A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings

The State of Rhode Island furnishes full proofs of what iz here said in favor of the clergy. That state waz settled by refugees from Massachusetts, who were banished or persecuted by the first settlers, for their religious tenets. Roger Williams and hiz adherents imbibed an inveterate hatred against the colony of Massachusetts, and in particular against the clergy, whoze rigid zeel occasioned their expulsion from the colony. The prejudice continued among their desendants, and to this day the inhabitants boast of their liberality of sentiment and their freedom from the bigotry of clergymen, which, they say, enslaves the peeple of Massachusetts and Connecticut. This aversion to the clerical order haz however had a pernicious effect in the state. The body of the peeple, unaccustomed to the sobriety and decent deportment necessary in religious worship, and despizing the puritanical manners of their nabors, are educated in licentiousness and void of principle. To this source may be traced the most unjust and tyrannical laws that ever disgraced a popular assembly, and a perseverance in executing them, which can proceed only from obstinate ignorance and dishonest views. The large trading towns are excepted from this description; the inhabitants of which are well informed, polite, liberal, and firm supporters of good government; but they encourage schools and support a respectable clergy.

In the second place, our ancestors discuvered their wizdom in establishing public schools and colleges. The law of Connecticut ordains, that every town, or parish containing seventy householders, shall keep an English school, at leest eleven months in a yeer; and towns containing a less number, at leest six months in a yeer. Every town keeping a public skool iz entitled to draw from the trezury of the state, a certain sum of money, proportioned to its census in the list of property which furnishes the rule of taxation. This sum might hav been originally sufficient to support one skool in each town or parish; but in modern times, iz divided among a number, and the deficiency of money to support the skools iz raised upon the estates of the peeple, in the manner the public taxes are assessed. To extend the benefits of this establishment to all the inhabitants, large towns and parishes are divided into districts; eech of which iz supposed able to furnish a competent number of skolars for one skool. In eech district a house iz erected for the purpose by the inhabitants of that district; who hire a master, furnish wood, and tax themselves to pay all expenses, not provided for by the public money. The skool iz kept during the winter months, when every farmer can spare hiz sons. In this manner every child in the state haz access to a school. In the summer, a woman iz hired to teech small children, who are not fit for any kind of labor. In the large towns, skools, ether public or private, are kept the whole yeer; and in every county town, a grammar school iz established by law.

The state of Massachusetts haz also public schools on similar principles. The colleges and academies are too well known to need any description or remarks.

The beneficial effects of theze institutions will be experienced for ages. Next to the establishments in favor of religion, they hav been the nurseries of wel-informed citizens, brave soldiers and wize legislators. A peeple thus informed are capable of understanding their rights and of discuvering the meens to secure them.

In the next place, our forefathers took mezures to prezerve the reputation of skools and the morals of yuth, by making the business of teeching them an honorable employment. Every town or district haz a committee whoze duty iz to procure a master of talents and karacter; and the practice iz to procure a man of the best character in the town or naborhood. The welthy towns apply to yung gentlemen of liberal education, who, after taking the bachelor's degree, usually keep skool a yeer or two, before they enter upon a profession. One of the most unfortunate circumstances to education in the middle and suthern states, iz, an opinion that skool keeping iz a meen employment, fit only for persons of low karacter. The retches who keep the skools in thoze states, very frequently degrade the employment; but the misfortune iz, public opinion suppozes the employment degrades the man: Of course no gentleman will undertake to teech children, while, in popular estimation, he must forfit hiz rank and karacter by the employment. Until public opinion iz corrected by some great examples, the common schools, what few there are in thoze states, must continu in the hands of such vagabonds az wander about the country.

Neerly connected with the establishment of skools, iz the circulation of newspapers in New England. This iz both a consequence and a cause of a general diffusion of letters. In Connecticut, almost every man reeds a paper every week. In the yeer 1785, I took some pains to ascertain the number of papers printed weekly in Connecticut, and in the suthern states. I found the number in Connecticut to be neerly eight thousand; which waz equal to that published in the whole territory, south of Pensylvania.155 By meens of this general circulation of public papers, the peeple are informed of all political affairs; and their representativs are often prepared to deliberate on propositions, made to the legislature.

Another institution favorable to knowlege, iz the establishment of parish libraries. Theze are procured by subscription, but they are numerous, the expense not being considerable, and the desire of reeding universal. One hundred volums of books, selected from the best writers on ethics, divinity and history, and red by the principal inhabitants of a town or village, wil hav an amazing influence in spreding knowlege, correcting the morals and softening the manners of a nation. I am acquainted with parishes, where almost every housholder haz red the works of Addison, Sherlock, Atterbury, Watts, Young, and other similar writings; and wil converse handsomely on the subjects of which they treet.

Still further, the wisdom of the erly settlers in New England iz remarkable in the division of their territorial jurisdictions into townships, and incorporating them with certain powers of a subordinate nature. Every town iz a corporate body, with power to appoint, at an annual meeting, certain town magistrates, called selectmen, who hav the charge of providing for the poor, superintending the town property, dispozing of the monies &c. rendering an account to the town at the annual meeting. The towns also appoint constables, collectors of taxes,156 surveyors of roads, tithing men, whoze business iz to prezerve order on Sundays, inspectors of various denominations, &c. The towns are obliged to bild and repair their own bridges, repair roads, and defray the expense by a tax impozed by themselves. They also support their own poor. This system of subordinate legislation haz the advantage of saving the legislature much trubble, and the corporations can hardly abuse powers, which are limited to their own territories; nor wil they probably neglect their duty, az it iz for their interest and convenience to perform it.

In the general organization of guvernment, the New England states differ widely; thoze of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, being formed since the revolution, are wel known; thoze of Connecticut and Rhode Island are moddled upon the charters of Charles II, and have suffered but little alteration, since their first establishment.

The New England colonies were originally guverned by a cheef magistrate or guvernor, a deputy, and a certain number of assistants, all chosen by the peeple. They were called the court of assistants, and for a considerable time, exercized all powers, legislativ and judicial. The clergy were uzually associated with them, and they seem to hav taken cognizance likewise of ecclesiastical matters. The rulers of peeple in small societies, in erly settlements, and in the simple state of nature, uzually hav discretionary powers to act for the common good. This waz the case with the ancient witena-gemote, and folk-motes or county meetings in England; and with the first legislatures in theze colonies.

The towns soon began to send representativs to the court; but for several yeers in Boston, they sat in the same house with the assistants; in the same manner az the knights of shires, or representativs of the inferior barons, sat in parliament with the lords on their first introduction into the legislature. But az the towns multiplied, this practice waz found inconvenient, and the deputies were separated from the assistants. When this took place the assistants rezerved to themselves the judiciary powers, which at first were lodged in the whole assembly. In Connecticut, the assistants or upper house of assembly retained theze powers in effect, till the late revolution; only for the sake of convenience, five of their number were appointed by both houses, to the immediate exercize of the office and to ride the circuit. Still the assembly were a court of appeels in the last rezort, to all intents and purposes; for on petition, any judgement or decree might be heerd and reversed by the legislature. Since the revolution, a supreme court of errors iz constituted, but on an exceptionable plan, and the legislature continues to exercize supreme judicial power on petitions. This iz a remnant of the old administration, which was once harmless, if not necessary; but in a large community, may be considered az a faulty part of the guvernment. The whole legislature likewise acts az a court for the trial of public delinquents. This iz an evil of unbounded magnitude. When charges are exhibited against any public officer, or any objections made to hiz re-appointment, he iz admitted to a hearing, council iz employed, the charges are red, witnesses examined, and the delinquent makes hiz defence in person or by attorney. This mode of impeachment and trial iz the worst that can be invented. It iz difficult or impossible for a large popular assembly to be good judges; they cannot perfectly understand a case; they are credulous; and their compassion eezily moved. A pathetic harang, especially from the accused himself, with teers in hiz eyes, and the misfortunes of hiz family painted in discription, wil skreen from punishment any knave, however numerous hiz crimes, or however convincing the proofs of hiz gilt. A popular assembly should not sit in judgement upon delinquents, for the same reezon that wimen would be improper judges, and for the same reezons that the mother and wife of Coriolanus were the only persons who could save Rome from his vengence.157

The constitution of Connecticut iz if possible, more defectiv in the trezury or finance department. The trezurer iz annually appointed by the freemen in the state at large. This makes him dependent on them. The collectors are scattered in every part of the state; and if the trezurer iz not agreeable to them, az he wil not be, if he iz rigorous in enforcing collections, they can render him unpopular and throw him out of office. This iz an evil; besides, the constables, who are collectors, are appointed by the towns; if they are rigorous in their duty, they are liable to looz their office; or what iz worse, they may set up az candidates for the legislature, and by an influence arizing from their power in exacting taxes with a greater or less degree of rigor, procure an election to an employment for which they are wholly unqualified. When a considerable number of collectors hav obtained seets in the legislature, they are ever reddy to delay or suspend the collection of taxes. This iz not the worst part of the system. The method of obtaining the money in default of the collectors, iz tedious, expensiv, ineffectual, and in short ridiculous. When a collector iz in arreer, a distress issues from the trezury against hiz estate. Upon a return of non est, or in case of the collector's insolvency, execution issues against the selectmen of the town, whose estates are liable for the arreerages of taxes. The selectmen then levy a tax upon the inhabitants to indemnify themselves.

It would be endless to enumerate the evils arizing out of this mode of collection. If the trezurer was appointed by the legislature, with power to name his collectors and call them to account; and if collectors were obliged to giv bonds with sufficient security to save the state from loss, which security should be liable to distress immediately on failure of the collector, the taxes would be collected with promptitude and a great saving of expense.

It may be obzerved, that the faults of the constitution are ascribeable to the ancient simplicity of the New England peeple, and the corruptions of the administration hav grown out of the long tranquillity of the state. While the peeple had perfect confidence in their rulers, they were not disposed to disobey the laws; and while there were few opportunities of corruptions, there might be no instance of maladministration, so obvious or atrocious az to alarm enquiry, and excite peeple to change laws and forms, to which they had been familiarized. The inconveniencies resulting from a union of the legislativ and judicial powers in the same hands, were not so great az to be sensibly felt by the public; and habits of respect for men in office, and submission to law, had rendered men credulous and unsuspecting. To this day, it iz difficult to make the inhabitants beleev that their rulers and magistrates can betray a public trust. Till within two yeers, the guvernor, deputy guvernor, judges of the superior court, or two justices of the peece, could draw upon the trezury of Connecticut, without their accounts being examined by any controller or auditor.

Before the legislature could be persuaded to institute a controller's office az a check upon the trezury, it waz necessary to exhibit to them strong proofs of maladministration in that department; and the evils arizing from the prezent mode of collecting taxes, must be obvious and great, before they wil make any change in the system. Men are guverned by habit. The first laws of a country take their complection from the peculiar cast and circumstances of the peeple; and then the laws in turn contribute to form the manners of succeeding generations. The state of Connecticut iz an illustrious example of this truth. By its situation, it can never be expozed to sudden changes by an influx of foreigners. It haz no great capital, no general mart where all business centers; it haz very little intercourse with Europe; and the communication by water between New York and Rhode Island iz so direct, eezy and cheep, that for nine months in the yeer, few peeple travel thro Connecticut. For theze reezons, ancient manners and habits will be prezerved longer in this state than in most of the others.

There iz one article in the constitution of this state that merits notice and imitation, because it iz equally singular and excellent. It iz the manner of electing the assistants or senators of their own legislature, and the members of congress. Theze are elected by the freemen at large in the whole state. The number of senators iz twelve, and chosen annually in this manner. In September, the freemen assemble in the towns and vote for twenty persons, by ballot; the votes are all returned to the legislature in October, and numbered; and the twenty names that hav the most votes are said to stand in nomination, and are published by order of assembly. The next April, the freemen assemble again, and vote by ballot for twelv of the twenty, and the twelv persons who hav the most votes, are elected. Representatives in congress are chozen in a similar manner. The great excellence of this mode of choozing iz, it holds up to public view, six months before election, the karacters who are candidates; peeple hav an opportunity of enquiring into their merits, that they may select from the whole thoze who are the leest exceptionable.

It iz also a singular advantage that one branch of the legislature stands upon the suffrages of the whole. If a man's nabors take a dislike to hiz public or private conduct, they wil, if possible, dismiss him from office. This iz the great misfortune of small district elections, for it often happens that a man's integrity and independence in public mezures, are most likely to render him unpopular among hiz nabors; and sometimes small domestic occurrences may turn the tide of favor against him. But when a man iz elected by a large district, he iz not expozed to this evil; and nothing short of a general opposition to popular mezures will shake him from hiz elevation. Theze remarks hav been repeetedly verified in Connecticut. The independence of the senate, owing mostly to this article in the constitution, haz several times saved the state from the most disgraceful acts.

The representativs are chozen twice a yeer, for there are two regular sessions of the legislature. This iz an inconvenience, but not so great, az it appears to our suthern nabors; for the freemen meet in towns, which are but about six miles square; so that they can go from home, make a choice, and return in three hours.

The regularity of theze meetings iz incredible to strangers, accustomed to the tumultuous elections in England and the suthern states. No man dare solicit for the votes of hiz nabors, nor ever offers himself a candidate by advertizing. The freemen meet in some public bilding, uzually a church, seet themselves, heer the law red respecting elections, and proclamation iz made that they prepare their ballots for the officer to be chozen. The constables then carry a hat to every freeman and take the votes, which are counted by the civil authority, and the choice declared in the meeting. Thus the representativs are elected; but the ballots for guvernor, deputy guvernor, senators, and delegates to congress, are seeled up, and sent to Hartford, where they are numbered at the annual election in May. The choice iz conducted with neerly the same sobriety az public worship on Sunday. How different the elections in the suthern states, where I hav seen candidates march at the hed of their adherents, armed with clubs, and force their way to the place of election, and by violence thrusting away their rivals! It is a misfortune in thoze states, that the freemen of a whole county assemble at elections. This iz one principal cause, why the elections are attended with tumults, riots, quarrels, bloody nozes, and in a few instances, with deth. The laws of a republic should gard against all large collections of peeple either for good or bad purposes: They are always dangerous. Rome furnishes innumerable lessons on this subject; and if the suthern legislatures attend to facts, they wil doubtless divide their counties into small districts for the purpose of election, and hav the choice completed in one day; that the candidates might not be able to hed their frends in more places than one. It iz of infinit consequence that the pernicious influence of elections should be destroyed.

Religion in Connecticut haz the support of law. Contracts with clergymen are valid in law, and every man iz compelled to pay hiz proportion of taxes to pay the salary of the minister of the parish where he resides, unless he produces du proof that he attends worship with some dissenting congregation; in which case he iz excuzed. This iz considered by strangers az a hardship: But it produces few inconveniencies in a state where there are few dissenters from the common worship; and theze few are exempted, if they attend any religious worship. Every person iz indulged in worshiping az he pleezes; and whatever modern liberality may pretend, the regular preeching of the gospel, az a civil institution, iz az necessary and useful, az the establishment of skools or courts of justice. Without any regard to compulsion over consciences, or any reference to a future life, a legal provision for the moral instructors of men, iz az beneficial in society, az any civil or literary institution whatever; and a commonalty, who hav not the benefit of such instruction, wil, I presume to assert, always be ignorant, and of ruf uncivil manners. It iz an article of some constitutions in America, that clergymen shal hold no civil office. This exclusion iz founded on just az good reezons, az the old laws against witchcraft; a clergyman being no more dangerous in a civil office, than a witch in civil society. It iz said that the business of clergymen iz divine and spiritual, and that they should hav no concern with politics. The objection iz equally good against merchants, mechanics and farmers, who hav no immediate concern with legislation. The truth iz, every citizen haz a concern in the laws which guvern him; and a clergyman haz the same concern with civil laws, az other men. There hav been bad clergymen and tyrannical hierarkies in the world; but the error lies in separating the civil from the ecclesiastical government. When separated they become rivals; when united, they hav the same interest to pursu. A clergyman's business iz to inform hiz peeple, and to make them good men. This iz the way to make them good citizens. The clergymen in Boston take the right method to accomplish this business; they throw aside all divine airs and imperious grave superiority; they mingle in the most familiar manner, with other peeple; they are social and facetious, and their parishoners delight to hav them at all entertainments and concerts. This conduct remoovs the awful distance between them and other descriptions of men; they are not only esteemed and respected, but luved; their decent deportment iz imitated; their churches are crowded, and their instructions listened to with plezure. Such men are blessings to society. That clergymen ought not to meddle with politics, iz so far from truth, that they ought to be well acquainted with the subject, and better than most classes of men, in proportion to their literary attainments. Religion and policy ought ever to go hand in hand; not to raize a system of despotism over the consciences, but to enlighten the minds, soften the harts, correct the manners and restrain the vices of men. If men are to be fitted for heaven, it must be by theze meens; there iz no other way. The separation of religion and policy, of church and state, waz owing at first to the errors of a gloomy superstition, which exalted the ministers of Christ into Deities; who, like other men, under similar advantages, became tyrants. The way to check their ambition, and to giv full efficacy to their administrations, iz to consider them az men and citizens, entitled to all the benefits of guvernment, subject to law, and designed for civil az wel az spiritual instructors.

The state of New York waz settled with views, widely different from thoze which actuated the New England puritans. Some Dutch merchants first established factories at Albany and on Manhattans, now York Island, for the purpose of opening a fur trade. When the province came into the possession of the English, several gentlemen of property took up large tracts of lands, which, being regulated by the English laws of descent, continued unbroken, til the late revolution. But many of the proprietors of theze manors, espousing the royal cause in the late contest, left their estates, which were of course confiscated and sold by the state. This circumstance waz fatal to many large manors; and a law of the state, enacted about the yeer 1781, which breaks the present and bars all future entailments, wil in time divide the large estates which remain unbroken. The Dutch possess the most fertile parts of the old settlements; az Ulster and Claverak counties, part of Albany and Kings county, on Long Island. They are honest and economical, but indolent, and destitute of enterprize; so that the state wil be mostly indetted to emigrants from New England, for its future population and improvements.

New York city iz the most favorable stand for a great commercial port on the united states. Men may indulge themselves in rapsodies, about the Potomack, the Ohio and the Missisippi; but no part of theze states, eest of the Allegany, wil ever rival New York, and it iz doutful whether the same conveniencies for business unite on any part of the Missisippi. New York iz the center of the commerce of all the territory, between the western boundary of Rhode Island and the middle of New Jersey, from the Atlantic neerly to the borders of Canada; a district of two hundred miles by two hundred and fifty. And the geography of the country tells us, that no part of Atlantic America can claim the same extensiv advantages. New York iz not eezily defended in time of war, and therefore, without a navy, iz not a safe place for an arsenal; but West Point, sixty miles abuv the city, on the Hudson, iz the most impregnable fortress in America.