe from authori ty, have been publifhed, not one of them, I repeat it, not a Single one of them, gives countenance to fuch a charge. This is .not a country where men are under government restraint in fpeaking ; and if there is any kind of restraint, it arifes from . a fear of po pular refentment. Now, if nothing in her private or public correspon dence favours Such a fuggeftion, and if t ,e genera] difpofition of the country is Such as to make it unfafe for a man tn Shew an appearance of joy at any d;faiter to her ally, on what grounds, I aSk, can theacciifetion Stand ? What company the Abbe may have kept in France, we cannot know; but this we know, that the account, he gives does not apply to America. Had the Abbe been in America at the time the news arrived of the difaf- tpi of the fleet, under Count de GrafJ:, in the Weft- Indies, he would have feen his yaft miftake. Neither do I remember any inftance, except the lofs of Charleftown, in which the public mind faltered more fevere and pungent concern, or underwent more agitati ons of hope and apprehenfion as to the truth or fall'ehood of the report. Had the lofs been all our own it could not have had a deeper effeft, yet it was not one of thefe cafes which reached to the independence of America. In the geographical account which the Abbe gives of the Thirteen Statesj he is So. exceedingly erroneous, that to attempt a particular refutation! would exceed the limits. I have pre ferred t;o myfelf. And as it is a mat ter neither, political, historical, nor Sentimental, and which can aly/ays be contradicted by the extent and natural circumstances of the country, I Shall, pals it over; with this additional re- markj.that 1 neve/ yet faw an Euro pean defcription pf America that was. true, neither can any perfon gain1 a juft id.ea pf it, but by coming to it. Though I have 'already extended this letter beyond what I at firft pro'-' poled, I am, neverthelefs, obliged to ornjt many obfervations, I originally designed to have made. I wiSh there had bgen no occafion for making any. But the wrong ideas which the Abbess work had a tendency to excite, and the prejudicial irjipreffions .they might m.ake, muft be an apology for my remarks, and the fjeedom with which they are done. I obferve the Abbe has made a fort of epitome of a confiderable part of the pamphlet Common Senfe, and in troduced it in that form into his pub lication. But, there are other places where the Abbe has borrowed freely from the fame pamphlet without ac knowledging it. The difference .be- ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. H- tween ¦fociety and government, with which the pamphlet opens,, is taken from it, and in fome expressions almoft literally, into the Abbe's work, as if- Originally his own ; and through the whole of the Abbe's remarks on this head, the idea in Common Senfe is io clofrly copied, and purfued, that the difference is. only in words, and in. the arrangement of the thoughts, and not in the thoughts themfelves *. But as it is time I Should come to s. conclufipn of my letter, I Shall for bear all further observations on the * Common Sense- *' Same writers, have fo confounded fociety with government, as' to leave lit tle or no distinction between them : whereas they are not only different, but have differCut origins." ' " Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wiekedriefs ; the former promotes our haupinefs pofitively, by uniting ouf affcdYions, the latter nega tively, by restraining our vices," Abbe Raynal. ',' Caremuflbe taken not to confound together fociety with government. That they may be known distinctly, their origin Should be confidered." " Society originates in the wants of men, government in their vices. Socie ty tends always to good; government ought always to tend to the reprefTing of evil." In the following paragraphs there is lefs likenefs in the language, hut the ideas in the one are evidently copied from the other. Common §ense., " In order to gain a clear and juftudea of the detign'and end of government, let 'tis fuppofe a fmalt -number of perfons, meeting in fome -fequpftered '.part of the earth unconnected with the reft ; they will then Teprefent the peopling of any country or of the world In this ftate of natural liberty, fociety will be our Suit ¦thought. A thoufand motives will excite them thereto. The Strength of one man is fo unequal to his wants, and his mind fo unfitted for jierpetual Solitude, that he is foon obliged to feek aiEStance of ano ther, who, in his* turn requires the Same. Tour or five united would" be able to raife a tolerable dwelling in the midft of a wil dernefs ; but one man might labour out" the common period of life, without accom plishing any thing ; when he had felled hfs timber, he could not remove it, hot erect it. after it was removed ; hunger, in the mean time, would urge him from his work, arid every different want call him . a different way. Difeafe, nay even mif- fortune, would be death ; for though neU tber might' be immediately mortal, yet either of them would difable' him from living, and reduce him to a ftate in which he, might. rather be faid to perilVthan to iiie. — Thus neceffity, like a gravitating power, would form our newiy arrived emigrants into fociety, the reciprocal blef- fings of which would l'upcrfede and render Abbe Raynal. " Man, thrown, as' it were, by chance upon the globe, furrounded by all the evils of nature, obliged continually to .defend and -protect his life againft tire Storms and tempefts of. the air, ajainft the inundations of water, againft the Sire of volcanoes, againft the intemperance' of rigid and torrid zones, againft the Steri lity of the earth, which rcfufesjiim alii. ment, or its baneful fecundity, which makes poifon fpring up beneath his feet ; in. Short, againft the claws and teeth of Savage beads, who difpute with him his habitation and his prey, and, attacking his perfon, fcem refolved to render them felves rulers of this globe, of which he thinks himftlf to be the matter ; .Man, in this ftate, alone and abandoned to himfelf, could do nothing for his prefervation. It was neceffary, therefore, that he .Should unite himfelf, and aSJpciate with his like, in order fo bring together their ftrength and intelligence in common Stock. It is by this upton that he has triumphed over fo many evil', that he has falhioned this globe to his ufe, restrained the rivere, fub- jugate'd the feas, infured his fubfiftence, conquered a part of the animals in ob liging them to ferve him, and driven others far from his empire, to the depth of deferts or of woods, where their num ber diminishes from age to age. What. a man alone would not have been able to effect. 7° PAINE's WORK'S. Abbe's work, and take a concife view of the ftate of public affairs, fince the time in which that performance was published. A mind habited to aitions of mean ¦ nefs and injtiftice, commits them with out reflection, or with a very partial one ; for on what other ground than this, can we account for the declara tion of war againft the .Dutch : To gain an idea of the politics which ac tuated the BritiSh Ministry to this jneafure, we muft enter into the opi nion which they, and the English in general, had formed of the .temper of the Dutch nation ; and from thence infer what their expectation of the Confequences would be. Could they have imagined that Hol land would have ferioufly made a com mon caufe with France, Spain, and America, the British Ministry would never have dared to provoke them. It would have been a madnefs in po litics to have done fo; unlefs their •views were to haSJlen on a period of fuch emphatic diStrefs, as Should jus tify the conceffions which they faw they muft one day or other make to the world, and for which they waited an apology to them.felv.es. — There is a temper in fome men which feeks a pre tence for SubmiSlion. Like a Ship dif- abled in action and unfitted to conti- Common Sense. the obligations of law and government Knneceffary, while they remained perfect ly juO to each other. But as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice, it will un avoidably happen, that in proportion as they furmount the firft difficulties of emi gration, which bound, • them together in a common caufe, they will begin to relax in their duty and attachment to each other, and this rerr4ffnefs will point out the ne- rcffity of establishing lome form of go vernment to fupply the deftQ of moral virtue." nue it, it waits the approach of a Still larger one to Strike to, and feels relief at the opportunity. Whether this is greatnefs or littlenefs of mihd, I am not enquiring into. I Should fup pofe it to be the latter, becaufe it pro ceeds from the want of knowing how to bear misfortune in its original •ftate. But the fabfequent conduft of the BritiSh cabinet has Shewn that this was not their plan of politics, and conse quently, their rnotives muft be fought for in another line. The truth is, that the BritiSh had formed a very humble opinion of the Dutch nation. They looked on them, .as a people who would Submit tp-any thing ; that they might inSult them as they liked, plunder them as they pleafed, and (till the Dutch dared not to be provoked. If this be taken as the opinion of the BritiSh Cabinet, the meafure is eaw fily accounted for; becaufe it goes on the fuppofition, that when, by a de claration of hostilities, they had rob bed the Dutch of fome millions Ster ling, (and to rob them was popular) they could make peace with them again whenever they pleafed, and on almoft any terms the BritiSh Ministry Should propofe. And no fooner was the plundering committed, than the( Abbe Raynal. effecT:, men have executed in concert ; and altogether they preferve their work. Such is the origin, fuch the advantages, and the end of fociety. — Government owes its birth to the neceffity of preventing and repreffing the injuries which the affocia- te'd individuals had to fear from one ano ther. It is the centinel who watches, iri order that the common labours be not disturbed." ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 77 accommodation was fet on foot, and failed. When once the mind lofes the fenfe of its own dignity, it lofes, likewife, the ability of judging of it in another. And the American war has thrown Britain into fuch a variety of Abfard fituations, that, arguing from her- felf, She fees not in what conduct na tional dignity eonSifts in other coun tries. From Holland She expefted duplicity and fubmiffion, and this miftake arofe from her having ailed, in a number of instances during the prefent war, the fame charafter her- fclf. ' To be allied to, or connected with Britain, Seems to be an unfafe and impolitic Situation. Holland and America are instances of the reality of this remark. Make thofe coun tries the allies of Franceor Spain, and Britain will court them with civility, ajid treat them with refpeft ; make them her own allies, and She will in- fult and plunder them. In the firft cafe, She feels fome apprehensions at offending them, becaufe they have fup port at hand; in the latter, thofe ap prehensions do not exift. Such, how- eyer, has hitherto been her conduft. Another meafure which has taken place Since the publication of the Abbe's work, and likewife fince the time of my beginning this letter, is the change in the British minifti-y, What line the new cabinet will pur- foe refpefting America, is at this time unknown ; neither is it very ma terial, unlefs they are ferioufly dif- pofed to a general and honourable peace.- , Repeated experience has Shewn, not only the impracticability of conquer ing America, but the (till higher impofiibility of conquering her mind, or recalling her back to her former condition of thinking. Since the- commencement of the war, which i» now approaching to eight years, thou fands and tens of thoufands have ad vanced, and are daily advancing into the firft ftage of manhood, who know nothing of Britain but as a barba rous enemy, and to whom the inde pendence of America appears as much' the natural and eftabliShed government of the country, as that of England does to an Englishman. And on the other hand, thoufands of the aged, who had British idea's, have dropped, and are daily dropping, from the ftage of bufinefs and life. The natural progrefs of generation and decay oper ates every hour to the disadvantage of Britain. Time and death, hard ene mies to contend with,, fight constant ly againft her intereft ; and the bills of mortality, in every part of Ameri ca, are the thermometers of. her de cline. The children in the Streets are from their cradle bred to consider her as their only foe. They hear of her cruelties ; of their fathers,, uncles, and kindred killed; they fee the re- mains of burnt and destroyed' houfess and the common tradition of the fchool they go to, tells them, thofe things- were done by the Britijh. Thefe are circumitances which the mere English State politician, who considers man only in, a ftate of man hood, does hot attend to. He gets entangled -with parties coeval' or equal with himfelf at home, and thinks not how fad the rising generation in America is growing beyond his know ledge of them, or they of him. In a few years all perfonal remembrance will be loft, and who is King or Mi nister in England, will be little known and fcarcely enquired after. The new British administration is compofed of perfons who have ever ys PAINE'S: W6RKS. been againft the war, and who have constantly reprobated all the violent meafures of the, former one. They confidered the American war as de structive to themfelves, and oppofed it on that ground. But what are fhefe things to America ? She has no thing to do with English! parties. The ins and the outs are nothing to her. It is the whole country She is at war with, or muft be at peace with. Were every Minister in England a Chatham, it would now weigh little or nothing in the fcale of American politics. Death has preferved to the memory of this ftatefman, that fame, which he, by living, would have loft. His plans and Opinions, towards the latter part of his life, would have been attended with as many evil con- fequences, and as much reprobated here, as thofe of Lord North ; and, considering him a wife man, they abound with inconsistencies amount ing to abSiirdities. It has apparently been the fault of many in the late minority, to fuppofe, that America would agree to certain terms with them, were they in place, which flie would not ever liften to from the then administration. This idea can anfwer no other purpose than to prolong the war ; and Britain may, at the expence of many more mil lions, learn the fatality of fuch mif- takes. If the new ministry wifely avoid this hopelefs policy, they will prove themfelves better pilots, and wifer men, than they are conceived to be ; for it is every day expefted to fee their bark Strike upon fome hidden rock and go to pieces. But there is a line in which they may be great. A more brilliant opening needs not to prefent itfelf f and it is fuch a one,* as true magnani mity would improve, and humanity rejoice in. A total reformation is wanted in England. She wants an expanded mind, — an heart which embraces the univerfe. Inftead of Shutting herfelf up in an ifland, and quarrelling with the, world, She. would derive more lading happinefs, and acquire more real riches, by . generoufly' mixing with it, and bravely faying, I am the- enemy of none. It is not now a time for little contrivances, or artful politics. The European world is toqn" experienced to be impofed upon, aria America too wife to be duped. It muft be fomething new and mafterly that muft fucceed. The idea of fe- ducing America from her indepen dence, or corrupting her from her al liance; is a thought too little for a great mind, and impoSfible for any honeft one, to attempt. Whenever politics are applied to debauch man kind from their integrity, ahd dif- folve the virtues of human nature^ they become deteftab'Ie j and to be a ftatefeman upon" this plan", is to be a commissioned villain. He who aims at it, leaves a vacancy in his charac ter, which may be filled up with the. worft of epithets. If the difpofition of England Should be fuch, as not to agree td a general and honourable peace, and that- the war muft, at all events, continue longer, I cannot help wishing, that the alliances which America has or may enter into, may become the only objefts of the war. She wants an opportunity of Shewing to the world, that She holds her honour as dear and facred as her independence, and that She will in no fituation forfake thofe; whom no negotiations could induce ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL. 79 to forfake her. Peace to every re flective mind is a defirable objeft ; but that peace which is accompanied with a ruined charafter, becomes a crime to the feducer, and a curfe upon the Seduced. . But where is the. impoflibility, or even the great difficulty, of England forming a friendship with France and Spain, and making it a national vir tue to renounce for ever thofe preju diced inveteracies it has been her cuf- tpm to cfaerilh ; and which, while they ferve to Sink her with an en- crealing enormity of debt, by involv ing her in fruitlefs wars, become like- wife the bane of her repofe, .and the deftruftion of her manners? We had once the fetters that fhe has now, but experience has (hewn us the miftake, and thinking juftly has fet us right. The true idea of a great nation is that which extends and promotes the principles of univerfal fociety. Whofe mind rifes above the atmospheres of local thoughts, and confiders man kind, of whatever nation or profef- fion they may be, as the work of one Creator. The i'age for conqueft has had its faShion, and its day; Why may not the amiable virtues have the- fame ? The Alexanders and Caefars of antiquity, have left behind them their monuments of 'deftruftion, and are remembered with hatred ; while thefe more exalted charafters, who firft taught fociety and fcienee, are bleft with the gratitude of every age' and country. Of more ufe was one philofopher, though a heathen, to the world, than all the heathen conquerors that ever exifted. Should the prefent revolution be distinguished by opening a new fyf- tem of extended civilization, it will receive from heaven the higheft evi- - dence of approbation: and as this is a fubjeft to which the Abbe's powers are fo eminently Suited, I recommend it to his attention, with the affection of a friend, and the ardour of a uni verfal citizen. MAINE'S WORKS. POSTSCRIPT. s. 1 1 N C E clofing the foregoing letter, fome intimations, refpefting a general peace, have made their Way to Ame rica. On what authority or founda tion they Stand, Or how near Or re mote Such an event may be, are cir cumstances I am not enquiring into. But as the Subject muft Sooner or later become a matter of ferious attention, it may not be improper, even at this early period, candidly to inveftigate fome points that are connected with it, or lead towards it. The independence of America is at this moment as firmly eftabliShed as any country in a ftate of war. It is not length of time, but power, that gives (lability. Nations at war know N nothing of each other on the fcere of an tiquity. It is their prefent and imme diate Strength, together with their con nections, that muft fupport them. To which we may add, that a right which originated to-day, is as. much a right, as if it had the fanftion of a thoufand j ears ; and therefore the independence and prelent governments' of America are in no more danger of being fub- verted, becaufe they are modern, than that of England is fecure, becaufe it is ancient/ The politics of Britain, fo far as thi'i respected America, were ori^ ginally conceived in idiotiSm, and acted in inadnefs . There is not a ftep which bears the fmalleft trace of rati onality. In her management of the war, She has laboured to be wretched, and' Studied to be hated ; and in all her former prepofitions for accommo dation, She has difcovered a total ig norance of mankind, and of thoSe' natural and unalterable fenfations by which they are fo generally governed.' How She may conduft herfelf in the prefent or future bufinefs of negoti ating a peace, is yet to be proved. He is a weak politician who does' not understand human nature, and penetrate into the eSteft which mea- fures of government will have upon the mind. All the mifcarriages of Britain ha\/e' aiifen from this defect.. The former Ministry afted as if they fuppofed mankind to be without a mind; and the prefent Miniftry, as if America was without a memory. The one muft have fuppofed we were incapable of feeling ; and the others m that we could not remember inju ries. There is likewife another line in1 which politicians miftake, which is that of not rightly calculating, or ra ther of misjudging, the confequence which any given circumftance will produce. Nothing is more frequent^ as well in common as in political- life* than to hear people complain, that fnch or fuch means produced an event directly contrary to their intentions. But the fault lies in their not judging' rightly what the event would be ; for the means produced only its proper and natural confequence. It is very probable, that in a treaty for peace, Britain will contend for fome, poft or other in North America 5 pertsie ^Cr^da or Halifax, or both : ancfd .jjpier Jhis from the known defi- cienoM of\her, politics, which have ever JSt made «fe of means, whofe ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL* She cannot draw from them a revenue until they are able to pay one, and when they are fo, they will be above fubjeftion. Men foon become attach ed to the foil they live upon, and in corporated with the prosperity of the place ; and it Signifies but little what opinions they come over with, for time, interest, and new conneftions Will fender them obfolete, and the next generation know nothing of them; Were Britain truly wife She would lay hold of the prefent opportunity to difentangle herfelf from all continen tal embarraffments in North-America* and that not only to avoid future broils and troubles, but to fave ex pences. F6r to fpeak explicitly on the matter, I would not, were I an, European power, have Canada, under the conditions that Britain muft re tain it, could it be given to me. It is one of thofe kind of dominions that is, and ever will be, a conftant charge upon any foreign holder. As to Halifax, it will become ufe- lefs to England after the prefent war, and the lofs of the United States. A harbour; when the dominion is gone, for the purpofe of which only it was wanted, can be attended only with expence. There are, I doubt not, thoufands of people in England; who fuppofe, that thofe places are a profit to the nation, whereas they are di- reitly the contrary, and inftead of pro ducing any revenue, a confiderable part of the revenue of England is annually drawn off, to fupport the expence of holding them. Gibraltar is another inftance of na tional ill policy. A poft which in, time of peace is not wanted, and in time of war is of no ufe, muft at all times be ufelefs. Inftead of affording protection to a navy, it requires the aid of one to maintain it. Arid to fup- G Si PAINE's WORKS. pofe that Gibraltar commands the Mediterranean, or the pafs into it,, or the trade of it, is to fuppofe a de tected falfehood ; becaufe though Bri tain holds the poft, She has loft the other three, and every benefit She ex pefted from it. And to fay that all this happens becaufe it is befieged by land and water, is to fay nothing, for this will always be the cafe in time of war, while France and Spain keep up fuperior fleets, and Britain holds the place. — So that, though as an impe netrable inaccessible rock it may be held by the one, it is always in the power of the other to render it ufelefs and exceffively chargeable. I Should luppofe that one of the principal objefts of Spain in befieging it, is to (how to Britian, that though She may not take it, She can command it, that is, She can Shut it up, and prevent ' its being ufed as a har bour, though not a garrifon. — But the Short way to reduce Gibraltar, is, to attack the BritiSh Sleet ; for Gibral tar is as dependent on a Sleet for fupport 'as a bird is on its wing for food, and when wounded there it Starves. There is another circumftance which the people of England have not only not attended to, but feem to be utterly ignorant of, and that is, the difference between permanent power, and accidental power, consi dered in a national fenfe. By permanent power, I mean, a natural inherent and perpetual ability in a nation, which though always in being, may not be always in aftion, or not always advantageoufly directed ; &nd by accidental power, I mean, a fortunate or accidental difpofition or exercife of national fticngth, in whole or in part. There undoubtedly was a time when any one European nation, with only eight or ten Ships of war, equal to the prefent Ships of the line, could have carried terror to all others, who had not began to build a navy, however great their natural ability might be for that purpole s But this can be considered only as accidental, and not as a Standard to compare permanent power by, and could laft no longer than until thofe powers built as many or more (hips than the former. After this a larger fleet was neceffary, in order to be fuperior ; and a Still larger would again fupercede it. And thus mankind have gone on building fleet upon fleet, as occafion or fituation diftated; And this reduces it to an original queftion, which is : Which power can build and man the largeft number of Ships ? The natural anfwer to which, is, That power which has the largeft revenue and the greateSt number of inhabitants, provided its fituation of Coaft affords fufficient conveniencies. France being a nation on the con tinent of Europe, and Britain an iilanJ in its neighbourhood, each of them derived different ideas from their different fituations. The inha bitants of Britain could carry on no foreign trade, nor ftir from the fpot they dwelt upon, without the affift ance of fhipping : but this was not the cafe with France. The idea therefore of a navy did not arife to France from the fame original and im mediate neceffity which produced it to England. But the queftion is, that when both of them turn their atten tion, and employ their revenues the fame way, which can be fuperior ? The annual revenue of France is nearly double that of England, and her number of inhabitants more thaa twice as many. Each of them has the fame length of coaft on the channel^ ANSWER TO THE ABBE RAYNAL.' n befides which, France has feveral hundred miles extent on the bay of Bifcay, and an opening on the Me diterranean : and every day proves, that practice and exercife make failors, 4s well as" foldiers, in' one country as well as another. If then Britain can maintain an hundred Ships of the line, France can as well fupport an hundred and fifty, becaufe her revenues and her popula tion are as equal to the one as thofe of England are to the other. And thi only reafon why She has not done it, is becaufe She has not till very lately ittended to it. But when She fees, as She now fees, that a navy is the firft engine of power, She can eafily ac complish it. England very falSely, and ruinoufly for herfelf, infers, that becaufe She had the advantage of France, while France had the fmaller navy, that for that reafon it is always to be fo. Whereas it may be, clearly feen, that the ftrength of France has never yet been tried on a navy, and that She is able to be as fuperior to England in the extent of a navy, as (lie is in the extent of her revenues and her popu lation; And England may lament the day, when, by her infolence and Snjuftice, She provoked in France a maritime difpofition. T It is in the power of the combined fleets to conquer every ifland in the Weft Indies; and reduce all the Bri tish navy in thofe places. For were France and Spain to (end their whole naval force in Europe to thofe islands, it would not be in the power of Bri tain to follow them with an equal force. She would {till be twenty or thirty Ships inferior, were She to fend every veffel She had, and in the mean time all the foreign trade of England would lay expofed to tM Dutch. It is a maxim; which, I am per.. fuaded, will ever hold good, and more especially in naval operations, that a great power ought never to move in detachments, if it can poffibly. be avoided ; but to go with its whole force to fome important object, the reduction of which Shall have a deci sive effeft upon the war; Had the whole of the French and Sp'anifh fleets in Europe come laft fpring to the Weft Indies, every ifland had been their own; Rodney their prifoner, and his fleet their prize. From the United. States the combined fleets can be Sup plied with provisions, without the neceffity of drawing them from Eu rope, which is not the cafe with England. Accident has thrown Some advan tages in the Way of England, which* from the inferiority of her navy, She had not a right to expect. For though She has, been obliged to fly before the combined. Sleets, yet Rodney ha* twice had the fortune to fall in with detached Squadrons; to which he was fuperior in, numbers : The firft off Cape St. Vincent, where he had near ly two to one, and the other in the Weft Indies, where he had a majority of.fix Ships. Victories of this kind almoft produce themfelves. They are won without honor, and fuffered with out difgrace : And are afcribable to the chance of meeting, not to the fu- periority of fighting. For the fame Admiral, under whom they were ob tained; was unable, in three former engagements, to make .he leaft im- preffion on a fleet cohfifting of ar* equal number of Ships with his own, G 7, «.' PAiNE's W.ORK& and compounded for the events by de clining the aftions *. To conclude : if it may be faid that Britain has numerous enemies, it like- wife proves that She has given nu merous offences. Infolence is fare to provoke hatred, whether in a nation or an individual. The want of manners in the British court may be feen even in its birth- days and new- years odes, which are calculated to in fatuate the vulgar, and difguft the man of refinement : And her former overbearing rudenefs, and infiifferable injuftice on the feas, have made eve ry commercial nation her foe. Her fleets were employed as engines of prey ; and afted on the furface of the deep the charafter which the Shark does beneath it. — On the other hand the Combined Powers are taking a po pular part, and will render their re putation immortal, by eftablifhing the perfeft freedom of the ocean, to which all countries have a right, and are in terested in accomplishing. The Sea is the world's highway ; and he who ar rogates a prerogative over it, tranf- greffes the right, and juftly brings on himfelf the chaftifement of nations. Perhaps it might be of fome fervice to the future tranquillity of mankind, were an article introduced into the1 next general peace, that no one nation mould, in time of peace, exceed a certain number of (hips of war. Some thing of this kind feems neceffary ; for according to the prefent faShion, half the world will get upon the wa ter, and there appears no end to the extent to which navies may be carried. Another reafon is, that navies add noT thing to the manners or morals of a people. The fequeftered life which attends the fervice, prevents the op portunities of fociety, and is too apt to occafion a coarS'enefs of ideas and language, and that more in Ships of war than in commercial employ ; be caufe in the latter they mix more with the world, and are nearer related to it. I mention this remark as a gene ral one ; and not applied to any one country more than another. Britain has now had the trial of above feven years, with an expence of nearly an hundred million pounds fter ling ; and every month in which She delays to conclude a peace, colls her another million fterling, over and above her ordinary expences of go vernment, which are a million more ;¦ fo that her total monthly expence is two million pounds fterling; which is equal to the whole yearly expence of America, all charges included. Judge then who is beft able to continue it. She has likewife many atonements to make to an injured world, as well in one quarter as another. And inftead of purfuing that temper of arrogance, which ferves only to Sink her in the efteem, and entail on her the diilike, of all nations, She will do well t» reform her manners, retrench her ex pences, live peaceably with her neigh-' bours, and think of war no more. * See the ccounts, either English or French, of three aftions in the Weft Indies, between Count dc Guichen and Admiral P^odney, in 1780. Philadelphia, Auguft zi, 1783. P A I NE's W O R K'S: LETTER, T.Q THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWN. A My Lord, SPEECH which has been printed in feveral of the BritiSh and New- York Newfpapers, as coming from your LordShip, in anfwer to one from the Duke of Richmond of the ioth of July laft, contains expreffions and opinions fo new and Angular, and fo enveloped in myfterious reafoning, that I addrefs this publication to you, for the purpofe of giving them a free and candid examination. The fpeech I allude to is in thefe words : " /His LordShip faid, it had been " mentioned in another place, that " he had been guilty of inconsistence. " To ' clear himfelf of this, he af- " ftrfed that he ftill held the fame " principles in refpeft to American *' Independence which he at firft im- " bibed^'He had been, and yet was " of opinion, whenever the Parlia- " ment ' of Great Britain acknow. " ledges that point, ithe fun of Eng- " land's glory is fet for ever. Such " were the fentiments hg poffeffed on 'f ar former day, and fuch the fenti-' " ments he continued to hold at this " hour. It was the opinion of Lord "Chatham, as well as many able " ftatefmen. Other noble Lords, " however, think differently ; and as " the majority of the Cabinet fup- " port them, he acquiefced in the " meafure, diffenting from the idea ; " and the point is fettled for bring- " ing the matter into the full dif- " cuffion of Parliament, where it " will be candidly, fairly, and ini- " partially debated. The Indepen- " dence of America would end in the " ruin of England ;. and that a peace " patched up with France would give " that proud enemy the means of " yet trampling on this country. " The fun of England's glory he " wished not to fee fet for ever ; he " looked for a fpark at leaft to be " left, which might in time light us e< up to a new day. But if Indepen- " dence was to be granted, if Par- " liament deemed that meafure pru- " dent, he forefaw in his own mind " that England was undone. He " wished to God that he had been " deputed to Congrefs, that he might " plead the caufe of that country as " well as of this, and that he might (l exercife whatever powers he pof- »i PAINE's WORKS. " feffed as an orator, to fave both " from ruin, in a conviction to Con- " grefs, that, if their Independence " was figned, their liberties were " gone for ever. " Peace, his LordShip added, was " a defirable' object, but it muft be " an honourable peace, and not an '' humiliating one, diftated by France, " or infifted on by America. It «f was very true, this kingdom was " not in a flourishing Slate, it was Y impoveriflied by war. But if we " were not rich, it was evident that " France was poor. If we were " Straitened in our finances, the ene- " my were exhausted in their refour- " ces. This was a great empire ; it " abounded with brave men, who " were able and willing to fight in *' a common caufe ; the language of " humiliation Should not, therefore, " be the language of Great Britain. " His LordShip faid, that he was not " afhamed nor afraid of thofe e'xpref- " fiohs going to America. There " were numbers, great numbers, there, " who were of the fame way of '• thinking, in refpeft to that coun- " try being dependent on this, and " Who, with his LordShip, perceiv- " ed ruin and independence linked. " together." Thus for the fpeech ; on which I remark, — That his Lordfhip is a total Stranger to the mind and fentiments of America ; that he has wrapped himfelf up in fond delufion, that fomething lefs than Independence may, under his Administration, be accepted j and he wilhes himfelf fent to Congrefs, to prove the moft ex traordinary of all doftrines, which is, that Independence, the fu Mi ni eft of all human conditions, is lofs of liberty. In anfwer to which we may fay, that in order to know what the con trary word Dependence means, we, have only to look back to thofe years of fevere humiliation, when the mild* eft of all petitions could obtain no other notice than the haughtieft of all infults ; and when the baft terms of unceudjtional fubmifllon were de manded, or undiftinguifliable destruc tion threatened. It is nothing to us that the Ministry have been changed, for they may be changed again. The guilt of government is the crime of a whole country, and the nation that can, though but for a moment, think and aft as England has done, can never afterwards be believed or trufted. There are cafes in which it is as impoffible to reftore character to life, as it is to recover the dead. It is a phcenix that can expire but once, and from whofe afhes there is no refurreftion. Some offences • are of fuch a Slight composition, that they reach no farther than the temper, and are created or cured by a thought; But the fin of England has Struck the heart of America, and nature has not left it in our power to fay we can forgive. Your LordShip wishes for an op portunity to plead before Congrefs the caufe tf England and America, and to fave, as you fay, both front ruin. That the country, which, for more than feven years, "has fought our deftruftion, Should now Cringe to folicit our protection, is adding the wretchednefs of diigrace to the mifery of disappointment ; and if England lias the leaft fpark of fup pofed honour left, that Spark muft be darkened by afking, and extin guished by receiving, the fmalle$ LETTER TO THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE. 87 favour from America : for the crimi nal who owes his life to the grace and mercy of the injured, is more execu ted by living than he who dies. But a thoufand pleadings, even from your LordShip, can have no ef- It is the only way out of an expen- fiye and ruinous war, which has now no object, and without which ac knowledgment there can be no peace- But your LordShip fays, " The fun "f Great Britain will fet whenever *""V"*"J,» can u,iic ira ci- -j ureal jsritam villi jet vinenevc reft. Honour, intereft, and every Jhe acknowledges the Independence of fenfation of the heart, would plead America." Whereas the metaphor againft you. We are a people who think not as you think ; and what >s equally true, you cannot feel as we feel. The fituations of the two countries are exceedingly different. We have been the feat of war : you have feen nothing of it. The moft wanton deftruftion has been commit ted in our fight ; the moft infolent barbarity has been afted on our feel- lngs. W-e-eair-look round and fee the remains of burnt and destroyed houfes, once the fair fruit of hard jnduftry, and now the Striking mono- mentsof BritiSh brutality. We walk over the dead whom we loved;, in eve ry part of America, and remember by whom they fell. Thereis fcarce- ly a village but' brings to life fome melancholy thought, and reminds us •f what we have fuffered, and of thofe v>e have loft by the inhumanity of Britain. A thoufand images arife to us, which, from Situation, you cannot fee, and are' accompanied by as .many ideas which you cannot know : and therefore your fuppofed fyftem of rea- foning'would apply tO nothing, and all your expectations die of themfelves. " The queftion, ' whether England Shall accede to the Independence of America, and which jour LordShip fays is to undergo a parliamentary difcuffion, is fo very fimple, and com- pofedof fo few cafes, that it fcarcely lieeds a debate. would have been ftriftly juft, to have left the fun wholly out . of the figure, and have afcribed her not ac knowledging jt to the influence of the moon. But the exprefiion, if true, is the. greateft confeffion of difgrace that could be made, and furnishes Ameri ca with the higheft notions of fove- reign independent importance. Mr. Wedderbuine, about the year 1776> made ufe of an idea of much the fame kind,—" ReUnquiJb America .'" fays he—-" Wkat is jt lut to defire a " giant to Jhrink fpontaneoufty into a " dwarf." Alas I are thofe people who call themfelves Englishmen, of (fo little internal confequence, that when Ame. rica is gone, or Shuts her eyes upon them, their fun is fet, they can Shine no more, but grope about in obfeu- rity, and contrail into infignificant animals ? Was America, then, the giant of the empire, and England only her dwarf in waiting ? Is the cafe fo Strangely altered, that thofe who once thought we could not live without them, now declare they can- jiot exift without us ? Will they tell to the world, and that from their firft Minister of State, . that America is their all in all ; that it is by her importance only they can live, and breathe, 'a,nd have a being ? Will they, who threatened to bring us te S-8 paine's Works'. their feet, now eaft themfelves at ours, and own that without us they are not a nation ? Are they become fo unqualified to debate on Indepen dence, that they have loft all idea of it In themfelves, and are calling to the rocks and mountains of America to cover their infignificance ? Or, if America is loft, is it manly to fob over it like a child for its rattle, and invite the laughter of the world by declarations of difgrace ? Surely, the more confiStent conduit would be, to' bear if without complaint •; and to fhew that England, without America, can preferve her independence, and a fuitable rank with other European Powers. You were not contented while you had her, and to weep for her now is childish. But Lord Shelburne thinks that fomething may yet be done. What that fomething is, or how it is to be accomplished, is a matter in obfeu- rity. By arms there is no hope. The experience of nearly eight years, with the expence of an hundred mil lion pounds fterling, and the lofs of two armies, muft pofitively decide that point. Befides, the British have loft their intereft in America with the difaffefted. Every part of it has been tried. There is no new fcene left for delufion : and the thoufands who have been ruined by adhering to them, and have now to quit the fet- tlements they had acquired, and be conveyed like tranfports to cultivate the deferts of Auguftine and Nova Scotia, has put an end to all farther expectations of aid. If you eaft your eyes on the people of England, what have they to con- fole themfelves with for the millions expended ? or, what encouragement is there left to continue throwing good money after bad ? America can carry on the war for ten years longer, .and all the charges of government included, for lefs than you can defray - the charges of war and government for one year. And I, who know both countries, know well, that the people of America can afford to pay their Share of the expence much bet ter than the people of England can. Befides, it is their own eftates and property, their own rights, liberties, and government, they are defending ; and were they not to do it, they would deferve to lofe all, and none would pi ty them . The fault would be their own, and their punishment juft. The BritiSh army in America care not how long the war lafts. They enjoy an eafy and indolent life. They fatten on the folly of one Country and the fpoils of another ; and, between their plunder and their pay, may go home rich. But the cafe is very different with the. labour ing farmer, the working tradefmanj and the neceSIitous poor in England, the fweat of whofe brow goes day after day to feed, -in prodigality and (loth, the army that is robbing both them and us. Removed from the eye of the country that fupports them, and diftant from the government that employs them, they cut and carve for. themfelves, and there is none to call them to account. But England will be ruined, fays Lord Shelburne, if America is inde pendent. Then, I fay, is England already ruined, for America Is already inde pendent : and if Lord Shelburne will not allow this, he immediately denies the faft which he infers. ' Befides, to make England the mere creature, of America, is paying too great a compliment to us, and too little to himfelf. LETTER TO THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE. S9 $ut the declaration is a, rhapfody of inconfiftence. For to fay, as Lprd Shelburne has numberlefs times faid, that the war againft America is ruinous, ahd yet to continue the pro- fecution of that ruinous war for the purpofe of avoiding ruin, is a lan guage which cannot be understood. Neither is it poffible to fee how the Independence of America is to ac complish the ruin of England after the war is over, and yet not effeft it before. America cannot be more in dependent of her? nor a greater ene my to her, hereafter than She is now ; nor England derive lefs advantages from her than at prefent : why then is ruin to follow in the "beft ftate of the cafe, and not in the word ! And if not in the worft, why is it to fol low at all ? That a nation is to be ruined by peace and cornnierce, and fourteen or fifteen millions a-year lefs expences than before, is a new doftrine in po litics. We have heard much cla mour of national favings and cecono- my ; but furely the true ceconomy would be, to fave the whole charge pf a filly, fooIISh, and headftrong war ; becaufe, compared with this, all other retrenchments are bawbles and trifles. But is it poffible that Lord Shel burne can be ferious in fuppofing the leaft advantage can be obtained by arms, or that any advantage can be equal to the expence, or the danger of attgnpting it ? Will not the cap ture of one army after another fatisfy him, but all muft become prifoners ? Muft England ever be the fport of i hope and the dupe of delufion ? Some times our currency was to fail ; ano ther time our army was to diSband : then whole provinces were to revolt. Such a General laid this and that ; another' wrote fo and fo. Lore? Chatham was of this opinion ; and Lord Somebody elfe of another. To day 20,000 Ruffians and 20 Ruffian Ships of the line were to come ; to morrow the Emprefs was abufed with out mercy or decency. — Then the Emperor of Germany was to be bribed with a million of money, and the King of Pruffia was to do won derful things. At one time it was, Lo here ! and then it was, Lo there • Sometimes this Power, and fometimes that Power, was to engage in the war, juft as if the whole world was as mad and foolifh as Britain. And thus, from year to year, has every Straw been catched at, and every' Will - with-a-Wifp led their) a new dance. This year a Still newer folly is to fake place. Lord Shelburne wishes to be fent to Congrefs, and he thinks that fomething may be done. Are not the repeated declarations of Congrefs, and which all America Supports, that they will not even hear any propofals whatever, until the un conditional and unequivocal Indepen dence of America is recognifed ; are not, I fay, thefe declarations anfwer enough ? But for England to receive any thing from America now, after fo many infuits, injuries, and outrages, acted, towards us, would Shew fuch a fpirit of meannefs in her, that we could not but defpife her for ac cepting it. And fo far from Lord Shelburne coming here to folicit it, It would be the greatest difgrace we could do them to oSfer it. England would appear a wretch indeed, at this time of day, to a(k or owe any thing to the bounty of America. Has not the name of Englishman blots enough upon it, without in venting more ? Even Lucifer would *» PAINE'* WORKS, feorn to reign in Heaven by permif- fion, and yet an Englishman can creep for only an entrance into Ame rica. Or has a land of Liberty fo many charms, that ,to be a door keeper in it is better than to be an English Minister of State' But what can this expefted fome thing be ? or, if obtained, what can it amount to, but new difgraces, con tentions, and quarrels ? 'The people of America have for years accuftomed themfelves to think and Speak fo freely and contemptuously of English au thority, and the inveteracy is fo deeply rooted, that a perfon invefted with any authority frpm that country, and attempting to exercife it here, would have the life of a toad under a harrow. They would look on him as an interloper, to whom their compaffion permitted a refidence. He would be no more than the Mungo of the 1 farce ; and if he disliked that he muft fet off. It would be a Station of de gradation, debafed by our pity, and defpifed by our pride, and would place England in a more contempti ble fituation than any She has yet faffered by the war. We have too high an opinion of ourfelves, ever to think of yielding again the leaft obedience to outlandish authority j and for a thoufand reafons, England would be the laft country in the world to yield it to. She has been treacherous, and we know it. Her character is gone, and we have feen the funeral. Surely (lie loves to fifh in troubled waters, and drink the cup of con tention, or She would not now think of mingling her affairs with thofe of America. It would be like a foolish dotard taking to his' arms the bride that defpii'es him, or who has placed on his head the enfigns of her dif- guft. It is kiffing the hand that boxes his ears, and propofing to re new the exchange. The thought is as fervile as the war was wicked, and (hews the laft fcene of the drama as inconsistent as the firft. As America is gone, the only aft of manhood is to let her go. Your. LordShip had no hand in the fepara tion, and you will gain no honour by temporising politics. Befides, there is fomething fo exceedingly whimfical, unfteady, and even infin- ceie in the prefent conduft of Eng land, that She exhibits herfelf in the moft dishonourable colours. On the fecond of Auguft laft Ge-< neral Carleton an>« PAINE's WORKS. " In whatfoever manner, Sir, I may treat the fubjeft of which you have propofed the inveftigation, I hope, that you will not doubt my en tertaining for you the higheft efteem. I mutt alfo add, that I am not the perfonal enemy of Kings. Quite the contrary. No man more heartily wishes than myfelf to fee them all in the happy and honourable ftate of private individuals ; but, I am the avowed, open, and intrepid enemy of what is called Monarchy ; and I am fuch by principles which nothing can either alter or corrupt— by my at tachment to humanity ; by the aiix. Iety which I feel within myfelf for the dignity and the honour of the human race ; by the difguft which I experience, when I obferved men di rected by children, and governed by brutes ; by the horror which all the evils that Monarchy has fpread over the earth excite within my bread ; and by thofe fentiments which make me Shud der at the calamities, the exactions, the wars, and the maffacres with which Monarchy has cruShed mankind : in Short, it is againft all the Hell of Monarchy, that I have declared war. (Signed) THOMAS PAINED TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAj S I R, I PRESENT you a fmall Treatife in defence of thofe Principles of Freedom which your exemplary Virtue hath fo eminently contributed to eftablifh. —-That the Rights of Man may become as univerfal as your Bene volence can wifh, and that you may enjoy the Happinefs Of feeing the New World regenerate the Old, is the Prayer of] Sir, Ifoiir much obliged, and Obedient humble Servant, THOMAS PAINE. H PAINE's WORKS. RIGHTS of MAN, &c. XA.M0NG the incivilities by which nations or individuals provoke and irritate each other, Mr. Burke's pamphlet on the French Revolution is an extraordinary instance. Neither the people of France, nor the Nati onal Affembly, were troubling fhem- felvei about the affairs of Englandi or the English Parliament ; and why Mr. Burke Should commence' an un provoked attack upon them, both in parliament and in public, is a conduft that cannot be pardoned on the fcore of manners, nor justified on that of policy. There is fcarcely an epithet of abufe to be found in the English language with which Mr. Burke has not load ed the French nation and the Nati onal Affembly. Every thing which rancour, prejudice, ignorance or know ledge could fuggeft, are poured forth in the copious fury of near four hun-. died pages. In the Strain and on the plan Mr. Burke was writing, he might have wrote on to as many thou fands. When the tongue dr {he pen is let loofe in a phrehzy of paflion, it is the man, and not the fubjeft, that becomes exhausted. Hitherto Mr. Burke has been mif- taken and difappointed in the opini ons he had formed of the affairs of France ; but fuch is the ingenuity of his hope, or the malignancy of his defpair, that it furniShes him with new pretences to go on. There was a time when it was impofiible to make Mr. Burke believe there would be any revolution in France. His opi nion then was, that the French had neither fpirit to undertake it, nor for titude to fupport it ; and now that there is one, he feeks an efcape by con demning it. Not fufficiently content with abu- fing the National Affembly, a' great part of his work is taken up with abufing Dr. Price, (one of the beft- hearted men that lives), and the two So cieties in England known by the name of the Revolution and the Constituti onal Societies. Dr. Price had preached a fermon on the 4th of November, 1789, being the anniverfary of what is called in Eng land the Revolution which took place in 1688. Mr. Burke, fpeaking of this fermon, fays, ' The Political Di- ' vine proceeds dogmatically to affect, ' that, by the principles of the Re- ' volution, the people of Englandi ' have acquired three fundamental « rights ; H S PAINE's WORKS. ' i. To chufe our own governors. ' 2. To .:. Trier them for mifcon- « duft. * 3. To . ame a government for c ourfeJves.' Dr. Price does not fay that the right to do thefe things exifts in this or in that perfon, or in this or in that defcription of perfons, but that it exifts in the -whole ; that it is a right refident in the nation — Mr. Burke, on the contrary, denies that fuch a right exifts in the nation, ei ther in whole or in part, or that it exifts any where ; and what is ftill more ftrange and marvellous, he fays, { that the people of England utterly ' difclaim fuch a right, and that they 8 will refill the practical affertion of ' it with their lives and fortunes.' That men Should take up arms, and fpend their lives and fortunes, not to maintain their rights, but to main tain they have not rights, is an en tire new fpecies of difcovery, and fuited to the paradoxical genius of Mr. Burke. The method which Mr. Burke takes to prove that the people of Eng land have no Such- rights, and that fuch rights do not now exift in the nation, either in whole or in part, or any where at all, is of the fame marvellous and monftrous kind with what he has already faid ; for his ar guments are, that the perfons, or the generation of perfons, in whom they did exift, are dead, and with them the right is dead alfo. To prove this he quotes a declaration made by parlia ment about a hundred years ago, to William and Mary, in thefe words : — " The Lords Spiritual ahd temporal, «' and Commons, do, in the name of the " people afortfaid (meaning the peo- " pie of England then living)— moft ", humbly and faithfully fubmit theffl- " felves, their heirs and pofterity, for " ever." He alfo quotes a claufe of another aft of parliament made in. the fame reign, the terms of which, he fays, " bind us — (meaning the peo- " pie of that day) — " our heirs and " our pofterity, to them, their heirs " and pofterity, to the end of time." Mr. Burke conceives his point fuf ficiently eftabliShed by producing thofe claufes, which he enforces by faying that they exclude the right of the na tion for ever : and not yet content with making fuch declarations, re peated over and over again, he fur ther fays, ' that if the people of ' England poffeffed Such a right before ' the Revolution,' (which he ac knowledges to have been the cafe, not only in England, but throughout Europe, at an early period) ' yet * that the Englijh nation did, at the 1 time of the Revolution, moft fo- * lemnly renounce and abdicate it, ' for themfelves, and for all their pof- ' terity, for ever.'' As Mr. Burke occafionally applies the poifon drawn from his horrid principles (if it is not a prophanati- oh to call them by the name of prin ciples) not only to the English nation> but to the French Revolution and the. National Affembly, and charges that auguft, illuminated and illuminating body of men with the epithet of ufur- pers, I Shall, fans ceremonie, place another fyftem of principles in oppo sition to his. The Englifh Parliament of 168* did a certain thing, which, for them felves and their constituents, they had a right to do, and which it ap peared right Should be done : but, in addition to this right, which they pofftffed by delegation, they fit up Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. JS* another right by affumpfion, that of binding and controuling pofterity to the end of time.' The cafe, there fore, divides" itfelf into two parts ; the right which they poffeffed by de legation, and the right which they fet up by affumption. The firft is a.d- mitted ; but, with refpeft to the fe- cohd, I reply — There never did, there never wilh and there never can exift a parliament, or any defcription of men, or any ge neration of men, in any country, poffeffed of the right or the power of binding and controuling pofterity to the " end of time" or of command ing for ever how the world Shall be governed, or who Shall govern it : and therefore all fuch claufes, aits or declarations, by which the makers of them attempt to do what they have neither the right nor the power to do' nor the power to execute, are in them felves null and void. Every age and generation muft be as free to aft for itfelf, in all cafes, as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and prefumption of go verning beyond the grave, is the moft ridiculous and infolent of all tyran nies. Man has no property in man ; neither has any generation a proper ty in the generations which are to follow. The parliament of the peo ple of 1688, or of any other period, had no more right to difpofe of the people of the prefent day, or to bind or tbcontroul them in any fliape what ever, than the parliament or the peo ple of the prefent day have to dif pofe of, bind or controul thofe who are to live a hundred or a thoufand years hence. Every generation is and miift be competent to all the pur- pofes which its occafions require. It is the liring, and not the dead, that are to be accommodated. — When man ceafes to be, his power and his wants ceafe with him 5 and having no long er any participation in the concerns of this world, he has no longer any authority in directing who Shall be its governors, or how its govern-. ment Shall be orgaaized, or how ad ministered. \ ana not contending for, nor againft, any form of government, nor for, nor againft, any party here or elfewhere. That which a whole nation choofes to do, it has a right to do. Mr. Burke fays, No. Where then does the right exift ? I am con tending for the rights of the living, and againft „their being willed away, and controuled and contrafted for, by the manufcript affumed authority of the dead ; and Mr. Burke is con tending for the authority of the dead over the rights and freedom of the living. There was a time when kings difpofed of their crowns by will up on their death-beds, and configned the people, like beafts of the fields'- to whatever l'ucceffor they appointed. This is now fo exploded as fcarcely to be remembered, ahd lb monftrous as hardly to be believed : But the parliamentary claufes upon which Mr. Burke builds his political church, ' are of the fame nature. The laws of every country muft be analogous to fome common principle. In England, no parent or mailer, nor all the authority of parliament, om nipotent as it has called itfelf, can bind or contioul the perfonal free dom even of an individual beyond the age of twenty-one years : On what ground of right then could the parliament of 1688, or any other parliament, bind all posterity for ever? PAINE's WORKS, Thofe who have quitted the world, and thofe who are not yet arrived at it, are as remote from each_ other as the utmoft Stretch of mortal imagina tion can conceive. What poSfible obligation then can exift between them, what rule or principle can be laid down, that two non-entities, the one out of existence, and the other not in, and who never can meet in this world, that the one fiiould controul the other to the end of time ? In England, it is faid that money cannot be taken out of the pockets of the people wjthout their confent. But who authorized, and who could au thorize the parliament of 1688, to controul and take away the freedom of pofterity, and limit and confine their rights of afting in certain cafes for ever, who were not in ex istence to give or to with-hold their confent ? A greater abfurdity cannot prefent itfelf to the underftanding of man, than what Mr. Burke offers to his readers. He tells them, and he tells the world to come, that a certain body of men, who exifted a hundred years ago, made a law, and that there does not now exift in the nation, nor ever will, nor ever can, a power to \ alter it. Under how many fub- 'tilties, or abfurdities, has the divine right to govern been impofed on the credulity of mankind I Mr. Burke has difcovered a new one, and he has fliortened his journey to Rome, by appealing to the power of this infal lible parliament of former days, and he produces what it has done, as. of divine authority 1 for that power muft certainly be more than human, which no human power to the end of time can alter. But Mr. Burke has done fome fer vice, not to his caufe, but to his country, by bringing thofe claufes into public view. They ferve to de monstrate how neceffaiy it is at/ all times to watch againft the attempted encroachment of power, and to pre vent its running to excefs. It is fomewhat extraordinary, that the of fence for which James II. was expell ed, that of fetting up power by af- fumption, Should be re-afted, under another Shape and form, by the par liament that expelled him. It Shews, that the rights of man were but im- perfeitly underftood at the Revolu tion 5 for certain it is, that the right which that parliament fet up by af- fumption (for by delegation it had it not, and could not have it, becaufe none could give it) over the perfons and freedom of pofterity for ever, was of the fame tyrannical unfounded kind, which James attempted to fet . up over the parliament and the nation, and for which he was expelled. The only difference is, (for in principle they differ not) that the one was an ufurper over the living, and the other over the unborn ; and as the one hat no better authority to Stand upon than the other, both of them muft be equally null and void, and of no ef feft. From what,/ or from whence, doei Mr, Burke prove the right of any human power to bind pofterity for ever? He has produced his claufes; but he muft produce alfo his proofs, that fuch a right exifted, and (hew how it exifted. If it ever exifted, it muft now exift; for whatever apperr tains to the nature of man, cannot be annihilated by man. It is the' nature of man to die, and he will continue to die as long- as he conti- Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. IlOJ iiues to be born. But Mr. Burke has fet up a fort of political Adam, in whom all pofterity are bound for ever j he muft therefore prove that his Adam poffeffed fuch a power or fuch a right. The weaker any cord is, the lefs will it bear to be Stretched, and the worfe is the policy to Stretch it, un lefs it is intended to break it. Had a perfon contemplated the overthrow of Mr. Burke's pofition, he would have proceeded as Mr. Burke has done. He would have magnified the authorities, on purpofe to have called the right of them into queftion ; and the inftant the queftion of right was ftarted, the authorities muft have been given up. It requires but a very fmall glance of thought to perceive, that altho' laws made in one generation often continue in force through fucceeding generations, yet that they continue to derive their force from the confent of the living. A law not repealed continues in force, not becaufe it cannot be repealed, but becaufe it is not repealed ; and the non-repealing J paffes for confent. But Mr. Burke's claufes have not even this qualification in their favour. They hecome null, by attempting to become immortal. The nature of them precludes confent. They de- ftroy the right which they, might have, hy grounding it on a right which they cannot have. Immortal power is not a human right, and therefore cannot be a right . of parliament. The parliament of 1688 might as well have paffed an aft to have au- thorlfed -themfelves to live for ever, as to make their authority live for ever. All therefore that can be faid of them is, that they are a formality of words, of as much import, as if thofe who ufed them had addreffed a congratulation to themfelves, and, in the oriental (tile of antiquity, had faid, O Parliament, live for ever !,-" The circumstances of the world are continually changing,' and the opinions of men change alfo ; and aS government is for the living, and- not for the dead, it is the living only that has any right in it. That which may be thought right and found convenient in one age, may be thought wrong and found inconvenient another, Jn fuch cafes, Who is to decide ; the living, or the dead ? As almoft one hundred pages of Mr. Burke's book are employed upon thefe claufes, it will confequently follow, that if the claufes themielves, fo far as they fet up an affumed, ufurp- ed dominion over pofterity for ever, are authoritative, and in their nature null and void, that all his voluminous inferences and declamations drawn therefrom, or, founded thereon, are null and void alfo : and on this ground I .reJLthe^ matter,^ ^__ We now come more particularly • to the affairs of France. Mr. Burke's book has the appearance of being written as instructions to the French nation ; but if I may permit myfelf the ufe of an extravagant metaphor, fuited. to the extravagance of the cafe, It is darknei's attempting to il luminate light. While I am writing this, there is accidentally before me fome' propo fals for a, declaration of rights by the Marquis de la Fayette (t aSk his par don for ufing his former addrefs, and do it only for diftinftion's fake) to' the National Affembly on the nth of July, 1789, three days before the taking of the Baftile ; and I cannot WMj. PAINFs WORKS. hut be ftruck hew oppofite the fources are from which that Gentleman and Mr. Burke draw their principles. Inftead of referring to mufty records and mouldy parchments to prove that the rights of the living are loft, " renounced and abdicated for ever," by thofe who are now no more, as Mr. Burke haa done, M. de la Fayette applies to the living world, and emphatically fays, "Call to " mind the fentiments which Nature " has engraved in the heart of every " citizen, and which take a new " force when they are folemnly re- " cognized by all : — For a nation to " love liberty, it is fufficient that She " knows it ; and to be free, it is fuf- " ficient that She wills it." How dry, barren, and obfcure, is the fource from which Mr. Burke la bours ; and how ineffeftual, though gay with flowers, are all his declama tion and his argument, compared with thefe clear, concife, and foul- animating fentiments I Few and Short as they are, they lead to a vaft field of generous and manly thinking, and do not SiniSh, like Mr. Burke's pe riods, with mufic in the ear, and no thing in the heart. As I have introduced the mention of M. de la Fayette, I will take the liberty of adding an anecdote refpeft ing his farewell addrefs to the Con grefs of America in 1783, and which occurred freih to my mind when I faw Mr. Burke's thundering attack on the French Revolution — M. de la Fayette went to America at an early period of the war, and continued a Volunteer in her Service to the end. — His conduft through the whole of that enterprife is one of the moft ex^ traordinary that is to be found In the hiftory of a young man, ftarcely theij twenty years of age. Situated in a coun try that was like the lap of fenfual plea, fore, and with the means of enjoying it, how fevr are there to be found who would exchange fuch a fcene for the woods and wildernefs of Ame rica, and pafs the flowery years of youth in unprofitable danger and hardship ! but fuch is the fail. When the war ended, and he was Oil the point of taking his final depar ture, he prefented himfelf to Con grefs, and contemplating in his af- feftionate farewell, the revolution he had feen, expreffed himfelf in thefe words : " May this great monument, " raifed to Liberty, ferve as a leffon " lo the oppreffor, and an example to " the opprejfed /" — When this addrefs came to the hands of Doftor Frank lin, who was then in France, he ap plied to Count Vergennes to have it inferted in the French Gazette, but never could obtain his confent. The fait was, that Count Vergennes was an ariftocratical defpot at home, and dreaded the example of the American revolution in France, as certain other , perfons now dread the example of the French revolution in England ; , and Mr. Burke's tribute of fear (for ) in this light his book muft be confi- / dered) runs parallel with Count Vergennes' refufal. But to return more particularly to his work. — " We have feen (fays Mr. Burke) *' the French rebel againft a mild and il lawful Monarch, with more fury, " outrage, and infult, than any peo- u pie has been known to rife againft . 4t the moft illegal ufurper, or the " moft fanguinary tyrant." This is one, among a thoufand other in stances, in which Mr. Burke Shews, Part J. RIGHTS OF MAN. 105 that, he Is ignorant of the fprings and principles of the French revolu tion. It was not againft Louis XVI. but againft the defpotic principles of the government, that the nation revolted. Thefe principles had not their origin in him, but in the original establish ment, many centuries back ; and Jhey were become too deeply rooted to —be removed, and the augean Stable of parafites and plunderers too abo minably filthy to be cleanfed, by any thing Short of a complete and uni verfal revolution. When it becomes neceffary fo do a thing, the whole heart and foul Should go into the mea fure, or not attempt it. That crifis, was then arrived, and there remained no choice but to ait with determined yigour, or hot at all. The King was known to be the friend of the nation, and this circumftance was fa vourable to the enterprife. Perhaps no man, bred up in the Stile of an abfolute King, ever poffeffed a heart fo little difpofed to the exercife of that fpecies of power as the prefent King of France. But the principles of the government itfelf ftill remained the fame. The Monarch and the Monarchy were diftinft and feparate things ; and it was againft the esta blished defpotifm of the latter, and not againft the perfon or principles of the former, that the revolt com menced, and the revolution has been carried. Mr. Burke does not attend to the diftinftion between men and princi ples, and therefore he does not fee that a revolt may take place againft the defpotifm of the latter, while there lies no charge of defpotifm againft the former. The natural moderation of Louis XVI. contributed nothing to alter the hereditary defpotifm of the monar chy, All the tyrannies of former reigns, afted under that hereditary defpotifm, were (till liable to be re vived in the hands of a fucceffor. It was not the refpite of a reign that would fatisfy France, enlightened as She was then become. A cafual dif continuance of the praBice of def potifm, is not a difcontinuance of its principles; the former depends on the virtue of the individual who is in immediate poffeffion of the power ; the latter, on the virtue and forti tude of the nation. In the cafe of Charles I. and James II. of Eng land, the revolt was againft the pei- fonal defpotifm of men ; whereas in France it was againft the hereditary defpotifm of the eftabliShed govern ment. But men who can confign over the rights of pofterity for ever on the authority of a mouldy parch ment, like Mr. Burke, are not qua lified to judge of this revolution. It takes in a field too vaft for their views to explore, and proceeds with a mightinefs of reafon they cannot keep pace with. But there are many points of view in which this revolution may be con- fidered. When defpotifm has efta bliShed itfelf for ages in a country, as in France, it is not in the perfon of the King only that it refides. It has the appearance of being fo in Show, and in nominal authority ; but it is not fo in practice, and in fait. It has its Standard every where. Every office and department has its deipo- tifm, founded upon cuftom and uSage. Every place its Baftile, and every Baftile its defpot. The original he- J06 PAINE'T WORKS. reditary defpotifm refident in the perfon of the King, divides. and Sub divides itfelf into' a thoufand Shapes and forms, till at laft the whole of it is afted by deputation. This was the cafe in France ; and againft this fpecies. of defpotifm, proceeding on through an endlefs labyrinth of office till the fource of it is fcarcely percep tible, there is no mode of redrefs. It Strengthens itfelf by affuming the appearance of duty, and tyrannifes under the pretence of obeying. When a man reflects on. the con dition which France was in from the nature of her government, he will fee other caufes for revolt than thofe which immediately conneft themielves with the perfon or charafter of Louis XVI. — There were, if I may fo exprefs it, a thoufand defpotifms to be reformed in France, which had grown up un der the hereditary defpotifm of the monarchy, and became fo rooted as to be in a great meafure independent of it. Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rivaljhip of defpotifm ; befides the feudal defpotifm operating lo cally, and the ministerial defpotifm operating every where. But Mr. Burke, confidering the King as the only poffible object •of a revolt, fpeaks as if France was a village, in which thing in the hofror of the fcene from thofe carried about upon fpikes at Paris : yet this was done by the English government. It may perhaps be faid, that it Signifies nothing to a man what is done to him after he is dead, but It Signifies much to the living ; it either tortures the feelings, or hardens their hearts ; and in either cafe, it inftruits them how to punifli when power falls into their hands. Lay then the axe to the root, and teach government humanity. It is Part 1. RIGHTS OF MAN. «J tneir farfguiriary punishments which conupt mankind. In England, the punishment in certain cafes, is by hang ing, drawing j and quartering; the heart of the fufferer is cut out, and held up to the view of the populace. In France; under the former govern ment, the punishments were not lefs barbarous. Who does not remember the execution of Damien, torn to pieces by horfes ? The effeft of thofe Cruel fpeftacles exhibited to the po pulace, is1 to deftroy tendernefs, or excite revenge ; and by the bafe and falfe idea of governing men by terror, inftead of reafon, they become prece dents. It is over the loweft cjafs of mankind that government by terror is intended to operate, and it is on them that it qperates to the jvorft effeft; They have fenfe enough to feel they are the fubjefts aimed at ; and they inflict in their turn the examples of terror they have been instructed topraftife. There are ih all European coun tries, a large clafs of people of that description which in England are called the " mob." Of this clafs' were thofe who committed the burn ings and devastations in London J 780, and of this clafs were thofe who carried the heads upon fpikes in Paris; Foulon and Berthier vyere taken up in the country, and Sent to Paris to undergo their examination at the Hotel de Ville ; for the Nati onal Affembly, immediately on the new miniftry coming into office, paffed a decree; which ,they communicated to the King and Cabinet, that they (the National Affembly) would hold the miniftry, of which Foulon was one, refponfible for the meafures they were adyifing and purfuing ; but the mob, incenfed at the appearance of Foulon and Berthier, tore them from their conduftors before they were car ried to the Hotel de Ville, and exe cuted them on the fpot. Why then does Mr. Burke charge outrages of this kind on a whole people ? As well may he charge the riots and outrages of 1 7 So on all the people of London, or thole in Ireland on all his country. But every thing we fee or hear of fensive to our feelings, and derogato ry to the human charafter, Should lead to other reflections than thole of reproach. Even the beings who commit them have fome claim to our consideration. How then is it that fuch vaft cjaffes of mankind as are diftinguiShed by the appellation of the vulgar, or the ignorant mob, are So numerous in all old countries? The inftant we aik ourfelves this qiieftiori, reflection feels an anfwer. They arife, as an unavoidable confe- qiSence, out of the ill construction of all the old governments in Europe/ England included with the reft. It is by diftortedly exalting fome men, that others are diftortedly abafed, till the whole is out of nature. A vaft mafs of mankind are degradedly thrown into the back-ground of the human picture, to bring forward with greater glare, the puppet (how of ftate and ariftocracy; In the com mencement of a Revolution, thofe men are rather the followers of the camp than of the ftandard of liberty, and have yet to be instructed how to reverence it. I give to Mr. Burke all his theatri cal exaggerations for fails, and I then aSk him, if they do not eftabliSh the certainty of what I here lay down ? Admitting them to be true> they Shew the neceffity of the French Revolution, as much as one thing he could have afferted, Thefe outrages were not the effeft of the principles] of the Revolution, but of the de graded mind that exifted before the Revolution, and which the Revo- "+ PAINE's WORKS. tion is calculated to reform. Place them then to their proper caufe, and take the reproach of them to your own fide. It is to the honour of the National Affembly, and the city of Paris, that during fuch a tremendous fcene of arms and confufion, beyond the con troul of all authority, that they have been able, by the influence of exam ple and exhortation, to reftrain fo much. Never were more pains taken to. inftruft and enlighten man kind, and to make them fee that their intereft confifted in their virtue, and not in their revenge, than what have been difplayed in the, Revolution of France. — I now proceed to make fome remarks on Mr. Burke's account of the expedition to Verfailles, October the 5th and 6th. I cannot confider Mr. Burke's book in fcarcely any other light than a dramatic performance ; and he muft, I think, have considered it in the fame light himfelf, by the poetical liberties he has taken of omitting fome fails,- distorting others, and making the whole machinery bend to produce a Stage effeft. Of this kind Is his account of the expedition to Verfailles. He begins this account by omitting the only fails which as caufes are known to be true ; every thing beyond thefe is conjecture even in Paris ; and he then works up a tale accommodated to his own paf fions and prejudices. It is to be obferved- throughout Mr. Burke's book that he never Speaks of plots againft the Revolu tion ; and it is from thofe plots that all the miichicfs have arifen. It fuits his purpofe to exhibit the confequences without their caufes. It is one of the arts of the drama to do fo. If the crimes of men were exhibited with their fuffer- ings, the ftage effect would fometimes be loft, and the audience would be inclined to approve where it was in tended they Should commiferate. After all the investigations that have been made into this intricate af fair, (the expedition to Verfailles), it -ftill remains enveloped in all that kind of myftery which ever accompanies events produced more from a concur rence of awkward circumstances, than from fixed defign. While the characters of men are forming, as is always the cafe in revolutions, there is a reciprocal fufoicion, and a difpo fition to mifinterpret each other ; and even parties direftly oppofite in prin ciple, will fometimes concur in push ing forward the fame movement with very different views, and with the hopes of its producing very different confequences. A great deal of this may be difeovered in this embarraffed affair, and yet the iffue of the whole was what nobody had in view. The only things__certainly known> are, that confiderable uneafinefs was at this time excited at Paris, by the delay of the King in not fanftioning and ' forwarding the decrees of the National Affembly, particularly that of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the decrees of the fourth of Auguft, which contained the foun dation principles on which the con stitution was -to be erefted. The kindeft and perhaps the faireft con-- jefture upon this matter is, that fome of the minister's' intended to make remarks and obfervations upon certain parts of them, before they were finally fanftioned and fent to the provinces ; but be this as it may, the enemies of the Revolu tion derived hopes from the delay, and the friends of the Revolution, uneafineSs. Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. X15 ..During this State of fufpence, the Gardes du Corps, which was compofed as fuch regiments generally are, of perfons much connefted with the Court, gave an entertainment at Verfailles (Oft. 1,) to fome foreign regiments then arrived ; and when the entertainment was at the height, on a Signal given, the Gardes du Corps tore the national cockade from their hats; trampled it under foot» and replaced it with a counter cock ade prepared for the purpofe. An indignity of this kind amounted to defiance. It was like declaring war ; and if men will give challenges, they muft expeft confequences. But all this Mr. Burke has carefully kept out of Sight. He begins his account by faying, " Hiftory will record, " that on the morning of the 6th of " October, 1789, the King and " Queen of France, after a day of " confufion, alarm, difmay, and ""Slaughter, lay down, under the " pledged Security of public faith, " to indulge nature in a few hours " of refpite, and troubled melan- " choly repofe." This Is neither the fober Style of hiftory, nor the intention of it. It leaves everything to be gueffed at, and mistaken. One would at leaft think there had been a battle ; and a battle there probably would have been, had. it not been for the moderating prudence of thofe' whom Mr. Burke involves in his cen- fores. By his keeping the Gardes dii Corps out of fight, Mr. Burke has afforded himfelf the dramatic li cence of putting the King and Queen in their places; as if the object of the expedition was againft them. —But to return to my account — ' . This conduit of the Gardes du Corps, as might well be expefted* alarmed and chraged the Parifians. The colours of the caufe, and the caufe itfelf, were become too united to mistake the intention of the in- folt, and the Parifians were determin ed to call the Gardes du Corps to an account. There was certainly no thing of the cowardice of affaffinati- on in marching in the face of day to demand fatisfaftion, if fuch a phrafe may be ufed, of a body of armed men, who had voluntarily given de fiance. But the circumftance which ferves to throw this affair into em- barraffment is, that the enemies of the Revolution appear to have encou raged it, as well as its friends. The one hoped to prevent a civil war by ' checking it in time, and the other to make one. The hopes of thofe op- pofed to the Revolution, relied in mak ing the King of their party, and getting him from Verfailles to Mctz» where they expected to colleft a force, and fet up a Standard. We have therefore two different objefts prefenting themfelves at the fame time, and be accomplished by the fame means : the one, to chaftife the Gardes du Corps, which was the objeft of the Parifians ; the other, to render the confufion of filch a fcene an induce ment to the King to. fet off for Metz. On the 5th of Oftober, a very numerous body of women, and men in the difguife of women, collefted round the Hotel de Ville, or town- hall at Paris, and fet off for Ver failles. Their profeffed objeft was the Gardes du Corps ; but prudent men readily recolleft that miS'chief is eaiier begun than ended ; and this impreffed itfelf with the more force, from the fufpicions . already Stated, and the irregularity of fuch a caval cade. As foon therefore as a fuffici ent force could be collefted, M, de I a iiS? PAINE's WORKS. la Fayette, by orders from the civil It was now about one in the? authority of Paris, Set off after them morning. Every thing appeared to at the head of twenty thoufand of be compofed, and a general congra- the Paris militia. The revolution tulation took place. At the beat of could derive no benefit from confu-< drum a proclamation was made, that fion, and its oppolers might. By an the citizens of Verfailles would give amiable" and Spirited manner of ad- the hospitality of their houfes to their drefs he had hitherto been fortunate fellow-citizens of Paris. Thofe who in calming difquietudes, and in this he was extraordinarily fuccefsful ; to frustrate, therefore, the hopes of thofe who might feek to improve./ this fcene into a fort of justifiable ne ceffity for the King's quitting Ver failles and withdrawing to Metz, and to prevent at the lame time the .confequences that might enfue be tween the Gardes du Corps and this phalanx of men and women, he for warded expreffes to the King that he was on his march to Versailles, at could not be accommodated in this manner, remained in the Streets, or took up their quarters in the church es ; and at two o'clock the King and Queen retired. In this ftate matters paffed till the break of day, when a freSh dis turbance arofe from the cenfurable conduft of fome or both parties, for fuch charafters there will be in all fuch lcenes. One of the Gardes du Corps appeared at one of the win dows of the palace, and the people the orders of the civil authority of who had remained during the night Paris, for the purpofe of peace and proteftion, expreffing at the fame time the neceffity of restraining the Gardes du Corps from firing upon the people *. He arrived at Verfailles between ten and eleven at night. The Gardes du Corps were drawn up, and the people had arrived Some time before, but every thing had remained fuf pended. Wifdom and policy now confifted in changing a fcene of dan ger into a happy event. M. de la Fayette became the mediator between the enraged parties ; and the King, to remove the uneafinefs which had arifen from the delay already Slated, fent for the Prefident of the National Affembly, and figned the Declaration in the Streets accofted him wish re viling and provocative language. In. Stead of retiring, as in fuch a cafe prudence would have diitated, he prefented his muSket, fired, and kill ed one of the Paris militia. The peace being thus broken, the people ruShed into the palace in quell of the offender. They attacked the quarters of the Gardes du Corps within the palace, and purfued them throughout the avenues of it, and to; the apartments of the King. On this tumult, not the Queen only, as Mr. Burke has reprefented it, bat every perfonUn the palace, was awa kened and alarmed ; and M. de la Fayette had a fecond time to interpofe between the parties, the event of of the Rights of Man, and fuch other which was, that the Gardes du Corps parts of the constitution as were in rea- put on the national cockade, and; dinefs. the matter ended as by oblivion^ * I am warranted in afferting this, as I had it ptrfonally from M. De la Fayette, with whom I have lived in habits of friendship for fourteen years. Part I, RIGHTS OF MAN ny after the lofs of two or three lives, During the latter part of the time in' which this confufion was afting, the King and Queen were in public at the balcony, and neither of them concealed for fafety's fake, as Mr. Burke insinuates. Matters being thus appeafed, and tranquillity re stored, a general acclamation broke forth, of Le Roi a Paris— Le Roi a Paris — The King to Paris. It was the. Shout pf peace, and immediately accepted on the part of the King, By this meafure, all future projefts pf trepanning the King to Metz, and fetting up the Standard of opposition to the constitution, were prevented, and the fufpicions extinguished. The King and hns family reached Paris in the evening, and were congratulated on their arrival by M- Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, in the name of the citizens. Mr. Burke, who through put his book confounds things, per fons, and principles, has in his re marks on M. Bailly's addrefs, con founded time alfo. He cenfures M. Bailly for calling it " un bon jour," a good day. Mr. Burke Should have Informed himfelf, that this1 fcene took up the fpace pf two days, the day on which if began with every ap pearance pf danger and mjfehief, and the day- on which it terminated with out the mifchiefs, that threatened ; and . that it is to this peaceful termination *hat M. Bailly alludes, and to the •arrival of ' the King at Paris. Not lefs than three hundred thoufand perfons arranged themfelves jn the proceffion from Verfailles tp Paris, and not an ait of moleftation was committed during the whole march. Mr. Burke, on the authority of M. Lally Tolendal, a deferter from the National Affembly, fays, that on entering Paris, 'the people Shouted, " Tous les eveques a la lanterne." AH biihops to be hanged at the Ian* thorn or lamp-pofts.— It is furprifing that nobody Should hear this but Lally Tolendal, and that nobody Should believe it but Mr. Burke. It has not the lead conneftion with any part of the tranfaftion, and is totally foreign to every circumftance of it. The biShops have never been introduced before into any fcene of Mr. Burke's drama ; Why then are they, all at once, and altogether, tout a coup et tous enfemble, introduc ed now ? Mr. Burke i brings forward his biShops and his lanthorn like fi gures in a magic lanthorn, and raifes his fcenes by contrail inftead of con neftion. But it ferves to Shew, with the reft of his book, what Ijttle credit ought jtp be given, where even probability is fet at defiance, for the purpofe of defaming : and with this reflection, inftead of a foliloquy in praife of chivalry, as Mr. Burke has done, I clofe the account of the ex pedition to Verfailles.* I have now to follow Mr. Burke through a pathlefs wildernefs of rhap- fodies, and a fort of delcant upon go vernments, in which he afferts what ever he pleafes, on the prefumption pf its being believed, without offer ing either evidence or reafons for fo doing. Before any thing can be reafoned upon to a conclusion, certain fails, * An account qf the expedition to Verfailles may be feen io No. 13, of the Re volution de Paris, containing the events from the 3d to the 101I1 Oflober, 1785. JlS PAINE's WORKS. principles, or data, to reafon from, muft be eftablilhed,' admitted, or denied. Mr. Burke, with his ufual outrage, abufes the Declaration of the Rights of Man, published by the National Affembly of France as the bafis on which the conftitution of France is built. This he calls " paltry and blurred Sheets of paper " about the rights of man." — Does Mr. Burke mean to deny that man has any rights ? If he does, then he muft mean that there are no fuch things as rights any where, and that he has none himfelf; for who is there ih the world but man ? But if Mr. Burke means' to admit that man has rights, the queftion then will be, What are thofe rights, and how came man by them originally ? The error of thofe who reafon by precedents drawn from antiquity, re- fpeiting the rights of man, is, that they do not go far enough into an tiquity. They do not go the whole way. They ftop in fome of {he intermediate Stages of an hundred or a thoufand years, and produce what was then done as a rule for the pre fent day. This is no authority at^all. If we travel ftill farther into antiqui ty, we will find a direft contrary opinion and practice prevailing ; if antiquity is to be authority, a thou fand fuch authorities may be produc ed, fucceffively contradifting each other : But if we proceed on, we Shall at laft come out right ; we Ihall come to the time when man came from the hand of his Maker_ What was he then ? Man.! Man was his high and only title, and a higher cannot be given him. — But of titles I Shall fpeak hereafter. We are now got at the origin of man, and at the origin of his rights. As to 'the manner in which the world has been governed from that day to this, it is no farther any concern of , ours than to make a proper ufe of the errors or the improvements which the hiftory of it prefents. Thofe who lived a hundred or a thoufand years ago were then moderns as we are now. They had their aiicients, and thofe ancients had others, and we alfo Shall be ancients in our turn. If the mere name of antiquity is togo- vern in the affairs of life, the people who are to live an hundred or a thou fand years hence, may as well take us for a predecent, as we make a prece dent of thofe who lived an hundred or a thoufand years ago. The fait is, that portions of antiquity, by prov ing every thing, eftablifh nothing. It is- authority againft authority all the way, till we come to the divine origin of the rights of man at the creation. Here our enquirers find a refting-place, and our reafon finds a home. If a difpute about die right* of man had arofe at the distance of an hundred years from the creation, it is to this fource of authority that we muft now refer. Though I mean not to touch upon any feftarian principle of religion) yet it may be worth obferving, that the genealogy of Chrift is traced to Adam. Why then not trace the rights of man to the creation of man ? I will anfwer the queftion. Becaufe there have been an upftart of go vernments, thrufting themfelves be tween, and prefumptuouily working to un-make man. If any generation of men ever poffeffed the right of diftating the mode by which the world Should be governed for ever, it was the firft generation that .exifted : and if that generation did not do it, no fucceed- ing generation can Shew any autho- Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 119. rity for doing it, nor fet any up. The illuminating and divine princi ples of the equal rights of man, (for it has its origin from the Maker of man) relates, not .only to the living individuals, but to generations of men fucceeding each other. Every generation is equal in rights to the generations which preceded it, by the Same rule that every individual is born equal in rights with his cotemporary. Every hiftory of the creation, and every traditionary account, whether from the lettered or unlettered world* however they may vary in their opi-' nion or belief of certain particulars, all agree in establishing one point, the unity of man ; by which I mean that man is all of one degree, and. ?onfequently that all men are born equal, and with equal natural rights, in the fame manner as if pofterity had been continued by creation inftead, of generation, the latter being only the mode by which the former is car ried forward ; and confequently," every child born in the world muft be considered as deriving its exist ence from God. The world is as new to him as it was to the firft man that exifted, and his natural right in it is of the fame kind. The Mofaic account of the crea- ation, whether taken as divine authority, or merely historical, is fully up to this point,' the unity or equality of man. The expreffions ad mit of no controversy. " And God' " faid, Let us make man in our own " image. In the image of God '.' created he him ; male and female . '.' created he them." The distinc tion of fexes is pointed out, but no . other diftinftion is even implied. If this be not divine authority, it is at leaft historical authority, and Shews that the equality , of man, fo far from ¦ being a modern doctrine, is the oldeft upon record. It is alfo to be obferved, that all the religions known in the world are founded, "fo far as they relate to man> on. the unity of man, as being all of one. degree. Whether in heaven or in hell, or in whatever ftate man may be fuppofed to exift hereafter, the good and the bad are the only dif- tinftiqns. Nay, even the laws of governments are obliged to Slide into this principle, by making degrees to confift in crimes, and not in perfons. It is one of" the greateft of all truths, and "of the higheft advantage to cultivate. By considering man in this light, and by instructing him to confider himfelf in this light, it places him in a clofe conneftion with all his duties, whether to Jlis Creator, or to the creation, of which he is a part ; and it is only when he forgets his origin, or to ufe a more falhionabla phrafe, his birth and family, that he becomes diffolute. It is not among the leaft of the evils of the prefentf existing governments in all Pal'ts of Europe, that man, confidered as man, is thrown' back to, a vaft dif tance from his Maker, and the arti ficial chafm filled up by a Succeffion of barriers, or a fort of turnpike gates, through which he has to pafs. I will quote Mr. Burke's catalogue of barriers that he has fet up between man and his Maker. Putting him felf in the charafter of a herald, he fays—" We fear God — we look with " awe to kings — with affection to " parliaments — with duty to ma. " giftrates — with reverence to priefts, " and with .refpeft to nobility." Mr. Burke has alfo forgot to put in 120 JPAINE's WORKS. "chivalry." He has alfo forgot to put in Peter. The duty of man is not a wilder nefs of turnpike gates, through which he is to pafs by tickets from one to the other. It is plain and Simple, and confifts but of two points. His duty to God, which every man muft feel ; and with refpeft to his neighbour, to do as he would be done by- If thofe to whom power is dele gated do well, they will be re- fpefted : if not, they will be defpil'ed ; and with regard to thofe to whom no power is delegated, but who affume it, the rational world can know nothing of them. Hitherto we have fpoken only (and that but in part) of the natural rights of man.- We have now to confider the civil rights of man, and ' to Shew how the one originates out of the other. Man did not enter into fociety to become worfe than he was before, nor to have lefs rights than he had before, but to have thofe rights better fecured. His na tural rights are the foundation of all his civil rights. But in order fo purfue this dillinftion with more pre cision, it will be neceffary to mark the different qualities of natural) and civil rights. A few words will explain this. "Natural rights are thofe which ap pertain to man in right of his exist ence. Of this kind are all the intel- leftual rights, or rights of the mind, and alfo thofe rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happinefs, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others Civil rights are thofe which appertain to man in right of his being a member of fociety. Every civil right has for its foundation fome natuial right pre existing in the individual, but La which his individual power is not» in all cafes, fufficiently competent. Of this kind are all thofe which relate to fecurity and proteftion. From this Short review, it will be eafy to distinguish between that clafs of natural rights which man retains after entering into fociety, and thofe which he throws into common Stock as a member of fociety. The natural rights which he re tains, are all tbofe in which the power to execute is as perfeft in the individual as the right itfelf. Among this clafs, as is before mentioned, are all the intelleftual rights, or rights. of the mind : confequently, religion is one of thofe rights. The natural rights which are retained, are all thofe in which, though the right is perfect in the individual, the power to exe cute them is defective. They anfwer. not his purpofe. ..A man, by natu ral right, has a right to judge in his own caufe ; and fo far as the right of the mind is concerned, he never fur- renders it : But what availeth it him to judge, if he, has not power to re- drefs ? He therefore depolits this right in the common Slock of fociety, and takes the arm of fociety, of which he. is a part, in preference and in addi tion to his own. Society grants him) nothing. Every man is a proprietor in fociety, and draws on the capital as a matter of right. From thofe premifes, two or three certain conclufions will follow. . Firft, That every civil right grows out of a natural right ; or; in other words, Is a natural right exchanged. Secondly, That civil power, pro perly confidered as fuch, is made up of the aggregate of that clafs of the natural rights of man, which becomes Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. »'2I defective in the individual in point of power, and anfwers not his purpofe ; but when colleftedi to a focus, be comes competent to the purpofe of every one. Thirdly, That the power produced from the aggregate of natural rights, imperfect in power in the individual, cannot be applied to invade the natu- ' ral rights which are retained in the individual, and in which the power to execute is as perfeft as the right itfelf. We have now, in a few words. traced man from a natural individual to a member of Society, and Shewn, or endeavoured to Shew, the quality of the natural rights retained, and of thofe which are exchanged for civil . rights. Let us now apply thofe prin ciples to government. • ' In calling our eyes over the world, it is extremely eafy to distinguish the governments which have arifen out of fociety, or put of the Social com- paft, from thofe which have not : but jto place this in a clearer light than what a fingle glance may , afford, it will be proper to talce a review of the feveral . fources from which govern ments have arifen, ahd on which they have been founded. They may be all comprehended, under three heads. Firft, Superstiti on. Secondly, Power. Thirdly, The common 'intereft of fociety, and fhe common rights of man. The firft was a government of prieftcraft, the fecond of conquerors, find the third of reafon. When a Set of 'artful rnen pretend ed, through the rhediilm of oracles, to hold intercourfe with the Deity, as familiarly as they now march up the* back Stairs in European courts, the world* was completely under the government of foperltition. The oracles were confulted, and whatever they were made to fay became the law; and this fort 6f government lafted as long as this fort of fuperfti- tion lafted. After thefe a race of conquerors arofe, whofe government like that of William the Conqueror, was founded in power, and the fword affumed the name of a fcepter. Governments thus eftabliShed, laft as long as the power to fupport them lads ; but that they might avail themfelves pf every en gine in their favour, they united fraud to force, and fet up an idol which they called Divine Right, and which, in imitation of the Pope, who affefts to be fpiritual and tem poral, and in contradiction" to the Founder of the Chriftian religion, twifted itfelf afterwards into an idol of another Shape called Church and State. 'The key of St. Peter, ^and the key of the Treafury, became quartered on one another, and the wondering cheated multitude worshipped the in vention. When I contemplate the natural dignity of man ; when I feel (for Nature has not been kind enough to me to blunt my feelings) for the honour and happinefs of its charac- .. ter, I become irritated at the attempt to govern mankind by force and fraud, as" if they were all knaves and fools, and can fcarcely avoid dilguft at thofe who are thus impofed upon. We ^have now to' review the go vernments which arife out of fociety ' in contradiftinftion to thofe which arofe out of foperflition and con queft. It has been thought a confiderable advance towards establishing the prin ciples of Freedom, to fay, that go vernment is a compact between thofe who govern, and thofe who are go. PAINE's WORKS. 122 kerned : but this cannot be ti-ue, be caufe it is putting the, effeft before the caufe ; for as man muft have ex ifted before governments exifted, there neceffarily was a time when go vernments did not exift, and conse quently there could originally exift nb governors to form Such a compact with. The fail therefore muft be,. that the individuals themfelves, each in his own perfonal and fovereign right, entered into a compaB with each other to produce a government : and this is the only mode in which governments have a right to arife, and the only principle on which they have a right to exift. To poffefs ourfelves of a clear idea of what government is, or ought t3 be, we mull trace it to Its origin. In doing this, we' Shall eafily.difeover t'lat governments muft have arifen, either 'oat of the people, or over the people. Mr. Burke has made no dis tinction. He investigates nothing to its Source, and therefore he confounds every thing : but he has fignified his intention of undertaking, at fome fu ture opportunity, a comparifon be tween the conftitutions of England and France. As he thus renders it a fubjeft of controverfy by throwing the gauntlet, I take him up on his own ground. It is in high challenges that high truths have the right of appearing : and I accept it with the more readinefs, becaufe it affords me, at the fame time, an opportunity of purfuing the fubjeft with refpeft to government arifing out of fociety. But it will be firft neceffary to define what is meant by a conftitution. If is not fufficient that we adopt the word : we muft fix alfo a Standard Sig nification to it. • A conftitution is not a thing in, name only, but in fail. It has not an ideal, but a real existence 5 and wherever it cannot be produced in a vifible form, there is none. A con ftitution is a -thing antecedent to a government, and a government is only the creature of a. conftitution. The constitution of a country is not the aft of its government, but of the people constituting a government. It is the body of elements, to which' you can refer, and quote article by article; and which contains the prin ciples on which the government Shall be eftabliShed, the manner in which it Shall be organized, the power it Shall have, the mode of elections, the- duration of parliaments, or by what other name fuch bodies may be called; the powers which the executive part of the government. Shall haye ; and, in ' fine, every thing that relates to the complete organization ot a ciyil government, and the principles on which it Shall aft, and by which it Shall be bound. A constitution, therefore, is to a government, what the laws made afterwards by that go vernment are to a court of judicature. The court of judicature does not make laws, neither can it alter them ; it only aits in conformity to the laws made, and the government is in like manner governed by the confti tution. "¦ Can then Mr. Burke produce the Englifh conftitution? If he cannot,. we may fairly conclude, that though it has been fo much talked about, no fuch thing as a conftitution exifts, or. ever did exift, and confequently that the people have yet a conftitution to form. Mr. Burke will not, I prefume, deny the pofition \ have already ad vanced ; namely,, that governments arife either out of the people, or over the people. The English govern ment is one of thofe, which arofe out of a conquest, and not out of fociety, - Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. "3 and conftquently it arofe over the people ; and though it has been much modified from the opportunity of circumftances fince the time of Wil liam the Conqueror, the country has never yet regenerated itfelf, and is therefore without a conftitution. I readily perceive the reafon why Mr. Burke declined going into the comparifon between the English and French conftitutions, becaufe he could not but perceive, when he fat down to the taSk, that no fuch thing as a conftitution exifted on his fide the queftion. His book is certainly bulky enough to have contained all he could fay on this fubjeft, and it would have been the beft manner in which people could have judged of their feparate merits. Why then has he declined the .only thing that was worth while to write upon ? Ir was the Strongest ground he could take, if the advantages were on his fide ; but the weakeit, if they were not; and his declining to take it, is either a Sign that he could hot poffefs it, or could not maintain it.' Mr. Burke has faid, in a fpeech laft winter in parliament, that when the National Affembly firft met in three Orders, (the Tiers Etats, the Clergy, and rhe Nobleffe)i that Francs had then a good conftitution. This Shews, among numerous other instances, that Mr, Burke does not underftand what a constitution is. The perSons fo met, were not a con ftitution, but a convention to make a constitution. The prefent National Affembly of France is, ftriftly fpeaking, the perfonal focial compact. — The mem bers of it are the delegates of the na tion in its original character ; future affemblies will be the delegates of the nation in its organized character. The authority of the prefent ASfem- bly is different to what the authori ty of future Affemblies will be. The authority of the prefent one is to form a constitution, the author- rity of future Affemblies will be to legislate according to the principles and forms prefcribed in that con stitution ; and if experience Should hereafter Shew that alterations, aniend- ments, or additions are neceffary, the conftitution will point out the mode by which fuch things Shall be done, and not leave it to the difcre. tionary power of the future govern ment. A government on the principles on which constitutional governments _ arifing out of the fociety are efta bliShed, cannot have the right of al tering itfelf. If it had, it would be arbitrary. It might make itfelf what it pleafed ; and wherever fuch a right is fet up, it Shews there is no con ftitution. The aft by which the English parliament empowered itfelf to fit feven years, Shews there is no conftitution in England. It might, by the fame felf-authority, have fet any greater number of years, or for life. The Bill which the prefent Mr. Pitt brought into parliament fome years ago, to reform pariia ment, was on the fame erroneous principle. The right of reform is in the nation in its original charac ter, and the constitutional- method would be by a general convention elected for the purpofe. There is moreover a paradox In the idea of vitiated bodies reforming them felves. From thefe preliminaries I proceed to draw fome comparifons. I have .**4 PAINE'! WORKS. already fpoken of the declaration of rights ; and as I mean to be concife as poffible, I Shall proceed to other parts of the conftitution. The conftitution of .'France =faysi, that every man who pays a tax of Sixty Sous per annum, (is. and 6d. English), is an eleftor — What article will Mr. Burke place againft this-? Can any thing be more limited, and at the fame time more capricious, than what the qualifications of elec tors are in England? Limited — be caufe not one man in an hundred (I fpeak much within compafs) is ad mitted to vote : Capricious — beca'ufe the loweft character that can be fup pofed to exift, and who has not fo much as the vifible means of an ho neft livelihood, is an eleftor in fome places ; while in other places, the man who pays very large taxes, and with a fair known charafter, and the farmer who rents to the amount of three or four hundred pounds a .year, and with a property on that farm to three or four times that amount, is not admitted to be an eleftor. Every thing is out : of nature, as Mr. Burke fays pn another occafion, In this ftrange chaos, and all forts of follies are blended with all forts of crimes. William the Conqueror and his defcendants parcelled out the country, in this manner, and bribed one part of it by what they call Char ters, to hold the' other parts of it the better fubjefted to their will. This is the reafon why fo many of thofe Charters, abound in Cornwall. The people were . averfe to the govern ment eftabliShed at the conqueft, and the towns were garrifoned and bribed to enfla,ve the country. AH the old Charters are the badges of this conqueft, and it is from this fource that the capricioufnefs of elections arifes. The French conftitution fays, that ¦the number of reprefentatives for any place Shall be in ratio to the number of taxable inhabitants or eleftors. What article will Mr. 'Burke place againft, this? The county of York- Shire, which contains near a million- of fouls, feuds two county members ; and fo does the county of Rutland, which .contains not ' an hundredth part of that number. The' town of Old Sarum, which contains not three houfes, fends two members; and the. town of Manchefter, which contains. Upwards of Sixty thoufand fouls, ..is cot admitted to fend any. Is there any principle in thefe things) Is there any thing by which you pan trace the marks of freedom or disco ver thofe of wifdom ?.-rrNo , wonder . then Mr- Burke has declined the comparifon, and endeavopred to leap! his readers from the point by a wiJd unfyftematical difplay pf paradoxical rhapfodies. The French conftitution fays, that the National Affembly Shall beelefted every two years. — What article will Mr. Burke place againft this ? Why, that the nation has no right at all in the cafe : that the government is perfe.ftly arbitrary, with refpeft to this point ; and he can quote for his authority, the precedent of a former parliament. The French conftitution fays, there Shall be no game laws ; that the far- , mer on whoSe lands wild game Shalj be found (for it is by the produce of thofe lands they are fed) Shall have a right to what he can take. That there Shall be no monopolies of any kind— that all trade /Shall be, free, and every man free to follow any Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 125 ¦occupation by which he can procure an honeft livelihood, and in any place, town or city, throughout the nation. What will Mr. Burke fay to this ? In England, game is made the pro perty of thofe at whofe expence it is not fed ; and with refpeft to mo nopolies, the country is cut up into monopolies. Every chartered town is an arlftocratical monopoly in it felf, and the qualification of electors proceeds out of thofe chartered mo nopolies. Is this freedom? Is this what Mr. Burke means by a con ftitution ? In thefe chartered monopolies, a man coming from another part of the country, is hunted from them as if he were a foreign enemy. An Englishman is not free of his own country : every one of thofe ' places prefents a barrier in his way, and tells him he is not a freeman — that he has no rights. Within thefe mo nopolies, are other monopolies. A city, iiich for inftance as Bath, which contains between twenty and thirty thoufand inhabitants', the right of elefting reprefentatives to parliament is monopolifed into about thirty -one perfons. And within thefe monopo lies are ftill others. A man even of the fame town, whofe parents were not in circumftances to give him an occupation, is debarred, in many cafes, from the, natural right of ac quiring one, be his genius or indul- try what it may. Are thel'e things examples to hold out to a country regenerating itfelf from Slavery, like France ? Cer tainly they are not ; and certain am I, that when the people of England come to reflect upon them, they will, like France, annihilate thofe badges ©f ancient. oppreflion, thofe traces of a conquered nation. Had Mr. Burke poffeffed^ talents fimilar to the author " On the Wealth of Nations," he he would have tomprehended all the parts which enter into, and, by af- femblage, form a conftitution. He would have reafoned from minutiae to magnitude. It is not from his' prejudices only, but from the difor- derly eaft of his genius, that he is un fitted for the fubjeft he writes upon. Even his genius is without a consti tution. It is a genius at random, and hot a genius constituted— -But he muft fay fomething.— -He has there fore mounted in the air like a bal loon, to draw the eyes of the multitude from the ground they Stand upon. Much is to be learned from the French conftitution. Conqueft and tyranny transplanted themfelves with William the Conqueror from Nor mandy to England, and the country is yet disfigured with the marks. May then the example of all France contribute to regenerate the freedom which a province of it destroyed ! T^ie French constitution Says, that to preferve the national representation from being conupt, no member of, the National Affembly Shall be an officer of the government, a place man, or a penfioner — What will Mr. Burke place againft this ? I will whifper his anfwer : Loaves and Fifties. Ah I this government of loaves and fifties has more mifchief in it than people have yet reflefted on. The National Affembly has made •the difcovery, and it holds out the example to the world. Had govern ments agreed to quarrel on purpofe to fleece their countries by taxes, they could not have focceeded better than 'hey have done. 3Z<* PAIN E's WORKS. Everything in the English govern ment appears to me the reverfe of what it ought lo be, and of what it is faid to be. The parliament, imper fectly and capriciously elected as it is» is neverthelefs fuppofed to hold the national purfe in truft for the nati on ; but in the manner in which an English parliament is constructed, it is like a man being both mort gager and mortgagee ; and in the cafe of mifapplication of truft, it is the criminal fitting in judgment upon himfelf. If thofe who vote the fup- plies are the lame perfons who re ceive the fupphes when voted; and are to account for the expenditure of thofe fupplies to thofe who voted them, it is themfelves accountable to themfelves, and the Comedy of Er rors concludes with the Pantomime of Hush. Neither the ministerial party, nor the oppofition, will touch ¦upon this cafe. The national purfe is the common hack which each mounts ,upon. It is like what the .country people call, " Ride and tie — «' You ride a little way, and then '.' I*." — They order thefe things better in France. The French constitution fays, that the right of war and peace is in the nation. Where elfe Should it refide, but in thofe who are to pay the expence ? In England, this right is faid to refide in a -metaphor, Shewn at the Tower S'or fixjpence or a Shilling a piece : fo are the lions ; and it would be a ftep nearer to reafon to fay it refided in them, for any inanimate metaphor is no more than a hat or a cap. We can all fee the absurdity of worshipping Aaron's molten calf/ or Nebuchadnezzar's golden image j but why do men continue td praftife in themfelves, the abfurdities they def- pife in others ? It may with reafon be faid, that in the manner the English nation is reprefented, it Signifies not where this right refides, Whether, in the crown or in the parliament. War is the common harveft of all thofe' who participate in the division and expenditure of the public money, in' all countries. It is the art of con quering at home : the objeft of it is» an increafe of revenue ; and as reve nue cannot be increafed without tax es, a pretence muft be made for expenditures. — -In reviewing the hif tory of the English government, its- wars and its taxes, a Slander -by, not blinded by prejudice, nor warped by intereft, would declare, that taxes were not raifed to carry on wars, but that wars were raifed to carry on taxes. iy Mr. Burke, as a Member of the Houfe of Commons, is a part of the English Government ; and though he profeffes himfelf an enemy to war, he abufes the French Conftitution, which feeks to explode it. He hold* up the English Government as a mo del, in'all its parts, to France ; but he Should firft know the remarks which the French make upon it. They contend, in favour of their own, that the portion of liberty en- joyed in England, is juft enough to enflave a country by, more produc tively than by defpotifm ; and that * It'ii a practice in fome parts of the country, when two travellers have but one horfe, which like the national purfe will not carry double, that the one mounts and rides two or three miles a. head, and then ties the horfe to agate, and walte on. , V/hen the fecond traveller arrives, he ' takes the horfe, rides on, aud paffes hi« companion a mile or tv/o, and ties again ; aqd"fo on. — Ride and tie. • Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN, as the real objeft of defpotifm is re venue, that a government fo formed obtains more than it could either by a direft defpotifm, or in a full ftate of freedom, and is, therefore on the ground of intereft, oppofed to both. They account alfo for the rea- dinefs which always appears in fuch governments,, for engaging in wars, by remarking- on the different mo tives which produce them. In de fpotic governments, wars are the ef feft of pride ; but in thofe govern ments in which they ( become the means of taxation, they acquire thereby a more permanent promptitude. The French Conftitution,. there fore, to provide againft both thofe evils, has taken away the power of declaring war from kings and minif- ters, and placed the right where the expence muft fall. When the queftion on- the right of war and peace was agitating in the National Affembly, the people of England appeared to be much inte rested in the event, arid highly to applaud, the decifion.— As a principle, it applies as much to one country as to another. William the Conqueror, as a conqueror, held this power of war and peace in himfelf, and his de fcendants have ever fince claimed it under him as a right. Although Mr. Burke has afferted the right of the Parliament at the Revolution to bind and controul the nation and pofterity for ever, he de nies, at the fame time, that the par liament or the nation had any right to alter what he calls the fucceSlion of the crown, in any thing but in part, or by a fort of modification. By his taking this ground, he throws the cafe back, to the Norman Conqueft; and by thus running a line of fuc- i't'7 ceffion fpringing, from William the Conqueror to the prefent day, he makes it neceffary to enquire who and what • William the Conqueror was, and where he came from ; and into the origin, hiftory, and nature of what are called prerogatives. Every thing muft have had a beginning, and the fog of time and antiquity Should be penetrated to difcover it. Let then Mr. Burke bring forward his William of Nqrmandy, for it is to this origin that his argument goes. It alfo unfortunately happens, in running this line of fuceeffion, that another line parallel thereto, prefents itfelf, which is, that if the fuceef fion runs in the Hse of the conqueft, the nation runs in the line of being conquered, and it ought to refcue it felf from this reproach, ' But it will perhaps be faid, that though the power of declaring war defcends in the heritage of the con queft, it is held in check by the right of the parliament to with-hold the fupplies. It will always happen, when a thing is originally wrong, that amendments do not make it right, and it often happens that they do as much mifchief one way as good the other : and fujh is the cafe here ; for if she one rafhly declares war as a matter of right, and the', other pe remptorily with-hold,s the fupplies as- a matter of right, the remedy be comes as bad or worfe than the dif eafe. The one forces the nation to a combat, and the other ties its hands : But the more probable iffue is, that the contraft will end in a collufion between the parties, and be made a fcreen to both. On this queftion of war, three things are to be confidered. Firft, the right of declaring it: Secondly, lit PAlNE's WORKS. the expence of fupporting it : — Third ly, the mode of condufting it after it is declared. The French conftitu tion places the right where the expence muft fall, and this union can be only in the nation. The mode of con dufting it after it is declared, it con signs to the executive department. Were this the cafe in all countries, we Should hear but little more of wars. Before I proceed to confider other parts of the French conftitution, and by way of relieving the fatigue of argument; I will introduce an anec dote which I had from Dr. Frank lin While the Doftor refided in France as minister from America during the war, he had numerous propofals made to him by projeftors of every country and of every kind, who wished to go to the land that floweth with milk and honey, America ; and among the reft, there was one who offered him felf to be King. He introduced his propofal to the Doftor by letter, which is now in the hands of M. Beauniarchais, of Paris — Slating, firft; that as the Americans had difmiffed er fent away * their King, that they would want another, — Secondly, that himfelf ?'as a Norman.— Thirdly, that he was of a more ancient fa mily than the Dukes of Normandy, and of a more honourable defcent, his line having never been bastardized. Fourthly, that there was already a precedent in England, of Kings coming out of Normandy : and on thefe grounds he retted his offer, en joining that the Doftor would for ward it to America. But as the Doftor did not do this, nor yet fend him an anfwer, the projector wrote ¦£ fecond letter ; in which he did not, it is true, threaten to go over and conquer America, but only, with great dignity propofed, that if his offer was not accepted, that an ac knowledgment of about £.30,000 might be made to him for his genero- Sity ! — -Now, as all arguments re fpefting fuceeffion muft neceffarily conneft that fuceeffion with fome be ginning, Mr. Burke's arguments on this fubjeft go to Shew, that thers is no English origin of kings, and that they are defcendants of the Norman line in right of the Conqueft. It may, therefore, be of fervice to his doctrine to make this Story known, and to inform him, that in the cafe of that natural extinftion to which all mortality is fubjeft, that kings, may again be had from Normandy; on more reafo'f/able terms than Wil liam the Conqueror'; and confequent-- ly that the good people of England* at the Revolution of 16 88, might have done much better, had fuch, a generous Norman as this known their wants, and they had known hist The chivalry charafter which Mr. Burke fo much admires, is certainly much eaSier to make a bargain with than a hard-dealing Dutchman; — But to return to the matter? of the con ftitution — ¦ The French conftitution fays, There Jhall be no titles : and of confequence* all that clafs of equivocal generation, which in fome countries' is called " ariftocracy," and in others " nobi- " lity," is done away, and the peer is exalted into man. ' Titles are but nick-names, and every nick-name is a title. The 1 The word he ufed was renvoye, difmiSTed or fent away. Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. izg thing is perfeftly harmlefs in itfelf, but it marks a fort of foppery in the human charafter which degrades it. It renders man into the diminutive of man in things which are great, and the counterfeit of woman in things which are little. It talks about its fine blue ribbon, like a girl, and Shews its new garter like a child. A certain writer of fome antiquity, fays, " When I " was a child, I thought as a child ; " but when I became a man, I put " away childiSh things." It is, properly, from the elevated mind of France, that the folly of titles have fallen. It has outgrown the baby-cloaths of Count and Duke, and breeched itfelf in manhood. France has not levelled ; it has ex alted. It has put down the dwarf, to fet up the man. The punyifm of a fenfelefs word like Duke, or Count, or Earl, has ceafed to pleafe. Even thofe who poffeffed them have dif- owned the gibberish, and, . as they outgrew the rickets, have defpifed the rattle. The genuine mind of man, thirfting for its native home, fociety, contemns the gewgaws that feparate him from it. Titles are like circles drawn by the magician's wand to con trail the fphere . of man's • felicity. He lives immured within the baftile of a wPrd, and furveys at a distance the envied life of -nan. Is it then any Wonder that" titles fhould fall in France ? Is it ' not a greater wonder they Should be kepr up any where ? What are they ? What is their worth, and " what is their " amount?" When we think or fpeak cf a Judge or a General, we affociate with it the ideas of office and charafter ; Jive think of gravity in the one, ahd Wavery in the other : but when we Jiftavvord merely as a title, no ideas affociate with it. . Through all th^. vocabulary of Adam, there is not fuch an animal as a Duke or a Count ; neither can we conneft any certain idea to the words. Whether they mean ftrength or weaknefs, wifdom or folly, a child or a man, or the rider or the horfe, is all equivocal. What refpeft then can be paid to that which defcribes nothing, and which means nothing ?— « Imagination has given figure and cha rafter to centaurs, fatyrs, Snd down to all the fairy tribe ; but titles baffle even the powers of fancy, and are a chimerical non-defcript. But this is not all. — If a whole country is difpofed to hold them in contempt, all their value is gone, and none will own them. It is common, opinion only that makes them any thing, or nothing, or worfe than no thing. There is no occafion to take titles away, for they take themfelves away when fociety concurs to ridi cule them. This fpecies of imagin ary confequence has vifibly declined in every part of Europe, and it haftens to its exit as the world of reafon continues to rife. There was a time when the loweft clafs of whac are called nobility was more thought of thap the higheft is now, and when a man in armour riding throughout Christendom in quell of adventures was more Stared at than a modern Duke. The world has feen this folly fall, and it has fallen by being laugh ed at, and the farce of titles will fol low its fate. — The patriots of France have difcovered in good time that rank and dignity in fociety muft take a new ground. The old one has fallen through. — It muft now take the fubftantial ground of charafter, in ftead of the chimerical ground of titles 5 and they have brought th£ K. PAINE's WORKS. »3» titles to the altar, and made of them a burnt offering to reafon. If no mifchief had annexed itfelf to the folly of titles they would not have been worth a ferious and formal deftruftion, fuch as the National Af fembly have decreed them : and this makes it neceffary to enquire further into the nature and charafter of arif tocracy. That, then, which is called arif tocracy in fome countries, and nobi lity in others, arofe out of the go vernments founded upon conqueft. It was originally- a military order for the purpofe of fupporting military government, (for fuch were all go vernments founded in conqueft) ; and to keep up a fuceeffion of this order for the purpofe for which it was efta bliShed, all the younger branches of thofe families were difinherited, and the law of primogeniturejhip fet up . The nature and charafter of arif tocracy Shews itfelf to us in this law. It is a law againft every law of na ture, and Nature herfelf calls for its deftruftion. EStabliih family juftice, and ariftocracy falls. By the arifto- cratical law of primogenitiirefhip in a family of fix children, five are expof ed. Ariftocracy has never but one childi The reft are begotten to be devoujed. They are thrown to the canibal for prey, and the natural pa rent prepares the unnatural repaft. As every thing which is out of na ture in man, affefts, moie or lefs, the intereft of fociety, fo does this. All the children which the ariftocracy diibwns (which are all except the eldeft) are, in general, cad like or phans on a pariih, to be provided for by the, public, but at a greater charge. ——Unneceffary offices and places in governments and courts are created at the expence of .the public, to maintain them. With what kind of parental reflec tions can a father or mother contem plate their younger offspring. By nature they are children, and by mar riage they are heirs ; but by arifto cracy they are baftards and orphans. They are the fleSh and blood of their parents in one line, and nothing a- kin to them in the other. To re- Store, therefore, parents to their chil dren, and children to their parents- relations to each other, and man to fociety— and to exterminate the mon- fter Ariftocracy, root and branch— the French conftitution has destroyed the law of Primogenitukeship. Here then lies the monfter ; and Mr. Burke, if he pleafes, may write its epitaph. Hitherto we have confidered a- riftocracy chiefly in one point of view. We have now to confider it in another. But whether we view it before or behind, or fide-ways, or any way elfe, domeftically or publicly^ it is Still a monfter. In France, ariftocracy had one fea ture lefs in its countenance than what it has in fome other countries. It did not compofe a body of hereditary. legislators. It was not " a corpora* " tion of ariftocracy" for fuch I have heard M. de la Fayette defcribe an English Houfe of Peers. Let us then examine the grounds, upon which the French conftitution has refolved againft having fuch an Houfe in France. Becaufe in the firft place, as is al ready mentioned, aristocracy is kept up by family tyranny and injuftice. Secondly, Becaufe there is an un- natual unfitnefs in an ariftocracy to be legislators for a nation. Theii' ideas of diftributive juftice are cor rupted at the very fource. They be gin life by trampling on all their younger brothers and filters, aad re- ?ART I. RIGHTS OF MAN. t}i lations of every kind, and are taught and educated ib to do: With what ideas of juftice or honour can that man enter an houfe of legislation, who abforbs in his own perfon the inheritance of a whole family Of children; or doles out to them fome pitiful portion with the infolence of a gift? Thirdly, Becaufe the idea of he reditary legislators is as inconsistent as that of hereditary judges, or he reditary juries ; and as abfurd as an heieditary^ mathematician, Or an he reditary wife man; and as ridiculous as an hereditary poet-laureat. Fourthly, Becaufe a body of men holding themfelves accountable to aobody, ought not to be trailed by any body. Fifthly, Becaufe it is continuing the uncivilized principle of govern ments founded in conqueft, and the bafe idea of man having property in man, and governing him by perfonaj right. Sixthly; Becaufe ariftocracy has a tendency to degenefate the human fpecies— By the univerfal ceconomy of nature it is known; and by the inftance of the Jews it is proved, \ that the human fpecies has a tenden - '. cy to degenerate, in any. fmall num ber -of perfons, when feparated from the general Slock of fociety, and in termarrying constantly with each Other. It defeats even its pretended end, and becomes in time the oppo site of what is noble in man. Mr. Burke talks of nobility ; let him Shew what it is; The greateft characters the world have known, have rofe on the democratic floor. Ariftocracy has not been able to keep a propor- ' tionate pace with democracy. The artificial Noble fin inks into a dwarf before the Noble of Nature ; and in the few instances (for there are fome in all countries) in whom nature, as by a miracle, has furvived in arif tocracy, THOSE MEN DESPISE IT. But it is time to proceed; to a new S'ubjeft. The French Conftitution has re formed the condition of the clergy. It has raifed the income of the low er and middle claffes, and taken from the higher. None are now lefs than twelve hundred livres (fifty pounds Sterling) nor any higher than about two or three thoufand pounds. What will Mr. Burke place againft this ? Hear what he fays. He Says, " that the people of Eng- *' land can fee, without pain or " grudging, an archbiShop precede '* a duke; they can fee a biShop of '* Durham ', or a biShop of Winchef- '' ter; in poffeffion of £. 10,000 a ic year j and cannot fee why it isin " worfe hands than eftafes to the " like amount In the hands of this " earl or that 'fquire." And Mr. Burke offers this as an example to France; As to the firft part, whether the archbiShop precedes the duke, or the duke the biShop; it is, I believe, to the people in general; fomewhat like Sternhold and Hopkins, or Hopkins and Sternhold; you may put which you pleafe firft : and as I confefs that I do not underftand the merits of this cafe, I will not contend it with Mr, Burke; But with refpeft to the latter, I have fomething to fay.— Mr. Burke has not put the cafe right.— The comparifon is out of order by being put between the hfhdp and the earl or the 'fquire. > It ought to be put between the biShop and the curate; K a 13* PAINE's WORKS. and then it will Stand thus: — The people of England can fee, without pain or grudging, a hi/hop of Durham or of Winchefter, in poffejjion qf ten thoufand pounds a year, and a curate on thirty or forty -pounds a year, , or lefs. — No, Sir, they certainly do not fee thofe things without great pain or grudging. It is a cafe that ap plies itfelf to every man's fenfe of juftice, and is one among many that calls aloud for a conftituti on. In France, the cry of " the church '. the church .'" was repeated as often as in Mr. Burke's book, and as loudly as when the Diffenter's bill was before the English parliament : but the generality of the French clergy were not to be deceived by this cry any longer. They knew, that whatever the pretence might be, it was themfelves who were ohe of the principal objects _pf it., It was the cry of the high beneficed clergy, to prevent any regulation of income taking place between thofe of ten thoui'and pounds a year and the pa rish pried. They, therefore, joined their cafe to thofe of every other op- preffed clafs of men, and by this union obtained redrefs. The French' constitution has abo lished tythes, that fource of perpe tual difconteht between the tyth'e- holder and the parishioner. When land is held on tythe, it is in the condition of an eftate held between two parties ; the one receiving one- tenth, and the other nine-tenths of the produce ; and, confequently, on principles of equity, if the eftate can be improved, and made to produce by that improvement double or tre ble what it did before, or in any other iatio, the expence of fuch irhv provement ought to be borne in like proportion between the parties who are to Share the produce. But this is not the cafe in tythes \ the farmer bears the whole expence, and the tythe -holder takes a tenth of the im provement, in addition to the origi- ' nal tenth, and by this means gets the value of two-tenths inftead of one. This is another Cafe that calls for a conftitution. The French conftitution hath abo lished Or renounced Toleration, and Intoleration. alfo, and hath eftabliShed Universal Right of Consci1- ENCE. Toleration is not the oppoftle of Intoleration, but is the counterfeit of it. Both are defpotifms. The one affumes to itfelf the right of with holding Liberty of Conference, and the other of granting it; The one is the pope, armed with fire and fag got, and the other is the pope fel ling or granting indulgehc'es. The former is church and ftate, and the latter is church and traffic-. But Toleration may be viewed In a much Stronger light. Man wor ships not himfelf, but his Maker; and the liberty of confidence which he claims, is not for the fervice bf himfelf, but of his God. In this cafe, therefore, we muft neceffarily have the affociated idea of two be ings -. the mortal who renders the worship, ahd the Immortal Being who is worshipped. Toleration, there fore, places itfelf, not between man and man, nor between church and . church, nor between one denomina tion of religion and another, but be tween God and man 5 between the being who worships, and the Being who is worshipped ; and by the fame -aft of affumed authority by which Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. iJJ it tolerates man to pay his worlhip, it prefumptuoufly fcts itfelf up to tolerate .the Almighty to receive it. Were a Bill brought into any parliament, entitled, " An Act to •' tolerate or grant liberty to the "- Almighty to receive the worShip ". of a" Jew or a Turk," or " pro- " ". hibit the Almighty from receiv- ''¦ ing it," all men would Startle, and call it blafphemy. There would be an uproar. The preSumption of toleration in religious matters would then prefent itfelf unmaiked : but the prefumption is not the lefs be caufe the name of " Man" only ap pears to thofe laws, for the affociat- ed idea of the worfhipper and the worjbipped cannot be feparatcd— Who then, art thou, vain duft and afhes ! by whatever name thou art called, ¦whether a King, a BiShop, a Church or a State, a Parliament, or any thing elfe, that obtrudeft thine in significance between the foul of man and its Maker? Mind thipe own concerns. If he believes not as thou believed, it is a proof that thou be- lieveft not as he believeft, and there is no earthly power can determine between you. With refpeft to what are called denominations of religion, if every' one is left to judge of his own reli gion, there is no fuch thing as a re ligion that is wrong ; but if they are to judge of each other's religion there is no foch thing as a religion that is right ; and. therefore all the World are right, or all the world are wrong. But with refpeft to religion itfelf, without regard to names, and, as directing itfelf from the uiiiverfal family of mankind to the Divine ob ject of all adoration, it is man bring ing to his Maker the fruits of Ms heart % and though thofe fruits may differ from each other like the fruits of the earth, the grateful tribute of every one is accepted. A BiShop of Durham, or a BiShop of Winchester, or the ArchbiShop who heads the Dukes, will not re- fufe a tythe Sheaf of wheat, becaufe it is not a cock of hay ; nor a cock of hay, becaufe it is not a Sheaf of wheat ; nor a pig, becaufe it is nei ther one nor the other : but thele fame perfons, under the figure of an eftabliShed church, will not ;. rmit their Maker to receive the varied tythes of man's devotions. ' One of the continual chorufes of Mr. Burke's book is, " Church and *< State ;" he does not mean fome one particular church, or fome one par ticular ftate, but any church and date ; and he ufes the term, as a general figure to hold forth the po litical doftrine of always uniting the church with the ftate in every coun try, and he cenfures the National Affembly for not having done this in France.- Let us beftow a few- thoughts on this fubjeft. All religions are in their nature mild and benign, and united with principles of morality. They could not have made profelytes at firft, by profeffing any thing that was vicious, cruel, perfecuting, or immoral. Like every thing elfe, they had their be ginning ; and they proceeded by perfuafion, exhortation, and example. How then is it that they lofe their native mildnefs, and become moroSe and intolerant? It proceeds from the conneftioni which Mr. Burke recommends. By engendering the church with the State, a fort of mule animal, capa- 13* PAINE's WORKS. ble only of destroying, and not of is of the fame defcription : and this breeding up, is produced, called The proceeds," independent of the men, Church eftablijhed by L,aw. It is a Stranger, even, frorn its birth, to any parent mother on which >t 1S be gotten, and whom in time it kicks out and deftroys. The inquisition in Spain does not proceed from the religion originally profeffed, but from this mule-animal, engendered between the church and the State. The burnings in Smith- field proceeded from the fame hetero geneous production ; and it was the regeneration of this ftrange animal in England afterwards, that renewed rancour and irreligion among the in? habitants, and that drove the people from there being no law«fftablifh- ment in America. If alfo we view this matter in a temporal fenfe, we Shall fee the ill effefts it has had on the profperity of nations. The union of church and State has impoverished Spain. The revoking the edift of Nantz drove the filk manufafture from that country into England ; and church and ftate are now driving the cotton manufafture from England to Ame rica and France. Let then, Mr. Burke continue to preach his anti- political doftrine of Church and State. It will do fome good. The called Quakers and Diffenters to Ame- National Affembly will not follow rica. Perfecution is not an original his advice, but will benefit by his feature in any. religion ; but it is al- folly. It was by obferving the ill ways the ftrongly-marked feature of effefts of it in England that Amerii all law religions, or religions efta- ca has been warned againft it ; and blifhed by law. Take away the law-eftabliShment, and every religion re-affumes its original benignity. In America a Catholic Pried, is a good citizen, a good charafter, and a good neighbour; an Epifcopalian Minister it is by experiencing them in France that the National ASfembly have abo lished it, and, like America, has, established universal right of' CONSCIENCE, AND UNIVERSAL RIGHT ' OF citizenship *. * When in any country we fee extraordinary circumstances taking place, they natuially lead any man who has a talent for obfervation and Investigation, to inquire into the caufes. The manufactures of Manchefter, Birmingham, and Shef field, are the moft principal manufactures in England. From whence did this arife ? A little obfervation will explain the1 cafe. The principal, and the ge nerality of the inhabitants of thofe' places, are not of what is called in England the church eftablijbed by law-, -and they, or their fathers, (for it is within but a few years), withdrew from tile perfecution of the chartered towns, where Teft- !aws more particularly operate, and eftablifhed a fort of afylum for themfelves in thofe places. It was the only afylum that then offered, for the reft of Europe was worfe. — But the cafe is now changing.. Fiance and America bid allcomers welcome, and initiate them into a1! the rights of citizenship. Policy and intereft, therefore, will, but perhaps too Jate, dictate in England, what reafon and juftice could not. Thofe manufactures are withdrawing, and are arifing in other places. There is now -erecting at Paffey, three miles frpm Paris, a large cotton mill, and feveral are already treSed in America. Soon after the rejeaing the BHl for repealing the Teft law, one of the rlchefi manufacturers in England faid in my hear ing ; " England, Sir, is not a country for a DilTenrer to live in — we muft go to France." Thefe are truth', and it is doing juftice to both parties to tell them: It it chiefly the Diffemers th.t have carried i£nj,!iih manufactures to the height they ... - . , ¦ aie Part I. RIGHTS. OF MAN. »35 I will here ceaSe the comparifon with refpeft to the principles of the French Conftitution, and conclude this part of the fubjeft with a few obfeivations on the organization of the formal parts of the French and English governments. The executive power in each coun try is in the hands of a perfon (tiled the King ; but the French constitu tion distinguishes between the King and the Sovereign : It considers the ftation of Ktng as official, and places Sovereignty in the nation. The representatives of the nation, which compofe the National Affem bly, and who are the legislative power, originate in and from the people by election, as an inherent right in the people. — In England it is otherwife, and this arifes from the original efia- bliShmentof what is, called its monar chy ; for, as by the conque ft all the rights of the people or the nation were abforbed into the hands of the Conqueror, and who added the title of King to that of Conqueror, thofe lame matters which in. France are now held as rights in the people, or in the nation, are held in England as grants from what is called the Crown. The parliament in England, in both its branches, were erected by patents from the defcendants of the Conqueror. The Houfe of Commons did npt originate as a matter of right in the people to delegate pr eleft, bufi as a grant or boon. By the French conftitution, the Narion is always named before the King. The third article of the De claration of rights fays, " The na- " tion is effentially thefiurce (or foun- " tain) of all fivereigpy." Mr. Burke argues, that, in England, a King is the fountain — that he is the fountain of all honour. But as thi* idea is evidently defcended from the conqueft, I Shall make no other^ re mark upon it than that it is the na ture of the conqueft to turn every, thing upfide down ; and as DAr, Burke will not be refufed the privilege of fpeaking twice, and as there are but two parts in the figure, the fountain and the fpout, he. will be right the fe- cond time. The French conftitution puts the legislative before the executive ; the Law before the King ;. La Loi, Le Roi. This alfo is in the natural order of things; becaufe. laws muft have existence, before they can have exe cution. A King in France, does npt, in addrefling himfelf to the National Af fembly, fay, " My affembly," fimi lar to the phrafe ufed -in -England of " my Parlianient ; " neither can he ufe it confident wjth the conftitution, nor could it be admitted. There may be propriety in the ufe of it in Eng- are now at, and the fame men have It in their power to carry them away ; and though thofe manufaCtureswillafterwards' continue tobemadein thofeplaces, the Foreign market ¦will be loft There are frequently appearing in the Loudon Gazette, extracts from cer tain ads to prevent machines, ahd as far as it can extend to perfons, from going out qF tt - country. It appears from fhefe, that the iHeffdCtsof the te(t-laws, and church- e'HablilTimerit begin to be touch fufpeCted ; but the remedy of force can never Supply the remedy of reafon-. In the progrefs of lefs than a century all the unreprefented part of England, of all denominations, which is at leaft a hundred times the moft nu merous, may begin to feel the neceffityof a constitution, and then all thofe matters TK\\\ come regularly beiore them. ' ¦" 1 3* PAINE's WORKS. land, becaufe, as is before-menti oned, both Houfes of Parliament ori ginated out of what is called the Crown, by patent or boon — and not out of the inherent rights of the people, as the National Affembly does in France, and whofe name de-- lignates its origin. The President of the' National Af fembly does not aSk the King to grant ti the Affembly liberty of fpeech, as is the cafe with the English Houfe of Commons. The constitutional dig nity o' the National Affembly cannot debaie itfelf. ' Speech is, in the firft place, one of the natural rights of man always retained ; and with re- " foeft to the National Affembly, the ufe of it is their duty, and the nation is their authority. They were olefted by the greateft body of men ¦ exer cising the right of election the Euro pean world ever: faw. They fprung not from ,the filth of rotten boroughs, nor are they the vaffal representatives of ariftocratical ones. Feeling the proper dignity of their character* they fupport it. Their parliamen tary language, whether for or againft a queftion, is free, bold, and manly; and extends to all the parts and circum- ftances of thfe cafe. If any matter or fubjeft refpefting' the executive de partment; or the perfon who prcfides in it, (the King), comes before them it is' debated on with the fpirit of men, and the language of gentlemen ; amd their anfwer, or their addrefs, is returned in the fame ftile. They Stand not aloof with the. gaping va cuity of vulgar ignorance, nor bend with the cringe of fycophautic inlig- rtificance. The graceful pride of truth, knows no extremes, and pre- ferves, in every latitude of life, the right angled charafter of man. Let us now look to the other Side of^the queftion.— In the addreffes of the English Parliaments to their Kings, we fee neither the intrepid Spirit of the oH Parliaments of Fntnce," nor the ferene dignity of the prefent National Affembly ; neither do we fee in tin. m any thing of the ftile of English manners, which bor ders fomewhat on bluntnefs. Since then they are neither of foreign ex* traction, nor naturally of English.- prOduftion, their origin muft be fought for elfewhere, and that origin is the Norman Conqueft. They are evidently of the vaffalage clafs of manners, arid emphatically mark the proftrate diftance that exifts- in no, other condition of men than between the conqueror and the' conquered. That this vaffalage idea and ftile of fpeaking was not igot rid of even at the Revolution of 1688, is evident from the declaration of Parliament tdf William and Mary, in thefe words # " We do moft humbly and faith- lt fully fubmit ourfelSieS, our heirs '.' and posterities,' for ever." Submifi? fion is wholly a vaffalage term, re pugnant to 'the dignity of Freedom, and an echo, of the language ufed at the Conqueft. As the. estimation of all things is by comparifon, the Revolution of 1688, however from circumstances it may have been exalted beyond its value, will find its level. It is al ready on ' the wane, eclipfed, by the enlarging orh of reafon, and the lu minous revolutions of America and France. In lefs than another centiyy,. it'wil] go, as, well as Mr. Burke's la bours, " to the family vault of all " the Capulets." Mankind,will then fcarceiy believe that a country. calling itfelt free, would fend to Holland for PartT, RIGHTS OF MA J*. nf a man, and clothe him with power on purpofe to put themfelves in fear of hini, and give him almoft a mil lion Sterling a-year for leave to fuhmit themfelves and" their pofterity, Jike bond-men and bond -women, for ever. But there is a truth that ought to be made known : I have had the opportunity of feeing It : which is, that, notviitliftanding the appearances, there is not aity defcription of men that •defpife monarchy fo much as courtiers. But they well know, if it were feen by others, as it is feen by them, the jliggle cojild not be kept up'. They are in the ' condition of men ' who, get their living by a Show, and to whom the folly of that (how is fo familiar that they ridicule it ; but were the Audience to be made 4s wife, in this refpeft, as themfelves, there would be an end to' the1, Show and the profits with it. '¦ The ;d_ifferenee between a republican and a 'courtier with re fpeft to monarchy "is, that' the one oppofes monarchy, believing it to be fomething,' and the other laughs at it, Knowing it to be nothing. ' i' As I ufed fometimes to correfpond with Mr. Burke; believing him then fb be -a man of founder principles than his book Shews him to be, I wrote tie* him laft winter from Paris, and gave him an account how prof- perOufly matters Were going on. Among other fubjfefts in that letter, I referred to the 'happy fituation the National Affembly were placed in : that they had taken a ground on which their moral duty and their po litical intereft were united. They "have not to hold out a language v-histi they do not believe, for' the fraudulent purpofe of making others believe it.' .Their ftation requires no artifice to fupport it, and can only be ¦ ; . , .. - "¦'-•.. , . maintained by enlightening mankind. It is not their intereft tb cheriSh ig norance, but to difpel it. , They are not in the cafe of a ministerial or an opposition party in England, who, though they are oppofed, are Still united to keep up the common myf tery. The National Affembly muft throw open a magazine of light. It muft Shew man the proper charafter of man'; and the nearer it can bring him to that Standard, the Stronger the Natiohal ASfembly becomes. • In contemplating the French con stitution, we fee in it a rational ofder of things. The principles harmonife with the forms, and both with their origin; It may perhaps be Said, as an excufe for bad forms, that they are nothing more than forms ; but this is a miftake. Forms grow out of principles, and operate to continue the principles they grow from. It is impoffible to praftife a bad form on any thing but' a bad principle. It cannot be ingrafted on a good one : and wherever the forms in any go vernment are bad, it is a certain indication that the principles are bad alfo.'' ' I will here finally clofe this fub jeft. I began it by remarking that Mr. Burke had voluntarily declinel going into a comparifon of the Eng lish and French constitutions. He apologifes (in page 24.1) for not do ing it, by. faying that he had not time. Mr. Burke's book was up wards of eight months in hand, and is extended to a volume of three hun- and fifty-Six pages. As his omiflbn does injury to his caufe, his apology- makes it Is worfe ; and men an the English fide of the water will begin to confider, whether there is not fome radical defeft in what is called the *3* PAINE** WORKS." English conftitution, that made it ne ceffary in Mr. Burke to fupprefs the comparifon, to avoid bringing it into view. As Mr. Burke has not written on conftitutions, fo neither has he writ ten on the French revolution. He gives no account of its commence ment or its progrefs. He only ex- preffes his wonder. " It looks," lays he, " to me, as if I were in a « great crifis, not of the affairs of " France alone, but of all Europe, " perhaps of more than Europe. " All circumstances taken toge- " ther, the French Revolution is " the mod aftonifhing that has " hitherto happened in the world." As wife men are aftonilhed at fool- ifh things, and other people at wife ones, I know not on which ground to account for Mr. Burke's aftonim- ment ; but certain it is, that he does , not underftand the French revolution. It has apparently burft forth like a creation from a chaos, but it is nomore than the confequence of a mental re- Volution priorily existing in France. The mind of the nation had changed before hand, and the new order of things has naturally followed the new order of thoughts. — I will here, as concifely as I can, trace ' out the growth of the French revolution, and mark the ciicumftances that have con tributed to produce it. The defpotifm of Louis XIV. unit ed with the gaiety of his Court, and the gaudy ofter.talion of his charafter, had lb humbled, and at the fame time' lo fafcinared the mind of France, that the people appear to have loft all fenie of their own dignity in con- u.npif.iing that of their grand Mo. r,... ell : — -and the whole reign oi Louis XV. remarkable only for weaknef* and effeminacy, made no other alte ration than that of fpreading a forb of lethargy over the nation, from which it Shewed no difpofition to rife. The only figns which appeared of the fpirit of liberty during thefe pe riods, are to be found in the writings; of French philofophers. — Montef- quieu, prefident of the Parliament of Bourdeaux, went as far as a writer under a defpotic government could well proceed ; and being obliged to divide himfelf between principle and prudence, his mind often appears under a veil, and we ought to give him credit for more than he has ex- preffed. Voltaire, who was both the flat terer and the fatyrift of defpofifm, took another line. His fort lay in exposing and ridiculing the fuperfli- tions which prielt-craft united with State-craft had interwoven with gq- vernment. It was not from the pu rity of his "principles, or his love of mankind, (for fatire and philanthropy are not naturally concordant), but from his Strong capacity of feeing folly in its true Shape, and his irre- fiftible propensity to expofe it, that he made thofe attacks. They were however as formidable as if the mo tives had, been virtuous; and he merits the thanks rather than the efteem of mankind. ¦ On the contrary, we find in the writings of Roulfeau and the Abbe Raynal a loyellnel's of feritiment in fa vour of Liberty," that excites refpeft, and elevates the human faculties; but having raifed this animation, they do not direct itc operat:ons, and leave the mind in love with an object, without describing the,Be:ms of pofleSiing it. ¦Part I. RIGHTS, OF MAN. H9 ¦ The writings of Quifne, Turgot, and the friends of thofe authors, are of the ferious-. kind ; but they la boured under the Same difadvantage with Montefquieu : their writings abound with moral maxims of go vernment, but are rather directed to ceconomife and reform the admi nistration of the government, than the government itfelf. But all thofe writings and many ethers had their weight ; and by the different manner in which they treated the, fubjeft of government, Montefquieu by his judgment and knowledge of laws, Voltaire by his wit, Rouffeau and Raynal by their animation, and Quifnp and Turgot by their moral maxims and fyftems of ceconorny, readers of every clafs met- with fomething to their tafte, and a fpirit of political enquiry begau to diffufe itfelf through the nation at the time the difpute between Eng- ¦ land and the then colonies of Ame rica broke out. In the war which France after wards engaged in, it is very well known that the nation appeared to be before- hand with the French mi nistry. Each of them had its views : but thofe views were directed to dif ferent pbjefts, the one fought liberty, and the other retaliation on England. The French officers and foldiers who after this went to America, were eventually placed in the School of Freedom, and learned the practice as well as the principles of it by heart. ' As it was impoffible to feparafe the military events which took place in America from the principles of the American revolution, the publicati on of thofe events in France, necef- farily connefted themfelves with, the principles that produted them. Ma ny of the fails were in themfelves principles ; fuch as the declaration of American independence, -, and the treaty of Alliance belween • France and America, which recognifed the natural right of man, and justified re fiftance to oppreflion. . The then Minister of France. Count Vergennes, was not the friend of America ; and it is both juftice and gratitjide to fay, that It was the Queen of France, who gave the caufe of America a fafhion" at the French Court. Count Vergennes was the perfonal and focial friend of Dr. Franklin ; and the Doctor had ob tained, by his fenfible gracefulnefs a Sort of influence over him ; but with refpeft to principles, Count Ver gennes was a delpot. The fituation of Dr. Franklin as Minister from America to France, Should be taken into the chain of circumstances. The diplomatic cha rafter is of itfelf the narrowest fphere of Society that man can aft in. It forbids intercourfe by a recipro city of fufpicion ; and a Diplomatic is a fort of unconnefted atom, con tinually repelling and repelled. But this was not the cafe with Dr. Franklin. He was not the diplo matic of a Court, but of MAN. His charafter as a philofopher had been lorg eftabliShed, and his circle of fociety in France was universal. Count Vergennes refilted for a con fiderable time the publication cf the American conftitutions in France, translated into the French language ; but even in this he was obliged to give way the public opinion, and a fort of propriety in admitting to appear what he' had1 undertaken to defend. The American conftituti. »4* .PAINE's WORKSV ons were to liberty what a gram mar is to language : they define its parts of ip;ech, and praitically con- ftruft them into fyntax. The peculiar fituation of the then Marquis de la Fayette, is another link in the great chain. He ferved in America as an American -officer under a commiSIion of Congrefs, and by the univerfality of his acquaint ance, was in clofe friendship with the civil government of America, as well as with the military line. He fpoke the language of the country, entered into the difcuffions on the principles of i government, and was 'always a ' welcome friend at any election. When the war clofeJ, a vaft rein forcement to the caufe of Liberty fpread itfelf over France, by the re turn of the French officers and fol- diers. A knowledge rf the practice was then joined to the thepry ; and all that was wanting to give it real existence, was Opportunity. — Man cannot, properly Speaking, make cir cumstances for his pUrpofe, but he always has it in his power to improve them when they occur ; and this was the cafe in France. M. Neckar was difplaced in May 1781 ; and by the ill management of the finances afterwards, and par ticularly during the extravagant ad ministration of M. Calonne, the revenue of France, which was near ly twenty four millions fterling per year, was become unequal ' to the ex penditures, not becaufe the revenue had decrcaled, but beccuft the expen. ces had incr;afed; and this was the circumftance which the nation laid hold of' to bring forward a revoluti on. The EngliSh Minister, Mr. Pitt, has frequently alluded to the ftate of the French finances in his budgets, without underftanding. the fubjeft — Had the French Parliaments been as ready to register edifts for new taxes, as an EngliSh Parliament is toigrwit them, there had been no derangement in the finances, nor yet any revolution ; but this will better explain itfelf as I proceed. It will be neceffary here to Shew how taxes were formerly raifed in France. The King or rather the Court or Miniftry acting under the ufe of that name, framed the edicts for taxes at their own difcretion, and fent them tp the Parliaments to be registered ; for until they were re gistered by the Parliaments, they were not operative. Difputes had exifted between the Court and the. Parliament with refpeft to the extent of the Parliament's authority on this head. The Court infifted that the authority of Parliament went' no fur ther than to remonStrate or" Shew reafons againft the tax, refefving'to itfelf the right of determining whe- ther the reafons were well or, ill- founded ; and in confequence thereof? either to withdraw the edift as a mat ter of choice, or to order it to be enregiftered as a matter of authori ty. The Parliaments on their part infifted, that they had not only a right to remonStrate, but to reject ;' and on this ground they were always fopported by the nation. But, to return to the order of my 1 narrative — M. ' Calonne wanted mo ney ;' and as be knew the Sturdy dif pofition of the Parliaments with re fpeft fo new taxes, he ingeniously' fought either to approach them by a more genUe means than that of direct authority, or to get over their heads by a" manoeuvre ':" and for this purpofe, he revived the projeft of Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 14* affembling a body of men from the feveral provinces, under the ftile of an " Affembly of the Notables," or Men of Note, who met in 1787, and who were either to recommend taxes to the Parliament, or to aft as a Parliament themlelves. An Affem bly under thi6 name had been called in 1687. As we are to view this as the firft practical ftep towards the re volution; it will be proper to enter into fome particulars refpefting it. The Affembly of the Notables has in fome places been mistaken for the States-General, but was wholly a different body ; the States General being always by eleftion. The per fons who compofed the Affembly of the Notables were all nominated by the King, and confifted of one hun dred and forty members. But as M. Calonne could not depend upon a majority of this Affembly in his fa vour, he very Ingeniously arranged them in fuch a manner as to make forty-four a majority of one hundred and forty : to effeft this he difpofed of them into feven feparate commit tees, of twenty members each. Eve ry general queftion was to be decid ed, not by a majority of perfons, but by a majority of committees ; and as eleven votes would make a majority in a committee, and four committees a majority of feven, M. Calonne had good reafon to conclude, that as forty -four would determine any general question, he could not be out-voted. But all his plans de- ' ceived him, and in the event became his overthrow. The then Marquis de la Fayette was placed in the fecond Committee, of which Count D'Artois was pre. ' fident : and as money-matters was the objeft, it naturally brought into view every circumftance connected with it. M. de la Fayette made a verbal charge againft Calonne, for felling crown lands to the amount of two millions of livres, in a man ner that appeared to be unknown to the King. The 'Count D'Artois (a* if to intimidate, for the Baftile was then in being) aSked the Marquis, if he would render the charge in writ ing ? — He replied, that he would. — The Count D'Artois did not demand' it, but brought a meffage from the King to that purport. M. de la Fayette then delivered in his charge in writing, to be given to the King, undertaking to fupport it. No far ther proceedings were had upon this affair ; but M. Calonne was foon after difmiffed by the King, and fet off to England. As M. de la Fayette, from the ex perience he had feen in America, was better acquainted with the fci- ence of civil government than the generality of the members who com pofed the Affembly of the Notables could then be, the brunt of the bufi nefs fell confiderably to his Share. The plan of thofe who had a con. , ftitution in view, was to contend with the Court on the ground of taxes, and fome of them openly pro- feffed their objeft. 'Disputes fre quently arofe between Count D'Artois and M. de la Fayette, upon various fubjefts. With refpeft to the ar rears already incurred, the latter propofed to remedy them, by ac commodating the expences to the re venue, inftead of the revenue to the expences ; and as objefts of reform, he propofed to abolish the Baftile, "and all the State-prifons throughout the nation, (the keeping of which 24s PAINE's WORKS. was attended with great expence), and to' fiipprefs Lettres de Cachet i But thofe matters were not then much attended to ; and with refpeft to Lettres de Cachet, a majority of the Nobles appeared to be in favour of them. On the fubjeft of fupplying the ' Treafury by new taxes, the Affem bly declined . taking the matter on themfelves, concurring in the opinr- / on that they had not authority. In a debate on this fubjeft, M. de la Fayette faid,- that railing money by taxes could only be done by a Na tional Affembly freely elected by the people, and ailing as their repre fentatives.' Do you mean; faid the Count D'Artois, the States General? M. de la Fayette replied, that he did. Will you, faid the Count D'Artois, Sign what you' fay, to' be given to the King ? The other replied that he not only would do this, but that he would go farther, and lay, tlrat the effectual mode would be, for the King to agree to the ef- tabliShment of a conftitution. As one of the plans had thus fail ed, that of getting the Affembly to aft as a Parliament, the other came into view, . that of recommending.' On this fubjeft the Affembly agreed to recommend two new taxes to be enregiitered by the Parliament : the one a Stamp tax, and the other a territorial tax, or fort of land tax. The two have been estimated at above five millions Stevl. per ami. We have now to turn our attention to the Parliament, on whom the bufineS's was again de* volving. The ArchbiShop of Thouloufe (fince Archbifhop of Sens, and now a Cardinal) was appointed to the administration of the finances, foolt after the difmiflion of Calonne. He was alfo -jnade Prime Minister, an office that did not always exift ih France. When this office did not. exift, the Chief of each of the .prin cipal departments tranfafted bufinei® immediately with the King ; but when' a Prime Minifter was appointed, they did bufinefs only with him. The ArchbiShop arrived to more State- authority than any Minifter fince the' Duke de Choifeuil, and the Nation was Strongly difpofed in his favour; but by a line of conduft fcarcely to be accounted for, he perverted every opportunity, turned out a defpot, and funk into difgrace, and a Car dinal. The Affembly of the Notablej having broke up, the new Minifter fent the edicts for the two new taxes recommended by the Affembly to ths! Parliaments,' to be enregifteredi They of courfe returned for anfwerj" That with fuck a revenue as ike Nation the* fupported, the name of taxes ought not to be mentioned, but' for the purpofe of reducing them : and threw both the edicts out *. On this refuSal, the Parliament wasf ordered to Versailles, where, in the ufua-1 form, the King held,' what under the old government was called,1 a Bed of Juftice ;' Snd the two ediits were enregiftered in prefence of the Parliament, by an order of the State* in the manner mentioned in page i40» On this the Parliament immediately returned to Paris, renewed their fef- fion in form, and ordered the enre- giftring to be ftruck out, declaring- that every thing done at Verfailles wis illegal. All the members of the Par-. * When the Englifh Minifter, Mr. Pitt, mentions the French finances aga:a in the EngliSh farlmncnt, it weald be well that he noticed this as an example. Part I* RIGHTS OF MAN. HI liament were then ferved with Lettres de Cachet, and exiled to Troyes ; but as they continued as. inflexible in ex ile as before, and as vengeance -did not fupply the place of taxes, they were after a Short time recalled to Paris. The edifts were again tendered to them, and the Count d'Artois under took to aft as reprefentative for the King. For this purpofe he came from Verfailles to Paris, in a train of proceSiipn ; and the Parliament were affembled to receive him. But Show and parade had loft their influence in France ; and whatever ideas of im portance he might fet off with, he had to return with thofe of mortifi cation and difappointment. On alight ing from his carriage to afcend the Steps of the Parliament Houfe, the crowd (which was numerouffy col lefted) . threw out trite expreflions, faying, " This is Monfieur D'Artois, " who wants more of our money to " fpend." The marked disapproba tion which he faw, impreffed him with apprehenfions ; and the word Aux armes (To arms) was given outby the officer . of the guard who attended him. It was fo loudly vociferated, that it echoed through the avenues of the Houfe, and produced a temporary confufion : I was then (landing in one of the apartments through which he had to pafs, and could not avoid re flecting how wretched was the condi tion of a diSrefpeited man. He endeavoured to imprefs the Par liament by great words, and opened his authority by faying, " The King our ¦< Lord and Mafter." The s parlia ment received him very coolly, and with their ufual determination hot to register the taxes, and in this manner the interview ended. After this a new fubjeft took place. In the various debates and contefta that arofe between the Court and the Parliaments on the fubjeft of taxes, the Parliament of Paris at fad de clared, that although it had been? cuftomary for Parliaments to enre-> gifter edifts for taxes as a matter of* convenience, the right belonged only to the States -General; and that, therefore, the Parliament could no longer with propriety continue to de bate on what it had not authority to aft. The King after this came to Paris, and held a meeting with the Parliament, in which he continued from ten in the morning till about fix in the evening ; and, in a manner that appeared to proceed from him, as if unconfulted upon with the ca binet or the miniftry, gave his word to the Parliament, that the States- General Should be convened.' , But after this another fcene arofe, on a ground different from ail the former. The minifter and the cabi net were averfe to calling the States- General : They well knew, that if the States-General were affembled, that themfelves muft fall ; and as the King had not mentioned any time, they hit on a project calculated to elude, without appearing tu oppofe. For this purpofe, the Ccurt fet about making a fort of Constitution itfelf: It was principally the work of M. Lamoignon, Keeper of the Seals, who afterwards Shot himfelf. This new arrangement confifted in establish ing a body under the name of %.Cour Ficniere, or full Court, in which were invefted all the powers that the government- might have occafion to make ufe -of. The perfons compofing this Court were to be nominated by the King; the contended right ot *4+ PAINE's WORKS. taxation Was given up on the part of the King, and a new criminal code of laws, and law proceedings, was fub- ftituted in the room of the former. The thing, in many points, contain ed better principles than thofe upon which the government had hitherto "been administered : but with refpeft fo the Cour Piiniere, it was no other than a medium through which defpot ifm was fo pafs, without appearing to aft directly from itfelf. The Cabinet had high expeftationS from their- new Contrivance.- The perfons who were to compofe- the Cour Pleniere were already nominated ; and at it was neceffary to Carry a fair appearance, many of the beft cha racters in the nation were appointed among the number. It was to com mence on the 8th of May, 1788 ; But an oppofition arofe to it on two grounds — the one as to Principle,, the other as to Form. On the ground of Principle it was contended, That government had not a right to alter itfelf; and that if the' practice was once admitted, it would grow into a principle, and be made a precedent for any future alterations the government might wi(h to efta- bliSh : That the right of altering the government was a national right, and not a right of government. — And on the ground of Form it was contended, That the Cour Pleniere was nothing more than a larger Cabinet. The then Duke de la Rochefou- cault, Luxembourg, De Noailles, and many others, refilled to accept the nomination, and StrenuouSly oppofed the whole plan. When the edift for establishing this new Court was fent to the Parliaments to be enregiftered, and put into execution, they refitted alio. The Parliament of Paris not only refufed, but denied the author rity ; and the conteft renewed- itfelf between the Parliament and the Ca binet more Strongly than ever. WJiile the Parliament were fitting in- debate on this fubjeft, the Miniftry ordered a regiment of foldiers to furround thei- Houfe, and form a blockade. The Members fent out for beds and pro vision, and lived as in a belieged cita del j and as this had- no effeft, the commanding officer was ordered to enter the Parliament Houfe and"feize them, which hfe did, and fome of the principal members were Shut up in different prifons. About the fame time a deptrtatjou of perfons arrived from the province of Britanny, to re- monftrate againft the establishment of the Cour Pleniere: and thofe the ArchbiShop fent to the Baftile. But the fpirit of the nation was not to be overcome ; and it was fo fully fenfible of the Strong ground it had taken, that of withholding taxes', that it contented itSelf with keeping up a fort of quiet refiftance, which? effectually overthrew all the plans? at that time formed againft it. The project of the Cour Pleniere was at laft obliged to be ¦ give* up, and the Prime Minifter not long afterwards followed its fate 5 and M. Neckar was recalled into office. The attempt to eftabliSh the Cour Pleniere had an effeft upon the Nation which itfelf, did not perceive. It was a fort of new form of government; that irfenfibly ferved to put the old one out of fight, and to unhingi it from the fuperftitious authority of antiquity. It was government de throning government : and the old one, by attempting to make a new one, made a chafm, Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. *+£ The failure of this fcheme renewed the fubjeft of convening the States- General ; and this gave rife to a new feries of politics. There was no fet tled form for convening the States- General : all that it positively meant, was a deputation from what was then called the Clergy, the Nobleffe, and the Commons ; but their numbers^ or their proportions, had not been been always the fame. They had been convened only on extraordinary occafions, the laft of which was in 1614: their numbers were then, in equal proportions, and they voted by orders. It could not well efeape the faga- city of M. Neckar, that the mode of 1 6 14 would anfwer neither the pur pofe of the then government, nor of the nation. As matters were at that time circumstanced, it would have been too contentious to agree upon any thing. The debates would have been endlefs upon privileges and ex emptions, in which neither the wants of the government, nor the wiShes of the nation for a conftitution, would have been attended to. But as he did not chufe to take the decifion upon himfelf, he Summoned again the Af fembly of the Notables, and referred it to them. This body was in general interefted in the decifion, being chiefly of the ariftocracy and the high-paid clergy ; and they decided in favour of the mode of 16 14. This decifion was againft the fenfe of the Nation* ¦¦ and alfo againft the wishes of the Court ; for the ariftocracy oppofed itfelf to both, and contended for pri vileges independent of either. The fubjeft was then taken up by the Par liament, who recommended that the number of the Commons Should be equal to the other two ; and that they Should all fit in one houfe, and vote in one . body; The number finally determined on was twelve hundred ; fix hundred to be chofen by the Com mons, and this was lefs than their proportion ought to have been when their worth and confequence is consi dered on a national fcale) ; three hun dred by the clergy, and three hundred by the ariftocracy ; but with refpeft to the mode of affembling themfelves,. whether together or apart, or the manner, in which they Should vote^ thofe matters were referred *i L * Mr. Burke (and I muff take the liberty of telling him he is very unacquainted with tha French affairs), fpeaking upon this fubjeQ, fays, " 1 he firft thing that Struck me *' in the calling the States-General, was a great departure from the ancient courfe ;" — and he foon after fays, " From the moment I read the lift, I law diftinftly, and *'- very nearly as it has happened, all that was to follow."- — Mr. Burke certainly did not lee all that was to follow. I have endeavoured to imprefs him, as well before as after the States-General met, that there would be a revolution; but was not able to ma'ke him fee it, neither would he believe it. How then he could distinctly fee all the parts, when the whole was out of fight, is beyond my comprehension. And with .refpeft to the " departure from the ancient courfe," befides the natural weaknefs of the remark, it Shews that he is unacquainted with circumflances. The departure .was neceffary, from the experience had upon it, that the ancient courfe was a bad one. The States-General of 1614 were called at the commencement of the civil ^var in the minority of Louis XIII. ; but by the clalh of arranging them by orders, they increafed the confufion" they were called to compofe. The author of L^Intriguc du Cabinet (Intrigue of the Cabinet), who wrote before any revolution was thought of in France, fpeaking of the States-General of 1614, fays, " They held the public " in fut'peucc € ,-e months ; and by the questions agitated therein, and the heat with " wbisb S46 PAINE's WORKS. The election that followed, was not a confe'led election, but an ani mated one. The candidates were not men, but principles. Societies were formed in Paris, and committees of correspondence and communication eftabliShed throughout the nation, for the purpofe of enlightening the peo ple, and explaining to them the prin ciples of civil government ; and fo orderly was the eleftion conducted, that it did not give rife even f° the rumour of tumult. . The States-General were to meet at Verfailles in April 1689, but did not affemble till May. They fituated themfelves in three feparate chambers, or rather the clergy and the arifto cracy withdrew each into a feparate chamber. The majority of the arif tocracy claimed what they called the privilege of voting as a feparate body, and of giving their confent or their negative in that, manner; and many of the biShops and the high-bene- ficed clergy claimed the fame privi lege on the part of their Order. The Tiers Etat (as they were then called.) difowned any knowledge of ai tificial Orders and artificial Privi leges ; and they were not only refo- luie on this point, but fomewhat disdainful. They began to confider aiifbcracy as a kind of fungus >t row ing out of the corruption of fociety, th.it could not be admitted even as a branch of it; and from the difpofi tion the ariftocracy had Shewn by up holding Lettres de Cachet, and in fundry other inftances, it was mani fest that no conftitution could be formed by admitting men in any other charafter than as National Men. After various altercations on this head, the Tiers Etat or commons (as they were then called) declared themfelves (on a motion made for that purpofe by the Abbe Syeyes) " the representatives of the " nation ; and that the t-zvo Orders " could be confidered but as deputies of 'f corporations, and could only have a " deliberative voice but when they " affembled in a national charaBer " -with the national -reprefentatives." This proceeding extinguished the ftile of Etets Generaux, or States- General, and erefted it into the ftile it now bears, that of L'Affemblee Nationale, or National Affembly. This motion was not made in a precipitate manner : It was the refult of cool deliberation, and concerted between the national reprefentatives and the patriotic members of the two chambers, who faw into the folly, mifchief, and injustice of arti ficial privileged distinctions. It was become evident, that no conftitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be eftabliShed on any thing lefs than a national ground. The ariftocra cy had hitherto oppofed the defpotifm of the Court, and affefted the language of patriotism j but it oppofed it as its rival, (as the EngliSh barons op pofed King John) ; and it now op pofed the nation from the fame mo tives. On carrying this motion, the na tional reprefentatives, as had been (t which they were put, it appear? that the Great (les grandes) thought more to fa- " tirfy their particular pafiions, than to procure the good of the nation ; and the " wi.ole time paffed away in altercations, ceremonies and parade." L'lntrigue du Cabinet, vol. 1. p. 1. 3241 Part I. rights of Man. 1+7 concerted,, fent an Invitation to the two chambers, to unite them in a na tional character, and proceed to bufi nefs. A majority of the clergy,' chief- - Jy . of the pariSh priefts, withdrew .from the clerical chamber and joined the nation ; and forty-five from the other chamber joined in like manner. There is a fort of fecret hiftory be longing to this laft circumftance, which is neceffary to its explanation : It was not judged prudent that all the patriotic members of the cham ber, ftiling itfelf the Nobles, Should quit it at once ; and in confequence of this arrangement they drew off by degrees, always leaving fome, as well to reafon the cafe, as to watch the fufpeiled. In a little time, the num bers increafed from forty -five- to eigh ty, and foon after to a greater num ber ; with which a majority of the clergy, and the Whole of the national reprefentatives, put the mal-contents In a very diminutive condition. The King, who, very different to the general clafs called by that name, is a man of a good heart,' Shewed himfelf difpofed td recommend a uni- 6n of the three chambers, on the ground the National Affembly had taken ;' but the mal-contents exerted themfelves to prevent It, and began now to have another project ¦ in view. Their numbers confifted of a majori ty of the ariflocratical chamber, and a minority of the clerical chamber, chiefly of biShops and high-beneficed clergy ; and thefe men' were deter mined to put every thing fo ifiue, as well by. ftrength as" by Stratagem.' They had no objeftion to a conftitu tion ; but it muft be fuch an one as themfelves Should diftate, and fuited to their own views and particular Situations. On the other hand, the Mation difowned knowing any thing of them but as citizens, and was de termined to Shut out all fuch up-ftart pretentions. The more ariftocracy appeared, the more it was defpifed ; there was a vifible imbecility and want of intellefts in the majority, a fort of je ne fais quoi, that while it affected to be more than citizen, was lefs than man. It loft ground from eonteihpt more than from hatred ; and was rather jeered at as an afs, than dreaded as a lion. This is the ge neral charafter of ariftocracy, or what are Called Nobles or Nobility in all countries, The plan of the mal-contents confift ed now of two things ; either to deli berate and Vote by chambers, (or orders), more efpecially on all questi ons refpefting a Conftitution, (by which the ariftocratical chamber would have .had a negative on any article *of the conftitution) ; or, in cafe they could not accomplish this object, to overthrow the National Af fembly entirely. To effeft one of other of thefe ob jefts, they began now to cultivate a friendship ,with the defpotifm they had hitherto attempted to rival, and the Count D'Artois became their chief. The King, (who has fince declared himfelf deceived into their meafures) held, according to the old form, a Bed of Juftice, in which he accorded to the deliberation and vote par the (by head) upon feveral ob jefts ; but referved the deliberation and vote upon all questions refpefting a conftitution to the three chambers feparately: This declaration of the King was made againft - the advice •of M. Neckar, who now began to perceive that he was growing out of fafhion at Court, and that another minister was in contem plation, L a 148 PAINE' s WORKS. As the form of fitting in' feparate chambers was yet apparently kept ¦up, though elTentially destroyed, the national representatives, immediately after this declaration of the King, reforted to their own chambers, to confult on a proteft againft it ; and the minority of the chamber (calling itfelf the. Nobles), who had joined the national caufe, retired to a pri vate houfe, to confult in like manner. The mal-contents had by this time concerted their meafores with the Court, which. Count D'Artois un dertook to conduft ; and as they faw, from the difcontent which the decla ration excited, and the oppofition making againft it, that they could not obtain a controul over the in tended constitution by a feparate vote, they prepared themfelves for their final objeft — that of confpiring againft the National Affembly, and overthrowing it. The next morning, the door of the chamber of the National Affembly was Shut againft them, and guarded by troops ; and the Members were ref'ufed admittance. On this, they withdrew to a tenis-ground in the neighbourhood of Verfailles, as the moft convenient place they could find, and, after renewing their fef- fion, took an oath never to feparate from each other, under any circum ftance whatever, death excepted, un til they had eftabliShed a constitu tion. As the experiment of Shutting up the hcufc had no other effect than that of producing a ciofer connection in the Membeis, it was opened again the next day, and the public bufi- ntis recommenced in the ufual place; We are now to have in view the forming of the new Miniftry; which was to accomplish the overthrow of the National Affembly. But as force would be neceffary, orders were if fued to affemble thirty thoufand troops, the command of which was given to Broglio, one of the new- intended Ministry, who was recalled from the country for this purpofe. _ But as fome management was necef fary to keep this plan concealed till, the moment it Should be ready for execution, it is to this policy that a declaration made by Count D'Artois muft be attributed, and which is here proper to be introduced. It could not but occur, that while the mal-contents continued to refort to their chambers feparate from the National Affembly, that more jealou- fy would be excited than if they, were mixed with it, and that the plot might be fufpefted. But as they had taken their ground, and now wanted a pretence for quitting it, it was neceffary that one Should be devifed. This was effeftually ac complished by a declaration made by Count D'Artois, " That if they took " not a part in the National Affembly, " the life of the King would be en- '' dangered ;" on which they quitted their chambers, and mixed with the Affembly in one body. At the time this declaration was made, it was generally treated as a piece of abfurdity in Count D'Artois, and calculated merely to relieve the outstanding Members of the two chambers from the diminutive fitua tion they were put in ; and if no thing more had followed, this con- clufion would have been good. But as things beft explain themfelves by their events, this apparent union was only a cover to the machinations that were fecretly going on ; and the de claration accommodated itfelf to an fwer that purpofe. In a little time the National Affembly found itfelf Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 149 furrounded by troops, arid thoufands daily arriving. On this a very ftrong declaration was made by the National Affembly to the King, remonstrating On the impropriety of the meafure, ^and demanding the reafon. The King, who was not in the fecret of this bufinefs, as himfelf afterwards declared, gave fubftantially for an fwer, that he had no other objeft in View than to preferve the public tran quillity, which appeared to be much disturbed. But in a few days from this time, the plot unravelled itfelf. M, Neckar and the Miniftry were difplaced, and a new one formed, of the enemies of the Revolution ; and Broglio, with between twenty-five and thirty thoufand foreign troops, was arrived to fupport them: The maSk was now thrown off, and matters were come to a crifis — The event was, that in the fpace of three -days, the •new Miniftry and their abettors found it prudent to Sly the nation ; the Baftile was taken, and Broglio and his foreign troops difperfed ; as is already related in the formej- part of this work. There are fome curious circum stances in the hiftory of this Short lived miniftry, and this Short-lived attempt at a counter-revolution. The palace of Verfailles, where the Court was fitting, was not more than Sour hundred yards diftant from the hall where the National Affembly was fitting. The two places were at this moment like the feparate head-quar ters of two combatant armies ; yet the Cpurt was as perfeftly ignorant pf the information which had arrived from Paris to the National Affembly as if it had, refided at an hundred miles diftance. The then Marquis de la Fayette, who (as has been al ready mentioned) was chofen to pre- ficle in the National Affembly on this particular occafion, named by order of the . Affembly, three fucceffive de putations to the King, on the day, and- up to the evening on which the Baftile was taken, to inform and con fer with him on the ftate of affairs : but the miniftry, who knew, not fo much as that it was attacked, pre cluded all communication, and were folacing themfelves how dexterously they had fticceeded ; but in a few hours the accounts arrived fo thick and fait, that they had to (tart from their deSks and run. Some fet off in one difguife, and fome in another, and none in their own charafter". ' Their anxiety now was to outride the news, left they Should be ftopt, which though, it flew fail, flew not fb fail as themfelves. It is worth remarking, that the National Affembly neither purfued thofe fugitive confpirators, nor took any notice of them, nor fought to retaliate in any Shape whatever. Oc cupied with establishing a conftituti on founded on the Rights of Man, and the Authority of the People, the only authority on which government has a right to exift in any country, the National ASfembly felt none of thofe mean palfions which mark the charafter of impertinent govern ments,, founding themSelves on their own' authority, or on the abfurdity of hereditary fuceeffion. It is the faculty of the human mind • to be come what it contemplates, and to ait in unifon with its objeft. The confpiracy being thus dif perfed, one of. the firft works of the National Affembly, inftead of vindictive proclamations, as has been *5° PAINE's WORKS. the cafe with other governments, the new conftitution was to he published a Declaration of the Rights built, and which is here fubjoin- of Man, as the bafis on which ed. DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF CITIZENS. By the National Affembly of France. " The Reprefentatives of the people ef France formed into a National Af fembly, confidcring that ignorance, ne- gleB, or contempt of human rights, are the file caufes of public misfortunes and corruptions of government, have refotved to fet forth, in a filemn de claration, thefe natural, imprefcriptible, and unalienable rights -. — that this de claration being conftantly prefent to the minds of the members of the body fo- cial, they may be ever kept attentive to their rights and their duties : that the aBs of the legifiative and executive powers of government, being capable of being every moment compared with the end of political injlitutions, may be mare refpeBed : and alfo, that the fu ture claims of the citizens, being di- reBed by fimple and inconteftible prin- 'tiples, may alvjays tend to the main tenance of the conftitution, and the ge neral happinefs. " For thefe reafons, the National Affembly doth recognize and declare, in the prefince of the Supreme Being, and with the hope of his blejfmg and ' III. The nation is effentially the ' fource of all fovereignty ; nor can ' any INDIVIDUAL or AMY BODY « OF MEN, be entitled to any autho- < rity which is not exprefsly derived ' from it. ' IV. Political Liberty confifts in the 1 power of doing whatever does not ' injure another. The exercife of the ' natural rights of every man'; has ' no other limits than thofe which are ' neceffary to fecure to every other • man the free extrcife of the fame ' rights ; and thefe limits are deter- t minable only by the law. ' ' ' ' V. The law ought to prohibit only ' aBions hurtful to fociety. — What is ' not prohibited by the law, ftiould not ' be hindered ; nor Jhould any one be ' compelled to that which the law does < not require, ' VI. The law is an exprefiion of the ' viill of the community. All citizens ' have a right to concur, either per- ' finally, or by the ir reprefentatives, ' in its formation. It Jhould be the ' fame to all, whether it proteBs or favour, the following facred rights of ' punijhes ; and all beiiig equal in its men and of citizens : ' I. Men are born and always con tinue free, and equal in refpeft of their rights. Civil diftinftions, therefore, can be founded only on public utility. ' II. The end of all political af- fociations is the prefervation of1 the natural and imprefcriptible rights of man ; and thefe rights are li berty, property, 'fecurity,- and re fiftance of oppreSIion, fight, are equally eligible to all ' honours, places, and employments, ' according' to their different abili- ' ties, without any other diftinftion ' than that created by their virtues ' and talents, ' VII. No man Jhould be accufed, ' arrefted, or held in confinement, ex- ' cept . in . rafis determined by the law, ' and according to the j'orms vjhick it ' has preferred. All who promote, •' filicit, execute, or caufe to be exe» Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 151 ; cuted, arbitrary orders, ought to be ¦ punijhed ; and every citizen called upon or apprehended by virtue of the law, ought immediately to obey, and not render himfelf culpable by refift ance. ' VIII. The law ought to impofe no other penalties than fuch as are abfo- lutely and evidently neceffary : ana no one ought to be punijhed, but in vir- • tue of a law promulgated before the '¦ offence, and legally applied. ' IX. Every man being prefumed innocent till he has been conviBed, whenever his detention becomes in- difpenfible, all rigour to him more '¦ than is neceffary to fecure his perfon, ought to be provided againft by the '¦ law. ' X. No man ought to be molefted on account of his opinions, not even on account of his religious opinions, provided his avowal of them does not difturb the public order eftablijlied ¦ by the law, '¦ XI. The unreftrained communi cation of thoughts and opinions being one of. the moft precious rights of man, every citizen may fipeak, write, ' and publifii freely, provided he is re- [ fponfible for the abufie of this liberty \ in cafes determined by the law. ' XII. A public force being neceffary to give fecurity to. the rights of men and of citizens, that force is inflituted for the benefit of the community, and not for the particular benefit of the perfons -with whom it is entrufted. ' XIIT. A common contribution being neceffary for the fupport of the public force, and for defraying the other expences of government, it ought . to, be divided equally among the mem bers of the community, according to their abilities. ' XIV. Every citizen has a right, either by himfelf or his reprefentative, to a free voice in determining the ne ceffity of public contributions, the ap propriation of them, and their amount, mode of affeffment, and duration. ' XV. Every community has a right to demand of all its agents an account of their conduB. ' XVI- Every community in which a feparation of powers and a fecurity of rights is not provided for, wants a conftitution. ' XVII. The right to, property being inviolable and facred, no one ouglit to be deprived of it, except in cafes of evident public neceffity legally afiertained, and on condition of a previous juft indemnity.' OBSERVATIONS ON THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. The three firft, articles comprehend in general terms, the whole of a De claration of Rights : all the fucceed- ing articles either originate out of them, or follow as elucidations. The 4th, 5th, and 6th, define more particu larly, what is only generally expreffed in the ift, id, and 3d. The 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and nth articles, are declaratory of principles upon which laws fnall be conftrued conformable- to rights already declar ed. But it is queftioned by fome very good people in France, as well as in other countries, whether the ieth article fufficiently guarantees the right it is intended to accord with j befides which, it takes off from the divine dignity of religion, and weakens its operative force upon the mind to make it a fubjeft of human laws. It then prefents itfelf to Man like light J 5* PAINE'S WORKS. intercepted by a cloudy medium, in which the fource of it is obfcured from his fight, and he fees nothing to reverence in the duSky ray *. The remaining articles, beginning with the twelfth, are fubftantially contained in the principles of the pre ceding articles, but, in the particular fituation which France then was, having to undo what was wrong, as well as to fet up what was right, it was proper to be more particular than what in another condition of things would be neceffary. While the Declaration of Rights was before the National Affembly, fome of its members remarked, that if a Declaration of Rights was pub lished, it Should be accompanied by a Declaration of Duties. The obfer vation difcovered a mind that refleft- ed, and it only erred by not refleft- ing far enough. A Declaration of Rights is, by reciprocity, a Declara tion of Duties alfo. Whatever is my right as a man, is alfo the right of another ; and if becomes my duty to guarantee, as well as to. poffefs. The three firft articles are the bafis of Liberty, as well individual as national ; nor can any country be called free, whole government does not take its beginning from the prin ciples they contain, and continue to preferve them pure; and the whole/ of the Declaration of Rights is of more value to the world, and will do more good, than all the laws and Statutes that have yet been promul gated. In the declaratory exordium which prefaces the Declaration of Rights, we fee the folemn and majeftic Spec tacle of a Nation opening its commif. fion, under the aufpices of its Cre ator, to eftabliSh, a Government ; a fcene fo new, ahd fo tranfcendantly unequalled by any thing in the Eu ropean world, that the name of a Re volution is diminutive of its charac ter, and it rifes into a Regeneration of man. What are the prefent Go vernments of Europe, but a fcene of iniquity and opprefiion ? What is that of England ? Does not its own inha bitants fay, it is a market where every man has his price, and where corruption is common traffic, at the expence of a deluded people ? No wonder then, that the French Revo lution is traduced. — Had it confined itfelf merely to the deftruftion of fla grant defpotifm, perhaps Mr. Burke and fome others had been filent. Their cry now is, " It has gone too " far ;" that is, it has gone too far * There is a Single idea, which, if it Strikes rightly upon the mind, either in a Segal or a religious fenfe, will prevent any man, or any body of men, or any govern ment, from going wrong on the fubject of Religion ; which is, that before any human institution's of government were known in the world there exifted, if I may fo exprefs it, a compafl: between God and Man, from the "beginning of time ; and that as the relation and condition which man in his individual perftn Stands in towards his Maker, cannot be changed, or any ways altered by any h man laws or human authority, that religious devotion, which is a part of this compact, cannot fo much as be'made a fubject of human laws ; and that all laws muft conform themfelves to this prior exift- ing compact, and not affume to make the compact conform to the laws, which, be sides being human, are fubfequ, nt thereto. The firft aCt of man, when he looked around and faw himfelf a creature which he did not make, and a world furnifhed for bis reception, ma ft have been devotion; and devotion muft ever con'iuue facred to every individual man, as it appears right te bun ; and --o .'crnmcnts do mifchief by in terfering. , ' ¦ » Part 1: RIGHTS OF MAN. J53 for them. It flares corruption in the face, and the venal tribe are alt alarmed. Their fear dilcovers itfelf jn their outrage, and they are but publishing the groans of a wounded vice. But from fuch opposition, the French Revolution, inftead of foster ing, receives an homage. The more it is Struck, the more fparks it will emit ; and the fear is, it will not be ftruck enough. It has nothing to dread from attacks -. — Truth has given jt an eftabliShment ; and Time will record it with- a name as lafting as his own. Having now traced the progrefs of the French Revolution through moft of its principal Slages, from its com mencement to the taking of the Baf tile, and its establishment by the Declaration of Rights, I will clofe the fubjeft with the energetic apof- trophe of M. de " la Fayette — May this great monument raifed to liberty, ferve as a leffon to the oppreffor, and an example to the oppreffed! * MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER. TQ prevent interrupting the ar gument in the preceding part of this work, or the narrative that follows it, I refcrved fome obfervations to be thrown together into a Mifcellaneous Chapter ; by which variety might not be cenfured for confufion. Mr. Burke's Book is all Mifcellany. His intention was to make an attack on the French Revolution; but inftead of proceeding with an orderly arrange ment, he has Stormed it with a Mob of ideas, tumbling over and destroy ing one1 another. But this confufion ,and contradic tion in Mr. Burke's Book, is eafily accounted for. — When a man in a long caufe attempts to fteer his courfe by any .thing elfe than fome polar truth or principle, he is fore to be loft. It is beyond the compaSs of his capacity, to keep all the parts of an argument together, and make them unite in oneiffue, .by any other means ^han having this guide always in view. Neither memory nor invention will fupply the want of it. The former fails him, and the latter betrays him. Notwithstanding the nonfenfe, for it deferves no better name, that Mr. Burke has afferted about hereditary rights, and hereditary fucceSfion, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itfelf; it happened to fall in his way to give fome ac count of what government is. — " Go- " vernment, fays he,' is a contrivance " of human wifdom." Admitting rjiat Government is a contrivance of human viifidom, it mult neceffarily follow, that hereditary fuc eeffion, and hereditary rights (as they are called), can make no part of it, becaufe it is impoSIible to make wif dom hereditary ; and on the other hand, that cannot be a wife contriv ance, which in its operation may commit the government of a nation to the wifdom of an ideot. The ground which Mr. Burke now takes is fatal * See page 100 of this -work — N. B. Since the taking the Baftile, the occurrences have been published; but the matters recorded in this narrative are prior to that perio-1 ; and fome of them, as may eafily be feen, can be but very little known. »5v PAlNE's WORKS. to every part of his caufe. The ar gument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wifdom ; and the quef tion is, Who is the wifeft man ? He muft now Shew that every one in the line of hereditary fuceeffion was a Solo mon, or his title is not good to be a king What a ftroke has Mr. Burke now made-! — To ufe a Sailor's phrafe, he has fitvabbed the deck, and fcarcely left a name legible in the lift ci kings, and he has mowed down and thinned the Houfe of Peers, with a fey the as formidable as Death and Time. But, Mr. Burke appears to have been aware of this, retort, and he has taken care to guard againft it, by making government tp be not only a contrivance of human wifdqm, but a monopoly of wifdom. He puts the nation as fools on one fi.le, and places his government of wifdom, all wife men of Gotham, on the other fide ; and he then proclaims, and fays, that " Men have a RIGHT " that their WAttTsftiouid be provided "for by this wifdom." Having thus made proclamation, he next pro ceeds to explain to them, what their wants are, and alfo what their rights are. In this he has fucceeded dexte- rouily, for he makes their wants to be want of wifdom ; but as this is but cold, comfort, he then informs them, that they have a right (not to any of the wifdom) but to be go verned by it : and in order to imprefs them with a Solemn reverence for this monopoly government of wifdom, and its vaft capacity for all purpofes, poffible or impoffible, right or wrong, he proceeds with aflrological mylteri- ous importance, to tell them its powers, in thefe words " The l; Rights of men in government are " their advantages; and thefe are ofteli " in balances between differences of " good ; and in compromifes fometimes " between good and evil, and fome- ," times between evil and evil. Poli- '.' tical reafon is a computing princi- " pie: adding — fubtrafting — multi- " plying — and dividing, morally, '.' and not metaphyfically, or mathe- '.' matically true moral demonflra- '.' tions." As the wondering audience whom Mr. Burke fuppofes himfelf talking to, may not understand all this learn ed jargon, I will undertake to be its interpreter. The meaning then, good people, of all this is, That go vernment is governed kf na principle whatever ; that it can make- evd good, or good evil, jujl as it pleafe s. In Jhort, that government is arbitrary power. But there are fome things which Mr. Burke has forgotten. Firft, He has not Shewn where the wifdom ori ginally came from : and, fecondly, he has not (hewn by what authority it firft began to aft. In the manner lie introduces the matter, it is either government Stealing wifdom, or wii- dom Stealing government. It is with out an origin, and its powers with out authority. In Short, it is ufur- pation. Whether it be from a fenfe of Shame, or from a confeioufnefs of fome radical defeft in government ne- ce.Sfary to be kept out of fight, or from both, or from any other caufe, I undertake not to determine ; but fo it is, that a monarchical reafonernever traces government to its fource, or. from its fource. It is one of the Jhibboleths by which he may be known. A thoufand years hence, thofe who PAKT I, RIGHTS OF MAN. i55 fhall live in America or in France, will look back with contemplative pride on the origin of their govern ments, and fay, This was the work of our glorious anceflors ! But what can a monarchical talker Say ? What has he to exult in ? Alas ! he has "nothing. A certain fomething for bids him to look back to a beginning, left fome robber or fome Robin Hood Should rife from the long obfcurity of time, and fay, I am the origin, Jlard as Mr. Burke laboured the Regency Bill and hereditary fuceef fion two years ago, and much as he dived for precedents, he ftill had not boldnefs enough to bring up Wil liam of Normandy, and fay, There is the head of the' till, there is the foun tain of lionour, the fon of a profti- tute, and the plunderer of the Eng lish nation. ' The opinions of men with refpeft to government, are changing fait in all countries. The revolutions of America and France have thrown a beam of light over the world, which reaches into man. The enormous fexpence of' governments hav'e pro voked people to think, by making thern feel ; and when once the veil begins to' rend it admits not of re pair. Ignorance of a peculiar nature, bnce difpell'ed, and it is impoffible to. re-eftabliSh it. It is not origi nally a thing of itfelf, but is only the abfence of knowledge ; and though man may be kept ignorant, he cannot be made ignorant. The mind, in difcovering truth, ails in the fame manner as it afts through the eye in difcovering objefts ; when once any objeft has been feen, it is impoffible to put the mind back to the fame condition it was in before it faw it. Thofe who talk of a counter- revolution in Fr&ce, Shew how little they underftand of man. There does not exift in the compafs of language, an arrangement of words to exprefs fo much as the means of effefting a counter-revolu tion. The means muft be an obi - teration of knowledge ; and it has never yet been difcovered, how to make man uninow his knowledge, or unthink his thoughts. Mr. Burke is labouring in vain to Slop the progrefs of knowledge ; and it comes with the worfe grace from him, as there is a certain tranfafti on known in the city, which ren ders him fufpefted '.of being a pen sioner in a fictitious name. This may account for fome ftrange doc trine he has advanced in his book, which, though he points it at the Revolution Society, is effectually directed againft the whole Nation. " The King of England," fays he, " holds his Crown (tor it does " not belong to the nation, accord- " ing to Mr. Burke) in contempt cf " the choice of the Revolution So- " ciety, who have not a fingle vote " for a King among them either " individually or colleBively ; and " his Majefty's heirs, each in their " time and order, will come to the " Crown with the fame contempt of ¦" their choice, with which his Ma- " jefty has fucceeded to that which " he now wears." As to who js king in England or elfewhere, or whether there is any king at all, or whether the people chufe a Cherokee Chief, or a Helfian HuSTar for a King, is not a matter that I trouble myfelf about, be that to themfelves ; but with refpeft to the doctrine, fo far as it relates to the Rights of Men and Nations, it is as ?S6 PAINE's WORKS. abominable as any thing ever utter ed in the moft enflaved country un der heaven. Whether it founds worfe to my ear, by not being ac cuftomed to hear fuch defpotifm, than what it does to the ear of another p.rl'on, I am not fo well a judge of; but of its abominable principle, I am at no lofs to judge. It is not the Revolution Society that Mr, Burke means ; it is the Nation, as well in its original as in its reprefeKtative character ; and he has taken care to make himfelf un derstood, by faying that they have not a vote either colleBively or indi vidually. The Revolution Society is compofed of citizens of all denomi nations, and of members of both the Houfes of Parliament ; and confe- quently, if there is not a right to a vote in any of the charafters, there can be no right to any either in the nation or in its parliament. This ought to be a caution to every coun try how it imports foreign families to be Kings. It is fomewhat curious to obferve, that although the people of England have been in the habit of talking about Kings, it is always a foreign houfe of Kings ; hating foreigners, yet governed by them. It is now the Houfe of Brunfwick, one of the petty tribes of Germa ny. It has hitherto been the practice of the English Parliaments to regu late what was called the fuceeffion, (taking it for granted, that the na tion then continued to accord to the form of annexing a monarchical branch to its government ; for without this the parliament could not have had inithority to have fent either to Holland or to Hanover, or to impofe .. Kii'g upon tli* nation againft its will.) And this muft be the utmoil limit to which Parliament can go upon this cafe ; but the right of the\ nation goes to the whole cafe, be caufe it has the right of changing its whole form a of government. The right of Parliament is only a right in truft, a right by delegation, and that but from a very fmall part of the nation ; and one of its Houfes has not even this. But the right of the nation is an original right, as univerfal as taxation. The nation is the paymaster of every thing, and every thing muft conform to its ge neral will. I remember taking notice of a fpeech in what is called the EngliSh Houfe of Peers, by the then Earl of Shelburne, and I think it was at the time he was Minifter, which is applicable to this cafe. \ do not, directly charge my memory with every particular ; but the words and the purport, as nearly as I remem ber, were thofe : That the form of a Government was a matter wholly at the will of u Nation at all times i that if it chofi a monarchical form, it had a right to have it fo : and if it , afterwards chofi to be a Republic, it had u. right to be a Republic, and to fay to a King, we have no longer any occafion for you. When Mr. Burke fays that " His " Majefty's heirs and fucceffors, each " in their time and order, will come " to the crown with the fame con- " tempt of their choice with which " His Majefty has Succeeded to that " he wears," it is faying too much even to the hu.mbleft individual in the country ; part cf whofe daily labour goes toward making up the million fterling a year, which the country gives the perfon it ftiles a 'King. Part I. RIGHT'S OF MAN. '57 Government with infolence, is def potifm ; but when contempt is added, it becomes worfe ; and to pay for contempt, is the excefs of Slavery. This Species of Government comes from Germany : and reminds me ot what one of the Brunfwick foldiers told me, who was taken prifoner by the Americans in the late war ; " Ah !" faid he, " America is a fine << free country, it is worth the peo- " pie's fighting for ; I know the.dif- " ference by knowing my own ; in " my country if the prince fay, Eat " Straw, we eat Straw." — God help that country, thought I, be it Eng land or elfewhere, whofe liberties are to be protected by German principles of government and princes of Brunf wick. As Mr. Burke fometimes fpeaks of England, fometimes of Frajice, and fometimes of the world, and of government in general, it is difficult to anfwer' his "book without apparent ly meeting him on the fame ground. Although princip|es of Government are general Subjects, it is next to impoffible in many cafes to feparate them from the idea of place and cir cumftance ; and 'the more when cir cumstances are put for arguments, which is frequently the cafe with Mr. Burke. In the former part of his Book, addreffing himfelf to the people of France, he fays, " No experience " has taught us, (meaning the Eng- " liSh), that in any other courfe or " method than that of an hereditary " crown, can our liberties be regu- " larly perpetuated and preferved l'a- " cred as our hereditary right." I aSk Mr. Burke who is to take them away ? M. de la Fayette, in fpeaking to' France fays, " For, a Nation to be " free, it is fufficient that fie wills it." But Mr. Burke reprefents England as wanting capacity to take care of itfelf ; and that its liberties muft be taken care of by a King, holding it in " contempt." If England is funk to this, it is preparing itS'elf to eat Straw, as in Hanover or in Brunf wick. But befides the folly of 'the declaration, it happens that the fails are all againft Mr. Burke. It was by the government being hereditary, that the liberties of the people were endangered; Charles the Filft, and James the Second, are instances of this truth ; yet neither of them went fo far as to hold the Nation in con tempt. As it is fometimes of advantage to the people- of one country, to hear what thofe of other countries have to fay refpefting it, it is poffible that the people of Fiance may learn fome thing from Mr. Burke's book, and that the people of England may al fo learn fomething from the anfwers it will occafion. When Nations fall out about freedom,, a wide field of debate is opened. The argument commences wif,h the rights of war, without its evils ; and as knowledge is the objeft contended for, the party that fuftains the defeat obtains the prize. Mr. Burke talks about what he ' calls an hereditary crown, as if it were fome produftion of nature ; or as if, like time, it had a power to operate not only independent, but in l'pite of man ; or as if it were a thing or a fubjeft univerfally confent- ed to. Alas I it has none of thofe properties, but is the reverfe of them all. It is a thing in imagi nation, the propriety of which is more than doubted, and the lega- i55 painE's works. lity of which-in a few years wiff be denied. Bui, to arrange this matter in a clearer view thin what general ex pressions can convey, it will be ne ceffary to ftate the diftinct heads tin der- which (what is called) an here ditary crown, or, more properly fpeaking, an hereditary fuceeffion to the' Government of a Nation, can be considered ;' which' af'e, Firfty The right of a particular fa mily to eftabliSh itfelf. Secondly, The right of a nation to cl'cihlifh a particular family. With refpeft to the firft of thefe heads, that of a family' establishing itfelf with hereditary powers on its own authority, and independent of the confent of a Nation, all men will concur in calling it clefpotifm ; and It would be tfefpaffing on their un derftanding to attempt to prove it. But the fecond head, that of a Nation establishing a particular fa mily with hereditary power, it does not prefent itfelf as deSpotifm on the firft reflection ; but if men will j-ennit a fecond reflection fo take place, and carry that reflection forward but one remove out of their own perfons to that of their offspring, they will then fee that hereditary fuceeffion be comes in its confequences the fame defpotifm to others, which they re probated for themfelves. It operates to preclude the confent of the foc- ceeding generation, and the preclu sion of conlent is defpotifm. When flie perfon who at any time Shall be in poffeffion of a Government, or thofe who Stand in fucoeSfion to him. Shall fay to a Nation, I hold this power in " contempt" of you, it Signifies not on what authority he pretends to fay it. It is no relief, but an aggravation to a perfon IrS Slavery, to refleft that he was fold by his parent ; and as that which height ens the criminality of an aft cannot be produced to prove the legality of it, hereditary fuceeffion cannot be ' eftabliShed as a legal thing. In order to arrive at a more per fect decifion on this head, it will be proper to confider the generation which undertakes to eft'ablifh a' family with ' hereditary powers a-part and feparate from the generations which are to follow ; and alfo1 to confider the character in which the firft gene ration acts with refpeft to fuccee'ding generations.' The generation which firft ftlefts a peribn, arid puts him at the head of its Government, either with the title of King, or any other distinc tion, acts its own choice, be it wife or f'oolifh, as a free agint for itfelf. The perfon fo fet up is not heredita ry, but felefted and appointed ; and the generation which fets him up/ does not live under an hereditary go vernment, but tinder a government Of its own choice and establishment. Were the generation who fets him; lip, and the perfon fo fet up, to live for ever, it never could become he reditary fuceeffion j and, of confe quence, hereditary fuceeffion can" only follow on the death of the firft parties. As therefore, hereditary fuceeffion is out of the queftion with refpeft' iat the firft generation, we have now to confider the charafter in which thai generation aits with refpeft to the commencing generation, and to all fucceeding ones. It affumes a charafter, to which it has neither right nor title. It chang es itfelf from a Legiflator to a Tefta- Part I. RICHTS OF MAN. 159 tor, and affefts to make its Will, which is to have operation after the demife of the makers, to bequeath the Government ; and it not only at tempts to bequeath, but to ellabliSh on the fucceeding generation, a new and different form of government under which itfelf lived. ItSeif, as is already obferved, lived not under an hereditary Government, but under a Government of its own choice and eftablifhment; and it now' attempts, by virtue, of a will and teftament, (and which it has authority to make), to take from the commencing gene ration, and all future ones, the rights and free agency by which itfelf afted. But, exdufive of the right which any generation has to aft collectively as a teftator, the objefts to which it applies itfelf in this cafe are not with in the compafs of any law, or of any will or teftament. The rights of men in fociety, are neither devifeable nor transferable, nor annihilable, but are defcendable only ; and it is not in the power of any generation to intercept finally, and cut off the defcent. If the pre fent generation, or any other, are difpofed to be Slaves, it does not leffen the right qf the fucceeding ge neration to be free: wrongs cannot have a legal defcent. When Mr. Burke attempts to maintain, that the Englijh Nation did, at the Revolution of 16S8, moft folemnly renounce and abdi cate their rights for themfelves and for all their pofterity for ever ; he fpeaks a language that merits not re ply, and which can only excite con tempt for his proftitute principles, or pity for his ignorance. In whatever light hereditary fuc eeffion, as growing out of the will and teftament of fome former genera tion, prefents itfelf, it is an abfur- dity. A cannot make a will to take from B the property of B, and give it to C ; yet this is the manner in which (what is called) hereditary fuc eeffion by law operates. A certain former generation made a will to take away the rights of the commencing generation and all future ones, and convey thofe rights to a third perfon, who afterwards comes forward, and tells them, in Mr. Burke's language, that they have no rights, that their rights are already bequeathed to him, and he will govern in contempt of them. From fuch principles, and fuch ignorance, Good Lord deliver the world ! But after all, what is this metaphor called a crown, or rather what is a monarch? Is it a thing, or is it a name, or is it. a fraud? Is it " a " contrivance of 'human wifdom," or of human craft to obtain money from a nation under pretences ? Is it a thing neceffary to a nation ? If it is, in what does that neceffity confift, what fervices does it perform ; what is its bufinefs, and what are its merits ? Doth the virtue confift in the metaphor, or in the man ? Doth the golilfmith that makes the crown m.ike the virtue alio ? Doth it ope rate like Fortunatus's wiShing-cap, or Harlequin's wooden fword ? Doth it make a man a conjuror ? In fine, what is it ? It appears to be fome thing going much ' out of faShion, falling into ridicule, and rejefted in fome countries both as unneceffary and expenfive. In America it is con- fidered as an abfurdity, and in France it has fo far declined, that the good- nefs of the man, and the refpeft for his perfonal charafter, are the only ifio PAINE's WORKS. things that preferve the appearance of its existence. > If Government be what Mr. Burke defcribes it, " a contrivance of hu- " man wifdom," I might afk him, if wifdom was at fuch a' low ebb in Eng land, that it was become neceffary to ' import it from Holland and from Hanover? But I will do the country the juftice to fay, that was not the cafe ; and even if it was, it mistook the cargo. The wifdom of every country, when properly exerted, is fufficient for all its purpofes ; and there could exift no mote real occa fion in England to have fent for a Dutch Stadtholder, or a German Elec tor, than there was in America to have done a fimilar thing. If a country does not underftand its own affairs, how is a foreigner to under stand them, who knows neither its laws, its manners, nor its language ? If there exifted a man fo tranfcend- ently wife above all others, that his wifdom was neceffary to inftruft a na tion, fome reafon might be offered for monarchy ; but when we call oar eyes about a^ country, and obferve how every part underftands its own affairs ; and when we look round the world, a^id fee that of all men' in it, the race of kings are the moft insig nificant in capacity, our reafon can not fail to aik us — What are thofe men kept for ? If there is any thing in monarchy which we people of America do not tmderfland, I wifh Mr. Burke would be fo kind as to inform us. I fee in America, a government extending over a country ten times as large as England, and conducted with regu larity for a fortieth part of the ex pence which government cods in England. If I alk a man in Ame rica, if he wants a king ? he retorts and aSks me, if I take him for an ideot ? How is it that this difference happens ? are we more or lefs wife than others ? I fee in America, the generality of people living in a ftile of plenty unknown in monarchical countries : and I fee that the prin ciple of its government, which is that of the equal Rights of Man, is making a rapid progrefs in the world. If monarchy is a ufelefs thing, why is it kept up any, where ? and if a neceffary thing, how can it be dif- penfed with ? That civil government is neceffary, all civilized nations will agree in ; but civil government is re publican government. All that part • of the government of England which begins with the office of conftable,' and proceeds through the department of magistrate, quarter-feffion, and general affize, including trial by jury,' is republican government. Nothing of monarchy appears in any part of it, except the name which William the Conqueror impofed upon the Eng lish, that of obliging them to call him " Their Sovereign Lord the King." It is eafy to conceive,- that a band of interefted men, fuch as placemen,' pensioners, Lords of the bed-cham ber, Lords of the kitchen, Lords' of the neceffary-houle, and the Lord knows what befides,' can find as many reafons for , monarchy as their falaries, paid at the' expence of the country, amount to ; but if I aSk the farmer, the manufafturer,1 the merchant, the tradefman, and down through all the occupations of life to the common labourer, what fervice monarchy is to him? he can give me no anfwer. If I aSk what monarchy is, he believes it is fome thing like a Sinecure, Part!. RIGHTS OF MAN. 161 Notwithstanding the taxes of Eng land amount to almoft fevenfpen mil lions aryear, Said to be, for the ex pences of Government, it is ftill evi dent that the fenfe of the Nation is left to govern itfelf, and does govern itfelf by magistrates and juries, almoft at its own charge, on republican prin ciples, exclusive of the expence of taxes. The falaries of the Judges are almoft the only charge that is paid out of the revenue. Confidering that all the internal government is executed by the people, the taxes of England ought to be the lighteft of any nation an Europe ; inftead of which, they are the contrary. As this cannot be accppnted for on the fcore of civil government, the fubjeft neceffarily extends itfelf to (he monarchical part. When the. people of England fent for George the Firft, (and it would puzzle a wifer man than Mr. Burke to difeover for what he could be waut- ed, or what fervice he could render), they ought at leaft to have conditi oned for the abandonment of Han- Over. Befides the endlefs German intrigues that muft, follow from a German Eleftor being King of Eng land, there is a natural impoffibility of uniting in the fame perfon the principles of Freedom and the prin ciples of Defpotifm, or as it is ufually called in England, Arbitrary Power. A German Eleftor is in his elec torate a defpot : How then could it be expefted that he "Should be attached to principles of liberty in one coun try, while his intereft in another was to be Supported by defpotifm ? The Union cannot exift ; and it might eafily have been forefeen, that Ger man Electors would make German Kings, or, in Mr. Burke's words, would affume government with f con- tenvpU'. The English have been in the habit of confidering a King of England only in the charafter in which he appears to them : whereas the fame perfon, while the conneftion. lafts, has a home-feat . in another country, the intereft of which is dif ferent to their own, and the princi ples of the government in opposition to each other. — To fuch a perfon England will appear as a town-refi- dence, and the 'Eleftorate as the eftate. The EngliSh may wiSh, as I believe they do, fuccefs to the prin ciples of liberty in France, or in. Germany ; but a German eleftor trembles for the fate of defpotifm in his eleftorate ; and the Duchy of Mecklenburgh, where the prefent Queen's family governs, is under the fame wretched ftate of arbitrary power, and the people in Slavish vaffalage. There never was a time when it be* Came the English to watch continental intrigues more circumfpeftly than at the prefent moment, and to distin guish the politics of the Eleftorate from the politics of the Nation. The revolution of France has entirely changed the ground with refpeft to England and France, as nations : but the German defpots, with Pruffia at their head, are combining againft Li berty ; and the fondnefs of Mr. Pitt for office, and the intereft which all his family-conneftions have obtained, do not give fufficient fecurity againft this intrigue. As every thing which paffes in the world becomes matter for hiftory, I will now quit this fubjeft, and take a concife review of the State of parties and politics in England, as Mr. Burke has done in France., Whether the prefent reign com menced with contempt, I leave to Mr.> -Burke: certain however it is, that it had Strongly that appearance* M tSi- PAINE's WORKS. The animofity of the English Nation, the indignation againft the Court, as it is very well remembered, ran high ; and, had the true principles of Li berty betn as well understood then as they now promii'e to be, it is proba ble the Nation would not have pati ently Submitted to fo much. George to extinguish it ; and without any change of principles on the part of the Court, the fame people who had reprobated its defpotifm, united with , it, to revenge themfelves on the'Coa- Iition Parliament. The cafe was not, the Firft and Second were fenfible of which they liked bed — but, which a rival in the remains of the Stuarts ; they hated moft ; and the leaft hated and as they could not but confider paffed for loved. The diffolution' of themfelves as (landing on their good the Coalition Parliament, as it af- behaviour, they Had prudence to keep forded the means of gratifying the re- their German principles of Govern- fentment of the Nation, could not .ment to themfelves; but as the Stuart Family wore away, the prudence be came lefs neceffary. The conteft between rights, and what were called prerogatives, conti nued to heat the Nation till fome time Sail to be popular; and from hence arofe the popularity of the Court. Transitions of this kind exhibit a Nation under the government of tem per, inftead of a fixed and Steady principle; and having once commit- aftef the conclusion of the American ted .itfelf, however /aShly, it feels it- war, when all at once it fell a calm felf urged along' to juftify by conti- Execration exchanged itfelf for ap- nuance its firft proceeding. Meafures plaufe, and Court popularity fprung which at other times it would cenforej up like a, muShroom in a night. To account for' this fud'den transi tion, it is proper to obferve, that there are two diftinit fpecies of po pularity ; the one excited by merit, the other by refentment. As the Na tion had foimed itfelf into two pari ties, and each was extolling the merits of its parliamentary champions for and againft prerogative, rothing could'operate to give a more general Shock than an, immediate coalition of the champions themfelves. The par- tifans. of each being tnus Suddenly it now approves, and afts perfuafiorr upon itfelf to fuffocare its judgment. On the return of a new Parliament, the new Minifter Mr. Pitt, found himfelf in a fecure majority : and the ¦ Nation gave him credit, not out of regard to himfelf, but becaufe it had refolved to do it out of refentment to another. He introduced himfelf to public notice by a propofed reform of parliament, which in its operation would have amounted to a public juf- tification of corruption. The Nation was to be at the expence of buying left in the lurch, and mutually heated up the rotten boroughs, whereas it witli'difgufl at the meafure, felt no ought to puniih the perfons who deal other relief than uniting in a common in the traffic. execration againft both. A higher Paffing over the two bubbles, of Stimulus of refentment being thus ex- the Dutch bufinefs, and the mil- cited", .than what the conteft on pre- lion a-year to fink the national debt, logatives had occasioned, the Nation the nnuter which next prefents itfelf, quitted all former objects of rights is the affair of the Regency. Never and wrongs, and fought only that of' in the courfe of my obfervation was gratification. The indignation of ' . delufion more fuccefsfully afted, nor toe Coalition, fo cSFeftually foperfe'ded .a nation more completely deceived.— Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. 165 But, to make this appear, it will be neceffary to go over the circumstan ces. Mr. Fox had Slated in the Houfe of Commons, that the Prince of Wales, as heir in fuceeffion, had a right in himfelf to affume the go vernment. This was oppofed by Mr. Pitt ; and, fo far as the opposition was confined to the doctrine, it was juft. But the principles which Mr. Pitt maintained on the contrary fide, were as bad, or worfe in their extent, than thofe of Mr. Fox ; be caufe they went to eStabliSh an arif tocracy over the Nation, and over the fmall reprefentation it has in the Houfe Of Commons. Whether the Engliih form of Go vernment be good or bad, is not in this cafe the queftion ; but taking it as it ftands, without regard to its merits or demerits, Mri Pitt was farther from the point than Mr. Fo*. It is fuppofed to confift of three parts ; — while, therefore, the Nation is difpofed to continue this for-m ; the parts have a national ftanding, Independent of each other, and are not the creature of each other. Had Mr. Fox paffed through Parliament, and faid that the perfon alluded to claimed on the ground of the Nati on, Mr. Pitt muft then have con- -tended (what he called) the right of the Parliament, againft the right of the Nation. By the appearance which the con teft made, Mr. Fox took the heredi tary ground, and Mr. Pitt the par liamentary ground : but the fait is, they both took hereditary ground, and Mr. Pitt took the worft of the two. What is called the Parliament, is jnade up of two Houfes 3 one of which is more hereditary, and more beyond the controul of the Nation, than what the Crown (as it is called) is fuppofed to be. It is an heredi tary ariftocracy, affuming and affert- ing indefeafible irrevocable rights and authority, wholly independent of the Nation. Where then was the merited popularity of exalting this hereditary power over another hereditary power lefs independent of the Nation than what itfelf affumed to be, and of abforbing the rights of the Nation into a Houfe over which it has neither election nor controul ? The general impulfe of the Nation was right ; but it afted without re- fleftion. It approved the oppofition made to the right fet up by Mr. Fox, without perceiving that Mr. Pitt was fupporting another indefeafible right, more remote from the Nationi in oppofition to it.- With refpeft to the Houfe of Commons, it is elected but by * fmall part of the Nation ; but were the election as univerfal as taxation! which it ought to be, it would ftill be only the organ of the Nation, and cannot poffefs inherent rights. — When the National Affembly of France refolves a matter, the refolve is made in right of the Nation ; but Mr. Pitt, on all national questions, fo far as they refer to the Houfe of Commons, abforbs the rights of the Nation into the organ, and makes the organ into a Nation, and- the Na- tion itfelf into a cypher. In a few words, the queftion on the Regency was a queftion on a mil lion a-year, which is appropriated to the executive department : and Mr. Pitt could not poffefs himfelf of, any management of this fum, without fetting up the fopremacy of Parlia ment; and when this was accoia- 164 PAINE's WORKS. pliShed, it was indifferent who Should be Regent, as he muft be Regent a* his own coft. Among the curiofi- ties which this contentious debate afforded, was that of making the Great Seal into a King ; the affixing of which to an aft, was to be royal authority. If, therefore, Royal au thority is a Great Seal, it confe- quently is in itfelf nothing ; and a good Conftitution would be of in finitely more fervice to the Nation, than what the three Nominal Pow ers, as they now Stand, are worth. The continual ufe of the word Conftitution in the English Parliament ftiews there is none ; and that the whole is merely a form of Govern ment without a Conftitution, and constituting itfelf with what powers it pleafes. If there were a Constitu tion; 'it certainly could be referred to ; and the debate on any conftitutions! point would terminate by producing the Constitution. One member fays, This is Conftitution ; another fays. That is Conftitution — To-day it is one thing ; and to- morrow; is fome thing elfe — while the maintaining the debate proves there is none. Con stitution is now the cant word of Parliament, tuning itfelf to the ear of the Natiqn. Formerly it was the univerfal jupremacy of Parliament — the omnipotence of Parliament : But, Since the progrefs of Liberty in France, thofe phrafes have a defpotic harSh- nefs in their note ; and the EngliSh Parliament have catched the faShion ijrqm the National Affembly, but without the fubftance, of fpeaking of Conftitution. As the prefent generation of people in England did not make the Go vernment, ¦ they are not accountable for any of its defeits ; but that Soon er or later, it muft come into their hands to undergo a constitutional reformation, is as certain as that the fame thing has happened in France. If France, with a revenue of near ly twenty-four millions fterling, with an extent of rich and fertile country above four times larger than Eng land, with a population of twenty- four millions of inhabitants to fopport taxation, with upwards of ninety , millions fterling of gold aud filver circulating in the nation, and with a debt lefs than the prefent debt of England — ftill found it neceffary, frojn, whatever caufe, to come to a fettle- ment of its affairs, it folves the pro blem of funding for both countries. It is out of the queftion to fay how Jong, what is called, the EngliSh con ftitution, has lafted, and to argup from thence how long it is to laft ; > the queftion is, how long can the funding fyftem laft? It is a thing but of a modern invention, and ha* not yet continued beyond the, life oi 9 man ; yet in that Short fpace it has fo far accumulated, that, toge ther with the. current expences, it requires an amount of taxes at ieafl; equal to the whole landed rental of the nation in acres to defray the annual expenditures. That a Go vernment could not always have gone on by the fame fyftem which has been followed for the laft feventy years, muft be evident to every man j and for the fame'reaSbn it cannot always go on. The funding fyftem is not money ; neither is it, properly fpeaking, cre dit. It, in effeft, creates upon pa per the fum which it appears to bor row, and lays on a tax to keep the imaginary capital alive by the pay ment of intereft, and fends the annu ity to market, to be fold for paper already in circulation. If any credit Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. iSS is given, it is to the difpofition of the people to pay the tax, and not to the Government which lays/ it on. When this difpofition expires, what is fuppofed to be the credit of Go vernment expires with it. The in ftance of France, under the former Government, Shews that it is impoffi ble to compel the payment of taxes by fol-ce, when a whole nation is de termined to take its Stand upon thaf ground. Mr. Burke, in his review of the finances of France, Slates the quan tity of gold and filver in France, at about eighty-eight millions fterling. In doing this he has, I prefume, di vided by the difference of exchange, inftead of the Standard of twenty-four •Iivres to a pound fterling ; for M. Neckar's Statement, from which Mr. Burke's is taken, is two thoufand two hundred millions of Iivres, which is upwards of ninety-one millions and an half Sterling. M. Neckar in France, and Mr. George Chalmers of the office of Trade and "Plantation in England, of which Lord HawkeSbury is prefi- dent, published nearly about the fame' time (1786) an account of the quantify of- money in each nation, from the returns of the Mint of each iation. Mr. Chalmers, from the returns of the EngliSh Mint at the Tower of London', Slates the quan tity of money in England, including Scotland and Ireland, to be twenty millions fterling *. M. Neckar f fays, that the amount of money in France, recoined from the old coin Which was called in, was two thoufand five hundred mil lions of Iivres, (upwards of one hun dred and four millions fterling) : and after dedufting for wafte, and what may be in , the Weft Indies, and other poffible circum Stances, States the circulating quantity at home, to be ninety-one millions and an half fterling ; but, taking it as Mr. Burke has put it, it is fixty-eight miJlion* more than the national quantity in England. That the quantity of money in France cannot be under this fum, may at once be feen from the ftate of the French Revenue, without re ferring to the records of the French Mint for proofs. The revenue of fiance, prior to the Revolution, was nearly twenty-four millions fterling ; and as paper had then no existence in France, the whole revenue was col lefted upon gold and filver ; and it would have been impoffible to have collefted fuch a quantity Of revenue upon a lefs national quantity than M- Neckar has Stated. Before the eftabliShment of paper in England, the revenue was about a fourth part of the national amount in gold and filver : as may be known by referring to the revenue prior to King Willi- , am, and the quantity of money Slated to be in the nation at that time, which was nearly as much as it is now. It can be of no real fervice to a Nation, to impofe upon itfelf, or to permit itfelf to be impofed upon; but the prejudices of fome, and the impofition of others, have always reprefented France as a nation pof- feffing but little money — whereas the quantity is not only more than four times what the quantity is in Eng land, but is considerably greater on * See Eftimat: of the Comparative ftrength of Great Britain, by George Chalmers, f See Administration of the Finan.ces of France, Vol. III. by M. Neckar. t&& PAINE'! WORKS. a proportion of numbers. To ac count for this deficiency on the part °f England, fome reference Should be had to the English fyftem of fund ing. It operates to multiply paper, and to fubftitute it in the room of money, in various Shapes; and the more paper is multiplied, the more opportunities are afforded to export the fpecie ; and it admits of a poffi- bihty (by extending it to fmall notes) °i increasing paper, till , there is no money left. I know this is not a pleafant fub jeft to English readers ; but the mat ters I am going to mention, are fo important in themfelves, as to require the attention of men interested, in money transitions of a public na ture;— There' is a circumftance 'Sla ted by -M. Neckar, in his treatife op the administration of the finances, which has never been attended to in England, but which forms the only bafis whereon to estimate- the quan^- tity of money (gold and Silver) which ought to be-in every nation in Eu rope, to preferve a relative proportion with other nations. LiSbon and Cadiz are the two ports into which (money) gold and filver from South America are im- , ported, and which, - afterwards di vides and fpreads itfelf over Europe by means of commerce, and Increafes the quantity .of money in all- parts of Europe. If, therefore, the amount of the annual importation into Eu rope can be known, and the relative proportion of the foreign commerce of the feveral nations by which it is distributed, can be .ascertained, ¦ they give a rule, fufficiently true, to af- certain the quaatity of money which * Administration of the Fii ought to be found in any nation aC any given time. (- M- tyeckar Shews, from the regis ters of Lifbon and Cadiz, that the importation of gold and filver into Europe, is five millions Sterling an nually. — He has not taken it on a fingle year, but on -an average of fif teen fucceeding years, from 1763 to 1777, both inclufive ; in which time* the amount was one thoufand eight hundred million Iivres, which is fe- venty-five millions Sterling *. ¦ From the commencement of the Hanover fuceeffion in 1714, to the time Mr. Chalmers published, is feventy-two years ; and the quantity imported into ..Europe, in that time, would be three hundred and fixty mil, lions fterling. If the foreign commerce of Great Britain be Hated a fixth part of what the whole foreign commerce of Europe, amounts to, (which is pro-* bably an inferior estimation to what the. gentlemen at the. Exchange would allow) the proportion, to which Bri tain Should draw by commerce of tbi9 fum, to keep . herfelf on a proportion with the reft of Europe, would be alfo a Sixth part, which is fixty mil-* lions, Sterling;, and if the fame al lowance for wafte" and accideht be made for England which M. Neckar makes for 'France, the quantity re maining" after thefe deductions would be fifty- two. millions; and this fum ought to have been in the nation (at the time Mr. Chalmers published) in addition to, the fum which was in . the nation at the Commencement of the Hanover fuceeffion, and to have1 made in the whole at leaft Sixty-Six; millions, fterling; inftead of whichj inces of France, Vol. III. Part I. R £G H - T S O F M A N. j4? there were but twenty millions which -means, at the average rate of about • is forty-fix millions below its propor- three quarters of a million a-year, tionate quantity. which, in the courfe of fcventy two As the quantity of gold and filver years, accounts for the deficiency, imported into LiSbon and Cadiz is and its abfence is fuppliedby paper *. more exaftly afcertained than that of The Revolution of Fiance is at- any commodity imported into Eng- tended with many novel circumftances, land.; and as the quantity of money not only in the political fphere but ¦coined at the. Tower of London is in the circle of money tranfaftions. ftill more .positively knoVn, the lead- Among others it Shews that a Go ing fails do not admit of controverfy. vernment may be in a ftate of infol- Either, therefore, the commerce of vency, and a Nation rich. So far as, England is unproduitive of profit, or, the fait is confined to the late Go- the gold and filver which it brings in vernment of France, it was infol- leak continually away by unfeen vent ; becaufe the Nation would no * Whether the English commerce does not bring in money, or whether the Govern- ;ment fends it out after' it is brought in, is a matter which the parties concerned can Belt explain ; but that the deficiency exifts, is not in the power of either to dtlprove. While Dr. Price, Mr. Eden (now Auckland), Mr. Chalmers, and oth.rs, were de bating whether the quantity of money in England was greater or lefs thin at the Re volution, the circumftance was not adverted to, that fince the Revolution, there can not have been lefs than four hundred millions fterling imported, into Europe ; and therefore, the quantity in England ought at lead lo have been four limes greater than it was at the Revolution, to be on a proportion with Europe. What Engl ind is now ' doing by paper, is what (he would have been able to have done by folid money, if gold and filver had come into the nation in the proportion it ought ; or had been fent out ; and (he is endeavouring to reftore,' by paper, the balance (he has loll by money. It is certain, that the gold and Silver which arrive annually in the regifier-fhips'to Spain and Portugal, do not remain in thofe countries. Taking the value hn IF in gold and half in filver, it is about four hundred tons annually ', and from the number ot (hip5 and gal leons employed in the trade of bringing thofe metals from South America" to Portugal and Spain, the quantity fufficiently prove's itfelf, without referring to the registers. In the fituation England now is, it is -impoflible (he can increafe in money. High taxes not only leffen the property of the individuals, but they leffen alfo the money cu bital of a nation, bytnducing fmuggling, which can only be carried on' by gold and Silver. By the politics which the BritiSh Government have carried 6nNwith the Inland Rowers of. Germany and the Continent, it has made an enemy of all the Maritime Powers, and is therefore obliged to keep up a large navy ; hut though the- navy is built in England, the naval Stores muft be purchafed 'from abroad, and that from countries where the greateft part muft be paid for in gold ahd fiUcr: Some fallacious rumours have been fet afloat in England to induce a belief of money, and, among o'.hers, that of the French refugees bringing great quantities. The idea is ridiculous. The general part of the money in France is filver; and it would lake upwaids of twenty, of -the largeft broad-wfieel waggons, with ten horfes each, to remove one mil lion fterling of filrer. [s it' then to be fuppofed, that a few people fleeing on horfe- 'JbaqkfQi in pofi-eliaifec, in a fecret manner, and having the French Cuftom-Houfe to pars, and the lea. to crols, could bring even a fufficiency tor their own e-xpe'nees ? \l321ren millions of money are [poken of, it'fliould be reco.llc'ted, that fuch ferns can only accumulate iii a Country by flow degrees, and a long fuceeffion of time. The moft frugal fyftem that England could now adopt, would not recover in a century the balance (he has loft in money fince the commencement of the Hanover fucceflicu. She is feveuty millions behind France, and fhe muft be in fome confiderable proportion behind, every country in Europe, becaufe the returns of the Englifh Mint do not (hew an increafe of money, while the' registers of Lifbon and Cadiz 'Shew a European u> create of between three and four hundred millions fterling. tit PAINE's WOSKS, longer fopport its extravagance, and therefore it could no longer Support it felf— but with refpeft to the Nation, all the means exifted. A Government fna'v" be faid to be infolvent, every time it ap plies fd a Nation to difcharge its arrears. The infolvency of the late Government of France, and the prefent Government of England, differed in no other refpeft than as the difpofition of the people diSFer, The people of France rtfuf- ed their aid to the old Government ; and the people of England fubmit to taxation without enquiry. What is called the Crown in England,, has been infolvent feveral times ; the laft of which, publickly known, was in May 1777, when it applied to the Nation to difcharge upwards of £600,000. private debts,, which other- wife it could not pay. It was the error of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Burke, and all thofe who were unac quainted with the aSFairs of France, to confound the French Nation with the French Government. The French Nation, in effeft, endeavoured to ren der the late Government infolvent, for the purpofe of taking government into its own hands ; and it referved its means for the fupport of the hew Government. In a country of Such vaft extent and population as France, the natural means cannot be wanting ; and the political means appear the inftant the Nation is dilpofed to per mit them. When Mr. Burke, in a fpeech laft Winter in the British Par liament, eaft his eyes over the map of Europe, and faw a chafm that once was France, he talked like a dreamer of dreams. The fame natural Fiance exifted as before, and all the natural means exifted with it.' The only chafm was that which the extinction ,of defpotifm had left, and which was to be filled up with a conliirutiort more formidable in refources than the power which had expired. Although the French Nafidn ren dered the late Government infolvent, it did not permit the infolvency to aft towards the creditors ; and the cre ditors confidering the Nation as the real paymaster,' and the 'Government only as the agent, refted themfelves oh the Nation, in preference to the Government. This appears greatly to disturb Mr. Burke, as the prece dent is 'fatal to the policy by which Governments have fuppofed themfelves fecure. ' They have contrafted debts^ with a view of attaching what is called the monied interests of a Nation to their fupport ; but the example in France Shews, that the permanent fe curity of the creditor is in the Na tion, and not in the Government ; dnd that in all poSfible revolutions that may happen in Governments, the means are always with the Nation; and the Nation always in existence. Mr. Burke argues, that the Creditors ought to havi abided the fate of the Government which they trufted ; but the , National Affembly considered them as the creditors of the Nation^ and not of the Government — of the mafler, and not of the Steward. Notwithstanding the late Govern ment could not difcharge the current expences, the prefent Government has paid off a great part of the capi tal. This has been accomplished by two means ; the one by leffening the expences of Government, and the other by the fale of the monaftic and ecclefiaftical landed eftates. The de votees and penitent debauchees, ex tortioners and mifers of former days, to enfu're themfelves 1 better world than that v^hich they were about toi leave, bad bequeathed immenfe pro perty in truft to the priefthOod, for Part I; RIGHTS 6f MAN. 169, pious ufes : and the pViefthdod kept it for themfelves. The National Af fembly has ordered it to' Be fold for the gdod of the Whole Nation, and the priefthood to be decently provided for. In confequence of the Revolution, the anrrual interest of the debt of France will be reduced at leaft Six millions Sterling, by paying off up(- wards of One hundred millions of the capital ; which, with leffening the former expences of Government at leaft three millions; will place France in a fituation worthy the imitation of Europe. Upon a whole review of the fubjeft, . how vaft Is the contraft ! While Mr. Burke has been talking of a general bankruptcy in France, the National Affembly has been paying off the ca pital of its debt; ahd while faxes have increafed near a million a-year in England, they have lowered feve ral millions a-year in France.' Not a word , has either Mr. Burke or Mr. Pitt faid about French affairs, or. the ftate of the French finances, in the prefent Seflion of Parliament. The fubjeft begins to be too well under - ftood, and imposition ferves no longer. There is a general enigma runhing through the whole of Mr. Burke's Book. He writes in a rage againft the National ASierhbly ; but what is he enraged about ? If his affertions tyere as true as ' they are groundlefs, and that France by her Revolution had' annihilated her power, and be come what he calls' a chafm, it might excite the grief of a Frenchman, (confidering himfelf as a national man,) and provoke fiis rage againSfc the National ASfembly : but why Should it excite the rage of Mr. Burke ? — Alas ! it is not the Nation of France that Mr. Burke means, but the COURT ; and every Court in Europe, dreading the fame fate, is in mourning. He writes neither in the charafter of a Frenchman nor an Englishman, but in the fawning cha rafter of that creature known in all countries, and friend to none, a Courtier. Whether it be the Court of Verfailles, or the Court of St. James or of Carlton-Houfe, or the Court in expeftation, Signifies not ; for the caterpillar principle of all Courts and Courtiers are alike. They form a common policy through out Europe, detached and feparate from the intereft of Nations ; and while they appear to quarrel, they agree to plunder. Nothing can be more terrible to a Court or a Courtier than the Revolution of France. That which is a biefling to Nations, is bit- ternefs to them ; and as their exist ence depends on the duplicity of a country, they tremble at the approach of principles, and dread the precedent that threatens their overthrow. mmm CONCLUSION. R . EASON and Ignorance, the oppofites of each other, influence the great bulk of mankind. If either of thel'e can be rendered fufficiently ex- tenfive in a country, the machinery of Government goes eaSily on. Reafon obeys itfelf; and Ignorance fubmits to whatever is diftated to it. The two modes of Government which prevail in the world, are, firjl, 1JO JAINE's WORKS, Government by eleftion and reprefen tation : Secondly, Government by he reditary fuceeffion. The former is generally known by the name of re public : the latter by that of monar chy and ariftocracy. Thofe two dift'inft and oppofite forms, ereil themfelves on the two distinct: and oppofite bafes of Reafon and Igrforance. — As the exercife of Government requires talents and abi lities, and as talents and abilities cannot have hereditary defcent, it is evident that hereditary fuceeffion re quires, a belief from man, to which his reafon cannot fubScribe, and which can only be eftabliShed upon his ignorance ; and the more igno rant 'any country is, the better it is fitted for this fpecies pf government. On the contrary, Government in a well constituted republic, requires no belief from man beyond what his rea fon can give. He fees the rationale of the whole fyftem, its origin arid its operation ; and as it is beft fop- ported when beft understood, the hu man faculties aft with boldnefs, and acquire, under this form of Govern ment, a gigantic manlinefs. As, therefore, each of thofe forms afts on a different bale, the one moving freely by the aid of reafon, the other by ignorance ; we have next to confider, what it is that gives mo tion to that fpecies of. Government which is called mixed Government, or, as it is fometimes ludicroufly ftiled, a Government . of this, that and t'other. The moving power in this fpecies of Government is, of neceffity, Cor- - ruption. However .imperfect eleftion and reprefentation may be in mixed Governments, they (till give exercife to a greater portion of reafon than is convenient to the hereditary Part; and therefore it becomes neceffary to buy the reafon up. A mixed Go vernment is an imperfect every thing, cementing and foldering the difcordant parts together by corruption, to aft as a whole. Mr. Burke appears highly difgufted, that France, fince She had reSblved on a revolution, did not adopt what he calls " A Britifti Con ftitution ;" and the regretful manner in which he expreffes himfejf on this ' occafion, implies a fufpicion, that the ' BritiSh Conftitution needed fomething to keep its defefts in countenance. In mixed Governments there is no responsibility : the parts cover each other till refponfibility is loft ; and the corruption which moves the ma-- chine, contrives, at the fame time, its own efcape. When it is laid down as a maxim, that a King can do. no -wrong, it places him in a ftate of fimilar fecurity with that of ideots and perfons infane, and refponfibility is out of the queftion with refpeft to himfelf. It then defcends upon "the Minifter, who Shelters himfelf under a majority in Parliament, which, by places, penfions, and corruption, he can always command ; and that ma jority justifies itfelf by the fame au thority with which it protefts the Mi nister. In this rotatory motion, re fponfibility is thrown off from the parts and from the whole. When there is a Part in a Govern ment which can do no wrong, it im plies that it does nothing ; and is only the machine of another power, by whofe advice and direction it aits. What is fuppofed to be the King in mixed Governments, is the Cabinet; and as the Cabinet is always a part of the Parliament, and the numbers jiiilif'yirig in one charafter what they advife and aft in another, a mixed Govei nment becomes a continual enig- Part I, RIGHTS OF MAN. 171 ma ; entailing upon a country, by the quantity of corruption neceffary to Sblder the parts, the expence of fupporting all the forms of Govern ment , at once, and finally referring, itfelf into a ' government by Commit tee ; in which the advifers, the ac tors, the approvers, thejuftifiers, the peffohs refponfible, and the perfons not refponfible, are the Same perfons. " By this pantomimical contrivance, and change of fcene and charafter, the parts help -each Other out in mat ters which neither of them Singly would afrume to aft. When money is to be obtained, the mafs of varie ty apparently diffolves, and a profu sion of parliamentary praifes paffes between the parts. Each admires *?ith aftonHhment -the wifdom, the liberality, the difintereftednefs of the ether ; and all of them breathe a pi tying figh at the burthens of the Nation. * • ¦ f- But in a well constituted republic, nothing 'of this foldering, praifing, and pitying can take place ; the re prefentation being equal throughout the country, and compleat in itfelf; however it may be' arranged into le gislative and executive, they have all one and the fame natural Source. The parts are not foreigners to each other, like democracy, ariftocracy, ahd moharchy. As there are no discordant diftinftions, there is no thing to corrupt by compromife, nor confound by contrivance. Public meafures appeal of themfelves to the underftanding of the Nation, and, refting on their own merits, difown any flattering application to vanity. The continual whine' of lamenting the burthen of taxes, however fuc- cefsfully It may be praftifed in mix ed Governments, is inconsistent with the fenfe and fpirit of a republic. If taxes are neceffaiy, they are of courfe advantageous ; but if they re quire an apology, the apology itfelf implies an impeachment. Why then is man thus impofed upon, or why does he impofe upon himfelf ? When men are fpokcn of as kings and fubjeits, or when Government is mentioned under diflinft or com bined heads of monarchy, ariftocra cy, and democracy, what is it that reafoning man is to underftand by the terms ? If there really exifted in the world- two or more diflinft and fe parate elements of human power, we Should then fee the feveral origins to which' thofe term's would defcriptive- ly apply : ' but as there is but, one fpecies of man, there can be but one element of human power : and that element is man himfelf. Mo harchy, ariftocracy, and democracy are but creatures of imagination ; and a thoufand Such may be contrived as well as three. From the Revolutions of America and, France, ard the fyrrtptoms that have appeared in other countries, it is evident that the opinion of the world is- changing with refpeft to fyftems of Government, and that revolutions are not within the compafs ef political calculations. The pro s' , . - ¦- grefs of .time and circumftances, which men affign to the accomplish ment of great changes, is too mecha nical to mea-fiire the force of the mind, and the rapidity of reflection, by which revolutions are generated,: All the old governments have receiv ed a Shock from thole that already J7* PAINE'? WORKS. appear, and which were once more improbable, and are a greater fub jeft of wonder, than a general revo lution in Europe would be now. When we furvey the wretched con dition of man under the monar chical and hereditary fyftems of Go vernment, dragged from his home by one power oi driven by another, and impoverished by taxes more than by enemies, it becomes evident that thofe fyftems are bad, and that a general revolution in the principle and conftruftion of Governments is neceffary. What is government more than the management of the affairs of a Na tion ? It is not, and from its nature cannot be, the property of any par ticular man or family, but of the whole community, at whofe expence it is fupported; and though by force or contrivance it has been ufurped into an inheritance, the ufurpation cannot alter the right of things.- Sovereignty, as a matter of right appertains to the Nation only, and not to any individual, and a Nation has at all times an inherent indefea fible right to abolilh any form of Government it finds inconvenient, and eftabliSh fuch as accords with its intereft, difpofition, and happinefs. The romantic and barbarous distinc tions of men into Kings and fubjefts, though it may fuit the condition of courtiers, cannot that of citizens, and is exploded by the principle upon which Governments are now founded. Every citizen is a member of the Sovereignty, and, as fuch, can ac knowledge no perfonal fubjeftion ; and his obedience can be only to the laws. When men think of what Govern ment ,s, they muft neceffarily fup pofe it to poffefs a knowledge of all the objefts and matters upon which its authority is to be exercifed. In this view of Government, the repub lican fyftem, as eftabliShed by Ame rica and France, operates to embrace. the whole of a Nation ; and the k nowledge neceffary to the intereft of all the parts, is to be found in the. center, which the parts by reprefen tation form : But the old govern ments are on a conftruftion that ex cludes knowledge as well as happi nefs; Government by Monks, who know nothing of the world beyond the walls of a Convent, is as con silient as Government by Kings. What were formerly "called Revo lutions, were little more than change of perfons, or an alteration of local circumftances. They rofe and fell, like things of courfe, and had no thing in their existence or their fate that could influence beyond the Spot that produced them. But what we now fee in the world, from the Re volutions of America and France, are a renovation of the natural order of. things, a fyftem of principles as uni verfal as truth and the existence of. man, and combining moral with po litical happinefs and national prof- peri ty. 'I. Men are born and always con- ' tinue free, and equal in refpeB to their ' rights. Civil difiinBions therefore, ' can be founded only on public utility. ' II. The end of all political affoci- f ations is the ' prefervation of the na- ' tural and imprescriptible rights of ' man ; and thefe rights are liberty, ' property, fecurity, and refiftance of ' oppreflion. ' III. The Nation is effentially the ' fource of all Sovereignty ; nor can ' any individual, or any body Part I. RIGHTS OF MAN. *73> ' OF MEN, be entitled to any authori- ' ty -which is not exprefsly derived ' from it.'' In thefe principles, there is nothing to throw a Nation into confufion by inflaming ambition. They are cal culated to cajl forth wifdom and abilities, and to exercife them for the public goods and not for the emolu ment or aggrandizement of particu lar defcriptions of men or families. Monarchical fovereignty, the enemy of mankind, and the fource of mifery, is abolished ; and fovereignty itfelf is reftored to its natural and original place, the Nation. Were this the cafe throughout Europe, the caufe of wars would be taken away. It is attributed to Henry the Fourth of France, a man of an en larged and benevolent heart, that he propofed, about the year 1620, apian for abolishing war in Europe. The plan confifted in constituting a Euro pean Congrefs, or as the French Au thors ftile it, a Pacific Republic1 ; by appointing delegates from the feveral Nations, who were to aft as a Court of Arbitration in any difputes that might arife between nation and nation . Had Such a plan been adopted at the time it was propofed, the taxes of England and France, as two of the parties, would have been at leaft ten millions fterling annually to each Nation lefs than they were at the commencement of the French Revo lution. To conceive a caufe why fuch a plan has not been adopted, (and that inftead of a Congrefs for the pur pofe of preventing war, it has been called only to terminate a war, after a fruitlefs expence of feveral years), it will be neceffary to confider the in tereft of Governments as a diflinft in terest to that of Nations. Whatever is the catife of taxes to a Nation, becomes alfo the means of revenue to a Government. Every war terminates with an addition of taxes, and confequently with an ad dition of revenue ; and in any event of war, in the manner they are now commenced and concluded, the power and intereft of Governments are en- creafed. War, therefore, from its produftivenefs, as it eafily furnishes* the pretence of neceSfity for taxes and appointments to places and offices, becomes a principal part of the fyftem of old Governments ; and ta esta blish any mode to aboliSh war, howe ver advantageous it might be to Nai tions, would be to take from fuch Government the moft lucrative of its branches. The frivolous matters up on which war is made, Shew the dif pofition and avidity of Governments to uphold the fyftem of war, and be tray the motives upon which they aft. Why are not Republics plunged into war, but becaufe the nature of their Government does not admit an intereft diftinft to that of the Nation ¦ Even Holland, though an ill-con- Strufted Republic, and with a com merce extending over the world, ex isted nearly a century without war •- and the inftant the form of Govern ment was changed in France, the republican principles of peace and domeftic profperity and ceconomy arofe with the new Government ; and the fame confequences would follow the fame caufes in other Nations. As war is the fyftem 0f Govern ment on the old conftruftion, the animofity which Nations reciprocally entertain, is nothing more than what the policy of their Governments ex cite, to keep up the fpirit of the fyf tem. Each Government accufes the 174- PAINE's WORKS. other of perfidy, intrigue; and ambi tion, as a means of heating the ima gination of their refpeftive Nations; and incenfing them to hostilities. Man is not the enemy of man, but through the medium of a falfe fyf tem of Government. Inftead, there fore, of exclaiming againft the am bition of Kings, the exclamation Should be directed againft the princi ple of fuch Governments ; and inftead of feeking to reform the individual, the wifdom of a Nation Should apply itfelf to reform the fyftem. Whether the forms and maxims of Governments which are ftill in prac tice, were adapted to the condition ef the world at the period they were eftablifhed, is not in this cafe the queftion. The older they are, the lefs correspondence Can they have with the prefent ftate of things.' Time,' and change of circumstances and opi nions, have the fame progreffive ef feft in rendering modes of Govern ment ' obfolete, -as they have upon cultoms and manners.— Agriculture,- commerce, manufactures, and the ¦ tranquil arts, by which the profperity of Nations is beft promoted, require a different fyftem of Government, and a different fpecies of knowledge to di.» reft its operations, to what might have been the former condition of the world. As it is not difficult to perceive, from the enlightened Slate of mankind1, that hereditary Governments are verging to their decline, and that Re volutions on the broad bafis of nati onal fovereignty, and Government by reprefentation, are making their way in Europe, it would be an aft of wifdom to anticipate their approach* and produce Revolutions by reafon and accommodation, rather than commit them to the iffue of convul sions. From what we now fee, nothing of reform in the political world ought to be held improbable. It is an age of Revolutions, in which every thing may be looked for. The intrigue of Courts, by which the fyftem of war is kept up, may provoke a con federation of Nations to abolish it : and a European Congrefs to patronize the progrefs of free Government, and promote the civilization of Nations with each other, is an event nearer in probability, than once were the re volutions and alliance of France and America. PAINE's WORKS. T O M D E LA F A T E T T E. XTLFTER an acquaintance of nearly fifteen years, in difficult fituations in America, and various confultations in Europe, I feel a pleafure in prefenting to you this fmall treatife» in gratitude v For your fervices to my beloved America, and as a teftimony of my efteem for the virtues, public and private, which I know you to poffefs. The only point upon which I could ever difcover that wediffered, was not as to principles of government, but as to time. For my own part, I think it equally as injurious to good principles, to permit them to linger, as to pufh them on too fall:. That which you fuppofe accomplifha ble in fourteen or fifteen years, 1 may believe practicable in a much fhorter period. Mankind, as it appears to me, are always ripe enough to underftand their true intereft, provided it be prefented clearly to their underftand ing, and that in, a manner not to create fufpicion by any thing like felf- defign, nor offend by affuming too much. Where we would wifh to reform we muft not reproach. When the American revolution was eftablifhed, I felt a difpo fition to fit ferenely down and enjoy the calm. It did not ap pear to me that any objed could afterwards arife great enough to make me quit tranquillity, and feel as I had felt before. But when principle,'''and not place, is the energetic caufe of action, a man, I find, h every where the fame. clxxvl DEDICATION. I am now once more in the public world, and as I have not % right to contemplate on fo many years of remaining life as you have, I am refolved to labour as faft as I can ; and as I am anxi ous for your aid arid your compstny, I wifh' you to haften your principles, and overtake me. If you make a campaign the enfuing fpring, which it is moft probable there will be no occafion for, I will come and join you. Should the campaign commence, I hope it will terminate in the extinction of German defpotifm, and in tftabliftiing the freedoWi of all Germany. When France fhall be fufrounded with revolutions, fhe will be in peace and fafety, and her taxes,- as well as thofe of Germany, will confequemly become lefs. Your fincere^ Affectionate Friend, THOMAS PAINE. London, Feb. 9, tj^it, PREFACE. w. HEN I began the chapter entitled the Conchfion in the forme* part of the RIGHTS of MAN, published laft year, it was my inten tion to have extended it to a greater length; but in calling the whole matter in my mind which 1 wifhed to add, I found that I muft either make- the work too bulky* or contract my plan too much. I therefore brought it to a clofe as foon as the fubj jcT: would admits and referred what I had further to fay to another opportunity. Several other reafons contributed to produce this determination. I wifhed to know the manner in which a work, written in a ftyle of thinking and exprefiion different to what had been cuftoBftry in Eng land, would be received before I proceeded farther. A great field was opening to the view of mankind by means of the French Revo lution. Mr. Burke's outrageous oppofition thereto brought the con- troverfy into England. He attacked principles which he knew (from information) I would conteft with him," becaufe they are principles I believe to be good, and which 1 have contributed to eltablilh, and conceive myfelf bound to defend. Had he not urged the controverfy, I had moft probably been a filent man. Another reafon for deferring the remainder of the work was, that Mr. Burke promifed in his firft publication to renew the fubjedt at another opportunity, and to make a comparifon of what he called the EngliSh and French Constitutions. I therefore held myfelf in referve for him. He has publifhed two works fince, without doing t,his; which he certainly would not have omitted, had the comparifon been in his favour. In his laft work, " His appeal from the new to the old Whigs" he has quoted about ten pages from the Rights of Man, and having given himfelf the trouble of doing this, fays, " he Shall not attempt in the " fmalleft degree to refute them," meaning the principles therein contained. I am enough acquainted with Mr. Burke to know, that he would if he could. But inftead of contesting them, he immedi ately after confoles himfelf with faying, that " he has done his part." • — He has not done his part. He has not performed his promife of *. comparifon of conftitutions. He ftarted the controverfy, he gave ttje N elxxviii PREFACE. challenge, and has fled from it ; and he is now a cafe in point with his own opinion, that " the age of chivalry is gone /" The title, as well as the fubftance of his laft work, his " Appeal," is his condemnation. Principles muft Stand on their own merits, and if they are good they certainly will. To put them under the Shelter of other men's authority, as Mr. Burke has done, ferves to bring them into fufpicion. Mr. Burke is not very fond of dividing his honours,. but in this cafe he is artfully dividing the difgrace. iiut who are thofe to whom Mr. Burke has made his appeal? A fet of childifh thinkers and half-way politicians born in the laft cen tury ; men who went no farther with any principle than as it fuited their purpofe a3 a party; the nation was always left out of the quef tion ; and this has been the character of every party from that day to this. The nation fees nothing in fuch works, or fuch politics wor thy its attention. A little matter will move a party, but it muft be fomething great that moves a nation. Though 1 fee nothing in Mr. Burke's appeal W.orth taking much no tice of, there is, however, one exprefiion upon which I Shall offer a. few remarks. — After quoting largely from the Rights of Man, and de clining to conteft the principles contained in that work, he fays,. " This will moft probably be done (if fuch writings fhall be thought to- " deferve any other refutation than that of criminal juftice) by others, " who may think with Mr. Burke and with the fame zeal." In the firft place it has not yet been done by any body. Not lefs, I believe, than eight or ten pamphlets intended as anfwers to the for mer part of the " Rights of Man" have been published by different perfons, and not one of them, to my knowledge, has extended to a- fecond edition, nor are even the titles of them fo inuch as generally remembered. As I am averfe to unneceffarily multiplying publicati ons, 1 have aniwered none cf them. And as 1 believe that a man mav write himfelf out of reputation when nobody elfe can do it, I am careful to avoid that rock. But as 1 would decline unneceffary publications on the one hand, fo would 1 avoid every thing that might appear like fullen pride on the other. If Mr. Burke or any perfon on his fide the queftion, will produce an anfwer to the " Rights of Man," that fhall extend to an half, or even to a fourth part of the number of. copies to which the Rights, of Man extended, I will reply to his work. But until this, be done, 1 Shall fo far take the i'enfe of the public for my guide (and the world knows I am not a flatterer) that what they do not think worth whale to .read, is not worth mine to anfwer. I fuppofe the number of' copies to which the tirft part of the Rights of Man extend- PREFACE; dxxix ed, taking England, Scotland, and Ireland, is not lefs than between forty and fifty thoufand. I now come to remark on the remaining part of the quotation I have made from Mr. Burke. " If," fays he, " fuch writings Shall be thought to deferve any other " refutation than that of rranzWjuftice." Pardoning the pun, it muft be criminal juftice indeed that Should condemn a work as a fubftitute for not being able to refute it. The greateft condemnation that could be paffed upon it would be a refu tation. But in proceeding by the method Mr. Burke alludes to, the condemnation would, in the final event, pafs upon , the criminality of the procefs and not upon the work, and in this cafe, I had rather be the author, than be either the judge or the jury that fhould con demn it. But to come at once to the point. I have differed from fome profef- fional gentlemen on the fubjeft of profecutions, and I Since find they are falling into my opinion, which I will here ftate as fully, but as concifely as I can. I will firft put a cafe with refpeft to any law, and then compare it with a government, or with what in England is, or has been, called a conftitutio'n. It would be an aft of defpotifm, or what in England is Called ar bitrary power, to make a law to prohibit investigating the principles, good or bad, on which fuch a law, or any other is founded. if a law be bad, it is one thing to oppofe the practice of it, hut it is quite a different thing to expofe its errors, to reafon on its defects, and to (hew caufe why it Should be repealed, or why another ought to be fubftituted in its place. 1 have always held it an opinion (mak ing it alfo my praftice) that it is better to obey a bad law, making ufe at the fame time of every argument to Shew its errors and procure its repeal, than forcibly to violate it; becaufe the precedent of breaking a bad law might weaken the force, and lead to a difcretionary violati on of thofe whxh are good. The cafe is the fame with refpect to principles and forms of govern ment, or to what are called conftitutions and the parts of which they are compofed. It is for the good of nations, and not for the emolument of aggran dizement of particular individuals, that government ought to be ef tabliShed, and that mankind are at the expence of fupporting it. The defects of every government artd constitution, both as to principle and form muit,- on a parity of reafoning, be as open to difcuSlion as the defects of a law, and it is a duty which every man owes to fociety to N a elxx* ' PREFACE. ' point them out. When thofe defects, and the means of remedying them ure generally feen by a nation, that nation will reform its go vernment or its conftitution in the one cafe, as the government re pealed or reformed the law in the other. The operation of govern ment is reftrifted to the making and the administering of laws. ; but it is to a nation that the right of forming or reforming, generating or regenerating conftitutions and governments belong; and confequently thofe fubjects, as fubje.fts of inveftigation, are always before a country, as a matter of right, and cannot, without invading the general rights, of that country be made fubjefts for profecution. On this ground! will meet Mr. Burke whenever he pleafes. It is better that the whole argument Should come out,, than to Seek to ftiiie it. It was himfelf that opened the controverfy, and he ought not to defertit. i do not believe that monarchy and ariftocracy will continue feven years longer in any of the enlightened countries in Europe. If better reafons can be Shewn for them than againft them, they will - ftand ; if the contrary, they will not. Mankind are not now to be told they fhall not think, or they ihall not read; and publi cations that go no farther than to inveftigate principles of government, to invite men to reafon and to reflect, and to Ihew the errors and excellences of different fyftems, have a right to. appear. If they do not excite attention, they are not worth the trou ble of a profecution; and if they do, the profecution will amount to nothing, fince it cannot amount to a prohibition of reading. This would be a fentence on the public, inftead of the author, and would alfo be the moft effeftual mode of making or haftening revolutions. O'n all c;ifes that apply univerlally to a nation, with refpeft to fyf tems of government, a jury of ttvelve men is not competent to decide. Where there are no. witncSTes to be examined, no facts to be proved, and where the whoje matter is before the whole public, and the merits or demerits of it retting on their opinion; and where there is nothing to be known in a court but what every body knows out of it, every twelve men is equally as good a jury as the other, and would moft probably reverfe each other's verdift; or from the variety of their opinions, not to be able to form one. It is one cafe, whether a nati on approve a work, or a plan ; but it is quite another cafe, whether it will commit to any fuch jury the power of determining whether that nation have a right to, or Shall reform its government, of not. I men tion thofe cafes, that Mr. Burke may fee I have not written on Go- , vernment without reflecting on what is Law, as well as on what are Rights. — The only effeftual jury in fuch cafes would be, a convention of the whole nation fairly elected ; for in all fuch cafes the whole na- PREFACE. clxxxi tion is the vicinage. - If Mr. Burke will propofe fuch a jury, I will wave all privileges of being the citizen of another country, and, de fending its principles, abide the iffue, provided he will do the fame; for my opinion is, that his work and his principles would be con demned inftead of mine. As to the prejudices which men have from education and habit, in favour of any particular form or fyftem of government, thofe prejudi ces have yet to ftand the teft of reafon and reflection. In fact, fuch preju dices are nothing, No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, know ing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its beino- r ght; and when he fees it is not fo, the prejudice will be gone. We have but a defective idea of what prejudice is. It might be faid, that until men think for themfelves the whole is prejudice,, and not opi nion ; for that only is opinion which is the refult of reafon and reflec tion. I offer this remark, that Mr. Burke may not confide too mucli in what has been the-cuftomary prejudices of the country. 1 do not -believe that the people of England have ever been fairlv and candidly dealt by. They have been impofed upon by parties, and by men affuming the charafter of leaders. It is time that the na tion Should rife above thofe trifles. It is time to difmifs that inattenti on which has fo long been the encouraging caufe of Stretching taxati on to excefs. It is time to difmifs all thofe fongs and toafts which are calculated to enflave, and operate to fuffocate re flection. On all fuch fubjefts men have but to think, and they will neither aft wrong nor be milled. T° ^Y that any people are not fit for freedom, is to make poverty their choice, and to fay they had ra ther be loaded withtaxes than not. If fuch a cafe could be proved it: would equally prove, that thofe who govern are not fit to govern them, for they are a part of the fame national mafs. But admitting governments to be changed all over Europe} it cer tainly may be done without convulsion or revenge. It is not worth making changes or revolutions, unlefs it be for fome great national benefit; and when this Shall appear to a nation, the dancer will be, as in America and France, to thofe who oppofe ; and with this reflec tion I clofe my preface. THOMAS PAINE. Feb. 9, 17.92. RIGHTS of'MAN, &c. PART II. INTRODUCTION. W, HAT Archimedes faid of the mechanical powers, may be applied to Reafon and Liberty -. " Had we," faid he, " a place to ftand upon, vie ** might raife the world." The revolution of America pre- fented in politics what was only the ory in mechanics. So deeply rooted were all the governments of the old world, and fo effectually had the ty ranny and the antiquity of habit efta bliShed itfelf over the mind, that no beginning could be made in ASia, Africa, or Europe, to reform the po litical condition of man. Freedom iiath been hunted round the globe ; reafon, was confidered as rebellion ; and the Slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But fuch is the irreSiftible nature of truth, that all it aSks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing. Thejun needs no infcription to dif- tinguifh him from darknefs ; and no Sooner did the American governments difplay themfelves to the world, than deSpotifin felt a fhock, and man began to contemplate redrefs. The independence of America, confidered merely as a feparation from England, would have been a matter but of little importance, had it not been accompanied by a revolution in the principles, and practice of govern ments. She made a (land, not for her felf only, but for the world, and look ed beyond the advantages herfelf could receive. Even the Heffian, though hired to fight againft her, may live to blefs his defeat : and England, con demning the vicicufnefs of its govern ment, rejoice in its mifcarriage. As America was the only fpot in the political world, where the. princi ples of univerfal reformation could begin, fo alfo was it the beft in the natural world. An affemblage of circumftances confpired, not only to give birth, but to add* gigantic ma turity to its principles. The fcene which that country prei^nts t,o the eye of a fpectator, has fomething in it which generates and encourages great ideas. Nature appears to him in magnitude. The mighty objects he beholds, act upon his mind by en larging it, and he partakes of the greatnefs he contemplates. — Its firft fettters were emigrants from different European nations, and- of diversified professions of religion, retiripg from the governmental perfecutions of the I?4 PAINE's WORKS. old world, and meeting in the new, not as enemies, but as brothers. The wants which neceffarily accom pany the cultivation of a wildernefs produced among them a State of fo ciety, which countries long haraSTed by the quarrels and intrigues of go vernments, had -negleaed to cheriSh. In l'uch a fituation man becomes what he ought. He fees his fpecies, not with the inhuman idea of a natural enemy, but as kindred ; and the ex ample Shews to the artificial world, that man muft go back to Nature for information. From the rapid progrefs which Ame rica makes in every fpecies of im provement, it is rational to conclude, that if the governments of Afia, Africa, and Europe, had begun on a principle fimilar to that of America, or had not been very early corrupted therefrom, that thofe countries muft by this time have been in a far fupe rior condition to what they are. Age after age has paSTed away, for no other purpofe than to behold their wretchedncf, Could we fuppoS'e a fpectator who knew nothing of the world, and who was put into it merely to make his obfervations, he Would take a great part of the old world to be new, juft Struggling with the dif ficulties and hardships of an infant fettlement. He could not fuppofe that the hordes of miferable poor, with which old countries abound, could be any other than thofe who had not yet had time to provide for them felves. Little would he think they were the confequence of what in fuch countries is called government. If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at thofe •which are in an advanced Stage of improvement, we Still find the gieedy hand of government thrufting itfelf into every corner and crevice of in dustry, and grafping the fpoil of the multitude." Invention is continually exercifed, to furniSh new pretences for- revenue and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey, and permits none to efcape without a tribute. As revolutions have begun, (and as the probability is always greater aga.nft a thing beginning, than of proceeding after it has begun) it is natural to expect that other revolu tions will follow. The amazing and ftill increafing expences with which old governments are conducted, the numerous wars they engage in or pro voke, the embarraifments they throw in the way of univerfal civilization and commeice, and the oppreSlion and ufuipation they ait at home, have wearied out the patience, and exhaust ed the property of the world. In fuch a fituatio-.i, and with the exam ples already existing, revolutions are to be looked for. They are become fubjects of univerfal conversation, and may be considered as the Order of the day. If fyftems of government can be introduced, lefs expenfive, and more productive of general happinefs, than thofe which have exifted, all attempts to oppofe their progrefs will in the end be fruitlefs. Reafon, like time, will make its own way, and preju dice will fall in a combat with intereft. If univerfal peace, civilization, ,and commerce, are ever to be the happy lot of man, it cannot be accomplished but by a revolution in the fyftem of governments. All the monarchical go vernments are military. War is their trade, plunder and revenue their objefti. While fuch governments continue, peace has not the abfolute Part II, RIGHTS OF MAN. i1$ fecurity of a day. What is the hif tory of all monarchical governments, but a difgUftful picture of human wretchednefs, and the accidental re- fpite of a few years repofe ? Wearied with war, and tired with human but chery, they fat down to reft and called it peace. This certainly is not the condition that Heaven intended for man ; and if this be monarchy, well might monarchy be reckoned among the Sins of the Jews. The revolutions which' formerly took place in the world, had nothing in them that interested the bulk of mankind. They extended only to a change of perSbns and meafures but not of principles, and rofe or fell among the' common tranfadtions of the moment. What we now behold, may not improperly be called a " counter revolution* Conqueft and tyranny, at fome early period, di'f- poSTeffed man of his rights, and he is now recovering them. And as the tide of all human affairs has its ebb and flow in directions contrary to each other, fo alfo is it in this. Go vernment founded on a moral theory, on ajyfiem of univerfal peace, on the indefeafible hereditary Rights of Man, is now revblving from weft to eafti by a Stronger impulfe than the go vernment of the fwOrd revolved from eaft to weft. It interests not parti cular individuals, but nations, in its progrefs, and promifes a new a;ra to the human race. The danger to which the fuccefs of revolutions is moft expofed, is that of attempting them before the prin ciples on which they proceed, and the advantages to refult from them, are fulfkiently feen and understood. Almoft every thing appertaining to the circumftances of a nation, has been abforbed and confounded under the general and' mysterious word go vernment. , Though it avoids taking to its account the errors it commits, and the mifchiefs it occafions, it fails' not to arrogate. to itfelf what. ever has the appearance of profperity. It robs induftry of its honours, by pedanticly making itlelf the caufe of its effects ; and purloins from the general character of man, the me rits that appertain to him as a Social being/ It may therefore be of ufe, in this day of revolutions, to discriminate between ' thofe things which are the effect of government, and thofe which are not. This will bed be done by taking a review of fociety and civili zation, and the confequences refus ing therefrom, as things diflincV from what are called governments. By beginning with this investigation, we Shall be able to aSfign effects to their proper caufe, and aHalize the mats of common errors- 385 PAINE's WORKS. CHAP. Of Society and Civilization. G* TREAT part of that order which reigns among mankind is not the ef feft of government. It has its ori gin in ,the principles of fociety and the natural conftitution of man. It ex isted prior to government, and would exift if the formality of government was abolished. The mutual depen- dance and reciprocal intereft which man has upon man, and all the parts of a civilized community upon each other, create that great chain of con nection which hojds it together. The landholder, the farmer, the manufac turer, the merchant, the tradefman, and every occupation, profpers by the aid which each receives from the other,, and from the whole. Com mon intereft regulates their concerns, and forms their laws ; and the laws ¦which common ufage ordains, have a greater influence than the laws of government. In fine, fociety per forms for itfelf almoft every thing which is afcribed to government. To underftand the nature and quantity of government proper for man, it is neceffary to attend t° his character. . As Nature created hiin for Social life, She fitted him for the Station Sire intended. In all cafes (he made his natural wants greater than his individual powers. No one man is capable without the aid of fociety, of fupplyinghis own wants ; and thofe wants, acting upon every individual, ininel the whole of them into fociety, as naturally as gravitation acts to acerifer. But She has gone further. She I.s ; not only forced rr.an into fociety' by a diversity of wants, which the reciprocal aid of each other can fup- ply, but She has implanted in him a fyftem of focial affections, which, though not neceffary to his exigence, are effential to his. happinefs. There is no period in life when this love for fociety ceafes to act. It be gins and ends with our being. If we examine, with attention, into the composition and constitution of man, the diversity of his wants, and the diversity of talents in differ ent men for reciprocally accommo dating the wants of each other, his. propenfity to fociety, and confequent- Jy to preferve the advantages refult7 ing from it, we Shall eafily difcover, that a great part of what is. called government is mere impofition. Government i,s no farther neceffary than to Supply the few cafes to which fociety and civilization are not con veniently competent ; and instances are not wanting to Shew that eyery thing which government can ufeful- ly add thereto, has been performed by the common confent of fociety, without government. For upwards of two years from tlje commencement of the American war, and to a longer period in feveral of the American States, there were no eftabliShed forms of government. Trie old governments had been abolished, and the country was too much occu pied in defence, to employ its atten tion in establishing new governments j yet during this interval, order and harmony were preserved as inviolate Part II, RIGHTS OF MAN. 187 as in any country in Europe. There is a natural aptnefs in man, and more fo in fociety, becaufe it em braces a greater variety of abilities and resource, to accommodate itielf to whatever Situation it is in. The inllant formal government is abo lished, fociety begins to aft. A general affociation takes place, and common intereft produces common fecurity. So far is it from being true, as has been pretended, that the abolition of any formal government is the diffolution of fociety, that it afts by a contrary impulfe, and brings the latter the clofer together. All that part of its organization which it had committed to its government, devolves again upon itfelf, and acts through its medium- When men, as well from natural inflinct, as from reciprocal benefits, have habituated themfelves to focial and civilized life, there is always enough of its prin ciples in practice to carry them through any changes they may find neceffary or convenient to make in their government. In Short, man is fo naturally a creature of fociety, that it is almoft impoSIible to put him out of it. Formal government makes but a fmall part of civilized life ; and when even the beft that human wif dom can devife is eftabliShed, it is a thing more in name and idea, than in faft. It is to the great and fun damental principles of fociety and civilization — to the common ufage tiniverfally confented to, and mutu ally and reciprocally maintained — to the unceafirtg circulation of intereft, which, paffing through its million channels, invigorates the whole mafs of civilized man — it is to thefe things, infinitely more than to any thing which even the beft instituted go vernment can perform, that the fafety and profperity of the indivi dual and of the whole-depends. The more perfect civilization is, the lefs occafion has, it for govern ment, becaufe the more does it regu late its own affairs, and govern itfelf; but fo contrary is the prac tice, of old governments to the rea fon of the cafe, that the expences; of them increafe in the proportion they ought to diminish. It is but few general laws that civilized life requires, and thofe of •fuch common ufefulnefs, that whether they are en forced by the forms of government or not, the effect will be nearly the fame. If we confider what the principles are that firft condenfe men into fociety, and what the motives that regulate their mutual intei'courfe afterwards, we Shall find, by the time we arrive at what is called government, that nearly the whole of the bufinefs is performed by the natural operation of the parts upon each other. Man, with refpect to all thofe matters, is more a creature of con sistency than he is aware, or that governments would wish him to be lieve. All the great laws of fociety are laws of nature. Thofe of trade and commerce, whether with refpeft 4 to the intercourse of individuals, or of nations, are laws of mutual and reciprocal intereft. They are follow ed and' obeyed, becaufe it is the in tereft of the parties fo to do, and not on account of any formal laws their governments may impofe or interpofe. But how often is the natural pro pensity to fociety difturbed or de- t88 PAINE's WORKS. - ftroyed by the operations of govern ment ! When the latter, inftead of being ingrafted on the principles of the former, affumes to exift for it felf, and acts t>y partialities of fa vour and oppreffion, it becomes the caufe of the mifchiefs it ought to prevent. If we look back to the riots and tumults, which at various times have happened in England, we fhall find, that they did not proceed from the want of a government, but that government was itfelf the ge nerating caufe ; inftead of confoli- dating fociety, it divided It ; it de prived it of its natural cohefion, and engendered difcorrtents and diforders, winch otherwise would not have ex ifted. In thofe affociations which men promifcuoufly form for the pur pofe of trade, or of any concern, in which government is totally out of the queftion, and in which they aft merely on the principles of fociety, we fee how naturally the various parties unite ; and this Shews, by comparifon, that governments, fo far from being always the caufe or means of order, are often the de struction of it. The riots of 1780 had no other fource than the re mains of thofe prejudices, which the government itfelf had encouraged. • But with refpect to England there are alfo other caufes. Excefs and inequality of taxation, however difguifed in the means, ne-. ver fail to appear in their effefts. As a great mafs of the community are thrown thereby into poverty and dif- content, they are conftantly on the brink of commotion ; and, deprived, as they unfortunately are, of the means of information, are eafily heat ed to outrage. Whatever the ap parent caufe of any riots may be, the real one is always want of hap pinefs. It Shews that fomething is wrong in the fyftem of government, that injures the felicity by which fo ciety is to be preferved. But as fact is fuperior to reafon ing, the inftance of America pre fents itfelf to confirm thefe obfer vations. — If there is a country in the world, where concord, according to common calculation, would be leaft expected, it is America. Made up, as it is, of people'rrorn different nations *, accuftomed to different forms and habits of government, fpeaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worShip, it wpuld appear that the union of fiich a people was imprac ticable ; but by the Simple operation of constructing government on the principles of fociety and the rights of man, every difficulty retires, and all the parts are brought into cor dial unifon. There, the poor are * That part of America -which 15 generally eal'.ed New-England, including New- Hampfhire, Maffachufetts, Rhode-ISland, and Connecticut, is peopled chiefly by Eng- lifli descendants. In the State of New-York, about half are Dntch, the reft Englifh, .Scot; h, and Irifh. In New-[erfey, a mixture of English and Dutch, with Ibme Scotch and Irifh. In Pennfylvania, about one-third are Englifh, another Germans, s>nd the remainder Scotch and [nth, with feme Swedes. The States to the ibuth- v.iril have a greater proportion of Englifh than the middle States, but in all of them there is a mixture; and befides thole enumerated, there area confiderable mim- Vr of French, and fome few of al! the European nations lying on the coaft. The -r-.|> numerous religions denomination are the Prefbyterians ; but no one ki\ is c(ta- ^iifhcd above another, and all men are equally citizens. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 189 not oppreffed, the rich are not pri vileged. Induftry is not mortified by the fplendid extravagance of a court rioting at its expence. Their taxes are few, becaufe their govern ment is juft; and as there is nothing to render them wretched, there is nothing to engender riots and tu mults. A metaphyfical man like Mr. Burke, would have tortured his in vention to difcoyer how fuch a peo ple could be governed. He would have fuppofed that fome muft be ma- , naged by Sraud, others by force, and all by fome contrivance ; that genius muft be hired to impofe upon igno rance, and Shew and parade to faf- cinate the vulgar. Loft in the abun dance of his refearches, he would have reSblved and re-refolved, and finally over-looked the plain and eafy road that lay directly before him. One of the great advantages of the American revolution has been, that it led to a difcovery of the prin ciples, and laid open the impofition of governments. All the revoluti ons till then had been worked with in the atmofphere of a court, and never on the great floor of a nation. The parties were always of the clafs of courtiers ; and whatever was their rage for reformation, they carefully preferved the fraud of the profeffion. In all cafes they took care to re- prefent government as a thing made up of myfleries, which only them felves understood : and they hid from the underftanding of the nation, the only thing that was beneficial to know, namely, That government is nothing more than a national affocia- tion ailing on the principles of fociety. Having thus endeavoured to Shew, that the focial and civilized ftate of man is capable of performing within itfelf, almoft every thing neceSTary to its protection and government, it will be proper, on the other hand, to take a review of the prefent old govern ments, and examine whether their principles and practice are correfpoa- dent thereto. CHAP. II. Of the Origin of the prefent Old Governments. T is impoffible that fuch govern ments as have hitherto exifted in the world, could have commenced by any other means than a total vio lation of every principle facred and moral. The obfeurity in which the origin of all the prefent old governments is buried, implies the iniquity and difgrace with which they began. The origin of the pre fent government of Anerica anxl France will ever be remembered, becaufe it is honourable to record it ; but with refpeft to the reft, even Flattery has consigned them to the tomb of time, without an in- fcription. It could have been no difficult thing in the early and folitary ages of the world,, while the chief employment of I§0 paine's Works. men was that of attending flocks and herds, for a banditti of ruffians to overrun a country, and lay it under contributions. Their power being thus eftabliShed, the chief of the band contrived to lofe the name of Robber in that of Monarch ; and hence the origin of Monarchy and Kings. The origin of the government of England, fo far as relates to what is called its line of monarchy, being one of the lateft, is perhaps the' belt recorded. The hatred which the Norman invasion arid tyranny begat, muft have been deeply rooted in the nation, to have out-lived the contri vance to obliterate it. Though not a coiirtler will talk of the corfeu-bell, not a village in, England has forgot ten it. Thofe bands ,'of robbers having parcelled out the world, and divided into dominions, began, as is natu rally the cafe, to quarrel with each other. What at firft was obtained by violence, was confidered by others as lawful to be taken, and a fecond plunderer fucceeded the firft. They alternately invaded the dominions which each had affigned to himfelf, and the brutality with which they treated each other explains the ori ginal character of monarchy. It was ruffian torturing ruffian. The con queror considered the conquered not as his prifoner, but his property. He led him in triumph rattling in chains, and doomed him, at pleafure to Slavery or death. As time obli terated the hiftory of their beginning, their fucceffors affumed new appear ances, to cut off the entail of their difgrace, but their principles and ob jects remained the Same. What at rirll was plunder, affumed the fofter name of revenue ; and the power ort-» ginally ufurped, they affected to in herit. From fuch beginning of govern ments, what could be expefted, but a, continual fyftem of war and extor tion ? It has eftabliShed itfelf into 4- trade. The vice is not peculiar to one more than to another, but. is the' common principle of all. There does not exist within fuch governments a Stamina whereon to ingraft reformation ; and the Shorted and moft effectual remedy is to begin anew. What Scenes of horror, what per fection of iniquity, prefent themfelves iii contemplating the charafter, and reviewing the hiftory of fuch govern ments ! If we would delineate human nature with a bafenefs of heart, and hypocrify of countenance, that reflec tion would Shudder at and humanity difown, it is kings, courts, and ca binets, that muft Jit for the portrait: Man, naturally as he is, with all his faults about him, is not up to the- character. Can we pofilbly fuppofe that if go vernments had originated, in a right principle, and had not an intereft in pu riiiing a wrong one, that the world could hav'e been in the wretched and quarrelfome condition we have feen it? What inducement has the farmery while following the plough, to lay afide his peaceful purfuits, and go to war with the farmer of another coun try? Or what inducement has the manufacturer? What is dominion to them, or to any clafs of men in a nation ? Does it add an acre to any ' man's eftate, or raiSe its value ? Are not conqueft and defeat each of the fame price, and taxes the never-failing confequence ? — Though this reafoning may be good fo a nation, it is not Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 191 So to a government. War is the Pharo table of governments, and na- tions'the dupes of the game. If there is any thing to wonder at in this miserable fcene of govern ments, more than might be expected, it is the progrefs which the peaceful arts of agriculture, manufafture, and commerce have- made, beneath fuch a long accumulating load of discourage ment and oppreflion. It ferves to Shew, that inllinct in animals does not aft with Stronger impulfe, than the principles of fociety and civiliza tion operate in man. Under all dif- couragements, he purfues his objeft, and yields to nothing but impoSlibi- lities. CHAP. III. Of the Old and New Syflems of Government. N< OTHING can appear more contradiftory than the principles on which the old governments began, and the condition to which fociety, civilization, and commerce, are ca pable of carrying mankind. Go vernment on the old fyftem, is an af- fumption of power, for the aggran- difement of itfelf; on the new, a de legation of power, for the common benefit of fociety. The former fup- ports itfelf by keeping up a fyftem of war ; the latter promotes a fyftem of peace, as the true means of enriching a nation. The one encourages nati onal prejudices ; the other promotes univerfal fociety, as the means of uni verfal commerce. The one meafures its prosperity, by the quantity of re venue it extorts ; the other proves its excellence, by the Small quantity of taxes it requires. Mr. Burke has talked of old and new whigs. If he can amufe himfelf with childiSh names and distinctions, I Shall not interrupt his pleafure. It is not to him, but to the Abbe Sieyes, that I addrefs this chapter. I am already engaged to the latter gentleman, to difcufs the fubjeft of monarchical government ; and as it naturally occurs in comparing' the old and new fyStems, I make this the op portunity of preferring to him my obfervations. I Shall occalionally take Mr. Burke in my way. Though it might be proved that the fyftem of government now called the new, is the moft ancient in prin ciple of all that have exifted, being founded on the original inherent Rights of Man r yet, as tyranny and the Sword have fufpended the exercife of thoi'e rights for many centuries pad, it ferves better the purpofe of distinction to call it the new, than to claim the right of calling it the old. The firft general distinction between thofe two fyftems, is, that the one now called the old is hereditary, either in whole or in part; and the new is entirely reprefentative. It re jects all hereditary government : Firft, as being an imposition on mankind. i^a- PAlNE's WORKS. Secondly, As inadequate to the purpofes for which government is ne ceffary. With refpeft to the firft of thefe heads — It cannot be proved by what right hereditary government could begin : neither does there exift within the compafs of mortal power, a right to eftabliSh it. Man has no authority over pofterity in matters of perfonal right ; and therefore, no man, or body of men, had, or can have,- a right to fet up hereditary go vernment. Were eVen ourfelves to' «ome again into existence, inftead of being Succeeded by pofterity, we have not now the right of taking from ourfelves the rights which would then be ours. On what ground,- then, do we pretend to take them from others? All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny. An heritable crown, or an heritable -throne, or by what other fanciful name fuch things may be called, have rro other Signifi cant explanation than that mankind are heritable property. To inherit a government, is to inherit the peo ple, as if they were flocks and herds. With refpeft to the Second head, that of being inadequate to the pur pofes for which government is necef fary, we have only to confider what government elfentially is, and com pare it with the circumftances to which hereditary fucceSlion is fubjeft. Government ought to be a thing always in full maturity* It ought to be fo constructed as to be fuperior to all the accidents to which individual man is fubject ; and therefore, here ditary fuceeffion, by being fubjeB to them -all, is the mod irregular and imperfect of all the fyftems of govern ment. We have heard the Rights of Matt called a levelling fyftem; but the only fyftem to which the word level ling is truly applicable, is the here ditary monarchical fyltem. It is a fyftem of mental levelling. It indif- criminately admits every fpecies of charafter to the fame authority. Vice and virtue, ignorance and wif dom, in Short, every quality, good or bad, is put on the Same level. Kings fucceed each other, hot as ra tional, but as animals. It Signifies' not what their mental or moral cha racters are. Can we then be fur prifed at the abjeft State of the human mind in monarchical countries, when the government itfelf is formed on fuch an abjeft levelling fyftem ? — It has no fixed -charafter.. To-day it is one thing; and to-morrow it is fome thing elfe. It changes with the tem per of every fucceeding individual, and is fubject to all the varieties of each. It is government through the medium of paSiions and accidents. It appears under all the various cha racters of childhood, decrepitude, dotage, a thing at nurfe, in leading- Strings, or in crutches. It reveries the wholefome order of nature. It occasionally puts children over men, and the conceits of non-age over wifdom and experience. In Short* we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than heredi tary fuceeffion, in all its cafes, pre fents. Could it be made a decree in na ture, or an edict registered in heaven* and man could know it, that virtue and wifdom Should invariably apper tain to hereditary fuccefjfion, the ob jections to it would be removed ; but when we fee that nature afts as if she Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. i9i diSbwned and Sported with the heredi tary fyftem ; that the mental charac ters of fucceffors, in all countries, ire below the average of human un derstanding ; that One is a tyrant, an other an ideot, a third infane, and fome all three together; it is impofi fible to attach Confidence to it, when reafon in man has power to aft. It is not to the Abbe Sieyes that I need apply this reafoning ; he has already faved me that trouble, by giving his own opinion upon the cafe. " If it be afked," fays he, " what is' " my opinion with refpect to here- " ditaiy right, I anfwer, without he- " (nation; That, in good theory, an *' hereditary tranfmiffion of any power " or office, can never accord with the il laws of a true reprefentation. He- " reditaryShip Is; in this fenfe, as *' much an attaint upon principle; '* as an outrage upon fociety. But " let us," continues he, " refer to 5' the history of all elective monar- *' chies and principalities : Is there " one ih which the elective mode is " not worfe than the hereditary fue- " ceflion ?" As to debating on which is the worft of the two, is admitting both to be bad ; and herein we are agreed : The preference which the Abbe has given; is a condemnation of the thing that he prefers. Such a mode of rea' foning on fuch a fubject is inadmissi ble, becaufe it finally amounts to an accufation upon Piovidence, as if She Shad left to man no other choice with refpeft to government than between. two evils, the beft of which he ad mits to be, " an attaint upon prin- " ciple, and an outrage upon fociety ." Paffing over, for the prefent, all the evils and mifchiefs which monar chy has occafioned, in the world, no thing can more effeftually prove its ufelefsnefs in a Slate of civil govern ment, than making it hereditary- Would we make any office heredi tary that required wifdom and abili ties to Sill it ? and where wifdom and abilities are not neceffary, fuch an office, whatever it may be, is fuper- fluous or insignificant. Hereditary fucceSIion is a burlefque upon monarchy; It puts it in the moft ridiculous light, by prifenting it, as an office which any child or ideot may fill. It requires fome ta lents, to be a common mechanic ; but, to be a king, requires only the animal figure of man — a fort of breathing automaton. This fort of fuperftition may laft a few years more,- but it cannot long refift the awakened reafon and intereft of man. As to Mr. Burke, he is a Stickler for monarchy, not altogether as a penfioner, if he is one, which I be lieve, but as a political man. He has taken up a contemptible opinion of mankind, who, in their turn, are taking up the fame of him. He con siders them as a herd of beings that muft be governed by fraud, effigy, and Shew ; and an idol would be as good a figure of monarchy with himi as a man: I will, however, do him the juftice to fay, that, with ' i-efpeft to America, he has been very com plimentary. He always contended^ at leaft in my hearing, that the peo ple of America were more enlightened than thofe of England, or of any country in Europe j and that there fore the impofition of Shew was not: neceffary in their governments. Though the comparifon between hereditary and elective' monarchy^ which the Abbe had made, is unne'r. ceffary to the cafe, becaufe the re* O *9* PAINE's WORKS. pi-efentative fyftem rejects both ; yet, were I to make the comparifon, I Should decide contrary to what he has done. The civil wars which have origin ated from contested hereditary claims, are more numerous', and have been more dreadful, and of longer conti nuance, than thofe which have been occafioned by election^ All the civil wars in France arofe from the here ditary fyftem ; they Were either pro duced by hereditary claims, or by the imperfection of the hereditary. form, which admits of regencies, or monarchy at nurfe. With refpeft to England, its hiftory is full of the fame misfortunes. The contefts for fuceeffion between the Houfes of York and Lancafter, lafted a whole century ; and others of a fimilar nature, have renewed themfelves fince that period. Thofe of 1715 and' 1 745, were of the fame kind. The fuceeffion war for the crown of Spain, embroiled almoft half Europe. The disturbances' in Holland are generated from the here- ditaryShip of the Stadtholder. A government calling itfelf free, with an hereditary office, is like a thorn in the fleSli, that produces a fermenta tion which endeavours to difcharge it. But I might go further, and place alfo foreign wars, of whatever kind, to the fame caufe. It is by adding the evil of hereditary fuceeffion to that of monarchy, that a permanent family intereft is created, whofe con- Slant objects are dominion and reve nue. Poland, though an elective mo narchy, has had fewer wars than thofe which are hereditary ; and it is the only government that has made a vo luntary effay, though but a fmall one, to reform the condition of the country. Having thus glanced at-a few of the defects of the old,- or hereditary fyftems of government, let us compare it with the new, or reprefentative fyftem. The representative fyftem takes foci ety and civilization for its bafis ; nature, reafon, and experience, for its guide. Experience, in all ages, and in all countries has demonstrated, that it is impoffible to -.controul Nature in her distribution of mental powers. She gives them as She pleafes. What ever is the rule by which She, appa rently to us, fcatters them among .mankind, that rule remains a fecret to man. It would be as ridiculous to, attempt to Six the hereditaryfhip of human beauty, as of wifdom. What ever wifdom conftituently is, it is like a feedlefs plant ; it may be reared when: it appears, but it cannot be voluntarily produced. There is always a fufficien- cy Somewhere in the general mafs of fo ciety for all purpofes ; but with refpeft to the parts of fociety, it is continually changing its place. It rifes in one to day, in another to-morrow, and has moft probably vifitedin rotation every fami ly of the earth, and again withdrawn. As this is the order of nature, the or der of government muft neceffarily fol low it, or government will, as we fee it does, degenerate into ignorance. The hereditary fyftem, therefore, is as re pugnant to human wifdom, as to human rights ; and is as abfurd, as it is unjuft. As the republic of letters brings forward the beft literary productions, by giving to genius a fair and1 uni versal chance ; fo the representative fyftem of government is calculated to produce the wifeft laws, by collecting wifdom from where it can be found. I fmile to myfelf when I contemplate the ridiculous infignificance into which literature and all the fciences would fink, were they made heredi tary ; and I carry the fame idea Into governments. An hereditary gover nor is as inconfiftent as an hereditary author. I know not whether Homer or Euclid had fons ; but I will ven- Part II. RIGHTS' OF M'ArN; * 9 i tare an opinio^) that if they had, and had left their works unfinished, thofe fons could not have completed them. Do we need a Stronger evidence of the abfurdity of hereditary govern ment, than is feen in defcendants of thofe men, in any line of life, who once were famous ? Is there fcarcely an inftance in which there is not a total reverfe of the charac ter ? It appears asrif the tide of men tal faculties flowed as far as it could in certain channels, and then for- fcok its courfe, and arofe in others- How irrational then is the heredita ry fyftem which eflabliShes channels Of power,' hi company with which wifdom refufes to flow ! By conti nuing this abfurdityy man is perpe tually in eontradi&ion with himfelf} he accepts; for a king,- or a chief magistrate^ or a legislator,' a perfon whom he would not elect for a con stable. It appears to general obfervation/ that revolutions create genius and talents; but thofe events do no more than bring them forward. There is existing in man; a mafs of fenfe -lying in a dormant State, and which,' unlefs fomething excites it to acti on, will defeend with him, in that condition, to the grave. As it is to the advantage of fociety that the whole of its faculties Should be em - ployed; the construction of govern ment ought to be fuch as to bring forward, by a quiet and regular operation, all that extent of capa city which never fail's to appear in revolutions. This cannot take place in the in- Sipid Slate -of hereditary government! not only becaufe it prevents, but becaufe it operates to benumb. When the mind of a nation is. bowed down by any political fuperftition in its government, fuch as hereditary Sue* ceffion is, it lofes a confiderable por tion of its powers on all other Sub jects and objects. Hereditary fuc eeffion requires the fame obedience to ignorance,' as to wifdom ; and when once the mind can bring it felf to pay this indifcrirpinate re verence, it descends below the Sta tute of mental manhood. It is Sit to be great only in little things. It afts a treachery Upon itfelf, and fuffocates the fenfations that urge to detection. Though the ancient governments prefent to us a miferable picture of the condition of man, there is one which above all others exempts it felf from the general defcription. I mean the democracy of the Athe nians.- We fee more to admire; and lefs to condemn, in that great, ex traordinary people, than in any thing which hiftory affords. Mr. Burke is fo little acquainted with constituent principles of go vernment, that he confounds demo cracy and reprefentation together. Reprefentation was a thing unknown in the ancient democracies. In thofe the mafs of the people met and enafted laws (grammatically fpeaking) in the firft perfon. Simple demo cracy was no other than the common hall of the ancients.- It Signifies the form, as well as the public prin ciple of the government. As thefe democracies increafed in population, and the territory extended, the fim ple democratical form became un wieldy and impracticable ; and as the fyftem of reprefentation was not known, the confequence was, they either degenerated convulsively into Oa «9« PAINE's WORKS. monarchies, or became abforbed in to fuch as then exifted,. Had the fyftem of reprefentation been then understood, as it now is, ¦ there is no reafon to believe that thofe forms of government, now called mo narchical or ariftocratical, would ever have taken place. It was the waht of fome method to Consolidate the parts of fociety, after it became too populous, and too extenfive for the Simple democratical form, and alfo the lax and Solitary condition of Shepherds and herdfinen in other parts of the world, that afforded opportu nities to thofe unnatural modes of government to begin. As it is neceffary to clear away the rubbilh of errors, into which the fub jeft of government has been thrown, I Shall proceed to remark, on fome .others. It has always been the political craft of courtiers and court- govern ments, to aoufe fomething which they called republicanism ; but what re- publicanifm vVas, or is, they never at tempt to explain. Let us examine a little into this cafe. The only forms of government are, the democratical, , the ariftocra tical, the monarchical, and what is now called the reprefentative. 'What is called a republic, is not any particular farm of government. It is wholly characteriftical of the purport, matter, or object for which government ought to be inftitutedj and on which it is to be employed, res-'publica, the public affairs, or the public good ; or, literally tranf- lated, the public thing. It is a word of a good original, referring to what ought to be the character and bufi- nei's of government ; and in this Ycnfe it is naturally oppofed to the word monarchy, which has a bafe original Signification. It means ar bitrary power in an individual per fon ; in the exercife of which, him felf, and not the res -publico, is the objeft. Every government that does not aft on the principle of a Republic, or in other words, that does not make the res-publica its whole and fole object, is not a good government. Republican government is no other than government eftabliShed and con- dufted for the intereft of the pub lic, as well individually as collec tively. It is not neceffarily con nected with any particular form, but it moft naturally affociates with the reprefentative form, as being beft calculated to fecure the end for which a nation is at the expence of fup porting it. Various forms of government have affefted to ftjle themfelves a repub lic. Poland calls itfelf a republic, which is an hereditary ariftocracy, with what is called an elective monarchy. Holland calls itfelf a republic, which is chiefly ariftocratical, with an hereditary SladtholderShip. But the government of America, which is wholly on the fyftem of reprefenta tion, is the only real republic in character and in practice, that now exists. Its government has no other objeft than the public bufinefs of the nation, and therefore it is properly a republic ; and the Americans have taken care that this, and no other, Shall always be the object of their go vernment, by their rejecting every thing hereditary, and establishing government on the fyftem of repre fentation only. Thofe who have faid that a repub lic is not a form of government cal- Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. »9? cu^ated for countries of great extent, mistook, in the firft place, the bufi nefs of a government, for a form of government ; for the res-publica equal ly appertains to eveiy extent of ter ritory and population. And, in the fccond place, if they meant any thing with refpect to form, it was the Simple democratical form fuch as was the mode of government in th,e ancient democracies, in which there was no reprefentation. The cafe, therefore, is -not, that a repub lic cannot he extenfive, but tkat it cannot be extenfive on the fimple democratical form ; and the queftion naturally prefents itfejfj What is the' beft form of government fir conduBing tjie res-pub^ica or, the p,ublic bik siness of a nation, after it becomes, top extenfive. and populous for the fimple. democratical form ? It cannot be monarchy, becaufe monarchy, is fubjeft to an objec tion,- of the fame amount to which $£ Simple democratica^ form was fubjeft., It is pctSfiblg that, an indivjdua} may lay. down a fyftem of principles, on . which government Shall be con stitutionally eftabliShed to any extent of territory. This is no, more than, an operation of the, mind, afting by its own, powers. But the practice upon thofe principles, as applying to the various and. numerous circum stances of a nation, its agriculture, manufacture., .trade, commerce, &c, $cc. require a knowledge. of a differ ent , kind, and whiclj can' be had only from the various parts of fo ciety. ¦ It is an affemblage of prac-^ tical knowledge, which no one indi vidual can poffefs ; and therefore the monarchical form is as much limited, in ufeful practice, from the incom petency of knowledge, as was the democratical form, from the multi plicity of population. The one de generates, by extenfion, into confu fion ; the other, into ignoranc'e an0- - incapacity, of which all the great- monarchies are an evidence. The monarchical form, therefore, could nor be a Substitute for the democra tical, becaufe it has equal inconve- ' niences. Much lefs could it when ' made, hereditary. This is the moft effec tual of all forms to preclude know ledge. Neither could the high' de mocratical mind have voluntarily yielded itfelf tp» be governed, by chil dren and idiots, and all. the motley' inSignificance of character, which at-' tends fuch a mere animal -fyftem, the difgrace and the reproach of reafon and of man. As to the ariftocratical form, it has the fame, vices and defects, with" the monarchical, except that t,he, chance of abilities is better from, the pro portion of numbers, but there, is (till no fecurity for the right' ufe and ap plication of them*. Referring, then, to • the 'original fimple democracy, It affords the true data from which government- on' a large fcale can begin. It is incapa ble of extenfion, not from its' prin : ciple, but from the inconvenience of Its form ; and monarchy and arif- ¦> " r' - i" tocracy, frorn^ their incapacity. Re taining, then^ ' democracy as the ground,^ and rejefting the corrupt fyftems of monarchy and ariftocracy, the reprefentative fyftem naturally prefents itfelf; remedying at once the defefts of the fimple democracy as to form, and the incapacity of the For a character of ariftocracy, the reader is referred to Riglts f Man, Part K i98 PAINE's WOR with refpeft to know KjS. other two ledge. Simple democracy was, fociety go verning itfelf without the aid of fe- condary means. By ingrafting re prefentation upon democracy, we ar rive at a fyftem of government cap able of embracing aiid confederating all the various interefts and every exterit of territory and population ; and that alfo with advantages as much fuperior to hereditary government, as the republic of letters is to here ditary literature. It is on this fyftem that the Ame rican government is founded. It is reprefentation ingrafted upon demo cracy. It has fixed the form by a fcale .parallel in all cafes to the ex tent of the principle. What. Athens was in miniature, America will be in magnitude. The one was the wonder of the ancient world ; the other is becoming the admiration and model of the prefent. It is the eafieft of all the forms of government to be understood, and the moft eligi ble in practice ; and excludes at once the' ignorance and infecurity of the hereditary mode, and the in convenience of the fimple democracy. It is impoffible to conceive a fyf: tern of government capable of acting over Such an extent of territory, ahd fuch a circle of interefts, as i$ im mediately produced by the operation of reprefentation. France, great and populous as it is, is but a fpot in the capacioufnefs of the fyftem. It adapts itfelf to all poffible cafes. It is preferable to fimple democracy even in fmall territories. ' Athens, by reprefentation, would have out- rivalled her own democracy. That Which is called government, or rather that which we ought to conceive government to "be, is no more than fome common center, in which all the parts of fociety unite. This cannot be eftabliShed by any method fo conducive to the various interefts of the community, as by the representative fyftem. It con centrates the knowledge neceffary to the interefts of the parts, and of the whole. It places government in a ' ftate of conftant maturity. It rs> as has been' already obferved, never young, never old. It is fubjeft nei ther to nonage, nor dotage. It is never in the cradle, nor on crutches. It admits' not of a feparation be tween ' knowledge and power, and is fuperior, as government always ought to be, to all ' the accidents of individual man, and is therefore Superior to what is called monar chy. A nation is not a body, the- figure -of which is to be represented by' the human body; but is like a body con tained 'Within' a circ-le, having a com mon center, in which every radius meets; and that center is :elfe, \ leave jjput of the queftion ,$ but certain it is, . that .what is-caljed . monarchy, always ..appears .to . me a filly contemptible thing*. I compare it to fomething kept behind a ..curtain, about which _|h,ere is a great deal of buffle and fufs, , and ,a .wonderful air .of feeming folemnity ; but when, by any acci dent, the curtain happens to be open, and the company fee what it is, they vburft into laughter. " .Ip the reprefentative fyftem of tgp- yernrnent, nothing of this c,ui. hap pen. Like the nation itfelf, it ,pqf- Seffes a perpetual (lamina, as well .of body as of mind, and piefenfs itfelf on the open theatre of . the world .in a fair and manly manner. Whatever ,are its .excellencies or its defects, they are visible to all. It, exifts not by fraud and rrjyftery ; it. deals not in cant and fophiftry ; but jnfpires a language, that, palling from heart, to befirt, is felt and undetftqod. We rmjlt (hut, pur eyes againft rear fun, we, muft bafely degrade 'our un derstanding, not to fee the folly of what, is called, monarchy. Nature is orderly in all her works'; but this is a mode of government that counter acts, natiij-e. It turns the progrefs- of the human faculties upfide. down. It fubjefts age to be ^governed by chil dren, and wtfddm, byufqlly. On, the contrary, the reprefentative SyStem is, always, parallel with the-qr- der and immutable laws of nature, and meets the, reafon of man in every part. For example •„ In the American federal govern ment, more power, is delegated to the president of the United States, than to any other individual", member, of congrefs. He cannot, therefore, be elected to this office under the ao-e of thirty-five years. By this time the judgment of man becomes matured, and he has lived lpng enough to be' acquainted with men and things, and the country with him. But on the monarchical plan, (exclufive of the numerous chances there are againlt zoo PAINE's WORKS. every man born into the world, of drawing a prize in the lottery of hu man faculties), the next in fuceeffion, whatever he may be, is put at the head of a nation, and of a govern ment, at the age of eighteen years. Does this appear like an aft of wif dom ? Is it confident with the proper dignity and the manly character of a nation? Where is the propriety of calling fuch a lad the father of the people? — In all other cafes, a perfon is a minor until the age of twenty. one years. Before this period,' he is not trailed with the management of an acre of land, or with the heritable property of a flock of Sheep, or an herd of fwine ; but, wonderful to tell ! he may, at the age of eighteen years, be trufted with a nation. That monarchy is all a bubble, a mere court artifice to procure money, is evident, (at leaft to me), ' in every charafter in which it can be viewed. It would be impoffible. on the rati onal fyStem of reprefentative govern ment, to make out a bill of expences to fuch an enormous amount as this deception admits. Government is not of itfelf a very chargeable institution. The whole expence of the federal go vernment of America, founded, as I have already faid, on the fyftem -of reprefentation, and extending over a country nearly ten times as large as England, is but fix hundred thoufand dollars, or one hundred arid rhiriy- five thoufand pounds fterling. I prefume, that'no man in his fober fenies will compare' the character of any of the kings of Europe, with that of General Washington. Yet, in France; arid alfo in' England, the expence of the civil lift only, for the fupport of one man,' is ei^ht times greater than the whole expence of the federal government in America. To affign a reafon for this, appears almoft impoffible. The generality of people in America, efpecially the poor, are more able to pay taxes, than the ge nerality of people either in France or England^ But the cafe is, that the reprefen tative fyftem diffufes fuch a body of knowledge throughout a nation, on the fubject of government, as to ex plode ignorance and preclude impofi tion. The'craft of courts cannot be afted on that ground. There is no place for myftery j no where for it to begin. Thofe who are" not in the re prefentation, know as much of the nature of bufinefs as thofe who are. An affectation of mysterious import ance wdulel there be Scouted. Nations can have no fecrets ; and the fecrets of courts, like thofe of individuals, are always their defects. In ' the reprefentative fyStem, the reafon fqrr every thing muft publicly appear. Every man is a proprietor in government, and-corifiders it- a ne- eefiary'part of his bufinefs to under stand. It concerns his intereft, be caufe it affects his property. He ex amines the coft, and compares it with the advantages; arid' above all, he does not adopt the "flaviSh cuftbm of following what in other governments are called leaders* - It can only be' by • blinding the un derftanding of man, and ' making him believe that government Is fome won derful myfteriqiis thing, that exceflive revenues are obtained. Monarchy'is well calculated to enfure this end. It is the popery of government ; a thing kept up to amufe the' ignorant, and quiet them into taxes. ' ' The government of a free country, properly fpeaking, is not in the per- Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. *o? ¦ fqns, but in the laws. The enafting whole of civil government is per-. of thofe requires no great expence ; formed — the reft is all court contriv- and when they are administered, the ance. CHAP. IV, Of Conftitutions. JL HAT men mean distinct and feparate things when they fpeak of constitutions and of governments, is evident ;' or, why are thofe terms diftinftly ahd Separately ufed? A con ftitution is not the aft of a govern ment, but of' a people constituting a government ; and government with out a constitution, is power without a right. All power exercifed over a nation muft have fome beginning. It muSt be either delegated,' or affumed. There are no other fources. All de legated power' is truft, and all affumed power is ufurpatiqn. 'Ticae does not alter the nature and quality of either. In viewing this fubjeft, the cafe and circumftances of America pre fent themfelves as in the beginning pf a world; arid our enquiry into the 'origin of government is' Shortened, ' by- referring to, the fafts, that have arifen In our own day. We have no occafion to roam for information into the obfcure field of antiquity, nor hazard, ourfelves upon conjecture. We are brought at Once to the point of feeing government begin, as if we had lived in the beginning', of time. The real volume, not of hiftory, but of facts,, is direftly before us, unmu- tilated by contrivance, or the errors of tradition, I will here concifely ftate the com mencement of the American confti tutions ; by which' the ' difference be tween conftitutions and governments will fufficiently appear. It may not be improper to remind the reader, that the United, States of America confift of thirteen feparate States, each of which eftabliShed a go vernment for itfelf, after the declara tion of independence, done the, fourth, of July 1776. Each ftate acted in- "depe'ndently of the reft, in forming its government ; but the fame general principle pervades the whole. When the. feveral Slate governments were formed, they proceeded to form the federal government, that afts over the whole in all matters which con cern the intereft of the whole, or which relate to the intercourse of the feveral States, with each other, or with foreign nations. I will begin with giving an, instance from one of the ftate governments, (that of Pennfyl- vania), and then proceed to the fede ral government. The State of Pennfylvania, though nearly of the fame extent of territory as England, was then divided into ' only twelve counties. Each of thofe counties had elected a committee at the commencement of the difpute with. the EngliSh government; and as PAINEV WORKS. the city of Philadelphia, which alfo had its coirimittee, was the moft, cen tral for intelligence, it became the center of communication to the Seve ral county committees. When it be came neceffary to proceed to the for mation of a government, the commit tee of Philadelphia propofed a confer ence of all the county committees, to be held in that city, and which met the latter end of July 1776. Though thefe committees had been elected by the people, they were not elected exprefsly for the purpofe, nor invefted with the authority ^ of form ing a conftitution ; and as they could not confidently with the American jdea of rights, affume fuch a power, they could only confer upon the mat ter, and put it into a train of ope ration. The conferees^ therefore, Sid no more than Slate the cafe, and recommend to the feveral counties tq 'eleft fix reprefentatives for each coun ty, to meet in convention at Philadel phia, with powers to form a consti tution, and propofe it for public con sideration. This convention, of which Ben jamin Franklin was prefident, having met and deliberated, and agreed upon a cortftitution, they next .ordered it to be publifhed, not as a thing efta- biifhed, but for the consideration of the-'whole-people, their approbation or rejection, and then ¦ adjourned to a itited time. When the time of ad- -iournment was expired, the conven tion r-e-affembled ; and as the general opinion of the people in approbation of it was then known, the conftituT 'tion was figned, fealed, and pro claimed on the authority ,of the people, snd, the original instrument depofited a* a public , record. The convention «hen appointed a. day -for the general election of the reprefentatives who were to compofe the government, and the time it Should commence ; and having done this, they diffolved, and returned to their feveral homes and occupations.' fn this conftitution were laid down, firft a declaration" of rights. Then followed the form which the govern ment Should have, and the powers it Should poffefs-^-the authority of the courts of judicature, and of juries — the manner in which elections Should be, vcondufted, and the propor tion of representatives to the number pf eleftorsrrT-the tirne which eachfuc- ,c,eeding affembly Should continue, which was one year-?--the jtiode of .le vying, and .of accounting for the ex penditure,, of public njqney — of ap pointing public officers, &c. &c. &c. No article pf this ponftitu tion could he altered or infringed at the difcre- tion of the government that was to enfue. It was to tljat government a law. .."But as it, would have been un- wife fo preclude the benefit .of expe rience, apd. in order alfo to prevent the accumulation of errors, if any "Should be found, and to preferve an unifon of government wkh the cir cumftances of the ftate at alt times, the' Conftitution provided, that, at the expiration Of every feven years, a convention Should be 'elected ; for the exprefs purpofe of revising" the cori- -ftitution,' and making alterations, ad ditions, or abolitions therein, if any foeh Should be found neceffary. ;Here we fee a regular procefs — a government iSfifing out of a constitu tion, -formed by the people in their original charafter ; and that, constitu tion, ferving, not only as an autho rity, but as a law of controul to the government. It was the political bible of the ftate. Scarcely a family was without it. Every member of Part II. RIGHTS 0> MAN. the government ha'd a copy ; and nothing was more common, when any debate arofe on the principle of a bill, or on the extent of any fpecies of authority, than for the mernbers to take the printed conftitution out of their pocket, and read the chap ter with which fuch matter in debate was connected. Having thus given an in'ftance from one of the States, I will Shew the proceedings by whith the federal constitution of the United' States arofe and was formed. Congrefs, at its two firfr. meetings, in September J7*74, and May 1775, was nothing more than a deputati on from the legislatures of the feve ral provinces, afterwards' States j and had no other authority than what arofe from common cohfent, and the necef fity of its afting as a public body. In every thing which related to the internal affairs of America, congrefs went rib further than to iffue recom- ijhehd'atioff' to the feveral provincial affemblies, who at difcretion adopted ¦ them or hot. " Nothing on the part of congrefs was compuHive ; yet, in this fituation, it Was more faithfully and affectionately obeyed, ' than was any government in Europe. This ihSlahce, like that of the national af- iembly of France, fufficiently Shews, that the "Strength of government does not cOnfift' in any thing within it felf, but in "the attachment of a na tion, and the intereft which the peo ple feel in fupporting 'it. When this is loft, government -is but a child in power ; and though, like the Old government of France, it may harrafs individuals for a while, it but facilitates its; own fall. "After the declaration of indepen dence, it became confiftent with the aoj principle on which reprefentative go vernment is founded, that the autho rity of congrefs Should be defined and eftabliShed. Whether that authority Should be more or lefs than congrefs then difcretionarily exercifed, was not the queftion. It was merely the rec titude of the meaShre. For this purpofe, the aft, called the aft of confederation, (which was a fort of imperfe'ft federal conftitur tion), Was propofed, and, after long deliberation, was concluded in the year 1781. It was not the aft of congrefs, becaufe it is repugnant to the ' principles of reprefentative go vernment that a body Should give power to itfelf, Congrefs firft inform ed the feyeral 'States, of the powers which it conceived were neceffary to be invefted in the union, to ena ble it to perform the duties and fervi ces required from it ;, and the States feverally agreed with each other, and concenterated iri congrefs thofe pow ers. 'It may not be improper to obferve that - in 'both thofe instances, (the :one of Pennsylvania, and the other of the United States), there is no fuch thing as the idea of a compact "between the people on one fide, and the government oh the other. The compact was that of the > people with each other, to produce and consti tute a government. To fuppofe that any government can be a party in a compaft with - the whole people, is to fuppofe it to have existence be fore it can have a right to exift. The only inftance in which a com paft can take place between the peo ple and ' thofe who exercife the go vernment, is, that the people fhall pay them, while they chufe to employ them. ioa, PAINE's Government is not a trade which. any man or body of men has a right to fet up and exercife for his own emolument, but is . altogether a truft, in right of thofe by whom that truft is delegated, and by whom it is always refumable. It has of itfelf no rights ; they are altogether du ties. Having thus given two instances of the original formation of a con ftitution, I will Shew the nianner jii which both have been changed Since their firft establishment. The powers veiled in the govern ments of the feveral States, by the ftate constitutions, were found, upon experience, to be too great ; and thofe vefted in the federal govern ment, by the aft of confederation? too little. The defect was not in the principle, but in the distribution cf power. Numerous publications, in pamph lets and in the newspapers, appear ed on the propriety and neceffity Of new modelling the federal govern ment. After fome time of public difcuSlion, carried on thro' the chan- net of the prefs, and in conversati ons, the Slate of Virginia, experi encing fome inconvenience .with re fpect to commerce, propofed holding j continental conference ; in confe quence of which, a deputation) from live or Six of the State ailemblies met at Anapolis in Maryland, in -jyS6. This meeting., not conceiv ing itfelf fufficiently authorifed to go into the bufinefs- of a reform, did no more than State their general opinions of the propriety of the mea sure, and recommend that a conven tion of all the Slates Should be held the yeur following. WORK S. This convention met at Philadel phia in May 1787, of which Gene ral Washington was elected prefident. He was not at that time connected with any of the Slate governments, or with congrefs. He delivered up his commiffion when the war ended, and fince then had lived a private citizen. The convention went deeply into all the fubjefts ; and haying, after a variety of debate and investigation) agreed among themfelves upon the feveral parts of a Sederal constitu tion, the next queftion was, the manner of giving it authority and praftice. For this purpqfe, they did not, like a cabal of courtiers, fend for a Dutch Stadtholder, or a German Eleftor ; but they referred the whole matter to the fenfe and intereft of the country. They firft directed, that the pro pofed constitution Should be publish ed. Secondly, that each Slate Should eleft a convention, exprefsly for the purpofe of taking it into a confider.- ation, and of ratifying or rejecting it : and that as foon as the approba tion and ratification of any nine States Should be given,, that thofe States Should proceed to the eleftion of their proportion of members to the new federal government ; and thart the operation of it Should then begin, and the former federal government ceafe. The feveral States proceeded ac cordingly to eleft their conventions, fome of thofe conventions ratified the conSlitutjon by very large1 ma jorities, and two or three unanimous ly. In others. there were much de bate and division of opinion. In the Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 205 Maffachufetts convention, which met at Bofton, the majority was not above nineteen or twenty, in about three hundred members ; but fuch is the nature of reprefentative • govern ment, that it quietly decides all mat ters by majority. After the debate in the Maffachufetts convention was clofed, and the vote taken, the ob jecting members rofe, and declared, " That though they had argued and " voted againft it, becaufe certain " parts appeared to them in a different " light to what they appeared to other " members ; yet, as the vote hadde- " cided in favour of the conftitution as " propofed, they Jhould give it the fiame " praBical fupport as if they had voted " for it." As foon as nine States had con curred, (and the reft followed in the order their conventions were elected), the old fabric of the federal govern ment was taken down, and a new one elected, of which General Wafh- ington is prefident. — In this place I cannot help remarking, that the character and fervices of this gen tleman are fufficient to put all thofe men called kings to Shame. While they are receiving from the fweat and labours of mankind, a prodiga lity of pay, to which neither their abilities nor their fervices can enti tle them, he is rendering every fer vice in his power, and refufing eve ry pecuniary reward. He accepted no pay as commander in chief ; he accepts none as prefident of the Uni ted States. After the new federal conftitution was. established, the ftate 'of Pennsyl vania, conceiving that fome parts of its own conftitution required to be altered, elected a convention for that purpofe. The propofed al terations were published, and the people concurring therein, they were eftabliShed. In forming thofe conftitutions, or in altering them, little or no incon venience took place. The ordinary courfe of things was not interrupted, and the advantages have been much. It is always the intereft of a far greater number of people in a na tion to have things right, than to let them remain wrong ; and when public matters are open to debate, and the public judgment free, it will not decide wrong, unlefs it decides too haftily. In the two instances of changing the conftitutions, the government then in being were not actors either way. Government has no right to make itfelf a party in any debate refpeft ing the principles or modes of form ing, or of changing, conftitutions. It is not for the benefit of thofe who exercife the powers of government, that constitutions, and the govern ments iffuing from them, are efta bliShed. In all thofe matters, the right of judging and acting are in thofe who pay, and not in thofe who receive. A conftitution is the property of a nation, and not of thofe who ex ercife the government. All the con ftitutions of America are declared to be eftabliShed on the authority of the people. In Fiance, the word nation is ufed inftead of the people; but in both cafes, a conftitution is a thing antecedent to the govern ment, and always diftinft there from. In England, it is not difficult to perceive that every thing has a con ftitution, except the nation. Every fociety and iffociatioo, that is efta- 20 6 PAINE's, WORKS. bliShed, firSc agreed upon a number of original articles,, digefted intrj form, which are its conftitution. It then appointed its officers, whofe powers and authorities are described in that conftitution, and the govern ment of that fociety then commenc ed. Thofe officers, by whatever name they are called, have no au thority to add to, alter, or abridge the original articles. It is only to the constituting power that this right belongs. From the want' of understanding the difference between a conftitution and a government,- Dr. Johnfori, and all writers of his defcription, have always bewildered themfelves. They could not but perceive, that there muft neceffarily be a controuling powet existing fomewhere, and they placed this power in the discretion of the perfons exercising the govern ment, inftead of placing it in a con stitution formed by the nation. When it is in a conftitution, it has the nation for its fupport, and the natural and the political controuling powers are together. The laws which are enacted by governments, controul men only as individuals, but the nation, through its conftitution, controuls the whole government, . and has a natural ability fo to do. The final controuling power, therefore, and the original conftitutlng power, are one and the fame power. Dr. Johnfon could not have advanc ed fuch a pofition in any country where there was a conftitution ; and he is himfelf an evidence, that no fuch thing as a conftitution exifts in England. — But it may be put as a queition, not improper to be investi gated, That if a conftitution does not exift, how came the idea of. it* existence fo generally eftabliShed ? In order to decide this queftion, it is neceffary to confider a conftitution in both its cafes : — Firft, as creating a government and giving it powers.' Secondly, as regulating and restraining; the powers fo given. If we begin with William of Nor mandy, we find that the government of England was originally a tyranny, founded on an invafion and conqueft of the country. This being admit ted, it will then appear, that the exertion of the nation, at different periods, to abate that tyranny,- and' render it lefs intolerable, has been credited for a constitution. Magna Charta, as it was called, (it is now like an almanack of the fame date,) was no more than compelling- the government to renounce a part of its affumptions. It did not create and give powers to . government in1 the manner a conftitution does ; but was, as far as it went, of the nature of a re-conqueft, and not of a con ftitution ; for could the nation have totally expelled the ufurpation, as France had done its defpotifm, it would then have had a conftitution to' form . The hiftory of the Edwards andr the Henries, and up to the com-< mencement of the Stuarts, exhibits as many inftances of tyranny as could be acted within the limits to' which the nation had restricted it.' The- Stuarts endeavoured to pafs- thofe limits, and their fate is well known. In all thofe inftances we fee nothing of a conftitution, but only of reftriftions on affumed power. After this, another William, de- fcended from the fame Stock-, and Part II. RtGHTS OP MAN. zo? claiming ^ from -the fame origin, gained pofleSlion ; and of the two evils, James and William, the nation pre ferred what it thought the , lead ; fince, from circumftances, > it mult take one. The aft, called the Bill* of Rights,- comes here into view. What is it, but a bargain, which the parts of the government made with each other to divide powers, profits, and privileges ? You Shall have fo modi, artd I will have the reft ; and with refpeft to- the nation, it faid, for your Jhare, you fhall have the right of petitioning. This being the cafe, the bill of rights is more properly a bill of wrongs, and of infult. As to what is called the convention parliament, it was a thing that made itfelf, and then made the authority by which it afted. A few perfons got together, and called them felves by that name. Several of them had never beeh elefted, and none of them for the purpofe. From the time of William, a fpe cies of government arofe, iffuing Out of this coalition bill of rights ; and more fo, fince the corruption intro duced at the Hanover fuceeffion, by the agency pf Walpole : that can be defcribed by no other name than a despotic legislation. Though the parts may embarrafs each other, the whole has no bounds ; and the only light it acknowledges out of itfelf, is the right of petitioning. Where then is the conftitution either that gives or that restrains power ? It is not becaufe a part of the go vernment is eleftive, that makes it lefs a defpotifm, if the perfons fo elected, poffefs afterwards, as a par liament, unlimited powers. Eleftion, in this cafe, becomes feparated from reprefentation, and the candidates are candidates for defpotifm. I cannot believe that any nation, reafoning on its own rights, would have thought of calling thofe things a conftitution, if the cry of conftitu tion had not been fet up by the go vernment. It has got into circula tion like the words bore and quiz, by being chalked up in the Speeches of parliament, as thofe words were on window Shutters and door polls ; but whatever the conftitution may be in other refpects, it has undoubtedly been the moft produBive machine of taxation that was ever invented. The taxes in France, under ' the new conftitution, are not quite thir teen Shillings per head *, and the taxes in England under what is called' its prefent conftitution, are forty eio-ht Shillings and fixpence per head, men, women, artd children, amounting to nearly feventeen millions fterling, be fides the expence of collection; which is upwards of a million more. In a country like England, where the whole of the civil government is executed by the people of every town and county, by means of parifh offi cers, magistrates, quarterly feffions, juries, ahd affize; without any trou ble to what is called the government, * The -whole amount of the aSTeiTed taxes of France, for the prefent year, is three hundred* millions of litre?, which, is twelve^millions and a I... If Sterling ; and tlje in cidental taxes are estimated at three millions, making in the whole fifteen millions and a half; which among twenty-four'millioiis of people" is not quite thirteen (hillings per head. France ha«- leffehed her taxes fince the revolution, nearly nine millions Ster ling annually. Before the revolution, the city of .Pari; paid a duty of upwards of thirty per cent, on all articles brought into the city. This tax was collefted at the city gates. It was taken oft" on the firSt of laft 'May, and the gates taken down. 403 PAINE'* WaR£& or any other expence to the revenue than the falary of the judges, it is aftoniShing how Such a mafs of taxes can be employed. Nor even the in ternal defence of the country is paid Out of the revenue. On all occafions, whether real or contrived, recourfe is continually had to new loans and new taxes. No wonder, then, that a ma chine of government fo advantageous to the advocates of a court, Should be fo triumphantly extolled ! No' wonder, that St. James's or St. Stephen's Should echo with the continual cry of conftitution ! No wonder, that the French revolution Should be repro bated,' and the res-publica treated with, reproach ! The red book of Eng land, like the red book of France,- will explain the reafon *.' I will now, by way of relaxation, turn a thought or two to Mr. Burke. I aSk his pardon for neglefting him fo long. " America," fays he* (in his fpeech on the Canada conftitution bill) " never dreamed of fuch ab- " furd doctrine as the Rights of Man." Mr. Burke is fuch a bojd prefumer, and advances his affertions and his premifes with fuch a deficiency of judgment, that, without troubling ourfelves about principles of philofo- phy or politics, the mere logical con clusions they produce, are ridiculous. For inltance, If governments, as Mr. Burke af- ferts, are not founded on the Rights of Man, and are founded on any rights at all, they confequently muft be founded on the rights of fomething that is not man. What then is thac fomething ? Generally fpeaking, we know of no other creatures that inhabit the' earth than man and beaft ; and in all cafes, where only two things offer themfelves, and one muft be admitted/ a negation proved on any one,' amounts to an affirmative on the other ; and therefore, Mr. Burk, by proving againft the rights of Man, proves in behalf ' of the beaft ; and confequently, proves that government is a. beaft : and as difficult things fometimes explain each other, we now fee the origin of keeping wild beafts in the Tower ; for they cer tainly can be of no other ufe than to Shew the origin of the government. They are in the place of a constitu tion. O John Bull, what honours' thou haft loft by not being a wild beaft. Thou mighteft, on Mr. Burke's* Syftem, have been in the Tower for life. If Mr. Burke's arguments' have not weight enough to keep one feri ous, the fault is .lefs mine than his y and as I- am willing to make an apo logy to the reader for the liberty I have taken, I hope Mr. Burke will alfo make his for giving the caufe. Having thus paid Mr. Burke the compliment of remembering him, i return to the fubjeft. From the want of a conftitution in? England to restrain and regulate the wild impulfe of power, many of the laws are irrational and tyrannical, and the administration of them vague and problematical. * What was called the litire rouge, or the red book, in France, was not exactly fimilar to the court calendar in England ; but it fufficiently Shewed how a great part of the taxes was lavished. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 221} The attention of the government of England, (for I rather chufe to call it by this name than the English government) appeafsi Since its poli tical connection with Germany, to have been fo completely engroffed - arid abforbed by foreign affairs, dnd the means of railing taxes, that it feems to exill for rid other piifpofes. Domeftic concerns are neglefted ; and, with refpeft to regular law, there is fcarcely Such a thing. Almoft' every cafe now muft be determined by Some precedent, be that precedent good or bad' Or whe ther it properly applies or not ; and the practice is become fo general, as tofuggeft a fufp'icion, that it proceeds from a deeper policy than at firft Sight appears. Since the revolution of America; and more fo Since that of France, this preaching up the doctrine of pre cedents, drawn from times and cir cumftances antecedent to thofe events, has been the Studied practice of the Eng lish government. The generality of thofe precedents are founded on princi ples and opin ions; the reverfe of what they ought; and the greater diftance of time they are drawn from, the more they are to be fufpeeted. But by affociating thofe precedents with a fuperftitious reverence for ancient things* as monks Shew relics and call them holy, the generality of mankind are deceived into the defign. Go vernments now aft as if they were afraid to awaken a fingle reflection in man. They are fbftiy leading Kim to the fepulcfire of precedents, to deaden his faculties, and call his attention from the fcene of revolutions. They feel that he is arriving at knowledge falter than they wiSh, and their policy of precedents is the borometer of their fears. This political popery, like the ecclefiaftical popery of old, has had its, and is hastening to its exit. The ragged relic and the an tiquated precedent, the monk and the monarch, will moulder together. Government by precedent, without any regrad to the principle of the precedent, is one of the vileft fyftems that can be fet up. In numerous in stances, the precedent ought to ope rate as a warning, and not as an ex ample, and requires to be Shunned in stead of imitated : but inftead of this, precedents are taken in the lump, and put at once for conftitutions and for law. Either the doftrine of precedents is pdlicy to keep man in a State of ig norance, or it is a practical confef- , fion that wifdom degenerates in go vernments as governments increafe in age, and can only hobble along by the Stilts and crutches of precedents : How is it that the fame perfons who would proudly be thought wifer than their pfedeceffors, appear at the fame time only as the ghofts of departed wifdom ? How Strangely is antiquity treated! To anfwer fome purpofe it is fpoken of as the times of darknefs and ignorance ; and to anfwer others, it is put for the light of the world. If the doftrine of precedents, is to be followed, the expences of govern ment need not continue the fame. Why pay men extravagantly who have So little to do ? If every thing that can happen is already in prece dent, legislation is at an end, and precedent, like a dictionary, deter mines every cafe; Either, therefore, government has arrived at its dotage, and requires to be renovated, or all the occafions for exerciling its wifdom. have occurred . We now fee all over Europe, and particularly in England, the curious «3» PAINE's WORKS. phsenomenon of a nation looking one way, and a government the other — the one forward and the other back ward. If' governments are to go on by precedent, while nations go on by improvement, they muft at laft come to a final feparation ; and the fooner, and the more civilly, they determine this point, the better *. Having" thus fpoken of constitu tions generally as things diftinft ftom actual governments, let us pro ceed to confider the parts of which a conftitution is compofed. Opinions dift'er more on this fub ject, than with refpeft to the whole. That a nation ought to have a confti tution, as a rule for the conduft of its government, is a fimple queftion in which all men, not direftly cour tiers, will agree. It is only on the component parts that trueftions and opinions multiply. But this difficulty, .like every other, will diminish when put into a train of being rightly underftood. The firft thing is, that a nation has a right to eftablifh a constitution. Whether it exercifes this right in the moil judicious manner at firft, is quite another cafe. It exerciS'es it agreeably to the judgment it poifeffes ; and by continuing to do fo, all errors will at laft be exploded. When this right is eftabliflied in a nation, there is no fear that it will be employed to its own injury. A na tion can have no intereft in being wrong. . Though all the conftitutions of America are on one general principle, yet no two of them are exaftly alike in their component parts, or in the distribution of the powers which they give to. the actual governments. Some are more, and others lefs com plex. In forming a conftitution, it is firft neceffary to confider what are the ends for which government is necef fary ? Secondly, what are the beft means, and the leaft expenfive, for accomplishing thofe ends ? Government is nothing more than a national affociation ; and the objeft of this affociation is the good of .all, as well individually as colleftively. Every man wilhes to purfue his occu pation, and to enjoy the fruits of his labours and the produce of his pro perty in peace and fafety, and with the leaft poSfible expence. When thefe things are accomplished, all the objefts for which government ought to be eftabliShed are anfwered. It has been cuftqmary to confi der government under three diftinft general heads. The legislative, the executive, and the judicial. But if we permit our judgment to aft unincumbered by the habit of multiplied terms, we can perceive no more than two divifions of power, *• In England, the improvements in agriculture, ufefrjl arts, manufactures,, and commerce, have been made in oppsfition to the genius of its government, which is that of following precedents. It it from the enterprife and industry of the indviduals, and their numerous r-.tTochitions, in wh.ih, tritely fpeaking, government is neither pillow nor bolder, that thefe improvements have proceeded. No man thought about the go vernment, or who wj-- in or who was out, when he was planning, or executing thofe things; and all he hid to hope, with refpect to government, was, that it ismld let hi-,: alone. Three or four very filly ministerial news-papejs are continually offending aeainft the fpirit of national improvement, by afcribing it to a miniSb:r. They may avjih as much truth alcribe this hook to a minister. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN, *n of which civil government is compo- fed; namely, that of legislating or enacting laws, and that of executing Or administering them. Every thing, therefore, appertaining to civil go vernment, clafles 'itfelf under one or other of thefe two divifions. rally , compofed of two, hwles. In France it confifts but of one ; but in both countries it is wholly by. repre-., fentation. The cafe is, that mankind (from the long tyranny of affumed power) have had lb few opportunities af So far as regards the execution of making the neceffary trials on modes the laws, that which is called the judicial power, is Strictly and proper ly the executive power of every coun try. It • is that power to which eve ry individual has appeal, and which caufes the laws to be executed ; nei ther have we any other clear idea with refpeft to the Official, execution of the laws. In England, and alfo in America and France, this power begins with the magistrate, and pto- and principles of government, in or der to difcover the beft, that govern* ment is but now beginning to be known, and experience is yet wanting to de termine many particulars; The objections againft two houfes are, firft, That there is an inconsisten cy in any part of a whole legisla ture, coming to a final determina tion by vote on any matter, whilft: that- matter, with refpeft to that ceeds up through all the courts of whole, is yet Only in a train of de- judicature.' I leave to courtiers' to explain What is meant by calling monarchy the executive power. It is merely a name in which acts of government are done ; and any other, or none at alt, would anfwer the fame pur pofe; Laws have neither more or lefs authority On this account. It ' muft be from the juftnefs of their principles, and the. intereft which a nation feels therein, that thev derive liberation, and confequently open to new illustrations. Secondly, That by taking the vote on each, as a feparate body, it al ways admits of the poffibility, and is often the cafe in practice, that the minority governs the majority, and that, in fome inftances, to a degree of great inconsistency. Thirdly, That two houfes arbitra rily checking or controuling each other is inconfiftent ; becaufe it can- fupport; if they require any other not be proved, on the principles of than this, it is a Sign that fome thing in the fyftem of govern ment is imperfeft.' Laws difficult to be executed cannot be generally good. With refpect to the organization of the legiftative power, different modes have been adopted in different countries. * In America it is gene- juft reprefentation, that either Should be wiier or better than the other. They may check in the wrong as well as In the right,— and therefore, to give the power where we cannot give the wifdom to ufe it, nor be affured of its being rightly ufed, renders the hazard at leaft equal to the precaution *. * With refpect of the jwo houfes, of which the English Parliament is compofed, they appear- to be effectually influenced into one, and, as a legiflature, to have no temper of its own. The minifter, whoever he at any time may be, touches it as with an opiu:.i wand, ai.d if Sleeps obedience, Bu* PAlNE's WORKS. The objection againft a fingle houfe Is, that it is always in a condition of committing itfelf too foon. — But it Should at the fame time be remem bered, that when there is a conftitu. tion which defines the power* and establishes the principles within which a legislature Shall aft, there is already a more effeftual check pro vided, and more powerfully oper ating, than any other check can be. For example, Were a bill to be brought into any of the American legislatures, Similar to that which was paffed in to an aft by the EngliSh parliament* at the commencement of George the Firft, to extend the duration of the affemblies to a longer period than they now fit, the check is in the conftitution, which in effe6l fays Thus far ftialt thou go, rand no farther. But in order to remove the ob jection againft a fingle houfe, (that of acting with two quick an im- pulfe) and at the fame time to avoid the inconfifte'ncies, in fome caSes abfurdities, arfiing from two houfes, the following method has been propofed as an improvement upon both. Firft, To have but one reprefen tation. Secondly, To divide that repre fentation, by lot, into two or three parts. Thirdly, That every propofed bill Shall be firft debated in thofe parts, by fuceeffion, that they may become the hearers of each other, but with out taking any vote. After which the whole reprefentation to affemble for a general debate and determinati on, by vote. To this propofed improvement has been added another, for the purpofe of keeping the reprefentation in a ftate of conftant renovation ; which is, that one-third of the reprefenta tion of each county, Shall go out at the expiration of one year, and the number be replaced by new elections. — Another third at the expiration of the fecond year replaced in like manner, and every third year to be a general eleftion \. But if we look at the diftinft abilities of the two houfes, the difference will ap pear fo gieat, as to (hew the inconsistency of placing power where there can be no certainty of the judgment to ufe it. Wretched as the ftate of representation is in England, it is manhood compared with what is called the houfe of Lords • and fo little is this nick- named houfe regarded, that the people fcarcely inquire at any time what it is doing. It appears alfo to be molt tinder influence, and the fur thest, removed from the general intereft of the nation. In the debate on engaging in the Ruffian and Turkifh war, the majority in the houfe of peers in favour of it was upwards of ninety, when in - the other houfe, which is more than double its members, the majority was Sixty-three. The proceedings on Mr. Fox's bill, refpefting the rights of juries, merits alfo to be noticed. The perfons called the peers were not the objects of that bill. They are already in poffeflion of more privileges than that bill gave to others. They are their own jury ; and if any of that houfe were profecuted for a libel, he would not fuffer, even upon conviction, for the firft offence. Such inequality in laws ought not to exift in any country. The French conftitution fays, That the law is the fame to every individual, whether to prated or to punifh. All are equal in its fight. •J- As to the ftate of representation in England, it is too abfurd to be reafoned upon. Almoft all the reprefentcd parts are decreasing in population, and the unreprefented parts are increafing. A general convention of the nation is neceffary to take the whole ftate of its government into consideration. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. si J But in whatever manner the fepa rate parts of a constitution may be arranged, there is one general prin ciple that distinguishes freedom from Slavery, which is, that all hereditary government over a people is to them a fpecies of Jlavery, and reprefentative government is freedom. Confidering government in the on ly light in which it Should be confi dered, that «f a National Asso ciation, it ought to be fo conT ftructed as not to be difordered by any accident happening among the parts ; and, therefore, no extraordi nary power, capable of producing fuch an effeft, Should be lodged in the hands of any individual. The death, ficknefs, abfence, or defec tion, of any ohe individual in a go vernment, ought to be a matter of no more confequence, with refpeft to the nation, than if \ the fame circum ftance had taken place in a member of the English Parliament, or thq'French' Natioriil Affembly. Scarcely any thing prefents a more degrading charafter of national great nefs, than its being thrown info confufion by any thing happening to, or afted by, an individual ; and! the ridicu'liufnefs of "the fcene is often increafed by the natural infig- jiificance of the perfon by whom it is occafioned. Were a government fo conftrufled, that it could not go on unlefs a goofe or a gander were prefent in the fenate, the difficulties would be juft as great and as real on the flight or ficknefs of the goofe or the gander, as if it were called a King. We laugh at individuals for the filly difficulties they make to themfelves, without perceiving, that the greateft of all ridiculous things are acted in governments *. All 'the conftitutions of America are on a plan that excludes the childiSh embarraffments which occur in monarchical countries. No fuf- penfion of government can there take place for a moment, from any cir cumftance whatever. The fyftem of reprefentation provides for every thing, and is the only fyftem in which nations and governments can always appear in their proper cha rafter. As extraordinary power ought not to be lodged in the hands of any individual^ fo ought there to be no appropriations of public money to any perfon, beyond what his fervices in a Slate may be worth- It Signifies not whether a man be called a prefident, a king, an em peror, a Senator, or by any other name, which propriety or folly may devife, or arrogance affume ; ' it Is only a certain Service he can per- * It is related, that in the canton of Berne, in Swifferland, it had been cuftom- aty,°.frbm time immemorial, to keep a bear at the public expence, and the people terregnum the people difcovered, that the corn grew, and the vintage flourished, and the fun and moon continued to rile and ' fet, and every thing went on the fjime as before, and, taking courage from thefe circumftances, they refolved not to keep any more bears 3 for, faid they, " a bear- is a very Voracious, expenfive animal, and we " were obliged to pull out his claws, left he fhbuld hurt the citizens.". The fto'fy of the bear of Berne was related in fome ' 6f the French news-papers, at the time of the'flight of Louis XVI. and the application of it to monarchy could not bemiftakenin France ; but it feems, that the ariftocracy of Berne applied itto themfelves, aid have fmce prohibited the reading of French news-papers. 214- PAINE's WORKS. form in the ftate ; and the fervice of any fuch individual in the rotine of office, whether fuch office be calL- ed monarchical, prefidential, fena- torial, or by another name or title, can never exceed the value of Jen thoufand pounds a year. All the great fervices that are done in the world are performed by volunteer characters, who accept nothing for them ; but the rotine of office is al ways regulated to fuch a general Standard of abilities as to be within the compafs of nurpbers in every country to perform, and therefore cannot merit very extraordinary re- compence. Government, fays Swift. is a plain thing, and fitted to the capa city of many heeds. It is inhuman to talk of a milli on fterling a year, paid out of the public taxes of any country, for the Support of any individual, whilft thoufands who are forced to contri bute thereto, are pining with want, and Struggling with mifery. Go vernment does not confift in a con trail between prifons and palaces, between poverty and pomp ; it is not instituted to rob the needy of his mite, and increafe the wretchednefs of the wretched. — But of this part of the fubjeft I Shall fpeak hereaf ter, and confine myfelf at prefent to political obfervations. When extraordinary power and extraordinary pay are allotfed to any individual in a government, he becomes the centre, round which every kind of corruption generates ¦' and forms. Give to any man a million a year, and add thereto the power of creating and difpofing of places, at the expence of a country, and the liberties of that country are no longer fecure. What is call ed the fplendor of a throne, is no other than the corruption of the ftate. It is made up of a band of parafites, living in luxurious indo lence, out of the public taxes. When once fuch a vicious fyftem is eftabliShed, it becomes the guard and protection of all inferior abufes. The man who is in the receipt of a million a year is the laft perfon to promote a fpirit of reform, left, in the event, it Should reach to him felf. It is always his intereft to de. fend inferior abufes, as , fo many out-works to proteft the citadel j and in this fpecies of political for tification, all the parts have fuch a common dependence, that it is ne ver to be expefted they will attack each other * * It is fcarcely poffible to touch on any fubjeft, that vill not fuggeft an allufion to fome corruption in governments. The Simile of " fortifications ," unlortunate- ]y involves with it a circumftance, which is direftly in point with the matter above alluded to Among the numerous inftances of abufe which have been afted or protefted by governments, ancient or modern, there is not a greater than that of quartering a man and his heirs upon the pubiic, lo be maintained at its expence. Humanity diftates a provifion for the poor ; but by whit right, moral or politi cal, does any government aiT-.ime to fay, that the perfon called the Duke of Rich mond, Shall be maintained by the public ? "Yet, if common/ report is' true, not a beggar in London can purchafe his wretched pittance of coal, without paying to- wards the civil lift of the Duke of Richmond. Were the whole produce 'of this im position but a (hilling a year, the iniquitous princ'ple would be ftill the fame; but when it amount',, a« it is faid to do, to not lefs than twenty thouland pounds per ann. the enormity is too ferious to be permitted to remain. — rThis is one of the effefts of monarchy and aristocracy. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 215 Monarchy would not have conti nued fo many ages in the world, had it not been for the abufes it protects. 'It is the mafter-fraud, which Shelters all others. By admitting a partici pation of the fpoil, it makes itfelf friends ; and when it ceafes to do this, it will ceafe to be the idol of courtiers. As the principle on which consti tutions are now formed rejects all he reditary pretentions to government, it alfo rejects all that catalogue of af- fumptions known by the name of pre rogatives. If there is any government where prerogatives might with apparent fafe- ty be entrusted to any individual, it is in the fcederal government of Ame rica. The Prefident of the United States of America is elected only for four years. He is not only refpon- fible in the general fenfe of the word, but a particular mode is laid down in the conftitution for trying him. He cannot be elected under thirty-five years of age ; and he muft be a na tive of the country. In a comparifon of thefe cafes with the government of England, the dif ference, when applied to the latter, amounts to an abfurdity. In Eng land,, the perfon who exercifes prero gative is often a foreigner ; always half a' foreigner, and always married fo a foreigner. He is never in full natural or political connection with the country, is not refponfible for any thing, and becomes of age at eighteen years ; yet fuch aperSbn is per mitted to form foreign alliances,without even the knowledge of the nation; and to make war and peace without its confent. But this is not all. Though fuch a perfon cannot difpofe of the govern ment,, in the manner of a teftator, he dictates the marriage connections, which, in effect, accomplishes a'gre*at part of the fame end. He cannot directly bequeath half the government to Pruffia, but he can form a marri age partnership that will produce al moft the fame thing. Under fuch circumftances, it is happy for Eng land that (lie is not fituated on the continent, or She might, 'like Holland, fall under the dictatorship of Pruffia. Holland, by marriage, is as effeftu ally governed by Pruffia, as if the old tyranny of 'bequeathing the govern ment had been the means. The presidency in America, (or, as it is fometimes called, the executive) is the only office from which.a fo reigner is 'excluded ; and in England it is the-only one to which he is ad mitted. A foreigner cannot be a member of Parliament, but he may be what is called a king. If there is any reafon for excluding foreigners, it ought to be from thofe offices where mifchief can be mo.ft afted, and where, by uniting every bias of inte reft and attachment, the truft is beft Secured. But as nations proceed' in the great bufinefs of forming conftitu tions, they will examine with more precifion 'Into the nature and bufinefs of that department which is called the executive. What the legislative In Slating this cafe, I am led by no perfonal diflike. Though I think it meari in any man to live upon the public, the vice originates in the government , and fo ge neral is it become, thjt whether the parties are in the miniftry or in the opposition it makes no difference ; th-y are fare of the guarantee of each other. 2l6 PAINE's WORKS. and judicial departments are, every one pan fee ; but with refpeft to what, in Europe, is called the executive, as diftinft from thofe two, it is either a political fuperfluity or a chaos of un known things. Some kind of official department, to which reports Shall be made from the different parts of a nation, or ffom abroad, tq be laid before' the national reprefentatives, is all that is neceffary ; but there is no confiftency in calling this the executive ; neither can it -be confidered in any other light than as inferior to the legisla tive. The fovereign .authority in any country is the power of making laws, and every thing elfe is an offi cial department. ; * Next to the arrangement of the principles and' the organization of the feveral parts of a constitution, is the provision to be made for the fupport of the perfons to whom the nation Shall confide the administration of the constitutional powers. ' A nation can have no right to the time and Services of any perfon at his own expence, whom it may chufe to employ or entruft in any department whatever ; neither can any reafon be given for making provifion for the Support of any one part of a govern-, ment and not for the other. But, admitting that the honour of being entrusted with, any part of a government, is to be confidered a fuf ficient reward, it ought to be fo to every ,#perfon alike. If the members of the legislature of any country are to ferve at their own.expence, . that which is called the executive, whe ther monarchical, or,, by any other name, ought to ferve in like man ner. It is inconfiftent to pay the one, and accept the Service of the other gratis. ' In America, every department in the government, is decently provided for; but no one is extravagantly paid. Every member of Congrefs, apd of the affemblies, is allowed a fuSfici- ency for his expences. Whereas in England, a moft prodigal provifion is made for the fupport of one part of the government, and none for the other ; the confequence of which is, that the one is furnifhed with the means of corruption, and the other is put into the condition of being cor rupted. Lefs than a fourth part of fuch expence, applied as it is in Ame-- rica, would remedy a great part of the corruption. Another reform in the American conftitutions, is the exploding all oaths Of perfonality-. The oath pf allegiance in America is to the nation only. The putting any individual as a figure for a nation is improper. The happinefs of a nation is the fuperior object, and therefore the in tention of an oath of allegiance ought not to be obfcured by being figura tively taken, to, or in the name of, any perfon. The oath, called the civic path, in France, vi?. the " na- " tion, the law, and the king," -is improper. If taken at all, it ought to be as in America, to the nation only. The law may or may not be good ; but, in this place, it can have no other meaning, than as being con ducive to the happinefs of the nation, and therefore is included in it. The remainder of the oath is improper, on the ground, that all perfonal oaths ought to be abolished. They are the remains of tyranny on one part, and Slavery on the other; and the name Part II, RIGHTS OF MAN. 217 of the Creator ought not to be in troduced to witnefs the degradation of his creation; or if taken, as is al- ready mentioned, as figurative of the nation, it is1 in this place redundant. But whatever apology may be made for oaths at the firft establishment of a government, they ought not to be permitted afterwards. If a govern ment requires the fupport of oaths, It is a Sign that it is not worth fupport ing, and ought not to be Supported. Make government what it 'ought to be, and it will fupport itfelf.' ' - To conclude this part of the fuh- jeft : — One of the greateft improve ments that has been made for the per petual fecurity and progrefs of con- ilitutional liberty, is the provision which the new conftitutions make for occafionally revifing, altering, and amending them. ' The principle upon which Mr. Burke „ formed his political creed, that of binding ?' and controuling pofterity to the end of *' time, and renouncing and dbdicat- '« ing the rights of all pofterity for « ever," is now become too detesta ble to be made a fubjeft ot debate ; And, therefore, I pafs it over with no pther notice than expofing it. Government'is but now beginning to be known. Hitherto it has been the mere exercife of power, which forbad1" all' -effectual1 efjqiiiry into rights, and grounded itfelf' wholly bn poffeffion. While the enemy of li berty was its judge, the progrefs of its principles muft have been fmall in deed. ¦ ¦ .-¦•¦' The conftitutions of America, and alfo' that of France, have ' either af fixed a period for their revifion, or laid down the mode by 'Which im provements (hall be made. It is per haps impoffible to eftablilh any thing that combines principles with opi nions aiid practice, which the progrefs of circumftances, through a length of years, will not in fome meafure de range, or, render inconfiftent; and, therefore, to prevent inconveniencies accumulating,' till they difcourage reformations^ or provoke revolutions, it is beft to provide the means of re gulating them as they occur. ' The Rights' of Man are the rights,, of all generations 'of men,' and cannot be monopolized by any. That which is worth following, will be followed for the fake of its worth ; and it is in this that its fecurity |ies, and not in any conditions with which it may be encumbered. When a man leaves property to his heirs, he does not conneft it with an obligation that they Shall accept it. Why then Should we do otherwife with refpeft to conftitutions ? The beft conftitution that could now be devifed, confident with the condition of the prefent moment, may be far Short of that excellence which a few years may afford. There Is a morning of reafon rifing upon man on the fubjeft of government, that has not appeared before. As the barbarifm of the prefent old govern ments expires, the moral condition of nations, with refpect to each other, will be changed. Man will not be brought Up with the favage idea of confidering his fpecies as his enemy, becaufe the accident of birth gave the Individuals existence in countries distinguished by different names ; and as conftitutions have always fome re lation to external as well as to do mestic circumftances, the means of benefitting by every „ change, foreign or domeftic,, Should be a part of every conftitution. 2l8 PAINE's WORKS. We already fee an alteration in the national difpofition qf England and France towards each other, which, when we look back to only a few years, is itfelf a revolution. Who could have forefeen, or who would have believed, that a French Nati onal Affembly would ever have been a popular toaft in England, or that a friendly alliance of the two nations Should become the with of either. It Shews, that maa, were he not cor rupted by governments, is naturally the friend of man, and that human nature is not of itfelf vicious. That Spirit of jealoufy and ferocity, which the governments of the two countries infpired, and which they rendered fubfervient to the purpofe of taxati on, is now yielding to the dictates of reafon, intereft, and humanity. The trade of courts is beginning to be understood, and the affectation of myftery, with all the artificial forcery by which they impofed upon man kind, is on the decline. It has re ceived its death-wound; and though it may linger, it will expire. Gqvernment ought to be as much open to improvement as any thing which appertains to man, inftead of which it has been monopolized from age to age, by the moft ignorant and vicious of the human race. Need we any other proof of their wretched management, than the excefs of debts and taxes with which every nation groans, and the quarrels into which they have precipitated the world J Juft emerging from fuch a barba rous condition, it is toqpiitment of commerce. Jn all my publications, where the matter would admit, I have been an advocate for commerce, becapfe I am a friend to its effects. It is a pacific fyftem, operating to cordialize mankind, by rendering nations, as well as indivi duals, ufeful to each other. As to mere theoretical reformation, I have never preached it up. The moft effectual procefs is that of Improving the condition of man by means of his intereft ; and it is on this ground that I take my Stand. If commerce were permitted to aft to the univerfal extent it is ca pable, it woulcf extirpate the fyStem of war, and produce » ' revolution in the uncivilized State of governments. The invention of commerce has ari fen fince thofe governments began, and is the greateft approach towards univerfal civilization,' that has yet been made by any means not im mediately flowing from moral prin ciples. Whatever has a tendency to pro mote he civil intercourfe of nations, by an exchange of benefits, is a fub ject as worthy of philofophy as of politics. Commerce is no other than' the traffic of two individuals, mul tiplied on a fcale of numbers; and by the fame rule that nature Intend ed the intercourfe of two, She In tended that of all. For this pur pofe She has distributed the materials of manufactures and commerce, in various and diftant parts of a nation and of the world ; and as they can not be procured by war fo cheaply or fo commodioufly as by commerce, She has rendered the latter the mean's of extirpating the former. ' As the two are nearly the oppo- fites of each other, confequently, the uncivilized ftate of European govern- Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. ments is injurious to commece. Every kind of deSlruftion or embar- raffment ferves to leffen the quan tity, and it matters but little in what part of the commercial world the reduction begins. Like blood, it cannot be taken from any of the parts, without being taken from the whole mafs in circulation, and all partake of the lofs. When the abi lity jn any nation to buy is destroyed, it equally involves the feller. Could the government of England deftroy the commerce of all other nations, She would moft effeftually ruin her own. It is poffible that a nation may be the carrier for the world, but She cannot be the merchant. She can not be the feller and the buyer of her own merchandize. The abi lity to buy muft refide out of her felf; and, therefore, the profperity of any commercial nation is regula ted by the profperity of the reft. If they are poor, She cannot be rich ; and her condition, be it what it may, is an index of the height of the commercial tide in other nations. That the principles of commerce, and its univerfal 'operation may be understood, without underftanding the practice, is a pofition that reafon will not deny ; and it is on this ground only that I argue the fub ject. It is one thing in the count- ing-houfe, in the world it is another. With refpeft to its operation, it muft neceffarily be contemplated as a reci procal thing, that only one half its powers refides within the nation, and that the whole is as effectually de stroyed by destroying the half that refides without, as if the deftruftion had been committed on that which is within, for neither can aft without the other. When in the laft, as well as in former wars, the commerce of Eng land funk, it was becaufe the general- quantity was leffened every where ;. and it now rifes, becaufe commerce is in a rifing ftate in every nation. If England, at this day, imports and exports more than at any former period, the nation with which She trades muft neceffarily do the fame i her imports are their exports, and vice verfa. There can be no fuch thing as a nati on flourishing alone in commerce ; She can only participate ; and the de ftruftion of it in any part muft ne ceffarily effeft all. When, therefore, governments are at war, the attack is made upon the common Stock of commerce, and the confequence is the fame as if each had attacked his own. The prefent increafe of commerce- is not to be attributed to ministers, or to any political contrivances, but to its own natural operations in con- Sequence of peace. The regular markets had been deftroyed, the channels of, trade broken up, the high road of the feas infefted with robbers of every nation, and the at tention of the world called to other objects. Thofe interruptions have ceafed, and peace has reftored the deranged condition of things to their proper order*. * In America, the increafe of commerce is greater in propprtion than in Eng land. It is, at this time, at leaft one half more than at any period prior to the revolution. The greateft number of velfels cleared out of the port of Philadelphia, befoie the commencement of the war, was between eight and nine huudred. In the year 1788, the number was upwards of twelve hundred. As the ftate of Pennsylva nia is estimated as an eighth part of the United States iD population, the whole num ber of veflels muft now be nearly ten thouland. »zs PAINE's WORKS. It is worth remarking, that every nation reckons the balance of trade in its own favour ; and therefore fomething muft be irregular in the common ideas upon this Subject. The faft, however, is true, ac cording to what is called a' balance ; and it is from this caufe that com merce is univerfally fupported. Eve ry nation feels the" advantage, or it would abandon the practice : but the deception lies in the mode of making up the accounts, and in attributing what are called profits to a wrong c.:ufe. Mr. Pitt has fometimes amufed ¦himfelf, by Shewing what he called a balance of trade from the cuftom- houfe books. This mode of calcula tion, not only affords no mfe that is true, but one that is falfe. In the firft place, Every cargo that departs from the cuftom-houfe, ap pears on the books as, an export ; and* accoiding to the cuftom-houfe ba lance, the loffes at fea, arid'- by fo reign failures, are all reckoned on the fide of piofit, becaufe they appear as exports. Secondly, Becaufe the importation by the fmuggling trade does not appear on trie ctittoro-houSe books, to arrange againft the exports. No balance, therefore, as applying to fuperior advantages, can be drawn from thofe documents ; and if we ex amine the natural operation of com merce, the idea is fallacious ; and if true, would foon be injurious. The great Support of commerce eonfiSls in the balance being a le vel of benefits among all nations. Two merchants of different nati ons trading together, will both be come rich, and each makes the ba lance in his own favour ; confequent ly, they do not get rich out of each other ; and it is the fame with re fpeft to the nations in which they ' refide. The cafe muft be, that each nation muft get rich out of its own means, and increafes that riches by fomething which It procures from another in exchange. If a merchant in England fends an article of EngliSh manufacture abroad, which colls him a Shilling at home, and imports fomething which fells for two, he makes a~balance of one Shilling in his own favour : but this is not gained out of the foreign nation or the foreign merchant, for he alfo does the fame by the article he receives, and neither has a ba lance of advantage upon the other. The original value of the two arti cles in their proper countries were but two Shillings ; but by changing their places, they acquire a new idea of value, equal to double what they had at firft, and that increafed value is equally dividedT There is no otherwife a balance on foreign than on domeftic commerce. The merchants of London and New castle trade on the fame principles, as if they refided in different na tions, and make their balances in the fame manner :• yet London does' not get rich out of Newcastle, any mere than Newcastle out of Lon don : but coals, the merchandize of Newcastle, have an additional- value at London, and London mer chandize has the fame at Newcaf- tle. Though the principle of all com merce is the fame, the domeftic, in a national view, is the part the moft beneficial ; becaufe the whole of the advantages, on both fides, refts within the nation j whereas, in. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 32$ foreign commerce, it is only a parti cipation of one half. . The moft unprofitable of all com merce is that connefted with foi eign dominion. To a few individuals it may be beneficial, merely becaufe it is commerce ; but to the nation it is a lofs. The expence of maintaining dominion more than abforbs the pro fits of any trade. It does not in creafe the general quantity in the world, but operates to leflen it ; and as a greater mafs would be afloat by relinquishing dominion, the parti cipation without the expence would be more valuable than a greater quan tity with it. But it is impoffible to engrofs com merce by dominion ; and therefore it is ftill more fallacious. It cannot exift in confined channels, and ne ceffarily breaks out by regular or ir regular means Jhat defeat the at tempt ; and to fucceed would be ftill worfe. France, fince the revolution, has been more than indifferent as to foreign poffeffions ; and other nations will become the fame, when they in veftigate the fubject with refpect to commerce. To the expence of dominion is to be added that of navies, and when the amount of the two are fubtrafted from the profits of commerce, it will appear, that what is called the balance ot trade, even admitting it to exift, is not enjoyed by tlie nation, but ab forbed by the government. J The idea of having navies for the protection of commerce, is delufive. It is putting the means of deftruftion for the means of protection. Commerce needs no other protection than the reci procal intereft which every nation feels in fupporting it — it is common Stock-*— it exifts by a balance of advantages to all ; and the only interruption it meets, is from the prefent uncivilized State of governments, and which it is its com mon intereft to reform *. Quitting this fubjeft, I now pro ceed to other matters.— As it is ne ceffary to include Englond in the profpeft of a general reformation; it is proper to enquire Into the defect* of its government. It is only by each nation reforming its own, that the whole can be improved, and the full benefit of reformation enjoy ed. Only partial advantages can flow from partial reforms. France and England are the only two countries in Europe where a re formation in government could have fuccefsfully begun. The one Secure by the ocean, and the other by the immenfity of its internal ftrength, could defy the malignancy of foreign defpotifm. But it is with revolutions as with commerce, the advantages in creafe by their becoming general, and double to either what each would re ceive alone. As a new fyftem is now opening to the view of the world, the European courts are plotting to counteraft it. Alliances, contrary to alJ former fyf tems, are agitating, and a common intereft of courts is forming againfi the common intereft of man. This * When I Taw Mr. Pitt's mode of eftimating the balance of trade, in one-of his par liamentary i'peeches, he appeared to me to know nothing of the nature and intereft of commej-ce ; and no man has more wantonly tortured it than himfelr. During a period of peace, it has been havocked with the calamities of war. Three times has it been thrown into Stagnation, and the vdTcls unmanned by imprefiiog, within lefs than foar years of peace. 22£ PAlNf's WORkS. combination draws a line that runs throughout Euiope, and prefents a caufe fo entirely new, as to exclude all calculations from former circum ftances. While defpotifrri' warred with defpotifm, man had no intereft in the conteft'; but in a caufe that unites the foldier with the1 citizen, and nation, with nation,s the defpo tifm of courts, though it feels the danger,- and meditates revenge," is afraid to. Strike. No queftion has arifen within the records o^ hiftory that preffed with the importance of the prelent. It is not whether this or that party (hall be in or out, or whig or tory, or high or low Shall prevail ; but wher tlier man Shall inherit his rights, and univerfal civilization take place ? Whe ther the fruits of his labour fhall be en joyed by himfelf,- or confumecV by the profligacy of governurents? Whether robbely Shall be baniSh ed from Courts,' and wretchednefs from countries ? When, in countries that are called civilized, we fee age going to the workhoufe, and youth to the gallows, fomething muft be wrong in the fyf tem of government. It would feem; by the exterior appearance of fuch countries, that all was happinefs ; but there lies hidden from the eye of common obfervation, a mafs of wretchednefs that has fcarcely any other chance, than to expire in po verty or infamy. Its entrance into life is marked with the prefage of its fate ; and until, this is remedied, it is in vain to punifh. Civil government does not confift in executions ; but making that pro vifion for the instruction of youth, and the fupport of age, as to exclude, as much as poffible, profligacy from the one, and defpair from the Other'.'' Inftead of this, the refources of a country are lavished upon kings, upon courts, upon hirelings, ImpoStors and proftitutes ; and even the poor them felves,/ with all their wants upon them,' are compelled to fupport the fraud that oppreffes them. Why is it, that fcarcely any are executed but the poor ? The faft is a proof, among other things, of a wretchednefs ih their condition. Bred up without morals, and call upon the world without a proSpect, they are the expofed factifi'ce of vice and legal barbarity. The millions that are fuperfluouSly wafted upon govern ments, are" more than fufficient to reform thofe evils, and to benefit the condition of every man in a nation,' not included within the purlieus of a court. This I hope to make appear in the' progrefs of this work.' It is the nature of compaffion to affociate with misfortune.' In taking" up this fubjeft I feek no recompence —I fear no confequence. Fortified with that proud integrity, that dif- dains to triumph or to yield, I will; advocate the Rights of man. It is to my advantage that I have ferved an apprenticeship to life, t know the value of moral instruction, and I have feen the danger of the contrary. At an early period, little' more than fixteen years of age, raw and adventurous, and heated with the falfe heroifm of a mafter * who had ferved in a man of war, I began the carver of my own fortune, and en tered on board the Terrible Priva teer, Capt. Death. From this ad venture I was happily prevented by the affectionate and moral remon- * Rev. William Knowles, matter of the grammar (choc! of Thetford, In Norfolk, Part If. RIGHT $ O F " M A K. a*| firance of a good father, who, from empire in the world, ' founded on' a his own habits of life, being of the new fyftem of government, but I- Quaker profeffion, muft begin to look have arrived at an - eminence in poli- lipon me as loft. But the impreffion, tical literature, the moft difficult of much as it effected at the time, began all lines to fucceed and excel in, to wear away, and I entered after- which ariftocracy, with all its aids, wards in the King of Pruffia priva- has not been able to' reach or to teer, Capt. Mendez, and went with rival. her to fea. Yet, from fuch a begin- Knowing my own heart, and feel- ning, and with all the inconvenience ing myfelf, as I now do, fuperior to of early life againft me, I am proud all the SkirmiSh of party, the invete- to fay, that vrith a perfeverance un- racy of interested or mistaken oppo- dilinayed by difficulties, a dilintereft. nents, I anfwer not to falfehood or ednefs that compelled refpeft, I have abufe, but proceed to the defefts of not only contributed to raife a new the EngliSh government *. * Pontics and felf-intereft have been fo uniformly connefted, that the world, from being fo often deceived, has a right to be fufpicious of public characters: but with regard to myfelf, I am perfeftly eafy on this head. I did not at my firft fetting out In public life, nearly feventeen years ago, turn my thoughts to fubjefts of govern ment from motives of intereft ; and my conduft from that moment to this, proves the fact. I faw an opportunity, in which t thought I could do Some good,- and I followed exactly what my heart dictated. I neither read books, nor Studied other people's opinions. I thought for myfelf. The cafe was this : During the fufpenfion of the old governments' in America, both prior td, and at the breaking out of hostilities, I was ftruck with the order and decorum with which every thing was conducted ; and impreSTed with the idea, that a little more than what fociety naturally performed, was all the government that was necelTary ; and that monarchy and ariftocracy were frauds and impoSitidns upon mankind. On thefe principles I pub- liftied the pamphlet Common Senfi. The fuccefs it met with was beyond any thing fince the invention of printing. . I guve the copy right up to every ftate in the union, and the demand ran to not lefs than one hundred thoufand copies. After the declaration of independence, Congrefs unanimoufly, and unknown to me, appointed me fecretary in the foreign department. This was agreeable to me, be caufe it gave me.the opportunity of feeing into the abilities of foreign ctiurts, and their manner of doing bufinefs. But a mifunderftanding arifing between congrefs and me, , refpefting one of their commiSfioners, then in Europe, Mr. Silas Dearie, I refigned the office, and declined, at the fame time, the pecuniary offers made me by the ministers of France and Spain, M. Gerard and Don Juan Mirralles. I had by this time fo completely galued the ear and confidence of America, and my own independence was become fo visible as to give me a range in political writing, be yond, perhaps, what any man ever poffeSfed in any country ; and what is more extra. ordinary, I held it undiminilhed to the end of the war, and enjoy it inthe fame manner to the prefent moment. As my objeft was not myfeif, I fet out with the determina tion, and happily with the difpofition, of not being moved by praife or cenfure, friend- Ship or calumny, nor of being drawn from my purpofe by any perfonaS altercation ; and the man who cannot do this, is not fit for a publick charafter. When the war ended, I went from Philadelphia to Borden-Town, on the eaft banfc of the Delaware, where I have a Small place. Congrefs Was at ttfis time at PriDce- Town, fifteen miles diftant ; and General Washington had taken his head-quarters at Rocky-Hill, within the neighbourhood of Congrefs, for the purpofe of refignirig up his commiS)ion,.(the objeft -far,' which he accepted it being accomplished,) and of retiring to private life. V/h'iie.he was on this bufinefs, he wrote me the letter which I here fubjoin. Rocky* SaS PAI:NE*s WORKS* I begin with charters and corpo- charters were conftrufted fo as to ex- ratibns. prefs in direft terms, " that every, It is- a perverfion of terms to fay, " inhabitant, who is' not a tnember of. that a charter gives rights. It ope- " a corporation, Jhall not exercife. the., rates by a contrary effeft.. that of " right of voting" fuch charters taking rights away. Rights are in. would, in the face, be charters, not hereritly in all the inhabitants'; but of rights, but of exclufion. The ef- charters, by annulling thofe rights in feft is the fame under the form they the majority, leave the right by ex- now Stand ; and the only perfons on clufion in the hands of a few. If whom they operate, are the perfon* Rocky-Hill, Sept. 10, 1783. - I have learned Since I have been at this place, that you are at Bordes-Tov/n. Whe ther for the fake of retirement or ceconomy, I know not. Be it for either, for both, or whatever it may, if you will come to this place, and partake with me, I (hall be exceedingly happy to fee you at it. Your prefence may remind Congrefs of your paft fervices to this country ; and if it is in my power to imprefs them, command my beft exertions with freedom, as they will be rendered chearfully by one, who entertains a lively fenfe of the importance of your works, and who,' with much pleafure, fubferibes himfelf, Your Sincere friend, G.WASHINGTON. During the war in the latter end of the year 1780, I formed to myfelf a defign of coming over to England ; and communicated it to. General Greene, who was then in Philadelphia, on his route to the fouthward, General Waftiington being then at too great a diftance to communicate with immediately. I was Strongly impreSTed with the idea, that if I could get over to England, without being known, and only remain in fafety till I could get out a publication, that I could open the eyes of the country with refpeft to. the madnefsand Stupidity of its government. I faw that the parties in parliament had pufiied themfelves as far as they could go, and could make uo new imprefllons on each other. General Greene entered fully into my views; but the affair of Arnold and Andre happening juft after, he changed his mind, and, under Strong apprehenfions for my fafety, wrote very preifingly to me from Annapolis, in Maryland, to give up the defign, which, with fome reluctance, I did. Soon aft.er this I accompanied Col. Lawrens, fon of Mr. La-wrens, who was then in the Tower, to France, on bufinefs from Congrefs. We landed at L'Orient ; and while I remained there, he being gone forward, a circumftance occurred, that renewed my former defign. An English packet from Falmouth to New- York, with the government difpatches on board, was brought into L'Orient. That a packet Should be taken, is no extraordinary thing; but that the difpatches Should be taken with it, v/ili fcarcely be credited, as they are always flung at the cabin window, in a bag loaded with cannon-ball, and ready to be Sunk at- a mo ment. The faft, however, is ic~ I have Stated it, for the difpatches came into my liands, and I read them. The capture, as I was informed, fucceeded by the following Stratagem : — The captain of the Madame privateer, who fpoke EngliSh, on coming up with the packet, paffed himfelf for the captain of an EngliSh frigate, and invited the captain of the packet on board, which, when done, he fent fome of his own hands back, and fecured the mail. But be the circumftance of the capture what itmay, I Jjieak with certainty as to the government difpatches. They were fent up to Paris, to- Count Vergennes, and '.vhen Col. Lawrens and myfelf returned to America, we took the originals to Conyrefs. By thefe difpatdieo ! faw into the Stupidity of the English cabinet, far more than I etherwife could have done, and I renewed my former defign. But Col. Lawrens was So unwilling to return alone; more especially, as among other matters, we had a charge of upwards of two hundred thoufand pounds fterling in money, that I gave into. his wifiies, and finally gave up my plan. But I, am now certain, that if I could have executed it, that it would not have been altogether unfuccefsfut. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. *aj» whom they exclude. Thofe whofe rights are guaranteed, by not being taken away, exercife no other rights, than as members of the community they are entitled to without a char ter ; and therefore, all charters have no other than an indireft negative operation.' They do not give rights to A, but they make a difference in favour of A by taking away the right of B, ami Confequently are in struments of injiiftice. But charters and corporations have a more extenfive evil effect; than what relates merely to elections^ They are fources of endlefs conten tion in the places where they exift i and they leffen the common rights of national fociety: A native of England, under the operation of thefe charters and corpbrationsj cannot be laid to be an Englishman in the full fenfe of the word. He is not free of the nation, in the fame manner that a Frenchman is free of France; and an American of America. His rights are circumfcfibed to the towh, andi in Ibme cafes^ to the pariih of his birth ; arid all other parts; though in his native landi are to him as a foreign, country. To acT quire a refidence in thefe; he muft undergo a local naturalization by pur- chafe, or he is forbidden or expelled the place. This fpecies of feuda lity is kept uip to aggrandize the corporations at the ruin Of towns 5 and the effeft is vifible. The generality of corporation towns are in a ftate of folitary decay, and. prevented from further ruin, only by fome circumftance in their Situa tion, fuch as a navigable river, or a plentiful furrounding country. AS population is one of the chief fources , of wealth, (for without it land itfelf has no value,) every thing which operates td prevent it muft: leffen the value of property ; and as corporations have not only this ten dency, hut directly this effeft, they cannot but" be injurious. If any policy were to be followed; inftead of that of general freedom, to every perfon to fettle where he chofe, (as in France or America,) it would be more Confident to give encou ragement to new comersj than to preclude their admiffion by exacting premiums front them *. The perfons moft immediately interested in the abolition of corpo rations, are the inhabitants of the towns where corporations are efta bliShed. The instances of Manchef ter, Birmingham, and- Sheffield, Shew, by contrail, the injury which iihpfe Gothic institutions are to pro perty and commerce. A few exam ples may be found, fuch as that of London, whofe natural and commer cial advantage; owing to its Situation1 * Is is difficult to account for the origin of charter and corporation towns, unlefs we fuppofe them to have arifen out qf, or been connefted with, fome fpecies of gar rifon fervice. The times in which they began to jiiftify this idea. The generality of thofe towns have been garrifons; and the corporations were charged with the care of the gates of the towins, when no military garrifon was prefent. Their refufing or granting admiffion to (hangers, which has produced the cufto'm of, giving, felling, and buying freedom, has more of the nature of garrifon authority than civil government. Soldiers are free of all corporations throughout the nation, by the fame propriety that every foldier is free of every garrifon, and no other perfons are. He can -follow any eroplpyment, with the permiffion of his officers, in any corporation lo~v/n throughout the nation. ( 0 % i vw is8 TAINE's WORKS. on the Thames, is capable of bearing up againft the political evils of a corporation ; but in almoft all other cafes the fatality is too vifible to be doubted or denied. Though the whole nation is not fo directly affected by the depreffion of property in corporation towns as the inhabitants themfelves, it par takes of the confequence. By lef- fsning the value of property, the quantity of national commerce is curtailed. Every man is a custom er in proportion to his ability ; and as all parts of » nation trade with each other, whatever affects any of the parts, muft neceffarily commu nicate to the whole. As one of the houfes of the Eng lifh parliament is, in a great mea fure, made up of elections from thefe corporations ; and as it is unnatural that a pure Stream Should flow from a foul fountain, its vices are but a continuation of the vices of its origin. A man of moral honour and good political principles, .cannot Submit to the mean drudgery and difgraceful arts, by which fuch elec tions are carried. To be a fuccefs- ful candidate, he muft be deftitute of the qualities- that constitute a juft legislator : and being thus dif- ciplined to corruption by the mode of entering into parliament ; it is not to be expected that the repre sentative Should be better than the man. Mr. Burke, in fpeaking of the EngliSh representation, has advanced as bold a challenge as ever was gi ven ill the days of chivalry. " Our ',' representation," fays he, " has " been: found perfeilly adequate lo " all t/ie purpofis- for which a repre- << fentation of the people can be de- " fired or devifed. I defy," con tinues he, " the enemies of our con- " ftitution to (hew the contrary." This declaration from a man, who has been in conftant oppofition to all the meafures of parliament the whole, of his political life, a year or two excepted, is moft extraordinary ; and comparing him with himfelf, admits of no other alternative, than that he acted againft his judgment as a member, or has declared con- trary to it as an author. But it is not in the reprefentation only that the defects lie, and there fore I proceed in the next place to the aristocracy. What is called the Houfe of Peers, is constituted on a ground very fimilar to that, againft which there is a law in other cafes. It amounts to a combination of perfons in one common intereft. No reafon can be given, why an houfe of le gislation Should be compofed entirely of men whofe occupation confifts in letting landed property, than why it Should be compdfed of thofe who hire, or of brewers, or bakers, or any other feparate clafs of men. Mr. Burke calls this houfe, " the " great ground and pillar of fecurity to " the landed intereft." Let us exa mine this idea. What pillar of fecuriiy does the landed intereft require more than any other intereft in the Slate, or what right has it to a diftinct and feparate reprefentation from the gene ral intereft of a nation ? The only ufe to be made of this power, (and which it has always made,) is to ward off taxes from itfelf, and throw the burthen upon fuch articles Of consumption by which itfelf would- be leaft affected. - - ' Part II; RIGHTS OF'MAN. 219 That this has been the confequenpe, (and will always be the confequence of constructing governments on com binations,) is evident with reipeft to England, from the hiftory of its taxes. Notwithstanding taxes have en- CreaSed and multiplied upon every article of common confumption, the land-tax, which more particularly af fects this " pillar," has diniinilhed. In 1788, the amount of the land- tax was £. 1,950,000 which is half a million lefs than it produced almoft an hundred years ago *, . notwith standing the rentals are in many inftances doubled fince that period. Before the coming of the Hano verians, the taxes were divided in nearly equal proportions between the land and articles of confumption, the land bearing rather the largeft Share : but fince that a;ra, nearly thirteen millions annually of new taxes. have been thrown upon con fumption. The confequence of which has been a conftant encreafe in the number and wretchednefs of the poor, and in the amount of. the poor- rates. Yet here again the burthen does not fall in equal proportions on the ariftocracy with the reft of the communltyj Their refidences, •whether in town or country, are not mixed with the habitations of the poor. They live apart from diftrefs, and the expence of relieving it. It is in manufacturing towns and la bouring villages that thofe burthens prefs the heavieft -r in many of which it is one clafs of poor fupporting another. Several of the moft heavy and pro ductive taxes are fq. contrived, as to give an exemption to this pillar, thus Standing in its own defence. The tax upon beer brewed for fale does not affeft the ariftocracy, who brew their own beer free of this duty. It falls only on thofe who havel not conveniency or ability to brewj and who muft purchafe it in fmall quantities. But what will mankind' think of the juftice of taxation, when they know, that this tax alone, from' which the ariftocracy are from cir cumftances exempt, is nearly equal to the whole of the land-tax, being in the year 1788, and it is not lefs now, *£. 1,666,1 5a and with its pro portion of the taxes on malt and hops, it exceeds it. — That a Single article, thus partially confumed, and that chiefly by the working part, Should be fubjeft to a tax, equal to that on the whole rental of a na tion, is, perhaps,, a faft not to be paralleled in the histories of reve nues. This is one of the confequences refulting from an houfe of legislati on, composed on the ground of a combination of common intereft; for whatever their feparate politics as to , parties may be, in this they are united. Whether a combination acts to raife the price of any article for fale, or the rate of wages ; or whether it afts to throw taxes from itfelf upon another clafs of the community, the princi ple and the effeft are the fame : and if the one be illegal, it will de dif ficult to Shew that the other ought to exift. * See Sir Job a Sinclair's Hiftory of the Re\enie. The. land-tax in 1646 was £»i473»49S-' 230 PAINE's WORKS. It is to no ufe to fay, that taxes are firft propofed in the houfe of commons ; for as the other houfe has always a negative, it can always defend itfelf; and it would be ridi culous to fuppofe that its acquief- cence in the meafures to be propo fed were not understood before hand- Befides which, it has obtained fo much influence by borough-traffio and fo many of its relations and con nections are distributed on both fides of the commons, as to give it, befides an abfolute negative in one houfe, a preponderancy in the other, in all matters of common con cern. It is difficult to difcover what is meant by the landed intereft, if it does not mean a combinatiqn of arif tocratical land-holders, oppofing their own pecuniary intereft to that of the farmer, and every branch of trade,' commerce, and manufactured In all other refpects it is the only intereft that needs no partial protec tion. It enjoys the general protec tion of the world. Every indivi dual, high or low, Is interested in the fruits of the earth ; men, women, and 'children, of ail ages and de grees, will' him out to affift the far mer, rather than' a harveft Should not be got in ; and they will not act thus by ' any other property. It is the only one for which the common prayer of mankind is put up, and the only one that can never fail from the want of meansl It is the intereft, not qf the policy, but of the existence of man, and when it ceafes he muft ceafe to be. No other Intereft in a nation Stands oh the fame united fupport. Com merce,' manufactures, arts, fciences> °?9 Annual amount of taxes at one hundred years from the conqueft; (, 166) soo.ooq Annual amount of taxes at two hundred years from the conqueft, (1266) !5°>?op Annual amount of taxes at three hundred years from the conquest, (1366)' ' 130,000 Annual amount of taxes at four hundred years from the conqueft, (1466J 100,090 Thefe Statements, and thofe which, follow, are taken from Sir John Sin clair's Hiftory of the Revenue ; by which it appears, that taxes continued decreasing for four hundred years, at the expiration of which fime^ they were reduced three- fourths, viz. from four hundred thoufand- pounds to one hundred thoufand. The peo ple of England of the prefent day, have a traditionary and historical idea of the bravery of their ancestors ; hut .whatever their .virtues or their vices plight have been, they certainly were a people who would not be impofed upon, and who kept government in awe as to taxation, if not as to prin ciple. Though they were not able to expel the monarchical ufurpation, they reftrifted it to a republican 'ceco-' nomy of taxes. Let us now review the remaining three hundred years. Annual amount of taxes at five hundred years from, the conqueft, 0566) - - £.500,000 Annual amount of taxes at fix hundred years from the conqueft, (1666) - - 1,800,000 Annual amount of taxes at .the prefent time, (1791) - - 17,000,000 The difference between ' the firft' four hundred years and the laft three, is fo aftonifhing, as to warrant an opinion, that the national character of the EngliSh has. changed. It would have been impoffible to have dragooned the former English, into the excefs of taxation that now exifts ; and when it is considered that the pay of the army, the navy, and of all the revenue- officers, is the fame now as it wis above a hundred years ago, when the taxes were not above a tenth part of what they are at pre fent, it appears impoffible to account for the enormous increafe and expen diture, on any other ground, than extravagance, corruption, and in trigue *. * Several of the court newspapers have of late made frequent mention of Wat Tyler. That his memory fhould be traduced by court fycophants, and all thofe who Jive on the fpoil of a public, is not to be wondered at. He was, however, the means of checking the rage and injuftice of taxation in his time, and the nation owed much to his valour. The hiftory is concifely this -. — In the time of Richard the Second, a. poll-tax was levied, of one (hilling per head, upon every perfon in the nation, of what ever eftate or condition, on poor as well as rich, above the age of fifteen years. If any favour was Shewn in the law, it was to the rich rather than to the poor ; as no per fon could be charged more than twenty (hillings for himfelf, family, snd fervants though ever fo numerous ; while all other families, under the number of twenty, were charged per head. Poll-taxes had always been odious ; but this being alio op pressive M4- PAINE's WORKS. With the revolution of 1688, and more fo fince the Hanover fuceeffion, came the destructive fyftem of conti- mental intrigues, and the rage for fo- •Teign wars and foreign dominion ; fyftems of fuch fecure myftery that the expences admit of no accounts ; a fingle line Stands for millions. To what excefs taxation might have e>cr tended, had not the French revolu tion contributed to break up the fyf tem, and put an end to pretences, is impofliblei to fay. Viewed, as that revolution ought to be, as the fortu nate means of leffening the load of taxes of both countries, it is of as much importance to England as to France ; and, if properly improved to all the advantages of which it is capable, and to which it leads, de ferve as much celebration in one coun try as the other. In purfuing this fubjeft, I Shall begin with the matter that firft pre fents itfelf, that of leflening the bur then of taxes ; and Shall then add fuch matters and propositions', refpefting the three countries of England, France,, and America, as the prefent profpeft of things appears to jiiftify ; I mean an alliance of the three, for the pur- .pofes that will be mentioned in their proper place. What hds happened may happen again. By the Statement before Shewn of the progrefs of taxation, it is feen, that' taxes" have been leffened fq a fourth part of what they had formerly been. Though the prefent circumftances do not admit of the fame reduction, yet it admits of fuch a beginning, as may accomplish that end in lefs time, than in the former cafe. The amount of taxes for ihe year, ending at Michaelmas 1788, was as follows : Land Tax, - £.1,950,000 Cultoms, - - 3,789,27^ Excife, (including old and new malt,) - 6,751,727 £.12,491,001 pTeffi-e and nnjuft, it excited, as it naturally muft, univerfal deteftaiion among the poor and middle clades. The perfon known by the name of Wat Tyler, whofe proper •name was Walter, and a tyler by trade, lived at Deptford. The gatherer of the poll- tax, on coming to his houfe, demanded tax for one bf his daughters, whom Tyler de clared was under the age of fifteen. The tax-gatherer infifted on fatisfying himfelf, and began an indecent examination of the girl, which enraging the father, he ftruck him with, a hammer, that brought him to the ground, aud was the caufe of h> death. This' circumftance ferved to bring the difcontents to an iffue. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood efpoufed the caufe of Tyler, who, in a few days was joined, ac cording to fome hiftories, by upwards of fifty thoufand men, and chofen their chief. With this force he marched to London, to demand an abolition of the tax, and a re- drefs of other grievances. The court, finding itfelf in a forlorn condition, and unable to make refiftance, agreed, with Richard af its bead; to hold a conference with Tyler in Smith&eld, making many fair professions, courtier like, of its difpofitions to redrefs the«ppreftions. While Richard and Tyler were in converfation on thefe matters, each being on horfehack, Walworth, then mayor of London-, and o-ie of the creatures of the court, watched an oppor'unity, and like a cowardly afTaflin, Slabbed Tyler with a dag ger ; find two or three others falling upon him, he was inftantly Sacrificed. Tvler appears to have been an intrepid difinterefted mm, with refpect to himfelf. All h"s propofals made lo Richard, were on a more juft and public ground, than thofe vhich hid been made to Join by the Barons; and notwithftanding the fycophancy of niftorianr. ar.d men like Mr. Burke, who feek to glifs over a br.fe action of the court hy tra'l icir": Tjler, hi« fame will outlive their falfehond. If -the Barons merited a rant"- merit to be ere&ed in Jtunnymede, Tyler merits one in Smithfield. £art II, RIGHTS OF MAN. 235 Brought over, - £-12,491,001 Stamps^ - - 1,278,214 Mifcellaneous taxes and incidents, - 1,803,755 £-*SfS?z>97° Since the year 1788,' upwards of pne million, new taxes have been Jaid on, befides the produce from the lotteries ; and as the taxes have fn general been more productive jfiiice" than before, the amount may peVtaken, in round numbers, at £.17,000,000 N. B. The expence of collection slnd the draw-backs, which together amount to nearly two millions, are paid out of the grofs amount ; and the above is the nett fum paid Into' the exchequer. " This fum of feventeen millions is applied to two different purpofes j the "one to pay the intereft of the national debt, the other to the cur rent expences' of each year. About nine millions are appropriated to the former; and the remainder, ' bemj nearly eight" millions, to the latter. As to the million, faid to be applied fo tfie reduction of the debt, it is fo mutti like paying with one hand and taking out with the other, as not to merit much notice. It happened, fortunately for France, that She poffeffed national domains for paying off her debt, and there by leffening her taxes : but as this is not the cafe in , England, her re- duftion of. taxes can only take place by reducing the current . expences, which may" now be done to the amount of four or five millions an nually, as will hereafter ^appear. When this is accomplished, it Will more than counterbalance the enor mous charge of the American war ; and the faving will be from the fame fource from whence the evil arofe. As to the national debt, however heavy the intereft may be in taxes ; yet, as it ferves to keep alive a ca pital, ufeful to commerce, it balanots by its effefts a confiderable part of its own weight ; and as the quantity of gold and filver in England is» by fome means or other, Short of it* proper proportion *, (being not more than twenty millions, whereas it Should be fixty,) it would, befide the injustice, be bad policy to ex tinguish a capital that ferves to fup- ply that "defect. But with refpeft to the current expence,- whatever is- Saved therefrom is gain. The excels may ferine tO keep corruption alive; but it has no re-aftion on credit and commerce, like the intereft of the debti It is now very probable, that the EngliSh government (I do hot mean the nation) is unfriendly to the French revolution. Whatever ferves fo expofe the intrigue and leffen the influence of courts, by leitening tax ation, will be unwelcome to thOSe who feed upon the fpoil. Whilft the clamour of French intrigue, ar bitrary power, popery, 'and wooden Shoes could be kept up, the nation was eafily allured and alarmed into taxes. Thofe days are now pad ; deception, it is to be hoped, has reaped its laft harveft, and better times are in profpeft for both countries, and for the world. Taking it for granted, that an al liance may be formed between Eng- * Foreign intrigue', foreign wars, and foreign dominions, will in a great meafure account, for the deficiency. 236 -PAINE-'s W O R K Sr. : land,. Fiance, and America, for .the purpofes hereafter to be mentioned^ the national expences of France and England may confequently be lef- fened. The fame Sleets and. armies will no longer be neceffary to either, and the reduction can be made Ship for Ship on each fide( But to ac complish ,thefe objefts,, the govern ments mull neceffarily he fitted to a common and correfpqn'dent princi ple.- Confidence can never take place^ while an hoftile difpofition rgr mains in either, or where myftery and Secrecy on one fide, is oppofed to candour ,and open^iefs on the other. Thefe matters admitted,, the nati onal expences might be put back^ for the fake of a precedent, to what they were at fome period when France and England, were not enemies. This, confequently, mjuft be prior to. the Hanover fuceeffion, and alfo to the revolution of 1688*. T'le firft inftance that prefents itself, antecer dent to thofe dates,, is , in the very walleful and profligate times of Charl ies the Second ; at which time Eng^ land and France afted as allies. If I have chofen a period, of great ex travagance, it will ferve to Shew modern, extravagance in a ftilfwoi fe light ; efpecially. as the pay of the navy, the army, and the revenue officers has not encreafed fince that time. The peace eftabliShment was then as follows :— See Sir John .Sinclair's Hiftory of the Revenue. . .t .Navy, - ¦ 300,000 Army, r. - 212,000. Ordnance, - - 40,000 Civil Liftj - , 462,115 £, 1,014,115 The parliament, howeyei , <¦ fetjjed the whole annual peace establishment at 1,200,000 f,. If we go back to the time of, Elizabeth, the amount of all the t^xes was but half a mil lion, yet the nation fees nothing du», ring that period, that reproaches it with want of confequence. All circumftances then taken to gether, ariSjng from the French revo lution, from the approaching har mony and reciprocal., intereft qf the two nations; the abolition of court intrigue on both Sides,, and the pro grefs of knowledge in the,; fcience of government, the annual expendi ture might be put back tq one million. and a half, viz. ^ * I happened to be in England at the celebration of the centenary qf the revo lution of 1688. The characters of William and Mary have always appeared .to me deteftable ; the one feeking to deftroy his uncle, and the other her father, to get pofleflion of power themfelves ; yet, as the nation was difpofed to think fomething of that event, I felt hurt at feeing it afcribe the whole reputation of it to a man who had undertaken it as a jpbb, and who, befides what he otherwife got, charged fijt hundred thoufand pounds for. the expence of the little fleet that brought him froni Holland. Geor-e the Firft afled the fame clofe-fifted part as William had done, ana bought the Duchy of Bremin with the money he got from England, two hundred and fifty thoufand pounds over and above his pay asking; and having thus purchafed it at the ejpence of England, added it to his Hanoverian dominions for his own private profit. In fact, every nation that does not govern itftlf, is governed as a jobb. England has been the prey of jobbs ever fince the revolution. : f Charles, like his predeceflors and fucctSTors, finding that war was the harveft of governments, engaged in a war with the Dutch, the expence of which encreafed the annual expenditure to f, 1,833,600, a6 Slated under the date of 1666 ; but the peace establishment was but £ 1,200,000. '»' Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 237 • Navy,- — _ 500,000 1 Army, — _ 500,000 Expences of government, 500,000 £.1,500,000 Even thisfum is fix times greater than the expences of government are in America, yet the civil internal government in England, (I mean that administered by means of quar ter feffions, juries, and affize, and which, in fact, is nearly the whole, and performed by the nation,) is lefs expence upon the revenue, than the fame Species and portion of govern ment is in America. It is time that nations Should be rational, and not be governed like animals, for the pleafure of their ri ders. To read the hiftory of kings, a man would be almoft inclined to fup pofe that government confided in Stag- hunting, and that every nation paid a million a year to a huntfman. Man ought to have pride, or Shame enough to bluSh at being thus im pofed upon, and when he feel his proper charafter, he will. Upon all fubjefts of this nature, there is often paffing in the mind, a train of ideas he has not yet accuftomed him felf to encourage and communicate. Reftrained by fomething that puts on the charafter of prudence, he afts the hypocrite upon himSelf as well as to others. It is, however, curious to obferve how foon this fpell can be diffolved. A fingle exprefiion, boldly conceived and littered, will fometimes put a whole company in to their proper feelings, and whole nations are ailed upon in the fame manner. As to the offices of which any civil government may be' compofed,' it matters but* little by ' what names they are defcribed. In the rotine of bufinefs, as before obferved, whether a man be filled a prefident, a king, an emperor, a Senator, or any thing elfe, it is impoffible that any fervice" he can perform, can- merit from a nation more than ten thoufand pounds a year ; and as no man Should be paid ' beyond his fervices, fo every< man of a proper heart will not accept more. Public money ought to be touched with the moft fcrupuloqs confcioufnefs of honour. It is not the produce of riches only, but of the hard earnings of ' labour and po verty. It is drawn even from the bitternefs of want and mifery. Not a beggar paffes, or perifhes in the Streets, whofe mite is not in that mafs. Were it poffible that the Con grefs of America, could be lb loft to their duty, and to the intereft of their constituents, as to offer General Washington, as prefident of Ameri ca, a million a year, he would not and he could not, accept it. His fenfe of honour is of another kind. It has coft England almoft feventy millions fterling, to maintain a fa mily imported from abroad, of ve ry inferior capacity to thoufands in the nation ; and Scarcely a year has paSTed that has not produced fome new mercenary application. Even the phyficians bills have been fent to the public to be paid. No won der that jails are crowded, and tax. es and poor-rates encreafed. Under fuch fyftems, nothing is to be looked for but what has already happened ; and as to reformation, whenever it come, it muft be from the nation, and not from the government. To Shew that the fum of five hun dred thoufand nounds is more than i3« fufficient to defray all the expences of government, exclufive of navies and armies, the following eftimate is added for any country, of the fame -extent as England. In the firft place, three hundred reprefentatives, fairly elected, are fufficient for all the purppfcs to which legislation can apply, and preferable to a larger number. They may be divided into two, or three houfes, or meet in one, as in France, or in any manner a constitution Shall direft. As reprefentation is always confi dered, in free Countries, as the moft honourable of all Stations, the allow ance made to" it is merely to defray the expence which the reprefenta tives incur by that Service,' and not to it as an office. If an allowance, at the-i rate Of five hundred | pounds per aim. be made to every repre fentative; dedufting for non attendance, f the expence, if the whole number attend ed for fix months, each year, would be- The official departments cannot reafonably exceed the following number, with the falaries annexed : Three offices, at ten thou fand pounds each Ten ditto, at £.5000 each Twenty do. at£.2oooeaeh 40,000 Forty do. at£.ioooeach 40,000 Twohund. do.at£. 500 each 100,000 Three hd. do. at£. 200 each 60,000 Fiveh'und.do. at£. 100 each 50,000 Seven hd. do. at £. 75 each 52,500 }>AINE'« WORKS* If a nation chufej.it can deduct fpur per cent, from all offices, and ipake one of twenty thoufand per ann. All revenue officers are paid out or the monies they collect, and therefore, are not in this .estimation. The foregoing is not offered as ex ift detajl of cjffices, but to Shew the number ahd rate of falaries which five hundred thoufand pounds will fup. port ; and it will, on experienee, be found impracticable to rind bufinefs fufficient to jiiftify even this expence. As to the manner in which office bufinefs is now performed," the Chiefs,' in feveral offices, fuch as the poft- office, and certain offices in the ex chequer, &c. do little more than Sign their names three or four times a year / and the whole duty is performed by under clerks. Taking, therefore,' One million ancf an half as a fufficient peace eftablifh-, ment for all the honeft purpofes of government,' which is three hundred thoufand pounds more than the peace eftabliShment in the profligate and prodigal times of Charles the Second," (notwithstanding,' as has been alrea dy obferved, the pay and falaries of the army, riavy/ and revenue officers. Continue the fame as at that period,) there will remains a furplus of up wards of fix millic-ris Out Of the prefent current expences.' The quef tion then Will be, how to diSpofe of this furplus.'. Whoever has obferved the manner in which trade and taxes twift them-, felves together, muft be fenfible of the impoffibiiity of feparating theni fuddenly. Firft. Becaufe the articles now on hand are already charged with the duty, and the reduftion cannot take place on the prefent Stock,. £.7;'jOoo 30,000 50,000 £-4-97,500 Part II, RIGHTS OF MAN. *39 *• Secondly. Becaufe, on all thofe ar ticles, on which the duty is charged in the grqfs, foch as per barrel, hogf- head, hundred weight, or tun, tlie abolition of the duty does not admit; of being divided down fo as fully to relieve the cqnfumer, wtiq purchafes by the pint, or the pound. The laft duty laid qn ftrong. beer and ale, was three Shillings per barrel, which, if taken off, would leffen the purchafe only half a farthing per pint, and confequently, would not reach to prac tical relief. This being the condition of a "great er part of the taxes, it will be necef fary to look for fuch others as are free from this embarraffment, and where the relief will be direct and vifible, and capable of immediate ope ration. In the firft place, then, the poor rates are a direft tax which every houfe-keeper feels, and who knows alfo, to a farthing, the fum which he pays. The national amount of the whole of the poor rates is not po- fitively known, but can be procured. Sir John Sinclair, in his Hiftory of the Revenue, has Slated it at £.2,100,587. A confiderable part of which is ex pended in litigations, in which the poor, inftead of being relieved, are tormented. The expence, however, is the fame to the pariih from what ever caufe it arifes. In Birmingham, the amount of the poor-tates is fourteen thoufand pounds a year. This, though a large fum, is moderate, compared with the population. Birmingham is faid to contain feverity thoufand fouls, and on a proportion of feventy thoufand to fourteen thoufand pounds poor- rates, the national amount of poor- rates, taking the population of Eng land at feven millions, would be but one million four hundred thoufand pounds. It is, therefore, moft pro bable, that the population of Bir mingham is over- rated. Fourteen- thoufand pounds is the proportion upon fifty thoufand fouls, taking two millions of poor-rates as the national amount. Be it, however, what it may, it is' no other than the confequence of the exceffive burthen of taxes, for* at the time when the taxes were very low, the poor were able to maintain themfelves ; and there were no poor- rates *. In the prefent ftate of things, a labouring man, with a wife and two or three children, does not pay lefs than between feven and eight pounds a year in taxes. He is not fenfible of this, becaufe it is difguifed to him in the articles which he buys, and he thinks only of their dearnefs ; but as the taxes take from him, at lead, a fourth part _ of his yearly earn ings, he" is confequently difabled from providing for a family, efpeci ally if himfelf, or any of them, are airlifted with ficknefs. The firft ftep, therefore, of practi cal relief, would be to abolish the poor-rates entirely, and in lieu there of, to make a remiffion of taxes to the poor of double the amount of the prefent poor-rates, viz. four millions annually out of the furplus taxes* By this meafure, the poor would be benefited two millions, and the house keepers two millions. This alone would be equal to a feduftion of one * Poor-rates began about the time of Henry the Eighth, when the taxes began to encrcafe, and they have encreafed as the taxes encreafed ever fince. %\o PAINE's WORKS-.' hundred and twenty millions of the national debt, and confequently equal to the whole expence of the American war. it will then remain to be confidered which is the moft effectual mode of difcributing this remiffion of four millions'. It is eafily feen, that the poor are generally compofed of targe families cf children, and old people pad their labour. If thefe two claffes are pro vided for, the remedy will fb - far reacri to tlSe full extent of the cafe, that what remains will be Incidental, and, in a great meafure, fall within the compafs of benefit clubs, which, thous.h of humble invention, merit to be ranked amongft the beft of modern inftitutions. Admitting England to contain feven million of fouls ; if one -fifth thereof are Of that clafs of poor which need Support, the number Will be one mil lion four hundred thoufand. Of this number, one hundred and forty thou fand will be aged poor, as will be hereafter Shewn, and for which a dif tinft provifion will be propofed. There will then remain one million two hundred- and fixty thoufand, which, at five fouls to each family, amount to two hundred and fifty-two thoulind families, rendered poor from the expence of children and the weight of tp.xes. The number of children under fourteen years of age, in each of thofe families, will be found to be about five to every two families ; fome having two, and others three ; fome one, and others four ; fome none,- and others five; but it rarely happens that more than five are under fourteen years of age, and after this age they are* capable of fervice or" of being apprenticed. Allowing five children (under four* teen years) to every two families, The number of children' will be - 630,000" The number of parents were they all living, would be 504.,ob6 It is certain, that if the children are provided for, the parents, are re lieved of confequence, becaufe it is from the expence of bringing up chil dren that their poverty arifes. Having thus afcertained the greateft number that can be fuppofed to need fopport on account of young families, I proceed to the mode of relief or' distribution, which is, To pay as a remiffion of taxes to every poor family, out of the furplus taxes, and in room of poor-rates, four pounds a year for every child under fourteen years of age ; enjoin ing the parents of fuch children to fend them to fchool, to learn read ing, writing, and common arithme tic ; the minifters of every pariih, of every denomination, to certify jointly to an office, for that purpofe, that this duty is performed. The amount of this ex- pence will be, For fix hundred and thirty thou fand children, at four pounds per ann. each, £.2,520,000 By adopting this method, not only the poverty of the parents will be re- !ie/ed, but ignorance will be banifhed from the rifing generation, and the number of poor will hereafter become lefs, becaufe their abilities, by the aid of education, will be greater. Many a youth, with good natural genius, who is apprenticed to a mechanical trade, fuch as a carpenter, joiner, P ART II. RIGHTS ©F MAN. 141 millwright, Shipwright, blackfmith, &c. is prevented getting forward the whole of his life, from the want of a little common education when abqy. I now proceed to the cafe of the aged. I divide age into two claffes. Firft, the approach of age beginning at fifty. Secondly, old age commenc ing at fixty. At fifty, though the mental facul ties of man are in full vigour, and his judgment better than at any pre ceding date, the bodily powers for la borious life are on the decline. He cannot bear the fame quantity of fa tigue as at an earlier period. He begins to earn lefs, and is lefs capable of enduring wind and weather ; and in' thofe more retired employments where much fight is required, he fails apace, and fees himfelf, like an old horfe, beginning to be turned adrift. At fixty, his labour ought to be over, at leaft from direct neceffity. It is painful to fee old age working itfelf to death, in what are called civilized countries, for daily bread. To form Some judgment of the number of thofe above fifty years of age, I have feveral times counted the perfons Imetin the Streets of London, men, women, and children, and have generally found that the average is about one in fixteen or feventeen. If it be faid that aged perfons do not come much in the Streets, fo neither do infants ; and a great proportion of grown children are in fchools, and in work-Shops as apprentices. Taking then fixteen for a divifor, the whole number of perfons, in England, of fifty years and upw.irds of both fexesi rich and poor, will be four hundred and twenty thoufand. The perfons to be provided for out of this grofs number will be, huf- bandmen, common labourers, jour neymen of every trade and their wives, ' failors, and diSbanded foldiers, worn out fervants of both fexes, and poor widows. There will be alfo a confiderable number of middling tradefmen,,'who having lived decently in the former part of life, begin, as age approaches, to lofe their bufinefs, and at laft fall to decay. Befides thefe, there will be con ftantly thrown off from the revolutions of that wheel, which no man can ftop, nor regulate, a number from every clafs of life connefted with commerce and adventure. To provide for all thofe accidents, and whatever elfe may befal, I take the number of perfons, who at one time or other of their lives, after fifty years of age, may feel it neceffary or comfortable to be better fupported, than they can fupport themfelves, and that not as a matter of grace and fa vour, but of right, at one third of the whole number, which is one hun dred and forty thoufand, as Slated in page 24.0, and for whom a diftinft provifion was propofed to be made. If the/e be more, fociety, notwith standing the (hew and pompofity of government, is in a deplorable condi tion in England. Of this one hundred and forty thou fand, I take one half, feventy thou fand, to be of the age of fifty and under fixty, and the other half to be Sixty years and upwards. — Having; thus afcertained the probable propor tion of the number of aged perfons, I proceed to the mode of rendering their condition comfortable, which is, To pay to every fuch perfon of the age of fifty years, and until he (hall arrive at the age of fixty, the fum of fix pounds per ann. out of the furplus taxes ; and ten ooimdsperann. during R »4* PAINE*! WORKS. The ex- life after the' age 'of -fixty, pence of whica will be, Seventy tnoufand. perfons at £.6 per aim. 4.20,000 Seventy thouiand peribnS at £. fo per ann. - 700,000 £.1,120,000 This fupport, as already remarked, is not of the nature of a charity, but of a right. , Evei'y perfon in England, male and female, pays on an average in taxes; two pounds eight Shillings and fixpence per ann. from the day of his (or her) birth; and if the ex- pence of collection be'-added, he pays two pounds eleven Shillings and fix- pence ; confequently, at the end of fifty years he has paid one hundred and twenty-eight pounds fifteen (hil lings ; and at fixty, one hundred and fifty-four pounds ten Shillings. Con verting, therefore, his (or her) indi vidual tax into a tontine, the money he Shall receive after fifty years, is but little more than the legal intereft of the net money he has paid ; the reft is made up from thofe whofe cir cumftances do not require them to draw fuch fupport, and the capital in both cafes defrays the expences of government. It is on this ground that I have extended the probable claims to one third of the number of aged perfons in the nation. — Is it then better that the lives of one hun dred and forty thoufand aged perfons be rendered comfortable, or that a million a year of public money be exr pended on any one individual, and him often oft he moil worthlefs or insig nificant charafter ? Let reafon and juftice, kt honour and humanity, let even hypocrify, fycophancy and Mr. Burke, let George, let Louis, Leopold, Frederic, Catharine, Cornwallis, or Tippoo Saib, anfwer the queftion *. The fum thus remitted to the poor will be, To two hundred and fifty- two thoufand poor fami lies, containing fix hun dred and thirty thoufand children, - i, 520,000. To one hundred and forty thoufand aged perfons, 1,120,000 £.3,64.0,000 There will then remain three hun dred and fixty thoufand pounds out of the four millions, part of which may be applied as follows : After all the above cafes are pro vided for, there will ftill be a number * Reckoning the taxes by families, five to a family, each family pays on an average, ill. 17;. 6d. per ann. to this fum are to be added the poor-rates. Though all pay ta^es in the articles they confume, all do not pay poor-rates. About two millions are exempted, fome as not being houfe-keepe- 1, others as not being able, and the poor themfelves who receive the relief. The average, therefore, of poor-rates on the re maining number, is forty {hillings for every family of five perfons, which makes the whole average amount of taxes and rates, 14/. 17*. 6d. For fix perfons, l-jl. 171. For feven perfons, 10/. 1 6s. 6d. ' The average of taxes in America, under the new or reprefentative fyftem of go vernment, including the intereft of the debt contracted in the war, and taking the po pulation at four million of foule, which it now amounts to, and it is daily increasing, is fiye Shillings per head, men, women, and children. The difference,, therefore, be tween the two governments, is as under, . For a family of five perfons For a family of Six perfons For a family of feven perfons England America. 14/1 IJS. 64. 1/. 51. od. 17 17 0 1 10 0 20 16 6 1 15 0 Part II. RIGHTS OF MAri *43 6'f families who, though not properly of the clafs of poor, yet find it difficult to give education to their children ; and fuch children, under fuch a cafe, would be in a worfe condition than if their pa rents were aftually poor; A nation tinder a well regulated government, Should permit none to remain unin- ftrufted. It is monarchical and arif tocratical government only that re quires ignorance for its fupport. Suppofe then four hundred thoufand children to be in this condition, which is a greater number than ought to be fuppofed, after the provisions already made, the method will be, To allow for each of thofe children ten (hillings a year for the expence of fchooling, for fix years each, which will give them fix months fchooling each year, and half a crown a year for paper and fpelling books. The expence of this will be annu^ ally *£. 250,000. There will then remain one hundred and ten thoufand pounds. Notwithstanding the great modes of relief which the beft instituted and beft principled government may de vife, there will ftill be a number of Smaller cafesj which it is good policy as well as beneficence in a nation to confider. Were twenty Shillings to be given to every woman immediately on the birth of a child, who Should make the de mand; and none will make it'beyOnd whofe circumftances do not require it» it might relieve a great deal of inftant diftrefs. There are about two hundred thou fand births yearly in England ; and if claimed, by one fourth; The amount would be £. 50,00c) And twenty Shillings to every new-1" married couple who Should claim in. like manner. This would not ex ceed the Sum of £. 20,000 Alfo twenty thoufand pounds to be appropriated to defray , the funeral ex pences of perfons, who, travelling for work; may die at a diftance from their friends; By relieving parishes from this charge, the Sick Stranger will be better treated. I Shall finish this part of the fub jeft with a plan adapted to the parti cular condition of a metropolis, fuch as London j Cafes are continually occurring in a metropolis different to thofe which occur in the country, and for which a different, or father an additional mode of relief is neceffary. In the coun try, even in large towns, people have a knowledge qf each other, and dif trefs never rifes to that extreme height it fometimes does in a metropolis. There is no fuch thing in the country as perfons, in the literal fenfe of the word, Starved to death, or dying with cold from the want of a lodging. Yet * Public fchools do not anfwer the general purpofe of the poor. They are chiefly in corporation towns, from which the country towns and villages are excluded ; or if ad mitted, the diftance occafions a great lofs of time. Education, to be ufeful to the poor, Should be on the fpot ; and the beft method, I believe to accomplish this, is to enable the parents' to pay the expenfe themfelves. There are always perfons of both fexes to be found in every village, efpecially when growing into years, capable of fuch an undertaking. Twenty children, at ten Shillings each, (and that not more than fix months each year) would be as much as fome livings amount to in the remote parts of ErVgland ; and there are often diftreSTed clergymen's widows to whom fuch an inconie would be acceptable. Whatever is given on this account to children anfwers' tw° pur pofes, to them it is education, to thofewbo educate them it is a livelihood. R a *4* PAINE's WORKS. fuch cafes, and others equally as mi ferable, happen in London. Many a youth comes up to London full of expectations,, and with little pr no money, and unlefs he gets imme diate employment he is already half undone ; and boys bred up in London without, any means of a livelihood, and as it often happens of diffolute parents, are in a ftill worfe condition* and fervants long out of place are not much better off.. In Short, a world of little cafes are continually arifing, which bufy or affluent life knows not . of, to open the firft door to diftrefs. Hunger is not among the poftponea- ble wants, and a day, even a few hours, in fuch a condition, is often the crifis of a life of ruin. Thefe circumftances, which are the general caufe of the little thefts and pilferings that lead to greater, may be prevented. There yet remain twenty thoufand pounds out of the four milli ons of furplus taxes, which, with another fund hereafter to be menti oned, amounting to about twenty thoufand pounds more, cannot be bet ter applied than to this purpofe. The plan then will be, Firft, To erect two or more build ings, or take fome already erefted, capable of containing at leaft fix thou fand perfons, and to have in each of thefe places as many kinds of em ployment as can be contrived, fo that every perlbn who Shall come rnay find fomething which he or She can do. Secondly, To receive all who Shall come, without enquiring who or what they are. The only condition to be> that for fo much, or fo many hours work, each perfon Shall receive fo many meals of wholefome food, and a, warm lodging, at leaft as good as a barrack. That a certain portion of what each perfon's work Shall be worth Shall be referved, and given 'to him* or her, on tlieir going away ; and that each perfon Shall ftay as long, cr as Short time, or come as often as he chufe, on thefe conditions. If each perfon Staid three months, it would affift by rotation twenty-four thoufand perfons annually, though the real number, at all times, would be but. fix thoufand. By eftabliShipg an afylum of this kind, fuch perfons to whom temporary diftreiles occur, would have an opportunity to recruit themfelves, and be enabled to look out for better employment. Allowing that their labour paid but one half the expence of fupporting them, after referving a portion of their earnings for themfelves, the fum of forty thoufand pounds additional would defray all other charges for even a greater number than fix thoufand. The fund very properly convertible to this purpofe, in addition to the twenty. thoufand pounds, remaining of the former fund, will be the pro duce of the tax upon coals, and fo ini- quitoufly and wantonly applied to the fupport of the Duke of Richmond. It is horrid that any man, more efpe cially at the price coals now are, Should live on the diftieffes of a community ; and any government permitting fuch an abufe, deferves to be difmiffed. This fund is faid to be about twenty thoufand pounds per annum. I Shall now conclude this plan with enumerating the feveral particulars, and then proceed to other matters. The enumeration is as follows : Firft, Abolition of two million poor-rates. Secondly, Provifion for two hun dred and fifty-two thoufand poor fa milies. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 2+5 Thirdly, Education for one million and thirty thoufand children. Fourthly, Comfortable provision for one -hundred and forty thoufand aged perfons. Fifthly, Donation of twenty fh.il- Mngs each for fifty thoufand births. Sixthly, Donation of twenty Shil lings each for twenty thoufand^ mar- , riages. Seventhly, Allowance of twenty thoufand pounds for the funeral ex pences of ..perfons travelling for work, aad- dying at a diftance from their friends. Eighthly, Employment, at all times, for the cafual poor in the cities of iondon and Weftminfter. By the operation of this plan, the poor laws, thole instruments of civil torture, will be fuperceded, and the" wafteful expence of litigation prevent ed. The hearts of the humane will not be Shocked by ragged and hungry children, and perfons of feventy and eighty years of age begging for bread. The dying poor will not be dragged from place to place to breathe their laft, as a reprifal of parish upon pa rish. Widows will have a mainte nance for their children, and not be carted away, on the death of their hy.Sban.ds, likeculprits and criminals ; aiscl children will no longer be con fidered as encreafing the diftreffes" of their parents. The haunts of the wretched will' be known, becaufe it will be to their advantage, and the number of petty crimes, the offspring of diftrefs and poverty, will be lef- fened. The poor, as we'll as the rich, will then be interested in the fupport of government, and the' caufe and ap prehension of riots and tumults will ceafe. Ye who fit' in eafe, and Solace yourfelves in plenty', and fuch there are in Turkey and Ruffia, as well as , in England, and who fay to yourfelves. , " Are we not well off," have ye thought of thefe things? Whenyedp* ye will ceafe to fpeak and feel for yourfelves alone. The plan is eafy in practice. It does not embarrafs trade by a Sudden , interruption in the order of taxes, but effefts the relief by changing the ap plication of them ; and the money ne ceffary for the purpofe can be drawn from the excife collections, which are made eight times a year in every mar ket town in England. Having now arranged and conclud ed this fubjeft, I proceed to the next. Taking the prefent current expences at feven millions and an half which is the leaft amount they are now at, there will remain (after the fum of one mil lion and an half be taken for the new current expences, and four millions for the beforementioned fervice); the fum of two millions ; part of which to be applied as follows : Though fleets and armies, by an alliance with France, will, in great meal'ure, become ufelefs, yet the per- ' fons who have devoted themfelves to thofe fervices, and have thereby unfit ted themfelves " for other lines of life, are not to be fufferers by the means that ' make others happy. They are, a dif ferent defcription of men to thofe who form or hang about a court. < A part of the army will remain at lead for fome years, and alfo of the navy, for which a provifion is already made in the former part of this plan of one million, which is alrnoft half a million more than the peace esta blishment of the army and navy in the prodigal* times of Charles the Se cond. Suppofe then fifteen thoufand fol- diers to be diSbanded, and to allow t» H^ PAINE' s WORKS, each of thofe men , three Shillings a week during life, clear of all deduc tions, to be paid in the fame manner as the Chelfea College penfioners are paid, andi for them to return to their trades and their friends ; and alfo fo add fifteen thoufand Sixpences per week to the pay of the foldiers who Shall remain ; the annual expence will be, To the pay of fifteen thoufand diSbanded foldiers, at three , Shillings per week, - £177,000 Additional pay to the re maining foldiers, - " 15,500 Suppofe that the pay to the officers of the diSbanded porps be of the fame amount as the fum allowed to the men, - 117,000 253,500 To prevent bulky, estimati ons, admit the fame fum to the diSbanded navy as to the army, and the fame in- ereafeofpay r 253,500 Total £.507,000 Every year fome part of this fum qf half a million (I omit the odd fe ven thoufand pounds for the purpofe of keeping the account unembafraff- ed) will fall in, and the whole of it in time, as it is on the ground of life annuities, except the encreafed pay of twenty-nine thoufand pounds. As it falls in, a part of the taxes may be taken off; for inftance, when thirty thoufand pounds fall in the duty on hops may be wholly taken off; and as other parts fall in, the duties on candles and foap may be leffened, till at laft they will totally ceafe. There now remains at leaft one m'llion and an half of furplus taxes'. The tax on houfes and windows is one of thofe direft taxes, whicli, tike the poor-rates. Is not confounded with trade ; and, when taken off, the relief will be inftantly felt. This tax falls heavy on the middle clafs of people. The amount of this tax by there. turnsof 1788, was Houfes and windows by /. s. d- . the aft of 1766, 385,45911 7 Ditto ditto by the aft of 1779, i3°>73° '4 5x Total £ 516,199 6 o| If this tax be ftruck off, there will then remain about one million of fur plus taxes', and as it is always proper to keep a fum in referve, for incidenr tal matters, it may be beft not to ex. 4 tend reductions further, in the firft inftance, but to confider what may be accomplished by other modes of reform . Among the taxes moft heavily felt ' is the commutation tax. I Shall, therefore, offer a plan for its abolition, by' fubftituting another in its placej which will affeit three objefts at once : Firft, That of removing the bur then to where it cah beft be borne. Secondly, Restoring juftice among families by a distribution of property, - Thirdly, Extirpating the overgrown influence arifing from the unnatural law of primogeniture, and which is one of the principal fources of cor ruption at elections. The amount of the com mutation tax by the returns of 1788, was, £771,657 0 q When taxes are propofed, thecoun- try is amufed by the plaufible lan guage of taxing luxuries. One thing is called a luxury at one time, and fomething elfe at another ; but the real luxury does not confift in the' article, but 111 the means of pro- Part II. RIGHT'S OF MAN. 447 curing it, and this is always kept out of fight. I know not why any plant or herb of the field Should be a greater luxury in one country than another, but an Overgrown eftate in either is a luxury at ill time's, and as fuch is the proper objeft of' taxation. It is, therefore, right to take thofe kind fax-making gentlemen up on their own word, and argue on the principle themfelves have laid dowft, that of taxing luxuries. If they, or their champion Mr. Burke, Who, I fear, is growing out of date like the man in armour, can prove that ail eftate of twenty, thirty, or forty thoufand pounds a year is not a luxury, I will give up the argument. Admitting that any annual fum, fay for inftance, one thoufand pounds Is neceffary or fufficient for the fup port of a family, confequently the fecond thoufand is of thd nature of a luxury, the third ftill more fo, and by proceeding on, we Shall at laft ar rive at a fum that may not improperly be. called a prohibitable luxury. It would be impolitic to fet bounds to property acquired by indu'ltry, and therefore it is right to place the pro hibition beyond the probable acqui sition to which induftry can extend ; but there ought to be a limit to pro perty, on the accumulation of it, by requeft. It Should pafs in fome other line. The richeft in every nation have poor relations, and thofe often very' near in conSanguinity. The following table of progreSIive taxation is constructed on the above principles, and as a fubllitute for the commutation tax. It will reach the point of prohibition by a regular operation, and thereby fupercede the ariftocratical law of primogeniture, T A B L E I. A tax on all eftates of the clear . .( , . . yearly value of fifty pounds, _ after dedufting' the land tax, arid 'up s. d. To £.500 . o, 3 per pound From 500 to 1090 p 6 per pound On the 2d thoufand 0 9 per pound On the 3d ditto j o per pound On the 4th ditto , . 1 6 per pound On the 5th ditto 2 o per pound On the 6th ditto. 3 o per pound On the 7th ditto 4 o per pound On the 8th ditto ^5 o per pound On the 9th ditto , 6 o per pound On the 10th ditto 7 o per pound - On the nth ditto 8 0 per pound On the 1 2th ditto 9 o per pound On the 13th ditto 10 o per pound On the, 14th ditto ,11 o per pound On the 15th ditto 12 o per pound On the 1 6th ditto 130 per pound On the 17th ditto 14 0 per pound On the 1 8 th ditto 15 o per pound On the 19th ditto ,16 o per pound On the 20th ditto 17 o per pound On the 2.1ft ditto 18 o per pound On the 224 ditto 19 o per pound On tlie 23d ditto ,20 o per pound The foregoing table Shews the pro- greffion per pound on every progref- five thoufand. The following table Shews the amount of the tax on every thoufand feparateiy, and in the laft column, the total amount of all the ¦feparate furhs collefted. TABLE II. '¦ J- I, 0. d. Aneftateof 5o^.3«.at3per£.pays o 12 6 100 3, ,5 0 200 3 2 10 o 300 3 3150 400 3 500 500 3 a c 0 Hi PAINE's WORKS. After 500/.— the tax of fixpence per pound takes place on the Second 500/. — confequently an eftate of 1000/. per ann. pays 21/. 15J. andfo on, For the Total amount. /. 0. d. I. s. I. s. ift 500 at o ipr.p.'j 5 j id 500 at o 6 14 : sl 21 15 . ioi ad 1000 at o 9 37 10 59 5 3d 1000 at 10 50 o 109 5 4th 1000 at 16 75 o 184 5 5th 1000 at a o 100 o 284 5 6th 1000 at 3 o 150 o 434 5 7th 1000 at 40 200 o 634 5 Sth ioooat 50 250 o 880 5 9th 1000 at 60 300 o 1 180 5 10th ioooat 70 350 o 1530 5 nth ioooat $0 400 o 1930 5 12th ioooat 90 450 o 2380 5 13th 1000 at 10 o 500 o 2880 5 14th 1000 at 1 1 o 550 o 3430 5 15th 1000 at 12 o 600 o 4030 5 16th loooat 13 o 650 o 4680 5 17th iqooat 14 o 700 o 5380 5 18th ioooat 15 o 750 o 6130 5 19th 1000 at 16 o 800 o, 6930 5 20th ioooat 17 o 850 o 7780 5 21ft ioooat 18 o 900 o 8680 5 22d ioooat 190 950 o 9630 5 ,23d 1000 at 20 o 1000 o 10630 5 At the twenty-third thoufand the tax becomes twenty Shillings in the pound, and confequently every thoufand be yond that fum can produce no profit but by dividing the eftate. Yet formi dable as this tax appears, it will not, I believe, produce fo much as the com mutation tax ; Should it produce more, it ought to be lowered to that amount upon eftates under two or three thoufand a year. On fmall and middling eftates it is lighter (as it is intended to be) than the commutation tax. It is not till after feven or eight thoufand. a year that it begins to be heavy. The ob jeft is not fo much the produce of the tax, as the juftice of the meafure. The ariftocracy has fcreened itfelf too much, and this ferves to reftore a part, of the loft equilibrium. As an inftance of its fcreening it felf, it is only neceffary to look back to the firft eftabliShment of the excife laws, at what is called the Restoration, or the coming of Charles the Second. The ariftocratical intereft then in power, commuted the feudal fervices itfelf was under by laying a tax on beer brewed for fale ; that is, they compounded with Charles for an ex emption from thofe fervices for thenu felve,s and their heirs, by a. tax to be, paid by other people. The arifto cracy do nqt purchafe beer brewed, for fale, but brew their own beer free of the duty, and if any commutation at that time were neceffary, it ought to have been at the expence of thofe for whom the exemptions from thofe fervices were intended * ; inftead of which it was thrown on an entire dif ferent clafs of men. But the chief objeft of this pro- grefliv.e tax (befides the juftice of ren dering taxes more equal than they are) is, as already Stated, to extirpate the overgrown influence arising from the unnatural law of primogeniture, and which is one of the principal fources of corruption at elections. It would be attended with no good confequences to inquire how fuch vaft * The tax on beer brewed for fale, from which the ariftocracy are exempt, is almoft one million more than the prefent commutation tax, being by the returns of 1788, 1,666,1 52/ aod confequently they ought to take on themfelves the amount of the com mutation tax, as they are already exempted from one which is'almoft a million greater. ?*RTlI< RIGHTS OF MAN, 24J eftates as thirty, forty, or fifty thou fand a year could commence, and that at a time when commerce and manu factures were nqt in a ftate lP admit of fuch acquisitions. Let it be fuf ficient to remedy the evil by putting them in a condition of defcending again to the community, by the quiet means qf apportioning them, among all the heirs and heireftes of thofe fa milies. This will be the more necef fary, becaufe hitherto the ariftocracy have quartered their younger children and connections upon the public in uSelefs polls, places, and offices, which when abolished will leave then! deftitute, unlefs the law of primoge niture be alfo abolished or fuperfeded. A progreffive tax will, in a great meafure, effeft this objeft, and that as a matter of intereft to the parties moft immediately concerned, as will be feen by the following table ; which (hews the nett produce upon every eftate, after fubtrafting the tax. By this it will appear, that after an eftate exceeds thirteen or fourteen thoufand a year, the remainder produces but little profit to the holder, and confequently, will pafs to the younger children, or to other kindred. ' TABLE III. Shewing the nett produce of every eftate, from one thoufand, to twenty- three thoufand pounds a year. No. of thoufands Total tax Nett produce. per ann. fubtratled. iooo/. 21/. 979'- 2000 59 194-1 3000 109 2891 4000 184 3816 5000 284 47 l6 6000 434 55fiS 7000 634 6366 Sooo S80 7120 0000 _ 1180 7820 10,000. 1530 8470 11,000 X930 9070 12,000 2380 9620 13,000 288> 10,120 J4,oocr 3430 10,570 15,009 4p3q 10,970 1 6,000 4.680 1 1,320 17,000 5380 .^1,620 18,000 6130 11,870 19,000 693a 12,170 20,000 7780 J2,220 .21,000 8680 12,320 22,000 963Q 72,370 23,000 10,630 J2,370 N. B. The odd Shillings are dropped in this table. According to this, table, an eftate Cannot produce more than 12,370/. clear of the land tax and the prp- greffive tax, and therefore the divid ing fuch eftates will follow as a matter of family intereft. An eftate of 23,006/. a year, divided into five eftates of four thoufand each ' and one of three, will be charged only 1129/. which is but five per cent, but if held by one poffeffor will be charged 10,630/. Although an enquiry into the origin. of thofe eftates be unneceffary, the continuation of them in their prefent ftate is another fubjeft. It is a matter of national concern. As hereditary eftates, the law has created the evil, and it ought alfo to provide the re medy." Primogeniture ought to be abolished, not only becaufe it is un natural ahdunjuSt, but becaufe the country fuffers by its operation. By cutting off (as before obferved) the younger children from their proper portion of inheritance, the public is loaded with the expence of maintain ing them ; and the freedom of elec tions violated by the overbearing in fluence which this unjuft monopoly of family property produces. Nor is this i$o- PAINE's WORKS. all. It occafions * waftc of national property. A confiderable part of the land of the country Is rendered un productive by the great extent of paiks and ctnfes which this law ferves to keep up, and this at a time when the annual production of grain is not equal to the national confumption *. — In Short, the evils of the arlftocra tical fyftem are fo great and numerous, i'o inconfiftent with' every tiling that is juft, wife, natural and beneficent, that when they are confidered, there ou^ht not to be a doubt that many, who are now claffed under that de fcription, will wiSh to fee fuch a fyf tem abolished. ' What pleafure can they derive from contemplating the expofed condition, and almoft certain beggary of their younger offspring ? Every ariftocrati cal family has an appendage of fa mily beggars hanging round it, which in a few ages, or a few generations, are Shook off, and confoje themfelves with telling their tale, in alms-houfes, work-houfes, and prifbns. This is the natural confequence of ariftocracy. The peer and the beggar are often of the fame family. One extreme pro duces the other.:, to make one rich many muft be made poor ; neither can the fyStem be Supported by other means. There are two claffes of people to whom- the laws of England are partir cularly hoftile, and thofe the mod freiplefs ; younger children and the poor.' Of the former I have juft fpoken ; of the latter I Shall mention qneinftanc* out of the many that might be produced, and with which I Shall clofe this fubject. Several laws are in existence for regulating and limiting workmen's wages. Why not leave them as free to make their own bargains, as the law-makers are to let their farms and houfes ? Perfonal labour is all the pro perty they have. Why is that little, and the little freedom they enjoy to be infringed? But the injustice will appeal- ftronger, if we confider the operation and effeft of fuch laws. When wages are fixed by what is called a Jaw, the legal wages remain Stationary, while every thing elfe is, in progreffion ; and as thofe who make that law, ftill continue to lay on new taxes by other laws, they encreafe the expence of living by one law, and take away the means by another. But if thofe gentlemen law-makers and tax-makers thought it right to limit the poor pittance which perfonal la"bour can produce, and on which a whole family is to be fupported, they certainly muft feel themfelves happily indulged in a limitation on their own part, of not lefs than twelve thoufand a year, and that of property they never acquired, (nor probably any of their anceftors) and of which they have made fo ill a ufe. Having now finifhed this fubjeft, I Shall bring the feveral particulars int0 one view, and then proceed to othef matters. ' The firft Eight Articles are brought forward from page 244,245. 1 . Abolition of two million poor- rates. 2. Provifion for two hundred and fifty-two. thoufand poor families, at the rate of four pounds per tiead for each child under fourteen years of age ; * See the reports on the corn trade. Part II, Rights of Man. ?5* which, with the addition of two hun dred and fifty' thoufand pounds, pro vides alfo education for one million and thirty, thoufand children, ' 3. Annuity of fix pounds (perann.) each for all poor perfons, decayed tradefmeri, or others (fuppofed fe- venty thoufand) of the age of fifty years, and until fixty. 4. Annuity of ten pounds each for life for all poor perfons, decayed tradelmen, and others (fuppofed Seven ty thoufand) of the age of fixty years. 5. Donation of twenty Shillings each for fifty thoufand births. " 6. Donation of twenty Shillings each for twenty thoufand marriages. " 7- Allowance of twenty thoufand pounds for the fuheral expences of perfons travelling for work, and dying at a diftance from their friehds. 8 . Employment at all times for the cafual poor in the cities of London and Weftminfter. Second Enumeration. 9. Abolition of the tax on houfes and windows. ., , jo. Allowance of three Shillings per week for life to fifteen thoufand difbanded foldiers, and a proportion ate allowance to the officers of the dif banded corps. 11. Encreafe of pay to the remain ing foldiers of 19,500/. annually. j 2. The fame allowance to the dif banded navy, and tlie fame encreafe of pay, as to the army. 13. Abolition of the commutation tax. 14. Plan of a progressive tax, ope rating to extirpate the unjuft and un natural law of primogeniture, and the vicious influence of the ariftocratical fyftem*. There yet remains, as already Sla ted, one million of furplus taxes. Some part of this will be required for circumftances that do not immediate ly prefent themfelves, and fuch part as Shall not be wanted, will admit a further reduction of taxes equal to that amount. Among the claims that juftice re quires to be made,, the condition of the inferior revenue officers will merit attention. It is areproach to any go vernment to waile fuch an immenfity of revenue in finecures and nominal * When enquiries, are made into the condition of the poor, various degrees of diltrefs •will moft prqbaljly be found, to render a different' arrangement preferable to .that which is already propoied. Widows with families will be in greater want, than -where there are hiiibands living. There is alfq a difference in the expence of liv|ing in different countries ; and more fo in fuel. Suppofe then fifty thoufand extraordinary cafes, at the rate of 10/. £. per family per ann. . — . , — — 500,000 100,000 Families, at 8/. per family per ann. — , 800,000 ioo,c.o Families, at 7/. per family per ann. — ' 700,000 104,000 Families, at 5/. per family per ann. — 510,000 And inftead of ten Shillings per head for the education of other children, to allow fifty Shillings per family for that purpofe to fifty thoufand families 740,000 Aged perfons as before, 250,000 1,770,0.-0 1,120,000 3,890,000 This arrangement amounts to the fame fum as flated in page 142, including the I50,opo/., for education ; but it provides (including the aged people) for four hundred and four thoufand families, which is almoft one third of al! the families in England. 2JS PAINE's WORK*. and unneceffary places and offices, and ligion is good that teaches, man to be. not 'allow even a decent livelihood to thofe on whom the labour falls. The felary of the inferior officers of the revenue has flood at the petty pittance of lefs than fifty pounds a year, for upwards of one hundred years. It ought to be feventy. About one hun dred and twenty thoufand pounds ap plied to this purpofe, will put ail thofe falaries in a decent condition. This was propoled to be done al moft twenty years ago, but the trea- fury- board then in being, Startled at it, as it might lead to fimilar expecta tions from the army and navy ; and the event was, that the King, or fomebody for him, applied to parlia ment to have his own falary raifed an hundred thoufand a year, which be ing done, every thing elfe was laid afide. With refpect to another clafs of men, the inferior clergy, I forbear to enlarge on their condition ; but all partialities • and prejudices for, or againft, different modes and-forms of religion afide, common juftice will de termine, whether there ought to be an income of twenty or thirty pounds a year to one man, and of ten thou fand to another. I fpeak on this fub jeft with the more freedom, becaufe I am known not to be a Prelbyterian - and therefore the cant cry of court fvcophants, about church and meeting, kept up to amufe and bewilder the nation, cannot be raifed againft me. Ye fimple men on both fides the queftion, do ye not fee through this courtly craft ? If ye can be kept dif- puting and wrangling about church and meeting, ye juft anfwer the pur pofe of every courtier, who lives the while on the fpoil of the taxes, and laughs at your credulity. Every re- good ; and I know of none that in- ftrufts him to be bad. All the before-mentioned calculati ons, fuppofe only fixteen millions and an half of taxes paid into the exche quer, after the expence of collection and drawbacks at the cuftom-houfe and excife-office are deducted ; where as tlie /urn paid into the exchequer is very nearly, if not quite, Seventeen millions. The taxes raifed in Scot- , land and Ireland are expended in thofe countries, and therefore their favings will come out of their own taxes ; but if any part be paid into the Eng lish exchequer, it might be remitted. This vyill not make one hundred thou fand pounds a year difference. There now remains only the nati onal debt to be considered. In the year 1789, the intereft, exclusive of the tontine, was 9,150,138/. How much the capital has been reduced fince that time the minifter beft knows. But after paying the intereft, abo lishing the tax on houfes and win dows, the commutation tax and the poor-rates ; and making all the pro visions for the poor^ for the education of children, the fupport of the aged, the diSbanded part of the army and navy, and encreafing the pay of the remainder, there will be^a furplus of one million. The prefent fcheme of paying off the national debt appears to me, fpeaking as an indifferent perfon, to be an ill -concerted, if not a fallacious job. The burthen of the national debt confifts not in its being fo ma ny millions, or fomany hundred mil lions, but. in the quantity of taxes collefted every year to pay the intereft. If this quantity continue the fame, the -burthen of the national debt is the fame to all intents and purpofes, Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. 25:3- be the capital more or lefs. The only knowledge which the public can have of the reduction of the debt, muft be through the reduction of taxes for paying the intereft. The debt, there fore, is not reduced one farthing to the public by all the millions that have been paid ; and it would require more money now to purchafe up the capital. than when the fcheme began. Digreffing for a moment at this point, to which I Shall return again, I look Back to the appointment of Mr. Pitt, as minifter. I was then in America. The war was over ; and though refentment had ceafed, memory was ftill alive. When the news of the coalition arrived, though it was a matter of no concern "to me as a citizen of America, I felt it as a man. It had fomething' in it which Shocked, by publickly fporting with decency, if not with principle. It was impudence in Lord North ; it was want of firm- nefs in Mr. Fox. Mr. Pitt was, at that time, what may be called a maiden charafter in politics. So far from being hackney ed, he appeared not to be initiated into the firft royfteries of court-in trigue. Every thing was in his fa vour. Refentment againft the coali tion ferved as friendship to him, and his ignorance pf vice was credited for virtue. With the return of peace, commerce and profperity would rife of itfelf ; yet even this increafe was thrown to his account. When he came to the. helm the Storm was over, and he had nothing to interrupt his courfe. It required even ingenuity to be wrong, and he focceeded. A little time Shewed him the fame fort of man as his predecef- fors had been. Inftead of profiting by thole errors which had accumu lated a burthen of taxes unparalleled! in the world, he fought, I might al moft fay, lie advertifed for enemies, and provoked means to encreafe taxa tion. Aiming at fomething, he knew not what, he ranfacked Europe and India for adventures, and abandon ing the fair pretenfions he began with, became the knight-errant of mo dern times. It is unpleafant to fee charafter throw itfelf away. It is more fo to fee one's-felf deceived. Mr. Pitt had merited nothing, but he promifed much. He gave fymptoms of a mind fuperior to the meannefs and corrup tion of courts. His apparent can dour encouraged expectations; and the public confidence, Stunned, wea ried, and confounded by a chaos of parties, revived and attached itfelf to him. But mistaking, as. he has done,. the difguft of the nation agnieft the coalition, for merit in himfelf, he has rulhed into meafures, which a man lefs fupported would not have prefumed to aft. All this feems to Shew that change of ministers amounts to nothing. One goes out, another comes in, and ftill the fame meafures, vices, and ex travagance are purfued. It fignifies not who is minister. The defect lies in the fyftem. The foundation and the fu peril: ufture of the government . is bad. Prop it as you pleafe, it con-' tinually finks into court government, andever will. I return, as I promifed. to the Sub ject of the national debt, that off- fpring qf the Dutch-Anglo revoluti on, and its handmaid the Hanover fuceeffion. But it is now toq late to enquire how it began. Thofe to whom it is due have advanced the money ; and whether it was well or ill Spent, or *54. pocketed, is not their crime. It is, however, eafy to fee, that as the na tion proceeds in contemplating the nature and principles of government, and to underftand taxes, and make comparifons between thofe of Ame rica, France and England, it will be next to impoffible to keep it in the Same torpid Slate it has hitherto been. Some reform muft, from the necef fity of the cafe, foon begin. It is not whether thefe principles p'refs with little or much force in the prefent moment.- TJiey are out. They are abroad in1 the world, and no force can Slop them. Like a Secret told, they are beyond recall ; and he muft be blind indeed that does not See that a change is already beginning. Nine millions of dead taxes is a fe rious thing ; and this not only for bad> but in a great meafure for foreign go vernment. By putting the power of making war into the hands of foreign ers who came for what they could get; little elfe was to be expefted than what has happened. Reafons are already advanced in this work, (hewing that whatever the re forms in the taxes may be, they ought to be made in the current expences of government, and not in the part ap- , plied to the intereft of the national debt. By remitting the taxes of the poor, they will be totally relieved, and all difcoment on their part will be taken away; and by Striking off Such of the taxes as are already mentioned, the nation will more than recover the whole expence of the mad American war. There will then remain only the national debt as a fubjeft of difcon- tent ; and in order to remove, or ra ther to prevent this, it would be good policy in the flock-holders themfelves to confider it as property, fubjeft PAINE'S WORKS* like all other property, to bear fotnd portion of the taxes. It would give to it both popularity and fecurity, and. as a great part of its prefent incon venience is balanced by the capital which it keeps alive, a meafure of this kind woufd fo far add to that balance as to filence objections. This may be done by fuch gradual means as to accomplish all that is ne ceffary with the greateft eafe and con venience. Inftead of taxing the capital, the, beft method would be to tax the in terest by fome progreffive ratio, and tp leffen the public taxes in the fame, proportion as the intereft diminished. Suppofe the intereft was taxed one halfpenny in the pound the firft year,-. a penny more the Secondhand to pro ceed by a certain ratio to be deter mined upon, always lefs than any other tax upon property. Such a tax would, be fubtrafted from the intereft at the time of payment, without any expence of collection. One halfpenny in the pound would leffen the intereft and confequentlyi the taxes, twenty thoufand pounds. The tax on waggons amounts to this, fum, and this tax might be talien off) the firft year.- The Second "year the tax on female fervants, or Some other of the like amount might alfo be taker! off, and by proceeding in this man ner, always applying the tax raifed, from the property of the debt towards its extinction, and not carry it to the. current fervices, it would liberate itfelf. The Stockholders, notwithstanding this tax, would pay lefs taxes than they do now. What they would fave by the extinction of the poor-rates, and the tax on houfes and windows, and the commutation tax, would be confiderably greater than what this Part II. RIGHTS OF M.AN. *5S tax. Slow, -but certain in its operation, amounts to. It appears to me to be prudence to look out for meafures that may apply under any circumftance that may ap proach. There is, at this moment, 3 crifis in the affairs of Europe that requires it. Preparation now is wif dom. If taxation be once let loofe, it will be difficult to re- inflate it; neither would the relief be fo effec tual, as to proceed by fome certain and gradual reduftion. The fraud, hypocrify, and impofi tion of gpvernments, are now begin ning to be too well underftood to pro- mile them any longer career. The farce of monarchy and ariftocracy, in all countries, is following that of chivalry, and Mr. Burke is dreSljng for the funeral. Let it then pafs qui etly to the tomb of all other follies, and the mourners be comforted. The time is not very diltant when England will laugh at itfelf for fend ing to Holland, Hanover, Zell, or Brunfwick for men, at the expence of a million a year, who underftood nei ther her laws, her language, nor her intereft, and whofe capacities would fcarcely have fitted them for the office of a parish conftable. If government could be trufted to fuch hands, it rnuft be fome eafy and fimple. thing indeed, and materials fit for all the purpofes may be found in every town and village in England. When it Shall be Said in any coun try in the workl, my poor are happy: neither ignorance nor diftrefs is to be found among them ; my jails are empty of prisoners, my Streets of beggars ; the aged are not in want, the taxes are not oppreffiVe ; the ra tional world is my friend, becaufe I am the friend of its happinefs : when theSe things can be faid, then may that country boaft its conftitution and its government. Within the fpace of a few years' we have feen two Revolutions, thofe of America and France. In the for mer, the conteft was long, and the conflift fevere ; in the latter, the na tion afted with fuch a confolidated impulfe, that having no foreign enemy to contend with, the revolution was complete in power the moment it ap peared. From both thofe.inftances it ' is evident, that the greateft forces that can be brought into the field of revolutions, are reai'on and common, intereft. Where thefe can have the opportunity of acting, oppofition dies with fear, or crumbles away by con viction. It is a great Standing which- they have now univerfally obtained ; and we may hereafter • hope to fee re volutions, or changes in governments, produced with the fame quiet operation by which any meafure, determinable by reafon and difcuSlion, is accomplished. When a nation changes its opinion and habits of thinking, it is no longer to be governed as before ; but it would. not only be wrong, but bad policy, to attempt by force what ought to be accomplilhed by reafon. Rebellion confifts in forcibly oppofmn- the general will of a nation, whether by a party or by a government. There ought, therefore, to be in every nation a method of occafionally afcer- taining the ftate of public opinion with refpeft to government. On this point the old government of France was fu perior to the prelent government of England, becaufe, on extraordinary oc cafions, recourfe could be had to what was then called the States General. But in England there are no fuch occa sional bodies ; and as to thofe who are %$6 PAlNE's WORrCS". low called Reprefentatives, a great part of them are mere machines_of the court, placemen, and dependants. I prefume, that though all the peo ple of England pay taxes, not an hundredth part of them are eleftors, and the members of one of the houfes of parliament reprefent nobody but themfelves. There is, therefore, no power but the voluntary will of the people that has a right to aft in any matter refpefting a . general reform ; and by the Same right that two perfons can confer on fuch a fubjeft, a thou fand may. The objeft, in all fuch preliminary proceedings, is to find out what the general fenfe of a nation is, and to be governed by it. If it prefer a bad or defective government to a reform, or chufe to pay ten times more taxes than there is occafion for, it has a right fo to do ; and fo long as the majority do not impofe condi tions on the minority, different to what they -impofe on themfelves, though there may be much error, there is no injuftice. Neither will the error continue long. Reafon and dif cuSlion will foon bring things right, however wrong they may begin. By fuch a procefs no tumult is to be ap prehended. The poor, in all coun t-lies, are naturally both peaceful and grateful in all reforms in which their intereft and happinefs is included. It is only by neglefting and rejecting them that they become tumultuous. The objects that now prefs on the public attention are, the French re volution, and the profpeft of a gene ral revolution in governments. Of all nations in Europe, there is none fo much interested in the French revo lution as England. Enemies for ages, and that at a vaft expence, and without any national object, the tip* portunity now prefents itfelf of ami cably clofing the fcene, and joining tlieir efforts to reform the reft of Eu rope. By doing this, they will not only prevent the further effufion of blood, and encreafe of taxes, but be in a condition . of getting rid of a considerable part of their prefent bur thens, as has been already Stated. Long experience however has Shewn, that reforms of this kind are not thofe which old governments wiSh to promote ; and therefore it is to na tions and not to fuch governments, that thefe matters prefent themfelves. In the preceding part of this work, I have fpoken of an alliance between England, France, and America, for purpofes that were to be afterwards mentioned. Though I have no direct authority on the part of- America, I have good reafon to conclude, that She is difpofed to enter into a consi deration of fuch a meafure, provided, that the governments with which She might ally, afted as national govern ments, and not as courts enveloped in intrigue and myftery. That France as a nation, and a national govern ment, would prefer an alliance with England, is a matter of certainty. Nations, like individuals, who have long been enemies, without knowing each other, or knowing why, become the better friends when they difcover the errors and impositions under which they had afted. Admitting, therefore, the probabi lity of fuch a connection, I will ftate fome matters by which fuch an al liance, together with that of Holland, might render fervice, not only to the parties immediately concerned, but to ail Europe. Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. *57 It is, I think, certain, that if the fleets of England, France, and Hol land were confederated, they could propofe, with effeft, a limitation to, and a general dismantling of all the navies in Europe, to a certain propor tion to be agreed upon. Firft; that no new Ship of war Shall be built by any power in Europe, themlelves included. Secondly, That all the navies now in existence Shall He put back, fuppofed to one-tenth of their prefent force. This will fave to France and England at leaft two millions fterling annually to each, and their relative force be in the fame proportion as it is now. If men will permit themfelves to think, as rational beings oUght to think, nothing can appear more ridiculous and abfurd, exclusive of all moral re flections, than to be at the expence of Building haviesj filling them with men, ahd then hauling them into the ocean, to try which can (ink each Other fafteft. Pe*ce, which cofts no thing, is attende'd"wkh infinitely more advantage, than'"any victory with all its expence. But this, though it beft anfwers the purpofe of nations, does not that of court governments, whofe - habited policy is pretence for taxation, places, and offices. It is, I think, alfo certain, that the above confederated powers, toge ther with that of the United States of America, can propofe with effeft, to Spain, the independence of South America, and the opening thofe coun tries of immenfe extent and wealth to the general commerce of the world, as North America now is. With how much more, glory, and advantage to itfelf, does a nation aft, when it exerts its powers to refcue the world from bondage, and to create it felf friends, than when , it employs thofe powers to increafe ruin, defola- tion, and mifery. The horrid fcene that is now acting by the EngliSh go vernment in the Eaft-Indies, is fit only to be told of Goths and Vandals* who, deftitute of principles, robbed and tortured the world they were in capable of enjoying. The opening of South America would produce an immenfe field of commerce, and a ready money market for manufactures, which the eaftera world does not. The Eaft is already a country full of manufactures, the importation of which is not only an Injury to the manufaftures of Eng land, but a drain upon its fpecie. The balance againft England by this trade is regularly upwards of half a million annually fent out in the Eaft. India Ships in filver; and this is the reaSbn, together with German in trigue, and German fubfidies, there is fo little filver in England. But any war is harveft to fuch go vernments, however ruinous it may be to a nation. It ferves to keep, up deceitful expeftations which prevent a people looking into the defefts and abufes of government. It is the lo here ! and the lo there ! that amufes and cheats the multitude. Never did fo great an opportunity offer itfelf to England, and to all Europe, as is produced by the two Revolutions of America and France. By the former, freedom has a national champion in the Weftern world ; and by the latter, in Europe. When an other nation Shall join France, defpot ifm and bad government will fcarcely dare to appear. To ufe a trite ex- preffion, the iron is becoming hot all over Europe. The infulted German and the enflaved Spaniard, the Rufs, S ¦J* PAINE's WORKS. and the Pole, are beginning to think. The prefent age will hereafter merit to be called the Age of Reafon, and the prefent generation will appear to the future as the Adam of a new world. When all the governments of Eu rope Shall be eftabliShed on the repre fentative fyftem, nations will become acquainted, and the animofities and prejudices fomented by the intrigue and artifice of courts, will ceafe. The oppreffed foldier will become a. freeman ; and the ¦tortured failor, no longer dragged along the Streets like a felon, will purine his. mercantile voy age in fafety. It would be better that nations Should continue the pay of their foldiers during their lives, and give them their difcharge and re store them to freedom and their friends, and ceafe recruiting, than retain fuch multitudes at the fame expence, in a condition ufelefs to fociety and them felves. As foldiers have hitherto been treated in moft countries, they might be faid to be without a friend. Shun ned by the citizen on an apprehenfion of being enemies to liberty, and too often infulted by thofe who com manded them, their condition was a double oppreffion. But where' ge nuine principles of liberty pervade a people, every thing is reftored to or der; and the foldier civilly treated, returns the civility. In contemplating revolutions, it is c-afy to perceive that they may arife from two diftinft caufes ; the one, to avoid or get rid of fome great cala mity ; the other, to obtain fome great and pofitive good ; and the two may be diftinguiSlicd by the names of ac tive arid paffive revolutions. In thofe which proceed from the former caufe, -the temper becomes incsnfed and fow- ered ; and the redreSs," obtained by danger,- is too often fullied by revenge; But in thofe which proceed from the latter, the heart, rather animated than agitated, enters ferenelyupon the fob, jeft. Reafon and difcuSlion, perfua^: fion and conviction, become the wea-, pons in the conteft, and it is only when thofe are attempted to be fup-! preffed that recourfe is had to violence. When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, could it ,be obtained,; ' fuch as relief from a burden of taxes and the extinction of corruption, the objeft is more than half accomplished. What they approve as the end, they will promote in the means. * Will any man fay, in the prefent excefs of taxation, falling fo heavily. on the poor, that a remiffion of five pounds annually of taxes to one hun-: died and four thoufand poor families is not a good thing ? Will he fay, that a remiffion of feven pounds annually to one hundred thoufand other pool- families — of eight pounds annually to another hundred thoufand poor fami lies, and of ten pounds annually to fifty thoufand poor and widowed fa milies, are not good things P And to proceed a ftep farther in this climax, will he fay, that to provide againft the misSbrtunes to which all human life is fubjeft, by fecuring fix pounds an nually for all poor, diftreffed, and re duced perfons of the age of fifty and until fixty, and of ten pounds annually after fixty, is not a good thing ? , Will he fay, that an abolition of two million of poor-rates to the houfe- keepers, and of the whole of the. houfe and window-light tax' and of the commutation tax is not a good thing? Or will he fay, that to abolifh, corruptiqn is abad thing ? Part II. RIGHTS OF MA if. atf If, therefore, the good to be ob tained be worthy of a pafiive, rati onal, and coftlefs revolution, it would be bad policy to prefer waiting for a calamity that Should force a violent one. I have no idea, confidering. the reforms which are now paffing and fpreading throughout Euiope, that England will permit herfelf to be the laft; and where the occafion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than wait for a turbulent neceffity. It may be confidered as an honour to the animal faculties of man to obtain redreTs by courage and danger, but -it is far greater honour to the rational faculties to accomplish the fame object by reafon, accommodation, and gene ral confent*. As reforms, or revolutions, call 'them which you pleafe, extend them felves among nations, thofe nations will form cqhneftiohs and conventi ons, and when a few are thus confe derated, the progrefs will be rapid, till defpotifm and corrupt government be totally expelled, at leaft out of two quarters Of the world, Europe and America. The Algerine piracy may then be commanded to ceafe, for it is only hy the malicious, .policy of old governments, againft each other, that it exifts. Throughout this Work, various and numerous as the fubjefts are, which I have taken up and investigated, thefe is only a fingle paragraph upon re ligion, viz. " that every religion is " good, that teaches man to be good." I have carefully avoided to enlarge upon the fubjeft, becaufe I am in-. clined to believe, that what is called the prefent miniftry wifh to fee con tentions about religion kept up, to pre vent the nation turning its attention to fubjefts of government. It is, as if they were to fay, " Look that way, " or any way, but this." But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the re ality of it is thereby deftroyed, I will conclude this work with Slating in. what light religion appears to me. If we fuppofe a large family of children, who, On any particular day, or particular circumftance, made it a cuSlom to prefent to their parent fome token of their friendship and gratitude, each of them Would make a different offering, and moft probably in a dif ferent manner. Some would pay their congratulations, in themes of verfe or profe, by fome little devices* as their genius dictated, or according to what they thought would pleafe; and, perhaps, the leaft of all, not S a * I know it is the bpinion of many df the moft enlightened characters in France (there always will be thofe who fee farther into events than others) not only among the general mafs of citizens, but of many of the principal members of the former Nat ttonal Affembly, that the monarchical plan will not continue many years in that coun try. They have found out, that as wifdom cannot be made hereditary, power ought not ; and that, for a man to merit a million fterling a year from a nation, he ought to Jiave a mind capable of comprehending from an atom to a univerfe ; which, if he had, he would be abo*-e receiving the pay. But they wiltied not to appear to lead the nation fader than its own reafon and intereft dictated. In all the conventions where I have been prefent upon this fubjrtt, the idea always was, that when fuch a time, from the general opinion of the nation. Shall arrive, that tlie honourable and liberal method would be, to make a handfome prefent in fee fimple to the perfon whoever he may be, that fhall then be in the monarchical office, and for him to retire to the en joyment of private- life, ^poffeffing- his-fhare of general rights arid privileges, and to be no more accountable to the public for his time and his conduct than any other citizen. PAINE's WORKS. Jlble to do any of thofe things, would ramble into the garden, or the field, and. gather what it thought the pret tied Slower it could find, though, perhaps, it might be but a fimple weed. The parent would be more gratified by fuch variety, than if the whole of them had afted on a con certed jilan, and each had made ex- aftly the fame offering. This would have the cold appearance of contri vance, or the harSh one of controul. But of all unwelcome things, nothing could more afflift die parent than to know, that the whole of them had afterwards gotten together by the ears, boys and girls, fighting,, fcratching, reviling, and abufing each other about which was the beft or the word prefent. Why may we not fuppofe, that the great Father of all is pleafed wjth variety of devotion ; and that the greateft offence we can aft, is that by which we feek to torment and ren der each other miferable. Ror my own part, I am fully fatisfied that what I am now doing, with an en deavour to conciliate mankind, to ren der their condition happy, to unite nations that havt hitherto been ene mies, and to extirpate the horrid practice of war, and break the chains of Slavery and oppreifibn, is accepta ble in his Sight, and being the beft fervice I can perform, I aft it chear- fully. I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doftrinal points, think alike who think at all. It is only thofe who have not thought that appear to agree. It is in this cafe as with what is called the British con ftitution. It has been taken for grant ed to be good, and encomiums have fupplied the'^lace of proof. But when the nation come to examine into principles and the abufes It admits, it will be found to have more defefts than I have pointed out in this work and the former. As to what are called national re ligions, we may, with as much pro priety, talk of national Gods. It is either political craft or the remains of the Pagan fyftem, when every nation had its feparate and particular deity. Among all the writers of the EngliSh church clergy, who have treated on the general fubjeft qf religiqn, the prefent biShop of Landaff has not been excelled, and It is with much pleafure that I take the opportunity of ex- preffing this token of refpeft. I have now gone through the whole of the fubjeft, at leaft, as far as it • appears to me at prefent. It has been my intention for the five years I have been in Europe, to offer an addrefs to the peopje of England on the fub jeft of government, if the opportu nity prefented itfelf before I returned to America. Mr. Burke has thrown it in my way, and I thank him. On a certain occafion three years ago, I preSTed him to propofe a national con vention to be fairly elected for the purpofe of taking the ftate of the na tion into confideration ; but I found, that however Strongly the parliamen tary current was then fetting againft the party he afted with, their policy was to keep every thing within that field of corruption, and truft to acci dents. Long experience had Shewn that parliaments would follow any change of minifters, and on this they reded their hopes and their expecta tions. Formerly, when divifions arofe re fpefting governments, recourfe was had to the fword, and a civil war en- fued. The favage cuftom is exploded Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. '*6r by the new fyftem, and reference is had to national conventions. DiScuI- fion and the general- will arbitrates the queftion, and to this, private opi nion yields with a good grace, and order is preferved uninterrupted. Some gentlemen have affected to call the principles upon which this work and the former part of Rights of Matt are founded, " a new tangled doftrine." The queftion is not whe- ¦ ther thofe principles are new or old, but whether they are right or wrong. Suppofe the former, I will (hew their effeft by a figure eafily underftood. It is now towards the middle of February. Were I to take a turn into the country, the trees would prefent a leaflefs winterly appearance. As people are apt' to pluck twigs as they go along, I perhaps might do the fame, and1 by chance might ob serve, that a fingle bud on that twig had begun to Swell. I Should reafon very unnaturally, orTather not reafon at all, to fuppoSe this was the only bud in England which had this appearance. Inftead of" deciding thus, I Should in ftantly conclude, that the fame ap pearance was beginning, or about to begin, every where ; and" though the vegetable Sleep will continue longer on' fome trees and plants than on others, and though fome of them- may not bloffom for two or three years, all will be in leaf in the rummer, ex cept thole which are rotten. What pace the political fuminer may keep with the natural, no human foreSight- can determine. It is, however, not difficult to perceive that the fpring is': begun. — Thus wifhin'g, as I Sincerely-'- do, freedom and- happinefs to all na tions, I dole the SECONb part. SOS PAINE's WORKS, APPENDIX. A* .S the publication of this work has been delayed beyond the time in tended, I think Jt not improper, all circumftances confidered, to State the caufes that have occafioned the delay. .The reader wilj probably obferve, that fome parts in the plan contained in this work for reducing the taxes, and certain parts in Mr. Pitt's fpeech at the opening of the prefent feflion, Tuefday, January 31, are fo much aljke, as to induce a belief, that either the Author had taken the hint from Mr. Pitt, or Mr. Pitt from the Au thor.— I will firft point out the parts that are fimilar, and then ftate fuch circumftances as I am acquainted with, leaving the reader to make his own conciufion. Confidering it almoft an unprece dented cafe, that taxes Should be pro pofed to be taken oSf, it is equally as ex traordinary that fueh a meafure Should occur to two perSbns at the fame time ; and Still more fo, (confidering the vaft variety and multiplicity of taxes) that they Should hit on the fame Specific taxes. Mr. Pitt has mentioned, in his fpeech, the tax on Carts and Wag gons — that on Female Servants — the lowering the tax on Candles, and the taking off the tax of three Shillings on Houfes having under feven win dows. Every one of thofe fpecific taxes are a part of the plan contained in this work, and propofed alfo to be taken oil". Mr. Pitt's plan, it is true> goes no farther than to a reduction of three hundred and twenty thoufand pounds; and the reduftion propofecl in this work to nearly fix millions and an half .of revenue, ftill afferting that it was " very nearly, if not quite, " feventeen millions." Mr. Pitt Hates it at i<>, 690,0^0. I know enough of the matter to fay, that he has nqt overHated it. Having thus given the particulars, which correfpond in this work and his fpeech, I will Slate a chain of cjrcumftances that may lead to fome explanation. The firft hint for leffening the taxes, and that as a confequence flowing from the French revolution, is to be found in the Address and Declaration of the Gentlemen who met at the Thatched-Houfe Tavern, Auguft 20, 1 791. Among many other particu lars Stated in that Addrefs, is the following, put as an interrogation to the govemmentoppofers of the French Revolution. " Are they forry that the " pretence for new opprejhve taxes, " and the occafion for continuing many " old faxes will be at an end ? It is well known, that the perfons who chiefly frequent the Thatched Houfe Tavern, are men of court con neftions, and fo much did they take this Addrefs and Declaration refpeft ing the French revolution and the re duftion of taxes in difguft, that the Landlord was under the neceffity of Informing the Gentlemen, who com pofed the meeting of the twentieth, Part II. RIGHTS OF MAN. s65 of Auguft, and who propofed holding another meeting, that he could not receive them*. What was only hinted at in the Ad drefs and Declaration refpefting taxes and principles of government, will be found reduced to a regular fyftem in this work. But as Mr. Pitt's fpeech contains fome of the fame things re fpefting taxes, I now come to give the cjrcumftances before alluded to. The cafe is : This work was in tended to be published juft before the meeting of Parliament, and for that purpofe a confiderable part of the copy was put into the printer's hands in September, and all the remaining copy, as far as page 160, which contains the part to which Mr. Pitt's fpeech is Si milar, was given to him fall fix weeks before the meeting of parliament, and he was informed of the time at which it was to appear. He had compofed nearly the whole about a fortnight be fore the time of Parliament meeting* and had printed as far as page 112, and had given me a proof of the next Sheet, up to page 128. It was then in fufficient forwardnefs to be out at the time propofed, as two other Sheets wei e ready for Striking off. I had be fore told him, that if he thought he mould be Straightened for time, I would get part of the work done at another prefs, which he defired me not to do. In this manner the work flood on the Tuefday fortnight preceding the meeting of Parliament, when all at once, without any previous intimati on, the though I had been with him the evening before, he fent me, by one of his workmen, all the remaining copy, from page 112, declining to go on with the work on any confideration. To account for this extraordinary conduct I was totally at a lofs, as, he Slopped at the part where the argu ments on fyftems and principles of government clofed, an", where the plan for the reduction of taxes, the education of children, andithe fupport of tlie poor and the aged begins ; and Still more efpecially, as he had, at the time of his beginning to print, and before he had feen the whole copy, offered a thoufand pounds for the copy right, together with the future copy right of the former part of the Rights' of Man. I told the perfon who brought me this offer that I Should not accept it, and wished it not to be renewed, giving him as my reafon, that though I believed the printer to be an honeft man, I w ould never put it in the power of any printer or publisher to fupprefs or- alter a work of mine, by making him mailer of the copy, or give to him the right of' felling it to any minifter, * The gentleman who figned the addrefs and declaration as chairman of the meet ing, Mr. Home Tooke, being generally fuppofed to be the perfon who drew.it up, and having fpoken much in commendation of it, has been jocularly accufed of praifing bis own work. To free him from this embarraffment, and to fave him the repeated trou ble of mentioning the author, as he has not failed to do, I make no hesitation in faying that as the opportunity of benefiting by the French Revolution eafily occurred to me, I drew up the publication in queftion, and (hewed it to him and fome other gentlemen ; -who, fully approving it, held a meeting for the purpofe of making it public, and fub- fcribed to the amount of fifty guineas to defray the expence of advertiling. I believe there are at this time, in England, a greater number of men afting on difinterefted principles, and determined to look, into the nature and practices of government them felves, and not blindly truft, as has hitherto been the cafe, either to. government ge nerally, or to parliaments, or to parliamentary oppofition, than at any former peri od. Had this been done a century ago, corruption and taxation had not arrived to tiie bright (hey are now at. i 46 + PAINE's WORKS. or to aiiy otlier perfon, or to treat as a mere matter of traffic, that which I intended Should operate as a principle. His refufal to complete the work (which he could not purchafe) obliged me to feek for another printer, and this of confequence would throw the publication back till after the meeting of Parliament, otherwife it would have appeared that Mr. Pitt had only taken up a part of the plan which I had more fully Stated. Whether that gentleman, or any other, had feen the work or any part of it, is moi * than I have authority to fay. But the manner in which the work was returned, and the particu lar time at which this was done, and that after the offers he had made, are jfufpicious circumftances. I know what the opinionof bookfellers and publish ers is upon fuch a cafe, but as to my own opinion, I chufe to make no de claration. There are many ways by which proof Sheets may be procured by other perfons before a work publicly appears; to which I Shall add acer- ^in circumftance, which is, A ministerial bookfeller in Picca dilly who has been employed, as com. mon report fays, by a clerk of one of the bqards clofely connefted with the miniftry (the board of trade and plan tation , of which HawkSbury is prefident) to publish what he calls my Life (I wifh his own life and that thofe of the cabinet were as good) ufed to have his books printed at the fame printing- office that I employed ; but -when the former part of Rights of Man came out,^ he took his work away in a dud geon; and about a week or ten days before the printer returned my copy, he came to make him an offer of his work again, which was accepted. This would confequently. give him admiffion into the printing- of$ee where the Sheets of this work were then lying; and as book. fellers and printers are free with each other, he would have the opportunity of feeing what was gojng on .-.-Be the cafe however as it may, Mr. Pitt'splan, little and diminutive as it is, would have had a very awkward appearance, had this work appeared at the time the printer had engaged to finish it. I have now Stated the particulars which occafioned the delay, from the propofal to purchase, to the refuftl to print. If all the Gentlemen are innq., cent, it is very unfortunate for them that fuch a variety of fufpicious circum^ Stances Should, without any defign, arrange themfelves together. Having now finished this part, I will conclude with Stating another circum ftance. About a fortnight or three weeks be fore the meeting of Parliament, a final} addition, amounting to about twelve Shillings and fix pence a year, was made to the pay of the foldiers, or rather, theip pay was docked fo much lefs. Some Gentlemen who knew in part, that this work would contain a plan of reforms refpefting the oppreffed condition of foldiers, wished me to add a note to the- work, Signifying, that the part upon that fubjeft had been in the printer's hands fome weeks before that addition of pay was propofed. I declined doing this, left if Should be interpreted into an air of vanity, or an endeavour to excite. fufpicion (for which perhaps there might be no grounds) that fome of the go vernment gentlemen, had, by fome means or other, made out what this work would contain; and had not the print ing been interrupted fo as to occafion a delay beyond the time fixed for publica tion, nothing contained in this appen dix would have appeared. THOMAS PAINE. PAINE's WORKS. LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE ADDRESSERS, ON TH E LATE PROCLAMATION. %^a O U L D I have commanded cir cumftances with a wiSh, I know not of any that would have more generally promoted the progrefs of knowledge, than the late Proclamation, 'and the numerous rotten Borough and Corpo ration Addreffes thereon. They have not only ferved as advertisements, but they have excited- a fpirit of enquiry into principles of government, and a defire to read the rights of man, in places, where that fpirit and that work were before unknown. The people of England, wearied and Stunned with parties, and alter nately deceived by each, had almoft refigned the prerogative of thinking. Even curiofityfiad expired, and a uni verfal languor hadfpread itfelf over the land. The, opposition was vifibly no jotjief than a conteft for power, whilft the mafs of the nation Stood torpidly by as the prize. In this hopelefs ftate of things, the Firft Part of rights of man made its appearance. It had tot combat with a ftrange mixture of prejudice and indifference ; it flood expofed to every, fpecies of newSpaper abufe ; and be sides this, it had to remove the obstruc tions which Mr. Burke's rude and out rageous attack on the French Revolu tion had artfully raifed. But how eafily does even the molt illiterate reader distinguish the Sponta neous fenfations of the heart, from the laboured produftions of the brain 1 Truth, whenever it can fully appear, is a. thing fo naturally familiar to the mind, that an acquaintance commences at firft.light. No artificial light, yet difcovered, can difplay all the pro perties of day-light ; fo neither can the beft invented fiftion fill the mind with every conviction which -truth begets. 466 PAINE's WORKS. To overthrow Mr. Burke's fallaci ous woifk was fcarcely the operationof a day. Even the phalanx of Place men and Penfioners, who had given the tone to the multitude, by clamour ing forth his political fame, became fuddenly filent ; and the final event to himfelf has been, that as he rofe like a rocket, he fell like the Slick. It feldom happens, that the mind refts Satisfied with the fimple detection of error or impofition,;— Once put into motion,' that motion -foon becomes ac celerated : where it had intended to ftop, it discovers new reafons to pro ceed, and renews and continues the pnrfuit far beyond the limits it firft piefcribed to itfelf.— Thus it has hart- pened to the people of England. From a, detection of Mr. Burke's incoherent rhapfodies, and distorted fafts, they toegan an enquiry into firft principles of Government, whilft himfelf, like aw objeft left far behind, became in visible and forgotten. Much as the Firft Part of rights of man impreSTed at its firft appear ance, the progreffive mind foon difco- 'vered that it did not go far enough. It detected errors ; it expofed abfurcli- fies ; it Shook the fabric of political fiperftition ;, it generated new ideas; out it did not produce a regular fyftem of principles in the room of thofe which it displaced. And, if I may gueSs- at the mind of the Government party, they beheld it as an unexpect ed gale that would foon blow ever, and they forbore, like failors in threaten ing weather, to whistle, left they Should encreafe the wind. Every thing, on their part, was profound filence. When theSeconi Part of " rights ** OF man, combining Principle and " PraBice," was preparing to appear, they affected, for a while, to aft with the fame policy as before ; but finding their filehce had no more influence in Stilling the progrefs of the work, than it would have in Stopping the progrefs, of time, they changed their plan, and affected to treat it with clamorous con tempt. The Speech-making Placemen and Penfioners, and Place-expectants, in both Houfes of Parliament, the Outs as well as the Ins, represented it as a filly, infignificant performance ; as a work incapable pf producing any effeft; as fomething, which they were fure the good fenfe of the people would either defpifeof indignantly fpurn ; but fuch was the overftrained awkwardnefs with which they harangued and encouraged eadi qther, that in the very aft of de claring their confidence they -betrayed their fears. As moft of the rotten Borough Ad- dreffers are obfcured in holes and cor ners throughout the country, and to whom a newfpaper arrives as rarely as an almanac, they moft probably have not had the opportunity of know ing how this part of the farce (the original prelude to all the Addreffes) has been afted. For their information, I will fufpend a while the more ferious purpofe of my Letter, and entertain them with two or three Speeches in the laft Seffion of Parliament, which will ferve them for politics till Parliament meets again. You muft know, Gentlemen, that the Second Part of rights OF man, (the book againft which you have been pre- fenting Addreffes, though it is moft probable, that many of you did not know it) was to have come out pre cisely at the time that Parliament laft met. It happened not to be publish ed till a few days after. But as it was well known that the book would Shortly appear, the parliamentary Ora- ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. tors entered into a very cordial coali tion to cry the book down, and they. feegan their attack by crying up the hleftings of the Conftitution. Had it been your fate to have been there, you could not but have been moved to the heart-and-pockets-felt congratulations that paffed between all the parties on this fubjeft of bleffings ; for the Outs enjoy places and penfions and finecures as well as the Ins, and are as devoutly attached to the firm of the houfe. One of the moft confpicuous of this jnotley groupe is the Clerk of the (Jlourt of King's Bench, who calls Slimfelf Lord Stormont. He is alfo called Juftice General of Scotland, and Keeper of Scoon (an oppofition man) and he draws frOm the public for thefe nominal offices, not lefs, as \ am informed, than fix thoufand pounds a year, and he is, moft proba bly, at the trouble of counting the mo ney, and figning a receipt, to Shew, per haps, that he is qualified to be Clerk as well as Juftice. He fpoke as follows : * " That vie Shall all be unanimous, *c in expreSIing our attachment to the " conftitution of thefe realms, I am V confident. It is a fubjeft upon " which there can be no divided opi- " nion in this houfe. I do not pre- 'f tend to be deep read in the know- " ledge of the Conftitution, but I " take upon me to fay, that from the " extent of my knowledge (for I " have fo many thoufands a year for " nothing) it appears to me, that " from the period of the Revolution, " for it was by no means created then, " it has been, both in theory and prac- " tice, the wifeft fyftem that ever was « formed. I never was, (he means " heTnever was till now) a dealer in '.' political cant. My life has not '.' been occupied in that way, but the 'f fpeculations of late years feem U " have taken a turn, for vikich I can- " pot account. When I came into " public life, the political pamphlets '« of the time, however they might " be charged with the heat and vio- '.' lence of parties, were agreed in " extolling the radical beauties of the " Conftitution jtfelf. I remember " (~he means he has forgotten) a moft 'f captivating eulogium on its charms " by Lord Bolingbroke, where he re. " commends his readers to contem- " plate it in all refpects, with the af- " finance that it would be found more " eftimable the more it was fieen. I " do not recolleB his precife words, '.' but I wiSh that men who write upon. " thefe fubjefts would take this for. " their model, inftead of the political " pamphlets, which I am told, are '! now in circulation, (fuch, I fup. '.' pofe, as Rights of Man)— -para- " phlets which I have not read, and *f whofe purport I know only by re- " port, (he means perhaps by the noife «f they make.) This, however, I " am fure, that pamphlets tending '* to unfettle the public reverence for " the confiitutio,n,. will have yery little " influence. They can do very little " harm-^-for (by the by, he is no dealer " in political cant) the Englifli are a " fiber thinking people, and are more " intelligent^ more folid, morefteadyin " their opinions, than any people I ever " had the fortune to fie. (This is " pretty well laid on, though, for a " new beginner.) But if there Should " ever come a time when the propa- " gation of thofe doctrines Should See his Speech in the Morning Chronicle of Feb. i. 268 PAlNE's WORKS. " agitate the public mind, I am ** fitrt, for every one of your Lord- " Ships, that no attack will be made ** on the conftitution, from which " it is truly faid that vie derive all " our profperity, without railing " every one of your LordShips to its *' fupport. It will then be found " that there is no difference among " us, but that vie are all determined' w to ftand 'or fall together, in defence " of the inestimable fyftem" — of places and penfions. After Stormont, on the oppofition fide, fat down, up rofe another nobie Lord', on the ministerial fide, Gren ville. This man ought to be as ftrong in the back as a mule, or the fire of a mule, or it would crack with the weight of places and offices. , He rofe, however, without feeling any incumbrance, full mafter of his weight ; and thus faid' this noble Lord to f other noble Lord ! " The patriotic and manly manner " in which the noble Lord has de- " clared his Sentiments on the fubjeft " of the conftitution, demands my " cordial approbation. The noble " Vifcount has proved, that however " we may differ on particular mea- " furcs, amidft all the jars and diffo- " nance of parties, we are nnani- " incus in principle. There is a per- " feB and entire confent (between us) " in the love and maintenance of the " constitution as happily fubfifiing. " It muft undoubtedly give your Lord- " Ships concern, to find, that the time " is come ! (heigh ho!) when there is *' propriety in thefe expreffions of re- « gard to (o! o! o!) the consti- «s tutio:'. And that there are men " (confound — their — po-li-tics) who " diffeminate doctrines hojlile to the " genuine fpirit of our welt balanced " fyftem, (it is certainly well balanced " when both fides hold places and " penfions at once.) I agree with " the noble Vifcount that they have " not (I hope) much fuccefs. I am '* convinced that there is no danger " to be apprehended from their at- " tempts: but it is truly important " and confolatory (to us place-men, I " fuppofe) to know, that if there " Should ever arife a ferious alarm, " there is but one fpirit, one fenfe, " (and that fenfe, I prefume is not " common fenfe) and one determina- " tion in this houfe.", which un doubtedly is to hold all their places and penfions as long as they can. Both thole fpeeches (excepting the parts enclofed in parenthefes, which are added for the purpofe of illuftra- jion) are copied verbatim from the Morning Chronicle of the ift of Fe bruary laft; and' when the fituation of the Speakers is confidered, the one in the oppofition, and the other in the miniftry, and both of them living at the public expence, by Sinecure, or nominal places and offices, it required a very unblulhing front to be able to deliver them. Can thofe men ferioufly fuppofe any nation to be fo completely blind as not to fee through them ? Can Stormont imagine that the poli tical cant, with which he has larded his harangue, will conceal the craft ? Does he not know that there never was a cover large enough to hide it felf? Or can Grenville believe, that his credit with the public encreafes with his avarice for places? But, if thefe orators will accept a fervice from me, in return for the al- luSions they have made to the Rights of Man, I will make a fpeech for either of them to deliver on the excellence of the constitution, that Shall be as much ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. «6j to the purpofe as what they have fpoken, or as Bolingbroke's captivating encomium. Here it is. i ' That we Shall all be unanimous in expreiling our attachment to the constitution, I am confident. It is, my Lords, incqmprehenfibly good : but the great wonder of all is the wif-' dom ;. for it is, my Lords, the viifeft fyftem that ever was formed. ' With refpeft to us noble Lords, though the world does not know it, it is very well known to us, that we have more wifdom than we know what to do with ; and what is ftill better, my Lords, we have it all in Slock. I defy your LordShips to prove, that a tittle of it has been ufed yet ; and if we do but go on, my Lords, with the frugality we have hitherto done, we Shall leave to Our heirs and fucceffors, when we go out of the world, the whole Slock of wifdom, untouched, that we brought in ; and there is no doubt but they will follow our exam ple. This, my Lords, is one of the bleffed effefts of the hereditary fyftem ; for we can never be without wifdom fo long as we keep it by us, and do not ufe it. 'But, my Lords, as all this wif dom is hereditary property, for the fole benefit of us and our heirs, and it is neceffary that the people Should know where to get a fupply for their own ufe, the excellence of our confti tution has provided a King for this very purpofe, and for no other. But, my Lords, I perceive 3 defeft to which the conftitution is fubjeft, and which I propofe to remedy by bringing a bill into Parliament for that purpofe. _' The conftitution, ray Lords, out of delicacy, I prefume, has left it as a matter qf choice to a King, whether he will be wife or not. It has not, I mean, my Lords, infifted upon it as a conftitutional point, which, I conceive, it ought to have done ;. for I pledge myfelf to your LordShips to prove, and that with true patriotic bold- nefis, that he has no choice in the matter. The bill, my Lords, that I Shall bring in will be to declare, that the^confti- tution, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, does not inveft the King with this choice ; oiir an ceftors were too wife to do that ; and, in order to prevent any doubts that might otherwife arife, I Shall prepare, myLordb, an enafting claufe; to fix the - wifdom of Kings, by aft of Parliament ; and then, my Lords, our Constitution will be the wonder of the world ! ' Wifdom, my Lords, is the one thing needful ; but that there may be no miftake in this matter, and that we may proceed confidently with the true wifdom of the ' constitution, I Shall propofe a certain criterion, where by the exaB quantity of wifdom ne ceffary for a King may be known. [Here fhould be a cry of Hear him ! Hear him !] ' It is recorded, my Lords, in the Statutes at Large of the Jews, " a " book; my Lords, which I haye not " read, and whofe purport I know " only by report," but, perhaps the: bench of Bifkops can recolleB fomething about it, that Saul gave the moft con vincing proofs of royal wifdom be~ fore he was made a King, for he was fent to •feek his father's affes, and he could not find them. ' Here, my Lords, we have, moft happily for us, a cafe in point: This precedent ought to be eftabliShed by aft of Parliament ; and every King, before he be crowned, Should be fent to feek his father's afles, and if he cannot find them, he Shall be declared »7« PAI NE's wife enough to be King; according to the true meaning of our excellent conftitution. All, therefore, my Lords, that will be neceffary to be done, by the enacting claufe that I Shall bring in, will be to inveft the King before-hand with the quantity of wifdort neceffary for this purpofe, left he Should happen not to poffefs it ; and this, my Lords, we can do with out making ufe of any of our own. ' We further read, my Lords, in the faid Statutes at Large of the Jews, that Samuel, who certainly was as mad as any Man-of-Rights-Man now a-days, (hear him 1 hear him I) was1 highly difpleafed, ahd even exaf- perated, at the propofal of the Jews to have a King, and he warned them againft it With all that aSTurance "and impudence of which he was mailer. I have been, my Lords, at the trouble of going all the way to Paternofter- row, to procure an extraft from the printed copy. I was told that I Should meet with it there, or in Amen-corner, for I was then going, my Lords, to rummage for it among the curiofities of the Antiquarian Society I will read the extraft to your LordShips, to Shew how little Samuel knew of the matter. ' The extraft, my Lords, is from i Samuel, chap. 8. » " And Samuel told all the words " of the Lord unto the people that " alked of him a King. " And he Said, This will be the ¦" manner of the King that Shall " reign over you : he will take your " fons and appoint them for himfelf, " for his chariots, and to be his " hoifemen ; and fome Shall run be- " fore his chariots. " And he will appoint him captains " over thoufands, and captains over " fifties, ar.d will fet them to ear his WORK S*. " ground, and to reap his harvest, ini " to make his instruments of war, and " instruments of his chariots. " And he will take your daughter*1 " to be confeftionaries, and to bo " cooks, and to be bakers. " And he will take your fields, and- " your vine-yards, and your olive- " yards, even the beft. of them, and " give them to his fervants. " And he will take the tenth of " your feed, and of your vineyards," " and give to his officers, and to his *' fervants. " And he will take your men-fer-i '' vants, and your maid-fervants, and' •' your goodlieft young men, and " your affes, and put them to his «' work. " And he will take the tenth of " your (beep, and ye Shall be his fer- •' vants. " And ye Shall cry' out in that " day, bicaufe of your King, which, " je Shall have chofen you ; and the " Lord will not hear you on that day." ' Now, my Lords, what can we think of this man Samuel ? Is there a word of truth, or any thing like truth, in all that he has faid ? He pre tended to be a prophet, or a wife man, btit has not the event proved him to be a fool, or an incendiary ? Look. around, my Lords, and fee if any thing has happened that he pretended to foretell ? Has not the moft profound peace reigned throughout the world. ever fince Kings were in faShion ? Are not, for example, the prefent Kings of Europe the moft peaceable of mankind, and the Emprefs of Ruffia the very milk of human kind nefs ? It would not be worth having Kings, my Lords, if it were not that they never go to war. ' If we look at home, my Lords, do we not fee the fame things here as ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. i-l t are Seen every where elfe? Are our young men taken to be horfemen, or foot foldiers, any more, than in Ger many or in Pruffia, or in Hanover or in Heffe ? Are not our failors as fafe at land as at fea ? Are they ever drag ged from their homes, like oxen to the Slaughter-houfe, to ferve on board Ships of war ? When they return from the perils of a long" voyage with the mer chandize of diftant countries, does not every man fit down under his own vine and his own fig-tree, in perfeft fecurity ? Is the tenth of our feed ta ken by tax gatherers, or is any part of it given to the King's fervants ? In Short, is not every thing as free from taxes as the light from Heaven ? ' Ah 1 my Lords, do we not fee the bleffed effect of having Kings in eve ry thing we look at ? Is not the G. R.or the broad R. ftampt upon every thing ? Even the Shoes, the gloves, and the hats that we wear, are enriched with the impreffion, and all our can dles blaze a burnt-offering. • Befides thefe bleffings, my Lords, that cover us from the fole of the foot to the crown of the head, do we not fee a race of youths growing up to be Kings, who are the very paragons of virtues There is not one of them, my Lords, but might be trufted with untold gold, as fafely as the other. Are they not " more fiber, more in- " telligent, more folid, more fieady," and withall, more learned, more wii'e, more every thing, than any youths we " ever had the fortune to fee." Ah ! my Lords, they are a hopeful family. ' The bleffed profpeft of fuceeffion, which the nation has at this moment before its eyes, is a moft undeniable proof of the excellence qf our con ftitution, and of the bleffed heredita ry fyftem ; for nothing, my Lords, but a conftitution founded on thetrueft and pureft wifdom, could admit fuch heaven-born and heaven-taught cha racters into the government.— Permit me now, my Lords, to recal youi" attention to the libellous chapter I have juft read about Kings. I men tion this, my Lords, becaufe if is my intention to move for a bill to be brought into Parliament to expunge that Chapter from the Bible, and that the Lord Chancellor, with the affift ance of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, and the Duke of Clarence, be requefted to write a chapter in the room of it ; and that Mr. Burke do fee that it be truly canonical, and faithfully inferted.'— finis. If the Clerk of the Court of King's Bench Should chufe to be the orator of this luminous encomium on the con ftitution, I hope he will get it well by heart before he attempt to deliver it, and not to have to apologize to Parlia ment, as he did in the cafe of Boling broke's' encomium, for forgetting his leflon ; and, with this' admonition, I leave him. Having thus informed the Addref- fers of what paSTed at the meeting of Parliament, I return to take up the fubjeft at the part where I broke off, in order to introduce the preceding fpeeches. I was then Slating, that the firft policy of the Government party was filence, and the next, clamorous con tempt ; but as people generally chooSe to read and judge for themfelyes, the work ftill went on, and the affectation of contempt, like the filence that pre ceded it, paSTed. for nothing. Thus foiled in their fecond fcheme, their evil genius, like a will-with-a wifp, led them to a third ; when all at s?i PAINE's WORKS. once, a9 if it had been unfolded to them by a fortune -teller, Mr. Dundas had difcovered it by Second fight, this once harmlefs; insignificant book) without undergoing the alteration of a fingle letter, became a moft Wicked and dangerous Libel. The whole Cabinet, like a (hip's crew, became alarmed ; all hands were piped upon deck, as if a conspiracy of elements was forming around them, and out came the Proclamation and the Profe cution ; and Addreffes fupplied the place of prayers. Ye filly fwains, thought I to my felf, why do you torment yourfelves thus ? The rights of man is a book calmly and rationally written j Why then are you fo disturbed ? Did you fee how little or how fufpiciou3 Such conduft makes you appear, even cun ning alone, had you no other faculty, would huSh you into prudence. The plans, principles, and arguments, con tained in that work, are placed before the eyes of the nation, and of the world, in a fair, open, and manly manner, and nothing more is necef fary than to refute them. Do this, and the whole is done; but if ye can not, So neither can ye fupprefs the reading, nor convift the Author ; for that Law, in the opinion of all good men, would convift itfelf, that Should condemn what cannot be refuted. Having now Shewn the Addreffers the feveral Stages of the bufinefs, prior to their being cailed upon, 'like Caefar in the Tyber, crying to Caffius, "help, Caffius, or I fink!" I next come to remark on the policy of the Government, in promoting Addreff es ; on the confequences naturally re- fulting therefrom ; and on the con duft of the perfons concerned. With refpeft to the policy, it evi dently carries with it every mark and feature of difguifed fear. And it will hereafter be placed in the hiftory of extraordinary things, that a pamphlet Should be produced by an individual, unconnected with any feft or partyjj and not feeking to make any, and al moft a Stranger in the land, that Should completely frighten a whole Government, and that in the midft of its moft triumphant fecurity. Such a circumftance cannot fail to prove, that either the pamphlet has irrefifti- ble powers', or the Government very extraordinary defefts, or both. The Nation exhibits no figns of fear at the Rights of Man ; why then Should the Government, unleis the interest of the two are really oppofite to each other, and the fecret is beginning to be known ? That there are two dif tinft claffes of men in the nation, thofe who pay taxes, and thofe who receive and live upon the taxes, iff evident at firtt'fighf ; and when taxa tion is carried to excefs, it cannot fail to difunite thofe two, and fome thing of this kind is now beginning* to appear. It is alfo curious to obferve, amidft all the fume and buftle about Procla mations and Addreffes, kept up by a few noify and interested men, how little the mafs of the nation Seem to care about either. They appear to' me, by the indifference they Shew, not to believe a word the Proclamati on contains ; and as to the Addreffes, they travel to London with the filence of a funeral, and having announced their arrival in the Gazette, are der pofited with the afhes of their predecef-1 fors, and Mr. Dundas writes their hicjacent. One of the beft effefts which the Proclamation, and its -echo the Ad dreffes have had, has been that of ex citing and fpreading curiofity 5 and ifr ADDRESS To THE ADDRESSERS- 47$ ttquires only a fingle reflection to dif- cover, that the objeft of all curiofity is knowledge; When the mifs of the nation faw that Placemen, Penfioners, and Borough-mongers, were the per fons that Stood forward to promote Addreffes, it could not fail to create fufpicions that the public good was Jiot their objeft ; that the charafter of the books, or writings; to which fuch perfons ob&urely alluded, not daring to mention them, was direftly con trary to what they defcribed them to be, and that it was neceffary that eve ry man, for his own Satisfaction, Should exercife his proper right, and read and judge for himfelf. But how will the perfons who have been induced to read the Rights of Man, by the clamour that has been railed againft it, be furprized to find, that, inftead of a wicked, inflamma tory work; inftead of a licentious and profligate performance, it abounds with principles of government that are uncontrovertible— with arguments which every reader will feel, are un answerable— with plans for the increafe of commerce and manufactures — for the extinftion of war-— for the educa tion of the children of the poor— for the comfortable fupport of the aged and decayed perfons of both fexes — for the relief of the army and navy, and, in Short, for the promotion of every thing that can benefit the moral, civil and political condition of man. Why, then, lome calm Obferver will aSk, why is the work profecuted, if thefe be the gpodly matters it con tains : I will tell thee, friend ; it con tains alfo a plan for the reduction of taxes, for lelfening the immenfe ex pences of Government, for abolishing Places and Penfions ; and it propofes applying the redundant taxes, that Shall be fayed by thefe reforms, to the purpofes mentioned in the former pa ragraph, inftead of applying them to the fupport of idle and profligate Placemen and Penfioners. Is it, then, any wonder that Places men and Penfioners, and the whole; train of Court expeftants, Should be come the promoters of Addreffes* Proclamations, and Profecutions ? or» is it any wonder that Corporations and rotten Boroughs, which are at tacked and expofed, both in the Firft and Second Parts of Rights of Man, as unjuft monopolies and public nuifan- ces, Should join in the caValcade ? Yet thefe are the fources from which Addreffes have Sprung. Had not fuch perfons come forward to oppole the Rights of Man, I Should have doubted the efficacy of my own writings : but thofe oppofers have now proved to me, that the blow was well directed, and they have done it juftice, by confef-* fing the fmart. The principal deception in this bu finefs of Addreffes has been, that the promoters of them have not come for ward in their proper characters . They have affumed to pafs themfelves upon the public, as a part qf the public hearing a Share of the burthen of Taxes, and afting for the public gqod ; whereas j they are in general that part of it that adds to the public burthen, by living on the produce of the public taxes. They are to the public what the locufts are to the tree : the bur then would be lefs, and the profperity wquld be greaterj if they were Sha ken off. " I do not come here," faid Ons low, at the Surry County Meeting, " as Lord Lieutenant and Cuftos Ro- " tulorum of the county, but I come " here as a plain country gentleman." , The fact is, that he came there as what he was, and as no other, and 974-- PAINE's WORKS. confequently he came as one of the beings I have been defcribing. If it he the charafter of a gentleman to be fed by the public, as a pauper is by the parish, Onflow has a fair claim to the title ; and the fame defcription will fuit the Duke of Richmond, who led the Addrefs at the Suffex meeting.— He alfo may fet up for a gentleman. As to the meeting in the next ad joining county> (Kent) it was a fcene of difgrace. About two hundred perfons met, when a fmall part of them drew privately away from the reft, and voted an Addrefs: the con-. fequence of which was, that they got together by the ears, and produced a riot in the very aft of producing an Addrefs to prevent Riots. That the Proclamation and the Ad dreffes have failed of their intended effeft, may be collefted from the fi lence which the Government party it felf obferves. The number of Ad dreffes has been weekly retailed in the Gazette ; but the number of Addref fers has been concealed. Several of the AddrefTes have been voted by not more than ten or twelve perfons ; and a confiderable number of them by not more than thirty. The whole num ber of Addreffes prefented at the time of writing this letter is three hundred and twenty, (rotten Boroughs and Corporations included) and even ad mitting, on an average, fcne hundred AddreSlers to each Addrefs, the whole number .of Addreffers would be but thirty-two thoufand, and nearly three months have been taken up in procur- if'.g this number. That the fuccefs of the Proclamation has been lefs than the fuccefs of the Work it was in tended to dil'courage, is a matter with in my own knowledge ; for a greater number of the cheap edition of the Firft and Second Parts of rights of man has been fold in the fpace only of one month, than the whole number of Addreffers (admitting them to be thirty-two thoufand) have amounted to in three months. It is a dangerous attempt in any Go vernment to fay to a Nation, " thou " Jhalt notread." This is now done in Spain, and was formerly done under the old Government of France ; but it ferved to procure the downfal of the latter, and is fubverting that of the former ; and it will have the fame tendency in all countries ; becaufe thought, by fome means or other, is got abroad in the world, and cannot , be restrained, though reading may. If Rights of Man were a book that deferved the vile defcription which the promoters of the Addrefs have given of it, why did not thefe men prove their charge, and fatisfy the people, by producing it, and reading it pub licly ? This moft certainly ought to have been done, and would alfo have been done, had they believed it would have aniwered their purpofe. But the faft is, that the book contains truths. which thofe time fervers dreaded to hear, and dreaded that the people Should know ; and it is now following up the Addreffes in every part of the nation, and convicting them Of falfehoods. Among the unwarrantable proceed ings to which the Proclamation has given rife, the meetings of the Juftices in feveral of the towns and counties ought to be noticed. Thofe men have affumed to re-aft the farce of General Warrants, and to fupprefs, by their own authority, whatever publications they pleafe. ' This is an attempt at power, equalled only by the conduft of the minor defpots of the moft def potic governments in Europe, and yet Address to the addressers. «7l $iofe Juftices affeft to call England a Free Country. But even this, per haps, like the fcheme for garrifoning the country, by huilding military bar racks, is neceffary to awaken the country to a fenfe of its Rights, and, as fuch, it will have a good effeft. Another part of the conduft of fuch Juftices has been, that of threatening to fake away the licences from taverns and public-houfes, where the inhabi tants of the neighbourhood affociated to read and diS'cufs the principles of Government, and to inform each other thereon. This, again, is fimi lar to what is doing in Spain and Ruffia; and the refleftion which it cannot fail to fuggeft is, that the principles and conduct of any Go vernment muft be bad, when that Go vernment dreads and Startles at difcuf- fion, and feeks fecurity by a preven tion of knowledge. If the Government, or the Confti tution, or by^vhatever name it be called, be that miracle of perfeftion "which the Proclamation and the Ad dreffes have trumpeted it forth to be, it ought to have defied difcuSlion and investigation, inftead of dreading it. Whereas, every attempt it makes, either by Proclamation, Profecution, or Addrefs, to fupprefs inveftigation, is a confeffion that it feels itfelf un able to bear it. It is error only, and not truth, that Shrinks from enquiry. All the numerous pamphlets, and all the newfpaper falfehood and abufej that have been psbliShed againft the " rights of man," have fallen be fore it like pointlel's arrows ; and, in like manner, would any work have fallen before the Conftitution, had the Conftitution, as it is called,, been founded on as good political princi ples as thofe on which the rights ot man is written. It is a good Conftitution for cour tiers, placemen, penfions, borough- holders, and the leaders of Parties , and thefe are the men that have been the active leaders of Addreffes ; but it is a bad Conftitution for at leaft: ninety-nine parts of the nation out of an hundred, anil this truth is every day making its way. It is bad, firft, becaufe it entails upon the nation the unneceffary ex- pence of fupporting three forms and fyftems of Government at once* namely, the monarchical, the arifto cratical, and the democratical. Secondly, becaufe it is impoffible to unite fuch a difcordant composition by any other means than perpetual corrup tion ; and therefore the corruption fo loudly and fo univerfally complained of* is no other than the natural confequence of fuch an unnatural compound of Go vernments ; and in this confifts that ex cellence which the numerous herd of placemen and penfioners fo loudly extol; and which, at the fame time, occafions that enormous load of taxes under which the reft of the nation groans. Among the mafs of national delu sions calculated to amufe and impofe upon the multitude, the Standing one has been, that of flattering them into taxes, by calling the Government; (or as they pleafe to exprefs it, the EngliSh Conftitution) " the envy and " the admiration of the world." Scarcely an Addrefs has been voted in which fome of the fpealcers have not uttered this hackneyed nonfenfical falfhood. Two Revolutions have taken place, thofe of America and France ; and both of .them have rejefted the unna- T z «7<* PAINE's WORKS. tural compounded fyftem of the Eng lish Government. America has de clared againft all hereditary Govern ment, and established the reprefenta tive fyftem of Government only. France has entirely rejefted the arif tocratical part, and is now discovering the absurdity oi the monarchical, and is appioaching faft to the reprefenta tive fyftem. On what ground, thep, do thefe "men continue a declaration, refpefting what they call the envy and aftmiration of other nations,, which the voluntary practice of fuch nations, as have had the opportunity of establish ing Government, contradicts and fal sifies. Will fuch men never confine themfelves to truth! Will they be for ever the deceivers of the people ? But I will go farther, and Shew, that, were Government now to begin in England, the people could not be brought to eftabliSh the fame fyftem they now fubmit to. In fpeaking upon this fubjeft (or on any other) on the pure ground of principle, antiquity and precedent ceafe to be authority, and hoary- headed error lofes its effeft. The reafonablenefs and propriety of things muft be examined abstractedly from cuftom and ufage ; and in this point' of view, the right which grows into practice to-day is as much a right, and as old in principle and theory, as if it had the cuftomary fanftion of a thoufand ages. Principles have no connection with time, nor characters with names. To fay that the Government of this country is compofed of King, Lords, and Commons, is the mere phrale- ology of cuftom. It is compofed of men ; and whoever the meq be to whom the Government of any country is entrusted, they ought to be the beft and wifeft that can be found, and if they are not fo, they are' not fit for the Station. A man derives no more excellence from the change of a name, or calling him King, or calling him Lord, than I Should do by changing my name from Thomas to George* or from Paine to Guelph. I Should not be a whit the more able to write a book, becaufe my name were altered ; neither would any man, now called a King or a Lord, have a whit the more fenfe than he now has, were he to caH himfelf Thomas Paine. As to the word " Commons," ap-- plied as it is in England, it is a term of degradation and reproach, and' ought .to be abolished. It is a term unknown in free countries. But to the point. — Let us fuppofe that Government was now to begin in England, and that the plan of go vernment, offered to the nation for its approbation or rejeftion, confifted of the following parts : Firft — That fome one individual Should be taken from all the reft of the nation, and to whom all the reft Should fwear obedience, and never be permitted to fit down in his prefence, and that they Should give him one million fterling a year. — That the nation Should never after have power ' or authority to make laws but with his expreSs conSent, and that his fons and his fons' fons, ^whether wife or foolifh, good men or bad, fit or unfit,- Should have the fame power, and all* the fame money annually paid to them for ever. Secondly. — That there Should be two houfes of Legislators to affift in making laws, one of which Should, in the SirSt inftance, be entirely appoint ed by the aforefaid perfon, and that tlieir fons and their fons' fons, whe- ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. 177 ther wife 01' foolifh, good men or bad, fit or unfit, Should for ever after be hereditary Legislators. Thirdly — That' the other houfe Should be chofen in the fame manner as the houfe, now called the Houfe of Commons, is chofen, and Should be fubjeft to the controul of the two aforefaid hereditary Powers in all things- It would be impoSrible to cram fuch a farrago of impofition and abfurdity down the throat of this or any other nation, that were capable of reafon ing upon its fights and its intereft. They would aSk, in the firft place, on what ground of right, or on what principle, fuch irrational and preposte rous distinctions could, or ought to be made ; and what pretenfions any man could have, or what fervices he could render, to entitle him to a million a year ? They would go farther, and revolt at the idea of configning their ¦children and their children's chil dren, to the domination of perfons hereafter to be born, who might, for any thing they could forefee, turn out to be knaves or fools ; and they would finally difcover, that the pro ject of hereditary Governors and Le gislators was a treafinable ufurpa- tion over the rights of pofterity. Not only the calm dictates of reafon, and the force of natural affeftion, but the integrity of manly pride, would impel men to fpurn fuch propofals. From the groffer abfurdities of fuch a fcheme, they would extend their ex amination to the practical defects-— They would foon fee that it would end in tyranny accomplished by fraud. That in the operation of it, it would be two to one againft them, becaufe the two parts that were to be made hereditary, would form a common in tereft, and Stick to each other ; and that themfelves and reprefentatives would become no better than hewers of 'woodf| and drawers of water for the other.p'arts of the Government. — Yet caty..one of thofe powers King, the other. Lords, and the third, the Commons, and it gives the model of what is called the Englifh Govern ment. I have afferted, and have Shewn* ,- both in the Firft and Second Parts of Rights of Man, that there is not fuch a thing as an English Constitution, and that the people have yet a Con stitution to form. A Conftitutio/i" is a thing antecedent to a Government ; it it the aB of the people creating a Go vernment and giving it powers, and defining the limits and exercife of the powers fo given. But whenever did the people of England, afting in their original constituent charafter, by a de legation elected for that exprefs pur pofe, declare and fay, " We, the pea- '< pie of this land, do- conftitute and " appoint this to be our fyftem and form " of Government ? The Government has affumed to conftitute itfelf, but it never was constituted by the people, in whom alone the right of constitut ing refides. I will here recite the preamble' to the Federal Conftitution of the United States of America. I have Shewn in the Second Part of Rights of Man, the manner by which the Conftitution was formed and afterwards ratified ; and to which I refer the reader.-— The preamble is in the following words : " WE, THE PEOPLE of the " United States, in order to form " a more perfect union, eftabliih " juftice, infure domeftic tran- " quillity, provide for common " defence, promote the general " welfare, and 'fecure the blef- " lings of liberty to ourfelves ?7* PAINE's WORKS. '.' and our pofterity, DO ORDAIN " AND ESTABLISH THIS CON- " stitution for the United " States of America." l" Then follow the feveral1' articles which appoint the manner ):ih which the feveral component parts of the Government, legislative and execu tive, (hall be elected, and the period ©f their duration, and the powers they Shall have : alfo, the manner by which future additions, alterations, or amendments, Shall be made to the Constitution. Confequently, every improvement that can be made in the fcience of Government, follows in that country as a matter of order. It js only in Governments founded on affumption and falfe principles, that reafoning upon, and investigating fyf tems and principles of Government, and Shewing their feveral excellencies and defefts, are termed libellous and feditious. Thefe terms were made part of the charge brought againft Locke, Hampden, and Sydney, and will continue to be brought againft all good men, fo long as bad government Shall continue. The, Government of this country has been oftentatioufly giving chal lenges for more than an hundred years Jiaft, upon what it called its own ex cellence and perfeftion. Scarcely a King's Speech, or a parliamentary Speech, has been uttered, in which this glqve has not been thrown, till the world has been infulted with their challenges. But it now appears that all this was vapour and vain-boafting, or that it was intended to conceal abufes and defefts, and hufh the peo ple into taxes. I have taken the challenge up, and in behalf of the public have Shewn, in a fair, open, and candid manner, both the 'radical and practical defefts of the SySlem ; when, lo! thofe champions of the Civil Lift have fled away, and fent the Attorney- General to deny the challenge, by turning the acceptance of it into an attack, and defending their Places and Penfions by a profe cution. I will here drop this part of the. fubjeft, and State a few particulars refpefting the profecution new pend ing, by which the Addreffers will fee that they have been ufed as tools to the profecuting party and their de7 pendents. Tlie cafe is as follows : The original edition of the Firft and SecondParts of rights of man, having been expensively printed (in, the modern ftile of printing pamphlets, that they might be bound up with Mr. Burke's Reflections on the French, Revolution,) the high price precluded the generality of people from pur- chafing; and many applications were1 made to me from various parts of the country to print the work in a cheaper manner.' The people of Sheffield re quested leave to print two thoufand copies for themSelves, with which re queft I immediately complied. The fame requeft came to me from Rother* ham, from Leicester, from Chefter, from, feveral towns in Scotland ; and Mr. James Mackintosh, Author of ^indi cia Gallica, brought me a requeft from Warwickshire, for leave to print ten thoufand copies, in that country. I had already fent a cheap edition to Scotland; and finding the applications increafe, I concluded that the beft method of complying therewith, would be to print a very numerous edition in London, under my own direction, by which means the work would be more perfeft, and the price he reduced lower' than ' it could be by printing fmall editions' in the country of only a few thoufands each, . "¦ ' ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. The -cheap edition of the Firft Part was begun about the middle of laft April, and from that moment, and not before, I expefted a profecution, and the event has proved that I was not mistaken. I had then occafion to write to Mr. Thomas Walker, of Manchefter, and after informing him *7» to plead Guilty. This he might do if he ' pleafed ; and- I make no objeftion againft him for it. I be lieve that his idea by the word Guilty was no other than declaring himfelf to be the publisher, without any regard to the merits or demerits of the work ; for were it to be conftrued etherwife, ...-.n,,.wiw, aim tULCl iiuuuillllg mm "* ..v.i. ,L IU UC CvlimiUCU UlllCi W11C, of my intention of giving up the, it would amount to the abfurdity of t»m«lr» »am I.L. .- _-_ - — t" - ._ C . 1* j- **.-v%-. w. .-.-.*.!„ . _ . ._ t 1 ' n - . T. . ' wqrk for the purpofe of general infor mation, I informed him of what I ap prehended would be the confequence ; that while the work was at a price that precluded an extenfive circulati on, the Government-party, not able to controvert the plans, arguments, and principles it contained, had cho fen to remain filent ; but that I ex pefted they would make an attempt to deprive the mafs of the nation, and efpecially the poor, of the right of reading, by the pretence of profecut- ing either the Author or the Publish er, or both. They chofe to begin with the Publisher.. Nearly a month, however, paffed, before I had any information given was converting a publisher into a Jury, . and his confeffion into a verdift upon the work itfelf. This would be the' higheft poffible refinement upon pack ing of Juries. On the aift of May, they com menced their profecution againft me, as the Author, by leaving a fummons at my lodgings in town, to appear at the Court of King's Bench on the 8th of June following ; and on the' fame day, (May zi) they iffued alfo their Proclamation. Thus the Court of St. James's, and the Court of King's Bench, were playing into each other's hands at the fame inftant of time, and Jhe farce of Addreffes brought up the rear ; and this mode of j...... o r j -- me of their intentions. I was then proceeding is called by the proftituted at Bromley, in Kent, upon which I name of, Law. Such a thundering came ' immediately to town ; (May rapidity, after a ministerial dormancy 34) and went to Mr. Jordan, the pub- °' almoft eighteen months, can be liflier of the original edition. He had attributed to no other caufe than their that evening been ferved with a fum- having gained information of the for- mons, to appear at the Court of King's wardnefs of the cheap Edition, and Bench on the Monday following, but tne dread they felt at the progreffive for what purpofe was not dated. Sup pofingitto be on account of the work, I appointed a meeting with him on the next morning, which was accordingly had, when I provided an attorney, and took the expence of the defence on increafe of political knowledge. I was 'Strongly advifed by feveral gentlemen, as well thofe in the prac tice of the Law, as others, to prefer a bill of indiftment againft the pub lisher of the Proclamation, as a pub- /UJV. LUC CAULIH-i- VI lmv. ulilull \Jt, , * ,— — • >...— * lu.iumaLiuuj ao a j#uu- iyfelf. But finding afterwards that lication tending to influence, or rather . .Ur.-.aJ l,:.T.r^U" Crr\m fli.» iHnrnev in Hiatal-*, t-hp WfrA'tfcl r\C 1 Tuftr r\n «-Vi» he abfented himfelf from the attorney employed, and had engaged another, and that he had been clofeted with the Solicitors of the Treafury, I left him to follow his own choice, and he chofe to diftate the verdift of a Jury on the iffue of a matter then pending ; but it appeared to me much better to avail myfelf of the opportunity which fuch a precedent justified me in ufiing, by a a* PAINE's WORKS. meeting the Proclamation and the Ad dreffes on their own ground, and pub licly defending the Work which had been thus unwarrantably attacked and traduced. — And conscious as I now am, that the Work entitled rights of man, fo far from being, as has been malicioufly or erroneously repre- fented, a falfe, wicked, and feditious Jjbel, is a work abounding with un- anfwerable truths, with principles of the pureft morality and benevoience, and with arguments not to be contro- yerted— .ConScious, I fay, of thele things, and having no objeft in view hut the happinei's of mankind, I have J»ow put the matter to the bed proof in my power, by giving to the puBlic a cheap edition of the Firft and Se cond Parts of that Work. Let every man read and judge for himfelf, no only of the merits or demerits of the Work, but of the matters therein contained, which relate to his own in tereft and happinefs. If, to expofe the fraud and impo- fition of monarchy, and every fpecies *f hereditary government— to leffen the oppreffion of taxes— -to propofe flans for the education of helplefs in fancy, and the comfortable fupport of the aged and diftreifed — to endeavour to conciliate nations to each other — to extirpate the horrid practice of War — to promote univerfal peace, ci vilization, and commerce — and to break the chains of political fuperfti- tion, and raife degraded man to his proper rank ; — if thefe things be libel lous, let me live the life of a Libeller, and let the name of LIBELLER be en graven on my tomb. Of all the Weak and ill-judged mea- fores which fear, ignorance, or arro- ' gance, could fugged, the Proclama tion, and the project for Addreffes, are two of the worft. They ferved to advertife the work which the proBU). ters of thofe meafures wished to keep unknown ; and in doing this, they of. fered violence to the judgment of the people, by calling on them to condemn. what they forbad them to know, and > they put the ftrength of their party to that hazardous iffue that prudence would have avoided. —The County Meeting for Middlefex was attended by only one hundred and eighteen Ad» dreffers. They, no doubt, expefted, that thoufands would flock to theif Standard, and plamour againft the Rights of Man. But the cafe molt probably is, that men, in all countries, are not fo blind to their Rights and their Intereft, as Governments believe. Having thus Shewn the extraordina. ry mariner in which the Government- party commenced their attack, I pro ceed to offer a few obfervations on the profecution, and on the mode of trial by Special Jury. In the firft place, I have written a book ; and if it cannot be refuted, -if cannot be condemned. But I do not confider the proSecution as particular ly leveled againft me, but againft the general right, or the right of eve ry man, of investigating fyftems and principles of Government, and Shew. ing their feveral excellencies or defeftsi If the prefs be free only to flatter Government, as Mr. Burke has done, and to cry up and extol what certain Court fycophants are pleafed to call a " glorious Constitution," and not free to examine into its errors or abu fes, or whether a Conftitution real ly exift or not, fuch freedom is. no other than that of Spain, Turkey, or Riffia ; and a Jury, in this cafe,, would not be a Jury to try, but an Inquifiti- on to condemn. I have afferted, and by fair open ar gument maintained, the right of eve- ADDRESS TO THE ADJDRESSERS. a** vy nation at ill times, fo eftaWISh |uch a fyftem and form of Government for itfelf as beft accord® with its dis position, intereft, and happinefs ; and to change, or alter it, as it fees oc casion. Will any Jury deny to the Nation this right r If they do, they are traitors, and their Verdift would be null and void. And if they ad mit the right, the means muft be adr mitted alfo ; for it would be. the high- eft abfurdity to fay, that the right exifted, but the means did not. The flueftion, then, is, What are the means by which the poffeflion and ex ercife of this National Right are to he fecuxed ? The anfwer will be, that pf maintaining^ inviolably, the right of free inveftigation ; for investiga tion alway s ferves to deteft error, and .to bring forth truth. I have, as. an individual, given my opinion upon what I believe to be not pnly the beft, but the true fyftem Of Government, which is the reprefenta tive fyftem, and I have given reafons ^br that opinion. Firft, Becaufe, in the reprefenta tive system, no office of very extra ordinary power, or extravagant pay, is attached to any individual ; and con - jfequently, there is nothing to excite thofe national cnntentions and civil wars, wjth which countries under mo narchical governments, are frequently convulfed, and Of Which the Hiftory of England exhibits fuch numerous inftances. Secondly, Becaufe the reprefenta tive is a iyftem of Government always in maturity ; whereas monarchical government fluctuates through all the Stages, from non-age to dotage. Thirdly,. Becaufe the reprefenta tive fyftem admits of none but men, properly qualified, into the Govern ment; or removes them if they prov? to be otherwife. Whereas, in the he reditary fyStem, a nation may be en cumbered With a knave or An ideot, for a whole life-time, and not be benefited by a fuccffffor. Fourthly, Becaufe there does not exift a right to eftabliSh hereditary go vernment, or in other words, heredi». tary fucceffors, becaufe hereditary go vernment always means a government yet to come, and the cafe always is» that thofe who are to live afterwards haye always the fame right to eftabliSh government for themfelves, as the people had who lived before them , and, therefore, all laws attempting to eftabliSh hereditary government, are founded on affumption and political fiction. If thefe pofitions be truths, and I challenge any man to prove the con trary ; if they tend to inftruft and enlighten mankind, and to free then* from error, oppreflion, and political fuperftition, which are the objefts I have in view, in publishing them, that Jury would commit an aft ef injustice to their country, arid, to me, , if not an aft of perjury, that Should call them falfe, wicked, and malicious. Dragonetti, in his Treatife, " on Virtues and Rewards," has a para graph worthy of being recorded in every country in the World — " The " fcience, (fays he,) of the politici- " an, confifts in fixing the true point " qf happinefs and freedom. Thofe " men would deferve the gratitude of ' *' ages, who Should discover, a mode " of government that contained the «« greateft fum of individual happi- " nefis with the leaft national expence ." But if Juries are to be made ufe of to prohibit enquiry, to fupprefs rruthr and to ftop the progress of knowledge, lis PAINE's WORKS. this boafted palladium of liberty be comes the moft fuccefsful inftrument of tyranny. Among the arts praftifed at the Bar, and from the Bench, to impofe upon the underftanding of a Jury, and obtain a Verdift where the confiden ces of men could not otherwife con fent, one of the moft fuccefsful has teen that of calling truth a libel, and of infinuating, that the words, " falfe - *' ly, wickedly, and malicioufty," though they are made the formidable and high founding part of the charge, are not matters for confideration with a Jury. For what purpofe, then, are they re tained, unlefs it be for that of impo fition and wilful defamation ? I cannot conceive a greater violati on of order, nor a more abominable infult upon morality and upqn human underftanding, than to fee a man fit ting in the judgment feat, affecting, hy an antiquated foppery of drefs, to imprefs the audience with awe ; then caufing witneffes and Jury to be fworn to truth and juftice, himfelf having officially fworn the fame; then cau fing to be read a profecution againft a man, charging him with having wickedly and malicioufty written and fublijhed a certain falfe, wicked, and fiditious book ; and having gone through all this with a Shew of folemnity, as if he faw the eye of the Almighty darting through the roof of the build ing like a ray of light, turn, in an in ftant, the whole into a farce, and, in order to obtain a verdift that could not otherwife be obtained, tell the Jury that the charge of falfely, wick edly, and fiditioufly, meant nothing; that truth was out of the queftion : ami that whether the perlbn accufed fpoke truth or falfehood, or intended virtuoufiy or wicledly, was the fame thing ; and finally conclude the wretcrr4 . ed inquisitorial fcene, by Slating fome antiquated precedent, equally as abo minable as that which is then- afting,, or giving fome opinion of his own, and falfely calling the one and the other '. — Law. It was, moft probably, to fuch a Judge as this, that the moft folemn of all reproofs was given— " The Lord will finite thee, thou vint- " tened wall." I now proceed to offer fome remark) on what is called a Special Jury. — As to what is called a Special Ver dift, I Shall malce n° other. remarle_ upon it, than that it is in reality not* verdict. It is an attempt on the part of the Jury to delegate, or of the Bench to obtain, the exercife of that right which is committed to the Jury only. With refpect to Special Juries, I Shall ftate fuch matters as I have been able to collect, for I do not find any uniform opinion concerning the mode of appointing them. In the firft place, this mode of trial is but of modern invention, and the origin of it, as I am told,, is as fol lows i Formerly, when disputes arofe be tween Merchants, and were brought before a Court, the cafe was, that the nature of their commerce, and the method of keeping Merchants acr counts, not being fufficiently underT Stood by perfons out of their own line, it became neceffary to depart from the common m»de of appointing Juries whofe praBical knowledge would ena- hle them to decide upon the cafe. From this introduction, Special Juries became more general ; but fome doubts having arifen as to their, legality, an aft was paffed in the 3d of Geo. II, to eftabliSh them as legal, and alfo to ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. iSj itxtetid tliem to all cafes, not only between individuals, but in cafes where the Government itfelf Jhould be the Proficutor. This moft probably gave rife to the fufpicion fo generally entertained of packing a Jury; be caufe, by this aft, when the Crown, as it is called, is the Profecutor, the Matter of the Crown-office, who holds his office under the Crown, is the perfon who either wholly nominates, or has great power in nominating the Jury, and therefore it has greatly the appearance of th» profecuting party felefting a Jury. The procefs is as follows : On motion being made in Court, by either the Plaintiff or Defendant, for a Special Jury, the Court grant? it or not, at its own difcretion- If it be granted, the Solicitor of the party that applied for the Special Jury gives notice to the Solicitor of the adverfe party, and a day and hour are appointed for them to meet at the office of the Mafter of the Crown- office. The Mafter of the Crown- office fends to the Sheriff or his der puty, who attends with the Sheriff's book of Freeholders . From this book, forty-eight names are taken, and a copy thereof given to each, of the par ties ; and on a future day notice is again given, and the Solicitors meet a fecond time, and each Strikes out twelve names. The lift being thus reduced from forty-eight to twenty- four, the firft twelve that appear in Court, and anfwer to their-names, is the Special Jury for that caufe. The firft operation, that of taking the forty-eight names, is called nominat ing the Jury ; and the reducing them to twenty-four is called Striking the Jury. Having thus Stated the general pro cefs, I come to particulars, and the firft queftion will be, how are the forty-eight names, out of which the. Jury is to be ftruck, obtained from the Sheriff's book ? for herein lies the principal ground of fuSpicion, with refpeft to what is underftood by pack*' ing of Juries. Either they muft be taken by Some rule agreed upon between the parties, or. by. fome common rule known and eftabliShed before-hand, or at the difcre tion of fome perfon, who, in fuch a cafe, ought to be perfeftly -disinterested in the iffue, as well officially as otherwife. In the cafe of Merchants, and in all cafes between individuals, the Mafter of the office, called the Crown- office, is officially an indifferent per-* fon, and as fuch may be a proper per fon to aft between the parties, and prefent them with a lift of" forty-eight names, out of which each party is to Strike twelve. But the cafe affumes an entire different charafter when the Government itfelf is the Profecutor. The mafter of the Crown-office is then an officer holding his office under the Profecutor ; and it is therefore no wonder that the fufpicion of packing Juries Should, in fuch cafes, have been fo prevalent. This will apply with additional force,, when the profecution is com menced againft the Author or Pub lisher of fuch Works as treat of re forms, and of the abolition of fuper- fluous places and offices, &c. becaufe in Such cafes every perfon holding an office, fubjeft to that fufpicion, be comes intei-efted as a party ; and the office, called the Clown-office, may, upon examination, be found to be of this description. sSi PAINE's WORKS. I have heard it afferted, that the Mafter of the Crown office is to open the Sheriff's book as it were per ha- Bard, and take thereout forty-eight following names, to which rhe woid Merchant or Efquire is affixed. The former of thefe are certainly proper, when the "cafe is between Merchants, snd it has reference to the origin of fhe cuftom, and to, nothing elfe. As to the word Efquire, every man is an Efquire who pleafes to call himfelf Efquire ; and the fenfible part of mankind are leaving it off. But the matter for enquiry is, whether there be any existing law to direct the mode |>y which the forty-eight names (ball he taken, or whether the mode be merely that ot cuftom vhich the office has created ; or whether the feleftion of the forty-eight be wholly at the dif- tretion and choice of the Mafter of the Crown-office ? One or other of the , two latter appears to be the cafe, be caufe the aft already mentioned, of the 3d of Geo. II. lays down ho rule or mode, nor refers to any preceding law— but fays only, that Special Juries fhall hereafter be ftruck, " in '¦'¦ fuch manner as Special Juries have ** been and are ufually ftruck." This aft appears to me to have been what Is generally underftood by a '" deep take in." It Was fitted to the ¦ ipur of the moment in which it was paffed, 3d of Geo. II. when parties van high, and'it ferved to throw into the hands of Walpole, who was then Minifter, the management of Juries in- Crown profecutions, by making the nomination of the forty-eight perfons, from whom the Jury was to he ftruck, fellow ibe precejent efhblifhed by cuftom between individuals, and by 'his n^earis it Siipt into practice with >I's lul'p.t.on. Now, tlie manner of obtaining Special Juries through the medium of an oSficsr of the Govern ment, fuch for inftance as a Mafter of the Crown office, may be impartial in the cafe of Merchants, or other indi. viduals, but it becomes, highly im. proper and fufpicious in cafes wher* the Government itfelf is one of the parties. And it muft, upon the whole, appear a Strange inconfiftenejS. that a Government Should keep one officer to nominate the forty-eight perfons from whom the Jury is to be ftruck, both of wjijiti are officers of the Civil Lift, and yet continue to call this by the pompous name of the glo rious Right of trial by Jury ! In the cafe of the King againft Jordan, for publishing rioHts Olr man, the Attorney-General movei for the appointment of a Special Jury, and the Mafter of the Crown-office nominated the forty-eight perfons him felf, and took them from fuch part of the Sheriff's book as he pleafed. The trial did not come on, occafioned by Jordan withdrawing his plea; but if it had, it might have afforded an op portunity of difeuS&ng the fubjeft of Special Juries ; for though, fuch dif cuSlion might have had no effeft in the Court of King's-Bench, it would, in the prefent difpofition for encpiiry, have had a confiderable effeft upon the Country; and in all national re forms, this is the proper point to begin at. Put a Country right, and it will foon put Government right. Among the improper things afted by the Government in the cafe of Special Juries, on their own motion, one has been that of treating the Jury with a dinner, and afterwards giving each Juryman two guineas, if a verdift be found for the profecution, and only ope if otherwife ; and it has been long ADDRESS TO THE ADDRESSERS. 2&JS obferved,- that in London and Weft- minller there are perfons who appear to make a trade of Serving, by being i fo frequently feen upon Special Juries. Thus much for Special Juries. As to what is called a Common Jury, upon any Government profecution againft the Author or Publisher of rights of man, during the time of the pre fent Sheriffry, I have one queftion to offer, which is, whether the prefent Sheriffs of London, 'having publicly prejudged the cajl, by the part (hey have taken in procuring an Addref from the ciiunty of Middlefiex, (how ever diminutive and infignificant the nunfber, qf Addreffers were, being only one hundred and eighteen) are eligible or proper perfons to be entrufted with the power of returning a Jury to try the iffue °f any fiuch profecution ? B.ut the whole matter appear?, at leaft to me, to he worthy of a more extenfive consideration than what re lates to any Jury, whether Special or Common ; for the cafe is, whether any part of a whole nation, locally feleited as a Jury of twelve men al ways is, he competent to judge and determine for the whole nation, on any matter that relates to fyftems and principles of Government, and whether it be not applying the institution of Ju ries to purpofes for which fuch institu tion was not intended? For example, I have afferted, in the Work rights of man, that as every man in the na tion pays taxes, fo has every man a right to a Share in government, and ; confequently that the people of Man- ' chefter, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Hallifax, Ssc. &c. have the fame right , as thofe of London. Shall then twelve " men, picked out between Temple-bar and Whitechapel, becaufe the book happened to be firft published there, decide upon the rights of the inhabi tants of , thofe towns, or of any other town or village in tlie nation ? Having thus fpqken of Juries, I come next to offer a few obfervations on the matter contained in the infor mation or profecution. The work, rights of man, con sists of Part the Firft, and Part the Second. The Firft Part the profecu tor has thought it moft proper to let alone ; and from the Second Part lie has felefted a few Short paragraphs, making in the whole not quite two pages of the fame printing as in the cheap edition. Thofe paragraphs re late chiefly to certain fafts, fuch as the Revolution of 1688, and the cpming of George the Firft, com monly called of the Houfe of Han- oyer, or the Houfe of Brunfwick, or fome fuch houfe. The arguments, plans, and principles, contained in the work, the profecutor has not ven tured to attack. They are beyond his reach. The Aft which the profecutor ap pears to reft moll upon for the fup port of the profecution, is the Aft in tituled, " An Aft, declaring the " rights and liberties of the fubjeft, " and fettling the fuceeffion of the " crown*" paffed in the firft year of William and Mary, and more com monly known by the name of the " Bill of Rights." I haye called this Bill " A Bill of " wrongs and of infult." My reafons, and alfo my proofs, are as follow-: * The method and principle which this Bill takes for declaring rights and liberties, are in direct contradiftion to rights and liberties; it is an. af fumed attempt to take them wholly away from posterity — .for the declara tion. -in the fuJ Bill is as follows; *»6 PAINE's WORKS, " The Lords Spiritual and Tem- " poral, and Commons, do in the " name of all the people, moft humbly " arid faithfully fubmit themfelves, " their heirs, and pofterity for ever ;" that is, to William and Mary his wife, their heirs and fucceffors. This 5s a ftrange way of declaring rights and liberties. But the Parliament who made this declaration in the name, and on the part, of the people, had no authority from them for lb doing — and with refpeft fo pofterity for ever, they had no right' or authority what ever in the caie. It was affumption and ufurpation. I have reafoned very e'xtenfively againft the principle of this Bill in the firft part of Rights of Man ; the profecutor has Silently ad mitted that reafoning, itnd he now commences a profecution on the au thority of the Bill, after admitting the reafoning againft it. It- is alfo' to be obferved, that the' declaration in this Bill, abjeft and ir rational as it is, had no other' inten tional operation than againft the fa mily of the Stuafts, and their abet tors. The idea did not then exift, that in the fpace of an hundred years, pofterity might difcover a different and much better fyftem of government, and that every fpecies of hereditary government might fall as Popes and Monks had fallen before. This, I fay, was not then thought of, and therefore the application of the Bill, in the prefent cafe, is a new, erro neous, and illegal application, and is the* fame as creating a new Bill ex poft faBo. It has ever been the craft of Cour tiers, for the purpofe of keeping up an expenfive and enormous Civil Lift, and a mummery of ufelefs and anti quated places and offices at the pub_ lie expence, to be continually hang ing England upon fome individifa! 6? other, called King, though the mart might not have capaeity to be a parish conftable. The folly and abfurdity of this is appearing more and more every day ; and Still thofe men continue to aft as if no alteration in the public opinion had taken place. They hear" each other's nonfenfe, and fuppofe the whole nation talks the fame Gibberish/ Let fuch men cry up the Houfe of Orange, or the Houfe of Brunfwick, if they pleafe. They would cry up any other houfe if it fuited theif pur pofe, and give as good reafons for it. But what is this houfe, or that houfe, or any houfe to a nation ? " For a nation to be free, it is fufficient that Jhe -wills it." Her freedom depends wholly .upon herfelf, and not on any houfe, nor on any individual. I alk not in what light this cargo of foreign houfes appears to others— 'but I will fay in what light it appears to me.—' It was like the trees of the foreft fay ing unto the bramble, come thou and reign over us. Tims much for both their houfes.' I now come to fpeak of two other houfes; which are alfo put into the in formation, and thofe are; the Houfe of Lords, and the Houfeof Commons.- Here, I fuppofe, the Attorney-Gene ral intends to prove me guilty of fpeaking either truth or fa-Ifebood ; for, according to the modern1 inter pretation of Libels, it does not figriT- fy which, and the only improvement neceffary to Shew the complete abfur dity of fuch doftrine, would be, tq profecute a man for uttering a mod falfe and wicked truth. I will quote the part I am going to give, from the Office Copy, with the Attorney General's innuendoes, en clofed in parenthefes as they Stand in the information, and I hope that civil ADDRESS. TO THE ADDRESSERS. it? lift officer will caution the Court not to laugh when he reads them, and alfo to take care not to laugh himfelf. The information Slates, that Tho mas Paine being a wicked, malicious, feditious, and evil-difpofed perfon, hath, with force and arms, and moft wicked cunning, written andpublijhed a certain falfe, fcandalous, . malicious, and fedi tious libel; in one part thereof, to the tenor and effeB following, that is to fay— " With refpeft to the two Houfes, «? of which the English Parliament " (meaning the parliament of this King- " dom) is compofed, they appear to be " effeftually influenced into one, and, " as a Legislature, to have no tem- " per of its own. The Minifter, " (meaning the Minifter employed by the " King of this Realm, in the adminif- " traiion of the Government thereof ) . " whoever he, at any time may be, «*. touches IT, [meaning the two Houfes " of Parliament of this Kingdom) as " with an opium wand, and IT " (meaning the two Houfes of Parlia- " ment of this Kingdom) Sleeps obedi- " ence." — As I am not malicious enough to difturb their repofe, though it be time they Should awake, I leave the two Houfes, and the Attorney General, to the enjoyment of their dreams, and proceed to a new fubjeft. The Gentlemen, to whom I (half »«xt addrefs myfelf, are thofe who have Sliled themfelves " Friends of the " people," holding their meeting at the Freemafons' Tavern, London. One of the principal Members of this Society, is Mr. Grey, who, I believe, is alfo one of the moft inde pendent Members in Parliament. I collect this opinion from what Mr. Burke formerly mentioned to me, rather than from any knowledge of" my own. The occafion was as fol lows : I was in England at the time the bubble broke forth about Nootka Sound ; and the day after the King's Meffage, as it is called, was fent to Parliament, I wrote a note to Mr. Burke, that upon the condition the French Revolution Should not be a fubjeft (for he was then writing the - book I have fince anfwered) I would call on him the next day, and menti on fome matters I was acquainted with, refpefting the affair ; for it ap peared to me extraordinary, that any body of men, calling themfelves Re prefentatives, Shoulc! commit them felves fo precipitately, or, " Sleep " obedience," as Parliament was then doing, and run a nation into expence, and, perhaps a war, without fo much as enquiring into the cafe, or the fub jeft, of both which I had fome know ledge. When I. faw Mr. Burke, and men tioned the circumftances to him, he- particularly fpoke of Mr. Grey, as the fitteft Member to bring fuch mat-™ ters forward ; for, faid Mr. Burke, " I am not the proper perfon to do it, " as I am in a treaty with Mr. Pitt " about Mr. Haftings's trial." I hope the Attorney General will allow, that Mr. Burke was then Jleeping his obe dience. — But to return to the Society — I cannot bring myfelf to believe, that the general motive of this Society is any thing more than that by which every former parliamentary oppofition has been governed, and by will be known, and it cannqtbe known by any other means. Partial addreffes, or feparate aflbciations, are nqt testimonies of the general will. It is, however, certain that the opi nions of men, with refpect to fyftems and principles of government, are changing laft in all countries. The alteration in England, within the! fpace qf little more than a year, is fat greater than could then have been be* lieved, and it is daily and hourly in- creafing. It moves along the country with the filence of thought. The enormous expence of Government has provoked men to think, by making themfeejj and the Proclamation lias ADDRESB TO THE ADDRESSERS. ?Sa ferved to encreafe jealoufy and difguft. To prevent, thereforej thofe commo tions which too often and too fudden ly arife from fuffocated difbontents, it is beft that the ,gejieral WILL Should ¦have the full and free opportunity of .being publicly afcer-tained ahd known. Wretched asthe ftate of reprefen- . tation is in England, itis every day becoming worfe, becaufe the unrepre- fented parts of the nation are increaf. ing in population and property, and the reprefented parts are decreasing. It is, therefore, no ill-grounded esti mation to fay, that as not one perfon in feven is reprefented, at leaft four teen millions of taxes, out of the fe- venteen millions, are paid by the un- reprefented part ; for although copy- bqlds and leafeholds are affeffed to the land tax, the holders are unreprefent- ed- Should then a general demur take place as. to the obligation of pay ing taxes, on the ground of not being reprefented, it is not the Reprefenta tives of rotten Boroughs, nor Special Juries, that can decide the queftion. This is one of the poffible cafes that ought to be forefeen, in, order to pre vent the ineonveniences that might arife to numerous individuals, by pro voking it. I confefs I have no idea of petiti oning for rights. Whatever the rights of people are, they have a right to them, and none have a right either to Withhold them, or to grant them. Government ought to be eftabliShed on fuch principles of juftice as to ex clude the occafion qf all filch applicati ons, for wherever they appear they are virtually accufations. I wiSh that Mr- Grey, fince he, has embarked in the bufinefs, would take the whole of it in.to consideration. He will then fee that the right of re forming the ftate of the Representation does not refide in Parliament, ahd that the only motion he could confiftentiy make, would be, that Parliament- Should recommend the eleftion. of , a con vention by all the people, becaufe all pay taxes. But whether Parliament recommended it or not,, the right of the nation would neither be leffened nqr increafed thereby. As to Petitions from the linrepre- fented .part, they ought not to be looked for. As well might itbe ex pefted that Manchefter, Sheffield, &gi Should petition the rotten Boroijghs, as that they Should petition the Re prefentatives of thofe Boroughs. Thofe two towns alone pay far more taxes than all the rotten Boroughs put to gether, and it is fcarcely td be expect ed they Should pay their court either to the Boroughs, or the Borough- mongers. It ought alfo to be obferved; that what it called Parliament, is corn> pafed of two houfes that have always declared againft the right of each other to interfere in any matter that related to the circumftances of either, parti cularly that of eleftion. A reform, therefore, in the reprefentation can not, on the ground they have indivi dually taken, become the fubjeft of an aft of Parliament, becaufe fuch , a mode would include the interference* againft which the Commons ort their part have protested ; but muft, as well on the ground of formality, as on that of right, proceed from a Nati onal Convention. Let Mr. Grey, or any other man, fit down and endeavour, to put his thoughts together, ^for the purpofe of drawing up an application to Parlia ment for a reform of Parliament, and! he will foon convince himfelf of the U s$o 'PA I NTs WORKS. ¦ folly of the attempt. He will find r that he cannot get on ; that he cannot ' make his thoughts join, fo as to pro- : duce any effeft ; for whatever forma lity of words he may ufe, they will i unavoidably include two ideas direct ly oppofed to each Other; the one in fetting forth the reafons, the other in "praying for the relief, and the two, when placed together, would Hand -thus :—" The Reprefentation in Par- " liament is fo very corrupt, that we •" can no longer confide in it,- — and •" therefore, confiding in the juftice and ¦" wifdom of Parliament, we pray," •&c. &c. The heavy manner in which every -former propofed application to Parlia ment has dragged, fufficiently Shews, that though the nation might not ex actly fee the awkwardnefs of the mea- 'fure, it could not clearly fee its way by that mean. To this alfo may be added another remark, Which is, that the worfe Parliament is, the lefs will he the inclination to petition it; This indifference, viewed as it ought to be, is one of the ftrongeft cenfures the 'public exprefs. It is as if they were to fay, " Ye are not worth reform - " ing." Let any man examine the Court Ka- le'ndar of Place-men in both Houfes, and the" manner in" which the Civil Lift Operates, and he will be at no lofs to account for this indifference and want of confidence on one fide, nor of the oppofition tor eforms on the other. Befides the numerous lift of paid perfons exhibited in the Court-Kalen. dar, which fo Indecently Stares the na- t 'on in the face, there is an unknown number of mafked Penfioners, which renders Parliament ftill morefufpefted. Who would have fuppofed that Mr. did againit fecret influence, and ec rupt majorities, Should become a co cealed Penfioner ? I will now ftate t cafe, not for the little purpofe of e: poling Mr. Burke, but to Shew tl -inconsistency of any application to boctyof men, more than half of whon as far as the nation can at prefei know, may be in the fame cafe wil himfelf. Towards the end of Lord North administration, Mr. Burke brought hill into Parliament, generally know by the nkme of Mr. Burke's Refor Bill ; in which, among other thing it is enafted, " That- no periiion, ei " ceeding the fum of three hundri " pound-s a year, Shall be granted " any one perfon, and that the who " amount of the penfions granted " one year fhall not exceed fix hui " dred pounds ; a lift of whicl " together with the names of the pei " fons to whom the fame are grantei " Shall be laid before Parliament i " twenty days after the beginning < " each feffion, until the whole penfic " lift Shall be reduced to ninety thor "-fand pounds." A provifory clau is afterwards added, " That it Sha '"' be lawful for the Firft Commiffior " er of the Treafury, to return int " the Exchequer, any penfion or an *'« nuity, without a name on his mak " ing oath that fuch penfion or an " nuity is not direftly or indireftl " for the benefit, uie, or behoof, t " any Member of the Houfe of Cow " mons." But foon after that adminifiratio ended, and the party Mr. Burke act ed with came into power, it appear: from the circumftances I am going I relate, that Mr. Burke became hirr felf a Penfioner in difguife ; inafim Address to the addressers. tgt granted in the name of John Nokes, tq be privately paid to and enjoyed by Tom Stiles. The name of Ed mund Burke does not appear in the original tranfaftion: but after the Penfion was obtained, Mr. Burke wanted to make the irioft of it at once, by felling or mortgaging it ; and the gentleman, in whofe name the penfion ftands, applied to one of the public offices for that purpofe. This unfor tunately brought forth the name of Edmund Burke, as the real Penfioner of 1,500!. per annum. When men trumpet forth what they call the blef- fings of the Constitution, it ought to be known what fort of bleffings , they allude to. As to the Civil Lift, of a million a year, it is not to be fuppofed that any one man can eat, drink, or con- fume the whole upon himfelf. The cafe is, that above half this fum is annually apportioned among Cour tiers, and Court Members, of both Houfes, in places and offices, alto gether insignificant and perfeftly ufe- lefs, as to every purpofe of civil, ra tional, and manly government. For inftance, Of what ufe in the fcience and fyf tem of Government is what is called a Lord Chamberlain, a Mafter and a Miitrefs of the Robes, a Mafter of the Horfe, a Mafter of the Hawks, and an hundred other fuch things ? Laws derive no additional force, nor additional excellence, from fuch mum mery. In the difburfements of the Civil Lift for the year 1786 (which may be lees in Sir John Sinclair's Hiftory of the Revenue) are four feparate charges for this, mummery office of Chamber lain. ift £.38»778 17 — ad - 3,000 — — 3d 24,069 19 — 4th 10,000. 18 3 75,849 14 3 befides £.1,119 charged for Alms. From this fample, the -reft may be gueffed at. As to the Mafter of the Hawks, (there are no hawks lcept, and if there were, it is no reafon the people Should pay the expence of feed ing them, many of whom are put to it to get bread for their children) his falary is 1,372/. 10*. And befides a lift of items of this kind, fufficient to fHl a quire of paper, the Penfion /lifts alone are 107,404/.- 1 3 s. 4 mination of the parts, it is impoSfi- ble to conceive a ftory more deroga^ ,tory to the Almighty, more inconfift ent with his wifdom, more contradict \tory to his power, than this ftory is.- In order to make for it a foundation] to rife upon, the inventors were un? der the neceffity of giving to the be* ing, whom they call Satan, a powers equally as great, if not greater, than they attribute to'the Almighty. They have not only given him the power of liberating himfelf from the pit, after what they call his fall, but they have Part t. A G E O F REASON. 3«S made that power increafe afterwards to infinity; Before his fall, they repre fent him only as an angel of limited -existence, as they reprefent the red- After his fall, he becomes, by their account, omniprefeht. He exifts eve ry where, and at the fame time. He occupies the whole immenfity of fpace- - Not content with this deification of Satan, they reprefent him as defeating hy Stratagem, in the Shape of an ani1 mal of the creation, all the power and wifdom of the Almighty. They re prefent him as having Compelled the Almighty to the direB neceffity either of furrendering the whole of the cre ation to the government and fovereign ty of this Satan, or of capitulating for its redemption by coming down upon earth, and exhibiting himfelf upon a crofs in the Shape of a man. Had the inventors of this ftory told it the contrary way, that is; had they reprefented the Almighty as compel ling Satan to exhibit himfelf on a crofs in the Shape of a fnake, as a punish ment for his new tranfgreffions, the ftory would have been lefs abfurd, lefs contradiftory. But inftead of this, they make the tranfgreffor triumph, and the Almighty fall. That many good men have believed this Strange fable and lived very good lives under that belief (for credulity is not a crime) is what I have no doubt of. In the firft place, they were edu cated to believe it, and they would have believed any thing elfe in the fame manner. There are alio many who have been fo enthufiaftically en raptured by what they conceived to be the infinite love of God to man, in making a facrifice of -himfelf, that the Vehemence of the idea has forbid den and deterred them from examin ing into the abfurdity ami profane-; ' nefs of the ftory. The more unna tural any thing is, the more it is capable of becoming the objeft of dif- mal admiration. But if objefts for gratitude ahd ad miration are our defire, do they not pre-- fent themfelves every hour to our. eyes ? Do we not fee fair preation __ prepared to receive us the inftant we are ,born^-a world furnifhed to our hands that coft us nothing ? — Is it we that light up the fun ; that pour dowft the rain ; and fill the earth with abun dance ? Whether we Sleep or wake, the vaft machinery of the univerfe Still - goes on. Are thefe things, and the bleffings they indicate in future, no thing to us ? Can our grofs feelings be excited by no other fubjefts than tragedy and filicide ? Or is the gloo. my pride of man become fo intolerable, that nothing can flatter it but a fa crifice of the Creator ? I know that' this bold inveftigation will alarm many, but it would be pay ing too great a compliment to their credulity to forbear it upon that ac count. The times and the fubjeft de mand it to be done. The fufpicion that the theory of what iscalled the Christian church is fabulous, is be coming very extenfive in all countries } and it will be a confolation to men Staggering under that fufpicion, and doubting what to believe, and what to disbelieve, to fee the fubjeft freely investigated. I therefore pafs on to an examination of the books called the Old and the New Teftamein%__ .. Thefe books, beginning wTthGe- nefis and ending with Revelations, (which by the bye is a book of riddles - that requires a Revelation to explain it) are,, we are told, the word of God. It is therefore proper for us to know who told us fo, that we may know what credit to give to the report. The anfwer to this queftion is, that X 3«« PAINE S WORKS. riobotJy can tell, except that we tell one another fo-. The cafe, however, historically appears to be as follows j. When the church mythologifts efta bliShed their fyftem, they collefted all the writings they could find, and ma; riaged thefii as they pleafed. It is a matter altogether of .uncertainty to us whether Such of the writings as now- ap'pear, under the name of the Old and the New Teftament, are in the fame Slate in which thofe eolleftors fay ;fi6y found them ; Or whether they Hided, altered, abridged; or dreffed th'tni up. Be this as it may, they decided by vote which of She books out of the collection they had made, Should be the word by cod, and Which Should not. They rejefted feveral ; they voted" others to be dbUbtfiil, fuch as the books called the Apocrypha ; afid thofe books which had a majority of votes, were voted to be the word of God. Had they voted otherwife, all the people, Since calling themfelves christians, had believed Otherwise ; for the belief of the one Comes from the vote of the other. Who the people were that did all this, we know no thing of; they called themfelves by the general name of the church ; and this is all we know of the matter. As we have no other external evi dence or authority for believing thofe books to be the word of God, than what I have mentioned, which is no evidence or authority at all, I come, in the next place, to examine the in ternal evidence contained in the books themfelves. In the former part of this elfay, I have Spoken of revelation, I now proceed further with that fubjeft, for the purpofe of applying it to the books in queftion. Revelation is a communication of fomething, which the perfon, to whom that thing is revealed, did not know before. For if I have done a thing, or feen it done, it needs no revelation to tell me I have done it, or feen it, nor to enable me to tell i,t, or to write it. Revelation, therefore, cannot be ap-- plied to any thing done upon earth of which man is himfelf the aftor o» the witnefs ; and consequently all the historical and anecdotal part of the Bible, which is almoft the whole of it, is not within the meaning and com- pafs of the word revelation, and there fore is not the word of God. When Sampfon ran off with th* gate-polts of Gaza, if he ever did (o (and whether he did or not is nothing to us) or when he vifited his Dalilah, or taught his foxes, or did any thing elfe, what has revelation to do with thefe things ? If they were facts, he could tell them himSelf ; or his fecre- taiy, if he kept one, could write them, if they were worth either tel ling or writing ; and if they were fictions, revelation could not make them true ; and whether true Or not, we are neither the better nor the wi * fer for knowing them. When we contemplate the immenfity of that Be ing, who direfts and governs the in-1 comprehenfible whole, of which the utmoft ken of human fight can dif- cover but a part, we ought to feel Shame at calling fuch paltry Stories the word of God. As to the account of the creation, - with which the book of Genefis opens, it has all the appearance of being a tradition which the Ifraelites had among them before they came into Egypt; and after their departure from that country, they put it at the head Part ti A'G-El 0f REASON. bf their hiftoty,' without? telling, Ss ft is mtift probable that they did hot know how they cSme by it. The mShner in which the aOtOunt? opens, SheWs;it to be traditionary. It hegins abruptly. It is nobody that fpeaks; If is nobody that hears. It is ad- dreffed to nobody. It has neither firft; fecond, or third perfon. It has etyery criterion of Weittg a tradition. it has no Voucher. Mofes does not take it' upon himfelf by introducing it With the formality that he ufes on other occasions, fuch as that of faying,' " The Lordfpake unto Mbfefj faying." Why it has been called the Mofaic aticotmf of the creation, I am -at a lofs to conceive. Mofes, I believe, was t<50 good a judge of fuch Subjects -to put his hame to that account. He hild been educated artteng the Egyp tians, who were a p*e*8p"le as well Skilled ia- feieHee,1 and- particukrly in aftiro- norny,- as any people of their day ; and the Silence artd caution1 that Mofes- obferves, in not authenticating the account, is a good negative eriderice tliat he neither told it, nor believed it. The cafe is, that every nation of peo* pie,- has been world makers, and' the Ifraelites had as milch right tO fet up the trade of world-making as any of the reft; and is Mofes was not an Iffaelite, he might not chufe to cOn- tradift the tradition. The account, however, is harmlefe j and this is- rnore than can be faid for many other patts.of the'Bible. 'Whenever we read the crbfce'ne Sto ries, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the •30> un'te^riting'v'Mftrvenefs', With which. , fndre than half the Bible is filled, it Would be more confifteht that we" tailed it the _ word of a 'deirfefi^jkart,,; the Word Of J3dd. It is a hiftdr'y Of Wic-kednefs, that has ferved to cor-* rupt and brutalize mankind ; and', for; my own part, I Sincerely deteft it;' asi 1 tfefeft every thing that is cruel. We- feaVcel'y riieet With any thing* & few phi-ales excepted, but what de-i Serves either our abhorrence or Our contempt, till We come to the mifcel-i ktoeous parts of tlie Bible. In the? anonymous publications; the PfalmS a"hd the Book' ef Job, more particu-i larly; in the latter, we find a great* deal of elevated fehtiment reverenti ally eicpreffed of the power arid benig nity of the Almighty ; but they Stand'' on no higher tank than many other compositions on Similar fubjefts, as Well before that time as fince. The proverbs; which are faid to be Solomon's, though moft probably a collection [becaufe they difcover a knowledge of life, which his fituation. excluded him from knowing] are an inftruftive table of ethics. They are inferior in keennefs to the proverbs of the Spaniards, and not more wife and ceconomical than thofe of the AmericaifFKnklin . All the remaining parts of the) Bible, generally known by the name of the prophets, are the works of the Jewifli pOets and itinerant preachers, who mixed poetry, anecdote, and de votion together ; and thofe works ftill retain the air and ftyle of poetry, though in translation.* X a * As there, are many, readers who do not fee that a compofition is poetry, unlefs H be in rhyme, it is for their information that I a,dd this note. Poetry coriiifh principally in two things; Imagery and composition. The compo- Sitiori'of poetry differs from that of profe'in the manner of mixing long aad Short fyl- iables ,$oi PAINE's WORKS. , There Is not, throughout the whole book, called the Bible, any word that defcrlbes to us what we call a poet, nor any word that defcribes. what we call poetry. The cafe is, that the wordpro- phet, to which later times have affixed a i new idea, was the Bible word for poet, and the word prophefying meant the art of making poetry. It alfo meant the art of playing poetry to a tune upon any instrument of Mufic. We read of prophefying with pipes, tabrets, and horns. Of .prophefying with harps, with pfalteries, with cym- bols, and with every other instrument of mufic then in fafhion. Were we now to fpeak of prophefying,, with a fiddle, or with a pipe and tabor, the, exprefiion would have no meaning, or would appear ridiculous, and to fome people contemptuous, becaufe we , have changed the mean ing of the word. We are told of Saul being among,- the prophets, and alfo that he prophe- fied ; but we are not told what they prophefied, ¦ nor what he frophefiedf. The cafe is, there was nothing to tell ; for thefe prophets were a com pany of muficians and poets; and Saul joined ;n the concert ; and this was called prophefying. The account given of this affair in, the book called Samuel, is, that Saul met a company of prophets ; a -whole company of them ! coming down with a pfaltery, a tabret, a pipe, and a harp, and that they prophefied, and that he prophefied with them. But it appears afterwards, that Saul pro phefied badly, that is, he performed his part badly } for it is faid, that " an evil fpirit from God* came upon Saul and he prophefied." Now were there no other pnffage in the book, called the Bible, than this, to, demonstrate to us that we have loft the original meaning of the word pro- phefy, and fubftitu.ted anpther meaning in its place, this alone would be fuf ficient ; for it is impoffible to ufe and lables together. Take a long Syllable out of a line of poetry, and put a fhort one in the room of it, or put a long fyllable where a Short one Should be, and that line will lofe its poetical harmony, ft will have an 'effect upon the line like that of mifplacing a note in a fong. The imagery in thofe books,, called the prophets, appertains altogether to poetry. It k fictitious and often extravagant, and not admifiible in any other kind of writing than poetry. To\fhew that thefe writings are compofed in poetical numbers, I will take ten fyl- lables as they Stand in the book, and make at line of .the fame number of Syllables (heroic meafure) that fh.ill rhyme with the laft word. It will then be feen, that the • composition of thofe books is poetical meafure. The inftance I Shall firft. produce is from Ifaiah. " Hear, 0 ye heavens, and give ear, 0 earth." 'Tis God himfelf, that calls attention forth. Another inftance I (hall quote is from the mournful Jeremiah, to which I (hall add two other lines, for the purpofe of currying out the figure, and (hewing the intention of the poet. " 0! that mine head were waters, and mine eyes" Were fountains, flowing like the liquid Skies : Then would I give the mighty flood releafe, And weep a deluge for the human race. * As thofe men, who call themfelves divines and commentators, are very fond of puzzling one another, I leave them to conteft the meaning of the firft part of the phrafe, that of, an evil fpirit of God. I keep to my text. I keep to the meaning of the word prophefy. Part I. AGE OF REASON. 3°9 apply the word prophejy in the place it is here ufed and applied,, if we give to it the fenfe which later times have affixed to it. The manner in which it is here ufed Strips it of all religious meaning, and Shews that a man might then be a prophet, or might prophejy, as he may now be a poet, or a mufician, without any re gard to the morality or the immorality of his charafter. The word was ori ginally a term of feience, proinifcu- ouSly applied to poetry and to mufic, and nqt-reftrifted to any fubjeft upon which, poetry and mufic might be ex- ercifed. Deborah and Barak are called pro phets, not becaufe they predicted any thing, but becaufe they compofed the poem or fong that bears their name in celebration Of an aft already done : David is ranked among the prophets, for he was a mufician; and was alfo reputed to be (though perhaps very erroneously) the author of the pfalrns. But Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, are not called prophets. It does not ap pear from any accounts we have that they could either Sing, play mufic, or l make poetry. We are told of the greater and the ' leffer prophets. They might as wel] tell us of the greater and the letter God ; for there cannot be degrees in prophefying confiftentiy with its mo dern fenfe. But there are degrees^in poetry, anb^ therefore the phrafe is re concilable to the cafe, when we un derstand by it the greater arid ' the leffer poets. It" is altogether unneceffary, after' this, to offer any obfervations upon what thofe men, Styled prophets, have written. The axe jjoes^at once tOj the root, by Shewing that the original meaning of the word has been^ inif- taken, and ? confequently all the in ferences that have been drawn from thofe books, the devotional , refpeft that has been paid to thenij and the laboured commentaries that have been written upon them, under that mif- taken meaning, are not worth disput ing about.— In many things, . how ever, the writings of the JewiSh poets, deferveV a better fate than that of be ing bound up, as they now are, with the trafh that accompanies them, under theabuled name of the word of God. It we permit ourfelves to conceive right ideas of things, we muft necef- S'arily affix the idea, not only of un- changeablenefs, but of the utter im- poffibility of any change taking place, v- by any means or accident whatever, in that which we would honour with the name of the word of God : and therefore the word of God cannot exift in any written or human Ian- * guage. The continually progreffive change'to which the meaning of words is fubjeft, ' the want of an' univerfal language which renders translations neceffary, the er rors to which translations are again fubjeft,' the mistakes of copyifts and printers, together with the poffibility of wilful alteration, are of themfelves evidences, that human language, whe-' ther in fpeech qt in print, cannot be the vehicle of the word of God.— The word of God exifts in fomething' elfe. Did the book, called the Bible, ex cel in purity of Ideas and exprefiion, all the books that are now extant in the world, I would not take it for my rule qf faith, as being the wqrd of Godj. becaufe the poffibility would neverthelefs exift of my being im pofed upon. But when I fee through out the greateft part of this booky 3 id PAINPs WORKS, fcarcely any thing but a hiftory of the groffeft vices, and a colleftion of the moft paltry and contemptible tales, I cannot dishonour my Creator by calling it by his name. ' Thus much for the Bible. I now ? go on to the book called the New Tef-. tament. The new Teftament I that is, the new Will, as if there could be two wills of the Creator. Had it been the objeft or the in tention of Jefus Chrift to eftabliSh a new religion, he would undoubtedly have written the fyftem himfelf, or procured it to, be written in his life time. But there is no publication ex tant authenticated with his name, .All the' books called the new T^3' merit were written after his death. JJe was a Jew by birth, and by pror feffipn ; and he was the Son of CJod in like manner that every other per fon is ; for the Creator is the Father of All. The firft four books, called Mat- _thew, Mark, Luke, and John, dq, npt give a hiftory of the life qf Jefus Chrift, but only detached anecdqtes of him. It appears fiom thefe boqks that the whole time of his,: being, a preacher was npt more than eighteen raqnths 5 and it was only during this Short time, that thefe men became ac- , qjiainted with him, They make men tion qf him, at , tlie age of twelve years, fitting, they fay, among the Jewiih doftors, aSking and anfwering them quelUons. A,s, this was . feveral years before their acquaintance vyitji. him began, it is moft probable they had flfis anecdote' from his'parents. From' this time there is no'accoiint of .hjm for about Sixteen years. Where Ire lived, or how he employed himfelf" during^- this interval, is not known. Mbft probably he was working at his father's trade; ' which vyas that' of a carpenter. It does not appear, tha^ he had1 any fchool education, and the probability is that he could not write, for his parents were extremely poor, as appears from- their not being able to pay for a bed when he was born. It is fomewhat curious that the three perfons whofe names are the moft univerfally recorded, were of very ob- fc'ure parentage. — Mofes was a found ling, Jefus Chrift was born in a (table, and Mahomet was a muledriver. The firft and the laft of thefe nien, were founders of different fyftems of reli gion ; but Jefus Chrift founded n'q new fyftem. He called men to the praftice of moral virtues, and the be lief of one God. The great trait in bis charafter is philanthropy, The manner in which he was ap prehended, Shews that be was not much known at that time ; and it Shews alfo that the meetings he then held with his followers were in fecret 5 and that he had given over, or fufr , pended,' preaching publicly. JudaSj could no otherwife betray him than by giving information where he was, and pointing him put to the. officers that went to arreft him ; and the rea fon for employing and pgying Ju.das to do this, could arife only from the caufes already mentioned, that of his, opt being much known^ and, living concealed, The -idea of his concealment not only agrees very ill with, his reputed, divinity, but affociates with it fome thing of pufillanimity ; and hi? being betrayed, or in other words, his being apprehended,, on the information of one of 'his followers. Shews that he did riot intend to be apprehended, and confequently that he did not intend to be crucified. Tho Christian mythologifts tell us, that Chrift died for the fins of the Part I. AGE OF REASON. 3i* world, and that "he came on purpofe to die. Would it not then have been the fafne if he had diea of a fever, or of the fmall pox, of old age, or of any thing elfe ? The declaratory ftntence which, they fay, was paffed upon Adam in cafe he :ate of the apple, was not, that thou ftialt furely be crucified, but thou fludt furely die. The ftntence was death, and not the manner of dying. Crucifixion, therefore, or any other particular manner of dying, made no part of the fentcnce that Adam was Jo Suffer, and confequently, even up on their own taftic, it could make no part of the Sentence that Chrift was to fuffer in the room of Adam. A fever would have done ,as well as a ^crofs, if there was any occafion for either. This fentence of death which, they tell us, was thus paffed upon Adam, muft either haye meant dying natu rally, that is, ceafing to live, or, have meaht what thefe mythologifts call damnation : and confequently, the aft of dying on the part of Jefus Chrift, muft, according to their fyftem, ap ply as a prevention to one or other of thofe two things happening to Adam and to us. That it does not prevent our dying is evident, becaufe we all die ; and if their accounts of longevity be true, men die falter fince the crucifixion Jthijn before : and with refpeft to the fecond ' explanation, (including with. it the natural death of Jefus Chrift .as. -a fubftitute'iqr the efernal death or /damnation of a,ll mankind) it Is imper tinently reprefthting the'' Creator as coming off, or revoking the fentence, quibble on, by making another quib ble upon the word Adam. He makes there to be two Adams ; the one who fins in fact, and Suffers by proxy 5 the other who fins by proxy and fuf- fers in faft. A religion thus inter- \ larded with quibble, Subterfuge and pun, has a tendency to inftruft it? profeffors in the praftice of thefe arts, They acquire tl>e habit without being ' aware of the caufe. If Jefus Chrift was the Being which thofe mythologifts tell us. he was, and that he came into the world to fuffer, which is a word they foinetimes. ufe inr Stead of to die, the only real fuffering; he could have endured -wo;uld have been to live. His existence here was a State qf exilement, or transportation fron> heaven, and the way bade to hisori. ginal country was to die. — In, fine, every thing in this Strange fyfteni js the reverfe of what it pretends to be. It is .the reyerfe of truth, and I be-. come fo tired with examining. into it* inconsistencies and abfurdities, that J haften to the conclusion of it in order to proceed to fomething better. How much, or what parts qf the books called the New Teftament, mere .written by the perfons whofe names they bear, is what we can kjnow nothing of, neither are wp certain ,jn what language they were, originally written. The matters they now con* fain may be claffed under two head.s ; anecdote , and .epistolary correfponr den.ee. The four books already nientioned, Matthew, Mark, Liyke and John, are altogether anecdotal. They relate events after they had taken place. They tell what Jefus Chrift did and by a pun or a ' quibble1 upon the wordt faid, and what others did and faid to death. That manufafturer of quib- him; and in feveral inftances they re- bles, St. Paul, if he wrote the books ]ate the fame event differently. Re- tliat bear his name, has helped this velafion is neceffarily out of thequef- 3ii PAINE's WORKS. tion with refpeft to thofe books ;,not only becaufe of the difagreement of the writers ; but becaufe revelation cannot be applied to the relating of fafts by the perfons who faw them done, nor to the relating or recording of any difcourfe or converfation by thofe who heard it. The book? called the Afts of the Apoftles, an anonymous work, belong alfo to the anecdotal part. All the other parts of the New Tef tament, except the book of enigmas, called the Revelations, are a collecti on of letters under the name of Epif- tles ; and the forgery of letters has been fuch a common practice in the world, that the probability is, at leaft, v equal, whether they are genuine or forged. One thing however, is much leTs-v^quivocal, which is, that out of the matters contained in thofe books, together with the affiftance of fome old Stories, the church has fet up a iyftem of religion very contradiftory to .the charafter of the perfon whofe name it bears. It has fet up a' reli gion of pomp and of revenue in pre tended imitation of a perfon whofe life ( was humility and poverty. The invention of a purgatory, and of the releasing of fouls therefrom, by prayers, bought of the church with money ; the felling of pardons, dilpenfations, and indulgences, are revenue laws, without bearing that name or carrying that appearance'. But the cafe neverthelefs is,' that thofe things derive their prigin'frqrn the proxyfm of the crucifixion, and the theory deduced therefrom'; which was, that One perl'pn could Stand' in the place 'of another, and could perform meritorious fervices for hi'mj The probability therefore is, that the jvhble theory or doctrine of what is called the redemption (which is faid to have been accomplished by the aft of one perfon in the room of another) was originally fabricated on purpofe to bring forward and build all thofe fecondary and pecuniary redemptions upon ; and that the paffages in the books upon which the idea or theory of redemption is built, have been ma nufactured and fabricated for that purpofe. Why are we to give this church credit, when fhe tells us that thofe books are genuine in every part, any more than we give her credit for every thing elfe (he has told us ; of for the miracles She fays Shehas per. formed. That She could fabricate writings is certain, becaufe She could write ; and the composition of the writings in queftion, is of that kind that any body might do it ; and that She did fabricate them is not more in confiftent with probability, than that fhe Should tell us, as She has done, that She could and did work mira cles. Since then no external evidence can, at this long diftance of time, be pro- duceeTto prove whether the church fabricated the doftrine called redemp tion or not (for fuch evidence, whe ther for or againft, would be fubjeft to the fame fufpicion of being fabricated) the cafe can only be referred to the internal evidence which the thing car ries of itfelf ; and this affords a very Strong prefumption of its being a fa brication. For the internal evidence is, that the theory or doftrine of re demption has for its bafis, an idea of pecuniary juftice, and not that of moral juftice. If I owe a, perfon money and can not pay him, and he threatens to put me in prifon, another perfon can take the debt upon himl'eif, and. pay ij Fart J, ¦ AGE OF REASON. ->fqr .nie. But if I have committed a crime, every circumftance of the cafe is changed. Moral juftice cannot take 'lie 'innocent for the guilty, even if the innocent would offer itfelf. To fuppofe juftice to do this, is to deftroy the principle of its existence, which is the thing itfelf. It is then no long er juftice. It is indifcriminat.e re venge. This Single reflection will (hew that the doftrine of redemption is founded - on a mere pecuniary idea correspond ing to that of a debt which another perfon might pay; and as $ his pecu-, niary idea correfponds again with tlie fyftem of fecond redemptions obtain ed through the means of money given to the church, for pardons, the pro bability is, that the fame perfons fa bricated both the one and the other qf thofe theories ; and that, in truth, -< there is no fuch thing as redemption ; that it is fabulous ; and that man ftands in the fame relative .condition "with his Maker he ever did Stand fince man exifted ; and that it is his great eft confolation to think fo. Let him b.elieye this, and he will live more confiftentiy and morally than b'y any other fyftem. It is by his being taught to contemplate, himfelf as an ouf-law, as an out-caft, as a Beggar, as a mumper, as one thrcjwn, as it were, on a dunghill, at an im menfe diftance from his Creator, and who muft make his approaches by creeping and cringing to intermediate beings, that he conceives either a con temptuous disregard for every thing under the name of religion, or be comes indifferent, or turns what he cails devout. In the latter cafe, he conlume's his life in grief, or the af fectation of it. His prayers are re proaches. His humility is ingrati tude. He calls himfelf a worm, and 313 the fertile earth; a dunghill ; and all the bjeffings of life by the thanklefs name qf vanities. He defpifes the choicest gift of God to man, the Gift of reason; and having en deavoured to for,ce upon himfelf the belief of a fyftem againft which reafon revplts, he ungratefully calls it bur man reafon, as if a man could give reafon to himlelf. Yet with all this ftrange appear ance of humility, and this contempt for human reafon, he ventures into the boldcft prefumptions. He finds fault with every thing. His,felfiih- nefs is never fatisfied ; his ingratitude is never at an end. He takes on him felf to direft the Almighty what to do, even in the government of the. univerfe. He prays dictatorial!)-. When it is fun-Shine, he prays for rain, and when it is rain, he prays for fun-Shine. He follows the fame idea in every thing that he prays for - for what is the amount of all his pray ers, but an attempt to make' the Al mighty change his mind, and aft- otherwife than he does. It is as if he were to fay — thou knoweft not fo well as I. But fome perhaps will fay, Are we to have no word of God — No revela tion ? I anfwer, yes. There is a word of God ; there is a revelation. The word of God is the crea tion we'behold : And it is in this word, which no human invention can counterfeit oralter, that God Speaketh univerfally to man. Human language is local and change able, and is therefore incapable of be ing ufed as the means of unchange able and univerfal information. The idea that God Sent Jefus Chrift to publish, as they Say, the glad tidings to all nations, from one end of the earth unto the other, is confiftent only 3M- PAINE's WORKS. w5th the ignorance of thofe who know nothing of the extent of the world, and Who believed, as thofe world- faviours believed, and continued to believe, for feveral centuries (and that in contradiction to the difcoveries of philofophers, and the experience of navigators) that the earth was flat like a trencher; and that a man might walk to the end of it. But how was Jefus Chrift to make any thing known to all nations ?— — ¦> — -He could fpeak but one language, which was Hebrew ; and there are iii the world feveral hundred lan guages.. Scaicely any two nations fpeak the fame language, or , under ftand each other ; and as to transla tions, every man who knows any thing of languages, knows that it is impoffible to translate from one language into another, not only without lofing a great part of the original, but frequent ly of mistaking the fenfe ; and befides all this , the art of printing was wholly unknown at the time Chrift lived. It is always neceffary that the means that are to accomplish any end, he equal to the accomplishment of that end, or the end cannot, be accom- pJiShed. It is in this, that the dif ference between finite and infinite power and wifdom diScovers itfelf. Man frequently fails in accomplish ing, his end, from a natirral Inability qf the power to the purpofe ; and frequently from the want- of wif dom to apply power properly. But ii is impoffible for infinite power and 7/ifdom to fail as man faileth. The rneans it ufeth are always equal to t'-ie'end ; but human language, more specially as there is not an univerfal language, is incapable of being ufed as an univerfal means of unchangeable^ and uniform information ; .and there-' '/ore it is not the means that God ufeth in manifefting himfelf univer- fally to man . It is only in the Creation that all our ideas and conceptions of a viord of God can unite. The creati on fpeaketh an univerfal language, independently of human fpeech or human language, multiplied and va rious as they be. It is an ever ex isting original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged, it cannot be counterfeited ; it cannot be loft ; it cannot be altered ; it cannot be fuppreffed. It does not depend upon the will of man whether it (hail be published or not ; it publishes itfelf from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches fo all nations and to all worlds ; and this word of God reveals to man all that is neceffary for man to know of God. Do we want to contemplate hi? power ? We fee it in the immenfity of the creation. Do we want to con template his wifdom i We fee it in the unchangeable order by which the incomprehenfi-ble Whole is governed. Do we want to contemplate his mu nificence ? We fee it in the abundance with which he fills the earth. Do we want tq cqntemplate hjs mercy? We fee it in his not withholding that abundance even from the unthankful. In fine, do we want to know what God is? Search not the book called the fcripture, which any human hand might make, but the fcripture called the Creation. The only idea man can affix to the name of Gqd, is, that qf a firft caufe, the caufe of all .things. And 'incoiij- pnehenfibly difficult as it is for man to conceive what a firft caufe is, he arrives at the belief of it, from the ¦ten-fold greater difficulty of difbe- lfeving.it. It is difficult beyond de fcription to conceive that fpace can Part I» AGE O P RS A S OK. 3«5 Jiave no endl; bjM'il! is more difficult to conceive a» end.— —It is difficult beyond defcription to conceive an eter nal duration of what we call time; but it is more impoffible to conceive a time when there fhall be no time. In like manner of reafoning, every thing we behold carries in itfelf the internal evidence that it did not make itfelf. Every man is an evidence to himfelf, that he did not make him felf; neither eould his father make himfelf ; nor his grandfather, nor any of his race ; neither could any tree, plant, or animal, make itfelf ; and it is the conviction arifing from this evi dence, that carries us on, as it were, by neceffity to the belief of a firft caufe eternally existing, of a nature totally different to any material exist ence we know of, and by the power qf which all things exift, and this, firft caufe man calls God, L^fSjii-f It is only by the exercife of rea^Sbn that man can- diliover God. Takw away that reafon, and he would be in capable of underftanding any thing; and, in this- cafe, it would be juft as confident to read even the book called the Bible, to a horfe as to a man. How then is it that thofe people pre tend torejeit reafon? Almoft the only parts in the book, palled the Bible, that convey to us any idea of God, are fome chapters in Job, and the i^bh pfalm. I recol lect no other. Thofe parts are true deifl'ual compofitions ; for tbey treat of the Deity through his weeks, They take the bookjof Creation as the word of God ; tney refer to no other book ; and all the inferences they make are drawn from that volume. I infert, in this place, the 19th pfalm, as paraphrafed into EngliSh *erfe, by Addifon. I recolleft not theprofej and where I write this, I have not the opportunity of feeing it* The- fpacious firmament on high, , ;^ With all the blue etherial iky. And fpangled heavens, a Shining frame, t- Their great original proclaim. The unwearied fun, from dayto day^ Poes bis Creator's power difplay, And publishes to every land, The work of an Almighty hand. Soon as the evening-Shades prevail, The moon takes up the wond'rous tale* . And nightly to the liSl'ning earth Repeats the ftory of her birth. Whilft all the liars that round her bunw And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And' Spread the trutji from pole to pole. What tho' ia Solemn filence, all Move round this dark terrestrial ball; ,What tho' no real voice, nor found, , ^jjAmidft their radiant orbs be found, 'In reafou's ear they all rejoice. And utter forth a glorious vpice. For ever finging as they fliine, Tm HAND THAT MADE DS IS B I VISE, What more does man want to know than that the hand, or power that made thefe things is divine, is omni potent. Let him believe this, with the force it is impoffible to repel if -he permits his reafon to aft, and his rule of moral life will follow of courfe. The allufions in Job have all of them the fame tendency with this pfalrn; that of deducing or proving a truth, that would be otherwife un known, from truths already known. I recolleft not enough of the paf fages in Job to infert them correctly $ but there is one that occurs to me that is applicable to the fubjeft I am fpeaking upon. " Canft thou by " fearching, find out God? canft " thou find out the Almighty to per- " feftion?" gi6 PAINE's WORK! I know not how the printers have pointed this paffage^for I keep no Bible: butit contains twodiftinft quef- tions that admits of diftinft anfwers. Firft, Canft thou by fiearching find .out God? Yes. Becaufe, in the firft * place, I know I did not make myfelf, and yet I have existence ; and by fiearching into the nature of other things, I find that no other thing could make itfelf; and yet millions of pther things exift ; therefore it is, that I know, by pofitive conclusion refulting from this Search, that there is a power Superior to al] thofe things, -and that power is God. Secondly, Canft thou find out the Almighty to perfeBion? No. Not only becaufe the power and wifdom he 'has manifested in the Structure, of the creation that I behold, is to me incomprehensible; but becaufe even this manifestation, great as it is, is probably but a fmall difplay of that immensity of power and wifdom, by which millions of other worlds, to me invisible by their diftance, were cre ated and continue to exift. It is evident that both thefe quef- tions were put to the reafon. of the perfon to who,n they are fuppofed to have been addreSTed ; and it is only by admitting the firSt queftion to be anfwered affirmatively, that the fecond could i&iiow. It would have been unneceffary, and even abfurd, to have put a fecond queftion more difficult than the firft, if the firft qiieftion had been anfwered negatively. The two queilions have different Objefts ; the firft refers to the existence of God, trie Second, to his attributes. Reafon ..ji dil'cover the one, but it falls infi- Bitely Short in discovering the whole of tlie otner. I recolleft not a Single paffage in all the writings afcribed to the men, called appftles, that convey any idea of what God is. Thofe writings are chiefly controversial ; and the glooniinefs of the fubjeft they dwell upon, that of a man dying in agony on a crofs, is better fuited to the gloomy genius of a monk in a cell, by whom it is not impoffible they were written, than to any man breathing the open air of the creation. The only paffage that occurs to me, that has any reference to the works of God, by which only bis power and wifdom can be known, is related to have been fpoken by Jefus Chrift, as a remedy againft dif- truftful care. " Behold the lilies of " the field, tjiey toil npt, neither do J« they Spin." This, howeyer, is far inferior to the allufions in Job, and in the nineteenth pfalm ; but it is fimilar in idea, and the mqdeffy- of the imagery is correfpondent to, the modefty of the man. As to the Chriftian fyftem of faith, jt appears to me as a fpecies of atheifm ; a fort of religious denial of God. It profeffes to believe in a man rathe? than in God. It is a compound made up. chiefly of manifin with but little' deifm, and is as near to atheifm as' twilight is to darknefs. It introduces between man and his Maker an opaque body which it calls a redeemer ; as the moon introduces her opaque felf between the earth and the fun, and it produces by this means a religious or, an irreligious eclipfe of light. It has put the whole, orbit of reafon into Shade. . The effeft of this obfcurity has been that of turning every thing up- Side down, and representing it in re verie ; and. among the revolutions it. Part I. AGE. OF REASON. 3i7 has thus magically: produced, it ' has made a revolution in Theology. ' ' ¦ That which is now tcalled natural philofophy, embracing the whole circle »f feience, of which aftronomy occu pies the chief place, is the ftudy of the works of God and of the power and wifdom of God in his works, and is the true theology. As to the theology that is now Stu died in its place, it is the ftudy of human opinions and of human fancies' concerning God. It is not the ftudy of God himfelf in the works that he has made, but in the works or writings that man has made; and it is hot among the leaft of the mifehiefs that the Chrif- tian. fyftem has done to the world, that it has abandoned the original and beautiful fyftem of 'theology, like a beautiful innocent to- diftrefs and re proach, to make room for the hag of fuperffiition. The book of Job, and the 19th pfalm, which even the church admits to be more ancient than the chrono logical order in which they Stand in tfae book called the Bible, are theolo gical orations conformable to the ori ginal fyftem of theology. The inter nal evidence of thofe orations proves to a demonstration, that the ftudy and contemplation of the works of cre ation, and of the power and wifdom of God revealed and manifested in thofe works, made a great part of the religious devotion of the times in 'which they were written ; and it was this devotional ftudy and contempla tion that led to the difcovery of the principles upon which, what are now called Sciences, are eftabliShed ; and it. is to the difcovery of thefe princi ples that a'lmoft all the arts that con tribute to the convenience of human life, owe their existence.. Every prin cipal art has fome feience for its pa rent, though the perfon who mechai- nically performs the work does, not always,1 and but very feldom, per ceive the connection.' It 'is a fraud of the christian fyftem to' call the fciences human inventions';' it is only the application of them that \ is human. Every feience has for its bafis a fyftem of principles as fixed'. and unalterable as thofe by which the univerfe is regulated and governed. Man cannot make principles ; he can, only difcover them : For example. Every perfon Who looks at an almanack fees an account when an eclipfe will take place, and he Sees alfo that it never fails to take place according to the account there given. This Shews that man is ac quainted with the laws by which the heavenly bodies move. But it would be fomething Worfe than ignorance, were any church on earth to lay, that thofe laws are an human inven tion. It would alfo be ignorance, or fomething worfe, to fay, that the f&- entitle principles, by the aid of which man is enabled to calculate and fore know when an eclipfe will take place, are an human invention. Man can not invent any thing that is eterriil and immutable; and the fcientific principles he employs for this pur- pofe, muft, and are, of neceffity, as eternal and immutable as the laws by which the heavenly bodies move, or they could not be ufed as they are, to afcertain the time when, and the manner how, an eclipfe will take place. The feientific principles' that man employs to obtain the foreknowledge of an- eclipfe, or of any thing el(e re lating to the motion of the heavenly bodies,- are contained chiefly in that 3i« PAlNE's WdRKtt* part of feience that is tailed trigono metry, or the properties of a. triangle, which, when applied to the ftudy of the heavenly bodies, is called aftro- j nomy : when applied to direct the courfe of a Ship on the ocean, it is | called navigation ; when applied to the conftruftion of figures drawn by a rule and compal's, it is called geome try; when applied to fhe conllrtictfon of plans of edifices, it is called archi tecture : when applied to the measure ment of any portion of the farface of the earth, it is called land Surveying. In Sine, it is the foul of feience. It is an eternal truth ; It contains the mathematical demonfiration of which man fpeaks, and the extent of its ufes are unknown. It may be Said, that man can make or draw a triangle, and therefore a triangle is a human invention. But the triangle, when drawn, is no other than the image of the prin ciple : it is a delineation to the eye, and from thence to the mind, of a principle that would otherwife be im perceptible. The triangle- does not make the principle, any more than a candle taken into a room that was dark, makes the chairs and tables that before were invisible. All the pro perties of a triangle exift indepen dently of the figure, and exifted be fore any triangle was drawn or thought of by man. Man had no more to do in the formation of thofe properties, or principles, than he had to do in making the laws by which the hea venly bodies move ; and therefore the one muft have the fame divine origin as the other. In the fame manner as it may be faid, that man can make * triangle, fo alfo may it be faid, he can make the mechanical iuftrument, called a lever: But the principle by whicfi the lever afts, is a thing diftinft front the instrument, and would exift if the iuftrument did not : it attaches itfelf to the iuftrument after it is made j the instrument therefore can aft no* otherwife than ir does aft j neither can all the effort of human invention make it aft otherwife. That which, in all fuGh cafes, man calls the effeB, is no' other than the principle itfelf rendered perceptible to the fen&s. Since then man cannbt make prin ciples, from whence did he gain a knowledge of them, So- as to be able to apply them, not only to things on earth, but to afcertain the motion of bodies fo immenfely diftarit from him as all the heavenly bodies are? From whence, I afk, could he gain thati knowledge, but from the Study of the true theology ? It is the ftiufture of the univerfe' that has taught this knowledge to man. That Structure is an ever ex isting exhibition of every principle upon which every part of mathemati cal feience is founded* The offspring of this Science is mechanics ; for me chanics is no other than: the princi ples of feience applied practically. The man who proportions the feveral parts of a mill, ufes the fame fei- entific principles, as if he had the power of constructing an univerfe i but as he cannot give to matter that invifible agency, by which all the component parts of the immenfe ma chine of the univerfe have influence upon each other, and aft in motional unifbn together without any apparent contaft, and to which man has given the name of attraftion, gravitation, and repulfion, he fupplies the place of that agency by the humble imitation of teeth and cog»„ All the parts of Part I. AGE OF REASON. 3 1 f man's mierocofin muft visibly touch. Biit could he .gain a knowledge of that agency, fo as to be ableto apply ,it in praftice, we might then fay, that ano ther cmonicalbook of the word of God had been difcovered. If man could alter the properties of the lever, fo alfo could he alter the properties of the triangle : for a lever (taking that fort of lever, which is called a Steel-yard for the fake of ex planation) forms, when in motion, a triangle. The line it defcends from, (one point of that line being in the fulcrum) the line it defcends to, and the chord of the arc, .which the end of the lever- defcribes in the air, are the three fides of a triangle. The other arm of the lever defcribes alfo a tri angle ; and the correfponding fides of thofe two triangles, calculated fcien- tifically or meafured geometrically ; and alfo the fines, tangents, and fe- cants generated from the angles, and geometrically measured, have the fame , proportions to each other, as the dif ferent weights have that will balance each other on the lever, leaving the weight of the lever out of the cafe. It may alio be Said that man can make a wheel and axis, that he can put wheels of different magnitudes together, and produce a mill. Still the cafe Comes back to the fame point. which is, that he did not make the principle that given the wheels thole powers. That principle is aS unal terable as in the former caSf s, or rather it is the fame principle under a differ ent appearance to the eye. The power that two wheels, of dif ferent magnitudes, have upon each other, Is in the fame proportion as if the Semi-diameter of the two wheels were joined together and made into that kind of iever I have defcribed, fuf pended at the part where the Semi-di ameters joirt:; for the two wheels, fcientifically confidered, are no other than the two circles generated by tlie jmotion of fhe con/ipound lever. It is from the Study of the true theojsgy that all our knowledge of if\nce is derived; and it is from that kjs \ledge that all the arts havepii- g&fed. The Almighty lecturer by difplay- ing the principles ,ot feience in the ftrufture of the univerfe, has invited man to Study and to imitation. It is as if he had faid to the inhabitants of this globe that we call ours, " I have " made an earth for man to dwell upon, " and I have rendered the Starry hea- " vens visible, to teach him Science " and the arts. He can now provide " for his own comfort, and learn '¦ FROM MY MUNIFICENCE TO ALL " TO BE KIND TO EACH OTHER." Of what ufe is' it, unlefs it be to teach man fomething, that his eye is endowed with the power of beholding, to an incomprehensible dift.ar.ce, an immenfity of worlds revolving in tho ocean of fpace ? Or of what ufe is it that this immenfity of worlds is visi ble to man ? What has man to do with the Pleiades, with Orion, with Sirius, with the ftar he calls the north Star, with the moving orbs he has named Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, if no ufes are to follow from their being vifible ? A lefs power of vifion would have been fufficient for man, if the immenfity he now pol- feffes were given only to wafle itfelf, as it -were, on an immenfe defertof Space glittering with Shows. It is only by contemplating what he calls the Starry heavens, as the * book and fchool of fcienci, that he difcovers any ufe in their being visi ble to him, or any advantage resulting from his immenfity of vision. But %io PAINE'S W0RK3. . when he contemplates the' fubjeft in this light; he fees an additional mo tive for faying that nothing was made in vain ; for in vain would be this power of vi-fion if k taught man no thing. As the Christian fyftem of faitiyfes made a revolution in theology, -ftp/ ib has it made a revolution in the ftate of learning: That which is now call ed learning was not learning origi nally.: Learning does not confift, as the fehools now make it confift, in the knowledge of languages, but in the knowledge of things to which lan guage gives names. The Greeks were a teamed people ; but learning with theiri, did not con fift in fpeaking Greek, any more than in a Roman's fpeaking Latin, or a Frenchman's (peaking French, or an Englishman's fpeaking EngliSh. From what we' know of the Greeks, it dOes not appear that they knew or Studied any language but their own ; and this was one caufe of their becoming fo learned ; it afforded them more time to apply themfelves to better (Indies. The Schools of the Greeks were fehools of feience and philofpphy, and not of languages : and it is in the knowledge: of the things that feience and philofo- phy teach, that learning confifts. Almoft all the Scientific learning that now exifts, came to us from the Greeks, or the people who Spoke the Greek language. It therefore became neceffary to the people qf other nati ons, who fpoke a different language, that fome among them Should learn the Greek language, in order that the learn ing the Greeks had might be made known in thofe nations, by translating the Greek books of feience and phi- iofophy into the mother tongue of each nation. The ftudy therefore of the GVeefc language, (and in the fame manner1 for the Latin) was no other than the drudgery bufinefs of a linguist ; and the language thus obtained, was no other than the means, or as it werey the tools,, employed to obtain the learning the Greeks had. It mads no part of the learning itfelf j and was fo diftinft from it, as to make it ex ceeding probabley that the perfons who had- ftudied Greek fuSficiently to trans late thofe works, fuch, for inftance, as Euclid's Elements, did not under stand any of the learning the works' contained. As there is now nothing new to he learned from the dead languages, alf the ufeful books being already tranf-/ rated, the languages ai'e become ufe- lefs, and the tine expended in teach ing and in learning them is wafted.- So far as the ftudy of languages may' contribute to the progrefs and com munication of knowledge [for it has' nothing to do with the creation- of knowledge} it is only in the living languages that new knowledge is to be" found : and certain it is, that, in general, a youth will learn more of a Kving language in one year, than of a dead language in feven ;¦ and it is but feldom that the teachey knows" much of it himfelfo The difficulty of learning the dead languages does not arife from any fuperior abftrufenefs in the languages themfelves, but their being dead, and the pronunciation en tirely loft. It would be tht fame thing with any other language when it he-» comes dead.. The beft Greek linguists that now exifts, does not underftand/ Greek fo well as a Grecian plowman! did, or a Grecian milkmaid ; and the\ fame for the Latin, compared with a plowman or a milkmaid of the Ro- Part I. AGE OF REASON. jir mans ; and with refpeft to pronuncia tion, and idiom, not fo well as the cows that (he milked. It would therefore be advantageous to the ftate of learning, to abolish the ftudy of the dead- languages, and to make learning .confift, as it originally did, in Scientific knowledge. The apology that is fometimes made for continuing to teach the dead lan guages is, that they are taught at a time when a child is not capable of exerting any other mental faculty than that of memory. But this is al together erroneous. The human mind has a natural difpofition to fcientific knowledge, and the things connected with it. , The firft and favourite arnufement of a child, even before it begins to play, is that of imitating the works of man. It builds houfes with cards or Sticks ; it navigates the little ocean of a bowl of water with a paper boat ; or dams the Stream of a gutter, and contrives fomething which it calls a. mill; and it interefts itfelf in the fate of its works with a care that refembles affection. It af terwards goes to fchool, where its genius is killed by the barren ftudy of a dead language, and the philofo pher is loft in the linguist. But the apology that is now made for continuing to teach the dead lan guages, could not be the caufe at firft of cutting down learning to the nar row and humble Sphere of linguiftry ; rhe caufe, therefore, muft be fought for elfewhere. In all refearches of this kind, the belt evidence that can be produced, is the internal evidence 1hc thing carries with itfelf, and the evidence of circumftances that unites with it, both of which, in this cafe, are not difficult to be discovered. Putting then afide, as matter of diftinft confideration, the outrage of fered to the moral juftice of God, by fuppofing him to make the innocent fuffer for the guilty, and alfo the loofe morality and low contrivance of fop- poling him to change himfelf' into the Shape of a man, in order to make an excufe to hnfelf for not executing his fuppofed fentence upon Adam j putting, I fay, thofe things afide, as matter of cfiftinft confideration, ,it is certain, that what is called the chrif- tian fyftem of faith including in it the whimfical account of the creation ; the ftrange ftory of Eve, the Snake and the apple , the amphibious idea of a man -god ; the corporeal idea of the death of a God ; the mythologi cal idea of a family of gods ; and the christian fyftem of arithmetic, that three are one, and one is three, are all irreconeileable, not only to the di vine gift of reafon that God has gi ven to man, but to the knowledge that man gains of the power and wif dom of God, by the aid of thefeiences, and by Studying the ftrufture of the univerfe that God has made. The fetters up, therefore, and rhe advocates of the christian fyftem of faith, could not but forefee that the continually progreffive knowledge that man wonld gain by the aid of Science, of the power and wifdom of God ma nifested in the ftrufture of the uni verfe, and in all the works of creation, would militate againft, and call into queftion, the truth of their fyftem of faith ; and therefore it became necef fary to their purpofe to cut learning down to a fize lefs dangerous to their projefts, and this they effected by re- ftrifting the idea of learning to the j dead (ludy of dead languages. They not only rejefted the ftudy of feience out of the christian fehools, but they perfecuted it ; and it is only within about the laft two centuries Jfci PAINE's WORKS, that the ftudy has been revived. So' late as ioio Galileo, a Florentine, difeovered and introduced the ufe of telefcopes, and by applying them to obferve the motions and appearances of the heavenly bodies, afforded- additi onal means for ascertaining the true ftrufture of the univerfe. Inftead of being efteemed for thefe ^difcoveries, he was fehtenced to renounce them or the opinions refulting from them, as a damnable herefy. ¦ And prior to that time Virgilius1 was condemned fo be burned for afferting the anti podes, or in other words, that the earth was a globe, and habitable in every part where there was land ; yet the truth of this is now too well known eveii to be told. If the belief of errors not morally bad did no mifchief, it would make no part of the moral duty of man to oppofe and remove them. There was no moral ill in believing the earth was Slat like a trencher, any more than there was moral virtue in be lieving it was round like a globe ; ¦neither was there any moral ill in be lieving that the Creator made no other world than this, any more than there was moral virttue in believing that he made millions, and that the infinity qf fpace is filled with worlds. But c when a fyftem of religion is made to grow out qf a fuppofed S'yftem of -creation that is not true, and to unite itfelf therewith in a manner almoft infeparable therefrom, the cafe af- fumes an entirely different ground. It is then that errors, not morally bad,, become fraught with the fame mifchiefs as if they were. It is then that the truth, though otherwife in different itfelf, becomes an effential,* by becoming the criterion, that eitheh confirms by correfponding evidence* or denies by contradiftory evidence, the reality of the religion itfelf. In this view of the cafe it is the moral duty of man to obtain every poSfible evidence, that the ftrufture of the heaw vens, or any other part of creation affords, with refpeft to fyftems of Religion. But this, the fupporters or partizahs of the christian fyftem, as if dreading the refult, inceSfantly oppofed, and not only rejefted the fciences, but perfecuted the prefef- fors. Had Newton or Defcartes lived three or four hundred years ago,- and purfued their Studies as they did, it is moft probable they would not have lived to finish them ; and had Frank lin drawn lightning from the clouds at the fame time, it would have been at the hazard of expiring for it in flames. Latter times have laid all the blame upon the Goths and Vandals, but, however unwilling the partizans of the Christian fyftem may be to believe or to acknowledge it, it is neverthelefs true, that the age of ignorance com menced with the Christian fyftem. There was1 more knowledge in the world before that period than for ma-. my centuries afterwards; and as to religious knowledge, the Christian fyf-' tem,t as already faid, was only another fpecies of mythology ; and the mytho logy to which it focceeded, was a cor ruption of an ancient fyftem of theifm.*» * It is impoffible for us to know at whit time the heathen mythology began ; but it is certain, from the internal evidence that it carries, that it did not begin in the fame State or condition in which it ended. All the gods of that mythology, except Saturn, were of modern invention. The fuppofed reign of Saturn was prior' to that which is,_ca))«lj the] heathen mythology, and was fo far a fpccieiof thetfm that it j, admitted Part I. AGE OF 3- .5 It is owing to this long interreg num of feience, and to no other caufe, that we have now to look batk through a vaft chafm of many hundred years" to the refpeftable charafters we call the antients. Had the progreffion of knowledge gefne on proportionably with the (lock that before exifted, that chafm would have been filled up With chara6ters rifing fuperior in know ledge to each Other; and -thofe ari- cients, we now fo much adniirej would have appeared refpeftably in the back ground of the fcehe. But the chrif- tian fyftem laid all wafte ;; and if we take our Stand about the beginning of the Sixteenth century, We lo'ok back thfo' that long chafin, to the tim'es of the ancients, as Over a vaft fandy de- Sart; in which not a fhrub appears to ¦ intercept the vifion to the fertile hills VJeyohd. It is an inconfiftency, fcarcely pofj fible' to be credited, that any thing : Should exift under tlie name of a re ligion, that held1 it to be irreligious to Study and contemplate the Structure: of the univerfe that God had made. But the fact is too well established to be denied. The event that ferved more than any other, to break the1 , true R E A SO N. at firft link in this long chain of deft ignorance, is that known by the naa\ of the reformation by Luther. Front that time, though it does not appear to have made any part of the intention of Luther, or of thofe whd are called reformers, the Sciences began to re-^ vive, and Liberality, their natural af fociate, begin to appear. This was the'only -public good the refofmatlort1 did; for with refpeft td religious good, it might as well' hot have taken: place. The1 mythology ftill continued the fame; and a multiplicity of nati onal popes grew out of the downfall of the Pope of Christendom; Having thus fhewn, froih the inter nal evidence of things, the caufe that produced a change in the ftate of learning, and the motive for Substi tuting the ftudy of the dead languages - in the1 place of the Sciences', I pro ceed, in addition to the feveral obfer- vatiOns already, made in the former part of this work, to compare, or rather to confront, the evidence that the-ftrufture of the univerfe affords,- with the christian fyftem of religion. Biut as I cannot begin this part better than by referring to the ideas that occurred to me at' an early part of Y a admitted the belief of only one God. Saturn is fuppofed to have abdicated the go« vernment in favour of his three fons and one daughter, Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune and Juno: after this, thoufands; of" other gods and demi-gods were imaginarily created, and the calendar of g'ods increafed as fall as the calendar of faints, and the calendar of courts have increafed fince. , . ,j - All the corruptions that have taken place, in theology, and in religion, have been - produced by admitting of what man calls revealed religion. The mythologifts pre tended' to more' revealed religion than the'chriSlians do. They had their oracles and their priefts, who were luppofed to receive'and deliver the word of God verbally on almcjft.-all occafions. Since then all corruptions, down from Moloch to modern predefhnarianifm, and the human facrifices of the htathens to the Chriftian facrifice of the Creator, have been produced by admitting wh,at i$ called revealed religion; the. mod effeflaiil means - toprevent all fuch evils and impofitions, is not to admit of any other revelation than that which is manifefted in the book of creation; and to contemplate the Creation, as the'only true and real word of God that ever did or ever will exift, and' that every thing elfe, called the word of God is fable and impofitiofi. frX PAINE's WORKS. Arid which I doubt not have occur- late -"' ..Jtd in fome degree to almoft everyother perfon at one time or other, I Shall ftate what thofe ideas were, and add thereto Such other matter as Shall arife out of the fubjeft, giving to the whole, by way of preface, a Short introduction. . My father being of the quaker pro- ftffion, it was my goqd fortune to have an exceeding good moral edu cation,, and a tolerable (lock, of ufe ful learning. Though I went, to the grammar fchool,.,* I did" not learn, Latin, not "only becaufe I had no in clination to learn languages, but be- s caufe of the objection the quakers have againft the books in which the I language is taught. vBut this did not prevent me from being acquainted with the fubjefts of all the Latin books ufed in the fchool. The natural bent of my mind was to feience. I had fome turn, and I believe fome talent , for poetry ;. but this I rather repreSfed than encouraged, as leading too much into the field of imagination- As foon as I was able I purchafed a pair of globes,, and at tended the philosophical lectures of Martin and Fergufon, and became afterwards acquainted with Dr. Bevis, of the fociety, called, the Royal So ciety, then living in the Temple, and an excellent aftronomer. I had no difpofition for what was called politics. It prefented to my mind no other idea than is contained in the word Jockeyfhip. When, therefore, I turned my thoughts to wards matters of government, I had to form a fyftem for myfelf, that ac corded with the moral and philofophic principles in which I had been edu cated. I faw, or at leaft I thought I faw, a vSft fcene opening itfelf to. the world in the affairs of America ; and it appeared to me, that unlefs the Americans changed the plan they were then purfuing, with refpeft to the government of England, and declare themfelves independent, they would not only involve themfelves in a mul tiplicity of new difficulties, but Shut out the profpeft that was then offer ing itfelf to mankind through their means. It, was from thefe motives that I published the work known by the name of Common Senfe, which is the firft work I ever did publish : and fo far as I can judge of myfelf, I be lieve I never Should have been known in the world as an authoi on any fub jeft whatever, had it not been for the affairs of America. I wrote Common Senfe the latter end of the year 1775,. and published it the firft of January 1776. Independence was declared the fourth of July following. Any perSon who has made obferva tions on the ftate and progrefs of the human mind, by obferving his own, cannot but have obferved, that there are two diftinft claffes of what are called Thoughts : thofe that we.^produce"in ourfelves by refleftion and the aft of thinking, and thofe that bolt into the mind of their own accord. I have al ways made it a rule to treat thofe volun tary visitors with civility, taking care to examine, as well as I was able, if they were worth entertaining ; and it is from them 1 have acquired almoft all the knowledge tint I have. As to the learn ing that any perfon gains from fchoo! education, it ferves only, like a fmall capital, to put him in the way of begin- The feimefchpo', Thelford in Norfolk, that the prefent Counfellor Mtngay went. and vnder the'fame niafler, Part I. AGE Q F RE A S-O N. ning learning for himfelf afterwards. — Every perfon of learning is finally his own teacher ; the reafon of which is, that principles, being of a diftinft quality to circumftances, cannot be impreSTed upon the memory. Their place of mental refidence , is the un derftanding, and they are never fo lafling as when they begin by concep tion- Thus much for the introduc tory part.,- From the time I was capable of conceiving an idea,, and afting upon it by reflection, I either doubted the truth of the christian fyftem, or thought it to be a ftrange. affair ; I fcarcely knew which it was : but I well remember, when about feven or eight years of age, hearing a fermon read by a relation of mine, who was a great devotee of the church, upon the fubjeft of what is called Re demption by the death of. the. Son of God. After the fermon was ended I went . into the; garden, and as I was going down the garden Steps (for I perfeftly jecolleft the fpot) I revolted at the recollection of what I had heard, and ¦thought to myfelf that it was making (God Almighty aft like a .paffionate man that killed his fon when he could not revenge himfelf any other way, (and as I was ".lure a man would be hanged that did fuch "a thing, I could not fee for what purpofe they preached fuels fecmons. This was not one of thofe kind of thoughts that had any thing in it of childilh levity ; it was to me a ferious reflection arifing from the idea I Had, that God was too good" to do fuch an action,, and alfo too al mighty to be under any neceffity of. doing it. I believe in the fame man ner to this rnoment ; and I moreover believe, that any fyftem of religion' that has any thing in it that Shocks the mind of a child,, cannot be a true fyftem. • I -rf_ It Seems as if parents of the chrif- tian profeffion were aShamed to tell their children any thing about the principles of their religion. They fometimes inftr.uft them in morals, and talk to, them of the goodnefs of what they call Providence ; for the christian mythology has five deities ; there is God the Father, God the Son» God the Holy Ghcff, the God Provi dence, and the Goddefs Nature. But the Christian ftory qf God the Father putting his fon to death,, or employ ing people to do it (for that is the plain language of the ftory) cannot be. told by a parent to a child ; and to tell him that it was done to make mankind happier and better, is making the Story ftill worfe; as if mankind could be improved by the example of murder ; and to tell him that all .this is a myftery, is only making an excufe for the incredibility of it. How different is this to the pure and fimple profeffion of Deifin I The true deift has but one Deity; and his religion confifts in contemplating the power, wifdom, and benignity of the Deity in his works, in endeavouring to imitate hi'm in every thing moral, feientifical, and mechanical. The religion that approaches the neareft of all others to true. deifin, in the moral and benign part thereof, is that profeffed by the quakers, but they have' contrafted themfelves too much by leaving the works of God " out of their fyftem. Though I reve rence their philanthropy, I cannot help fmiling at the conceit, that If the tafte of a'quaker, could have been confulted at the creation, what a filent and drab-coloured creation it would have been I. Not a Slower' would have 3it?- PAI NE's WORKS. Kloffomed its gaieties, nor a bird been permitted, to fing. Quitting thefe reflections, I pro ceed to other matters. After I had made myfelf mafter of the ufe of the globes and of the orrery, * and con ceived an idea of the infinity of fpace, and of the eternal divisibility of matter, and obtained, at leaft, a general know ledge of what is called- natural philo- fophy, I began to compare or as I have'before faid, to confront, the' in ternal evidence thofe things afford with the christian fyftem qf faith; Though it is not a direft article of the Christian fyftem that this world that we inhabit is the whole of the habitable creation, yet it is fo worked up therewith, from what is called the Mofaic account qf the creation, the ftory of Eve and the apple, and the counterpart of that Story, the death of the Son of God, that to believe other- wife, that is, to believe that God created a plurality of worlds, at leaftas numerous as what we call Stars, renders the christian Syftem of faith at once little and ridiculous ; and fcatters it in the mind like feathers in the air. Tlie two beliefs cannot be held toge ther in the fame mind ; and he who thinks that he believes both, has thought but little Of either. Though the belief of a plurality of worlds was familiar to the ancients, it Is enly within the laft three centu ries that the extent and dimensions of this globe that we inhabit, have been afcertained. Several veffels, follow ing the traft of the ocean; have failed entirely round the world, as a man may march in a circle, and come round by the contrary fide of the circle to the fpot "he fet out from. The circular dimensions of our world in the wideft part, as a man would meafure- the wideft round of an apple pr -a ball, is only twenty five thou- fand'and twfenty EngliSh miles, reck oning fixty-nirie- miles and an half to an equatorial degree, and may be fail ed found in the ' (pace of about three years. f : A World'of this' extent may," at firft thought, appear to' us to be great j but if we Compare it with the immen sity of fpace in which it is fufpended, like a babble br'a balloon in the air'; it is infinitely lefs in proportion than the fmatief? grain of fand is to the fize of the world, or the fined particle of dew* to the whole ocean; and is therefore ' but fmall; and, as will' bs hereafter Shewn, is only one of a fyf tem of worlds, of which the-1 univer fal creation is compofed. It is not difficult to gain fome faint idea of the immenfity of fpace in which this and all the other worlds are fufpended, if we follow a pro. * As this book may fall into the hands of perfons who do not know what an orrery is, it is for their information I add this note, as themame gives no idea of the ufes of the thing. . The orrery has its name from the perfon .who invented it. It is a ma chinery pf clpck-work, reprefentiiig the univerfe in miniature,:, and in which the re volution of the earth round itfelf and round the fen, the revolution of the moon round the earth, the revolution pf the' planets round the fun, their relative diftances from the fun, as the centre of the whole Ty-ftem, their relative diftances from each other, and their 'different magnitudes, are reprefejifed as they really exift, in what we cajl . Jhe heavens. -f- Allowing a (hip to fail, on an-ayerage three miles in an hoar, (lie would fail en- tirely round "thewbrld in lefs than one year,' if (he could fail in a direft circle; but (he ' r. is. obliged to fellow the courfe .of the ocean.. Part I. AGE OF REAS O'^N. 3*7 greffion of ideas. When we think of the fize or dimensions of a room, our ideas limit themfelves to the walls, and there they Slop. But when our eye, or our imagination darts into fpace, that is, when it looks upwards into what we call the' open air, we cannot conceive any walls or boun daries it can have ; and if, for the fake of retting our ideas, we fup pofe a boundary, the queftion imme diately renews itfelf, and aSks, what is beyond that boundary ? and in the fame manner, what is beyond the next boundary ? and fo on, till the fatigued imagination returns and fays, there is no end. Certainly, then, the Creator was not pent for room when he made this world no larger than it is ; and- we have to feek the reafon in fomething elfe. If We take a furvey of our own world, or rather of this, of which the Creator' has' given us the' ufe, as our portion in the, immenfe fyftem of creation, we find every part of it, the earth, the waters, and the air that furround it, filled, and as it were, crowded with life, down from the largeft animals that we know of, to the fmalleft infefts the naked eye can behold, and from thence to others ftill fmaller, and totally invisible with out the affiftance of the microfcope. , -Every tree, every plant, every leaf, ferves not only as an habitation, but as a world to fome numerous race, till animal exiftence becomes fo exceedingly refined, that the efflu via of a blade of gra-fs would be food for thoufands. Since then ho part of our earth is left unoccupied, why is it to be fup pofed, that the immenfity of fpace is a naked void, lying in eternal wafte. There is room for millions of worlds as large or larger than ours, and each of them millions of miles' apart from each other. Having ¦ now arrived ' at this point, if we carry, our ideas only one thought further, we Shall fee, perhaps, the true reafon, at leaft a very good rea fon for our'liappinefs, why the Crea tor, inftead of making one immenfe world, extending over an immenfe quantity of fpace, has preferred di viding that quantity of matter into feveral diftinft and feparate worlds, which we call planets, of which our earth is oae. But before I explain my ideas upon this fubjeft, it is necef fary, (not for the- fake of thofe that already know, but for thefe who do not) to Shew What the fyftem of the univerfe is. That part of the univerfe, that is called the folar fyftem (meaning the fyftem of worlds to which our earth belongs, and of which, Sol, or In EngliSh language the Sun, is the cen tre) cqnfifts, befides the Sun, of fix diftinft orbs, or planets, or worldji, befides the fecondary bodies, called the fatellites, or moons, of which our earth has one that attends her in her annual revolution round the fun, in like manner as the other fatellites, qr moons, attend the planets, or worlds, to which they feverally belong, as may be feen by the affiftance of the telefcope. The Sun is the centre, round which thofe fix worlds, or planets, revolve at different diftances therefrom, and in circles concentric to each other. Each world keeps conftantly in near the fame traft round the Sun, and continues at the fame time, turning round itfelf, in nearly an upright po fition, as a top turns round itfelf, when it is fpinning on the ground, and leans a little fideways. 3*8 PAINE's WORK 6. It is thisf leaning of 'the earth, rinrij;al_jr.eaas . that have been employed in all ages, and perhaps in all countries, to im- pofe upon mankind. Thofe three' means are, Myftery, ' Miracle, and Prophecy, Thje two firft are incompatible with true reli gion, and the third ought always to be fufpefted. With refpeft to myftery, every tiling we behold is, in one fenfe a myftery, to us. Our own exiftence is a myf tery : the whole vegetable world is a myftery. We cannot account how it is that an acorn, when put into the ground; is made to develop itfelf, and become an oak. We know not how It is that the feed we fow unfolds and multiplies itfelf, and returns to us 'foch an abundant intereft for fo Small a capital. The fact, however, as diftinc^ frqm the operating caufe, is not a myftery, becaufe we fee it ; and we know alfo the means we are' to ufe, which is no other than putting the feed jn the ground. We know therefore as much as is neceffary forus to know ; and that part of the operation that we dq not know, and which if we did, we could not perform, the Creator takes upon himfelf and performs it for us. We are therefore better off than if we had been let into the fecret, and left to do it for ourfelves. But though every created thing is in this fenfe, a myftery, the word myftery cannot be applied to moral truth, any more than obfcu,rity can be applie'd to light. The God in whom we believe is a God of moral truth and not a God of myftery qr obfeu- ,33* PAINE's WORKS. rity. Myftery is the- antagonist of truth. It is a fog of human inven tion, that obfeures truth and repre fents it in distortion- Truth never envelops itfelf in myftery; and the •myftery in which it is at any time en veloped, is the work of its antagonist and never of itfelf. Religion, therefore, being the -be lief of a God, and the practice of -moral truth, cannot have connection with myftery. The belief of Godv fo far from having any thing of myf tery iii it, is of all beliefs the .moil eafy, becaufe it arifes tous, as is be fore obferved, out of neceSfi-ty. And the practice of moral truth, or in ct her words, a practical imitation of the moral goodnefs of God, is no other than our afting towards each other, as he afts benignly towards all. We cannot ferve God in the manner we ferve thofe who cannot do without /fuch fecvice ; and, therefore, the only >.idea we can have of ferving God, is lhat of contributing to the happinefs of the living creatiqn that God has made. This cannot be done by re tiring ourfelves from the fociety of the world, and fpending a reclufe life in felfiSh devotion. The very nature and defign of reli gion, if I may fo exprefs it, prove even to demonstration, that it muft be free from every thing of myftery, and unincumbered with eyjery thing that is mySterious. Religion, confi dered as a duty, Is incumbent upon *very living foul alike, and therefore muft be on a level to the understand ing and comprehenfion of all. Man does not learn religion as he learns £he fecrets and mysteries of a trade. He learns the theory of religion t>y reflection. It arii'es out of the action o; lus own mind upun the tljin -«. which he fees, or upon whit he may happen to hear or . to read, and the praftice joins itfelf, thereto. When men, whether from policy or pious fraud, fet up fyftems of religion incompatible with the word or works of God in the creation, and not only above but repugnant to human com prehenfion, they were under the ner ceffity of inventing, or adopting, a word that Should ferve as a bar to all questions, inquiries, and Speculations'. The word .myftery anfwered this pur pofe.; and thus it has happened, that religion, which, in itfelf, is without myftery, has been corrupted into -a fog of mysteries. As myftery anfwered all genera! pur- pofes;, miracle followed as an occa sional .auxiliary. The former ferved to bewjlder the njind, the latter to puzzle the fcnfes. The one was the lingo ; the other fhe legerdemain. But before going further into this fubjeft, it will be proper to inquire what js to be underftood by a miracle. . In the fame "feme that every thing may be faid to be a myftery, fo alfo may be faid, that every thing is a miracle, and that no one thing is a greater miracle than another. The Elephant though larger, is not a greater miracle than a mite ; nor a mountain a greater miracle than an atom. To an almighty power, it is no more difficult to make the one than the other, and no more difficult to make a million worlds than to make one. Every thing therefore is a miracle in one fenfe ; whilft, in the other fenfe {here is no fuch thing as a miracle. It is a miracle when com pared to our power, and to our com prehension.' It is not a miracle compared to the power that performs i':. jiut a? apthi;sg in. this defcrip- Part I. AGE OF R E. A SON. 333 tion conveys the idea that is affixed to the word miracle, it is neceffary to carry the enquiry further. Mankind have conceived to them felves certain laws by which, what they call, nature, is fuppofed to aft ; and that a miracle is fomething con trary to the operation and effeft of thofe laws. But unlefs we know the whole extent Of thofe laws, and of what are commonly called, the powers of nature, we are not able to judge whether any thing that may appear to us wonderful .' or miraculous be i within, or beyond, or be contrary to, her natural power of afting. The afcenfioh of a man feveral miles high into the air, would have every thing in it that constitutes the idea of a miracle, if it were not known that a fpecies of air can be generated fe veral times lighter than the common atmofpheric air, and yet poffefs elasti city enough to prevent the balloon, in which that light air is enclofed, from being compreffed into as many times lefs bulk, by the common air that furrounds it. In like manner, extracting flaihes or fparks of fire from the human body as vifibly ,as from a Steel ftruck with a flint, and cauSing iron or Steel to move without any vifible agent, would alfo give the idea of a miracle, if we were ^ not acquainted with electricity and magnetifm ; fo alio would many other experiments in natural philofbphy, to > thofe who are not acquainted with the fubject. The reftorin-g perfons to life, who aie to appearance dead, as is —pi act ilcd upon drowned perfons, would alio be a miracle, if it were not known that animation is capable of being fufpended without being extirift. , Beiicles thefe, there are pei formances by flight: of . hand, ¦ and' by perfons airing in conctrt, that have a miracu lous appearance, which, when knOwn, are thought norhing of. And befides- thefe, there are mechanical and opti^ cal deceptions. There is now an exhibition in Paris of ghofts and fpeftres, which, though it is not im pofed upon the fpeftators as a fact, has an aftonilhing appearance. As there fore we know not the extent to which either nature or art can go, there is no pofitive criterion to determine what a miracle is ; and mankind, in • giving credit to appearances, under the idea of their being miracles, are fubjeft to be continually impofed upon. Since then appearances are fo capa ble of deceiving,, and things not real have a ftrong refemblance to things that are, nothing can be more incon fiftent, than to fuppofe, that the Al mighty would make ufe of means, fuch as are called miracles,, that would fubjeft the perfon who per formed them to the fufpicion of being an impoftor, and the perfon who re lated them to be fofpefted of lying, and the doftrine intended to be Sup ported thereby, , to be fofpefted as a fabulous invention. Of all the modes of evidence that ever were invented to obtain belief to any fyftem or opinion, to which the name of religion- has been given, that of miracle, however fuccefsful the im pofition may have been, is the moft inconfiftent. For, in the firft place, whenever recourfe is had to Show, for the purpofe of procuring that belief, (for a miracle, under any idea of the word, is a Show) it implies a lamenefs or- weaknefs in. the doftrine that is preached. And, in the fecond place, it is degrading the Almighty Into the character of a Show-man, playing tricks to ainufe and make the people Slate and wonder. It is alfo the mull 334- PAINE's WORK& equivocal fort of evidence that can be fet up ; for the belief is not to depend upon the thing called a miracle, but , upon the credit of the reporter, who fays that he faw it ; and therefore the thing, were it true, would have no better chance of being believed than if it were a lie ? Suppofe, I were to fay, that when I fat down to write this. ' book, a hand prefented itfelf in the air, took up the pen, and wrote every word that is herein written ; would any body be lieve me ? certainly they would not. Would they believe me a whit the more if the thing had been a faft ? certainly they would not. Since then, a real miracle, were it to happen, would, be fubjeft to the fame fate as the falShobd, the inconfiftency becomes the greater, of fuppofing the Almighty would make ufe of means that Would not anfwer the purpofe for which they were intended, even if they were real. If we are to i'tipuofe a miracle to be fomething fo entirely out of the courfe of What is called nature, that She muft go out of that courfe to accomplish it ; and We fee an account given of Such miracle by the perfon who faid he faw it, it raifes a queftion in the mind very eafily decided', which is, Is it more probable that nature Should go out of her courfe, or that a man Should tell a lie ? We have never feen, in our time, nature go out of her courfe, but we have good reafon to believe that millions of lies have been told in the fame time ; it is therefore at leaft, millions to one, that the reporter of a miracle tells a lie. The ftory of the whale fwallowing Jonah, though a whale is large enough to do> if,i borders greatly on the mar vellous ; butit would have approached nearer to the idea of a miracle, if Jonah had fwallowed the whale. In this, which may ferve for all cafes of miracles, the matter would decide it felf as before Slated, namely, ts it more probable that a man Should have fwallowed a whale, or told a lie ? But Supposing that Jonah had really fwallowed the whale, arid gone with it in his belly to Ninevah, and to con vince the people that it was true, have call it up in their fight of the full length and Size of a whale; would they not have believed him to have been the devil inftead of a prophet ? or, if the whale had carried Jonah' to Ninevah, and call him up in the fame public manner, would they not have believed the whale to have been the devil, and Jonah one of his imps ? The moft extraordinary of all the things called miracles, related in the New Teftafnerit, is that of the devil flying away with Jefus Chrift, and carrying him tO tlie top of a high mountain ; arid to' the top of the high est pinnacle of the temple, and Shewing him, and prOmi Sing to' him all the king- dbms of the world. How happened it that he did not difcover America ? or is it only with kingdom! that his' footy highnefs has any intereft?' ' I have too much refpeft for the moral charafter of Chrift, to believe that he told this whale of a miracle himfelf; neither is it ealy to account for what purpofe it could have been fa bricated, unlefs it were to impofe upon the connoiffeurs of miracles, as is Sometimes pi'aftii'ed upon the connoif feurs of Queen Anne's farthings, and cqlleftors of relics and antiquities ; or to render the belief of miracles ri diculous, by outdoing miracle, as Don Quixote outdid chivalry : or to em- barrafs the belief of miracles by mak ing it doubtful by what power, whe ther of God, or of the devil, any thing called a miracle was performed. It requires, however, a great deal of faith in the devil to believe this miracle. Part I. AGE OF REASON. 335 , In every point of view, in which thofe things called miracles can be placed and confidered, the reality of them is improbable, and their exift ence unneceffary. They would nqt, as before obferved, anfwer any ufeful purpofe, even if they were true ; for it is more difficult to obtain belief to a miracle, than to a principle evident ly moral, without any miracle. Moral principle fpeaks univerfally for itfelf. Miracle could be but a thing of the moment, and feen but by a few ; after this, it requires a transfer of faith, from -God to man, to believe a miracle upon man's report. Inftead therefore of admitting the recitals of miracles, as evidence of any fyftem of religion being true, they ought to be confidered as fymptoms of its being fabulous. It is neceffaiy to the full and upright charafter of truth, that it rejects the crutch ; and it is con sistent with the charafter of fable, to feek the aid that truth rejects. Thus much for myftery and miracle. AS myftery and miracle took charge of the paft and the prefent, prophecy took charge of the future, and round ed rhe tenfes of faith. It was not fufficieht to know what had been done, but what would be done. The fuppo fed prophet was the fuppofed historian of times to come ; and if he happen ed, in Shooting with a long bow of a thoufand years, to Strike within a thqul'anti miles of a mark, the ingenu ity of posterity could make it point blank ; and if he happened fo be di rectly wrong, it was only to fuppofe, as in the cafe" of Jonah arid Ninevah, that God had repented hiinl'elf, and changed his mind. What a fool do fabu.ous fyftems make of man ! It has been Shewn in a former part of this work, that the original mean ing of the words prophet and prophe fying has been changed, and that a prophet, in the fenfe the word is now,' ufed, is a creature of modern inventi on ; and it is owing to this change in , the meaning of the words, that the flights and metaphors of the Jewifh poets, and phrafes and expreffions now rendered obicure by our not being ac quainted with the local circumstances' to which they applied at the time they. were ufed, have been erefted into pro phecies, and made to, bend to expla nations at the will and whimfical conceits of feftarieS, expounders, and commentators. Every thing unintel ligible is prophetical, and every thing , infigriificant was typical. Atilunder would have fertfed for a prophecy, and a diSh- clout for a type. If by a prophet we are to fuppofe a man, to whom the Almighty commu nicated fome event that would take place in future, either there were fuch men or there were not. If there were, it is consistent to believe that the event, fo communicated, would be told in terms that could be underftood, and not re lated in fuch a loofe and obfeure man ner as to be out of the comprehension of thofe that heard it, and fo equivocal as to fit almoft any circumftance that might happen afterwards. It is con ceiving very irreverently of the Al mighty to fuppofe he would deal in this jelling manner with mankind : yet all the things called prophecies, in the book called the Bible, come under this defcription. -— " But it is with prophecy as it is with miracle. It could not anfwer the pur pofe even if it were real. Thofe to whom a prophecy Should be told, could not tell whether the man prophefied or lied, or whether it had been revealed to him, or whether he conceited it ; 336 PAINE's WORKS. and if the thing that he prophefied, or pretended to prophecy, Should happen, or fomething like it among the multi tude of things that are daily happen ing, nobody could again know whe ther he fore -knew it, or gueffed at it, or whether it was accidental. A pro phet, therefore is a character ufelefs and unneceffary ; and the fafe fide of the cafe is, to guard againft being im pofed upon by not giving credit to. fuch relations. Upon the whole, myftery, miracle, and prophecy, are appendages that belong to fabulous and not to true re ligion. They are the means by which fo many Lo heres ! and Lo theres ! have been lpread about the world, and re ligion been made into a trade. The fuccefs of one impoftor gave encou ragement to another, and the quieting falvo of doing fome good by keeping. up a pious fraud, protected them from- remorfe. Having now extended the fubjeft to a greater length than I firft intended, I Shall bring it to a clofe by abllrafting, a Summary from the whole- -— Firft, that the idea or belief of a word of God existing in print, or in writing, or in fpeech, is inconfiftent in itfelf for the reafons already affign- ed. Thefe reafons among many others, are the want of an univerfal language ; the mutability of language; theerrors to which translations are fubjeft ; the poflibiiityof totally fuppreffing fuch a word ; the probability of altering it, or of fabricating the whole, and im posing it upon the world. Secondly, That the creation we be hold is the real and ever existing word of God, in which we cannot he de* ceived. It proclaimeth his power, if demonftrates his wifdom, it manifests- his goodneSs and beneficence. Thirdly, That, the moral duty of man confifts in imitating the moral goodnefs and beneficence of God ma nifested ih the creation towards all his creatures. That Seeing, as we daily do, the goodnefs of God to all men, it is an example calling upon all men to praftife the fame towards each other ;. and confequently that every thing of perfecution and revenge between man and man, and every thing of cruelty to animals, is a violation of moral duty. I trouble not myfelf about the man ner of future exiftence. I content myl'elf with believing, even to pofitive conviftion, that the power that gave me exiftence is able to continue it, in any form and manner he gleafes, either with or without this body; and it ap pears more probable to me that I Shall continue to exift hereafter, than that I- Should have had exiftence, as I now have, before that exiftence began. It is certain that, in one point, alt nations of the earth, and all religions agree. All believe in a God. The things in which they difagree are the redundancies annexed to that belief r and therefore, if ever an univerfal re ligion Should prevail,, it will- not be believing any thing new, but in- get ting rid of redundancies, and believ ing as men believed at firft- Adam,. if ever there was fuch a man, was cre ated a Deift ; but in the mean time left every man follow as he has a right to- do, the religion and the worShip he prefers. PREFACE. I HAVE mentioned in the former part of Tie Jge of Reafon,. fiat it had long been my intention to publish my thoughts upon Religion; but that I had originally referyed it to a later period in life, intending it to be the laft work I Should undertake. The circumftances, how ever, which exifted in France in the latter end of the year 1790, deter mined me to delay it no longer. The juft and humane principles of the Revolution, which Philofophy had firft diffufed, had been departed from. The Idea, always dangerous to Society as it is derogatory to the Almighty-—that priefts could forgive fins- — though it feemed to exift no longer, had blunted the feelings of humanity, and calloufly prepared men for the commiffion of all manner of crimes. The into lerant fpirit of religious perfecution had transferred itfelf into politics ; the tribunals, ftyled Revolutionary, fupplied the place of the Inquisi tion; and the Guillotine of the State out-did the Fire and Faggot of the Church. 1 fa w many of my moft intimate friends destroyed ; others daily carried to prifon ; and I had reafon to believe, and had alfo inti mations given me, that the fame danger was approaching myfelf Under thefe difad vantages, I began the former part of the £ge of Reafon ; I had, befides, neither Bible nor Teftament to refer to, though I was writing againft both ; nor could I procure any; notwithftanding which, I have produced a work that no Bible Believer, though writing athiseafe, and with a Library of Church Books about him, can re fute. Towards the latter end of December of that year, a motion was made and carried, to exclude foreigners from the Convention. There werebuttwoin.it, Anacharfis Clootz and myfelf, and 1 faw I was parti cularly pointed at by Bourdon de l'Oife, in his fpeech on 'that motion. • Conceiving, after this, that I had but a few days of liberty, I fat down, and brought the work to a clofeas fpeedily as poffible; and I had not finished it more than fix hours, in the ftate it has Since appear ed, before a iruard came, about three in the morning, with an order, iigned by the two Committees 0f Public Safety and Surety General, for putting me in arreftation as a foreigner, and conveying me to the prifon of the Luxembourg. I contrived, in my way there, to call on Z J38 PREFACE. Joel Barlow, and I put the Manufcript of the work into his hands, as more fafe than in my pofleflion in Prifon : and not knowing what migtit be the fate in France, either of the writer or the work, I addreffed it to the protection of the citizens of the United States. It is with juftice that I fay, that the. guard. who executed this order, and the interpreter of the Committee of General Surety, who accom panied them to examine my papers, treated me not only with civility, but with refpect. The keeper of the Luxembourg, Benoit, a man of a good heart-, (hewed to me every friendship in his power, as did aHV all his family, while he continued in that Station. He was removed from it, put into arreftation, and carried before the tribunal upon a m-aligna-nt acsufation, but acquitted. After- 1 had been, in the Luxembourg about three weeks, the Ame- rtca-iiSj then in. Paris, went in a body to the Convention, to reclaim me as- their country man and friend; but were anfwered by the Prefident, Vadier, who was alfo, Prefident of the Committee of Surety Genera], and had figned the order for ray- arreltation, that I was born in England* 1 heard no more after this, from any perfon out of the walls of the Prifon, till the- fall of Robefpierre, on the 9th of Thermidor. About two months before: this event, I was feized with a fever, that in its progrefs had every fymptom of becoming mortal. It was then that- 1 remembered with renewed Satisfaction, and- congratulated myfelf moil finceieiy, on having written the former part of " The Age of Reafon." I had then but little expectation of furviving, and thofe about me had lefs. 1 know therefore, by experience, the confcientioui trial of my ow;n principles. I was then with three chamber comrades : Jofeph Vanhuele of Bruges, Charles Baftini, and Michael Robyns of Louvain. The unceafing and anxious attention of thefe three friends to me, by night and day, I remember with gratitude, and mention with pleafure. It happened that a phySician (Dr. Graham) and a furgeon (Mr. Bond) part of the fuite of General O'Hara,. were then in the Luxembourg : I afknotmy. felf, whether it be convenient to them, as men under the English Government, that I exprefs to them my thanks ; but I Should reproach myfelf if 1 d:d not; and alfo to the phySician of the Luxembourg, Dr. Marhafhi. I have fome reafon to believe, becaufe I cannot difcover anv other caufe, that this illnefs preferved me in exiftence. Among the papers of Robefpierre, that were examined and reported upon to the Convention by a Committee of Deputies, is a note in the hand-writing of Robe<- fpierre, in the following words : PREFACE. 339 Demander que Thomas Paine foitdecrete d'accufation, pourl'in- teret de l'Amerique autant que de Demand that Thomas Paine be decreed of accufation, for the in terest of America as well as of la France. France. From what caufe it was that the intention was not put in execution,' I know not, and cannot inform myfelf; and I afcribe it to impoflibili- ty, on account of that illnefs. The Convention, to repair as much as 1 ay in their power the injuftice I had fuftained, invited me publicly and unanimoufly to return into the Convention, and which I accepted, to fhew I could bear an injury without permitting it to injure my principles, or my difpofition. It is not becaufe right principles have been violated, that they are to be abandoned. , I have feen, fince I have been at liberty, feveral publications written,' fome in America, and fome in England, as anfwers to the former part of " The Age of Reafon." If thefe authors can amufe themfelves by fo doing, I Shall not interrupt them. They may write againft the work, and againft me, as much as they pleafe ; they do me more fervice than they intend, and I can have no objection that they write on. They will find, however, by this Second Part, without its being written as an anfwer to them, that they muft return to their work, and fpin their cobweb over again. The firft isbrufhed away by accident. They will now find that I have furnifhcd myfelf with a Bible and Teftament ; and I can fay alfo, that I have found them to be much worfe books than I had conceived. If I have erred in any thing, in, the former part of the Age of Reafon, it has been by fpeaking better of fome paits of thofe books than they deferved. I obferve, that all my opponents refort, more or lefs, to what they call Scripture-evidence and Bible Authority, to help them out. They are fo little matters of the fubjeft, as to confound a difpute about au thenticity with a difpute about doctrines ; I will however put them right, that if they Should be difpofed to write any more, they may know how to begin. THOMAS PAINE. P A I NE's WORKS. AGE OE, REASON. PART II. I T has often been faid that any thing may be proved from the Bible ; but before any thing can be admitted as proved by Bible, the Bible itfelf muft be proved to be true ; for if the Bible be not true, or the truth of it be doubtful, it ceafes to have authori ty, and cannot be admitted as proof of any thing. It has been the practice of all Chrif- tian commentators on the Bible, and of all Chriftian priefts and preach ers, to impofe the Bible on the world as a mafs of truth, and as the word of God ; they have difputed and wrang led, and have anathematized each other about the foppofeable meaning of par ticular parts and paffages therein ; one has faid and infifted that fuch a paffage meant Such a thing ; another,' that it meant directly the' contrary ; and a third, that it meant neither one nor the other, but fomething different from both ; and this they have called underftanding the Bible. ? It has happened, that all the an fwers which I have feen to the former part of the Age of Reafon have been' written by priefts ; and thefe pious men, like their predeceffors, con tend and wrangle, and pretend to underftandthe Bible ; each understands it differently, but each understands it beft ; and they have agreed in no thing, but in telling their readers, that Thomas Paine understands it not. Nowi inftead of wafting their time, and beating themfelves in fractious difputations about doctrinal points drawn from the Bible, thefe men ought to know, and if they do not, it is civility to inform them, that the firft thing to be understood is, whe ther there is fufficient authority for believing the Bible to be the word of God, or whether there is not ? There are matters in that book, faid to be done by the exprefs \tommand of God, that are as ShockingHq humani ty, and to every idea we have of moral juftice, as any thing done by Robe fpierre, by Carrier, by Jofeph le Bon, in France; by the EngliSh govern ment, in the Eaft-Indies ; or by any other affaffin in modern times. When we read in the books afcribed to Mo fes, Jofli'iia,' &c. that they (the Ifrae lites) came by Stealth upon: Whole nations of people, who, as the hiftory itfelf Shews, had given them no of- '' 34-s PAINE's WORKS. fence ; that they put all thofe nations to the fiviiord i that they fipared neither age nor infancy ; that they utterly de- ftroyert men, women, and children \ that they left not a foul to breathe ; ex preffions that are repeated over and over again in thofe books, and that too with exulting ferocity ; are we fure thefe things are facts ? are we fure that the Creator of man commif- fioned thefe things to be done ? are we fure that the books that tell us fo, were written by his authority ? It is not the antiquity of a tale, that is any evidence of it's truth ; on the contrary, it is a fymptom of it's be ing fabulous ; for the more ancient any hiftory pretends to be, the more it has the refemblance of a fable. The origin of every nation is buried in -fabulous tradition, and that of the Jews is as much to be fufpected as any other. To charge the ccimmiffion of acts upon the Almighty, which in their own nature, and by every rule of moral juftice, are crimes, as all af- faffination is, and more^efpecially the aSIaffination of infants, is matter of ferious concern. The Bible tells us, that thofe affaffinations were done by the exprefs command of God. To be lieve therefore the Bible to be true, we muft unbelieve all our belief in the moral juftice of God ; for where in could crying or fmiling infants offend ? And to read the Bible with out horror, we muft undo every thing that is tender, fympathiSing, and be nevolent in the heart of man. Speak ing for myfelf, if I had no other evidence that the Bible is fabulous, than the facrifice I muft make to helieve it to be true, that alone would he fufficient to determine my choice. But in addition to all the moral evi- denee againft the Bible, I wiM- in tlie progrefs of this work, produce fuch -other evidence, as even a prieft cannot deny ; and Shew from that evidence, that the Bible is not entitled to credit, as being the word of God. But before I proceed to this exami. nation, I will Shew wherein the Bi ble differs from all other ancient writ ings with refpect to the nature of the evidence necell'ary to eftabliSh it's au thenticity ; and this is the more pro per to be done, becaufe the advocates of the Bible, in their anlwers to the former part of the Age of Reafon, un. dertake to fay, and they put fome ilrefi thereon, that tlie authenticity of the Bible is as well eftabliShed, as that of any other ancient book : as if our be lief of the one could become any rule for our belief of the other. I know, however, but of" one an. cient book that authoritatively chal lenges univerfal confent and belief; and that is Euclid's Elements of Geo metry, * and the reafon is, becaufe it is a book of felf evident demon (tra- tion, entire independent of it's author, and of every thing relating to tirm, place, and circumftance. The mat ters contained in that book, would have the fame authority they now havei Had they been written by any other perfon, or had the work been anony mous, or had the author never been known ; for the identical certainty of who was the author, makes n» partof our belief of the matters contained in the book. But it is quite otherwife with refpect to the books afcribed to Mofes, to Jofhua, to Samuel, &c. ; tliofe are books of tefiimony, and they teftify of things naturally incredible;' * Euclid according to rhronolo--ical hii'ory, lived three hundred yearsbefore Chrift, and about one hundred before Aichimcdcs ; he was of the city of Alexandria. Part II. AGE OF REASON. 343 ancl therefore the whole of our belief, as to the authenticity of thofe books, refts, in the firft place, upon the cer tainty that they were written b'y Mofes, JoShua, and Samuel ; Secondly, upon the credit we give to their teftimony. We may believe the firft, that is, may believe the certainty of the authorShip, and yet not the teftimony ; in the fame manner that we may believe that a cer tain perfon gave evidence upon a cafe, and yet, not believe the evidence that he gave. But if it Should be fount, that the books afciibed to Moles, JoShua, and Samuel, were not writ ten by Moles, JoShua, and Samuel, every part of the authority and au thenticity of thole books is gone at once ; for there can be no fuch thing as forged or invented teftimony ; neither can there be anonymous teftimony, more efpecially as to things naturally incredible; fuch as that of talking with God face to face, or that of the fun and moon (landing ftill at the command of a' man. The greateft part of the other an cient books are works of genius ; of which kind are thofe afcribed to Homer, to Plato, to Ariftotle, to,DemoSlhenes, to Cicero, &c. Here again the au thor is not an effejitial in the credit we give to any of thofe works ; for as works of genius, they would have the Same merit they have now, were they anonymous. Nobody believes the Trojan Story, as related by Homer, to be true ; for it is the poet only that is admired ; and the merit of the poet will remain, though the ftory be fa bulous. But if we disbelieve the matters related by the Bible authors, (Mofes for inftance,) as we diibelieve the things related by Homer, there remains nothing of Mofes in our esti mation, but an impoftor. As to the ancient historians, from Herodotus to Tacitus, we credit them as far as they relate things probable and credible, and no further ; for if we do, we muft , believe the two miracles which Tacitus relates were performed by Vefpafian, that of curing a lame man, and a blind man, in juft the fame manner as the fame things are told of Jefus Chi'i'ft by his hiitorians. We rriuft. aiSb believe the miracle cited by Jofe- phtis, that of the fea of PamphiKa opening to let Alexander and his army. pafs, as is related of the Red Sea in Exodus. Thefe miracles are quite as well authenticated as the Bible mira cles, arid yet we do not bejieve them ; confequently the degree of evidence neceffary .to eftablifli 0':ir ' belief of( things naturally incredible, whether. in the Bible or elfewhere, i-s far greater than that which obtains our belief to- natural and probable things ; and therefore the advocates for the Bible have no claim to our belief of the- Bible, hecaufe that we bejieve things Slated in other ancient writings ; fince we believe the things Slated in thofe^ writings no further than they are pro bable and credible, -or becaufe they are felf-evident, like Euclid ; or ad-j mire them becaufe they are elegant,' like Homer ; or approve them becaufe they are fedate, like Plato ; or judici ous, like Ariftotle. Having premifed thofe things, I proceed to examine the' authenticity of the Bible ; and I begirt with what are called the five books of Mofes, Genefis, Exodus, Leviticus, Plumbers,. and Deuteronomy. My intention is to Shew, that thofe books are fpurious,^ and that Mofes is not the author of them ; and ftill further, that they were not written in the time of Mofes,' nor till feveral hundred years after wards ; that they are no other than an at tempted hiftory of the life of Mofes, and1 of the times in which he is faid to have lived, and alfo of the times pri™- th -jg . 34-4- PAINE's WORKS. to, written by fome very ignorant and ftupid pretenders to authorfhip, feveral hundred years after the death of Mofes ; as men now write hiftories of things that happened or are fuppofed to have happened, feveral hundred, or feveral thoufand years ago. The evidence that I Shall produce in this cafe is from the books them felves ; and I will confine myfelf to this evidence only. Were I to refer for proofs to any of the ancient au thors, whom the advocates of the Bible call prophane authors, they would controvert that authority, as I controvert their's : I will therefore meet them on their own ground, and oppofe them with their own weapon, the Bible. " In the firft place, there is no affif- mative evidence that Mofes is the au thor of thofe books ; and that he is the author, is altogether an un founded opinion got abroad, nobody knows how. The' Style and manner in which thofe books are written, give no room to believe, or even to fup pofe, they were written by Mofes i for it is altogether the ftyle and man ner of another perfon fpeaking of i Mofes. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, (for every thing in Genefis is prior to the times of Mofes, and not the leaft allufion is made to him there 1 in,) the whole, I fay, -of thefe books is in the third perfon ; it is always, ^he Lord faid unto Mofes, or Mofes faid. {•unto the Lord ; or Mofes faid unto the people, or the people faid unto Mofes ; I and this is the ftyle and manner that historians ufe, in fpeaking of the per fons whofe lives and' aflions they are writing. It may be faid, that a marl may fpeak of himfelf in the third per-' fon, and therefore it may be fuppofed that, Mofes did ; but fuppplition- proves nothing j and if the advo cates for the belief that Mofes wrote thofe books himfelf have no thing better fo advance than fuppo fition, they mayas well be Silent. But granting the grammatical right, that Mofes might fpeak of himfelf in the third perfon, becaufe any man might fpeak of himfelf in that man ner, it cannot be admitted as a fact in thofe books, that it is Mofes who fpeaks, without rendering Mofes truly ridiculous and abfurd : — for example, Numbers, chap. xii. ver. 3, " Nov) the man Mofes was very meek above all the men which -were qn the face ttfj the earth." If Mofes faid this of himfelf, inftead of being the meekeft of men, he was one of the moft vain and arrogant of coxcombs ; and the) advocates' for thofe books may now! take which fide they pleafe, for both fides are againft them : if Mofes was not the author, the books are without authority ; and if he wis the author, the author is without credit, becaufe1 to boaft of meeknefs, is the reverfe of meeknefs, and is a lie in fentiment. 'In Deuteronomy, the ftyle and manner of writing marks more evi-' dently than in the former books, that Mofes is not the writer. The manner here ufed is dramatical; the writer opens the fubject by a Short introduc tory difcourfe, and then introduces Mofes as in the act of fpeaking, andif when he has made Mofes finish his- harangue, he (the writer) refumes his own part, and fpeaks till he brings Mofes forward again, and at lad clofes' fhefcenewith an account of the death, funeral, and character of Mofes. ' This interchange of fpeakers occurs four times in this book : from the firft verfe of the 'firft chapter, to the] end of the fifth verfe, it is the writer who fpeaks ; he then introduces Mofes as in the act of making his harangue, Part Hj and this continues to .the end of the 40th verfe of the fourth chapter ; here the writer drops Mofes, and fpeaks historically of what was done in con fequence of what Mofes, when living, is fuppofed to have Said, and which the writer has dramatically reheatfed. The writer opens" the fubject again in the firft verfe of the fifth chapter, though it is only by faying, that Mofes called the people of Ifrael to gether ; he then introduces Mofes as before, and continues him, as in the act of fpeaking, to the end of the a6th chapter. He does the fame thing at the beginning of the 17th chapter, and continues Mofes, as In the act of fpeaking, to fhe end of the »8tfi chapter. At the 19th chapter the writer fpeaks again through the whole of the fifSt verfe, and the firft line of the fecond verfe, where he introduces Mofes for the laft time, and continues him, as in the act of fpeaking, to the end of the 33d chapter. ' 'The writer haying now finished the reliearfal on the part of 'Mofes, comes forward," and fpeaks through the whole of the' laft chapter: he begins by telling'rthe reader, that Mofes iwent up to the'top of Pifgali, that he faw from thence fhe land which (the writer fays) had been promifed to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob ; that he, Mofes, died there, in the land of Moab, bnt that no man knoweth of his fepulchre unto this day, that is, unto the time in which the writer lived, who Wrote the book of Deu teronomy. The writer then tells uS, tnat Mofes was one hundred ahd ten years of age when- he died — that his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated ; and he concludes, by faying, that there arofe not a prophet fince in Ifrael like unto Mofes, whom, AGEOFREASON. 34s fays this anonymoils writer, the Lord) knew face to face. Having thus Shewn, as far as gram matical evidence applies, that Mofes was not the writer of thofe books, I will, after making a few obfervations on the inconsistencies of the writer of the Book of Deuteronomy, proceed to Shew, from the historical and chro nological evidence contained in thofe books, that Mofes was not, becaufe he could not be, the writer of them ; and confequently, that there is na authority for believing, that the in human and horrid' butcheries of men, - women, and children, told of in thoSe books, were done, as thofe books fay they were, as the command of God. It is a duty incumbent on every true deift, that' he vindicates the moral juftice of God, againft the calumnies of the Bible. The writer of the book of Deuter onomy, whoever he was, for it is an anonymous work, is obfcure, and alfo in contradiction with himfelf in the account he has given of Mofes. After telling that Mofes went to the top of Pifgah, (and it does not appear from any account that he ever came down again,) he tells us, that Mofes died there in the land of Moab, and that he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab ; but as there is no antecedent to the pronoun he, there is no knowing who the he was, that did bury him. If the writer meant that he (God) buried him, how Should he (the writer) know it ? or why Should we (the readers) believe him ? fince we know not who the writer was that tells us fo, for certainly Mofes could not himfelf tell where he was buried. The writer alfo tells us, that, n» man knoweth where the fepulchre of 34-6 PAINE'8 works. Mofes is unto this day, meaning the time in which this writer lived ; how then Should he know that Mofes was buried in a valley in the land of Moab ? for as the writer Jived long after the time of Mofes, as is evident from his ufing the expreffion, unto this day, meaning a great length of time after the death of Mofes, he cer tainly was not at his funeral ; and, on the other hand, it is impoffible that Mofes himfelf could fay, that no man knoweth where the fepulchre is unto this day. To make Mofes the fpeaker, would be an improvement on the play of a child that hides itfelf, and cries, nobody can find me ; nobody can find Mofes. This writer has no where told us how he came by the fpeeches which he has put into the mouth of Mofes to fpeak, and therefore we have a right to conclude, that he either com pofed them himfelf, or wrote them from oral tradition. One or other of thefe is the more probable, fince he has given, in the fifth chapter, a table of commandments, in Which that " called the fourth commandment is dif ferent from the fourth commandment '•-in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, In that of Exodus, the reafon given for keeping the feventh day is, be caufe (fays the commandment) God made the heavens and the earth in fix days, and retted on the feventh ; but in that of Deuteronomy, the reafon given is, that it was the day on which the children of Ifrael came out of Egypt, and therefore, fays this com- . mandment, the Lord thy God com manded thee to keep the fabbath-day. This makes no mention of the crea tion, nor that of the coming out of Egypt. There are alfo many things given as laws of Mofes in this book, that are not to be found in any of the other books, among which is that inhuman and brutal law, chap. xxi. ver. 18, 1.9, i-o, 21, which autho rizes parents, the fattier and the mo ther, to bring their own children to have them Stoned to death, for what it is pleafed to call ftubbornnefs. But priefts have always been fond of preaching up Deuteronomy, for Deu teronomy preaches up tythes : and it is from this book, chap. xxv. ver. 4., they have taken the phrafe and appli ed it to tything, that thou ftialt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn : and that this might not efcape obfervation, they have noted it In the table of contents, ac the head of the chapter, though it is only a fingle verfe of , lefs than two lines. O priefts ! priefts 1 ye are willing to be compared to an ox, for the fake of tythes. Though it is impoffible for us to know identically who the writer of peuteronomy was, it is not difficult to difcover him prqfefiionally, that he was fome JewiSh prieft, who lived, as I Shall Shew in the courfe of this work, at leaft three hundred and fifty _ years after the time of Mofes. I come now to fpeak of the Tiifto- rical and chronological evidence. The chronology that I Shall ufe is the Bible chronology ; for I mean not to go out of the Bible for evidence of any thing, but to make the Bible itfelf prove historically and chronologically that Mofes is not the author of the books afcribed to him. It is therefore pro per that I inform the reader, (fuch an one, at leaft, as may not have the op portunity of knowing it,) that in the , larger Bibles, and al(b in fome fmaller, ones, there is a feries of chronology printed in the margin of every page, for the purpofe of (hewing hdw long Part II. AGE OF 8IASO N. 347 the hiftorical matters Stated in each page happened, or are fuppofed to have happened, before Chrift, and confequently, the distance of time between .one hiftorical circumftance and another. I begin with the book of Genefis. In the 14th chapter of Genefis, the writer gives an account of Lot being taken prifoner in a battle between the four kings againft five, and carried off; and that when the account of Lot being taken, came to Abraham, he armed all his houfehold, and marched to refcue Lot from the captors ; and that he purfued them unto Dan (ver. 14). To fhew in What manner this ex prefiion of purfuing them unto Dan ap plies to the cafe in queftion, I will refer to two circumftances, the one in America, the other in Frihce. The city now called New York, in Ame rica, was originally New Amsterdam ; and the town in France, lately called Havre-Marat, was before called Havre- de-Grace. New Amsterdam was changed to New York in the year 1664; Havre-de-Grace to Havre- Marat in the year 1793. Should, therefore, any writing ' be found, though without date, in which the name of New York Should be menti oned, it would be certain evidence that fuch a writing could not have been written before, and muft have been written after New Amsterdam was changed to New York, 'aha' con fequently not till after the year 1664, or at leaft during the courfe of that year. And in like manner, any d'ate- jefs writing, with the name of Havre- Marat, would be certain evidence that fuch a writing muft have been written after Havre-de-Giace became Havre- Marat,' and confequently not till aftei the year 1793, or at lead- during the couffe of that year. I now come to the application of thofe cafes, and to (hew that there Was no fuch place as Dan, till many years after the death of Mofes ; and confe quently that Mofes could not be the writer of the book of Genefis, where this account of purfuing them unto Pan is given. '/U^ddiKi /', Tlie place that is called Dan in the Bible, was originally a town of the Gentiles, called LaiSh ; and when the tribe of Dan Seized upon this town, they changed it's name to Dan, in com memoration of Dan, who was the fa ther of that tribe, and the great grand- fon of Abraham. To eftabliSh this in proof, it is ne- ceiTary to refer from Genefis to the 18th chapter of the book, called the book of Judges.' It is there faid, (ver. 27,) that they (theDanites) came unto Laijb to a people that were quiet and fecure, and they fmote them with the edge of thefword, (the Bible U filled with murder,) and burned the city with fire ; and they built a city, (ver. 28.) and dwelt therein, and they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father: hovibeit the name of the city was Laijb at the firft. This account of the Danites taking poffeffiofi of LalSh, and changing it to Dan, is placed in the book of Judges immediately after the death of Samfon. The death of Samfon is faid to have happened 1120 years before Chrift,' and that of Mofes 145 1 before Chrift, and therefore, according to the hifto rical arrangement, the place was not called Dan till 331 years after the death of Mofes. There is a Striking confufion be tween the hiftorical and the chrono- 3*8 PAINE's WORKS. logical arrangement In the book of Judges. The five laft chapters, as they Stand in the book, J7, 18, 19, 30, 11, are put chronologically before all the preceding chapters ; tliey are made to be 28 years before the »6th chapter, 166 before the 15th, 3:45 be fore the 13th, 195 before the 9th, 90 before the 4th, and 15 years before the 1 ft chapter. This Shews the un.- „ certain and fabulous ftate of the Bible. According to the chronological ar rangement, the taking of Laifh, and giving it the name of Dan, is made to be twenty, years after'the death of Joffiua, who was the fucceffor of Mo-, fes : and by the historical order, as it Stands in the book, it is made to be 306 years after the death of JoShua, amd 3 3 1 after that of Mofes; but they both exclude Mofes from being the writer of Genefis, becaufe, according to either of the Statements, no fuch a place as Dan exifted in the time of Mofes; and therefore ~ the writer of Genefis muft have been fome perfon who lived after the town of Laifh had the name of Dan ; and who that per fon was nobody knows, and confe quently the book of Genefis is anony mous, and without authority. I proceed now to State another point of hiftorical and chronological evi dence, and to Shew therefrom, as in the preceding cafe, that Mofes is not the author of the book of Genefis, In the 36th chapter of Genefis there is given a genealogy of the fons and defcendants of Efau, who are called Edomites, and alfo a lift, by name, of the kings of Edom ; in enumer ating of which, it is faid, verfe 31, " And thefe are the kings that reigned iii Edom, bej'ore there reigned any king trjcr the children of Ifrael." Now, were any datelefs writing to be Sound, in which, Speaking of any paft events, the writer Should iay, thefe things happened before there was any congrefs in America, or before there was any convention in France, it would be evident that fuch writing could not have been written before, and could only be written after there was a congrefs in America, or a con vention in France, as the cafe might be ; and confequently that it could not be written by any peilbn who died before there was a congrefs in the one country, or a convention in thf other. Nothing is more frequent, as well in hiftory as in conversation, than to refer to a fact in the room of a date ; it is moft natural fo to do, firft, be caufe a fact fixes itfelf in the memory better than a date j fecondly, becaufe the fact includes the date, and ferves to excite two ideas at once j and this manner of fpeaking by circumftances, implies as positively, that the fact al luded to is paft, as if it was fo ex pressed. When a perfon, in fpeaking upon any matter, fays, it was before I was married, or before my fon was born, or before I went to America, or before I went'to France, it is ab solutely underftood, and intended to be underftood, that he has been mar ried, that he has had a fon, that he has been in America, or been in France. Language does not admit of ufing this mode of expreffion in any other fenfe ; and whenever fuch . an expreffion is found any where, it can only be un derstood in the fenfe in which only it could have been ufed. „ The paffage, therefore, that I have quoted, " that thefe are the "kings that reigned in Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Ifrael," could only have been written after the fn ft king began to reign over '(nem ; and confequently that the book of. Genefis, fo far from having been Part II. A G OF REASON. 34-9 written by Mofes, could not have been written till ' the time of Saul at kaft. This is the pofitive fenfe of the paffage : but the expreffion, any king, implies more kings than one ; at leaft, it implies two ; and this will carry it to the time of David ; and if taken in a general fenfe, it carries itfelf through all times of the Jewish mo narchy. Had we met with this verfe in any. part of the Bible that prof effed to have been written after kings began, to reign in Ifrael, it would have been impoffible not to have feen the appli cation of it. It happens then that this is the cafe ;. the two books of Chronicles, which gave * hiftory of all the kings of Ifrael, aie profeffidly, as well as in fact, written after the Jewifh monarchy began j and this verfe that I have quoted,- and all .the remaining verfes of the 36th ehapter of Genefis, are, word for word, in the 1 ft chapter of Chronicles, begin ning at the 43d verfe. It was with consistency that the writer of the Chronicles Could fay, as' he has Said, iff Chron. chap. i. verfe 43, Thefe are the kings that reigned in Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Ifrael, becaufe he was going to give, and has given, a lift of the kings that had reigned in Ifrael ; but as it is impoffible thkt the fame expreffion could have been ufed before that period, it is as certain as any thing can be proved from hiftorical language, that this part of Genefis is ^ taken from Chronicles, and that Ge nefis is not fo old as Chronicles, and probably not fo old as the book of Homer, or'as ./Efop's Fables; admit ting Homer to have been, as the tables of chronology ftate, contemporary with David er Solomon, and JEfop to have Kved about the end of the Jewish monarchy. Take away from Genefis the belief that Mofes was the author, on which qnly the ftrange belief that it is the word of God has Stood, and there re mains nothing of Genefis, but an ano nymous book of Stories, fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies. The ftory of Eve and the ferpent, and of Noah and his ark; drops to a level with the Arabian.. Tales, without the merit of being entertaining ; and the account of men living to eight and nine hun. dred years, becomes as fabulous as the immortality of the giants of the Mythology. Befides, the character of Mofes, as Slated in the Bible, is the moft horrid that can be imagined. If thofe ac counts be true, he was the wretch' that firft began and carried on wars on the fcore, or on the pretence of religion ; and under that mafk, or that infatu ation, committed1 the moft unexam pled atrocities that are to be found in the hiftory of any nation, of which I will Slate only one inftance. When the JewiSh army returned from one of their plundering and mur dering excurfiOns, the account goes on as follows, Numbers, chap. xxxi. ver. 13. ". And Mofes, and Eleazar the prieft, and all the princes of the con gregation, went forth to meet them without the camp ; and Mofes was wroth with fhe officers of the hoft, with the captains over thoufands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle ; and Mofes faid un to them, Have ye fiaved all the -women alive ? behold, thefe caufed the chil dren of Ifrael, through the counfel.qf Balaam, to commit trefpafs againft 3$° PAINE'4 WORKS. the Lord in the matter of Peox, and there was a plague among the congre gation of the Lord. Now, therefore, J&U every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man by lying with Mm ; but all the women-children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourfelves . ' ' Among the deteftable villains that in any period of the world have dif- graced the name of man, it is'impof- fible to find a greater than Mofes, if this account be true. Here is an order to butcher the boys, to maffa- cre the mothers, and debauch the daughters. Let any mother put herfelf in tlie fituation of thofe mothers ; one child murdered, another deftined to viola tion, and herfelf in the hands of an executioner : let any daughter put herfelf in the fituation of thole daugh ters, deftined as prey to the murder ers of a mother and a brother, and what will be their feelings ? It is in vain that we attempt to impofe upon nature, for nature will have her courfe, and the religion that tortures all 'her fecial ties is a falfe religion. After this deteftahle order, follows an account of the, plunder taken, and' the manner of dividing it ; and here it is that the profanenefs of prieftly hypocrify increafes the catalogues of crimes. Verfe 37, " And the Lord's tribute of the Sheep was fix hundred and threefcore and fifteen.; and the beev.es were thirty and fix thoufand, of which the Lord's tribute was three fcore and twelve ; and the affes were thirty thoufand,, of which the Lord's tribute was threefcore and one ; and the perfons were thirty thoufand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty and two." In Short, the matters con tained in this chapter, as well as in many other parts of the Bible, are toi horrid for humanity to read, or for decency to hear ; for it appears from the 35th verfe of this chapter, that the number of women-children con signed to debauchery by the order of Mofes was thirty-two thoufand. People in general know not what wickednefs there is in this pretended word of God. Brought up in habits of fuperftition, they take it for grant ed, that the Bible is true, and that it is good ; they permit themfelves not to doubt of -it; and they carry the ideas they form of the benevolence of the Almighty to the book which they have been taught to believe was -writ ten by his authority. Good heavens ! it is quite another thing ! it is a book ': of lies, wickednefs, and blafphemy; for what can be greater biafphemy than to a-Scribe the witkedneSs of man to the orders of the AJwSghty ? But to return to my fubject, that of Shewing tha,t Moles is not the author of the. hooks afcribed to him, and that the Bible Is fpurious. The two in stances I have already given would be fufficient, without any additional evi dence, fo invalidate the authenticity of any book that pretended to be four or . five hundred years more ancient than the matters it fpeaks of, or re- < fers to, as facts ; for in the cafe of purfuing them unto Dan, and of the kings that reigned over the children of Ifrael, aot even the flimfy pretence of prophecy can be pleaded. The ex preffions are in the preter tenfe, and it would be downright idiotifm to fay that a man could prophefy in the pre ter tenfe. But there are many other paffages fcattered throughout thofe books, that unite in the fame point of evidence. It is faid in Exodus (another of the books afcribed to Mofes), chap. xvi. Part II. AGE OF REASON. 35« ver;. 34-, " And., the children of Ifiael did eat manna, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came unto the. borders of the land of Canaan,' ' Whether the children of Ifrael eat manna or not, or what manna was, or whether it was any thing more than a kind of fungus, or fmall mufhroom, or other vegetable fub- ftance, common to that part of the country, makes nothing to my argu ment ; a" that I mean to Shew is, that it is not Mofes that could write this account, becaufe the account ex tends itfelf beyond the life and time of Mofes. Mofei>, according to the Bible, (but it is fuch a book of lies and contradictions, there is no know ing which part to believe, or whether any,) died in the wildernefs, and. never came upon the borders of the, land of Canaan ; and confequently it could not be he, that faid what the children of Ifrael did, or what they ate when they came there. This ac" count of eating manna, which they tell us was written by Mofes, extends itfelf to the time of JoShua, the fuc- ceffor of Mofes ; as appears by the account given in the book, of JoShua, after the children of Ifrael had paffed the river Jordan, and came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. JoShua, chap. v. ver. 12, " And the manna ceafed on the morrow, after they had eaten of the old corn of the land ; neither had the children of Ifrael, manna any more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that. year." But a more remarkable inftance than this occurs in Deuteronomy ; which, while it Shews that Moles could not be the writer of that book, Shews alfo the fabulous notions that prevailed at that time about giants. In the third chapter of Deuteronomy, among the eonquefts faid to be made by Mofes, is an account of the taking of Og, king of Balhan, verfe 11. '•' For only Og, king of Baflian, re mained of the race of giants ; behold, his bedftead was a bedftead of iron, is it not in Rabbath of the children. of Ammon ?' nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man." A cubit is 1 foot 9T8s858ff inches. The length, therefore, of the bed was 10 feet 4 inches, and the -breadth 7 feet 4 inches : thus much for this giant's bed. Now for the hiftorical part, which, though the evi dence is not fo direct and pofitive as. in the former cafes,; is neverthelefs very prefumable a^nd corroborating evidence, and is better than the beft evidence on the contrary fide. The writer, by way of proving the exiftence of this giant, refers to his bed, as to an ancient relick, and fays, is it not in Rabbath (or Rab bah) of the children of Ammon ? meaning, that it is ; for fuch is fre-> quently the Bible method of affirming a thing. But it could not be Mofes that faid this, becaufe Mofes could know nothing about Rabbah, nor of what was in it. Rabbah was not a city belonging to this giant king, nor was it one of the cities that Mofes took. The knowledge, therefore, that this bed was at Rabbah, and of the particulars of it's dimensions, muft be referred to the time when Rabbah was taken, and this was not till four hundred years after the death of Mofes, for which fee 2 Sam. chap. xii. ver. 26,. " And Joab (David's 35* PAINE's WO R ItS. .general) fought againft Rabbah of the children qf Ammbn, and took the royal city. As I am not undertaking to pbint out all the contradictions in time, place, and circumftance, that abound in the books afcribed to Mofes, and which prove to a demortftration, that thofe books could not be written by Mofes, nor in the time of Mofes ; I proceed to the book of JoShua, and to Shew that JoShua is not the author of that book, and /that It is anony mous, and without authority. The evidence I (hall produce is contained in the book itfelf: I will not go out of the Bible for proof againft the fnppoled authenticity of the Bible. Falfe teftimony is always good againft itfelf. JoShua, according to the firft chap ter of JoShua, was the immediate fucceffor of Mofes ; he was moreover a military man, which Mofes was not ; and he continued as chief of the people of Ifrael twenty-five years ; that is, from the time that Mofes died, which, according to the Bible chronology, was 1451 years before Chrift, until 1426 years before Chrift, when, according to the fame chrono logy, JoShua died; If therefore we find in this book, faid to have been written by JoShua, references to faBs done after the death of Jofhua, it is evidence that Jofhua could not be the author ; and alfo that the book could not have been written till after the time of the lateft fait which it records. As to the character of the book, it is -horrid ; it is a military hiftory of ra pine and murder ; as favage and brutal, as thofe recorded of his pre- deceffor in villainy and hypocrify, Mofes ; and the blafphemy confifts, as in the former books, in afcribing thofe deeds to the orders of the Al* mighty. In the firft place, : the book of JoShua, as Is the cafe in the preced-' ing books, is written in the third perfon ; it is the historian of JoShua that fpeaks, for it would have been abfurd and vain-glorious, that Jofhua Should fay of himfelf, as is faid of him in the laft verfe of the Sixth chapter, that " his fame was noifed throughout all the country." I now Come more immediately fo the proof. In the 24th chapter, ver. 31, it is faid, " And Ifrael ferved the Lord all the days of JoShua, and all the days of the elders that over • -lived t Jofiiua." Now in the name of com mon fenfe, can it be JoShua that re lates what peogle had done after he was dead ? This account muft not Only have beeh written by fome hiffio- rian that lived after JoShua, but that lived alfo after the elders that had Out- lived JoShua. There are feveral paffages of a ge neral meaning with refpect to time, fcattered throughout the book of Jofhua, that carries the time in' which the book was Written to a diftance from the time of JoShua, but Without' marking by exclufion any particular time, as in the paflage above quoted. In that paffage the time that inter vened between fhe death of JoShua, and the death of the elders, is ex cluded defcriptively and abfolutely, and the evidence Substantiates that the book could not have been written till after the death of the laft. But though the paffages to which I allude, and which I am going to quote, do not designate any particular time by exclufion, they imply a time far more diftant from the days of JoShua, than is contained between the Part II. AGE Of reason: 353 death of JoShua, and the death of the elders. Such is the paffage, chap. x. ver. 14; where,, after giving an account that the fun flood1 ftill upon jGibeon, and .the moon- in the valley of Ajalon, at the command of JoShua, (a tale Sit only to amufe children,) the paffage fays — " And there was no day like that, before it, nor after it, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man." This tale of the fun Standing ftill upon mount Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is one of thofe fables which detects itfelf. Such a circumftance could not have hap pened .without being known all over the world. One half would have wondered why the fun did not rife, ahd the other why it did not fet ; and the tradition of it would be uni verfal ; whereas there is not a nation in the world that knows any thing about it. But why muft the moon Hand ftill ? What occafion could there be for moon-light in the day-time, and that too while the fun Shined ? As a poetical figure, the whole is. well enough; it is akin to that in fhe fong of Deborah and Baruk, The fiars in thfir courfies fought againft Si- fera ; but it is inferior to the figura tive declaration of Mahomet, to the perfons who came to expostulate with him on his goings on ; Wert thou, faid he, to come to me with the fun in thy right hand, and the moon in thy left, it Jhould not alter my career. For JoShua to have exceeded Maho met, he Should have put the fun and moon one in each pocket, and carried them as Guy Faux carried his dark lanthorn, and taken them out to Shine as he might happen to want them. The fublime and the vridiculous, are often fo nearly related, that it is dif- 1 ficult to clafs them feparateiy. One ftep above the fublime, makes the ri diculous; and one ftep above the ridiculous, make s the fublime again ; the account, however, abstracted from the poetical fancy, Shews the' igno rance of JoShua, for he Should have commanded the earth to have Stood ftill. The time implied by the expref fion after it, that is, after that day, being put in comparifon with all the time that paffed before it, muft, in order to give any expreffive fignification to the paffage, mean a great length of time : — for example, it would have been ridiculous to have faid fo the next day, or the next week, or the next month, or the next year ; to give therefore meaning to the paffage, comparative with the wonder it re lates, and the prior time it alludes to, it muft mean centuries of years j lefs however than one, would be trifling ; and lefs than two would be barely admiffible. A diftant but general time is alfo expreffed in the 8th chapter, where, after giving an account of the taking the city of Ai, it is faid, ver, 28, " And JoShua burned Ai, and made it an heap for ever, a defolation unto this day ;" and again, ver. 29, where fpeaking of the king of Ai, whom JoShua had hanged, and buried at the entering of the gate, it is faid, " And he raifed thereon a great heap of Stones, which remaineth unto this day," that is, unto the day or .time* iiwwhitk thejwriter^^^^ JoShua lived. And again, in the 10th chapter, where, after fpeaking of the, five kings, whom JoShua had hanged on five trees, and then thrown in a cave, it is faid, " And he laid great Stones on the cave's mouth, which remain unto this very day." A a— 354 PAINE's WORKS. In enumerating the feveral exploits of Jofhua, and of the tribes, and pf 'the places which they conquered or attempted, it is faid, chap. xv. ver. 63, *3 56 J5.783 Bt. over Ver. 23 2 + 25 26*7 23 29 3°3'3'- '5.783 ¦ ' 128 41 '43 fill 122 223 5» I5« 1254 320 •9,444 Bt. over 19,444 Ver. 33 H5 34 345 35 3630 3« 973 . 37 Io;i 3« 1147 39 1017 40 74 41 I 25 4' '39 <8 391 60 652 Total 2ji,8i8 J«4- PAINE's WORKS. certainty can there be in the Bible for any thing ? Nehemiah, in like manner, gives a lift of the returned families, and of the number of each family. He be gins as ih Ezra, by faying, chap. vii. ver. 8, " The children of ParoSh, two thoufand three hundred .and fe- venty-two ;" and fo on through all the families. This lift differs in Se veral of the particulars from that of Ezra. In the 66th verfe, Nehemiah makes a total, and fays, as Ezra had faid, " The whole congregation to gether was forty and two thoufand three hundred and three-fcore." But the particulars of this lift make a total but of 31,089, fo that the er ror here is 11,271. Thefe writers "nay do well enough for Bible makers, but not for any thing where truth and exact nefs are neceffary. The next book in courfe is the book of Either. If Madam Efther thought it any honour to offer herfelf as a kept miftrefs to Ahafoerus, or as a rival to queen VaShti, who had refufed to come to a drunken king, in the midft of a drunken company, to be made a fhew of, (for the account fays, they had been drinking feven days, and were merry,) let Efther and Mordecai look to thai, it is no bufinefs of our's, at leaft it is none of mine ; befides which, the ftory has a great deal the appear ance of being fabulous, and is alfo anonymous. I pafs on to the book of Job. The book of Job differs in charac ter from all the books we have hi therto paffed over. Treachery and murder make no part of this book ; it is full of the meditations of a mind ttrongly impreSTed with tbevicifiitudes of human life ; and by turns finking under, and Struggling againft the preffure. It is a highly wrought com position, between willing fubmiSfion and involuntary discontent ; and Shews man, as he fometimes is, more dif- pofed to be refigned than he is capa ble of being. Patience has but a fmall Share in the charafter of the perfon of whom the book treats ; on the contrary, his grief is often impe tuous ; but he ftill endeavours to keep a guard upon- it, and Seems determin ed, in the midft of accumulating ills, to impofe upon himfelf the hard duty of contentment. I have fpoken in a refpectful man ner of the book of Job in fhe former part of the Age qf Reafon, but with out knowing at that time what I have Jearned fince ;, which is, that from all the evidence that can be collefted, the book of Job does not belong to the Bible . I have feen the opinion of two He brew commentators, Abenezra and Spinofa, upon this fubjeft ;' they both fay that the book of Job carries no in ternal evidence of being an Hebrew book ; that the genius of the composi tion, and the drama of the piece, are not Hebrew; that it has been tranf- lated from another language into He brew, and that the author of the book was a Gentile ; that the charafter re prefented under the name of Satan (which is the firft and only time thi» name is mentioned in the Bible) does not correfppnd' to any Hebrew idea ; and that the two convocations which the Deity is fuppofed to have made of thofe, whpm the poem calls fons of God, and the familiarity which this fuppofed Satan is ftated to have with the Deity, are in the fame cafe. It may alfo be obferved, that the book fhews itfelf to be the production of a mind cultivated in feience, 'which Part IIv A G E O F REASON. 365 the Jews, ,.fo; far -from, being famous for, were very ignorant of. The allu- fions to objefts of natural philofophy are frequent and ftrong, and are of a different eaft to any thing in the books known to, be Hebrew. The astrono mical names Pleiades, Orion, and Arcturus, are Greek, and not Hebrew names ; and as it does not appear from any thing that is to be found in the Bible, that the Jews knew any thing of aftrOnomy, or that they Studied it, they had no translation for thofe names into their own language, but adopted the names as they found them in the poem. That the Jews did translate the literary produftions of the Gentile nations into the Hebrew language, and mix them with their own, is not a matter of doubt ; the firft chapter of Proverbs is an evidence of this : it is there faid, ver. 1, The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy which his mother taught him. This verfe Stands as a preface to the proverbs that fol low, and which are not the proverbs of Solomon, but of Lemuel ; and this Lemuel' was not one of the kings of Ifrael, nor of Judah, but of fome other country, and confequently a Gentile. The Jews, however, have adopted his proverbs ; and as they cannot give any account who the au thor of the book of Jobwas, norhow they came by the book ; and as it dif fers in charafter flom the Hebrew writings, and Stands totally uncon nected with every other book and chap ter in the Bible before it, and after it, it has all the circumstantial evi dence of being originally * book of, the Gentiles.* The Bible-makers, and thofe regu lators of time, the Bible chronologifts, appear to have been at * lofs where to place, and how to difpofe of the book of Job ; for it contains no one hiftorical circumftance, nor allufion to any, that might ferve to determine it's place in the Bible. But it would not have anfwered the purpofe of thefe men to have informed the world of their ignorance ; and therefore they have affixed to it the aera of 1520 years before Chrift, which is during the time the Ifraelites were in Egypt, and for which they have juft as much authority as, I Should have for faying it was a thoufand years before that pe- ripd. The probability, however, is, that it is older than any book in the Bible ; and it is the only one that can be read without indignation or , difguft. We know nothing of what the an cient gentile world (as it is called) was before the time of the, Jews, whofe * The prayer known by the name of Agur's prayer, in the 30th chapter of Pro verbs, immediately preceding the proverbs of Lemuel, aud which is the only fenfible, well-conceived, and well-exprelTed-prayer in the Bible, has much the appearance of being a prayer taken from the Gentiles. The name of Agur occurs on no other occasion than this ; and he is iniroduced, together with the prayer afcribed to him, in the fame manner, and nearly in the' Same words, that Lemuel ard his proverbs arc introduced in the chapter that follows. The firft verfe of the 30th chapter fays. " The words of Agur, the fon of Jakeb, even the prophecy :" here the word pro phecy is ufed with the fame application it has in the following chapter of Lemuel, un connected .with any thing of prediction. The prayer of Agur is in the 8th and gth verfe, " Remove far front vie vanity and lies ; give me neither riches nor poverty, but' feed me with food convenient for we : left .1 be full and deny thee, and fay, Who is the Lord? or left I be poor andjieal, and take the name of my God in vain." This has not any of the marks of being a'Jcwifh piayer ; for the Jews never prayed but wheu they were in trouble, and never for any thing but viflory, vengeance, or riches. 366)/- PAINE'S WORKS; praftice has been fo calumniate and blacken the charafter of all other nations ; and it is from the JewiSh accounts that we have learned to call them heathens. But as far as we know to the contrary, they were a juSt and a moral people, and not ad dicted, like the Jews, to cruelty and: revenge, but of whofe profeffion of frith we are unacquainted. It ap pears to have been their cuftom to perSbnify both Virtue and vicej by Statues and images, as 13 done now-a- days both by Statuary and by painting ; but it does not follow S'rom this,' that they worshipped them any more than we do. I pals on to che book of Pfilirs, of which it is not neceffary to make much obfetvation. Some of them are moral, and others are very revengeful, and the greater part relates to certain local circumftances of the Tewifh nation at the time they were written, with which we have nothing to do. It is, however, an error, or an Impofition, to call them the Pfaims of David ; they are a colleftion, as fong-books are now-a-days, from dif ferent fong-writers, who lived at dif ferent times. The 137th Pfalm could not have been written till more than tour hundred years after the time of David, becaufe it is written in com memoration of an event, the captivi ty of the Jews in Babylon, which did not happen till that diftance of time. ' ' By the rivers of Babylon vie fat dm-jit ; yea, we wept when vie re membered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows, in the midjl thereof; for there they that carried us away cap tive, ' required of us a fong, faying, Sing us one of the fongs of Zion." As a man would fay to an American, or to a Frenchman, or to an Englishman, Sing us one of your American fongs, or your French 'fongs j or yourEwgKSh fongs. This remark, with refpect to the time this pfalm was written, is of Ho other ufe than to (hew (among others already mentioned) the general •mpofition the world has been under, with refpeft to the authors of the Bi ble. No regard has been paid to timey place, and circumftance ; and the names of perfons have been affixed to the feveral books ; which it was as impolfible they Should write, as that a man Should walk in proccffion at his own funeral. The book of Proverbs. Theft, like the Pl'alms, are a collection, and that from authors belonging to other nations than thofe of the JewiSh na tion,- as I have Shewn in the obferva tions upon the book of Job: befides which, fome of the proverbs afcribed to Solomon, did not appear till two hundred and fifty years after the death of Solomon j for it is faid in the firft verfe of the 25th chapter, " Theft are alfo proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekian king of Judah copied out." It was two hundred and fifty years from the time of Solomon to the time of Hezekiah. When a man is fa mous, and his name is abroad, he is made the putatiye father of things he never feid or did ; and this moft pro bably has been the fafbkm of that day, to make proverbs, as it is now to -make jeft-books, and father them Upon thofe who never faw them. The book of EcclefiafleS, or the Preacher, is alfo afcribed to Solomon, and that with much reafon, if not with truth. It is written as the fo litary refleftions pf a worn-out de bauchee, fuch as Solomon was, who looking back on fcenes he can no long er enjoy, cries out, All is vanity! A great deal of the metaphor and of the fentiment is obfcure, moft probably by Part II. AGE OF REASON. 367 translation ; but enough is left to Shew they were Strongly pointed in the ori ginal.* From what is tranfmitted to lis pf the charafter of Solomon, he was witty, oftentatious, diffolute, and at laft melancholy : he lived fall, and died, tired of the world, at the age of fifty-eight years. Seven hundred wives, and three hun dred cpncubines, are worfe than none ; and however it may carry with it the appearance of heightened enjoyment, it defeats all the felicity of affection, by leaving it no point to fix upon ; divided love is never happy. This was the cafe with Solomon ; and if he could not, with all his pretenfions to wifdom, discover it before-hand, he merited, unpitied, the mortifica tion he afterwards endured. In this point of view, his preaching is unne ceffary, becaufe, to know the confe quences, it is only neceffary to know the cafe. Seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines, would have Stood iu place of the whole book. It was needlefs after this to fay, that all was vanity and vexation of fpirit ; for it is impoffible to derive happinefs from the company of thofe whom we deprive of happinefs. To be happy in old age, it is ne ceffary that we accuftojn ourfelves to objects that can accompany the mind all the way through life, and that we take the reft as good in their day. The mere man of pleafure is mifera ble in old age ; and the mere drudge in bufmefs is but little better : where as, natural philofophy, mathematical and mechanical fciences, are a' conti nual fource of tranquil pleafure, and in fpite of the gloomy dogma of priefts,, and of fuperftitiaji, the Study of thpfe * Thofe that look out of the -window fhall fsr lofs of fight. things is the ftudy of the true theo logy i it teaches man to know and to admire the Creator, for the princi ples of feience are in the creation, are unchangeable, and of divine origin. Thofe who knew Benjamin Frank lin, will recollect, that his mind was ever young ; his temper ever ferene ; Science, that never grows grey, was always his miftrefs. Without an ob ject, we become like an invalid in an hofpital waiting for death. Solompn's Songs are amorous and foolifh enough, but which wrinkled fanaticifm has called divine. The com pilers of the Bible have placed thei'e longs after the book of KcclefiaStea ; and the chronologifts have affixed to them the aera of 1014 years before Chrift, at which time Solomon, ac cording to the fame chronology, was nineteen years of age, and was then forming his feraglio cf wives and con cubines. The Bible-makers and the chronologifts Should have managed. this matter a little better, and either have faid nothing about the time, or choS'en a time lefs inconfiftent with the fuppofed divinity of thole fongs ; for Solomon was then in the honey moon of one thoufand debaucheries. It Should alfo have occurred to them, that as he wrote, if he did write, the book of Ecclefiaftes, long after theie fongs, and in which he exclaims, that all is vanity and vexation of fpirit 3 that he included thofe fongs in that defcription. This is the more pro bable, becaufe he fays, or fomebody for him, Ecclefiaftes, chap. ii. ver. 8, " I gat me men-fingers and women- fingers, (moft probably to fing thofe fongs) and mujical inftruments of all be darkened, is an obfeare figure translation 368 PAINE's WORKS, forts ; and behold (ver. 1 1 .) all was vanity and vexation of fpirit." The compilers, howeyer, have done their work but by halves'; for as they have given us the fongs, they Should have given us the tunes, that we might fing them. Thofe books, called the books of the Prophets, fill up all the remaining part of the Bible ; they are fixteen in number, beginning with Ifaiah, and) ending with Malachi, of which I have given a lift, in the obfervations upon Chronicles. Of thefe fixteen prophets, all of whom, except the three laft, lived within the time the books of Kings and Chronicles were written ; two only, Ifaiah and Jere miah, are mentioned in the hiftory of thofe books. I Shall leave the cha rafter of the men called prophets, to another part of the work. Whoever will take the trouble of reading the book afcribed to Ifaiah, will find it one of the moft wild and diforderly compofitions ever put to gether; it has neither beginning,. middle, nor end ; and except a Short hiftorical part, and a few Sketches of hiftory in two or three of the firft chapters, is one continued, incohe rent, bombaftical rant, full of extra vagant metaphor, without-application, and deftitute of meaning ; a fchool- lioy would fcarcely have been excufe- able for writing fuch fluff; it is (at leaft in translation) that kind of com position and falfe tafte, that is pro perly called profe run mad. The historical part begins at the 36th chapter, and is continued to the end of the 39th chapter. It relates fome matters that are faid to have paffed during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, at which time Ifaiah lived. This -fragment of hiftory be-; gins and ends abruptly: it has- not the leaft connection with the chapter that precedes it, nor with that which follows it, nor with any other in the book. It is probable, that Ifaiah- wrote this fragment himfelf, becaufe he was an actor in the circumftances it treats of; but except this part, there are fcarcely two chapters that have any connection with each other; one is entitled, at the beginning of the firft verfe ; the burden of Baby- Ion } another, the burden of Moab } another, the burden of Damafcus ; another, the burden of Egypt ; an other, the burden of the Defart of the Sea ; another, the burden of the Valley of Vifion ; as you would fay, the ftory of the knight, of the horn ing mountain, the ftory of Cinderilla, or the Wood, Sec. Sec' I have already (hewn inthe inftance of the two laft verfes of Chronicles, and the three firft in Ezra, that the compilers of the Bible mixed and confounded the writings of different; authors with each other ; which alone, were there no other caufe, is fuffi cient to deftroy the authenticity of any compilation, becaufe it is more than prefumptive evidence, that the compilers are ignorant who the au thors were. A very glaring inftance of this occurs in the book afcribed to Ifaiah : the latter part of the 44th chapter, and the beginning of the 45th, fo far from having been written by Ifaiah, could only have been writ ten by fome perfon, who lived at leaft an hundred and fifty years after Ifaiah was dead. Thefe chapters are a compliment to Cyr\ts, who permitted the Jews to return to Jerufalem from the Baby lonian captivity, to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, as is Slated in Ezra. Part II. AGE OF REASON. 36j The laft verfe of the 44th chapter, and the beginning of the 45th, are in the following words: " That faith of Cyrus, he is my fliepherd, and Jhall per form all my pleafure ; even faying to Jerufalem, thou ftialt be built ; and to the temple, thy foundation ftiall be laid; thus faith Ihe Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whofe right-hand I have holden tofubdue nations before him, and I viill loofe the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates fhall notbejhut; I viill go before thee, &c." What audacity of church, and prieftly ignorance, is it to impofe this book upon the world, as the writing of Ifaiah ! when Ifaiah, ac cording to their own chronology, died foon after the death of Hezekiah, which was fix hundred and ninety- eight years before Chrift ; and the de cree of Cyrus, in favour of the Jews returning to Jerufalem, was, accord- ingto the fame chronology, 536 years before Chrift ; which is a diftance of time, between the two, of one hun dred and Sixty-two years. I do not fuppofe, that the compilers of the Bible made thefe books ; but rather that they picked up fome loofe, ano- ¦ nymous effays, and put them toge ther, under the names of fuch au thors, as beft fuited their purpose. They have encouraged the impofition, which is next to inventing it ; for it was impoffible but they muft have ob ferved it. When we fee the Studied craft of the Scripture-makers, in making every : part of this romantic bopk of fchool- boy's eloquence, bend to the monftrous idea of a Son of God, begotten by a . ghoft on the body of a virgin, there is no impofition ; we are not justified in fufpefting them of it. Every phrafe and circumftance are marked with the barbarous hand of. fuperfti tious torture, and forced into mean ings it was impoffible they could have. The head of every chapter, and the top of every page, are blazoned with the names of Chrift and the church ; that the unwary reader might fuck in. the error before he began to read. Behold a virgin ftiall conceive, and bear a fin, Ifaiah, chap. vii. ver.' 14, has been interpreted to mean the per fon, called Jefus Chrift,' and his mo ther Mary, and has been echoed through chriftendom for more than a thoufand years ; and fuch has beea the rage of this opinion, that fcarcely a fpot in it, but has been Stained with. blood, and marked with defolation, ia confequence of it. Though it is not my intention to enter into contro- Verfy on fubjefts of this kind, but to confine myfelf to Shew that the Bible is fpurious ; and thus, by taking away the foundation, to overthrow at once the whole Structure of Super stition raifed thereon ; I will, how ever, ftop a moment to expofe the fal lacious application of this paffage. Whether Ifaiah was playing a trick with Ahaz, king of Judah, to whom. this paffage is fpoken, is no bufinefs of mine ; I mean only to Shew the mifapplication of the paffage, and that it has no more reference to Chrift and his mother, than it has to me and my mother. The ftory is Simply this: The king of Syria and the king of Ifrael (I have already mentioned,' that the Jews were fplit into two nations, one of which was called Judah, the capital of which was Jerufalem, and the other Ifrael) made war jointly againft Ahaz, king of Judah, and "marched their armies towards Jeru falem. Ahaz and his people became B b ST* PAINE's WOttKS. alarmed, and the account fays, ver. a, "Their hearts were moved, as the trees oftooodare movedwiththe -wind." In this Situation of things, Ifaiah addreffes himfelf to Ahaz, and affures .him in the name of the Lord, (the cant phraie of all the prophets,) that thefe two kings Should not fu.cceed againft him ; and to fatisfy Aha? that this Should be the cafe, tells him to afjc a Sign. This, the account fays, Ahaz declined doing, .giving as •a reafon, that he would not tempt the Lord ; ..upon which, Ifaiah, who 'is the Speaker, Says, ver. 14, " There- ,fore the Lord himfelf Shall give you a «gn ; behold, a virgin fhall conceive and bear a fin; and the 16th verfe fays, << 4„d before this child ftiall know to refufe the evil, and choofe the good, the land which thou abhorreft or dreadeft (meaning Syria and the king dom of Ifrael) Shall be forfaken of 'both her kings." Here then was the Sign, and the time limited for the completion of the affurance or pro- mife ; namely, before this child Should "know to refufe the evil, and choofe the good. IS'aiah having committed himfelf thus far, it became neceffary to him, in order to avoid the imputation of being a falfe prophet, and the confe- 'quence thereof, to take meafures to 'make this Sign appear. It certainly Was not a difficult thing, in any 'time of -the world, to find 4 girl with child, or to make her fo ; and perhaps Ifaiah knew of one before hand ; for I do not fuppofe that the prophets of that day were any more to be trufted, than the priefts of this : be that however as it may, he fays is the next chapter, ver. a, " And. I took untp me faithful witneffes to re cord, Uriah the prieft, and 'Zechariah the fon of Jeberechiah, and / went unto the prophetefs, and fiie conceived and bare a fin." Here then is the whole ftory, fooliSh. ,as it is, of this child and this virgin; and it is upon the barefaced perver sion of this ftery, that the book of Matthew, and the impudence, and ¦fordid intereft of priefts in later times, have founded a theory, which they call the gofpel ; and have applied this ftory to Signify the perfon they call Jefus Chrift ; begotten, they fay, by a ghoft, whom they call holy, on the body of a woman engaged in marriage and afterwards married, whom they call a virgin feven hundred years after this foolifli Story was told ; a theory, which, fpeaking for myfelf, I hefitate not fo believe, and to fay, is as fabulous, and as falfe as God is true *. But to Shew the impofition and falShood of Ifaiah, we have ortly to attend to the fequel of this ftory ; which, though it is paffed over in filence in the book of ISaiah, is re lated in the z8th chapter of 2 Chro nicles ; and which is, that inftead of thefe two kings failing in their at- ' tempt againft Ahaz, king of Jnddli, as Ifaiah had pretended to foretelin the name of the Lord, they fucceedei; Ahaz was defeated and destroyed ; an hundred and twenty thoufand-of his peo. pie were Slaughtered ; Jerufalem was plundered ; and two hundred thoufarid women, and fons, and daughters, carried in tocaptivity. Thu s much for this lying * In the 14th verfe of the chapter, it is faid, that the child (hould be called lit. manuel; but this name was not given to either of the children, otherwife than a' a .character, which the word Signifies That of the prophet was called Maher-flialal- hafh-baz, and that of Mary was called Jefus. Part II. AG E OF REASON. 37» prophet and impoftor Ifaiah, and the book of falfehoods, that bears his name. I pafs on lo the book of Jeremiah. This prophet, as he is •called, lived in the time that Ne°u- chadnezzar befieged Jerufalem, in the reign of Zedekiah, the laft king of Judah.; and the fufpicion was ftrong againft him, that he was a traitor in the intereft of Nebuchadnezzar. :-Eve- ry thing relating to Jeremiah Shews him to have been a man of an equi vocal character ; in his metaphor of the potter and the clay, chap, xviii. he guards his. prognostications in fuch a crafty manner, as always to Jeave .himfelf a door to efcape by, in- cafe ¦the event 'that, when the army of the Chalde ans was broken up from Jerusalem, "for fear of Pharaoh's army, then Je remiah went forth out of Jerufalem, ' to go (as this account States) into the ¦land of Benjamin, to feparate himfelf -thence in the midft of the people : and •when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whofe ' name was Irijah ; and -he took Jere- ' miah the prophet, faying, Thou falleft away to the Chaldeans: then Jere miah faid, It is falfe ; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. Jeremiah being thus This interview and conference" breaks off abruptly at the end of the 10 th verfe of the aift chapter ;. and fuch is the diforder of this book, that we have to pafs over fixteen chapter* upon various fubjefts, in order to come at the continuation and event of this conference ; and this brings us to the 1 ft verfe of the 38th chapter, as I •have juft mentioned. The 38 th chapter ppens with faying, " Then Shaphatiah, the fon of Mat- tan; and Gedaliah, the fon of Palhurj and Jucal, the fon of Shelemiah ; and PaShur, the fon pf Malchiah ; (here are more perfons mentfoned, than in the zift chapter) heard the words.that Jeremiah fppke jmjo the people, fay ing, Thus faith the Lord, He that rt' Stopt and accufed, was, after being mainethin this city Jhail die by the fword, examined, committed to prifon, on by the famine and by the pefiilence ; but fufpicion of being a traitor ; where he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans, he remained, as is Slated in the laft Jball live ; for he ftiall have his life for verfe pf this chapter. Bat the next chapter gives an ac- cnunt of the imprifonment of Jere miah, which has no connection with' this account ; but afcribes his impri fonment to another circumftance, and a prey, and Jball live ; (which are the words of the conference ;) therefore, (fay they to Zedekiah,) We befeech thee, let this man be put to death ; for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and for which we muft go back to the 21ft the hands of all the people in fpeaking chapter. It is there Slated, verfe 1, fuch words unto them; for this man that Zedekiah fent Pafhur, the fon pf feeketh not the welfare qf the people, Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the fon of but the hurt" and at the 6th verfe, Maafeiah the prieft, to Jeremiah, to it is faid, " Then they took Jeremi- inquire of him concerning Nebuchad- ah, and put him into a dungeon of .nezzar, whofe army was then before Malchiah." . Jerufalem 1 and Jeremiah faid to them, Thefe two accounts are different verfe 8, " Thus faith the Lord, Be- and contradiftory. The one afcribes hold, I fet before you the way of life, his imprifonment to his attempt to efi and the way of death : he that abideth cape out of the city ; the other, to his in this city, Shall die by the fword preaching and prophefying in the city : and by the famine, and by the pefti- the one, to his being feized by the Part II. AGE OF REASON. 373 guard at the gate ; the other, to his being accufed before Zedekiah, by the' conferees.* In the next chapter (the 39th) we have another inftance of the diforder ed ftate of this book ; for, notwith standing the Siege Of the city, by Ne buchadnezzar, ' has been the fubject of feveral of the preceding chapters, par ticularly the 37th and 38th, the 39th chapter begins as if pot a word had been faid upon the fubjeft ; and as jf the reader was'Sfill to be informed of every particular refpefting it ; for- it begins with faying, verfe ill, " In {he ninth year qf Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Ne buchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army againft Jerufalem, and be sieged it, &c. &c." But the inftance in the laft chapter (fthe 5ad) is ftill more glaring; for, though the ftory has been told over and over again, this chapter ftill fuppofes the reader not to know any thing of it; for it begins by faying, verfe 1 ft, " Zedekiah was one and twenty years old, when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerufalem ; and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. (Ver. 4,) And it came to pafs, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he and all his army, againft Je rufalem, and pitched againft it,&c . fife". It is not poffible that anyone man,. and more particularly Jeremiah, could have been the writer of this book. The errors are fuch, as could not have been committed by any perfon fitting down to compote a work. Were I, or 'any other man, to write in fuch a difordered manner, nobody would. read what was written ; and every body would fuppofe, that-the, yriter. * I obferved two chapters, 16th and 17th, in the firft book of Samuel, that con tradict each other with reSpeft to David, and the manner he became acquainted with Saul; as the 37th and 38th chapters of the book of Jeremiah contradict each other with refpedr to the caufe of Jeremiah's imprifonment. In the 1 6th chapter of Samuel, it is faid, that an evil fpirit from God troubled Saul, ' and that his fervants advifed him (as a remedy) '.'to feek out a man; who was a tunning player upon the harp :" and Saul Said, verfe 1 7, " Provide now a man that can play well, and bring him unto me. Then anfwered one of the fervants, ' and faid, Behold 'I have feen a fon of Jeffe, the Bethleliemite, that is cunning in p'laying, and a mighty man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely perfon, and the Lord is with him : wherefore Saul fent melfengers unto Jelfe, and , faid, Send me David thy fon. And (verfe 41) David came to Saul, and Stood before trim, aad he loved him greatly ; and he became his armour-bearer : and 'when the eVil fpirit from God was upon Saul, (verfe 23) David took his harp, and played with - bis hand, and Saul was refreshed, and was well.'.' But the next chapter (17th) gives an account, all different to this, of the manner that Saul and David became acquainted.' Here it is' afcribed to David's encounter, with Goliah, when David was Tent by his father to carry provifion to his brethren iri tbe camp. In the 55th verfe of this chapter, it is faid, " And when Saul faw, David. go forth againff the Philistine (Goliah), he faid to Abner, the captain of the hoft, Abner,' whofe fon is tbi° youth ? And Abner faid, As thy foul Iiveth, Oking, I cannot fell. And the king faid, Inquire thou whofe fon the (tripling is. Arid as David re- furnel from' the (laughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand ; and Saul faid unto him, Whofe fon art thou, thou young man ? And David anfwered, Sam the fon of thy Servant Jeffe, t(lie Bethlehemite." Thefe two accounts belie each other, becaufe each of them fup pofes Saul and David not to have known each other before. This book, the Bible, is too ridiculous even for criticifm. 374 PAINE's WORKS. was in a ftate of infanity. The on ly way therefore to account for the diforder is, that the book is a medley of detached unauthenticated anecdotes, put together by fome Stupid book maker, under the name of Jeremiah ; becaufe many of them refer to him; and to the eircumftances of the times he. lived in. , Of the duplicity, and of the falfe prediction of Jeremiah, I Shall men tion two inftances ; and then proceed to review the remainder of the Bible- It appears from the 38th chapter, that when Jeremiah was in prifon, Zedekiah fent for him ; and at this in terview, which was priyate, Jeremiah preSfed it Strongly on Zedekiah to fur- render himfelf to the enemy, " If, fays he, verfe 17, thou wilt affuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's prin ces, then thy foul Jhall live, &c." Zedekiah was apprehenfive, that what paSTed at this conference Should be known ; and he faid to Jeremiah, verfe 15, " If the princes (meaning thofe of Judah) hear, that I have talked with thee ; and they come unto thee, and fay untO thee, Declare unto us now, what thou haft faid unto the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death ; and alfo what the king faid unto thee : then thou Shalt fay unto them, I prefented my fupplication before the king, that he would not caufe me to return to Jonathan's houfe, to die there. Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and alked him ; and he told them ac cording to all the words the king had commanded." Thus, this man of God, as he is called, could tell a lie, or very Strongly prevaricate, when he fuppofed it. would anfwer his purpofe : for certainly lie did not go to Zede kiah, .to make his fupplication ; nei ther did he make it : he went, becaufe he was fent for ; and he employed that oppprtunity, to advife Zedekiah to furrender himfelf to Nebuchadnezzar, In the 34th chapter is a prophecy of Jeremiah to Zedekiah in thefe words, ver. 2, '< Thus faith theLprd,, Behold I will give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and, will burn it with fire; and thou, Shalt. not efcape out of his hand, but thou Shalt furely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes Shall behold the eyes of the king of Bariy. Ion, and he Shall fpeak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou Shalt go to Babylon. ¦ Yet hear the word of the Lord; 0 Zedekiah, king of Judah, thus faith the Lord, Thou Jhalt not die, by the fword, but thou Jhalt die in peace; and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that viere before theit fo fiiall they burn odours for thee, ana) viill lament thee, fayingt Ah, lord I for I have pronounced the ward, faithj the Lord." Now, inftead of Zedekiah behold- ing the eyes of the king of Babylon^ and fpeaking with him mouth to mouth, and dying In peace, and with the burning of odours, as at the funeral of his fathers (as Jeremiah had de clared, the Lord himfelf had pro nounced), the reverfe, according to the 5 id chapter, was the cafe: it is there faid, ver. 10, " That the king of Babylon flew the fons of Zedekiah before his eyes ; then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prifon till the day of his death." What then can we fay of thefe prophets, but that they are im- pcftprs and liars ? As for Jeremiah, he pronounced none of thofe evils. He was taken Part II. AGE OF REASON. "jrj into favour by Nebuchadnezzar, who gave him in charge to the captain of the guard, chap, xxxix. ver. 12, "•' Take him (fttd he), and look well to him, and do him no harm ; but dp untp him even as he Shall fay unto thee." Jeremiah joined himfelf afterwards to Nebuchadnez zar, ' and went about prophefying for him againft the Egyptians, who had marched to the i-elief of Jeru- ialenv while it was befieged. Thus much for another of the lying pro phets, and the book that bears his «ame. I have been the more particular in treating of the books afcribed to Ifaiah and Jeremiah, becaufe thofe two are fpoken of in the books of Kings and Chronicles, whilft the ,others are not. The remainder ' of the hooks afcribed to the men called (prophets, I Shall not trouble myfelf much about, but take them collec tively into the obfervations I Shall offer on the character of the men {Called prophets. In the former part of the Age of Reafon, I have faid .that the word pro phet was the Bible-word for poet, and that the flights and metaphors of the JewiSh poets have been foolishly erected into what are now called pro phecies. I a/n fufficiently justified in this opinion, not only becaufe the books called the prophecies are writ ten in poetical language, but becaufe there is no word in the Bible, except- it be the word prophej, that defcribes what we mean by poet. I have aifo faid, that the word Signified a performer iipon mufical inftruments, pf which I have given feme inftances; fuch as that pf a company pf prophets, pro phefying With pfalteries, with tabrets, with pipes, with harps, &c. and Saul prophefied with them, . 1. Sam. chap. x. ver. 5. It appears from this, paf fage, and from other parts in the book of Samuel, that the word, pro phet was confined to- Signify poetry and mufic ; for the perfon, who was fuppofed to have a vifionary infighfc into things concealed, was not a pro phet, but a feer* 1 Sam. chap. ix. ver. 9 ; and it was not till after the word feer went out of ufe, (which was, moll probably, when Saul ba niflied thofe he called wizards,) that the profeffion of the feer, or the art of feeing, became incorporated, into the word prophet. According to the modern meaning of the word prophet and prophefying, it Signifies foretelling events to a great diftance of time ; and it became ne ceffary to the inventors of the gofpel to give it this latitude of meaning, in order to apply, or to Stretch what they call the prophecies of the Old Teftament, to the times of the New.' But according to the Old Teftament, the prophefying of the feer, and af terwards of the prophet, fo for as the meaning of the word feer was incorporated into that of prophet, had reference only to things of the time then pafling, or very clofely con nefted with it ; fuch as the event of a battle they were going to eng&ge in, or of a journey, or of an enterprize they were going tp undertake, pr of any circumftance then pending, or of any difficulty they were then in i * I know not what is the Hebrew word that corresponds to the word feer in English : but I obierve it is tranflated into French by Le Voyant, from the verb voir to fee, and -.vakii means tne perfb.a fthoffis, 91 the feer. '37? PAINE's WORKS. all of which had immediate reference to themfelves, (as in the cafe already mentioned of Ahaz and Ifaiah with ¦ refpeft to the expreflipn, Behold a virgin ftiall conceive, and bear a fin,) and npt tp any diftant future time. It was that kind nf prophefying, that correfponds to what We call fortune- telling ; fuch as calling nativities, predicting riches, fortunate pr unfor tunate marriages, conjuring for loft goods, &c. and it is the fraud of the Christian church, not that pf the Jews, and the ignprance and the fo- perftitipn pf mpdern, npt that pf an cient times, that elevated thpfe poe tical — mufical — conjuring — dreaming — drolling gentry, into the rank they have fince had. But befides this general charafter of all the prophets, they had a par ticular charafter. They were in par ties, and they prophefied for, or againft, according to the party they were with, as the poetical and poli tical writers of the prefent day write in defence of the party they affociate with, againft the other, After the Jews were divided into two nations, that of Judart- and that of Ifrael, each party had its prophets, who abufed and accufed each other of being falfe prophets, lying prophets, ImpoStors, Sec. - , i The prophets of the party of Judah prophefied againft the prophets pf the party of Ifrael ; and .thofe pf the party of Ifrael againft thofe of Judah. This party prophefying Shewed itfelf immediately on the feparation of. the firft two- rival kings, 'Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The prophet that curfed, or prophefied againft the altar, that Jeroboam had built in Bethel, was of the. party of Judah, where Rehoboam' vms king; and he was way-laid on-- his return home, by a prophet of the party of Ifrael, who faid unto him, (i Kings, chap, xiii.) " Art tfiou the man qf God that came from Judah ? and he faid, I am." Then the pro. phet of the party of Ifrael faid unto him, " I am a prophet alfo as thou art> (Signifying of Judah,) and an angel f pake unto, me by the word of the Lord, faying, Bring him back with thee unto thine houfe, that he may eat bread and drink water : but, fays' the 18th verfe, he lied unto Mm." The event, however, according to the ftory, is, the prpphet of Judah never got back to Judah ; for he. was found dead on the .road by the contrivance of the prophet of Ifrael, who np doubt was called a true prophet by his own . party, and the prophet of Judah a lying prophet. ¦ ,: ¦ ,' ; ' ¦ ', In the third chapter of the fecond, of Kings, a Story is related of pro-. phefying, or cpnjuring, that Shews, in feveral particulars, the charafter of a prophet. Jehofhaphat, king of Ju-, dah, and Jerom, king of Ifrael, had for a while ceafed their party animo sity, and entered into an alliance ;• and thofe two, together with the king of Edom, engaged in a war againft the king of Moab. After uniting, and marching their armies, the Story. Says, they were in great diftrefs for water, upon which JehoShaphat faid, " Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that vie may inquire of the Lord by him ? and one of the fervants qf the . king of Ifrael faid, Here is Elifha. (Elifha was of the party of Judah.) And Jehofhaphat the king of Judah find, The word of the Lord is •with him." The ftory then fays, thefe three kings went down tp EliSha ; and when Eliflia (who, as I have faid; was a Judahmite prophet) faw the Part II. AGE OP REASON. 377 king of Ifrael, he faid unto him, " What have I to do with thee, get thee to the prophets of thy fa ther, and the prophets of thy mother. Nay, hut Jaid the king of Ifrael, the Lord hath called theft three kings toge ther, to deliver them into the hand of the king of Moab" (meaning, becaufe of the diftrefs they were in for water) ; upon which El iSha faid, *< As the Lord of hofts liveth, before whom I ft and, furely, were it not that I regard the prefince of Jehofhaphat, king of Ju dah, 1 would not look towards thee, nor fee thee." Here is all the venom ind vulgarity of "a party prophet. We have now to fee the performance or manner of prophefying. Ver. 15, " Bring w,-faid Elifha, aminftrel; and it- came to pafs ; when the minftrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him." Here is the farce of the conjurer. Now for the prophecy : " And Eliflia faid, (Singing, moft probably, to the. tune he was playing,) Thus faith the Lord, make this valley full of ditches ;" which Was juft telling them what every coun tryman might have told' them, with out either fiddle or farce, that the Way to get water was to dig for it. But as every conjurer is not famous alike for fhe fame thing, fo neither were thofe prophets ; for though all Of them, at leaft thofe I have fpoken of, were famous for lying, fome of them excelled in" curling. Eliflia, whom I have juft mentioned, was a chief in this branch of prophefying : if was he that curfed the forty-two children in the name of the Lord, whom the two She-bears came and de voured. Weare tp fupppfe that thpfe children were pf the party of Ifrael ; but as thpfe who will curfe will lie, there- is juft as much credit to be given to this Story of Eliiha's two flie-bears, as there is to that of the dragon of Wantley, of whom it is faid, Poor children three devoured he, That could not with him grapple ; And at one fup he eat them up, As a man would eat an apple. There was another defcription of men, called prophets, that amufed themfelves with dreams and visions ; but whether by night or by day, we know not. Thefe, if they were not quite harmlefs, were but little mif- chievous. Of this clafs are Ezekiel and Daniel ; and the firft queftion upon thofe books, as upon all the others, is, Are they genuine ? that is, were they written by Eze kiel and Daniel ? Of this there is no proof; but Co far as my opinion goes, I am more inclined to believe they were, than that they were , not. My reafons for this opinion are as follow : Firft, Be caufe thofe books do not contain in ternal evidence, to prove they were not written by Ezekiel arid Daniel, as the books afcribed to Mofes, JoShua* Samuel, &c. &c. Secondly, Becaufe they were not written till after the Babylonifh cap tivity began ; and there is good rea fon to believe, that not any bopk in the Bible was written before that pe riod : at leaft it is proveable, from. the bpoks themfelves, as I have al, ready fhewn, that they were not writ ten till after the commencement of the JewiSh monarchy. Thirdly, Becaufe the manner in which the bppks afcribed to Ezekiel and Daniel are written, agrees with the cpndition thefe men were in at the time pf writing them. Had the numerous commentators and priefts, who have foolishly em ployed or wafted their time in pre- 37« PAINE's WORKS. tending to expound and unriddle thofe books, Jbeen carried into captivity, as Ezekiel and Daniel were, it would greatly have improved their intellefts, in comprehending the reafon for this mpde pf writing, and have faved them the trouble pf racking their inven- tipn, as they have clone to no pur pofe ; for they would have found, that themfelves would be obliged to write whatever they had to write, re fpefting their own affairs, or thofe of their friends, or of their country, in a concealed manner, as thofe men have done. Thefe two books differ from all the reft ; for it is only thefe that are filled with accounts of dreams and vifions ; and this difference arofe from the fitu ation the writers were in, as pri- foners of war, or prifoners of ftate, in a foreign country, which obliged them to convey even the moft trifling information to each other, and all their political projefts or opinions, in obfcure and metaphorical terms. They pretended to have dreamed dreams, and feen vifions, becaufe it was un- fafe for them to fpeak fafts or plain language. We ought, however, to fuppofe, that the perfons to whom they wrote understood what they meant,- and that it was not intended any body elfe Should. But thefe bufy commentators and priefts have been puzzling their wits to find out what it was not intended they Should know, and with which they have nothing to do. Ezekiel and Daniel were carried prifoners to Babylon, under the firft captivity, in the time of Jehoiakim, nine years before the fecond captivity in the time of Zedekiah. The Jews ¦were then ftill numerous, and had considerable force at Jerufalem ; anil it is natural to fupppfe,, that men, in the Situation of Ezekiel and Da niel, would be meditating the reco very of their country, and their own deliverance. It is reafonable to fuppofe, that the accounts of dreams and vificms, with which thefe books are filled, are no other than a dif- guifed mode of correspondence, to fa cilitate thofe objefts : it ferved them as a cypjier, or fecret alphabet. If they are not this, they are tales, re veries, and nonfenfe; or at leaft a fanciful way of wearing off the wea~ rifomenefs of captivity : but the pre- fumptipn is, they are the former. Ezekiel begins his bppk, by fpeak ing of a vifion of cherubims, and of a yifion of a wheel within « wheel, which he fays he faw by the river Chebar, in the land of his captivity. Is it npt reafonable to fuppofe, that by the Cherubims he meant the tem ple at Jerufalem, where they had figures of cherubims ? and by a wheel within a wheel, (which, ag a figure, has always been underftood, tp Signify political contrivance,) the project, pr means of recovering Jerufalem ? In the latter part of hi? book, he fup pofes himfelf transported to Jerufa lem, and into the temple ; and he refers back to the vifion on the river Chebar, and fayF, chap, xliii. ver. 3, that this laft vifion was like the vifion pn the river Chebar: which indi cates, that thofe pretended dreams and vifions had for their objeft the re covery of Jerufalem, and nothing fur ther., As to the romantic interpretations and applications, wild as the dreams and visions they undertake to explain, which commentators and priefts have made of thefe books, that of convert ing into things, which they call pro- Part II; A G E O P R E A SO N. 379 p"hecies, and making them bend to times and circumftances, as far remote even as the prefent day, it fhews the' fraud, or the extreme folly, t6 which credulity or prieftcraft can go. Scarcely any thing can be more ab furd, than to fuppofe, that men Situ ated as Ezekiel and Daniel were, whofe country was over-run, and in the pof- feSfion of the enemy, all their friends and relations in captivity abroad, or in Slavery at home, or maffacred, or in continual danger of it; fcarcely any thing, I fay, can be more abfurd, than to fuppofe, that fuch men Should find nothing to do, but that of em ploying their time and their thoughts about what was to happen to other nations a thoufand or two thoufand years after they Should be dead; at the fame time, nothing more natural than that they Should meditate the re covery of Jerufalem, and their own deliverance ; and that this was the fole objeft of all the obfeure and apparent ly frantic writing contained in thofe {looks. In this fenfe, the mode of writing ufed in thofe two books being forced by neceffity, and not adopted by choice, is not irrational j but if we are to view the books as prophecies, they are falfe. In the zoth chapter of Ezekiel, foeaking of Egypt, it is faid, ver. 1 1, " No foot of man ftiall pafs through ii, nor foot of beaft fhall pafs through it; neither Jhall it be inhabited for forty years." This is what never came to pafs, and confequently it is falfe, as all the books I have already reviewed are. I here clofe this part of the fubjeft.. In the former part of the Age of Reafon, I have fpoken pf Jonah, and of the Story 'of him and the whale. A Sit ftory for ridicule,' if it was writ ten to- be believed ; or of laughter, if it was intended' to try what credu lity could fwallow; for if it could fwallow Jonah and the whale, it can. fwallow any thing. But, as is already Shewn in the ob fervations on the book of Job, and of Proverbs, it is not always certain which of the books in the Bible are originally Hebrew, or only translati ons from books of the Gentiles into Hebrew ; and as the book of Jonah, fo far from treating of the affairs of the Jews, Says npthing upon that fub jeft, but treats altogether of the Gen tiles, it is more probable that it is a book of the Gentiles, than of the Jews ; and that it has been written as a fable, to expofe the nonfenfe, and. Satirize the vicious and malignant: charafter cf a Bible prophet, pr a pre dicting prieft. Jonah is reprefented, firft, as a dif— obedient prophet, running away from his miffion, and taking Shelter on board a veffel of the Gentiles, bound from Joppa to TarShiSh ; as if he ig- nprantly fuppofed, by fuch a paltry contrivance, he could hide himfelf, where God could not. find him. The veffel is pvertaken by a ftorm at fea j and the mariners, all of whom are Gentiles, believing it to be a judg ment, on account of fome one on board who had committed a crime, agreed to call lots, to difcover the offender ; and the lot fell uport Jpnah. But before this, they had eaft all their wares and merchandize over-board, to lighten the veffel, while Jonah, like a Stupid fellow, was faft aSleep in the hold. After the lot had defignated Jonah tp be the offender, they queftioned him to know who, a'nd what he was ? and he told them he was an Hebrew ; 3*0 PAINE's WORKS. and the ftory implies, that he confeffed himfelf to be guilty. But thefe Gen tiles, inftead of facrificing him at once, without pity or mercyj, as a company of Bible-prophets, or priefts, would have done by a Gentile in the fame cafe ; and as it is related, Samuel had done by Agag, and Mofes by the wo men and children ; they endeavoured to fave him, though at the riSk of their own lives : for the account fays, «' Neverthelefs (that is, though Jonah was a Jew and a foreigner, and the Caufe of all their misfortunes, and the lofs of their cargo,) the men rowed' hard to bring the boat to land, but they, could not, for thefia wrought, and was tempefiuous againft them." Still, how ever, they were unwilling to put the fate of fot into execution, and they cried, fays the account, unto the Lord, faying, " We befeech thee, O Lord, let us not perijbfor this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood ; for thou, O Lord, haft done as it pleafed thee." Meaning thereby, that they did not prefume to judge Jonah guilty, fince he might be innocent ; but that they con fidered the lot, that had fallen upon him, as a decree of God, or as it pleafed God. The addrefs of this prayer (hews that the Gentiles wor shipped one Supreme Being, and that they were not idolaters, as the Jews reprefented them to be. But the Storm Hill continuing, and the danger in creasing, they put the fate of the lot into execution, and eaft Jonah into thefea ; where, according to the ftory, a great fiSh fwallowed him up whole and alive. We have now to confider Jonah fe- curely houSed from the ftorm in the fi/h's belly. Here we are told that he prayed; but the prayer is a made- up prayer, taken from various parts of the Pfalm^, without connection or consistency, and adapted tq the diftrefs, but not at all to the condition, that Jonah was in. It is fuch a prayer as a Gentile, who might know fomething of thePfalms, cpuld copy out for him. This circumftance alone, were there' no other, is fufficient to indicate that the whole is a made-up ftory. The prayer, however, is fuppofed to have anfwered the purpofe, ' and the Story goes on, (taking up, at the fame time, the cant language of a Bible- prophet,) faying, ""' The Lord fpake unto the fifth, and It vomited out Jonah upon the dryland." Jonah then receives a fecond mif- fion to Nineveh, with which he fets out ; and we have now to confider him as a preacher. The diftrefs he is re prefented to have fuffered, the remem brance of his own difobedience as the caufe of it, and miraculous efcape he is fuppofed to have had, were fufficient^ one would conceive, to have impreSTed him with fyrripathy and benevolence in theexeeution pf his miffion ; but, inftead of this, he. enters the, city with denunciation and malediftion in his mouth, crying, «,' Yetforty days, and Nineveh fhall be overthrown." ' .' We have now to confider this fup pofed miffionary in the laft' aft of his miffion ; and here it is that the, male volent Spirit of a Bible-prophet, or of a predicting prieft, appears in all that blacknefs of charafter, that meii afcribe tp the being they call the devil. Having published his prediction, he withdrew, fays the ftory, to the eaft fide of the city. — But for what ? not tp contemplate in retirement the mercy of his Creator to'himfelf, or to others, but wait, with malignant im patience, the destruction of Nineveh, It came to pafs, however, as the ftory relates, that the Ninevites reformed; Part II. AGE OF REASON. 381 and that God, aceording to the Bible phrafe, repented him of the evil he had laid he would do unto them, and did 'it not. This, faith the firft verfe of the laft chapter, difpleafed Jonah ex ceedingly, and he was very angry. His obdurate heart wpuld rather that all Nineveh Should be destroyed, and eve ry foul, young and old, perifh in it's ruins, than that his prediction Should not be fulfilled. To expofe the cha rafter pf a prophet ftill mpre, a gpurd is made to grow up in the night, that promifes him an agreeable Shelter from the heat pf the fori, in the place tp which he is retired ; ' and the next mcrning it dies. Here the rage of the prophet be comes exceffive, and he is ready to de ftroy himfelf. « It is Better, faid he, for me to die than to live." This brings .on a fuppofed expostulation between the Almighty and the pro phet ; in which the former fays, Doeft thou well to be angry for the gourd? And Jonah faid, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then faid the Lord, Thou haft had pity on the gourd, far vihich thou haft not laboured, neither madeft it to grow, vihich came up in a night ; and Jhould not Ifpare Nineveh, that great city, in vihich are more than threefcore thoufand perfons, that cannot difieru between their right hand and their left ?" Here is both the winding up of the fatire, and the moral of the fable. As a fatire, it Strikes againft the cha rafter of all the Bible prophets, and againft all the indiscriminate judgments upon men, women, and children, with which this lying book, the Bible, is crowded ; fuch as Noah's flood, the deftruftion of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the extirpation of the Canaanites, even to fucking infan:s, and women with child ; becaufe the fame refleftion, that there are more than threefcore thoufandperfons that can not difiern between their right hand and tlieir left, meaning young children, applies to all their cafes. It fatirizes alfo the fuppofed partiality of the Cre ator for one nation, more than for another. As a moral, it preaches againft the malevolent Spirit of prediction ; for as certainly as a man predifts ill, he becomes inclined to wiSh it. The pride of having his judgment right, hardens his heart, till at laft he be holds with fatisfaftion, or fees with disappointment, the accomplishment pr the failure pf his predictions. This book ends with the fame kind of ftrong and well-direfted point againft prophets, prophecies, and indifcrimi- nate judgments, as the chapter, that Benjamin Franklin made for the Bible, about Abraham and the Stranger, ending againft the intolerant Spirit of religious perfecution. Thus much for the bpok of Jonah. Of the ppetical parts pf the Bible, that are called prophecies, I have fpo ken in the former part of the Age of Reafon, and already in this ; where I have faid that the word prophet is the Bible-word for poet; and that the flights and metaphors of thofe poets, many pf which are becpme obfcure by the lapfe of time and the change of circumftance, have been ridiculously erected into things, called prophecies, and applied to purpofes the writers never thought of". When a prieft quotes any of thofe paffages, he un riddles it agreeably to his own views, and impofes that explanation upon his congregation as the meaning of the writer. The whore of Babylon has been the common whore of all the 3S& PAI.N.E'* WORKS. priefts, and each has accufed the other of keeping the Strumpet : fo well do they agree in their explanati ons. Here now remain only a few books, which they call the books of the lef- fer prophets ; and as I have already fhewn that the greater are impoStors, it would be cowardice to disturb the repofeof the litle ones. Let them Sleep then, in the arms of their nurfes, the priefts, and both be forgotten .toge. . ther. I have gone through the Bible, ; a man would go through a wood with an axe on his Shoulder, and fell trees. Here they lie ; and the priefts, if they can, may replant them. They may, perhaps, Stick them in the ground, but they will never make them grow. 1 pafs on to the books of the New ¦ Teftament. THE NEW TESTAMENT. The New Teftament, they tell us, is founded upon the prophecies of the Old ; if fo, it muft follow the fate of it's foundation. As it is nothing extraordinary that a woman Should be with child before She was married, and that the fon (he might bring forth Should be executed, even unjuftly ; I fee no reafon for not believing that fuch a woman as Ma ry, and fuch a man as Jofeph, and Jefus, exifted ; their mere exiftence is a matter of indifference, about which there is no ground, either to believe, or to disbelieve, and which comes under the common head of, // may be fo ; and -what then ? The pro bability, however, is, that there were fuch perfons, - or at leaft fuch as re- fembled them in part of the circum ftances, becaufe almoft all romantic Stories have been -fuggefted by fome actual circumftance ; as the adventures of Robinfon Crufoe, ' not a word of ^which is true, were fuggefted by the cafe .of Alexander Selkirk. It is not then the exiftence, ornon- exiftenre.iof the perfons that I trou ble myfelf about ; it is the fable of Jefus Chrift, as is told in the New * Mary, the fuppofed virgin mother of daughters. "See Matt. Chap. xiii. ver. 55,- Teftament, and the wild and visiona ry doftrine raifed thereon, againft which I contend. The ftory, taking it as it is told, is blafphemoufly ob- fcene. It gives, an accountpf a young woman engaged to be married, and while under this engagement, She' is, to fpeak plain language, debauched, by a ^h.oftf under the impious pretence (Luke, chap. i. ver. 35,) that " the Holy Ghqft, ftiall come upon thee, and the povier of the Higbeft Jhall overjha- dovj thee.' Notwithstanding which, Jofeph afterwards marries her as his wife, and in his turn rivals theglioft. This is putting the ftory into intel ligible language, and when told in this / manner, there is not a prieft but muft 4^ beaShamed to own it.* Obfcenity in matters of faith, how ever wrapped up, is always a token of fable and impofture.; for it is ne ceffary to our ferious belief in God, that we do not cpnneft it with Stories that run, as it does, into ludicrous interpretations. This ftory is, upon • the face of it, the fame kind of ftory as that of Jupiter and Leda, or Ju piter and Europa, or any of the amor ous adventures Of Jupiter; and Shews, Jefus,, had feveral other children, font and Part II. AG E OF'RE AS 0*1. 383 as is already Stated in the former part of the. Age of Refffon, that the Chrif- tian faith is built upon the heathen mythology. As the hiftorical parts of the New Teftament, fo far as concerns Jefus Chrift, are confined to a very thort fpace pf time, Iefe thaii two years, and all within the lame country; and nearly to the fame fpot, the difcord- ance of time, place, and circumftance, which detefts the fallacy of the bppks of the Old Teftament, and proves them to be impositions, cannot be expefted to be found here in the fame abundance. The New Tefta ment, compared with the Old, is like a farce of one aft, in which there is not room for very numerous violations of the. unities. There are, however, fome glaring contradictions, which, •exclusive of the fallacy of the pre tended prophecies, are fufficient to Shew the ftory of Jefus 'Chrift to be falfe. I lay it down as a pofition which cannot be controverted, firft, that the agreement of all the parts of a Story does not prove'that ftory to be true, becaufe the parts may agree, and the whole may be falfe ; fecondly, that the difagreement of the parts of ia .Story proves that the whale cannot be true. The agreement does not prove truth, but the difagreement proves .falShood positively. The hiftory of Jefus Chrift is con tained in t'ie four books .afcribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The ,fi lift ih jpter of Matthew begins with giving a genealogy of Jefus Chrift ; -and in the Jtod chapter of Luke, there is alfo givenia genealogy of Jefus- Christ. Did thefe two-agree, it would nobprove the genealogy to be true, ibecaufe it might, neverthe lefs, be a fabrication^ but if they contradift each other in every, parti cular, it proves falShood absolutely. If Matthew fpeak truth, Luke fpeaks falShood : and if Luke fpeak truth, Matthew fpeaks Salfliood : and as there is np authority for believing one more than the other, there is no authority for believing either ; and if they cannot be believed, even in the very firft thing they fay, and fet out to prove, they are not entitled to be be lieved in any thing they fay after wards. Truth is an uniform thing ; and as to inspiration and revelation, were we to admit it, it is impoffible to fuppofe it can be contradiftory. Either then the men called appftles were impoStors, or the books afcribed to them have been written by other perfons, and fathered upon them, as is the cafe in the Old Teftament. The book of Matthew gives, chap. i. ver. 6, a genealogy by name from David, up, through Jofeph, the huf- band of Mary, to Chrift ; and makes there to be twenty-eight generations. The book of Luke gives alfo a gene alogy by name from Chrift, through Jofeph, the huSband of Mary, down to David, and makes there to he forty- three generations ; befides which, there are only the two names of David and Jofeph that are alike in the two lifts. I here infert both genealogical lifts, and for the fake of perfpicuity and comparifon, have placed them both in the feme direction, that is, from Jofeph down to David. Genealogy, accord- Genealogy, accord ing to Matthew. Chrift. . 7. Jofeph. 3 Jacob. 4 Mat than. Ing. to Luke. Chrift. i Joi'eph. 3 Heli. 4. Matthat. 384Genealogy, actord- ing to Matthew. 5 Eleazar. 6 Eliud. 7 Achim. 2 Sadoc. 9 Azoi. 10 Eliakim. ii Abiud. a z Zorobabel. 13 Salathiel. 14. Jechonias. 15 Jofias. 16 Amon. 17 Manaffes. 18 Ezekias. 19 Achaz. 20 J oat ham. 21 Ozias. 22 Joram. 23 Jofaphat. 24 Afa. 25 Abia. , 26 Roboam. 27 Solomon. 28 David. PAINE's WORKS. Oenealogy, accord ing to Luke. 5 Levi. 6 Melchi. 7 Jahna. 8 Jofeph. 9 Mattathias. 10 Amos. 11 Nan 111. 12 ESli. 13 Nagge. 14 Maath. 15 Mattathias. 16 Semi. 17 Jofeph. iS Juda. 19 Joanna. 20 Rhefa. 21 Zorobabel., 22 Salathiel. 23 Neri. 24 Melchi. 25 Addi. 26 Cofam. 27 Elmodam. 28 Er. 29 Jpfe. 30 Eliezer. 31 Joram. 32 Matthat. 33 Levi. 34 Simeon. 35 Juda. 36 Jofeph. 37 Jonan. 38 Eliakim. 39 Melea. 40 Menan. 41 Mattatha. 42 Nathan. 43 David. Frdm the birth of David to the birth of Chrift is upwards of 1080 years ; and as the life-time of Chrift is not included, there are but 27 full generations. To find therefore the average age of each perfon mentioned in the firft lift, at the time his firft fon was born, it is only neceffary to divide 1080 by 27, which gives 40 years for each perfon. As the life time of man was then but of the fame extent it is now, it is an abfur- dity to fuppofe, that 27 following generations Should all be old batche- lors, before they married ; ' and the more fo, when we are told, that So lomon, the next in fuceeffion to David, had a houfe full of wives and mif- treffes, before he was twenty -one years of age. So far from this ge nealogy being a folemn truth, it is not even a reafonable lie. The lift of Luke gives about twenty-fix years for the average age, and this is too much. Now, if thefe men, Matthew and Luke, fet out with a falShood between them (as thefe two accounts (hew they do) in the very commencement of their hiftory of Jefus Chrift, and of who, and of what he was, what authority (as I have before alked) is - there left for believing the ftrange things they tell us afterwards i- If they cannpt be believed in their ac count of his natural genealogy, how are we to believe them, when they tell us, he was the fon of God, be gotten by a ghoft, and that an angel announced this in fecret to his mo ther ? If they lied in one genealogy, why are we to believe them in the other ? If his natural genealogy be manufactured, which it certainly is, why are we not to fuppofe, that his celeftial genealogy is manufactured alfo ; and that the whole is fabulous ? Can any man of ferious refieftion ha zard his future happinefs upon the belief of a ftory naturally impoffibie; Part II. AGE OF REASON.' 3S5 repugnant to every idea of decency ; and related by perfons already deteft- ed of falShood ? Is it not more fafe, that we ftop ourfelves at the plain, pure, and unmixed belief of one God, which is deifm, than that we commit ourfelves on an ocean of im probable, irrational, indecent, and contradiftory tales ? The firft queftion, however, upon the books of the New Teftament, as upon thofe of the Old, is, Are they ge nuine ? were they written by the per fons to whom they are afcribed ? for it is upon this ground only, that the ftrange things related therein, have been credited. Upon this point, there is no direB proof for, or again/}; and all that this ftate of a cafe proves, is doubtfulnefs ; and doubtfulnefs is the oppofite of belief. The ftate, therefore, that the books are in, proves againft themfelves as far as this kind of proof can go. But, exclufive of this, the pre- fiimption is, that the books called the Evangelists, and afcribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ; and that they are impo sitions. The difordered State of the hiftory in thefe four books, the filence of one book upon matters related in the other, and the difagreement that is to be found among them, implies, that they are the productions of fome unconnected individuals, many years after the things they pretend to relate, each of whom made his own legend; and not the writings of men living intimately together, as the men called apoftles are luppofed to have done : in fine, that they have been manufac tured, as the books of the Old Tef tament have been, by other perfons, than thofe whofe names they bear. The ftory of the angel, announc ing, what the church calls, the im maculate conception, is not fo nruch as mentioned in the books afcribed to ' Mark, and John ; and is differently related in Matthew, and Luke: The former fays, the angel appeared to Jofeph ; the latter fays, it was to Mary ; but either Jofeph or Mary was the worft evidence that could be thought of; for it was others that Should have testified for them, and not they for themfelves. Were any girl that is now with child to fay, and even to fwear it, that She was gotten with child by a ghoft, and that an angel told her fo, would She be believed ? Certainly She would not. Why then are we to believe the fame thing of another whom we never law, told by nobody knows whp, npr when, nor where ? How ftrange and incon sistent is it, that the fame circum stances that would weaken the belief even of a probable ftory, Should be given as a motive for believing this one that has, upon the face of it, every token of abfolute impoffibility, and impof- ture. The ftory of Herod destroying all the children under two years old, be longs altogether to the writer of the book of Matthew ; and not one of the reft mentions any thing about it. Had fuch a circumftance been true, the univerfality of it muft have made it known to all the writers ; and the thing would have been too Striking, to have been omitted by any. The writer tells us, that Jefus efcaped this (laughter, becaufe Jofeph and Mary were warned by an angel, to flee with him into Egypt ; but he forgot to make provision for John, who Was then under two years of age. John, however, who ftaid behind, fared as C c 3te PAINE's WORKS. well as Jefus, who fled ; and there fore the ftory circumstantially belies itfelf. Not any two of thefe. winters agree in reciting, exaBly in the fame viords, the written infeription, (hart as it is, which they tell us, was put over Qirift when he was crucified : and befides this, Mark fays, He was cru cified at the third hour (nine in the morning) ; and John fays, it was the Sixth hour (twelve at noon).* The infeription is thus ftated in thoSe books . ' Matthew — 'This is Jefus the king of the Jews. Mark — The king of the Jews. Luke— This is the king of the Jews. John— Jefus of Nazareth the king of the Jews. We may infer from thefe circum ftances, trivial as they are, that thofe writers, whoever they were, and in whatever time they lived, were not prefent at the fcene. The only one of the men, called apoftles, who ap pears to have been , near the fpot, was Peter ; and when he was accufed of being one of Jefus's followers, it is faid (Matthew, chap. xxvi. ver. 74,) " Then Peter began to curfe andfiwear, faying, I know not the mam" yet we are now called upon to believe this fame Peter, convicted, by their own account, of perjury. For what rea fon, or on what authority, Shpuld we dp this ? The accounts that are given of the circumftances, that they tell us at tended the crucifixion, are differently related in thofe four books. The book afcribed to Matthew fays, " There was darknefs over all the land, from the fixth hour unto the ninth hour — that the veil of the temple was rent in tviain from the top to the bottom — that there was an earthquake — that the rocks rent— "that the graves opened — that the bodies of marry of the faints that Jlept, arofe, and came out of their graves after the refiurreBitn, and went into the holy city, and ap peared- unto many." Such is the ac count which this daShing writer of the book of Matthew gives ; but in which he is not fupported by the writers of the other books. The writer of the book afcribed to Mark, in detailing the circumftances of the crucifixion, makes no mention of any earthquake, nor of the rocks rending, nor of the graves opening, nor of the dead men walking out. The writer of the book of Luke is filent alfo upon the fame points. And as to the writer of the book of John, though he details all the circumftances of the crucifixion down to the burial of Chrift, he fays nothing about either the darknefs — the veil of the temple— the earthquake — the rocks— the graves— nor the dead men. Now if it had been true, that thofe things had happened; and if the writers of thofe books had lived at the time they did happen, and had been the perfons they are faid to be, namely, the four men called apoftles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it was not poffible for them, as true hiftorians, even withput the aid pf infpiration, not to have recorded them. The things^ fuppofing them * According to John, the fentence was not parted till about the Sixth hour (noon), and confequently, the execution could not be till the .fternoon : but Mark fays ex- prcfsly, that he was crucified at the third liour, (nine in the morning,) chap. 15. ver, 45. John, chap. xix. ver. 14. Part II. AGE OF REASON. 3S3* to have been facts, were of too much no toriety not to have been known, and of too much importance not to haye been told. All thefe fuppofed apoftles muft have been witneffes of the earthquake, if there had been any ; for it was not poffible for them to have been abfent from it ; the opening of the graves, and the refurreftion of the dead men, and their walking about the city, is of Still greater importance than the earth quake. An earthquake is always pof fible, and natural, and proves no thing ; but this opening of the graves is fupernatural, and in point to their doftrine, their caufe, and their apof- tlefhip. Had it been true, it would have Silled up whole chapters of thofe books, 'and been the chofen theme, and general chorus of all the writers ; but inftead of this, little and trivial things, and mere prattling conversa tions of, he faid this, and Jbe faid that, ace often tedioufly detailed, while this mod important" of all, had it been true, is paffed off in a flovenly man ner, by a fingle daSh of the pen, and that by one writer only, and not fo much as hinted, at by the reft. It is an eafy thing to tell a lie, but it is difficult to fopport the lie after [ it is told. The writer of the book of iMatthew Should have told us who rth'e faints were that came to life again, ' and went into the city, and what' became of them afterwards, and who it was that few them ; for he is not ; " It is thus that your predeceffors have inferted, in the fcriptures of our Lord, many things, which, though they carry his name, agree not with his doftrine. This is not furprifing, fince that vie have often proved, that thefe things have not been written by himfelf nor by his apoftles, but that for the greateft part they are founded upon tales, upon vague reports, and put together by I know not what, half- Jews, with but little agreement between them ; and which they have neverthelefs published under the names . of the apoftles of our Lord, and have thus attributed tp them their own er rors and their lies."* The reader will fee by thefe extracts that the authenticity of the books of the New Teftament was denied, and the books treated as tales, forgeries, and lies, at the time they were voted to be the word of God. But the in tereft of the church, with the affift ance of the faggot, bore down the oppofition, and at laft oppreffed all investigation. Miracles followed up on miracles, if we will believe them, and men were taught to fay they be lieved, whether they believed or not. But (by way of throwing in a thought) the French revolution has excommu nicated the church from the power cf wprking miracles ; She has not been able, with the affiftance pf all hec faints, tp work one miracle Since the revolution began : and as She never flood in greater need than now, we may, without the aid of divination* conclude, that all her former miracles are tricks and Iies.f When we confider the lapfe of more than three hundred years intervening * I have taken thefe two extracts from BouIanger'sLife of Paul, written in French. Boulanger has quoted them from the writings of Auguftine againft FauSte, t» which he refers. + Boulanger, in his Life of St. Paul, has collected from the ecclefiaftical histories, and the writings of the fathers, as they are called, feveral matters, which Ihew the opinions that prevailed among the different fefls of Christians, at the time the Tefta ment, as we new fee it, was voted to be the word of God. The following extracts are from the fecond chapter of that work. " The Marcionifts (a Christian feci:) allured that the evangelists were filled with falfities. The Maniebtions, who formed a very numerous i'ett at the commence ment of Christianity, rejeited as falfe all the Ntia Teftament ; and Shewed other writings quite different, that they gave for authentic. The Corinthians, like the Marcionifts, admitted not the Adts of the Apoftles. The Eucratics and the Sevenians adopted neither the Acts, nor the Epiftles of Paul.. Chryfoftpme, in a homily, which he made upon the Acts of the Apoftles, fays, that in his time, about the year 400, - many people knew nothing either of the author, or of the book. St. Irene, who lived before that time, reports that the Valeutinians, like feveral other fects of the Christians, accufed the fcriptures of being filled with errors, im perfections, and con tradictions. The Ebiouifts, or Nazarenes, who were the firft Christians, rejefted all the Epiftles of Paul, and regarded him as an impoftor. They report, among other- things, that he was originally a Pagan, that he came to Jerufalem, where he lived fome tirA: ; and that having a mind to marry tlie daughter of the high-pried, he caufed himfelf to be circumcifed ; but that net being able to obtain her, he quarrelled. with the Jews, and wrote againft circumcifion, atid againft the obfervation of the fab* bath, and againft all the legal ordinances." 39* PAINE's WORKS. fcetween the time that Chrift is faid to have lived, and the time the New Testament was formed into a book, we muft fee, even without the affiftance of hiftorical evidence, the exceeding uncertainty there is of it's authentici ty. The authenticity of the bpok of Homer, fo far as regards the au thorship, is much better eftabliShed than that of the New Teftament, though Homer is a thoufand years the more ancient. It was pnly an exT ceeding good poet that could have writ ten the bpok pf Homer, and therefore few men only could have attempted it ; and a man capable of doing it, would not have thrown away his own fame, by giving it to another. In like manner, there were but few that could have compofed Eu clid's Elements, becaufe none but an • exceeding good geometrician could have been the author pf that work. is mpre than fufficient to have enabled them, had they lived at the time, to have written all the books of the New Teftament. As the opportunities of forgery were greater, fo alfo was the inducement. A man could gain no advantage by writing under the name of Homer or Euclid ; if he could write equal to them, it would be better that he wrote under his own name ; if infe rior, he could pot fucceed. Pride Would prevent the former, and im possibility the latter. But with re fpeft to fuch books as compofe the New Teftament, all the inducements were on the fide of forgery. The beft imagined hiftory that could have been made at the diftance of two or three hundred years after the time, could not have paffed for an original under the name of the real writer ; the whole chance of fuccefs lay in forgery ; for the church wanted pretence for it's But with refpeft to the books pf new doftrine, and truth and talents the New Teftament, particularly fuch were out of the queftion. parts as tell us of the refurrectipn and But as it is npt uncpmmpn (as be-* afcenficn pf Chrift, any perfon who fore obferved) to relate ftpries of per- cOuld tell a ftory of an apparition, or fons walking after they are dead, and of a man's walking, cpuld have made of ghoft? and apparitions of fuch as fuch books ; for the ftory is moft have fallen by fome violent or extra- wretchediy tpld. The chance, there- prdinacy means ; and as the pepple pf fore, of forgery in the Teftament, is that day were in the habit of believing millions to one greater than in the fuch things, and of the appearance of cafe of Homer or Euclid. Of the angels, and alfo of devils, and of their numerous priefts or parfons of the prefent day, bifhops, and all, every one of them can make a fermon, or translate a fcrap of Latin, efpecially If it has been translated a thoufand times before ; but is there any amongft them that can write ppetry like Hpmer, ci- feience like Euclid ? The fum tptal of a parfon's learning, with very few exceptions, is, ab, ab, and hie, hsec, hoc ; and their knowledge of Science is, three times one is three ; and this getting into pepple's infides, and Shaking them like a fit of. an ague, and of their being eaft put again as if by an emetic ; (Mary Magdalene' the bepk pf Mark tells us, had brought up, or been brought to bed of, feven devils ;) it was nothing extraordina ry that fome ftory of this kind Should get abroad of the perfon called Jefus Chrift, and afterwards become the foundation of the four books afcribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Part II. AGE 0 F* R E A S O-N. 397 Each writer told the tale as he heard it, cr thereabput, and gave tp his book the name of the faint, or the apoftle, whom tradition had given as the eye-witnefs. It is pnly uppn this ground that the cpntradiftipns in thpfe bppks can be accounted for ; and if this be not the cafe, they are downright impofitions, lies, and for geries, without even the apofogy pf credulity. That they have been written by a fort of half Jews, as the foregoing quotations mention, is difcernible enough. The frequent references made to that chief affaffin and im porter Mofes, and to the men called prophets, establishes this point ; and on the other hand, the church has complimented the fraud, by admit ting the Bible and the Teftament tp reply to each other. Between the Chriftian-Jew, and the Chriftian- Gentile, the thing called a prophecy, and the thing prophefied of; the type, and the thing typified ; the Sign, and the thing Signified ; have been induf- trioufly rumaged up, and fitted toge ther like old locks and picklock- keys. The ftory, foolishly enough told, of Eve and the ferpent, and na turally enough as to the enmity be tween men and ferpents ; (for ¦ the ferpent always bites about the heel, becaufe it cannot reach higher ; and the man always knocks the ferpent about the head,' as the mpft effeftual way tp prevent it's biting ;*) this fooliSh ftory, I Say, has been made in to a prophecy, a type, and a promife to begin with : and the lying impo fition of Ifaiah to Ahaz, That a virgin Jhould conceive and bear afion, as a Sign that Ahaz Should conquer, when the event was, that he was defeated, (as already noticed in the obfervations on the bppk pf Ifaiah,) has been per- - verted, and made tp ferve as a wind- er-up. Jonah and the whale are alfo made into figns and types. Jonah is Jefus, and the whale is the grave ; for it is faid, (and they have made Chrift to fay it of himfelf,) Matt. chap. xii. ver. 40, " For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, fo Shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." But it happens aukwardly enough that Chrift, according to their own account, was but two nights and pne day in the .grave ; about 36 hours, inftead of 7a ; that is, the Friday night, the Saturday, and the Sa. turday night ; for he was up, on the Sunday morning, by fun-rii'e or be fore. But as this fits quite as well* as the bite and the kick in Genefis, and the virgin and her fon in Ifaiah, it will pafs in the lump of orthodox things. Thus much for the historical part of the Teftament, and it's evidences. THE EPISTLES OF PAUL. The epiftles afcribed to Paul, being fourteen in number, almoft fill up the remain. ng part of the Teftament. Whether thofe epiftles were writteii by the perfon to whom they are af cribed is a matter of no great import ance, fince that the writer, whoever he was, attempts to prove his doftrine by argument. He does not pretend to have been witnefs to any of the fcenes told of the relurreftion and the afcenfion, and he declares that he had npt believed them, The Story of his being ftruck to the ground as he was journeying to Damafeus, has nothing in it miracu- * " It Shall bruife thy head and thou Shalt bruife his heel" Cenefis, chap, iii, ver. 1 5. 39« PAINE's WORKS. lous or extraordinary ; he efcaped with Kfe, and that is more than many others have done who have been ftruck with lightning : and that he Should lofe his fight for three days," and be una ble to eat or drink during that time, is nothing more than is common in fuch conditions. His companions that were with him appear not to have fuf- fered in the fame manner, for they were well enough to lead him the re mainder of the journey ; neither did they pretend to have feen any vifion. The charafter of the perfon called Paul, according to the accounts given of him, has in it a great deal of vio lence and fanaticifm ; he had persecu ted with as much heat as he preached afterwards ; the Stroke he had receiv ed had changed his thinking, with out altering his conftitutipn ; and either as a Jew or a Chriftian he was the fame zealot. Such men are never good moral evidences of any doftrine they preach. They are always in extremes, as well of aftion as of belief. The doftrine he fets out to prove by argument is the refurreftion of the fame body, and he advances this as an evidence of immortality. But fo much will men differ in their manner of thinking, and in the conclufions they draw from the fame premises, that this doftrine of the refurreftion of the fame body, fo far from being an evidence f f immortality, appears to me to furnifh an evidence againft it : for, if I have already died in this bo dy, and am raifed again in the fame body in which I have died, it is pre emptive evidence that I Shall die a I have judged for myfelf. CONCLUSION. In the former part of the Age of Reafon, I have fpoken pf the three frauds, myflery, miracle, and prophecy t and as I have feen nothing in any pf the anfwers tp that work, that in the leaft affefts what I have there faid upon thofe iiibjefts, I Shall not en cumber this fecond part with addi tions, that are not neceffary. I have fpoken alio in the fame work upon what- is called revelation, and have Shewn the abfurd mifap- plication of that term to the books of the Old Teftament, and the New ; for certainly ' revelation is out of the queftion in reciting any thing of which man has been the aftor or the Witnefs.' That Whicti a man has done or feen. needs no re velation to tell him he has done it, or feen it, for he knows it already j nor to enable him to tell it, or tc» write it. It is ignorance, or impo fition, to apply the term revelation in fuch cafes ; . yet the Bible and Tefta ment are claffed under this fraudulent defcription of being all revelation. Revelation then, fo far as the term has relation between God and man, can only be applied to Something -which God reveals of his viill to man ; but though the power of the Almigh ty, to make fuch a communication, is neceffarily admitted, becaufe to that D d Athanafius died, according to'the church chronology, in the- year 371. 4*2 IfcAINE's WORKS. poWer all things are poffible, yet, the thing fo revealed (if any thing ever was revealed, and which, by the bye, it is impoffible to prove) is revelation to the perfon only to- whom it is made. His account of it to another is not revelation ; and whoever puts faith in that account, puts it in the man from whom the account comes j and that man may have been deceived, or may have dreamed it ; or he may be an impoftor, and may lie. There is no poffible criterion whereby to judge pf the, truth of -what he tells; for even the morality of it would be no proof of revelation. In all fuch cafes, the proper anfwer would be, " When it is revealed to me, I viill believe it to be revelation ; but it is not, and cannot be incumbent upon me to believe it to be revelation before ; neither is it proper that Iftiould take the word of man as the word of God, and put man in the place qf God." This is the' manner in which- 1 have fpoken of revelation in the former part of the Age of Rea fon ; and which, whilft it reverenti ally admits revelation as a poffible thing, becaufe, as before faid, to the Almighty -all things are poffible, it prevents the impofition of one man upon another, and precludes the wick ed ufe of pretended revelation. But though, fpeaking for myfelf, I thus admit the poffibility pf revela tion ; I totally disbelieve, that the Almighty ever did communicate any .thing to man, by any mode of Speech in any language, pr by any kind" pf vifion, or appearance, or by any means which our fenfes are capable of re ceiving, otherwife than by tlie uni versal difplay of himfelf in the works of tlie .creation, and by that repug nance we feel in ourfelves tp bad ac>. tions, and difpofition to good ones. The mpft deteftable wickednefs, the mod horrid cruelties, and the great eft miferies, that have afflifted the human race, have had theii origin in this thing called revelation, or reveal- . ed religion. It has been the moft difi. honourable belief againft the charac ter of the Divinity, the moft destruc tive to morality, and the peace and happinefs of man, that ever was pro pagated fince man began to exift. It is better, far better, that we admit ted, if it were poffible, a thoufand1 devils to roam at large, and to preach publicly the doftrine of devils, if there were any fuch, than that we permitted one fuch impoftor or mon fter as Mofes, JoShua, Samuel, and the Bible-prophets to come with the pretended word of God in his mouth, and have credit among us. Whence arofe all the horrid affaf- finations of whole nations, of men, women, and infants, with which the Bible is filled, and the bloody perfe ctions, and tortures unto death, and religipus wars, that fince that time have laid Europe in blood and aflies ; whence arofe they, but from this im- pipus thing called revealed religion, and this monftrous belief, that God has fpoken to man ? The lies pf the Bible have been the caufe of the one, and the lies of the Teftament the other, Some Christians pretend that Chrif- tianity was not established by the fword ; but of what period of time do they fpeak ? It was impoffible that twelve men could begin with the fword; they had not the power; but no fooner were the profeffors of Chrif- tianity fufficiently powerful tp employ the fwprd, than they did fo,. and tlie flake and the faggot tpo ; and Mahoc met could not do it fooner. By the fame fpirit that Peter cut off the ear Part II. A G E O F REASON. 40? of the high prieft's fervant, (if the ftory be true,) he would cut off his head, and the head of his mafter, had he been able. 'Befides this, Christianity grounds itfelf originally upon the Bible, and the Bible was ef tabliShed altogether iby the fword, and that in the word ufe of it ; not to terrify, but to extirpate. The Jews made no converts ; butchered all- The Bible is the fire of. the Tefta ment, and both are called the "word of God. The Christians read both books ; the minifters preach from both books j and this thing called Christi anity is made up of both. It is then falfe to fay, that Christianity was not eftabliShed by the fword. The only feft that has not perfecu- ted are the Quakers; and the only reafon that can be given for it, is, that they are rather Deifts than Chrif. tians. They do not believe much about Jefus Chrift, and they call the fcriptures a dead letter. Had they called^ them by a worfe name, they had been nearer the truth. It is incumbent on every man who reverences the charafter of the Cre ator, and who wishes to leffen the ca talogue of artificial miferies, and re move the caufe that has fown perfe- cutions thick among mankind, tp ex pel all ideas Of revealed religion as a dangerous herefy, and an impious fraud. What is it that we have learn ed from this pretended thing called revealed religion ? — nothing that is ufeful to man, and every thing that is dishonourable to his Maker. What is it the Bible teaches us ; — rapine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the- Teftament teaches us ?¦*— to believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a wcman, engaged tp be married ; and the belief Of this debauchery is called faith. As to the fragments of morality that are irregularly and thinly fcattered in thofe books, they make no part of this pretended thing, revealed religi on. They are the natural dictates of confcience, and the bonds by which fociety is held together, and without which, it cannot exift ; and are near ly the fame in all religions, and in all Societies. The Teftament teaches nothing new upon this fubjeft ; and where it attempts to exceed, it be comes mean, and ridiculcus. The doftrine of not retaliating injuries is much better expreffed in Proverbs, which is a cclleftion as well from the Gentiles, as the Je,ws, than it is in the Teftament. It is there faid, Pro verbs xxv. ver. 21, " If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat ; and if he be thirfty, give him water to drink ."* but when it is faid, as in the Teftament, " If a man finite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other alfo ;" it is affaffinafing the dignity of forbearance, and finking man into afpaniel. * According to what is called Chrift's fermon on, the mount in the book of Mat thew, where, among fome good things, a great deal of this feigned morality is intro duced, it is there exprefsly faid, that the doctrine of forbearance, or of not retali ating injuries, t ttire of the univerfe, to mark the movements of the feveral planets, the caufe of their varying appearances, the unerring order in which they re volve, even to the remoter! comet, their connection and dependence on each other, and to know the fyftem of laws, eftabliShed by the Creator, that governs and regulates the whole' i Though man cannot arrive, at lead id this life, at the aftual fcene I have" deferibed, he can demonstrate it ; be caufe he has knowledge of the princi ples upon which the creation is con structed. We know that the greateft works can be reprefented in model* and that the univerfe cat! be reprefent ed by the fame means. The fame prin- he would then conceive far beyond ciples by which we meafure an inch, what any church -theology can teach or an acre of ground, will meafure tdi him, the power, the wifdom, the vaftnefs, the munificence of the Crea tor : he would then fee, that all the knowledge man has of feience, and that all the mechanical arts, by which properties of a triangle, that will he renders his fituation comfortable demonstrate upon paper the courfe of millions in extent. A circle of art inch diameter has the fame geomefri- -cal properties as a circle that would circumfcribe the univerfe. The fame here, are derived from that fource : his mind, exalted by the fcene, and convinced by the fact, would increafe Sn gratitude, as it increafed in know ledge: his religion or his worShip would become united with his im provement as a man : any employ ment he followed, that had connection with the principles of the creation, as every thing of agriculture, of feience, and of the mechanical arts has, would teach him more of God, and of the gratitude he owes him, than any the ological Chriftian fermon he .now hears. Great objefts infpire great thoughts ; great munificence excites great gratitude; but the groveling tales and doctrines of the Bible and the Teltame.'t are Sit pnly tp excite tpntempt. a (hip, will do it on the ocean ; and when applied to what are called the heavenly bodies, Will ¦ afcertain, to a minute, the time of an eclipfe, though thofe bpdies are millfons pf miles diftant from us. This knowledge is of divine origin ; and it is from the Bible of the creation that man has learned it, and not from the ftupid Bible pf thechuich, that teaches man npthing.* All the knowledge man has of feience and of machinery, by the aid of which his exiftence is rendered com» fortable upon earth, and without which he would be fcarcely distin guishable ii} appearance and condition from a common animal, comes from the great machine and ftrufture of the univerfe. The conftant and unwea-> * fhe Bible-m:;'sers ha»e undertaken to give us, in the (irft chapter of Genefis, an account of the creation ; and in doing this, they have demonstrated nothing but their ig'nofance. They make there to have been three 'days arid three nights, even ings and mornings; before there was any fun ; when it is the pretence or abfence of the fun that is the caufe of day and night, and his riling and. fetting that of morning and evening. Befides, it is a puerile and pitiful idea, ' to fuppofe the Almighty to fay, Let there be light. ¦ It is the imperative "manner of fpea'king that a 'conjurer ufes, when he fays to his cups and balls, Pf-eJlo, be gone. Lohginus cal^s this expreflion the fublime ; and by the fame rule, the conjurer is fublime too, for the: manner of fpeaking is ex- preflively and grammatically the fame. When authors and critics talk of the fublime, they fee not how nearly it borders on the ridiculous. : The fublime of the crities, like fome parts of fidmund Barke's fublime and beautiful, is like a wind-mill juft vifible in a fog, which imagination might distort into a flying mountain, or an archangel, or a flock of wild jjeefe. *o8 PAINE's WORKS. ried obfervations of our anceftors, upon the movements and revolutions of the heavenly bodigs, in what are fupppfed tp have been the early ages of the world, have brought this know- ledge upon earth. It is not Mofes and the prophets, nor Jefus Chrift, nor his apoftles, that have done it. The Almighty is the great mechanic of the creation, the firft philofopher> and original teacher of all feience. Let us then learn to reverence our mafter, and let us not forget the la bours of our anceftors. Had we at this day no knowledge of machinery, and were it poffible that man could have a view, as I have before defcribed, of the ftrufture and machinery of the univerfe, he would foon conceive the idea of conftrufting fome at leaft of the mechanical wprks ¦we now have ; and the idea fo con ceived would progreffively advance in praftice. Or could a model of the uni verfe, fuch as is called- an orrery, be prefented before him, and put in mo tion, his mind would arrive at the fame idea. Such an objeft, and fuch a fubjeft, would, whilft it improved him in knowledge ufeful to himfelf as a man and a member of fociety, as well as entertaining,, afford far better matter forimpreffing him with a know ledge of, and a belief in the Creator, and of the revereiice and gratitude that man owes tp him, than the Stupid texts of the Bible artd the Teftament; from which, be the talents of the preacher what they may, only Stupid fermons can be preached. If man mud preach, let him preach fomething that is edifying, and from texts that are knpwn to be true. The Bible of the creation is inex haustible in texts. Every part pf feience, whether cpnnefted with the geometry pf the univeri'e, witli the fyftgms of , animal and vegetable Ufe, or with the properties of inanimate matter, . is a text as well for devotion as for phi lofophy ; for gratitude, as for human improvement. It will, perhaps, be faid, tliat if fuch a revolution in the fyftem of religion take place, every preacher, ought to be a philofopher. Moft cer tainly, and every houfe of devotion a fchool of feience. It has been by wandering from the immutable laws of feience, and the right ufe of reafon, and fettingup art invented thing called revealed religion, that fo many wild and blafpherrfous conceits have been formed of the Al mighty. The Jews have made him the affaffin of the human fpecies, to make room for the religion of the Jews. The Christians have madehim the mur derer of himfelf, and the founder of a new religion to foperfede and expel the JewiSh religion. And to find pre tence and admiffion for thefe things, they muft have fuppofed his power or his wifdom imperfect,' or his will changeable ; and the changeablenefs of the will is the Imperfection of the judg ment. The philofopher knows that the laws of the Creator have never chang ed, with refpeft either to the principles of feience, or the properties of matter. Why then is it to be fuppofed they have changed with refpeft to men ? I here clofe the fubjeft,. I have fhewn, in all the foregoing' part Of this work, that the Bible and Teftament are impo sitions and forgeries ; and I leave the evidence I have produced in proof of it, to be refuted, if any one can do it ; and I leave the ideas that are fuggeft- ed in the conclusion of the work, to reft on the mind of the reader ; certain as I am, that when opinions are free, either in matters of government or re ligion, truth will finally and power fully prevail. PAINE's WORKS. D I S S E R T A T I 0 N ON FIRST-PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT. Ti HERE is no fubjeft more inte resting to every man than the fubjeft of government. His fecurity, be he rich or poor, and, in a great meafure his profperity, is connefted therewith ; it is therefore his intereft as well as his duty to make himfelf acquainted with its principles, and what the prac tice ought to be. Every art and feience, however im perfectly known at firft, has been Stu died, improved, and brought to what we call perfeftion, by the prpgreffiye labours of fucceeding generatfons ; tut the feience of gpverriment has ftppd ftill. Np improvement has been made in the principle, and fcarcely ¦ any in the practice, till the American revolution began. In all the coun tries of Europe (except in France) the fame forms and fyftems that were erected in the remote ages of igno rance ftill continue, and their anti quity is put in the place of principle ; it is forbidden to inveftigate their ori gin or by what right they exift. If it be aSked how has this happened, the anfwer is eafy ; they are establish ed on a principle that is falfe, and they employ their power to prevent detection. Notwithstanding the myftery with which the feience of gpvernment has been envelpped, for the purpofe of enflaving, plundering, and impofing . upon mankind, it is of all things the leaft myfterious and the moft eafy to be underftood. The meaneft capacity cannot be at a fofs, If it begins its enquiries at the right point. Every art and feience has fome point, or al- . phabet, at which the ftudy of that art pr feience begins, and by the affift ance pf which the progrefs is facili tated. The fame method ought tp be obferved with refpeft to the feience of gpvernment. Inftead then of embarraffing the fubjeft in the putfet with the numer- pus fubdivifipns, under which diffe rent forms pf gpvernment have been claffed, fuch as ariftocracy, democra- 4ro PAINE's WORKS. cy> pligarchy, monarchy, &c the better method will be to begin with what may be called primary divifipns, or thofe under which all the feveral iiibdivifions will be comprehended. The primary divifipns are but two. Firft, government by eleftion and reprefentation. Secondly, govemmentby hereditary fucceffipn. All the feveral forms and fyftems of government, however numerous or diversified, clafs themfelves under one or other of thofe primary divisions ; for either they are on the fyftem of reprefentation, or on that of heredi tary I'ucceifion. As to that equivpcal thing called mixed gpvernment, fuch . as the late government of Holland, and the prefent government of Eng land, it does npt make an exception tp the general rule, becaufe the parts feparateiy cpnfidered are either repre fentative or hereditary. Beginning then our enquiries at this point, we have firft tp examine intp the nature pf thofe two primary divi fions. If they are equally right in principle, it is mere matter of opi nion which we prefer. If the one be demonstratively better than the other, that difference direfts our choice; but if one of them Should be fo abfolutely falfe as not to have a right to exift t ence, the matter fettles itfelf at once • becaufe a negative proved on one thing, where two only are offered, and one muft be accepted, amounts to an affir mative on the other. The revolutions that are now fpread ing themfelves in the wprld have their origin in this- Slate of the cafe,' and the prefent war is a conflict between the reprefentative fyftem, founded on the rights of the people, and the he reditary fyftem, founded in ufurpa- tion. As to what are called Mo narchy; Royalty, and Ariftoor-acy, they dp not, either as things or as terms, fufficiently defcribe the here ditary fyftem j.they are but fecondary* things or figns of the hereditary fyf tem, and which fall of themfelves if that fyftem has not a right to exift- Were there no fuch terms as Monar chy, Royalty, and Ariftocracy, or were other terms fubftituted in their place, the hereditary fyftem, if it continued, would not be "altered fhereby. It would be the fame fyf tem under any oth* titulary name as it is now. The charafter therefore of the re volutions of the prefent day distin guishes itfelf moft definitively by grounding' itfelf on the fyftem of re prefentative government, in oppofi tion to the hereditary. No other diitinftion reaches the whole o| the principle. Having thus opened the cafe gene rally, I proceed, in the firft place, to examine the hereditary fyftem, be caufe it has the priority in point of time. The reprefentative fyftem is the invention of the modern woild; and that no doubt may arife as to my own opinion, I declare it before-hand, which is, that there is not a problem in Euclid more mathematically true, than that hereditary government has not a right to exift. When therefore vie take from any man the exercife of heredi tary power, vie take away that vihich he never had the right to poffefs ; and which no law of cuftom could, or ever can, give him a title to. The arguments that have hitherto been em-ployed, againft the hereditary fyftem have been chiefly founded upon the absurdity of it, and its incom petency to the purpofe of good go vernment. Nothing can prefent to our judgment, or to our imagination, DISSERTATION ON GOVERNMENT. 4-tt a figure of greater abfurdity than that of feeing the government of a nation fall, as it frequently does into the hands of a lad neceffarily deftitute of experi ence, and often little better than a fool. It is an infult to every man of years, of character, and of talent, in a country. The moment we begin to reafon upon the' hereditary fyftem it falls into de- rifion ; let but a- (ingle idea begin and a thoufand will foon follow.' Insig nificance, imbecility, childhOod, dot age, want of moral charafter; inline, every defeft, ferious or laughable, unite to hold up the hereditary fyftem as a figure of ridicule. Leaving how ever the ridiculoufnefs of the thing to the reflections of the reader, I pro ceed to the more important part of the queftion, namely, whether fuch a fyftem has a right to exift ? "' ¦ *"¦- To be fatisfied of the right of a thing to exift, 'we muft be fatisfied that it had a right to begin. If it had not a right to begin, it has not a right to continue. By what right then did the hereditary fyftem' begin ? Let a man but aSk himfelf this quef tion, and he will find that he cannot fatisfy himfelf with an anfwer. The right which any taan, or any family had tp fet itfelf up at firft tp govern a natipn, and- tp eftabliSh itfelf hereditarily, was no other than the right which Robefpierre had to do the fame thing in France. If he had npne, they had none. If they had any, he had as much; for it is im poffible to difeover fuperiority of right in any family, by virtue of which he reditary government could begin. The Capets, the Guelphs, the Ro- befpierres, the Marats, are all on the could not begin as an exclusive right In any family. The next point will be, Whether, having once began, it could grow into a right By the influ ence of time ? This wpuld be fupppfing an abfur dity ; for either it is putting time in the place Of principle, or making it fitperior to principle ; Whereas time -= has no more connection with, or in fluence upon principle, than principle has upon time. The wrong which began a fhpufand years ago, is as much a wrong as if it began tp-day ; and the right which priginates to-day, is as much a right as if it had the fanftion of a thoufand years. Time with refpeft to principles is an eter nal NOW : it has no operatipn upon them : it changes nothing of their nature and qualities. But what have we to do with a thoufand years. Our life-time is but a Short portion of that period, and if we find the wrong in exiftence as foon as we begin to Jive, that is the point of time at^- which it begins tp us ; and pur right tpfefift it, is the fame as if it had never exifted before. As hereditary government could not begin as a natural right in any fa mily, nor derive after its commence ment any right from time, we have only to examine whether there exift in a nation a right to fet it up and efta bliSh it by what is called law, as has been done in England ? I anfwer NO ; and that any law or any conftitution made for that purpofe is an aft: of treafon againft the rights of every minor in the nation, at the time it is made, and againft the rights of all fucceeding generations. I Shall fpeak belpierres, tne ma»i., «- - - - h f hoft cafes. FLrft, of fame Standing as to the queftion of op°n acl o ^ ^ ^ right. ^^^X^l mac,™ Scondly, of the generations It is one ftep towards liberty, to '» / perqeive that hereditary government that are to follow. PAINE'? WORKS; *t* A nation in a collective fenfe, com prehends all the individuals of what ever age, from juft born to juft dying. Of thefe, one part will be minors, and the other aged. The average of life is not exaftly the fame in every climate and country, but in general the minority in years are the majority in numbers, that is, the nurnber of perfons under twenty-one years, is greater than the number 'of perfons above that age. This difference in number is not neceffary to the efta. blifhment of the principle I mean to lay down, but it ferves to Shew the juftice of it more ' Strongly. The principle would be equally good, if the majority in years were alfo the majority in numbers. The rights pf minors are as Sacred as the rights pf the aged. The dif ference is altpgether in the different age of the two parties, and nothing in the nature of fhe rights ; the rights are the fame rights ; and are to be preferved inviolate for the inheritance of the minors when they Shall come of age. During the minority of mi nors their rights are under the facred guardianfhip of the aged. The minor cannot furrender them ; the guardian, cannot diSpoffefs him ; confequently, the aged part of a nation, who' are the lawmakers for the time being, and who, in the march of life, are but a few years a-head of thofe whp are yet minors, and to whom they muft Shortly give place, have not, and cannot have the right to m '.ke a law to fet up and eftabliSh hereditary government, or, to fpeak more diftinftly, an hereditary fuc eeffion of governors ; becaufe it is an attempt to deprive every minor in the nation, at the time fuch a law is made, of his inheritance of rights when he Shall come of age, and to fubjugate him to a fyftem of govern ment, to which, during his minority, he could neither confent nor objeft. If a perfon, who is a minor at the time fuch a law is propofed, had hap7 pened to have been born a few years fooner, fo as to be of the age of twenty-one years at the time of pro posing it, his right to have objected againft it, to have expofed the injus tice and tyrannical principles of it, and to have voted againft it, will be admitted on all fides. If, therefore, fhe law operates to prevent his exer cising the fame rights after he comes of age as he would have had a right to exercife had he been of age at the time, it is, undeniably, a law to take away and annul the fights of every perfon' in the nation Whp Shall be a minor at the time of making fuch a law, and confequently the right to make it cannot exift. I come now to fpeak of govern? ment by hereditary fucceflio'n as it ap plies to fucceedjng generations ; and to Shew that in this' cafe, as in the cafe of minors, there does not exift in. a nation a right to fet it up. A nation, though continually ex isting, is continually in a State pf re newal and fucceffipn. It is never Stationary. Every day produces new births, carries minors forward to ma turity, and old perfons from the ftage. In this ever-running flppd pf generatipns there is np paft Superior in authority tp another. Could we conceive an idea of fuperiority in any, at what point of time, or in what century of the world, are we to fix it ? To what caufe are we to afcribe it ? By what evidence are we to prove it ? By what criterion are we to know it ? A fingle refieftion will teach us that our anceftors, like ourfelves, were but tenants for life in the great freehold of rights. The fee-abfolute DISSERTATION ON GOVERNMENT. 413 was not in them," it is not in us, it belongs to the whole family of man, through all ages. -, If. we think other- wife than this, we think either as Slaves or as tyrants. As (laves, if we think that any former generation had a right to bind us ; as tyrants, if we think that we have authority tp bind the ge- nerations that are to follow. It may not be inapplicable tp the fubjeft, tp endeavpur to define what is to be underftood by a generation in the fenfe the word is here ufed. As a natural term its meaning is fufficiently clear. The father, the fon, the grandfon, are fo many dif tinft generations. But when we fpeak of a generation as defcribing the perfons in whom legal authority refides, as diftinft from another ge neration of the fame defcription who are to fucceed them, it comprehends all thofe who are above the age of twenty-one years, at the time we count from ; and a generation of this kind will continue in authority be tween fourteen and twenty-one years, that is,, until the number of minors, who (hall have arrived at age, (hall be greater than the number of perfons remaining of the former Slock. For example, if France at this or any other moment, contain twenty- four millions of fouls, twelve millions will be males, and twelve females. Of the twelve millions of males, fix millions will be of the age of twenty- one years, and fix will be under, and the authority to govern will refide in the firlt (fix. But every day will make fome alteration, and in twenty- ene years every one of thole minors who fuiviye will have arrived at age, and the greater part of the former flock will be gone ; the majority of perfons then,, living, in whom the legal authority refides,' will be com pofed of thofe who, twenty-one years- before, had no legal existence. Thofe will be fathers and grandfathers in their turn, and in the next twenty- one years, (or lefs) another race of' minprs, arrived at ,age, will fucceed them, and fo on. As this is ever the cafe, and as every generation is equal in rights to another, it confequently follcws, that there cannpt be a right in any tp efta bliSh gpvernment by hereditary fuc- ceffipn, becaufe it would be fuppofing itfelf poffeffed of a right fuperior to the reft, namely, that of command ing by its own authority how the world Shall be hereafter governed, and who Shall govern it. Every age . and generation is and muft be (as a matter of right) as free to aft for itfelf in all cafes, as the age and ge neration that preceded it. The va nity and preSumption pf governing beyond the grave is the moft ridicu lous and inl'olent pf all tyrannies. Man has no property in man, neither has pne geneiatipn a property in the generatipns that are to follow. In the firft part of Rights of Man I have fpoken of government by he reditary fuceeffion ; and I will here clefe the fubjeft with an extraft from that work, which Slates it under the two following heads. " Firft, of the right of 'any family to eltablifli itfelf with hereditary power. " Secondly, pf the right of a na tion to eftabliSh a particular family. " With refpeft to the firft of. thofe heads, that of a family esta blishing itfelf with hereditary powers on its own authority independent of the nation, all men will concur in calling it defpotifm, and it would be 4-1 4- PAINE's WORKS. trefpaffing on their underftanding to attempt to prove it. " But the fecond head, that of a nation, that is, of a generation for the time being, establishing a parti cular family with hereditary powers, it does not prefent itfelf as defpotifm on the firft refieftion ; but if men will permit a fecond refieftion to take place, and carry that refieftion for ward, even but one remove out of their own perfons to that of their offspring, they will then fee, that he reditary fuceeffion becomes the fame defpotifm to others, which the firft perfons reprobated for themfelves. It operates to preclude the confent of the fucceeding generation, and the preclusion of confent^is dei'potifm. " In order to fee this matter more clearly, let us confider the generation which undertakes to eftabliSh a fa mily with hereditary powers, fepa rateiy from rhe geueiations which are to follow. " The generation which firft felefts a perfon and puts him at the head of Its government, either with the title of king, or any other nominal dif- tinftion, afts its own choice, as a free agent for itfelf, be that choice wife or foolifh. The perfon fo fet up is not hereditary, but felefted and appointed ; and the generation which fets him up does not live under an hereditary government, but under a government of its' own choice. Were the perfon fo fet up, and the genera tion who fets him up, to live for ever, it never could become hereditary fuc eeffion, and of confequence, heredi tary fuceeffion could only follow on the death of the firft parties. " As therefore hereditary fuceeffi on is out of the queftion with refpeft to the firft generation, we have next prin- to confider the character in which that generation afts towards the com mencing generation, and to all fuc ceeding ones. " It affumes a charafter to which it has neither right nor title; for it changes itfelf from a legislator to a teftator, and affects to make a will and teftament which is to have opera tion, after the demife of the makers, to bequeath the government ; and it not only attempts to bequeath, but to eftabliSh on the fucceeding gene ration a new and different form of government under which itfelf lived. Itfelf, as already obferved, lived not under an hereditary .government, but under a government of its own choice ; and it now attempts, by virtue of a will and teftament, which it has not authority to make, to take from the commencing generation, and from all future ones, the right and free agency by which itfelf afted. " In whatever light hereditary fuc eeffion, as growing out of the will and teftament of fome former gene ration, prefents itfelf, it is both cri minal and abfurd. A cannot make a will to take from B the property of B, and give it to- C ; yet this is the- manner in which what is called here ditary fuceeffion by law operates. A certain generation makes a will, under the form of a law, to take away the rights of the commencing generation, and of all future generations, and convey thofe rights to a third perfon, who afterwards comes forward, and affumes the government in cojfequence of that illicit conveyance." The hiftory of the English parlia ment furniShes an example of this kind ; and which merits to be re corded, as being tlie greateft inftance of legiflative ignorance and want of DISSERTATION ON GOVERNMENT. 4i5 ciple that is to be found in the hifloiy of any countiy. The cafe is as follows : The Englifli parliament of 1688 imported a man and his wife from Holland, William and Mary, and made them king and queen of England. Having done this, the Said parliament made a law to convey the government of the country to the heirs of William and Mary, in the following' words, " We, the lords fpiritual and tem poral, and commons, do, in the name of the people of England, moft hum bly and faithfully Submit ourfelves, our heirs, and poflerities, to William and Mary, their heirs and poflerities, for ever." And in a fobfequent law, as quptgd by Edmund Burke, the faid parliament, in the name ef the pepple of England then living, binds the faid people, their heirs and poflerities, to. William and Mary, their heirs and poflerities, to the end of time. It is npt fufficient that we laugh at the ignorance of fuch law-makers, it is neceffary that we reprobate their want of principle. The constituent afl'embly of France (1789) fell into the fame vice as the parliament of Eng land had done, andalfomed to eftabliSh an hereditary fuceeffion in the family cf the Capets, as an aft of the confti tution of that year. That every nation, for the time being, has a right to govern itfelf as it pleafes, muft always be admitted, but government by hereditary fuceeffion is government for another race of people, and not for it felf ; and as thole on whom it is to ope rate are not yet in existence, or are mi nors, fo neither is the right in existence to fet it up for tliem, and to affume fuch a right is ti'eafon agriuft the right of pofterity. I here clofe the arguments on the firft head, that of government by he reditary fuceeffion ; and proceed to the fecond, that of government by eleftion and reprefentation ; or, as it may be concifely exprefled, reprefen tative government in ccntiudiftir.ftion to hereditary government. Reafoning by exclufion, if here ditary government has not a light to exift, and that it has npt is proveable, reprefentative government is admitted pf courfe. In cpntemplating gpvernment by eleftion and. reprefentation we amufe not ourfelves in enquiring when pr licrw, Pr by what right it began. Its origin is ever in view. Man is him felf the origin and the evidence of the right. It appertains to him in right of his existence, and his perfon is the title-deed. The true and only true bafis of reprefentative government is equality of rights. Every man has a right to one vote, and no more, in the choice of reprefentatives,. The rich have no more right to exclude the poor from the right of voting or of electing and being elected than the poor have to exclude- the rich ; and wherever, it is attempted, or propofed, on either fide, it is a queftion of force, and not ot right. Who is he that would exclude another ? — That other has a right to exclude him. That which is now called ariftocra cy implies an inequality of rights ; but who are the perfons that have a right to eftabliSh this inequality ? Will the rich exclude themfelves ? No ! Will the poor exclude themfelves ? No! By what right then can any be excluded ? It would bo a queftion, if any man, or clafs of men, have a right to exelude themfelves; but be this as it may, they cannot have the right to exclude another. The poor will not delegate 4-i6 PAINE's WORKS: fuch a right tO the rich, nor the rich to the popr, and tp affume it is nPt only tp affume arbitrary ppwer, but tp affume a right to commit robbery; Perfonal rights, of which the right of voting reprefentatives is one, are a fpecies Of property of the moft facred kind ; and he that would employ his pecuniary property, or prefume upon the influence it gives him, to dilpof- fefs or rob another of his property of rights, ufes that pecuniary pro perty as he would ufe Sire-arms, and merits to have it taken from him. //lnequality of rights is created by a combination in one part of the com munity to exclude another part from its rights. Whenever it be made an article of a conftitution, oralaw, that the right of voting, or of elefting and being elected, Shall appertain exclusively to perfons poffeffing a cer tain quantity of property, be it little or much, it is a combination of the perfons poffeffipg that quantity, to ex clude thofe who do not poffefs the fame quantity. It is investing themfelves with powers as fecurity for property, be it much or ¦ little, is. to remove from every part of - tlie community, as far as can poffibly be done, every caufe pf complaint; and every motive to violence ; and this can only be done by an equality of rights. When rights are fecure, pro perty, is fecure in confequence. But when property is made a pretence for unequal or exclusive rights, it Weakens the right to hdld the property, and provokes indignation and tumult, fat it is unnatural to believe that proper ty can be fectire under the guarantee of a fociety injured in it's rights by tlie influence nf that property. Next to the injustice and ill-policy of xmaking property, a pret'ehce for exclufive rights, is the unaccountable abfurdity of giving to mere found the idea of property, and annexing to it certain rights ; for what elfe is a title but found. Nature is often giving to fhe world feme extraordinary men who arriVe at fame by merit and uni verfal confent, fuch as Ariftotle, So crates, Plato, &c. Thefe were truly -great or noble. But when gpvern ment fets up a manufactory of no bles, it is as abfurd, as if She under took to manufafture wife men. Her nobles are all counterfeits. This wax-work order has affumed the name of ariftocracy ; and the dif- grace of it would be leffened if it could be confidered only as childi'fh imbecility. We pardon foppery be caufe of its insignificance, and on the fame ground we might pardon the fop pery of Titles. But the origin pf ariftocracy was worfe than foppery. It was robbery. The firft ariftocrats ' in all countries were brigands. Thofe of latter times, fycophants. It is very welj known that in Eng land, (and the fame will be found in other countries) the great landed ef tates now held in defcent were plun dered from the quiet inhabitants at the conquefis. The poffibility did not exift of acquiring fuch eftates ho- DISSERTATION ON GOVERNMENT. **» meftly. If it be aflcedhow theyceuld have been acquired, no anfwer but that of robbery can be given. That they were not acquired by trade; by com merce, by manufaftures, by agricul ture, or by any reputable employment is certain. How then were they aci quired ? Bliifh ariftocracy to hear your origin, for your prpgenitprs were Thieves. The)1 were the Rpbefpierres and the Jacpbins of that day. When they had ccmmitted the robbery, they endeavpured to lofe the difgrace of iti by finking their real names under fiftitious ones, which they called Titles^ It is ever the praftice of Felons to act in this manner; They never pafs by their real names. As property honeftly obtained i£ beft fecured by an equality of rights; fo ill-gotten property depends for pro tection on a monopoly of rights. He who has robbed another of bis pro perty, will next endeavour to, difarm him of his rights; to fecUre that pro perty ; for when the robber becomes the legislator he believes himfelf fe ature; That part of the government of England that is called the houfe of lords was originally compofed of per fons whp had cpmmitted the robberies of which I have been fpeaking. It was an affociation for the protection of the property they had Stolen. But befides the criminality of the brigin of ariftocracy; it lias an inju rious effeft on the moral and phyfical charafter of mam Like Slavery, it debilitates the human faculties ; for as the mind, bowed down by Slavery, loies in filence Its elaftic powers, fo; in the contrary extreme, when it is buoyed up by folly; it becpmes in capable of exerting them; and dwin dles into imbecility. It is impoffible that a rniiid employed upon ribbaiids and titles can never be great.' Thes childifhnefs qf the objefts Conftime* the man. It is at all times neceffary, and more particularly fo during the progrefs of a revolution, and until right ideas; confirm themfelves by habit; that we' frequently refreSh our patriotifm by reJ ference to firft principles. It is by tracing things tp their prigin that we learn tp underftand them ; and it is' by keeping that line ahd that prigin always in .view that we never forget them. An enquiry into the origin of rights Will dempnftrate to us that rights are not gifts from pne man tp anpther, nor from pne clafs pf men tp anpther; foe Who is he Who could be the firft giver* Or by what principle, or On what authority, could he poffefs the right Of giving ? A declaration of rights is not a creation of them, nor a dona tion pf them; It is a manifest pf the principle by which they exift, follow ed by a detail pf what the rights are, for every civil right has a natural right for its foundation, and it includes the principle cf a reciprocal guarantee of. thpfe rights frern man tp man. As. therefore it is imppffible tp difcover any origin of rights otherwife than in the origin qf man, it Cpnfequently fpllpws, that rights, appertain to man in right of his exiftence pnly, and muft therefore be equal tp_ej£ryjrian. The principle of an equality qf rights is clear and fimple. Every, man can underftand itj and it is by underftand* ing his rights that he learns his duties ; for where the rights pf men are equal, every man muft finally fee the necef fity of protefting the rights of others as the moft effectual fecurity for hia> own. But if in the formation of a constitution we depart from the prio$. Eea %1» PATNE's WORKS. eiple of equal rights, or attempt any modification of it, we plunge into a labyrinth of difficulties from which rf. Hitherto I have confined myfelf to there is no way out but by retreating. | matters of principle only. Firft, .that Where are we to Slop ? Or by what ^ hereditary government has not a right principle are we to find out the point to ftop at, that Shall difcrimhaate be tween men of the fame country, part of whom Shall be free, and the reft not ? If property is to be made the criterion, it is a total departure from every moral principle of liberty, be caufe it is attaching rights te mere matter, and making man the agent pf that matter-. It is moreover holding jjp-property as an apple of difcord, and not only exciting but justifying war againft it ; for I maintain the principle that when property is ufed as an instrument to take away the rights pf thofe who may happen not to poffefs property, it is ufed to an un lawful purpofe, as fire-arms would be in a fimilar cafe. "^In a ftate cf nature all men are equal in rights, but they are netequal in power; the weak cannot protect himfelf againft the Strong. This be ing the cafe, the institution of civil fociety is for the purpofe of making an equalization of ppwers that fhall be parallel tp, and a guarantee pf the equality ef rights. The laws pf a --country when properly conftrufted ap ply to this purpofe. Every man takes the arm of the law for his protection as more effeftual than his own ; and therefore every man has an equal right ip the formation of the government ^2»S^i'*e~'*a'a--^X^2JU£h, he is to be ^governed and judged. In extenfive countries and Societies, fuch as Ame rica and France,, this right, in the individual can, only be txercifed by dekgation,;'Oliatjsi_by eleftion and re presentation ; arid hence it TTlriaTEiie to exift ; that it cannot be eftabliShed pn any principle pf right ; and that it is a viplatfon pf all principle. Se condly, that government by election, and reprefentation has its origin in the natural and eternal rights of man ; for wfrettrer-TTrmirrbe his own law giver, as he would be in a ftate of nature; pi- whether he exercifes his portion of legiflative fovereignty in his own perfon, as might be, the cafe in fmall democracies Where all could af- femble for the formation of the laws by which they were to be governed ; or whether he exercifes it in the choice of perfons to reprefent him in a nati onal affembly of reprefentatives, the origin of the right is the fame in all cafesy The firft, as is before obferved, __i>-defe'ft>ve in power ; the fecond, is t prafticable only in democracies of fmall \extent ; the third is the greateft fcale upen which human government can be instituted. t Next to matters of principle, are •matters pf opinion, and it is neceffary to distinguish between the two. Whe ther the rights of men Shall be equal' is not a matter of opinion but of right, and confequently of principle ; for men do not hold their rights as grants from each other, but each one in right of himfelf. Society is the guardian but not the giver. And as in extenfive focieties, fuch as America and France,' the right of the individual, in matters' of government, cannot- -be~-exeicifed but by .election and reprefentation ; it confequently follows, that the only fyftem of government, ccniiftent with principle, where fimple ¦ democracy is DISSERTATION ON. GOVERNMENT. 4S1 . in practicable, ;s tne reprefentative fyftem. But as to the organical part, °r the manner in which the feveral parts of government Shall be arranged and compofed, it is altogether matter of opinion. It is neceffary that all the ..parts be cenformable with the principle ef equal rights ; and fo fong as this principle be religioufly adhered to, no Very material error can take place, nei ther can • any error continue long in .that part "that falls within the province *f opinion. In all matters of opinion, the fo- . pen that the minority, are right, and the majority are wrong, but as foon as experience proves this to be the caSe, the niinority will increafe to a majo rity, and the error will reform itfelf by the tranquil operation of freedom of opinion and equality pf rights. No thing therefore can juftify an insurrec tion, neither can it ever be neceffary, where rights are equal and opinions free. Taking then the principle of equal' rights as the foundation of the revolu tion, and confequently of the conftitu- /cial compact, or the principle by which > t,on> the organical part, or the man fociety is held together, requires that f ner "> which the feveral parts of th- vthe majority .of opinions becomes the,, rule for the whole, and that the mi nority yields prafticalpbedience there- -to. This is perfeftly conformable to *he principle of equal rights; for, in *he firft place, every man has a right Jo give an opinion, but no man has a .right that his opinion Jhould govern Me reft. In the fecond place, it is .not fuppofed to he known before-hand -on which Side of any queftion, whether .for or againft, any man's opinion will fall. He may Jiappen to he in a ma jority upon feme questions, and in a minority upon .others ; .and by thp iame rale that heexpefts obedience in -the ene cafe, he muft yield it in the ¦Other. All the difqrders thathave ari fen in France daring the progrefs of the revolution have had their origin, inot in^.the principle of equal rights, but .in the violation of that principle. The principle of equal rights has been repeatedly violated, and that not by the majority, but by the minority, and that minority has been compofed of men -poffefting property, as well as of men without property ; property therefore, even upon the experience already had, is no more a criterion of charaBer. than $ is of rights. It jmJU. fometimes hap- government Shall be arranged in the conftitution, will, as is already faid, fall within the province of opinion. Various methods will prefent them felves upon a queftion of this kind, and though experience is yet wanting to determine which is the beft, it has, I think,' fufficiently decided which is the worft. That is the word, which in Its deliberations and decisions is fub jeft to the precipitancy and paffion of an individual ; and when the whole legislature is crowded into one body, it is an individual in mafs. In all .cafes of deliberation it is neceffary to have a corps of referve, and it weuld be better to divide the reprefentation, by lot into two parts, ahd let them revile and correct each other, than that -the whole Should fit together and debate at once. Reprefentative government is not neceffarily confined to any one parti cular form. The principle is the fame 'in all the forms under which it can be arranged. The equal rights of the people is the root from which the whole fprings, and the branches may be ar ranged as prefent opinion or future experience Shall beft direct. As to that hojpital of incurables (as Chefter- #'* PAINE's WORK it. field calls it) the British houfe of peers, it is ah exerefcence growing out of cor ruption ; and there is no more affinity or refemblance between any of the branches of a legislative body origi nating from the right of the people, and the aforefaid houfe of peers, than between a regular member of the hu man body and an ulcerated wen. As to that part of government that is called the executive, it is neceffary in the firft place to fix a precife meaning to the word. There are but two divifions into which power can be arranged. Firft; that of willing or decreeing the laws ;' fecondly, that of executing, or put ting them in practice." The former corresponds to the intellectual faculties of the human mind, which reafons and determines what fhall be done ; the fecond, to the mechanical powers of the human body, that puts thit de termination into practice.'" If the former decides, and the fatter does not perform, it is a State of Imbecility ; and if the latter afts without the pre determination of the former, it is a ftate of lunacy. The executive de- partnient therefore is official; and is fubordinate tp the legiflative, as the tody is to the mind in a ftate of health ; for it is impossible to conceive the idea of two fovereignties, ^ a Sovereignty to viill, and a fovereignty to dB. The executive is not invefted with the pow er of deliberating whether it Shall aft or not; it has no difcretionary--au- thorify in the cafe i for it can aB no other thing than what the laWs ¦ decree, and it is obliged to aft conformably thereto; and in this view of the cafe* the executive is made up .of all the official departments that execute the laws, of 'which, that which is called the judiciary is the chief. But mankind have conceived, an idea that fome kind of authority is neceffai-y to fuperinte'nd the execution 6f trie laws, and to fee that they art faith fully performed ; and it is by con founding this fuperintending authority with the official execution, that vt-eget embarraffed about the term executive power. — All the parts in the govern ments of the -united States of Ame rica that are called the executive, are ho other than authorities to fuper- iiitend the execution of the laws ; and they are fo far independent of the legiflative, that they know the legif lative only through the laws, and can not be controuled or direfted by it through any other medium. ! In what manner this fuperintending authority Shall be appointed' or com pofed, is a matter that falls within the province of opinion. , Some may pre fer one method and fome another ; and ih all cafes, where opinion only and hot principle is concerned, the majo rity of opinions forms the rule for all. There are however fome things dedu- cible from reafon, and evinced by ex perience, that ferve to guide our de- Cifinh upon the cafe. The one is, never to invefl any individual with extraordinary power; for befides his being tempted- to mifufe it, it will excite contention and commotion in the nation for the office. Secondly, never to inveft power long in the hands of any number of individuals- The inconveniences that may be fup pofed to accompany frequent changes, are lefs to be feared than the dinger that arifes from long continuance. I Shall conelude this difcourfe with offering fome obfervations on the means of preferving liberty ; for it is not only neceffary that We eftiblifli it, hut that we preferve it. . It is, in the firft place, neceffary that we distinguish -between the. means made' ti fe- of to overthrow defpotifm, in order to prepare the way for the efta- DISSERTATION ON GOVERNMENT. 4*3 blifhmenf of liberty, tfnd the means tobe ufed after the defpotifm is overthrown. The means made ufe of in the firft cafe are justified by neceffity. Thofe means are in general infurrsections ; for whilft the eftabliShed government of defpotifm continues in any country it is fcarcely poffible that any other means can be ufed. It is alfo certain that in the commencement of a revo-. Station, the revolutimiary party permit to themfelves a dificrebonary exercife. of power regulated more by circumftances than by principle, which were the praftice to continue, liberty would never be eftabliShed, or if eftabliShed would foon be overthrown. It is ne ver to be expefted in a revolution that every man is to change his opinion at the fame moment. There never yet .was any truth or any principle fo ir- refiStibly obvious, that all men be lieved it at once. Time and reafon muft co-operate with each other to the dinal eftabliShment of any principle ,; and therefore thofe who may happen .to be firft convinced have no right to perfecute others, on whom conviction operates more flowly. The moral: principle of revolutions is to inftruft^ pot to deftroy . Had a conftitution been eftabliShed two vears ago (as ought to have been. .done) the violences that have fince de- I folated France, and-injured the cha rafter of the revolution, would, in my opinion, have been prevented. The nation would then have had a bond of union, and every individual would have known the line of conduct he was tp follow. But inftead of this, a re- vplutipnary gpvernment , a thing with- out either principle pr authprity, was fnbftituted in it§ place; virtue and crime depended upon accident ; and that which was patriotism pne day be came treafon the next. All thefe things- have followed, from the want of a cohftitution ; for it is the na ture and intention pf a conftitution to prevent governing by party, by esta blishing a common principle that Shall limit and controul the power and im- pulfe of party, and that fays to all parties, THUS FAR SHALT THOU OO and no farther. But in the abfence of a,c.onftitution men look entirely {o party ; and inftead of principle govern ing party, party governs principle. An avidity to puniSh is always dan gerous to liberty. It leads men to Stretch, to misinterpret, and to mis apply even the beft> qf laws. He that would make his own liberty Secure, muft guard even his enemy from op« preffion ; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to liimfelf THOMAS PAINE, f.g* f.NDft APPENDIX, TRIAL OF THOMAS PAINE. Court of King's Bench, Guildhall, London, December iS, 179*. Before the Right Honourable Lord KENYON. [It has been confidered unneceffary to infert the Information, as it ivas in the ufualform.\ SPECIAL JURY. Campbell, John Lightfoot, Christopher Taddy, Robert ant, Cornelius Donovan, Robert Rolleston, John Lub- ttlrniBn T'TrrifWPT.T.. Wn.l.TAM PnRTFB. ThdmaS DrUCE. J OHN Oliphant, ¦bock, Richard Tuckwell, William Porter, Thomas Druce, Isaac Railton, Henry Evans. Counfelfor the Crown. The Attorney General, The Solicitor General, Mr. Bearcroft, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Wood, Mr. Percival. Solicitors. MeST. Chamberlayne and White. Counfelfor the Defendant. The Hon. Thomas Erskine, Mr. Piggot, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. F. Vaughan. Solicitor. Mr. Bonney. Mr. Attorney General. Gentlemen of the Jury. You will permit me to folicit, and for no' long fpace of time, in the prefent ftage of this bufinefs, fomewliat of your atten tion to a caufe which, confidering it on its own merits only, is, in my humble judgment, a plain, a clear, a Short, and indifputable cafe. Were it not, Gen tlemen, that certain circumftances have rendered it a cafe of more expeftation than ordinary, I do affure you that I Should literally have contented myfelf this day with conducting myfelf jn the manner that I did upon the laft occa sion that I was called upon to addrefs "a Jury upon this fort of fubjeft, namely, by fimply reading to you the paffages which I have fejefted, and leaving it entirely to your judgment. But, Gentlemen, it fo happens that the accumu lated mifchief which has arifen froni the particular book that is now before you, and the confequences, which every body is acquainted with, which have followed from this publication, have rendered it neceffary, perhaps, that I Should fay a few words more in the opening than it would have been my inten tion to have done, had it not been for thofe circumftances. A t ' V E 14 D r tf. 4*S Gentlemen, in the firft place you' will permit me, without the imputation, I think, of fpeaking of myfelf, (a_yery trifling fubjeft, and always a difgufting one to others) to obviate a rumour Which I have heard, namely, that this pro fecution does not correfpond with my private judgment ; that has been laid, and has reached my ears from various quarters. The refutation that I fhall give to it is this : That I Should think I deferved to he with difgrace expelled from the fituatipn with which his Majefty has honeured me in your fervice, and that of all my fellow fubjefts, had I as far as my private judgment goes, hefitated for one inftant to bring this enormous offender, as I confider him, before a Jury of bis country. Gentlemen, the publication in queftion was not the firft of its kind which this defendant fent forth into the world. This particular publication was pre,. ceded by one upon the fame fubjefts, and handling, in fome mea(iire, the fame topics. That publication, although extremely reprehenfibre, and fuch as, per haps, I Was not entirely warranted in overlooking, I did overlook, upon this principle, that it may not be fitting and prudent at all times, for a public pro fecutor to be Sharp in his profecutions, or to have it faid that he is instrumental in preventing any manner of difcuSlion coming under the public eye, although in his own estimation it may be very far indeed from that which is legitimate and proper for difcuSlion. Reprehensible as that book was, extremely lo in my opinion, yet it was ufhered into the world under circumftances that led me to conceive that it would be confined to the judicious reader, and when confined to the judicious reader, it appeared to be that fuch a man would refute as he went along. But, gentlemen, when I found that another publication was uShered into the world-'ftill more reprehensible than the former, that in all Shapes, in all fizes, with an induftry incredible ; it Was either totally or partially thruft into the hands of all perSbns in this country, of fubjefts of every defcription ; when I found that even children's fweetmeats were wrapped up with parts of this, and delivered into their hands, in the hope that they would read it, when all induftry was ufed, fuch as I defcribe to ypu, in prder tp obtrude and force this upon that part of the public whofe minds cannpt be fbpppfed tp be cpn- verfant with fubjefts of this fort, and who cannot therefore correft as they go along, I thought it behoved me upon the earlieft ocpafion, which was the firft 'day of the term fucceeding this publication, to put a charge upon record againft its author. Now, gentlemen, permit me to State to you what It is that I impute to this book, and what is the intention that I impute to the writer of this book. Try it by every tell that the human mind can poffibly fugged, and fee whether when tried by all the variety of thoSe tefts, you will not be fatisfied in the long run, that it does deferve that defcription which my duty obliges me to give of it. , _ ' Gentlemen, in the firft place I impute to it a wilful, deliberate intention to vilify and degrade, and thereby to bring into abhorrence and contempt, the "Whole conftitution of the government of this country; not 'as introduced, that I will never admit, but as explained and refiored at the Revolution. That fyf tem of government under which we this day live, and which if it Shall be at tacked by contemptuous expreflions, if by dogmatical difta, if by ready-made propositions, offered to the understandings of men felicitous' about the nature of their conftitution, properly fo, (God forbid they ever Should be otherwife) but who, at1 the fame time, may be eafily impofed upon to their own deftruc- tfon, they may be brought to have diffidence and even abhorfence (for this book goes all that length) of that which is the falvation of the public, and every thing which is dear to them. I impute then to this bopk a deliberate defign tp eradicate from the minds of the pepple pf this cpuntry that enthufiaftic love which they have hitherto «,*£ * P P ? N B 1 3ft had for that conftitution, and thereby to do the utmoft work of mifchief that any human being can do in this fociety. . Gentlemen, further J impute to it that, in terms, the regal part of the go vernment of this country, hounded and limited as it is, is reprefented as an, oppreSfive and an abominable tyranny. Thirdly. That the whole legislature of this country is direftly an ufurpa- tion. Again, with refpect to r-helaw-s of thte realm, which hitherto have been our boaft, indiscriminately and without one fingle exception, that they are ground ed upon this usurped authority, and are therefore in themfelves null, or, to life his own words — that'thereitr little or no law in this country. Then, Gentlemen, is it to be held qut to a community of ten or twelve millions of people, is it to be held Put, as well to the lower as tp the better informed claffes of thefe ten or twelve millions, that there is nothing in this Society that is binding upon their conduft, excepting fuch portion of religion or morality as they may individually entertain ? Gentlemen, are we then a lawlefs banditti? Have we neither laws to fe cure our property, our perfons, or our reputations ?— Js it fo that every man's arms are unbound, and that he may do whaf eyer he pleafes in the fociety ? — Are we reduced back again to that favage ftate of nature? I aSk you the queftion ! You, gentlemen, know well what the anfwer is ; but, gentlemen, are we to fay, that a man who holds' this out to , thofe who are nof furnifhed with the njeans of giving the anfwer whieh I know you, and every gentleman who hears me at this moment, will give, is difcuffing a queftion ? Can any thing add to his Slander upon the conftitution; and upon the feparate parfsqf the government, fo constituted as ours is, more than that Sweeping; imputation .upon the whole fyftem of law that binds us together— ^-namely, that it is null and void, and that there is in reality no fuch thing to be fo,und? Gentlemen,, in the Several paSTages which I Shall read to you, I impute this to hfm ; alfo, that be ufes an artifice grofs to thojb who can obferve it, butMan- gerous in the extreme to thofe whofe misids perhaps are not fufficiently culti vated and habituated to reading to enable them to difcover it : the artifice, in order to create difguft, is neither uior«' Bor fefe tnan this~-it is Slating all the objections that can poffibly be urged tp monarchy, feparateiy and foleiy confi dered, and to pure and Simple aristocracy ; he never chufes to fay a fingle fyl- lable with refpeft to thofe two as combined with a democracy, forbearing alfo to State, and induftriouSly keeping out of the way, every circumftance that regards that wprft of all governments, an. unbalanced democracy, which is neceSfanly pregnant with a democratical tyranny. This is the grofs ar tifice ; and when you come to diffeft the book in the careful manner that I have done, I believe you and every other reader will eafily detect that ar tifice. Gentlemen, to whom are the pofitions that are contained in this bpok ad- dieJTed ? They are addreffed, gentlemen, to the ignorant, to the credulous, to the defperate ; to the de-fperate all government is irkfome, nothing can be fo palatable to their ears as the comfortable doftrine that there is neither law nor government amongfl us. The ignorant and the credulous, we all know, to exift in all countries, and perhaps exaftly in proportion" as their .hearts are good and Simple, are they an eafy prey to the crafty who have the cruelty to deceive them. Gentlemen, in judging of the malignant intention which I muft impute to this author, you will be pleafed to take ipto your confideration the phrafe and the manner as well as the matter. The phrafe I ftate to be infidious and art ful, the manner in many inftances fcoffing and contemptupus, a Short argu ment, often a prevalent one, with the ignorant or the credulous. With re fpeft to the matter, in my conference I call it treafon, though technically. U P P fc » to I *. 417 ^CCOrdMig to the Taws of the country, it is not;^for, gelltlemerf,' balance fhe 5nconvehiCnce to fociety of that which is technically. treafon, arid in this coun try, we muft not, thank God, extend it but keep it within its moft narrow and circUrrifcribed definition?, bur confider the comparative difference of fhe mifchief ' that may happen from fpreading doctrines of this fort, and that which may happen from any treafon whatever. In the cafe of the utmoft degree of treafon, even perpetrating the death of a prince ppon the throne, the law has found the means of Supplying that ca lamity in a manner that may fave the country from any permanent injury. In many periods of the hiftory of this country, which you may eafily recollect, it is true that fhe reign of a good prince has been interrupted by violence,— a great evil 1 — but not fo great as this : the chafm is filled up inftantly by the constitution of this' country, even if that laft Of treafons Should be cpmmifted. But where is the pewer upon "earth that can fill up- the chafm pf a cbnftitu- ' tipn that has been growing.; — nnt fori feven hundred years, as Mr. Paine would have you believe, from the Norman ' cqAqueft, but from time almoft eternal, impoffible. to trace ; that has been growing' as, from the fymptoims Julius Ciefar obferved when he found our ancestors nearly favages in the coun try, has been growing from that period until it was confummated at the Re volution, and Shone forth in all its fplendour. In addition to this, this gentleman 'thinks fit even to impute to the exift ence of that conftitution,"Tuch as T have defcribed it, the very evils infepara- ble from human fociety, pr even from human nature itfelf; all thefe are im puted to that feandaloiis, that wicked, that ufurpe'd conftitution under which. we, the fubjefts of this country, have hitherto mistakenly conceived that we Jived happy ahd free. ' ' Gentlemen, I apprehend it tp be no very difficult operation of the human mind tp distinguish reafoning and well meant difcuffipn from a deliberate de fign to calumniate the law and constitution under which we live, and to With draw men's allegiance from that constitution ; it is the operation of good fenfe : it is therefore no difficult operation for a jury of the City of London : therefore you will be pleafed to obferve whether the whole of this book, I ¦Should rather fay, fuch* part as I am at prefent at liberty to advert to, is not of this defcription, that it is by no means calculated to difcufs and to con vince, but to perform the Shorter procefs of inflammation ; not to reafon upon any fubjeft, but to diftate; and, gentlemen, as I ftated to you before, -to diftate in fuch a manner, and in fuch a phrafe, and with all fuch circum ftances as cannot, in my humble apprehenfion, leave the moft remote doubt upon your minds of what was pafling in the heart of that man who compofed " that book. Gentlemen, you will permit me now to fay a word or two upon thofe paf fages, which I have Selected tp you, firft defcribing a little what thofe paffages are. I have thought it much more becoming, much more beneficial to the public, than any other courfethat I could take, to feleft fix or feven, and no mote, (not wishing to load the record unneceffarily) of thofe paffages that go to the Very root1 of our constitution, that is the nature of the paffages which I have (elected, and gentlemen, the firft of them is in page 192, Where you will find this doctrine. " All hereditary government Is in its nature tyranny, an heritable crown, " or an heritable throrie, or by what other fanciful name fuch things may be " called, have no other Significant explanation than that mankind are heritable €t property. To inherit a government is to inherit the people, as if they " were flocks and herds." Now, gentlemen, what is the tendency of this paffage ? " All hereditary «« government is in its nature tyranny." So that no qualification whatever, iot even the fnbordination to the law of the country, which is the only para- - **8 ,-A *>- JP £ N D «,I XV mount thing that we know pf in this.country, can take it oiit-of. the defcrtj- tion pf tyranny ; the regal.pffice being neither mpre nnr lefs than a truft ex ecuted for the fubjejSts of fthis country.; the perfon whp fills the regal effice being understood, in this, country, to be neither more nor lefts than the chief ; .-executive magistrate -heading the whole gradation of magistracy. . But without any qualification he States it roundly, that under all circum ftances whatever hereditary government muft in its nature be tyranny ; what is that but tp hold out to the people pf this cpuntry that they are jipught but flaves ; to be fure, if they are living .under a tyranny, it, is imppffible to draw any. other confequence. This is pne pf thpfe Short propositions that are crammed down the throat ef every man that is acceffible to their arts in this country; this is one of thofe propositions, which, if he believes, muft have the due effeft upon his mind, of faying, thecale is come whe^i J underftand I am oppreffed, I can bear it no longer. " An heritable crown." ,Qurs is an -heritable .crown, and there it is com prehended in this dqgma : " Or by what other fanciful name fuch things " may be called." Is that difcuSlion ? Contemptuous, vilifying, and de- . grading expreffions of that fort are applied to that which We are accuftomed to look to with reverence, namely, the representation of the whole body of magistracy and of the Jaw— r-" have np other, Significant explanation than that <« mankind are heritable property.— -To inherit agpyernment i^ to inherit the «' people, as if they were flocks and herds." Why, .gentlemen, are the people of England to he told, without further ceremony, that they are inherited by a king of this country, and that they are precifely in the cafe of Sheep and oxen ? I leave you to judge if fuch grolf , contemptible, and abominable falfehood is delivered out in bits and Scraps of this fort, whether that does not call aloud for punishment ,? Gentlemen, only, look at the truth ; the converfe is direftly the cafe. The King of this country inherits an office, under the law ; he does not inherit perfons ; we are(not in a ftate of villenage ; the direft reverfe to what is here pointed out isthe truth of the matter; the King inherits.an office, but as to any inheritance of his people, none, you know, belongs tp him, and I am. aShamed to Say any thing more .upon. it. The next is in page zp^> in which this man is fpeaking of the Congrefs at Philadelphia in 17,87, which was held becaufe the .government of that country was found to be extremely defective as at firft established. " This Convention met at Philadelphia, in May,, 1787, of which General " Washington, was elected president ; lie was not at that time connected with " any of the State-governments or with Congrefs. He delivered up his com- " miSficn when the war ended, and (Since then had lived a private citizen. " The Convention went deeply into all the fubjefts, and having after a " variety of debate and inveftigation, agreed among themfelves upon the fe- " veral parts of a federal Constitution,, the next queftion was the manner of *' giving it authority and praftice." What is the conclusion of that— they certainly agreed uppn an apppintment cf their federal Conftitution in 1787. I Should have thought that a map, meaning nothing more than hiftory, would have been very well contented to have ftated what aftually did happen upon that occafion ; but, in order to difcufs (as poffibly it may be called) fomething that formerly did pafs in this tountry, he clioie to do it in thefe inflaming and contemptuous terms. ' " For this purpofe they did not, like a cabal of courtiers, fend for a Dutch "' Stadtholder or a German Eleftor ; but they referred the whole matter to the " fenfe and intereft of the country." ' Here again the revolution and the act of fettkment Stare us in the face, as if the intereft an i t'it Stnle 01 the country w-eie in no.way consulted ; but, on APPENDIX. , 4*9>' the contrary, it was nothing more than a mere cabal of courtiers. — Whether' that is or is not to be endured in this country, your verdict will Shew -. but, in order to Shew^you how totally unneceffary this paSfage was, except Sor the deliberate purpofe of calumny ; if this paffage had been left out, the narra tion would have been quite perfect. I will read three or four lines juft lo- Shew how peifeft it would have been : — " The next queftion was about the " manner of giving it authority and praftice." The paffage beyond that' which I call a libel,— " They firft diiefted that the propofed Constitution- Should " be published; fecondly, that each State fhould eleft. a Convention, for the' " purpofe of taking it into confideration, and of ratifying or rejecting;" and' fo the ftory goes on — but, in order to explain what I mean by a dogma thruit in, I call your attention to this, as one of thofe which haS no earthly con nexion with the fubjeft he was then fpeaking of. Does sot this paffage (land infolated between the two parts of the connect ed ftory officiously and designedly thruft in for the pilrpofes of mifchief? Gen- ' tlemen, the artifice of that bopk confifts' alfo in this ; the different wicked paf fages that are meant to do mifchief in this country, are Spread throughout it, and Stuck in here and there, in a manner that in order to fee the whole ma- ' lignity of it, it is neceffary to have a recollection of feveral preceding paffages; but thele paffages when brought together manifestly fhew the full delign of ' the writer, and therefore extracts of it may be made to contain the whole marrow; and at the fame time that each paSfage, taken by itSelt, will do miS'-- chief enough, any man reading them together, Will See that mifchief come out much clearer than by amere transient reading. The next paffage I have to,obferve upon is in page 206, ahd he is pleafed to exprefs himfelf in this manner : he fays, . " The hiftory of the Edwards and the Henrys, and up to the commence- " ment of the Stuarts, exhibits as many instances of tyranny as could be " afted within the limits to which the nation had reftrifted it; the Stuarts " endeavoured to pafs thofe limits, and their Sate is well known. In all " thefe inftances we fee nothing of a Conftitution, but only of restrictions " on aSfomed power." Then, gentlemen, from the reign of the Edwards and the Henrys down to the Revolution, it was a regular progreffion of tyranny, not a progreSiion of liberty but of tyranny, till the Stuarts ftepped.a little beyond the line in the gradation that was going forwards, and that begot a neceffity for a re volution ; but of the Edwards I Should have thought, at leaft, he might have fpared the founder of our jurifprudence, King Edward the Firft, befide many other Princes, the glory and the boaft of this country, and many of themre- garders of its freedom and Cpnftitutipn ; but inftead pf that, this author would . have the people of this country believe' that up to that t ime it was a progreSfive tyranny, and that there was nothing of a Conftitution, only restrictions on affumed power ; — fo that all the power that exifted at that time was aifump- tion and ufuipation. He thus proceeds " After this another William defcended from the fame " Stock, and claiming from the' fame origin, gained poffeffion, and of the " two evils, James and William, the nation preferred what it thought the leaft." So that the deliverance of this country by the Prince of Orange was an evil, but the leaft oS the two, " Since fiom circumstances it muit take one. The " aft called the Bill of Rights comes here into view : What is it but a bargain " which the parts of the government made with each other to divide powers, " profits,- and privileges? You Shall have Co much, and I will have tlie teft ; << and with refpect to the nation it faid, for your ftiare you Jhall have the right " .of petitioning. :- This being the cafe, the Bill of Rights is more properly . " a Bill x>g Wrongs and of Insult. As to-what is called the Conven-' " tion Parliament, it was a thing that made itfelf, and then made the autho- 4-3° APPENDIX; " rity by which it afted ; a' few perfons got together, and called themfelves " by that name ; feveral of them had never been elected, and none of them " for the purpofe/' " From the time of William a fpecies of government arofe, iffuing out of " this coalition Bill Of Rights, and more fo Since the corruption introduced " at the Hanover Succeffioii by the agency of Walpole, that can be deferibed " by no other name than a defpotic legislation." Now, gentlemen, this is the defcription that this man holds out pf that on which refts the property, the lives, and liberties, and the privileges of the people of this country. I wpnder tp Gpd, gentlemen, that any BritiSh man (for fuch this man certainly wasj and ftill is) tp ufe the words of our own Poet, when he fpoke thefe Words; A Bill of Wrongs, a Bill of In- ' sult, they did not " Slick in his throat."— What is that Bill of Rights ? It can never be too often read.' I will make no comment upon it, becaufe your own heads and hearts will make that comment ; you have a pofterity to look) to. Are defperate ruffians, who are to be found in every country, thus to attack the unalienable rights and privileges which are to defeettd undiminished to that pofterity ? Are you not to take' care that this Shall be facred to your pofterity. Is it not a truft in your hands ? It is a truft in your hands as much as the execu tion of the law is a truft in the hands of the crown ; each has its guardians in this community, but you are the guardians of the Bill pf Rights. Gentlemen; it is this; '' That the pretended power of fufpending of laws, " or the execution of the laws, by regal authority, without confent of par- " liament, is illegal." " That the pretended power of difpenfing with laws, or the execution of " Jaws, by the regal authority, as it hath been affumed ahd exerciftd of late, *' is illegal." That is, the law is above all. " That levying money for or to the ufe of the Crown, by pretence of pre- " rogative, without grant pf parliament, for longer time, or in other manner " than the fame is or Shall be granted, is illegal." " That it is the right of the fubjefts to petition the king, and all corii- " mitments and profecutions for fuch petitions are illegal. All that you get by the Bill of Rights, according to this man's doftrine; is, that the Commons of this country have the right pf petitioning; We all know this alludes to the cafe of the feyen biShops ; that was a grofs violation of the rights of thole fubjefts of this country j therefore, he Slates, falfely and malicioufly, according -to the language of the information; which is per feftly correct in the prefent cafe, that the whole that was obtained by the fubjefts of this country was the right pf petitipning ; whereas it is declared to be their unalterable right, and ever to have been fo, and adverts, as I be fore ftated, to a grofs violation of it in a recent cafej " That the raifing or keeping a Standing army within the kingdom in time " of peace, unlefs it be with confent of parliament, is againlt law." " That the fubjefts, which are proteftartts, may have arms for their de- " fence, Suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law." " That elections of members of parliament, ought to be free. " That the freedom of fpeech, and debates or proceedings in parliament, " ought not to be impeached, or queftioned, in any court or place put pf " parliament," " That exceffive bail ought npt tp be reqiiired, npr exceffive fines impofed, " nor cruel and unufual pnniShments inflifted. « That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned; and jurors which" « pafs upon men in trials for high treafon ought to be freeholders." APPENDIX. 4,3* " That all grants and promifes of fines and forfeitures of particular per- " fons, before conyiftion, are illegal and void." " And that for the rediefs of all grievances, and for the amending, ftrength- " ening, and prefervingof the laws, parliaments ought to be held fr*qaently." Further, gentlemen, this bill goes on to fay, " For the ratifying, confirm- " ing, and eftablifliHig the Said declaration,, .and the aiticles, claules, matters, " and things, therein contained, by the force of a law made in due form, by " authority of Parliament, do pray it may be declared and enafted, that all " and fingular the rights and liberties afferted and claimed in the faid decla- " ration are the true ancient and indubitable rights and liberties of the people " of this kingdom, and fo Shall be efteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, " and taken to be ; and that all and every the particulars aforcfaid Shall be " firmly and ftriftly holden and obferved, as they are expreffed in the faid " declaration, and all officers and minifters whatfoeyer iliail "ferVe their ma- " jellies and their fucceffors, according to the fame in all times to comfe." Such, gentlemen, is the Bill of Wrongs and of Infult. I fhall not profane it by paying one word more upon it. Now, gentlemen, 1 would alk you, whether what is faid by this man be reafoning oi difcuffion ; or whether it is nothing elfe but deception, and that deception conliSting of a moft abominable and complete fuppreffion ? Is there a word of this aft quoted ? Has the poor mechanic, to whom this paffage is" addreffed, who is told that he has been wronged and infulted at fhe revolution, has he this ltatute by him to read ? Would it not have been fair, at leaft, to have ftated what it was? But inftead of that, unfight, unfeen, (to ufe a very vulgar expreffion) this proposition is tendered to the very foweii man in this country, namely, that the Bill of Rights is a Bill of Wrongs and of Infult. Pafs we then on to another ; if you will pleafe to make a memorandum of page 209, you will find that in the fame fpirit, and with the feme defign, this man tells you that " The intention of the government of England," here comes in another contemptuous expreffion (''' for I rather chufe to call it " by this name than the Englifh gpvernment), appears fince its political " cpnnexipn with Germany tp have "been fo completely engroffed and abibrb- " ed by foreign affairs, and the means of raifing taxes, that itfeems to exift " for no other purpofes." The government of the country then does not exift for the purpofe of pre- ferving our lives and properties ; but the government, I mean the Constitu tion of the country, Kings, Lords, and Commons, exifts for no other 'pur- ppfe but tp be the inftruments of raifing taxes. To enter into any dilcuffion of that, is taking- up your time unneceffarily — I only beg to draw your at tention to the dogmatical and cavalier manner in which thefe things are affert ed ; further, he fays — " Domeftic concerns are neglefted, and with refpeft to " regular law, there is fcarcely fuch a thing." I Stand in the city of London ; I am addreffing myfelf to gentlemen eminent in that city, whether the legislature, fince the revolution, has, or not, ad verted to domeftic concerns : I think I may appeal to the growing profperity of this country, from the moment that the night mare has been taken off its, Stomach, which preffed upon it up to that moment. We thenproceed to page 211 and 211, Where, after the whole Constitution of this country has tieen thus treated in grofs, he proceeds a little to diffect and confider the component, parts of that Conftitution ; and in page 211 and 212, in a dogma, we have this : " With refpeft to the two Houfes of which the EngliSh Parliament is com- " pofed, they appear to be effeftually influenced into one, and, as a legifla- " tine, to have no temper of its own. The Minifter, whoever he at any " time may be, touches it, as with an opium wandi and it Sleeps obedience.''" 43* APPEND! X. Now; gentlemen, here is anpther dpgma without a fingle faft, without a fingle argument j but it is held put to the fubjefts cf this country, that there is no energy or activity in either the ariftocratical or democratical parts of this Conftitution; but that they are afleep, and you might juft as well have Statues there ; it is not merely faid that it is fo hp'w, but it is in the nature pf things, fays he, that it Should be fo. " But if we lobk at the diftinft abilities of the twp Houfes, the. difference " will appear fo great as to* Shew the inconfiftency of placing power where " there can be no certainty of the judgment to ufe it.— Wretched as the Slate *' of reprefentation is in England, it is manhood compared with what is called " the Houfe of Lords, aind fo little is this nickname, Houfe, regarded, that " the people fcarcely inquire at any time what it is doing. It appears alfo to " be mod under influence, and the furtheft removed- from the general intereft " of the nation." Now, gentlemen, this is again fpeaking in this man's contemptuous man ner, at the expence of the ariftocratical part of our constitution of govern ment ; an effentially beneficial part, wtipfe great and permanent intereft ih the cPuntry renders them a firm barrier againft any encroachment. I am »ot to fuppofe that you are fo ignorant of the hiftory of your country, as not to know the great and brilliant cbarafteis that have fat in that Houfe. Np parti cular period of time is alluded to in this paffage. He furely cannot mean the prefent time ; but I conceive he fpeaks of all times, and that from the very nature of our government it muft everlastingly bt fo. Slander upon. that very great and illustrious part of the legislature (uritrtie at any period), written in this fcurrilous and contemptuous manner, is diftinguiShed greatly indeed from any fober difcuSlion of, whether an ariftocratical part of government is a good or bad thing, and is calculated only to mislead and inflame. If you look next to page 232, there you will find that tWo of the compo nent parts of the legislature, having been thus diipofed of, we come tip'to the throne itfelf, and this man fays very truly of himfelf t " Having thus glanceb at fome 'of the defefts of the two Houfes of Par- " liament, I proceed to what is called the Crown, upon which I Shall be very " concife : " It fignifies a nominal office of a million a year;, the bufinefo of Which con- " lifts in receiving the money ; whether the perSbn be wife or foplifh, fane " or ini'ane, a native or a foreigner, matters not. Every minifter afts " upon the fame idea that Mr. Burke writes, namely, that the people muft be " hoodwinked, and held in fuperftitious ignorance by fome bugbear or other; *' and what is called the Crowii anfwers this purpofe, and therefore it anfwers " all the purpofes to be expefted from it. — This is more flian can be faid of " the other two branches. " The hazard to which this office is expofed in all countries, including this " among the reft, is not from any thing that Can happen to' the man, but " from what may happen to the nation, the danger. of its coming to its fenfes." Then, gentlemen, we have been infane for thefe Seven pr eight hundred years : and I Shall juft difmifs this With this obfervation, that this infanity having fubfifted fo long, I truft in God that it is incurable. In page 236 you have this note, — " I happened to be in England at the ce- " lebration of the centenary, of the revolution of 1688. The characters of " William and Mary have always appeared to me deteftable ; the one Seeking " to deftroy his uncle, and the other her father, to get poffeffion of pawet " themi'elves ; yet as the nation was difpofed to think Something of that event, " 1 felt hurt a't feeing it afcribe the whole reputation of it to a man who had " undertaken it as a job, and who, befides what he otherwife got, charged fix " hundred thoufand pounds for the expence of a little fleet that brought him " i'rom Holland.— George the Firft afted the fame clofe-fifted part as William APPENDIX. 4.3s " had done, and fought the Duchy of Bremin with the money he got from " England, two hundred and fifty thoufand pounds over and abpve his pay " as King ; and having thus purchafed it at the expence ef England, added it " to his Hanoverian dominions for his own private profit. — In faft, every na- " tion that does not govern itfelf, is governed as a job. England has been " the prey of jobs ever fince the Revolution." Then, gentlemen, what he calls a nation governing itfelf, is fomething extremely different from a nation having confented from time immemorial to be governed by a democracy, an ariftocracy, and an hereditary executive fu- preme magiftrate ; and moreover, by a law-paramount, which all are bound to> obey, he conceives, I fay, that fort of government not to be a government of the people themfelves, but he denominates that fort of government a job, and not a government. Gentlemen, fuch are the paffages Which I have felefted to you, as thofe that difclofe the moft offenfive doctrines in the book ; that is fuch as go funda mentally to the overturning the government of this country. — I beg pardon, I have omitted one which contains more of direft invitation than any thing I have yet ftated. — It is in page 255 : it is faid, the fraud, hypocrify and impo- " fition of governments are now beginning to be too well underftood to pro- " mife them any long career. — The farce of monarchy and ariftocracy in all " countries is following that of chivalry, and Mr. Burke is dreffing for the " funeral—let it then pafs quietly to the tomb of all other follies, and the " mourners be comforted. The time is not very diftant when England " will laugh at itfelf for fending to Holland, Hanover, Zell, or Brunfwick, " for men, at the expence of a million a year, who underftand neither her " laws, her language, nor her intereft, and whofe capacities would fcarcely " have fitted them for the office pf a PariSh Cpnftable." This is faid pf William the Third— this is faid pf twp very Illuftripus Princes of the Houfe of Brunfwick, George the'Firft and Second, and extends to the prefent Sovereign upon the throne. " If government could be trufted to fuch hands, it muft be fome eafy and fimple " thing indeed, and materials fit for all the purpofes may be found in every " town and village in England." The policy of the conftitution of this country has ever avoided, excepting when driven to it by melancholy neceffity, to disturb the' hereditary fuceeffion to the throne j and it has wifely thought it more fitting to purfue that fyftem, even though a foreigner Should be feated on the throne of thefe realms, than to break through it. — This would infinuate, that the neceffary defefts of an hereditary monarchy are fuch as outweigh the advantages attending that which I have Stated. Is that i'o ? I would aSk any man who hears me, in point of hif tory,. whether it is not the permanent deleft of eleftive monarchies or fove- reigns, that they feldom are men of any confideration, and for an obvious rea fon ; moft frequently it has happened that turbulent faftions, after having de- folated their country, one of them (it has fo happened, at leaft in moft in ftances as far as my recollection goes) fets up a tool whom the fuccefsful fac tion can themfelves govern at pleafure.— Often has it happened that fuch fafti ons, when a civil war arifes, which muft almoft neceffarily -be the cafe in eleftive monarchies, not choofing to come to the conclusion of an armed con teft, have chofen a very weak perfon, each in hope of Strengthening his party by the time the periodical civil war Should come round. I believe, upon exa mination, this will be found to be generally the cafe, and to have prevailed m eleftive monarchies to a greater degree than any inconveniencies that may have ever arifen from the natural infirmities of princes who focceeded to then- thrones by hereditary rights, in the conftitution of Great Britain ; for to that, this man alludes. F 1 *34 A P P S N D 1 it. Has he ftated with any fort of fairnefs, pr has he at all ftated pr adverted fo the many, many remedies we have for arty defect pf that fort ? Has he fta ted the numerous councils pf a King? His cpuncil of Parliament — his council of his Judges in matters of law — his Privy council ? Has he Stated fhe refponfibility of all thofe councils ? Some in point of charafter, fome of perfonable refponfibility? Has he ftated the refponfibility of thofe immediate fervants who conduct his executive government ? Has he ftated the appoint ment of regents ? Has he Stated all this, which is indifpenfably neceffary to wards a fair and honeft difcuSlion (which this book will pofflbly be called) of this point of his infuperable objeftion to hereditary monarchy ? Can this be called any other than grofs fuppreffion and wilful mis-ftatement, to raife dif- conteht in half-informed minds ? . There does come acrofs my mind at this moment, unquestionably," one il- luftrious exception to that doctrine I have ftaced, of men not the moft capa ble of government having in general been choSen in the cafe of eleftive mo narchies ; and that is a man whom no indignities, no misfortunes, no disap pointments, no civil commotions, no prpvpcations, ever forced from the fall and Steady poffeffion of a Strong mind, which has always rifen with elasticity under all the preffures that I have ftated ; and he, though not in one fenfe of that word a great Prince, yet is certainly a great Man, who will go down as fuch to the lateft pofterity : I mean the King of Poland. Don't imagine, gen tlemen; that my adverting to this illuftrious charafter is ufelefs. Every gen tleman who hears knows he had a confiderable part of his matured education: in this country. Here he familiarized himfelf with the conftitution of this country. Here he became informed of the provisions of what this man, calls the Bill of Wrongs and Ihfults, without difparagement to him* for I believe him to be a juft and wife prince, of great natural faculties, here it was that he faw, and could alone learn how the regal government of a free people was conducted, and that under a prince of the houfe of Brunfwick. Gentlemen, having ftated thus much to you, I will now, for want of Suit. able expreffions, (for mine are very feeble) borrow from another; I certainhjr haVe formed an opinion upon this fubject precifely fimilar ; to deliver it in plain wprds would exhauft the utmoft of my powers, but I will borrow, the words of a very able writer, who has moft properly, for fear fome ill impref- fipn Should be made by this book on the weaker part of mankind in America-, given an anfwer to this book of Mr. Paine. That diftinguiShed gentleman, I have realbn to believe, though not the chief magiftrate in that country, is the fecond in the executive government of it; that is, he is fecond in the exer cife of the regal part of" the government of that country. He takes care to confute accurately what Mr. Paine fays with refpeft to America ; but borrow ing his viords, I beg to be understood, that this is my opinion of the workbe'- .fore you, and which I humbly offer for your confideration and adoption. — He fays, " his intention appears evidently to be, to convince the people of Great " Britain, that they have neither liberty nor a conftitution ; that their only pof- " fible means to produce thofe bleffings to themfelves, is to topple down bead- " long their prefent government, and follow implicitly the example of the " French." Gentlemen, the next paffage, which I beg to be underftood as mine, I wiSh I could exprefs it as well myfelf, is this -. — " Mr. Paine, in reply, cuts the " Gordian knot at once, declares the parliament of 1688 to have been down- " right USurpers, cenlures them for having unwifely fent to Holland for a " King, denies the existence of a BritiSh conftitution, and invites the people " of England to overturn their prefent government and to ereft another upon " the broad bafis of national fovereignty and government by reprefentation. " As Mr. Paine has departed altogether from the principles of the revolution, " and has torn up by the roots all reafoiiing from the British Constitution, by A P P E N D 1 *;' ifi " the denial Of its existence, it becomes neceffary to examine his work upoft " the grounds which he has chofen to affume. If we judge of the produc- " tion from its apparent tendency, we may call it an addrefs to the English " nation, attempting to prove that they have a right to form a new Condi- ** tution ; that it is expedient for them immediately to exercife that right, " and that in the formation of this Conftitution they can do no better than " to imitate the model fet before them by the French national affembly. *> However immethodical his production is, I believe the whole ef its argd- '' mentative part may be referred to thefe three points : If the fubject werje «' to affeft only the BritiSh nation, we might leave them to reafon and act *« for themfelves j but thefe are concerns equally important to all mankind j «' and the citizens of America are called upon, from' high authority, (he al- " ludes to a gentlfcman in a high fituation in that country; who has published «< an opinion of this bopk) to rally round the Standard of this Champion of «¦ revolutions. I fhall, therefore nbw proceed to examine the reafons ;" and fo he goes oh. Gentlemen, I Would adopt, with your permifiion, a few more words front this publication : — " When Mr. Paine invited the people of England to de- «• ftroy" their prefent government, and form another constitution, he Should «' have given them fober reafoning, and not flippant witticlfms." — Whether that is or not the cafe what I have read to you to-day will enable you to judge. " He Should have explained to them the nature of the grievances by " which they are Oppreffed, and demonstrated the impoffibility of reforming *' the government in its prefent organization; He Should have pointed out ".feme poffible method for them_to aft, in their original charafter; without *\ a total diffolution of civil fociety among them ; he Should have proved whafc " great advantages they would reap as a nation from filch a revolution, with- " without difguifing the great dangers and formidable difficulties with which •' it muft be attended." So.much for the paffages themfelves, and this in terpretation, which I hunibly fubmit to youn confideration. The next matter upon which I Shall proceed is the evidence which I pro pofe to adduce, and that evidence will gp tO Shew; not only the faft pf this man's being tlie writer of this boek; by his own repeated admiffipn, and by letters under his own hand, but will likewife go directly to (hew what is his intent in fuch publicatipn, which appears I think mpft clearly ; and pver and above that 1 Shall produce to you a Letter, which this man was pleafed to ad drefs to myfelf, in which Letter he avows himfelf in fo many wprds the aii- ihpr, and I Shall prove it to be his hand-writing ; and further than that, there is matter in that letter, apparently Shewing the intention with which that book was written, riamely, to vilify this constitution; and to injure this country irretrievably. Two other letters I Shall be under the neceffity of reading to you', Ih which He has ftated himfelf the author. The one is a letter to a perfon of the name of Jordan; in which he expreffes himfelf in this manner : " February 16, 1792," (that was the day on which the book was published) ** For your farisfaftion and my own I fend you the inclofed, though I do npt *•- apprehend there will be any occafion to ufe it : if in cafe there Should, you " will immediately fend a line for me, under cover, to Mr. Johnfon, St. " Paul's Church Yard, who will forward it to me, lippn which I fiiall come «* and anfwer perfenally for the work; fend alfo for Mr. Home Tooke. it 'T'^ pf'» The letter inclofed was this ; addreffed to the fame man; Jordan, the Book- feller. " Sir, Should any perfon, under the fanftion pf any kind of autho- " rity, enquire pf you refpefting the author and publisher of the Rights of « Man, you will, pleafe to mention me as the author and publisher of tfetS .«.*> .APPENDIX. " work, ' and Shew to fuch perfon this letter. I will, as foon as I am ac-> " quafoted with it, appear and anfw,er for the work perfenally." , Gentlemen, with reSpeft to his letter written to me, it is in thefe terms. Mr. Erskine., My Lord, the Attorney General States a letter in the hand writing of Mr. Paine, which eltabhfhes that he is the author. I defire lo JcnoW whether he means to read a letter which may be the fubjeft of a fub- ftantive and diftinft profecution ; I do not mean to difpute the publication, or even to, give him the trouble of proving the letters which he has juft ftated ; whether the Attorney, General will think it confident with the fituation in which he is' placed, at this moment, to read a letter written at a time long fubSequent to the publication; containing, as I understand (if I am mistaken in that I withdraw my objection') but containing diftinft: clear and unequi vocal libellous matter, and which I, in my addrefs to the Jury, if I am not deceived in what I have heaid, Shall admit to be upon every principle of the EngliSh Law a libel. Therefore, if that fhouki turn out to be the cafe, will your lordShip fuffer the mind of the jury to be entirely put afide from that matter, which is the fubjeft of the piolecution, and to go into matter which hereafter may be, and I cannot but fuppofe would be, if the defendant were within the reach of the law of this country, the fubjeft of a diftinft and in dependent profecution; Lord Kenyon. If that letter goes a jot to prove that he is the author of this "publication, I cannot rejeft that evidence ; in profecutions for high trea fon, where overtafts are laid, you may prove overt afts not laid to prove thofe1 that are laid ; if it goes to prove him the author of the book, I am bound to admit it. " Mr, Attorney General, The Letter is thus .- i Paris, nth of November, \fl Year of the Repuilic. *' Sir, as there can be no perfonal refentment between two Strangers, J " write this letter to you, as to a man againft whom I have no animofity. " You have, as Attorney General, commenced a profecution agaiinft me ¦' as the author of the Rights of Man. Had not my duty, in confequence " of my being elected a member of the National Convention of France, " called me from England, I should have Staid to have contested the injustice " of that profecution ; not upon my own account, for I cared npt abput the " profecution, but to defend the principles I had advanced in the work. " The duty I am now engaged in is of too much importance to permit me " to trouble myfelf about your profecution ; when I have leifure, I Shall have " no objeftion to meet you on that ground ; but, as I now Stand, whether " you go on with the profecution or whether you do not; or whether you ¦" obtain a verdift, or not, is a matter of the moft perfeft indifference to " me as an individual. If you obtain one (which you are welcome to if you " can get it), it cannot affeft me, either in perfon, property, or reputation, " otherwife than to increafe the latter ; and with refpeft to yourfell, it is as " consistent that you obtain a verdict againft the Man in the Moon, as againft " me ; neither do I fee how you can continue the profecution againft me as << you would have done againft one of your own people, who had abfented " himfelf becaufe he was profecuted ; what paffed at Dover, proves that my " departure from England was no fecret. " My neceffary ablence ftpm your country affords the opportunity of « knowing whether the profecution was intended againft Thomas Paine Or " againft the Rights of the People of England to inveftigate fyftems and " principles of government ; for as I cannot now be the object of the profe- " cution, the going on with the profecution will fhew that fomething elfe «¦ was the objeft, and that fomething elfe can be no other than the People of « England ; lor it is againft their Rights, and hot againft me, that a verdift APPENDIX. «f ct or fentence can operate, jf it can operate at all. Be then fo candid as to " tell the Jury (if you chufe to continue the procefs) whpm it is ypu are pro- f.' fecuting, and pn whpm it is that the verdift is to fall." ' Gentlemen, I certainly will comply with this requeft, I am profecuting both (him and his workj and if I fucceed in this profecution, he Shall never, return ,to this country otherwife than in vinculis, for I will outlaw him. " But I have other reafons than thofe I have mentioned for writing you ¦" this letter ; and however you may chufe to interpret them, they proceed ," from a good heart. The time, Sir, is becoming too ferious to play wjth y Court profecutions, and fport with national rights. The terrible examples " that have taken place here upon men, who lei's than a year ago, thought ." themfelves as fecure as any profecuting Judge, Jury, pr Attorney General, f can now do in England, ought to have fom,e weight with men in your ¦" fituation."" Now Gentlemen, I do not think that Mr. Paine judges very well of man kind— I do not think that it is a fair conclusion of Mr. Paine, that men fuch as you and myfelf, who. are quietly living in obedience to the laws of the ^and which they inhabit, exercifing their feveral fiinftions peaceably, arid I hope with a moderate Share of reputaion : I do not conceive that men called ^ipon to think, and in the habit of refieftion, are the moft likely men to be immediately thrown off the hinges by menaces and threats ; and I doubt whe ther men exercKing public functions, as you and I do in the face of our coun try, could have the courage to run away. All I can tell Mr. Paine is this— if any of his aSTaffins are here in London, and there is fome ground to fup pofe they may be, or the affaffins of thofe with whom he is connefted ; if they are here, I tell them, that I do in my confeience think, that for a man to die of doing his duty, is juft as good a thing as dying of a raging fever, or under the tortures of the ftone. Let him not think, that not to be an incen diary is to be a coward. He fays—" That the Government of England is as great, if not the greateft " perfeftion of fraud and corruption, that ever took place fince governments " began, is what you cannpt be a Stranger to ; unlefs the conftant habit of f* feeing it has blinded your fenfe."" • Upon my word, gentlemen, I am ftone blind, I am mot forry for it. — ;" But though you may not chufe to fee it, *f the people are feeing it very faft, and the progrefs is beypnd what ypu may «« chufe tp believe. Is it ppffible that ypu pr I can believe, pr that reafon " can make any pther man believe, that the capacity of fuch a man as Mr. «? Guelph, or any of his profligate fons, is neceffary to the government of a V nation." Now, gentlemen, with refpeft to this paffage, I have this to fay, it is con temptuous, fcandalous, falfe, cruel ;— Why, Gentlemen, is Mr. Paine, in adSitfon to the political deftfirtes that he is teaching us in this cpuntry ; Is he tp teach us the morality and religion, of Implacability ? Is he to teach human creatures, whpfe moments of "exiftence depend upon the permiffion of a* Being, merciful, long-fufFering and of great goodnefs, that thofe youthful errors from which eyeri royalty is not exempted are to be treafured up in a vindictive memory, and are to receive fentence of irremiflible fin at his hand's. Are they all to be confounded in thefe Slanderous terms, Shocking for Britiih ears to hear,' and I am fure diftre'Sling to their hearts ? He is a barba rian, who could u'fe fuch profligate expreffions uncalled for by any thing which cpuld be the object of his letter addreffed to me. If giving me pain was his ' objeft, he has that helli'Sh gratification. Would this man deftroy that great auxiliary of all human laws and constitutions — -" to judge of others as we would be judged ourfelves."— This is the bill of wrongs and infolts of the chriftian religion. I prefume it is confidered as that bill of wrongs and infolts in the heart pf that man whp can have the barbarity to ufe thofe expreffions and adctrels them "to me in a way by which I could not but receive them, 'l$S APPENDIX. Gentlemen, there is hot perhaps in the world a more beneficial analogy, nor a finer rule to judge by in public matters, than by afiimilating them to what paffes in domeftic life. — A family is a fmall kingdom, a kingdpm is a large fa mily : foppofe this to have happened in private life, judge of the gppd heart of this man, whp thrufts intP my hands, the grateful fervant pf a kind and beneficent mafter, and that tnp through the unavpidable trick pf the common poft Slander upon his whole offspring. Lay your hands upon your hearts, and tell me what is your verdict with refpect to his heart — I fee it ! Gentlemen, he has the audacity to fay, " I fpeak to you as one man ought to fpeak to another." Does he fpeak to me of thofe Auguft Perfonages as pne man pught tp fpeak tp another ? Had he fppken thnfe words tp me perfenally, I will hot anfwer for it, whether I Should not have forgot the duties of my office, and the dignity of my ftatiori, by being hurried into a violation of that peace, the breach of which I am compelled to punifh in others. He fays, " And I know alfo, that I fpeak, what other people are beginning to think. ** That you cannot obtain a verdift (and if yon do it will Signify nothing) " without packing a Jury, and 'that we both know that fuch tricks are1 prac- '• tiled, is what I have very good reafon to believe." Mentiris impudentiffime . —Gentlemen, I know of no fuch practice ; I know, indeed, that no fuch prac tice exifts, nor can exift ; I know the Very contrary of this to be true ; and I know too that this Letter, containing this dangerous falfehood, was deftined for future publication ; that I hate no doubt "of, and therefore I dwell thus long upon it. . " I have gone into coffee-houfes, and places where I was unknown, on pur- '* pofe to learn the currency of opinion." Whether the' fenfe pf this nation is to be had in fome pot-noufes and coffee-houfes in this town of his own thopfing, is a matter I leave tp ypur judgment. " And I never yet Saw any ** company of twelve men that condemned the book ; but I have often found " a greater number than twelve approving it ; and this I think is cifair way of " colleBing the natural currency of opinion. Do npt then, Sir, be the instrument " of drawing twelve men into a Situation that may be injurious to them after- " wards ;" injurious to them afterwards, thofe words fpeak for themfelves. He proceeds thus. "" " I do not fpeak this from policy," (what then ?) " but from" (gentlemen, I will give you a hundred gueffes) " benevolence ! but if you chufe to go *' on with the procefs, I make it 'my requeft that you would read this letter " in Court, after which the Judge and the Jury may do as they pleafe. As I *' do not confider myfelf the Objeft of the ' profecution, neither can I be af- " fefted by the iffue one way or the other, I Shall, though a foreigner in your " country, fubfcribe as much money as any other man towards fupporting •' the right of the nation againft the profecution ; and it is for this purpofe only «« that I Shall do if. — Thomas Paine." So it is a fubfcriptid'n defence you hear. " P. S. I intended, had I Staid in England, to have published the infor- " matipn, with my remarks uppn it," — that wpuld have been' a decent thing — " before the trial 'came on ; but as I am otherwife engaged, I referve my- '* felf till the trial is over, when I Shall reply fully to every thing you Shall " advance;" I hope in God he will not omit any one fingle word that I have uttered this day, or Shall utter in my future addrefs to you. This conceited menace I defpife, as I do thofe of a nature more cut-throat. Gentlemen, I do not think that I need to trouble you any further for the pre fent : according as you Shall be of opinion, that the neceifatily mifchievous tendency and intent of this book is that which I have taken the liberty (at more length than I am warranted perhaps) to ftate to you ; according as you, "' Shall or Shall not be of opinion, fo neceffarily' will be your verdift. I have done my duty in bringing before a jury an offender of this magnitude. Be the • APPENDIX +3» .event what it may, I fiave done my duty ; I am fatisfied with having placed this gr^at and flourishing cpmmunity under the powerful flyield of your prt»« teftion. EVIDENCE FOR THE CROWN. Thomas Haynei Sworn. [Examined by Mr. Bearerqft.'] ^Wliere did you get that book ? A. At Mr. Jordan's, in Fleet-ftreet,; O^When ? A. In the month of February, 1792. (It was put into Court.) Thomas Chapman fworn, [Examined by Mr. Solicitor General.^ Q^What bufinefs are you ? A. A Printer. Q;_Do you know the defendant, Thomas Paine ? A.. I do. Q;_Upori what occafion did you become acquainted with him ? A. On the recommendation of Mr. Thomas Chriftie. 1 Q^For what purpofe was he introduced to you, or you to him ? A. I was introduced to Mr. Paine, by Mr. Christie, to print fome bpok that he had. Q^When was that ? A. I cannot directly fay ; it was in the year 1791. Q;_What bpok was that ? A. The Firft Part of the Rights of Man._ Q^Are you a publisher as well as a Printer ? A. I am not ; merely a printer. Q^Did you print the Firft Part of the Rights of Man ? A. I did. O^Who was the felling bOok-feller of that book ? A. Mr. Jordan, of Fleet- ftreet. - Q^Had you any intercourfe with Mr. Jordan and Mr. Paine concerning that book ? A. I had. Qj_What was that intercourfe relative to ? A. To the manner of publish ing the bppk. Q^Did Jprdan in faft publish that book ?. A- He did. ., Q^Had you any intercourfe with Mr. Paine relative to the printing this iboofc which I have in my hand. (The Witnefs looks at it.) A. The firft edi tion of this book I had ; I don't think I printed this edition of it. I printed the firft edition of it, Q^Is that the Firft or Second Part ? A. The fecond part. I printeda part «f the Second Part. Mr. Erjldne. Can you fwear to that very book ? A- I cannot. Mr. Solicitor General. You fay you printed part of the Second Part of the Rights of Man ? A. Yes. Q^What part did you print ? A. I printed as far as page %\%, Signature H. Q^By Signature H, you mean the letter H, that is at the bottom of the .jiage.? A. .Yes. " Q^Upon whofe employment did you print fo much of the Second Part? A- Mr. Paine's. Qj_Did you print the reft of the work from letter to H the conclusion of it ? A. I have the copy in my poffeffiQn as far as 146, I think : the manufcript '.copy. t^Did you print as far as 14.fi, or ftop at 1 12, Signature H ? . A. I Slopped atii2; but my people had compofed to page 14.6, Whichwasnotprintedby me. (J^Had you any converfatlpn with Mr. Paine relative fo the printing the remainder of the work, and if you had, what was that converfation ? A. When I had finished page 112, or Sheet H, the proof Sheet I, came into my hand ; upon examining Sheet I, there was a part, which, in my weak judg ment, appeared of a dangerous tendency; I therefore immediately cpncluded in my mind not to proceed any farther in the work ; accordingly I wrote a Short pote to Mr. Paine ; this was about two o'clock in the afternoon, determining to fend a letter, with the remainder of the copy, I felt a degree of reluc tance from the circumftance of Mr. Paine's civilities that I had experienced as '44* APPENDIX. a gentleman and an employer; and I was fearful I fhould not have courage iri the morning to deliver up the copy ; but a circumftance occurred in the courfe of the day, which enabled me to do it with fatisfaftion to myfelf. I will relate the circumftance, if you will give me leave. Qj_WasMr. Paine prefent when that circumftance happened ? A. He was : and as it may, in the eyes of the Court, exculpate me from a charge that Mr. Paine has thought proper to bring againft me', I Shall efteem it a favour of the Court if they will fuffer me to mention every circumftance of that kind. — That very day at fix o'clock Mr. Paine called upon me. Q^Do you recolleft the day ? A. I have a copy of that letter, which is dated the 17th of January, fo that he muft have had called upon me on the 36th. Mr. Paine called upon me, and, as was rather unufual, at leaft to my knowledge, he was rather intoxicated by liquor. He had, I believe, that ¦day; dined with Mr. Johnfon, in Saint Paul's Church Yard. Being intox icated he introduced a fubject we have unfortunately differed on feveral times j the fubjeft of religion, a favourite fubjeft with him when intoxicated. I am forry to mention thefe' circumftances ; but as it will juftify me in the eyes of the public, as pait of the Appendix has done me material injury in my pro feffion. The i'ubjeft of debate ran very high ; he oppofed every thing with great virulence, till at length he came to perfonal abufe, very much fo, both to myfelf and Mrs. Chapman. An obfervation was made by Mrs.' Chapman, late in the evening, I believe near ten o'clock, at which Mr. Paine was particu larly offended ; rifing up in a great paffion, he faid he had not been fo perfbiS. ally affronted in the whole courfe of his life before. Mr. Erfkine. The information charges no offence like this. Court. This is no offence; it appearspnly at prelenttobe impertinent. Mr. Erfkine. I admit the publication, but I cannpt admit that letter. Mr. Solicitor General. Goon. Chapman. Mr. Paine accordingly rofe in a great paffion, declaring that, as I was a diffenter, he had a very bad opinion of diffenters in general ; he' be lieved them all tp be a pack pf hypocrites, and therefore he muft deal very cau- tioufly with them, and begged, therefore, that in the morning, before I pro ceeded any further in his work, we fhould have a fettlement. I felt a degree of pleafure in it, as It enabled me, with courage, next morning, to deliverup his copy, which I had before determined. I fent a letter next morning, inclofing tnewhole of his copy. He called upon me, and made many apologies for what he had faid : he faid that it was the effeft of liquor, and hoped that I would pafs it over, and proceed with the work ; but being determined pn the matter, I would not upon any account. Q;_And did you ftate to him the reafon why you would not go on with the Work? A. I did. The letter will Shew the reafon. Mr. Solicitor General. You have told us that Mr. Paine was your employ- '' cr, fo far as you did print. Did you ever make any offers tp any bpdy to buy the cppy of the Secpnd Part pf the Rights pf Man ? A. I did. Q^To whom ? A. To Mr. Paine. Q;_ When you made thefe offers, did he accept them or refufe them, or hpw did he treat the pffers ? A. I made him three feparate pffers in the different Stages pf the work ? the firft, I believe, was a hundred guineas, the fecond five hundred, and the laft was a thoufand. 1 Q^To thefe offers, what did Mr. Paine anfwer ? A. To the beft of my re collection, heanfwered, that as it was his indention to publish a fmall edition of ¦his work, he wifhed toreferve it in his own hands. Q^Have you feen this M'-. Painewrite? A. I have. Q^Do you think you know his hand writing ? A. I think I do. Q^Lookat that letter, (dated Feb. 16, 1792,) is that his handwriting? A-' I think it is. APPENDIX. 44.* Q/Lookat that (dated Feb. 16, 1791,) enclofed in the above? ' A. I think Aat is his hand writing. Q;_Look particularly at this Short npte, (dated April 21, 1792,) is that his handwriting? A. I believe it is. Q^Here is an order directed to youifelf, (dated Feb. 7. 1792,) look at that, is that his hand writing ? A. It is. Q^Look at that letter (dated June 29, 1791,) is that Mr. Paine's hand writing?' A. I believe itis. Q;_Look at that letter (the letter to the Attorney General, dated Paris, the 1 ith of Nov.) is that Mr. 'Paine's hand writing ? A. I cannot fpeak with. any certainty. Q^ Dp you believe that to be his handwriting? A. lam inclined to think itis. Thomas Chapman, crofs-examined by Mr.. Erfkine. Q^In the firft place, how often have yop feen Mr. Painewrite? A. I pre- fume a dozen times. Q^Did you ever look at him when he was writing, fo as particularly to ob serve how he formed his characters ? A. Decency would not fuffer me to look particularly. Q^I take for granted, that you did not at that time fuppofe you Should be called upon to prove his hand writing, and did not of courfe take any notice of *t- — Did you, upon your oath, look at it with a view of faying, I will fee how this man writes in order that I may know his writing again? A. I did not. QjJDId you ever fee any other writing than that you have defcribed ? A. No. Q- Then you are only inclined tp believe that laft letter is his hand writing J A. Yes. Mr. Solicitor General. Dp ypu believe that the laft letter is Ins hand writ ing ? A. I think it is. Mr. Erfkine. Do you mean tp fay, that you have a firmer belief of it now than you had a moment ago ? A. Yes. Q^ What has produced this change in your opinion ? A. By the manner of his Signature. Q^Had not you looked at his Signature before ? A. It ftruck me that there was Something particular in the manner of his writing his Signature. Q^Then1 you have a firmer belief now than you had a few minutes ago? A. Yes. The Letters read. " Feb. 7th, 92. " Mr. Chapman, pleafe to deliver to Mr. Jordan the remaining Sheets of •l the Rights pf Man. " THOMAS PAINE." " Feb. 16, 1792. " Fpr ypur fatisfaftion and my cwn, I fend ypu the enclofed, tho' I do not " apprehend there will be any occafion to ufe it ; if in cafe there fhould, you j* will immediately fenda line for me under cover, to Mr. Johnfon, St. Paul's {' Church- Yard, who will forward it to me, upon which I Shall come and an- " fwer perfonally for the work. — Send alfo to Mr. Home Tooke. " Mr. Jordan, " T. P." «« No. 166, Fleet-Street. "Sir, " peb- "6, "792-. " Should any perfon, under the fanftion of any kind of authority, enquire 1' of you refpefting the author and publisher of the Rights of Man, you will " pleafe to mention me as the author and publisher of that work, and Shew to «' Such perfon this letter. I will, as foon as I am made acquainted with it, *« appear and anfwer for the work perfonally. ' " Mr. Jordan, " Your humble Servant, V No. 166, Fleet-ftreet. << THOMAS PAINE.'! iH& A P P E N D 1 XV " Mr. JordaW, April it. 179*. " Pleafe to fettle the account pf the fale pf the pamphlets with Mr. Jehn- " fon, as I am at prefent engaged in getting forward anpther fmall work for •* publication. " Mr. Jprdan, " Your's, &c. " No. 1 66, Fleet-Street. " THOMAS PAINE." "Sir, London, June 29, 1792. " I have drawn on you. two drafts for one hundred and fifty pounds each, " one at feven days fight, the other at fourteen, payable' to Mr. Johnfon, or " order, for monies which he has advanced on my account, and bills which are " due, which drafts pleafe to pay, and place the fame to my account. " Mr. Jordan, ' " Yours, &c. « No. 166, Fleet-Street. .» THOMAS PAINE." "Sir, "Paris, lith of November, \ft year of the Republic. " As there can be no perfonal refentment between two Strangers, I write thife ." letter to you, as to a man againft whom I have no animoSIty, " You have, as Attorney General, commenced a profecution againft me, " as the Author of Rights of Man. Had not my duty, in confequence of my " being elected a Member of the National Convention of France, called me " from England, I Should have (laid to have contested the injustice of that " profecution ; not upon my own account, for I cared not about the profe- " cution, but tphave defended the principles I had advanced in the work. " The duty I am now engaged in is of too much importance to permit me " to trouble myfelf about your profecution : when I have leifure, I have no " objection to meet you on that ground ; but as I now Hand, whether you '' go on with the profecution, or whether you do- not, or wSether you " obtain a verdict, or npt, is a matter of the moft perfect indiffer- '¦'¦ ence to me ai an individual. If you obtain one (which you are wejcome '¦•' to, if you can get it) it cannot affect me either in perfon, property,, or " reputation, otherwife than to increafe the latter : and with refpeft *-' *o yourfelf, it is as confiflent that you obtain a verdict againft the " Man in the Moon as againft me : neither do I fee how you can continue " the profecution againft me as you would have done againft one of your own " people who had abfented himfelf becaufe he was profecuted : what paffed at " JOover proves that my departure from England was no fecret. " My neceffary abfence from your country now, in confequence of my duty " here, affords the opportunity of knowing whether the profecutipn was in- " tended againft Thpmas Paine, pr againft the Rights -of the people of Eng- " land to inveftigate fyftems and principles of government ; for as I cannot" " now be the objeft of the profecution, the going on with the profecution will " Shew that Something elfe was the objeft, and that fomething. elfe can be " no other than the people of England, for it is againft their rights, and not " againlt me, that a verdift or fentence can operate, if it can operate at all. '- Be then fo candid a9 to tell the jury (if you chufe to continue the procefs) " whom it is you are profecuting, and on whom it is that the verdict " is to fall. " But I have other reafons than thofe I have mentioned for writing you this " letter; and, however you may chufe to interpret them, they proceed from «• a good heart. Therime, Sir, is becoming, too ferious to play with Court " profecutions, and fport with National Rights. The terrible examples that " have, taken place here, . upon men who lefs than a year ago thought them- , " felves as fecure as any profecuting Judge, Jury, or Attorney General, can " now do in England, ought to have fome weight with men in your fituation. " That the .government of England is as great, if not the greateft, perfection " of fraud and corruption that ever took place fince governments began, is " what you cannot be a Stranger to, unlefs the conftant habit of feeing it has APPENDIX. 44S f blinded yotlf fenfes; but though you may not chufe tp fee it, the people U are feeing it very faft, and the progrefs is beyond what you may chufe to " believe. Is it ppffible that you, or I can believe, or that reaibn can make *' any Pther man believe, that the capacity pf fuch a man as Mr. Guelph, or " any of his profligate fons, is neceffary to the government of a nation ? I " fpeak to you as one man ought to fpeak to another ; and I know alfo, that " I fpeak what other people are beginning to think. " That you cannot obtain a verdift (and if you do it will fignify nothing) " without packing a jury, (and we both know that fuch tricks are praftifed) " is what I have very good reafon to believe. I have gone into coffee-houfes, f and places where I was unknown, on purpofe to learn the currency of opi- " nion, and I never yet faw any company of twelve men that condemned the " book ; but I have often found » greater number than twelve approving f It, and this I think is a fair way of collecting the natural currency of opi- *' nion. Do not then, Sir, be the instrument of drawing twelve men into a " fituatiort that may be injurious to them afterwards. I do not fpeak this f from policy, but from benevolence ; but if you chufe to go on with the " procefs, I make it my requeft to you that you will read this letter in " Court, after which the Judge and the Jury may do as they pleafe. As I ** do not confider myfelf the object of the prosecution, neither can I be af- " fefted by the iffue, one way or the other," I Shall though a foreigner in your " country, fubferibe as much money as any other man towards fupporting «' the right of the Nation againft the profecution; and it is for this purpofe « only that I Shall do it. THOMAS PAINE." ' " To Arch. Macdonald, Attorney General. " As I have not time to copy letters, you will excufe the corrections. " P.'S. I intended, had I Staid in England, to have published the infor- *' mation, with my remarks upon it, before the trial came on ; but,. as I am f< otherwife engaged, I referve myfelf till the trial is over, when I Shall reply f fully to every thing you Shall advance. T. P." Andrew Milne fwprn. [Examined by Mr. Bearcroft.\ Q. I believe you lived with Mr. Jprdan ? A. Yes. Q. When ? A. Abput this time twelvemonth. Q;_Did you at any time fee Mr. Paine at Mr. Jordan's ? A. Yes. Q^What was the bufinefs he came upon ? A. It was reipefting money principally. , '¦ Q^Did ypu ever gp tp the printers pf that bppk while it was in hand ? A. The Second Part I did. . Q^Did you go by the directions of any-body, and by whofe directions ? A. By Mr. Paine's direftiorts. ' Q. Had you occafion to fee him more than once ? A. Yes. Q^Did you at any time get an order from him to Mr. Crowder the printer? A. Yes, once in particular. Q^Was that before of after it was gone put pf the hands of Chapman ? A After 0. Did you ever fee him at Jordan's Shop, after it had been published more thanonce?' A. Yes. Q. Tell us the circumftances. A. Refpefting that note, in which he men tions Mr. Home Tooke, I was in the Shop at the time Mr. Paine came with Mr. Home Tooke to Mr. Jordan's, in the evening ; the converfation was irt the parlour ; I did not hear the cpnverfatfott, but1 1 knew pf it afterwards, j '-- Q. I dpn't afk ypu what ypu learned from any body elfe ; did you learh it -from Paine? A. No. ! Q. Did ypu fee any money paid by Jordan to Mr. Paine on account ot this ¦book ? A. Yes, 44f APPENDIX, John Purdue fworn. [Examined by Mr. Wood.'] Q^ Are ynu acquainted with Mr. Paine ? A. I was formerly. Onflow long ago ? A. I have not feen him fince he went to America. 0^_He was in the Excife ? A. He was in the Excife. Q^Are you acquainted with his hand writing ? A. Formerly I was. Q^Look at tliefe fetters, and Say, whether you believe them to be his !h;nd-writing ? A. I believe they all are. (The ExtraBs from the Libel read, as follows.) Page 192. " All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny. An heritable Crown, " or an heritable Throne, or by what other fanciful name fuch things may be " called, have no other Significant explanation than that mankind are heritable " property. To inherit a government, is to inherit the people, as if they " were flocks and herds !" Page 204. " This convention met in Philadelphia in May 1787, of which General " Washington was elefted prefident. He was not at that time connefted " with any of the State-governments, or with Congrefs. He delivered up his " commiffion when the war ended, and fince then had liyed a private citizen, ' " The convention went deeply into al! the fubjefts ; and having, after a " variety of debate and inveftigation, agreed among themfelves upon the feT " veral parts of a federal conftitution, the next queftion was, the manner of " giving it authority and praftice. " For this purpofe, they did not, like a cabal of courtiers, fend for a " Dutch Stadtholder, or a German Eleftor; but they referred the whole " matter to the fenfe and intereft of the country.'' Page 206,. f* The hiftory of the Edwards and Henries, and up to the commencement " of the Stuarts, exhibits as many inftances qf tyranny as could be afted " within the limits to which the nation had reftrifted it. The Stuarts en- "' deavoured to pafs thofe limits, and their fate is well known. . In all thofe " inftances we fee nothing of a constitution, but only reftriftions on affumed " power. " After this, another William, defcended from the fame Stock, and claim- " ing from the fame origin, gained poffeSIion ; and of the two evils, James " and William, the nation preferred what it thought the leaft; fince, from " circumftances it muft take one. The aft, called the Bill of Rights, comes " here into view. What is it but a bargain, which the parts of the Govern^ «' ment made with each other to divide powers, profits, and privileges ? You " ftiall have fo much, and I will have the reft; and with refpect to the na- " tion, it faid, for your flare, you Jhall have the right of petitioning. This " being the cafe, the Bill of Rights is more properly a bill of wrongs, and " of infult. As to what is called the Convention Parliament, it was a thing *' that made itfelf, and then made the authority by which it afted. A " few perfons got together, and called themfelves by that name. Several of « them had never been elefted, and none of them for the purpofe. " From the time of William, a fpecies of government arofe, iffuing out of «« this coalition Bill of Rights ; and more fo, fince the corruption introduced «' at the Hanover fuceeffion , by the agency of Walpole, that can be defcribed «' by no other name than a defpotic legislation. — Though the parts_ may em- " barrafs- each other, the whoje has no bounds; and the only right it ac- «' knowledges out of itfelf is the right of petitioning. Where then is the «' Conftitution either that gives or that restrains power? " It is not becaufe a part of the government is eleftive, that makes it lefs «« a defpotiSin, if the perfons fo elefted, poffeSs afterwards,, as a parliament, APPENDIX. 44.5 " unlimited powers. Eleftion, in this cafe, becomes fepafated from repre* " fentatfon, and the candidates are candidates for defpotifm. Page 209. " The intentfon pf the Gpvernment pf England, (for I rather chufe to call " it by this- name than the Englith Government) appears, Since its political " connexion with Germany, to have been fo completely engroffed and abforb- " ed by foreign affairs, and the means of raifing taxes, that it feems tp exift a< for no other purpofes. Domeftic concerns are neglected; and with refpeft; " to regular law there is fcarcely fuch a thing." Page 211. Note. " With refpeft to the two Houies, of which the EngliSh Parliament is com- " pofed, they appear to be effeftually influenced into pne, and, as a legifla- " ture, tp have np temper pf its own. The Minifter, whoever he at any " time may be, touches it, as with an opium wand, and it Sleeps obedience." " But if we lopk at the diftinft abilities pf the twp Hpufes, the difference " will appear fo great, as tp Shew the inconfiftency cf placing ppwer where '* there can be no certainty cf the judgment to ufe it. Wretched as " the State of reprefentation is in England, it is manhood compared with " what is called the Houfe of Lords ; and fo little is this nicknamed Houfe " regarded, that the people fcarcely enquire at any time what it is doing. " It appears alfo to be molt under influence, and furtheft removed from the " general intereft of the nation." Page 232. " Having thus glanced at fome of the defects of the two Houfes of Parlia- " ment, I proceed to what is called the Crown, upon which I Shall be very *' concife. " It Signifies a nominal office of a million Sterling a year, the bufinefs of " which confifts in receiving the money. — Whether the perfon be wife or " fooliSh, fane or infane, a native or a foreigner, matters not. Every minif- •* try afts upon the Same idea that Mr. Burke writes, namely, that the people " muft be hoodwinked, and held in fuperftitious ignorance by fome bugbear " or other ; and what is called tlie Crown anfwers this purpofe, and there- " fore it anfwers all the purpofes to be expefted from it. This is more than " can be Said of the other two branches. The hazard to which this cffice is " exppfed in all countries, is not from any thing that can happen to the man, " but from what may happen to the nation — the danger of its coming to its " fenfes." Page 236. Note. " I happened ts be in England at the celebration of the centenary of the " revolution of 1688. The characters of William and Mary have always " appeared to me detestable; the one feeking to deftroy his uncle, and the " other her fatlier, to get poffeffion of power themfelves ; yet, as fhe nation ". was difpofed to think Something of that event, I felt hurt at feeing it *: afcribe the whole reputation of it to a man who had undertaken it as a job, " and who, befides what he otherwife got, charged 6oo,oool. for the expence " of the little, fleet that'biought him from Holland. George the Firft afted " the fame clofe-rilled' part as. William had done, and bought the Duchy of " Bremii) with the money he got from England, 2.50,000!. oyer1 and above " his pay as'King ; and having thus purcbafed it at the expense of England, " added it to his Hanoverian dominions for his own private profit. In fact, " every nation that does not govern itfelf, is governed as a job. England « has been the prey of jobs ever fince the revolution." Page 255. " The fraud, hypocrify, and impofition of governments, are now begin- " ning to be too well underftood to promife them any longer career. The " farce of monarchy and ariftocracy, in all countries, is following that of 446 APPEND I X. " chivalry; and Mr. Burke is dreffing for the funeral. Let it fheh pafs qfuT- " edy to the tomb of all other follies, and the mourners be comforted. " The time is not very distant when England will laugh at herfelf for fend- '* ing to Holland, Hanover, Zell, or Brunfwick for men, at the expence of a " million a year, who underftood neither her laws, her language nor her in- " tereft, and whofe capacities would fcarcely have fitted them for the office of " pariih conftable. If government could be fruited to fuch hands, it muft be " Some eafy and fimple thing indeed, and materials fit for all the purpofes 41 may be found in every town and village in England." The end of the Evidence for the Crown. THE HONORABLE THOMAS ERSKINE. Gentlemen of the Jury. The Attorney-General, in that part of his addrefs. which arole from a letter; foppoied to have been written to him from France, exhibited figns' of ftrong feniibility and emotion. I do not, I am fure, charge him with afting a part to feduce you ; oh the contrary I am perfuaded from my owri feelings, and from my acquaintance with my friend from our child hood upwards, that he Cxpreffed himfelf as he felt. But, Gentlemen, if he felt thofe painful embarraSfments, think what mine, muft be: he can only feel for the auguft Charafter whom he reprefents in this place, as a fubjeft for his Sovereign, too fat removed by cuftom, and by law, from the intercourfes which generate affections, to produce any other fentiments than thofe that flow from a relation common to US all.. But it will be remembered that I ftand in the fame relation* towards another Great Perfon, more deeply impli cated by this fuppofed letter ; who, nOt restrained from the cultivation of perfonal attachment by thofe qualifications which muft always fecure them, has exalted my duty of a fubjeft to a Prince, into a warm and honeft affec tion betveen man and man. Thus circumstanced I certainly Should have been! glad to have had an earlier opportunity of knowing correctly the contents of this' letter, and whether (which I positively deny) it proceeded from the defendant.' Coming thus fuddenly upon us, I fee but too plainly the impreffion it has made upon you who are to try the Caufe, and I Seel its weight upon myfelf, who am to conduct it; but this Shall neither detach me from my duty, nor, added to all the other difficulties that thicken around me,' enervate me (if I can help it) in the difcharge of it. Gentlemen, if the Attorney General is will founded iff the commentaries' he has, made to you upon this book which he p'rofecutes ; if he is warranted by the law of England, in repreffing its circulation through thefe realms, fiom trie illegal and dangerous matters' contained in it: if that fiippreifioii be, as he avows it, atid as in common fenfe it muft be, the fole object of the profecu tion, the public has great reafon to lament that this letter Should have been at all brought into the lervice of the caufe : it is no" part of the charge upon the record ; it had.no exiftence for months after the work was compofed and pub- lilhed ; it was not even written, if written at all, till after he had been at Dover, in a manner infultingly expelled from the country by the influericS of government, and had become the fubjeft of another country.' It cannot," therefore, by any fair inference, even decypher the mind of the author when he compofed his work ; ftill lefs can it affect the conftru.6tion of the language in which the work itfelf is written^ The introduction of this 'letter at all is, therefore, not only a departure from the charge, but a fort of dereliftion of the objeft of the profecution, which is to condemn the book i for if the condemnation of the author is to be obtained, not by the. work itfelf, but by collateral matter not even existing when it was Written, nor known to its various publishers throughout the kingdom, how can a verdict upon foeli * Mr, Erfkine is Attorney.Geueral to the Prince of Wale*, A P P E N D I X.V 447 grounds condemn the work, or criminate other publishers, ftrangers to the collateral matter pn which the conviction may be obtained ? I maintain therefore, that, upon every principle pf found policy, as it affefts the intereft of the crown, and upon every rule of juftice, as it affefts the author of the Rights of Man, the letter ihpuld be whelly dii'miffed from ypur confideratipn. Gentlemen, the Attprney General has> thpught it neceffary tp inform ypu, that a rumpur had been fpread, and had.reached his ears, that he only carried on the profecution as a public proSecutor, but withoutthe concurrence of his own private judgment ; and therefore to add the jult weight of his. own cha rafter to his public duty, and to repel what he things a calumny, he tells ypu that he Shpuld have deferved tp have been driven from fociety, if he had npt arraigned the wprk and the authpr before you. Here too we Hand in fituations very different. I have no doubt of the ex iftence of fuch a rumour, and of its having reached his ears, becauS'e he fays fo ; but for the narrow circle in which any rumour, perfonally implicating my learned friend's charafter, has extended, I might appeal to the multitudes who furround us, and afk, which of all them, except the few connefted in office with the crown, ever heard of its exiftence. But with regard to myfelf, eve ry man who hears me at this moment, nay, the whole People of England, have been witneffes to the calumnious clamour that, by every art, has been raifed and kept up againft me : In every place, where bufinefs or pleafiire colleft the public together, day after day my name and charafter have been the topics of injurious reflection. And for what— only for npt having Shrunk from the discharge of a duty which no perfonal advantage recommended, and which a thoufand difficulties repelled. But, gentlemen, I have np cpinplaint to make, either againft the printers of thefe libels, nor even againft their authors ; the greater part of them, hurried perhaps away by honeft prejudices, may have believed they were ferving their country by rendering me the objeft of its fuf picion and contempt ; and if there have been atnonglt them pthers whp have mixed in it from perfonal malice and unkindnefs, I thank God I can forgive them alfo. 'Little indeed did they knpw me, who thought that Such pro- ' ceedings would influence my conduft : I will for ever, at all hazards, affert the dignity, independence, and integrity of the English Bar ; without which, impartial juftice, the moft valuable part of the EngliSh conftitution, can have no exiftence. For, from the moment that any advocate can be permitted to Say, that he will or wiU not Stand between the crown, and a fubjeft arraigned in the ccurt where he daily fits tp praftife, from that moment the liberties of England are at an end. If the advocate refufes to defend, from what he may think of the charge or of the defence, he affumes the charafter of the judge ; nay, he affumes it before the hour of judgment ; and, in proportion to his rank and reputation, puts the heavy influence of, perhaps, a mistaken opinion into tlie fcale againft the accufed, in whofe favour the benevolent principle of Eng lifh law makes all prefumptions, and which commands the very Judge to be his Counfel. Gentlemen, it is now my duty to addrefs myfelf regularly and without d!- greflion to the defence. And the firft thing which prefents itfelf in the dif- cuffion of a judicial S'ubjeft, and indeed of every other, is to Hate diftinftly, and" with precision, what the queftion is, and (where prejudice and misrepre sentation have been exerted), to distinguish it accurately from what it is not. The queftion then is NOT whether the conftitution of our fathers, under which we live under which I prefent myfelf before you,, and under .which afene you have any jurifdiftion to hear me, — >be or be not preferable to the constitution of America orFrance, or any other human conftitution. For upon what princi ple can a court, constituted by the authority of any government, and admi nistering a pofitive S'v (km of law under it, pronounce a deciliou againft the coa- 44« APPENDIX. ftitution which creates its authority ; or the rule of action which its jurifdic- tion is to enforce ? The common fenfe of the moft uninformed perfon muft re- vplt at fuch an abfurd fuppofition. I have no difficulty, therefore, in admitting, that if by accident fome or all, of you were alienated in opinion and affection from the forms and principles of the EngliSh government, and were impreSTed with the value of that unmixed reprefentative constitution which this work recommends and inculcates, you could not; on that account, acquit the defendant. Nay, to fpeak out plainly, 1 freely admit, that even if you were avowed enemies to monarchy, and de voted to republicanism, you would be neverthelefs bound by your oaths, as a jury fworn to administer EngliSh juftice, to convift the author of the Rights of Man, if it were brought home >o your consciences, that he had exceeded thofe widely extended bounds which the ancient wifdom and liberal policy of the EngliSh conftitfition have allotted to the range of a free prefs. I freely concede this, becau.'e you have no jurifdiftion to judge either the author or the work, by any rule 'out by the Englifh law, Which is the fource of your authority. But having made this large conceffion, it follows, by a confequence fo inevit able as to be invulnerable to all argument or artifice, that if, on the other hand, you fhould be impreSTed (which I know you to be) not only with a dutiful re gard, but with an enthufiafm, for the whole form and fubflance of your own government ; and though you Should think that this work, in its circulation amongft claffes of men unequal to political refearches, may tend to alienate opinion, ftill you cannot, upon thefe grounds, without a fimilar breach pf duty, convift the defendant of a libel, unlefs he has clearly Stepped beyond that ex tended range of communication which the lame ancient wifdom and liberal policy of. the British constitution has allotted Sor the liberty of the prefs. Gentlemen, I admit, with the Attorney General, that in every cafe where a court has to eftimate the quality of a writing, the mind and intention of the writer muft be taken into the account ; the bona, or mala Sides, as lawyers exprefs it, muft be examined : for a writing may undoubtedly proceed from a motive, and be directed to a purpofe, not to be decyphered by the mere con struction of the thing written. But wherever a writing is arraigned as fediti ous or Slanderous, not upon its ordinary conftruftion in language, nor from the neceffary confequences of its publication, under any circumftances and at all times, but that the criminality fprings Srom Some extrinfic matter, not vifible upon the page itfelf, nor univerfally operative, but capable only of being con - Hefted with it by evidence, fo as to demonstrate the effeft of the publication, and the defign of the publisher ; fuch a writing, not libellous PER SE, cannot be arraigned as the authoi's work is arraigned upon the record before the court. 1 maintain, without the hazard of contradiction, that the law of England po- litively requires, for the fecurity of the fubjeft, that every charge of a libel complicated with extrinfic fafts and circumftances, dehors the writing, muft ap pear literally upon the record, that the defendant may know what crime he is called upon to anfwer, and how to Stand upon his defence. What crime is that the defendant comes tp antwer for tp-day ? what is the nptice that I, who am his counfel, have from this parchment of the crime alleged againft him ? I come to defend his having written this book. The record States nothing elfe: the charge of fedition in the introduction is notoripufly paper and pack thread, and the innuendps cannpt enlarge the fenfe, pr natural cunilruction of the text. The record does not ftate any one extrinfic faft pr circumftance, to render the work criminal, at pne time more than another; it Slates no pecu liarity of time, or feafon, or intention, not proveable from the writing itfelf which is the naked charge upon record. There is nothing therefore which, upon any principle of English law, gives you any jurifdiftion beyond the con struction of the work itfelf; and you cannot be justified in finding it criminal APPENDIX. *4* becaufe published at this time, unlefs it would have been a criminal publication) Under any circumftances, pr at any pther time. The law pf England then, bpth in its forms and fubftance, being the pnly ruleby which the author or the work can be justified or condemned, and the Charge upon the record being the naked charge of a libel, the caufe refolves it felf into a queftion of the deeped impprtance to us all, the nature and ex tent of the liberty of the engush press. But before I enter upon it, I wiSh to fulfil a duty to the defendant, which, if dp npt deceive myfelf, is at this mement peculiarly neceffary tu his impartial trial. — If an advpcate entertains Sentiments injuripus tu the defence he' is enJ. gaged in, he is net pnly juftifie I, but bpund in duty, to conceal them ; fo, on the Pther hand, if his own genuine fentiments, or any thing connefted with his charafter or fituation, can add Strength to his profeffipnal affiftance, he is bpund tp throw them intp the fcale : in addreffing myfelf, therefore, to gentlemen not only zealous for the honour of Englifh government, but visibly1 indignant at any attack upon its principles, and who would, perhaps be impai tient of arguments from a fofpefted quarter, I give my client the benefit of declaring, that I am, and ever have been, attached to the genuine principles; of the BritiSh government; and that, however the court or you may reject the application, I defend him upon principles not only confident with its perma nence and fecurity, but, without the eftabliShment of which, it never could have had an exiftence. - The proposition which I mean to maintain as the bafis of the liberty of the prefs", and Without which it is an empty found, is this : That every man, not intending to mislead and to confound, but feeking to enlighten others with what his own reaSbn and confcience, however errone ously, diftate to him as truth, may addrefs himfelf to the univerfal reafon of a whole nation, either upon' the fubjeft of governments in general, or upon that of our own particular country = that he may analyfe the principles of its conftitution, point out its errors and defefts, examine and publish its cortup- tions, warn his fellow-citizens againft their ruinous confequences, and exert his whole faculties in pointing out the moft advantageous changes in eftabliSh- ments which he considers to be radically defective, or Sliding from their object by abufe. — All this every fubject of this country has a right to do, if he con templates only what he thinks its happinefs, and but feeks tp change the pub - lie mind'by the conviction which flows from reafonings dictated by confcience. If, indeed, he writes what he does not think ; if contemplating the mifery of others, he wickedly condemns what his own underftanding approves ; or, even admitting hi3 real difguft againft the government or its corruptions, if he calumniates living magifirates, or holds out to individuals, that they have a right to run before the public mind in their conduft ; that they may oppole by contumacy or force what private reafon only difappioves ; that they may difobey the law, becaufe their judgment condemns it ; or refill thepublic will, becaufe they honeilly with to change it : he is then a criminal upon every prin ciple of rational policy, as well as'upon the immemorial precedents ot Eng lish juftice; became fuch a perfon feeks to difunite individuals from their duty to the whole, and excites to overt afts of mifconduft in a part of the commu nity, inftearf of endeavouring to change, by the impulfe of reafon, that uni verfal affent which, -in this and in every country, constitutes the law for all. I have therefore no difficulty in admitting that, if, upoii an attentive per- ufal of this work, it fiiall be found that the defendant has promulgated any doctrines which tend to withdraw individuals from their fubjeftion to the law by which the whole nation confents to be governed ; nay, if the direft con trary Shall not be found to be ftudioufly inculcated— if his book Should b« found to have warranted or excited that unfortunate criminal who appeared here yefteiday to endeavour to relieve himfelf froni. imprifonment, by'tiveds-! 45T APPENDIX. ftrtiction of a prifon, while thfe law of imprifonment remained, of dictated to him the language of defiance which ran through his whole defence — if through out the whole work there Shall be found any fyllable or letter, which Strikes at the fecurity of property, or which hints that any thing lefs than the whole nation can dbnftitute the law, or that the law, be what it in ly, is not the inexprable rule of aftion for every individual, I willingly yield him up to the juftice of the court. Gentlemen, I fay, in the name of Thomas Paine, and in his words as au thor of the Rights of Man, as written in the very volume that is charged with feeking the deftruftion of property, ' " The end of all political affociations is, The prefervation of the rights " of man, which rights are liberty, property, and fecurity ; that the na- *• tion is the fource of all fovereignty derived from it : the right of proper- *' ty being fecureJ and inviolable, no one ought to be depiived of it, except " in cafes of evident public neceffity, legally afcertained, and on condition, " of a previous juft indemnity." Thefe are undoubtedly the rights of man — the rights for which all govern ments are eftabJifhed— -and the only rights Mr. Paine contends for; but which he thinks (no matter whether right or wrong) are better to be fecured by a republican constitution than by the forms of the EngliSh government. He instructs me to admit, that, when government is once constituted, no indivi duals, without rebellion, can withdraw their obediehce from it — that all at tempts to excite them to it are highly criminal, for the moft obvious reafons of policy and juftice — that nothing Jhort of the will of a whole people can change or affect the rule by which a nation is to be governed — and that no pri vate opinion, however honeftly inimical to the forms or fubjtance of the law, can juftify refiftance to its authority, while it remains in force. The au thor of the Rights of Man not only admits the truth of all this doftrine, but he conlents to be convicted, and I alfo confent for him, unlefs his work Shall be Sound StndiouSly and painfully to inculcate thefe great principles of govern ment which if is charged to have been written to deftroy.— Let me not, there fore, be fufpefted to be contending, that it is lawful to write a book pointing out defefts in the Englifh government, and exciting individuals to deftroy its fanftions, and to refute obedience. But, orj the other hand, I do contend, that it is lawful to addrefs the EngliSh nation on thofe momentous fubjefts, for bad it not been for this unalienable right (thanks be to God and our fathers for establishing it), how Should we have had this conftitution which we. fo loudly boait of? If, in the march of the human mind, no man could have gone before the establishments of the time he lived in, how could our eftabliShment, by reiterated changes, have become what it is ? If no man could have awaken ed the public mind to errors and abufes in our government, how Could it have: paffed on from ftage to ftage, through reformation and revolution, fo as to have arrived from barbarifm to fuch a pitch qf happinefs and perfection that the Attorney General confiders it as a profanation to touch it any further, or to look for any future amendment ? In this manner power has reafoned in every age — government, in its ovik eftimation, has been at all times a fyftem of perfeftion ; but a free prefs has ex amined and detected its errors, and the people have happily reformed them : this freedom hss alone made our government what it is, and alone can pre ferve it ; ancl therefore, under the banners of that freedom, to-day I (land up to defend Thomas Paine. — But how, alas! fhall this tafk be accomplished? How may I expect from you what human nature has not made man for the performance of ? How am I to addrefs your reafons, or aSk them to paufe, amidft the torrent of prejudice which has hurried away the public mind on the fubjeft you are to judge ? l Was any Englishman ever fo brought as a criminal before an EngliSh court of juftice ?— If 1 were to aft; you, gentlemen of the jury, what is the choiceft APPENDIX. «t fruit that grows upon the tree of Englifh liberty, you would anfwer, securi ty under the law. If I were tp aSk. the whple pepple of England, the return they looked for at the hands of government, for the burthens under which they bend to lupport it, I Shall ftill he anfwered, security under; the Law ; or, in other words, an impartial administration of juftice. So fa- tred, therefore, has the freedom of trial been ever held in England ; fo anxi- ouSly does Juftice guard againft every poffible bias in her path, that if the public mind has been locally agitated upon any fubjeft in judgment, the forum is either changed, or the trial postponed. The circulation of any paper that brings, or which can be fuppofed to bring, prejudice, or even well founded knpwledge, within the reach pf a BritiSh tribunal, pnthefputof an occafion, is. not only highly criminal, but defeats itfelf, by leading to put pff the trial which its objeft was to pervert. On this principle, his lordShip will permit me to remind him, that on the trial of the Dean of St. Afaph for a libel, or rather when he was brought to trial, the circulation of books by a fociety fa vourable to his defence, was held by the noble lord, as Chief Juftice of Chefter, to be a reafon for not trying the caufe ; although they contained no matter re lative to the Dean, nor to the objeft of his trial ; being only extrafts from an cient authors of high reputation, on the general rights of juries to confider the innocence as well as the guilt of the accufed, yet (till, as the recollection "of thefe rights were preffed forward with a view to affeft the proceedings, to guard the principle the proceedings were poftponed. Is the defendant then to be. the only exception to thefe admirable provisi ons ?*^>Is the EngliSh law to judge him, ftript of the armour with which its wiivei'Sal juftice encircles all others ?— Shall we, in the very aft of judging him for detracting from the Englifh government, furnifh him with ample matter for juft reprobation) inftead of detraction ? Has not this caufe been prejudg ed through a thoufand channels ? Has not the work before you been daily pub-. }y reviled; and his perfon held up to deriiion and reproach ? Has not the pub lic mind been excited, by crying down the very phrafe and idea of the Rights of Man ^ Nay, have not affociations of gentlemen, I Speak it with regret, becaufe I am pel'foaded, from what I know of Come of them, that they, amongft them at leaft, thought they were ferving the public ; yet have they not-, in utter contempt and ignorance of that conftitution of which they de clare themfelves to be the guardians, published the groffeft attacks upon the defendant? Have they not, even while the caufe h;s been Handing here in the paper for immediate trial, published a direft proteft againft the Very work now before you ; advertising in the fame paper, though under the general deferip- rion of feditious papers, a reward on the cpnviftipn pf anyperlbn who Should idare to fell the book itfelf, to which their own publication was an anfwer ? —-The Attorney-General has fpoken of a forced circulation of this work; but how have thefe prejudging papers been circulated ? we all know how : they have been thrown into our carriages in every ftreet ; they have met us at every turnpike ; and tbey lie in the areas of all our houfes. To complete the tri umph of prejudice, that high tribunal, of which I have the honour to be a member, (my learned friends know what I fay to be true) has been drawn into this vortex of Slander ; and fome of its members, for I do not fpeak of the houfe itfelf, have thrown the weight of their Stations into the fame fcale. By all means I maintain that this caufe has been prejudged. It may be faid, that I have made np motion to put off the trial for thefe caufes, and that courts of themfelves take no cognizance of what paffes elfe where, without fafts laid before them. Gentlemen, I know that I Should have had equal juftice from that quarter, if I had brought myfelf within the rule. But when Should I have been better in the prefent afpeft of things? And therefore I only remind ypu of all thefe hardships, that you may recollect that your judgment is to proceed upon that alone which meets you here, upon G s s 4S* A P P. E :N D". I XV the evidence in the caufe, andnot upon fuggeftions deftruftive'of every prlif. ciple of juftice. Having difpofed' of thefe foreign prejudices, I hppe you will as little regard!' feme arguments that have been offered to you in court. The letter which hatf been So repeatedly preffed upon you, you ought to difmifs even from your re-4 collection ; I have already put it out of the queftion, as having been writtew long fublequent to the book, and as being a libel on the king, which no part Of the information charges, and which hereafter may be profecuted as -a dif tinft offence. I confider that letter befides, and indeed have always heard it' treated as a forgery, contrived to injure the merits of the caufe,. and to em- barrafs me perfonally in its defence.' I- have aright fo to confider it, becaufe it is unfupported by any thing fimilar at an early period. The defendant's whole deportment, previous to the publication, has been wholly unexcepti onable -. he properly denied to be given up as the author of the book, if any enquiry fhould fake place concerning it ;' and he is not affefted in evidence, direftly or indirectly, with any illegal or fufpicious conduct ; not even with- having uttered an indifcreet or taunting expreffion, nor with any one matter or thing, inconfiftent w.th the duty of the beft fubject in England. His opi nions indeed were adverfe to our fyftem ; but I maintain that OTINION is free, and that conduct alone is amenable to the law. You are next defired to judge of the author's mind and intention, by the modes and extent pf the circulation of his work. The firft part of the Rights- of Man, Mr. Attorney-General tells ypu, he did nut profecute, although it was in circulation through the country for a year and a half together, becauSe it Seems it circulated only amongft what he ftiles the judicious part of the public, who ppffeffed in their capacities and experience an antidpte tp the pblfon ; but that with regard to the fecond part now before you, its circulation has been forced into every corner of fociety j had been printed and reprinted for cheapnefs even upon whited brown paper, and had crept into the very niir- feries of children, as a wrapper for their Sweetmeats-. In anfwer to this Statement, which after all Stands only upon Mr. Attorney General's own affertion, unfupported by any kind of proof (no witnefs hav ing proved the author's perfonal interference with the fale), I ftill maintain, that if he had the moft anxioufiy promoted it, the queftion would remain ex actly the fame : the queftion would ftill be, whether at the time when Paine " compofed his work, and promoted the moft extenfive purchafe of it, he be-' lieved or disbelieved what he had written, and whether he contemplated the ' happinefs or mifery of the EngliSh nation, to whish it is addreffed ; and whichever of thefe intentions may be evidenced to your judgments upon reading' the book itfelf, I confefs I am utterly at a lofs to comprehend how a writer • can be fuppofed to mean fomething different from what he has written, by an anxiety (common I believe to all authors) that his work Should be generally ' read. Remember, I am not afking your opinions of the doBrines themfelves, you have given them already pretty vifibly Since I- began to addrefs you ; but I Shall • appeal not only to you, but to thofe who, without our leave, will hereafter judge without appeal of all that we are doing to-day; Whether, upon the matter which I haften to lay before you, you can refufe injustice to pronounce, that from his education — horn the accidents and habits of his life — from the time and occafion of the publication— from the circumftances attending it — and from every line and letter of the work itfelf, and all his other writings, before and even fince his confcience and underftanding (nO matter whether er- ronemifly or not) were deeply and folemnly impreSTed with the matters contained • in this book., that he addreffed it fo the reafon of the. nation at large, and not to the paffions of individuals, and that in the iffue of its influence, he APPENDIX. *53 tontemplated only what appeared to him (though it may not to us) to be the in tereft and happinefs of England, and of the whole human race. In drawing the one or the other of thefe conclufions, the book ftands firft iii order, and it ihall now fpeak for itS'elf. Gentlemen, the whole of it is in evidence before you ; tlie particular parts arraigned having only been read by my confent, upon the prefomption that on retiring from the court, you would carefully compare them with the con-i text and all the parts with the whole viewed together. " You cannot indeed do juftice without it. The moft common letter, even in the ordinary courfe .of bufinefs, cannot be read in a caufe to prove an obligation for twenty Shil lings .without the whole being read, that the writer's meaning may be feen' without deception. But in a criminal charge of only four pages and a half, out af .a work containing nearly two .hundred, you cannot, with even the ap-" pearance of cpmmpn juftice, pronounce a judgment without the molt delibe-" .rate and cautious comparifon. I obferve that the noble and learned judge' confirms me in this obfervation. But if any given part of a work be legally explanatory of every other part of if, the preface, a fortiori, is the moft ma terial ; becaufe the preface is the author's own key to his writing : it is there that he takes the reader by the hand, and introduces him to his fubjeft : 'it is there that the fpirit and intention of the whole is laid before him by way' of prolpgue. A preface is meant by the authpr as a clue to ignorant, or care- leSs readers : the author fays by it, to every man who choofes to begin Where he ought, l&ok at my plan— attend to my distinctions— mark the purpofe and ' limitations of the matter I lay before you. Let then the calumniators of Thomas Paine now attend to his preface, ' where, to leave no excufe for ignorance or mifreprefentation, he expreffes him felf thus : " I have differed from fome profeffional gentlemen on the fubjeft of profe-' *' cutions, and I fince find they are falling into my opinion, which I will *' here State as fully, but as cqncifely as I can. " I will firft put a cafe with refpeft to any law, and then compare it with a «' government, or with what in England is, or has been, called a constitution. " It would bean act of defpotifm, or what in England is called arbitrary " " power, to make a law to prohibit investigating the principles, good Or bad, f' on which fuch a law, or any other, is founded. " If E law be bad, it is one thing to oppofe the praftice of it, but it is ' " quite a different thing to expofe its errors, tp reafon on its defefts, and to ' "Shew caufe why it Should be repealed, or why another ought to be fobfti- " tuted in Its place. I have always held it an opinion (making it alfo my " practice) that it is better to obey a bad law, making ufe at the fame time " of every argument to Shew its errors and procure, its repeal, than forcibly " *f to violate if; becaufe the precedent of breaking a bad law might weaken *' the force, and lead to a difcretionary violation, of thofe which are gopd. " The cafe Is the fame with principles and forms of gpvernnient, pr tp what e' are called cpnftitutfons and the parts pf which they are cpmppfed. " It is for the gpod pf nations, and not for the emolument or aggrandize- " ment of particular individuals, that government ought to be eftabltfhed, " and that mankind are at the expence of fupporting it. The defects of every "gpvernment and constitution, both as to principle and. form, muft, on a " parity of reafoning, be as open to difcuSlion as the defefts of a law, and " it- is a duty which every man owes to fociety to ppint them put. When " thpfe defefts, and the means pf remedying them are generally feen by a na- ¥ tion, that nation will refprm its government or its conftitution in the one " cafe, as the government repealed or reformed the law inthe other." Gentlemen, you muft undoubtedly wiSh to deal with every man who comes before you in judgment, as you would be dealt by yourfelves ; aad furely yoa ?54 A P P ¦ % Vt V I X. will not lay it down to-day as a law to be binding hereafter even upon youf- felves, that if you Should publish any'opinipn cpncerning the existing abufe* in your cpuntry's government, and ppint put to the Whole public the meil,lS of amendment, you are to be acquitted or convifted as any twelve men may happen to agree with you in your opinions. Yet this is precifely what you are afked to do to another : it Is precifely 'the cafe'before you. Mr. Piine ex- pre sly fays, I obey a law until it is repealed ; obedience is hot only my prin ciple but my praftice, Since 'my difobedience'of a law from thinking it had, might apply to' juftify another man in the difobedience'of a good 0Dei and thus individuals would give the rule for themfelves, and not fociety for all. Gentlemen, you will prefently fee that the fame principle pervades the reft of the work ; and I am the more anxious to call your attention to it, how ever repetition may tire you, becaufe it unfolds the whole principle of my, argument : fc , if you find a fentence in the whole book that iriyefts any in dividual, or any number' of individuals, or any community Short cf the whole natio ' ' ' ' I abandon majefl_the Surface pf them, are falfe. ' Mr. Paine, page i c'J — Z58J" goei pn thus' : " When a nation changes its opinion' and 'habits 'of thinking, it is no " fonger tp be governed as -before ; but it woujd not only be wrong, but bad "¦ policy, to attempt by fo'ree what ought to be' accomplished by reafon. Re- '* bellion confifts in forcibly oppofing' the general' wi'li of a nation, Whether ", by a party or by a government .—There ought, therefore, to be, in every " nation, a method pf pccaflonally' ascertaining the Slate ef public opinion " with refpeft' to government, ' .f'k There is, therefore, no power but the voluntary will of the people that ** has a right to aft in any matter refpefting a general reform-; and, by the *'_ fame right that two perfons can confer on' fuch a fubjeft, a thoufand may: " The pbjeft in all fuch preliminary proceedings is,, to find out what the *' general fenfe of a nation is, and to be governed' by it. If if prefer a bad " or -defective government 'to 'a reform^ or choofe to pay fen times more faxes " than there is occafion fori it has a right fo to'do ; an'd, fo lortg; as the ma- *e jority do not impofe conditions" pn the minority different tO what they im- " pofe .011 themfelves, though there* may be much error, there is no injustice j ,c~ neither will the error continue long. ' Reafon arid difeuffi'on will" foon bring *' things right, howeverwrong they may begin. " By fuch a procefs no tumult- " is to be apprehended. ' The 'poor, in all countries, are naturally' both " peaceable and grateful in all reforms in which' their intereft and happinefs ""are included. It is only by neglefting and rejecting them that they be-' " come tumultuous.-",' ¦ '¦ •' ;' ' ' '¦ '"" Gentlemen, thefe are the lentiments of the author of the Rights of Man; and, Whatever his opinion may be of the defefts in our' government, it never can change our fent-iments concerning it, if our fentiments be juft ; and a, writing can never be Seditious in the- fenfe of the EngliSh law, which States . that the government leans on the univerfal will for its 'fupport. > ' ' • Gentlemen, this univerfal wili is the beft and fecureft title Which bis Ma- jefty and his family have fo the throne:' of thefe kingdoms ; and in proportion to the wifdom of our institutions, the title mult in comihbh feiile become the' Stronger: fo little idea, indeed, have I of any -other, that in my place in Parliament not a week ago, I confidered it as the. -belt' way of expreffing my attachment to the constitutions as'-e iabrShed at the revolution, to declare (J believe in ciie prcience of the- heir' uppaient of the crown', tor Whom I have ¦-> plies, and was meant tp apply, to every interruption to writing, which, while. they opprefs the individual, endanger the State. " We have them not," Says Milton, " that canbe heard of, from any an- " cient ftate, cr polity, or church, nor by any Statute left us by our ancef- " tors, elder pr later, nor from the modern cuftom of any reformed city, or " church abroad ; but from the moft antichriftian council, and the molt ty- " rannous ir.quilltion that ever exifled. Till then, books were ever as freely " admitted into the world as any other birth ; the iffue of the brain -was no. " mare fiificd than the iffue of the womb. " To the pure all thirr.s are pure ; not only meats and drinks, but all kind " of knowledge whether good or evil ; the knowledge cannot defile, nor con- " fequently the books, if the will and confcience be not defiled. " Bad books Serve in many refpefls to dilcover, to confute, to forewarn " and to -illustrate. Whereof, what better witnefs can we expeft I fhould " produce, than one of ycur own, now fitting in parliament, the chief of "¦ learned men reputed in this land, Mr. Selden ? whofe volume of natural "¦arid' national-laws, proves, not only by great authorities brought together,. Appendix. 46* " but by exquifife reaSons and theorems almoft mathematically demonstrative, that all opinions, yea, errors, known, read, and collated; are" of main fer- " vice and affiftance toward the fpeedy attainment of what is trueft. - " Opinions and underftanding are not fuch wares as to be monppolized and «' traded in by tickets and Statutes, and Standards. We muft not think .to *' make a Staple commodity of all the knowledge in the land, to mark and li- " cerife it like our broad cloth and our woolpacks." " Nor is it to the common people lei's than a reproach ; for if we be fo jea- " Ious over them that we cannot truft them with an EngliSh pamphlet, what *' do we but cenliue them, for a giddy, vicious, and ungrounded people ; in " fuch a fick and weak eftate of faith and difcretion; as to be able to take " nothing down but through the pipe of a Licenfer. That this is care or *' love of them we cannpt pretend. "Thpfe corruptipns which it feeks tp prevent, break In fader at dpprs " which cannot be Shut. " Tp prevent men thinking and afting for themfelves, by restraints pn the " prefs, is like the exploits of that gallant man, who thought to podnd up " the crows by Shutting his park gate. " This obstructing violence meets for the moft part with an event, utterly " oppofite to the end which it drives at : inftead of fopprefiing books, it " raifes them and inverts them with a reputation : the punishment of wits en- " hances their authority, faith the Vilcount St. Albans' ; and a forbidden " writing is thought to be a certain fpark of truth, that flies up in the face of "' them who feek to tread it out." He then adverts to his vifit to the famous Galileo, wjiom he found and vifited in the inqtiifition, " for not thinking in Astronomy with the Fiancifcan and Do- " minican Monks." And what event ought moredeeply to intereft and effect tis? the very laws of Nature were to bend under the rod of a Licenfer; this illuftrious Aftroiiomer ended his life within the bars of a prifon, becauSe, in Seeing the phafes of Venus through his newly-invented teleScope, he pro nounced, that She (hone with borrowed light, and from the Sun as the cehtre of theuntfeerfe; This was the mighty crime, the placing fhe Sun in the cen ter : that Sun which now inhabits if upon the foundation of mathematical truth, which enables us to traverSe' the pathleS's ocean, and to carry our line and rule among.t other worlds, which but for Galileo we had never known, perhaps even to the recedes of an infinite and immortal God. Milton then, in his moil eloquent addrefs to the parliament, puts the liber ty of the prefs on its true and mail honourable foundation. " Believe it, " Lords and Commons, they who coiinfel ye to fuch a fuppreffing of books, " do as good as bid you foppi'cfs yourlelves ; and we will Soon Shew " how;" " If it be defired tp know the immediate caufe of all this free writing and " free fpeaking, there cannot be affigned a truer than your own mild, and free, " anil humane Government ; it is the liberty, Lords and Commons, which " your pwn valorous and happy counfels have purchal'ed us ; liberty which is " the nurfe of all great wits ; this is that which hath ratified and enlightened, " our Spirits like fhe influence of heaven ; this is that which hath enfran- " chifed, enlarged and lifted up our apprehenfions, degrees above them- " felves. Ye cannot make us now lefs capable, lefs knowing, lefs eagerly " purfiiing the tiuth, ur.ltis ye firft make yourS'elves, that made us fo, lefs " the lovers, lefs the founders of our true liberty. We can grow ignorant " again, brutal, formal and ilavifh, as ye found us; but you then muft firft " become that which ye cannot be, cpprefiive, arbitrary and tyrannous, as " they were from whom ye have freed us. That our hearts are now more ca- *' pacious, our thoughts now more erected to the fearch and expectation of H h a *6S APPENDIX. " gteafeft and exacted things, is the iffue of your own virtue propagated ir» " us. Give me the -liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according " to confcience above all liberties." .Gentlemen, I will now refer you to another Author, whofe opinion you may think more fo point, as having lived in our own times, and as hold ing the higheft monarchical principles of government. I fpeak of Mr. Hume, who, neverthelefs, considers, that this Liberty of the Prefs extends not only to abstract Speculation, but to keep the public on their guard againft all the afts of their Government. After Shewing the advantages of a Monarchy tp public freedom, provided it is duly controlled and watched by the popular part of the Conftitution, he fays, " Thefe principles account for the great liberty of the prefs in fhefe " kingdoms, beyond what is indulged in any other government. It is appre- " hended, that arbitrary power would (leal in upon us, were we not careful "to prevent its progrefs, and were there not an eafy method of conveying ,! the alarm from one ehd of the kingdom to the other.- The fpirit oj' the pea - " pie muft frequently be roufed, in order to curb the ambition of the Court ; and " the dread of roofing this fpirit muft be employed to prevent that ambition. «'¦ Nothing is So effeftual to this purpofe as .the liberty of the prefs, by which " all the learning, wit, and genius of the nation, may be employed on the " fide of freedom ; and every one be animated to its defence. As long, there- " fore, as the republican part of our Government can maintain itfelf againft the " monarchical, it viill naturally be careful to keep the prefs open, as of import- " ance to its own prefervation." There is another authority co-temporary with the laft, a fplendid Speaker in the Upper Houfe of Parliament, and who held during moft of his time high offices under the King ; I fpeak of the Earl of Chefterfield, who thus expreffed himfelf in the houfe of Lords :- — -" One of the greateft bleffings, " my Lord, we enjoy, is Liberty ; but every good in this life has its alloy of " evil — Licentioufnefs is the alloy of liberty, it is — ¦" ., Lord Kenyan. Doftor Johnfon claims to pluck that feather from Lord Chefterfield's wing ; he fpeaks, I believe, of the eye pf the political body. Mr. Erfkine. Gentlemen, I have heard it faid, that Lord Chefterfield bor rowed that which I was juft about to ftate, and which his LordShip has anti cipated. Lord Kenyan. That very fpeech which did Lord Chefterfield fo much ho nour, is SuppOSed to have been written by Dr. JohnSon. . Mr. Erfiine. Gentlemen, I believe it was. So, and I am much obliged to his LordShip for giving me a far higher authority for my doftrine. For though Lord Chefterfield was a man of great ingenuity and wit, he was un doubtedly far inferior in learning and in monarchical opinion, to the celebrat ed writer to whom my Lord has now delivered the work by his authority. Doftor Johnfon then fays, " One of the greateft bleffings we enjoy, one of " the greateft bleffings a people, my Lords, can enjoy, is Liberty ; but every " good in this life, has its alloy of evil: licentioufnefs is the alloy of LiberT •" ty .- it is an ebullition, an excrefcence ; it is a fpeck upon the eye of the " political body, which I can never touch but with a gentle, with a treni- " bling hand, left I deftroy the body, left I injure the eye upon which it is " apt to appear. " There is fuch a connection between licentioufnefs and liberty, that it " is not eafy to correct the one, without dangerously wounding the other ; it " is extremely hard to distinguish the true limit between them:" like a " changeable Silk, wc can eafily fee there are two different colours, but " we cannot eafily dill over where the one ends, or where the other be- " gins." APPENDIX. 469 1 confefs, I cannct help agreeing with this learned authpr. The danger of touching the prefs is the difficulty of marking its limits. My learned fr.end, who has juft gone out of Court, has drawn np line, and unfolded no principle. He has not told us, if this book is condemned, what book may be written. If I may not write againft the exiftence of a monarchy, and re- Commend a republic, may I write againft any part .of the Government ? May- 1 fay that we fhould be better without a Houfe of Lords, or a Houfe, of Commons, 01 a Court of Chancery, or any other given part of our eftabliSh ment ? Or if, as has been hinted, a work may become libellous for Stating even legal matter with farcaftic phral'e, the difficulty becomes the greater, and the liberty of the prefs quite impoffible to define. _ The fame author purfuing the fubjeft and fpeaking of the fell of Roman liberty, fays, f But this fort of liberty came Soon after tp be called licenti- *' oufnefs ; for we are told that Auguftus, after having eftabliShed his empire, , " reftored order in Rome by restraining licentioufnefs. God forbid we Should " in this country have order reftored, or licer.tioul'nefs restrained, at fo dear <' a rate as the people of Rome paid for it to Auguftus, " Let us confider, my Lords, that arbitrary power has feldom or never ?' been introduced into a country at once. It muft be introduced by Slow' " degrees, and as it were ftep by ftep, left the people Should fee its approach. " The barriers and fences of the people's liberty muft be plucked up one by ¦" one, and fome plaufible pretences muft be found for removing or hoodwink- " ing, one after another, thofe fentries who are polled by the constitution of " a free country, for warning the people of their danger. When thefe pre- " paratory Steps are once made, the people may then, indeed, with regret, " fee Slavery and arbitrary power making long Strides over their land ; but *' it will be too late to think of preventing or avoiding the impending ruin. " The ftage, my Lords, and the prefs, are two pf our out fentries; if we <* remove them, if we hoodwink them, if we throw them into fetters, the *' enemy may furprife us." Gentlemen, this Subjeft was ftill more lately put in the jufteft and moft forcible light by a noble perSon high in the Magiltracy ; and whoSe mind is not at all turned to the introduction- of diforder by improper popular exceffes j I mean Lord Loughborough, chief Juftice of the Court of Common Pleas. I believe I can anlwer for the correftnefs of my note, which I Shall folfow up with the ppinipn of another member pf the Lprds' hpufe of Parliament; the prefent Earl Stanhope ; or rather, I (hall take Lord Stanhope firft, as his LordShip introduces the fubjeft by adverting to this argument of Lord Loughborough's. " If," fays his LordShip, " our' boafted liberty of the " prefs, were to confift only in the liberty to write in praife of the Conftitu- " tion, this is a liberty enjoyed under many arbitrary governments. I fup- " pofe i Was it not then re-ehafted whilft menacing arms were in the hands of the people ? Were not its Stipulations broken through, and two and forty times re-enafted by Parliament, upon the firm demand of the people in the following reigns ? I proteft it fills me with aftoniShment to hear thefe truths brought in queftion. T was formerly called upon under the difcipline of a College to maintain them, and was rewarded for being thought to Have fuccefsfully maintained that our prefent Conftitution was by no means a remnant of Saxon liberty, nor any institution of liberty, but the pure confequence of the oppreflion of the Norman tenures, which fpreading the fpirit bt' freedom from one end of th'e kingdom to another, enabled our brave fathers, inch by inch, not to con quer, but for the firft time to obtain thole privileges which are the unalienable inheritance of al) mankind. •' ' But why 'do we fpeak of the Edwards and Henries, when Hume himfelf exprefsly fays, notwithstanding all we have heard to-day of the antiquity of our conftitution, that our monarchy was-nenrly abfolute till the middle of APPENDIX. 473 laft century >_ I have his bpok in,Court, and will read it to you. It is his effay pn the Liberty of the Prefs-, vol. I. page 15. ' All abfolute Governments, and fuch in a great meafure was England, * till the middle of the laft century, notviithfianding the numerous panegyrics * on Ancient Englifh Liberty, muft very much depend on the administration.' This is Hume's opinion ; the conclufion of a grave historian from all that he finds recorded as the materials for hiftory : and Shall .it be faid that Mr. Paine is to be puniShed for writing to-day what was before written by another, who is now a diftinguiShed claffic in the language? All the verdifts in the world will not make that palatable to an impartial public, or to pofterity. The next paffage arraigned is this : p. 209. ' The attention of the go- ? vernment pf England, (for I rather chufe to call it by this name, than the,- * EngliSh government) appears, fince its political connection with Germany, * to have been fo compjeatly engroffed and absorbed by foreign affairs, and ' the means of raifing faxes, that it feems to exift for no other purpofes. Do- f medic concerns are neglected; and with relpeft to regular law, there is f fcarcely fuch a thing." That the Government of this country is, in confequence of its connection with the Continent, and the Continental wars which it has occafioned, been continually loaded with grievous taxes, no man can difpute ; and I appeal to yourjuftice, whether this fubjeft has not been, for years together, the con stant topic of unreproved declamation and grumbling ? As towhat he Says with regard to their hardly being fuch a thing as regular law, he fpeaks in the abftraft of the complexity of our fyftem ; but dpes npt arraign the adminiftratipn pf juftice in its praBice. But with regard tp criti cisms and Structures pn the general Syftem, it has been echped pver and pver again by various authprs ; and even from the pulpits of our country, that the law of the land is mainly defective, devoid of regularity and precifion, overloaded with a variety of expenfive and unneceffary forms. I have a Ser mon in court written during the American war, by a, perfon of great eloquence and piety, part of which 1 will read tp ypu pn this fubjeft, in which he looks forward to an exemption of the intolerable grievances of our old legal Syftem in the infant establishment of the New World. " It may be the purpofes of providence, pn yon weftern Shores, to raife " the bulwark of a purer reformation than ever Britain patronized; to found~ " a lefs burthenSbme, more aufpicious, Stable, and incorruptible government " than ever Britain has enjoyed ; and to eftabliSh there a Syftem of law more " juft and fimple in its principles, lefs intricate, dubious, and dilatory in its " proceedings, more mild and equitable in its Sanctions, more eafy, and " more certain in its execution ; wherein no man can err through ignorance of " what concerns him, or want juftice through poverty or weakuefs, or efcape "' it by legal artifice, or civil prjvileges, or interpofmg. power ; wherein the '.' rule of conduft Shall npt be hidden or difguifed in the language of princi ples and cuftoms that died with the barbarifm which gave them birth; " wherein hafty formulas Shall not diffipate the reverence that is due to the " tribunals and tranfaftions of juftice ; wherein obfolete prefcripts Shall not " pervert, nor entangle, nor impede the administration of it, nor in any in- " Stance exppfe it tp derifipn pr difiegard ; wherein mifreprefentatipn Shall have « np Share in deciding upon right and truth ; and under which nP man Shall «' grow great by the wages pf chicanery, pr thrive by the quarrels that are " ruinous to his employers." This is ten times Stronger than Mr. f aine ; but who ever thought of profe- tuting Mr. Cappe ? .„-.., r « • . .,. " In various other inftances ypu will find detects in our jurisprudence pointed - put and lamented, and npt Seldom by perfons called upon by their fituations to 474- APPENDIX. deliver the law in the feat of magiftracy : therefore the author's general ohfer- vatipn does not appear to be that fpecies of attack uppn the magiftracy ef the cpuntry, as to fall within the defcription of a libel. With refpect to the two Houfes of Parliament, I believe I Shall be able to Shew ypu that the very perfari who introduced this controverfy, and who cer tainly is Confidered by thofe who now administer the government, as a man ufe- fully devoted to maintain the constitution of the country in the prefent crifis, has himfelf made remarks upon thefe Affemblies ; that upon comparifon you .will think more Severe than thofe which are the fubjeft of the Attorney Gene ral's animadverfion. The paffage in Mr. Paine runs thus : ' With refpeft to the'tvio Houfes, of which the EngliSh Parliament is com- » pofed, they appear to be effeftually influenced into one, and, as a legifla- ' ture, to have no temper of itb own. The minister, whoever he at any ' time may be, touches it as with an opium wand, and it Sleeps obedience. ' But if we look at the diftinft abilities of the twojhouSes, the difference ' will appear fo great, as to Shew the inconfiftency of placing power where ' there can be no certainty of the judgment to ufe it. Wretched as the State ' of reprefentation is in England, it is manhood compared with what is called ' the houfe of Lords ; and fo little is this nick-named houfe regarded, that * the people fcarcely inquire at any time what it is doing. It appears alio to « be moft under influence, and the furthest removed from the general intereft ' of the nation.' The conclusion of the fentence, and which was meant by Paine as evidence of the previous affertion, the Attorney General has omitted in the information, and in his fpeech, it is this : ' In the debate on epgaging in the Ruffian' and ' Turkish war, the majority in the Hpufe of Peers in Savour of it was up- ' wards of ninety, when in the other houfe, which is more than double its ' numbers, the majority was fixty- three. The terms, however, in which Mr. Burke fpeaks of the Houfe of Ldrds, are Still more expreflive. " It is fomething more' than a century ago, Since? " we voted the houfe of Lords ufek-fs. They have now voted themfelves fo, " and the whole hope of reformation" (fpeaking of the Houfe of Commons) «< is eaft upon us." This Sentiment, Mr. Burke not only expreffed in his place in parliament, where no man can call him to an account : but it has been fince repeatedly printed amongft his other valuable works. And' his opinion of both the Houses of Parliament, which I am about to read to you, was originally published as a pamphlet, and applied to the fettled habitual abufes of thefe high affemblies. ' Remember, I do not ufe them as argumenta sd kominem, or adinvidiam againft the author, for if I did, it could be-no de fence of Mr. Paine. But I ufe them as high authority, the work * having been the juft foundation of Substantial and lading reputation. Would to God that any part of if were capable of being denied or doubted. ' Againft the being of parliament I am fatisfied no defigns have ever been • entertained fince the Revolution. Every one muft perceive that itis ftrong- ' ly the intereft of the Court to have fome fecond caufe interpoled between ' the minifters and the people. The gentlemen of the Houfe of Commons ' have an intereft equally Strong, in fullaining the part of that intermediate ' caufe. However they may hire out the ufuj'ruB of" their voices, they never ' will part with the fee and inheritance. Accordingly thofe who have been of ' the moft known devotion to tlie will and pleafure of a court, have at the * fame time been moft forward in afferting an high authority in the Houfe of ' Commons. When they knew who were to ufe that authority, and how ii ' was to be employed, they thought it never could be carried too far. It mult * Mr. Burke'sThoughts on the caufe of the prefent Diicontentf, published in 1775. A P P E N D I X. 4-7S ' be always the WiSh of an unconstitutional' ftatefman, that an Houfe of Com- ' mons, who are entirely dependent upon him, fiiould have' every right of tlie ' people dependent upon their pleafure. For it was discovered that the * FORMS OF A FRES, AND THE ENDS OF AN ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT, ' WERE THINGS NOT ALTOGETHER INCOMPATIBLE. ' The power of the crown, almoft dead and rotten as Prerogative, has grown ' up anew, With much more ftrength and far lefs odium, under the name of in- * fiuence. In influence which operates without noife and violence ; which con- ' verts the very antagonist into the instrument of power ; which contains in ' itfelf a perpetual principle of growth and renovation ; and' which the difj ' treffes and the prosperity of the country equally lend to augment, was an ' admirable Substitute for a Prerogative; that' being only the offspring of ' antiquated prejudices, had moulded in its original Stamina irrefiftible prin- ' ciples of decay and diffolution. The ignorance of the people is a bottom * buffer a temporary SyStem ; but the intereft of aftive men in the ftate is a * foundation perpetual and infallible.' Mr. Burke therefore, in page 66, fpeaking of the fame court party, fays : ' Parliament was indeed the great objeft of all thefe politics, the end at ' which they aimed, as well' as the instrument by which they were to ' operate.' And purfuing the fubjeft in page 70, proceeds as follows: ' They who will not conform thtir' conduft to the public good, and cannot ' Support it by the prerogative of the crown, have adopted a new plan. They ' have totally abandpned the Shattered and old-faShioned fortreS's of preroga- ' five, and made a lodgement in the Strong hold of parliament itfelf. If ' they have any evil defign to which there is no ordinary legal power cbm- ' menfurate, they bring it into parliament. There the whole is executed from ' the beginning to -the end. And the power of obtaining their objeB abfolute ; — and the fafety in the proceeding perfeft ; no rules to' confine, nor after reckonings ' to terrify. For parliament cannot with any great propriety puniSli ' others ' for things in which they themS'elves have been accomplices. Thus its ' controul upon the executory power is loft; becaufe itis made to partake in ., ' every cpnfiderable aft of government, and impeachment, that great guardian ' af the purity of the Conftitution, is in danger of being laft even to the idea <¦ of it. " ¦.•"•¦- ' Until this time, the opinion of the people, through the power of an ' Affembly, (till in Some Sort popular, led to the greateft honours and emolu- * ments in'the gift of tffe crown. Now the principle is reverfed ; and the ' favour of the court is the only fore way of obtaining and holding thole ho- • hours which ought to be in the disposal of the people.' Mr. Burke, in page 100, obferves with great truth, that the mifchiefs he complained of, did not at all arife from the Monarchy, but from the parlia ment, and that it was rhe duty of the people to look to it. He faysy « The * distempers of monarchy were fhe great l'ubjefts of apprehenfion and~iedrefs, ' in the- laft century; in this, the diftempers of parliament.' Not'the diftempers of parliament in this year or the laft, but in this century, i. e. its fettled habitual diftemper. ' It is not in parliament alone that the ' remedy for parliamentary disorders can be compleated ; 'and hardly indeed ' can it begin there. Until a confidence in government is re-eflabliShed, • the people ought to be excited to a more Itrift and detailed attention to the * conduft of their reprefentatives. Standards forjudging more Systematically < upon their conduft ought to be teitled in the meetings of counties and 47« APPENDIX. ' corporations, and frequeut and correft lifts of the voters in all important * .questions ought to be procured. * By fuch means fomething may be dpne, Since it may appear whp thpfe ' are, that by an indifcriminate fupport of all administrations, have totally ' baniShed all integrity and confidence out of the public proceedings ; have f confounded the beft men with the worit ; and weakened and diffolved, ' inftead of Strengthening and compacting the general frame of government.' I wifh it was poffible tp read the whole of this moft important volume— but the confequences of thefe truths contained in it were all eloquently fummed wp by the author in his fpeech upon the reform of the houfeholcl. ' But what I confefs was iippermoft with me, what I bent the whole courfe * of my mind to, was the reduftion of that corrupt influence which is itfelf ' the perennial fpring of all prodigality and diforder ; which Ipads U6 more ' than millions of debt ; whicli takes away vigour from our arms, wifdom ' from our councils, and every Shadow of authority and credit from the moft ' venerable parts of our constitution.' The fame important truths were held out to the whole public, upon a ftill later occafion, by the perfon now at the head of his Majefty's councils ; and fo higl, (as it appears) in the confidence of the nation. He, not in the ab stract. Like the author before you, but upon the fpur of the occafion, and in the teeth of what had been juft declared in the Houfe of Commons, came to, and afted upon neSolutions which are contained in this book.* ReSolutions pointed to the purification of a parliament, dangeroufly corrupted into the ve ry ftate defcribed by Mr. Pairie. Remember here too, that I impute no cen- i'ure to Mr. Pitt. It was the moft brilliant paffage in his life, and I Should have thought his life a better one, if he had continued uniform in the fup port of opinions, which it is Said he has not changed, and which certainly have had nothing to change them. But at all events, I have a right to make tile of the authority of his Splendid talents and Situation, not merely to pro tect the defendant, but the public, and to refill the precedent, That what one man may do in England withapprobation and glory, Shall conduft another man to a pillory or a prilbn. It was tlie abufes pointed out by the man before you, that led that Right. Hon. Gentleman to affociate with many others of his rank, under ' the ban - aersof the Duke of Richmond, whofe name ftands at the head of; the lift, and, to pafs various refolutions, concerning the abfolute neceffity of purifying the. Houfe of Commons ; and we collect the plan from a preamble entered in the book. ' Whereas the life, liberty and property of every man is or maybe. s affefted by the law of the land in which he lives, and every man is bound, ' to pay obedience to the fame. ' And whereas, by the conftitution of this kingdom the right of making. 'laws is veiled in three eftates, of King, Lords, and Commons, in parlia- * ment affembled, and the confent of all the three faid eftates, comprehending. ' the whole community, is neceffary to make laws tp bind the whole commu- ' nity. And whereas the Houfe of Commons reprefent all the Commons of ' the realm, and the confent of the Houfe of Commons binds the -confent of ' all the Commons of the realm, and in all cafes on which the legislature is * competent to decide. ' And whereas no , man is, or can be aftually reprefented who hath not a * vote in the eleftion of his representative. ' And whereas it is the right of every Commoner of this realm (infants, « psri'ons of inline mind, and criminals incapacitated by law, only excepted). * tp have a vote in the eleftion of the reprefentative who is to give his confent ' to the making of laws by which he is to be bound. ' And whereas the number of perfons who are Suffered to vote for electing ' the members of the Houfe of Commons, do not at this time amount tuone- * iVh'.f Erfkine took up a took. APPENDIX. 477 ' fixth part of the whole Commons of this realm, whereby far "the greater ' part of the faid Commons are deprived of their right to eleft their repre- ' fentatives ; and the confent of the majority of the whole community to the ' paffing of laws, is given by perfons whom they haVe not delegated for fuch ' purposes ; and to which the faid majority have not in faft consented by them- ' felves or by their reprefentatives. * And whereas the ftate of eleftion of members of the Houfe of Com- ' mons, hath in procefs of" time fo grofly deviated from its Simple and na- ' tural principle of representation and equality, that in Several glaces, the ' members are returned by the property of one man ; that the fmallelt boroughs ' fend as many members as the largeft counties, and that a majority of the 'reprefentatives of the whole nation are chofen by a number of votes not ex- ' ceeding twelve thoufand.' Thefe with many others, were published, not as abftraft fpeculative writ ings, but within a few days after the HouS'e of Commons had declared that no fuch rights exifted, and that no alteration was neceffary in the reprefentation. It was then that they met at the Thatched Houfe, and published tlieir opinions and refolutions to the country at large. — Were any of them profecuted for thefe proceedings ? Certainly not, (for they were legal proceedings.) But I defire you as men of honour and truth, to compare all this with Mr. Paine's expreffion of the Minister's touching Parliament with his opiate wand, and let equal.juftice be done — that is all I aSk — let all be puniShed or none — do not let Mr. Paine be held out to the contempt of the public upon the fcore of his obfervations on parliament, while others are enjoying all the fweets which attend a fuppofed attachment to their country, who have faid the fame things, and reduced their opinions to praftice. But now every man is to.be cried down for fuch opinions. I obferved that my learned friend Significantly raifed his voice in naming Mr. Home Tooke, as if to connect him with Paine, or Paine with him. 1 his is exaftly the Same courfe of juftice ; for after all he faid nothing of Mr. Tooke. What could he have faid, but that he was a fubferiber with the great names I have read in thefe proceedings, which they have thought fit tp defert? Gentlemen, let others hold their opinions, and change them at their pleafure ;• I fhall ever maintain it to be the deareft privilege of- the people of Great Britain to watch over everything that affefts their good government, either in the fyf tem, or in the praftice ; and that for. this purpoi'e the prefs mull be free.' It has always been So, and much evil has been cprrefted by it. If gpvern ment finds itfelf annpyed by it, let it examine its own conduct, and it will find the cauS'e, — let it amend it, and it will find the remedy. Gentlemen, I am no friend to farcafms in the diScuffion of grave fubjefts, but you muft take writers according to the view of the mind at the moment ; Mr. Burke as often as any body indulges in it ; — hear his reafon in Iris, fpc-ecri on reform, for not taking away the Salaries from Lords who attend upon the BritiSh Court. "- You would," faid he, " have the court deSerted by all the " nobility of the kingdom. " Sir, the moft ferious mifchiefs' would follow fuch a defertion. Kings are " naturally lovers of low company ; they are fo elevated above' all the reft " of mankind, that they muft look upon all their Subjects as on a level : they " are rather apt to hate than to love their nobility, on account of the occafi- " onal refiftance to their will, vihich will be made by their virtue, their petu- " lance or their pride. It mull indeed be admitted, that many of the no- " bility are as perfectly willing to aft the part of, flatterers, tale bearers, " parafites", pimps, and buffoons, as any of the lovtft and vileitof mankind " can poffibly be. But they are not properly qualified for this objeft of their « ambition. The want of a regular education, and early habits, withfome " lurking remains of their dignity, will never permit them to become a " match' for an Italian eunuch, a mountebank, a (idler, a player, or any re- *7« APPENDIX. *' gular practitioner of that tribe. The Rpman Emperors, .-.Irnoft from the " beginning, threw tliemfelves intp fuch hands,; and the miSchief'Increafed " every day, till its decline and its final ruin. It is, therefore, pf very great " importance (provided the thing is not overdone,) to contrive fuch an efta- " blirhment as muft, almoft whether a prince will or not, bring into daily and «' hourly offices about his perfon, a great number of his firft nobility ; and it " is rather an ufelul prejudice that gives them a pride in Such a Servitude ;' " though they are not much the better for a court, a court will be much the «' better fqr them. I have, therefore, not attempted to reform any of the « offices of honour about the King's perfon."" What is this but faying that a King is an animal fo incurably addicted to low company, as generally to bring on by it the ruin of nations : but never theless, he is to be kept as a neceifery evil, and his propensities bridled by Surrounding him with a parcel of mifereams ftill worfe if poffible, but better thati thofe he would choofe for himfelf? — This therefore, if taken by itfelf, ¦would be a moft abominable and libellous farcafm on Kings and Nobility : but look at the whole fpeech, and you obferve a great fyftem of regulation ; and no man, I believe, ever doubted Mr: Burke's attachment to monarchy. To judge, therefore, of any part of a writing, the whole fnuft be read. With the lame view I mean to read to you the beginning of Harrington's Oceana : but it is impoffible to name this well known author without expofing to juft contempt and ridicule the ignorant o'r profligate misrepresentations which are vomited forth upon the public, to bear down every man as defpe- rately wicked, who in any age or country has countenanced a Republic, for the mean purpofe of prejudging this trial. [Mr. Erfkine took up a book, but laid it down again without reading from it, faying Something to a gentleman who Sat near him, in' a low voice, which I did not hear.] / Is this the way to Support the English conftitution ? Are thefe the means! by which Englishmen are to be taught to cherilh it ? I fay, if the man upon- trial were Stained with blood inftead of ink, — if he were covered over with crimes which human nature would (tart at the naming of/ the means employed againft him would not be the lefs difgraceful.' For this notable purpofe then, Harrington, not above a week ago, was handed out to us as a low, obfcure wietch, involved in the murder of tlie Monarch, and the deftruftion of Monarchy, and as. addreffing his defpicable works at the Shrine of an Ulurper. Yet this very Harrington, this low blackguard, was defcended (you may fee his pedigree at the Herald's Office for fixpence,) from eight Duke«, three Marquiffes, feventy Earls, twenty- Seven Vifcounts, and thirty-Six Barons, fixteen of whom were Knights of the Garter; a defcent which I think would fave a man from difgrace in any of the circles of Gevmar.y. Eut what was he befides — A Blood-staijJed Ruffian ? Oh brutal ignorance of the hiftory of the Country? He was the moft ntFectionate Servant of Charles the Firft, fioni whom he never concealed his opinions ; for it is obferved by Wood, that the King greatly affefted his company ; hut when they happened to talk of a Common-wealth, he would fcarcely endure it.—' I know not,' fays Toland, ' which moft to commend ; * the King for trufting an honeft man, though a Republican ; or Harrington ' for owning his principles while he ferved a King.' But did his opinions affect his conduft ? — Let Hiftory again anfwer. — He preferved his fidelity to his unhappy Prince' to the very laft, after all his fawning courtiers had left him to his enraged fubjefts. He Staid with him while a prifoner in the Ifle of Wight ; came up by Stealth to follow the for tunes of his monarch and mafter ; even hid himfelf in the boot of the coach when he was conveyed toWindfor; and ending as he began, fell into his arms and fainted on the Scaffold. APPENDIX. 479 After Charles's death, the Oceana was written, and, as if it were written from juftice and affeftion to his memory : for it breathes the fame noble and fpirited regard, and afferts that it was not Charles that brought on the de Slruftion of the monarchy, but the feeble and ill constituted nature of mo narchy itfelf. But the book was a flattery lo Cromwell. — Once more and finally let hif tory decide. It was Seized by the Ufurper as a libel, and the way it was recovered is re markable. I mention ir to Shew that Cromwell was a wife man in himfelf, and knew on what governments mull Stand i'or their fupport. Harrington waited on his. daughter to beg for his book, on entering her apartment, fnatched up her child and ran away. — On her following him with Surprize and terror, he turned to her and Said,' " I know what you feel as a " mother, feel then for me ; your father has got my child :" meaning the Oceana. The Oceana was afterwards reftored on her petition ; Cromwell an- fwering with the fagacity of a Sound politician, " Let him haye his book : " if my government is made to Stand, it has nothing to fear from Paper " Shot." — He faid true. — No good government will ever be battered by paper foot. Montefquieu fays that, " In a free nation, it matters not whe- " ther individuals reafon well or ill ; it is fufficient that they do reafon. "Truth arifes from the collision, and from hence Springs libeity, which is " a Security from the effeft of reafoning." The Attorney General read ex- trafts from Mr. Adams's anfwer to this book. Let others do like Mr. Adams : I am not infilling upon the infallibility of Mr. Paine's doctrines 5 if they are errpnepus, let them be anfwered, and truth will fpring from the collision. A difpofition in a nation to this Species of controverfy, is no proof of Se. dition or degeneracy, but quite the reverfe, as is mentioned by Milton, [I omitted to cite the paffage with the others} who in fpeaking of this fubject, rifes into that inexpreffibly fublime Stile of writing, wholly peculiar to him felf. He was indeed np plagiary from any thing human : he looked up for light and expreffion, as he himfelf wonderfully defcribes it, by devout prayer to that great Being, who is the Source of all utterance and knowledge ; and who fendeth out his Seraphim with the hallowed fire of his altars to touch and purify the lips of wiiorn he pleafes. ' When the chearfulnefs of fhe ' people,' Says this mighty poet, ' is So Sprightly up, as that it has not only ,¦* wherewith to guard well its own freedom and fafety, but to Spare, and to V'beflo'.v upon the folideft and fublimeft points of controversy and new in— '' vention, it betokens us not degenerated nor dyooping to a fatal decay, but * calling off the old and wrinkled (kin of corruption to outlive thefe pangs, ' and wax young again, entering the glorious ways of truth and prosperous ' virtue, deftined to become great and honourable in thefe latter ages. Me- * thinks I fee, in my mind, a noble and puiffant nation roufing herfelf, like a 'Strong man after Sleep, and Shaking her invincible locks: methinks I. See ' her as an eagle hunng her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes ' at the foil mid-day beam ; purging and unScaling her long abuSed fight at the ' fountain itSi.lt" of heavenly radiance; while thewhoie nolfe of timorous and ' fiockin