S13)W3WS / f AKO\SlOTt\it .JAIOSLIUUOO ^AOIH^ Aiiouao >{aM ^'.ff>u;„jfrfc''^r ■■'inwjiov nuo'i va (Geo,, l^Vi^sUfN-OTON, ; 1 o a H q J .^e^^ ^#^^1 AN I nisroRicAL GEOGRAPHICAL, COMMERCIAL, AND PHILOSOPniCAt VIE OF THE AMERICAN UNITED STATES, AND 0P THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IV AMERICA AND TtfE WEST-INDIES* W. WINTERBOTHAM. IN FOUR VOLUMES. or ^ // J^RINTEb FOR THE EDITOR; J. RIDGWAY, YORK-STREET; H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER ROW} AND D. HOLT, NEWARS, SPRECKBf *, \ ^'^^ H aS^^S«4iU'UjV CONTENTS. VOL. I. Page' Discovery of America - - - . i General Defcr'iptian of America - - - » ^g DifcQveries and Settlements- of North-America^ chronologic cally arranged - - - - --i^j North' America^ Boundaries and Extent - - - 172 Divijions of N orth' America - - - - -174 General Defer iption of the United States of America - 175. Hiftory of the Rife, Progrejsy and Ejiablifhrnent of the Independence of the Uniud States - - - 395 niC^f!-^ .3. x: i 3. R 1 - ' ■■■■■■■ ,.: •;/;. Di bas^ -c'-'ii' -" - 'ii^i iacflib ilam ^ - - "^o Yfi}i;bni "^iTJ ■ i-'o:ii^:r - ' - ■ nz.udrAni 3fi^ • ' -■'" »'. ;J'- ' odi Hi 5 flfiu 3f{i ')o ^ - - • .ill; j?.rnofr:/.D bxiii "■ ^'' '* ■•■ ;;.il '"to ojn3np3]no.j> . ": Uid ; jn3ni):io;.> nc^^ '-'•'■'J -' " ■ riw) ^aoiji;Io73i Ditf '''*i>''vi i M/iM.iij.q jt.' -Mil i/>[ii,oI^.ri£il bnB t29J6)2 , ...• lo ytoj^v- ;. ;j., T-^ ^ d 1 1 r/iv/n Of n;no:> :rnoba3q3bni nt :iJ loflct ^HiHo/n brn: .rnhiocil-jb la ijv/oq orij oJ j^nibbi 'Klir'fHficj xii ,iiiKrj2 io 3'ji:jfnffio:> 3fii ; nuilijiqqo \o ?.Moui\ >:iHjLi'tr> moflyl s vd bajioqqiA nood j^erf .bliuv; wan aiiJ flJr/> PREFACE, N, O event ever proved fo interefting, to mankind in general and to the inljabitants of Europe in particular, as the difcovcry pf th^ new w^orld, and the paflage to India by the cape of Good Hope : it at pnice gave rife to a revolution in the com- merce and in the power of nations, as well as in the manners, induftry and government of almoft the whole world. At this period new connexions were formed by the inhabitants of the ii\oft diftant regions, for ^ the fupply of wants they had never before experienced. The productions of climates fituated under the equator were confumed in countries bordering on the pole ; ^he induftry of the north was tranfplanted to the fouth ; and ^e inh^itants of the weft were clothed with the manufadlurcs pf the eaft ; in fhort, a general intercourfe of opinions, laws ^nd cuftoms^ difeafes and remedies, virtues and vices, were eftabliftied amongft men. In Europe, in particular, every thing has been changed in confequence of its commerce and connexion with the Ameri- can continent ; but the changes which took place prior to the l^te revolution, (which efta{)liftied the liberties of the United States, and transformed the dependent colonies of Britain into ap independent commonwealth, or rather a fociety of com- 9ion\^e^l|l]sJ only ferved to increafe the mifery of' mankind, ^jicjin^ ^ \he power of delpotifm, and ri vetting fafter the iliackles of opprefjion ; the commerce of Spain, in particular, with the new world, has been fupported by a fyftem of rapine, A 2 I mur- murder and opprcfTion ; a fyftwi that ha* TprcaJ defolation: and ^«U(lrcfj npt oii\y in America, but in Europe and Africa. She has, however, benefitted but little by it, ior her ftrength, com- incrcc and >ndnftry, have evidenily. declined in proportion to the influx of the gold of the new continent. With Great- Briuin, for a confidcrable period, things appeared fomewhat different; till the epogh of the revolution her commerce with America increafed her national ftrength, and added to her own induftry and wealth, while it defolatpd and ravaged the coaft t^'irf^blo'^'f ot-tfi^ffih'.od lb ,noit«ffiiofei rftjuotdfb-E W \vnMiii From the period of the revolution^ the ittflnencc of AmeHca on Europe has been of a different kind : the glorious ftruggle -vrhich the United States fuflained, and the inquiries to ^hich .that eventful period gave rife, did much to raife mankind from rtbfitilateAf abje£l flavery and degradation, to which defpotifitfj . glided by fuperftition, had funk them : from that period the righfs i)f man began to be underftood, and the principles of idtVll ^nd religioii« liberty have been canvalTed with a freedom before unknown, and their influence has extended itfelf from the pa- lace to the cottage; in (hort, the revolution in the late Britiih Ainerigan colonies bids fair ultimately not only to occafitth ;li^e emancipation of the other European colonies On that>'i5c»rf-. linent, but tp accompli flj a complete revolution in all ^-bW ,gPYpnjqQf5iJg^,,feur<>pie. ,.,, ;.,.,,.... ,r„. ^.n\, -^,^^1^ , oiujjt ^d 7'i'"-i. :!S J/,- l(^''. f)i>T in :^^r; y-n?\v mU brif; ^'gfiiWuon ib-zW^ l^f^Ve already, fecna.patriotking^ aided hyial^-^^tej J^ght.for the caufc of freedom under Wafhington, ftnt^ing |9,frpn4er .his pepple free and happy ; and we have witnefled a P«g^r^4^!^^JPPtcxpii|tii\g his crimes on the fcaffbld, at tbecCttft- PPf^4 P;f.?rPW>le roui;ed|tQ> a.^nfo of their injuries and Figbfi, by mei> who had alliitcd in eftablilhing the liberties of Amcrici. ; — In reflpdjng on thofe fcenes as individuals, we can only la- .fBe^t,f|^^^\KIWl,iMfLTu9Cef5.vhipH«h8sattended,thfeiOTnfrer, and .p©^^,;^^ f^rwc^; pf an3i^tiow5,'^nd unptinbipled individudlis, ^hich b^vp fprtainly, tar4iiJi«feurces of France drawn forth into adioii under the iiifiuehcc of an energetic government, founded on the will of the people, and adminiftered at an expenfe far lefs than what the penfioned minions of its former corrupt court alone devoured. Whetr- cyer that period arrives, and arrive it will, it needs not a fpirh of infpiration to aflert, that the other nations of Europe muft I fubmit to a thorough reformation, or be' content to behold their Commerce, agriculture, and poptilati^tt dtdfeS?^ 2>ffy 0101 i r ^'gj^uiil i-jonoig ^n: : bni^ !.iJi:>1tJ; r U n33d znd aqoiuE (lo^ il'jfltt th€>^*nea» imiehhe United Stat^r^a^^'^preli^ril if^xKc jHonvulfed fituation of Europe, and increafing, in a dcgree-hi- ^fherto linparalleled in thehiftory of nations,' ih population and jf^ulence. Their power, commerce and agriculture, arc ra- jptfdly on the increafe, and the wifdom of the federal -goverrt- *fnent has hitherto been fuch as to render the profpe6t ofa fcN -llement under its foftering influence t^ruly inviting to the mer- chant, the manufacturer, the mechanic, and the induftrious la- .|K)urer: nor have thefe alone found the United States advanr tageous ; the perfecuted in France or England have there found an afylum, where their lives, property and liberty'afe fecure ; where they may almoft fay, the wicked Ceafe from troubling, and the weary are at reft. Nor can any doubt be entertained, but in a jhort period the than of fcience, as well as the contemplative' and experimental philofopiher, -will find the fhores of Columbia equally propitious to i^lerrWifhes. Education is fending forth its illuminating rays^,-''^nd itslii- Juence on the rifmg gemeration will aid the Ameficii^^ lit 'iU ,ibeir other purfuit!a,3di gnirfHldBib at bc^iuhc Uii ori v (larn id -tl \UiQ ri£3 3W /.![£ubivffoai 8£ zon^p'l alodl no §ru5qfi^t nl— bhsXfeKM^aWi*rtbri©fBEQf^aifiH« .^flttbiWbf^iiNimftanKpsy ^1^«f t^ie Editor, a|L,ihe iiiiligatioD of foiiie . pa;;ticgla.r ffieads,^ un,(^ertooJc {1^ piify Whkli W noj^s^ hq lias 'ini. (pmc degree ac^ojinjilifti^d i^ t^ic following volume^, of afForjdip^ hijs ,cpupt,r)(nier\.a|] ogr portunity of becoming better acquainted with its fettlemenf by Europeans — -the events that led to the eftablifhment and in- dependence of tlie Ujiiied Statep— the nature of tb,eir go^^rn-, ii;iciit^-their pre.fent fituatiop and advantages, tpgether, is^llj^ their future profpedls in commerce, : nanufadl-ures and ^^r\-- culture. This, formed the principal defign of ,the workf bv^t J^ farther wi (bed with this to connect a gerieral v^ylo} tfo lituatjoq of tlip remainmg Luropeaii poireiriQ||V5 i^ A?ifrl iica and'the Weft-India iflands ; this has been therefore atr *? t • . ■•• '■■■'■-■-■.:.:- -^m tempted, ^jfid n^rly a volume is. dedicated alone tothisfulju jeOy^ Coni^ectjijd v»(itl^ the ^bove, one obje£t has bcen^cpflj. ftaotly' kep in vi^w^ ^^npely^ to afford the ^migrat^pr to A^raq^' i^ica "3, fummary of general iuformation, tbat i^iay, in foxn^ iheafure fcrve as a diredory to him in the choice of a refidence, *V^f'^,?^7?,f^ ,^^^^ purfuits. This fuggeded the proj>r^(?t)^ bi«^^S; ^Pt >for liim to determine ; he can. only fay, he?: haiofjparfrd-fla^painr, no^ ncglodcd any Opportunity,-' \yhich hfsii fmiat^on per^nittf^d lym to embrace to obtain infoim^fiopi aji4 b^^J^s to cxpiefs his obligations for the obliging communica-j tious^ p-r'eV^a%'%/ vii fibns of. many, whofe names tlie^i^cfuliarity 6f fiis bwn 'fitua- fion will riot for obvious t'eafons {)e'miit him to mention, hiii for whpfe friendlhip he fhall ever retain the mbft lively "feiiti-- ^s Qi "" , ' ; ' . • The Editor has particularly to regjLwft^th^t thpf^Wfjio^ have takea this Woik in Numbers, will, in juftice to himfelf, as well as to the cha- rafter of William Penn, deftroy the half-flieet, fignature P p vol. ii. page 289 to 296 inclufive, and fubflitute the half-lheet of the fame figna- ture, given in the lafl Number, in its ftead-r— the fame is requefted re- fpe^ng.the Conftitutioxi of Pennfylvaaia and the other cancels marked. bn£ \ fioiJsniToinf niBldo o) spEidma ot miri bojiifiiiaq noi-tKiuit -cDifiuffirxiop snr^ildosrfripl 8aoij£§ildo z'lA giuicjy.^ oj ''^^^ ,^noil via P R B F A C E. The Editor has now only to deprecate the feverlty of criti- cifm. It was impoflibley in feleding from fuch a variety of authors, to fccure uniformity of language without immenfe trouble ; and from his fituation, which rendered an eafy commu- nication with the Printer not only often difficult, but in many cafes irapradicable, feveral typographical errors will, no doubt, occur to the reader, as well as fome others of a literary kind. •—As thefe, however, do not alFeft fa£ts, he has not added an errata, but left the whole to the candour and good fenfe of the reader, to whom he wifhes, with fmccrity, as much plea- fure in the perufal, a$ himfelf has experienced in coUeding^ and arranging the materials. State Side of Newgate, Jan. Jift, 1795. H IS* DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ilT is believed by many, that the ancients had fome imperfefl notion of a new world;, and feveral ancient authors are quoted in confirmation of this opinion. In a book afcribed to the philofopher Ariftotle, we are told that the Carthaginians difcovered an ifland far beyond the pillars o£ Hercules, large, fertile, and finely watered with navigable rivers, but uninhabited. This ifland was diftant a few days failing from the Con- tinent ; its beauty induced the difcoverers to fettle there ; but the policy of Carthage dillodged the colony, and laid a ftrift prohibition on all the fiibjeds of the Hate not to attempt any future eftablifbment. This ac- count is alfo confirmed by an hiftorian of no mean credit, who relates, that the Tyrians would have fettled a colony on the new-difcovered ifland, but were oppofed by the Carthaginians for ftate reafons. Seneca, and other authors are alfo quoted in fupport of this belief. But however this may be, nobody ever believed the exiftence of this continent fo firmly as to go in queft of it ; at leaft, there are no accounts well fup- ported that America received any part of its firft inhabitants from Europe prior to the 15th century. The Welih fondly imagine that their country contributed) in 1 1 70, to people the New World, by the adventure of Madoc, fon of Owen Gwynedd, who, on the death of his father, failed there, and colonized part of the country. All that is ad- vanced in proof is, a quotation from one of the Britifti Poets, which proves no more than that he had diftinguifhed himfelf by fea and land. It is pretended that he made two voyages ; that failing Weft, he left Ireland fo far to the North, that he came to a land unknown, where he faw many ftrange things ; that he returned home, and, making a report of the fruitfulnefs of the new-difcovered country, prevailed on numbers of the Welfti of each fex to accompany him on a fecond voyage, from which he never returned. The favourers of this opinion affert, that feveral Welfh words, fuch as gnvrando, " to hearken or liften ;" the ifle oiCrea^fof or " welcome;" Cape Breton, from the name of Britain; ^wmdivr, or, ** the white water ;" and peng^in^ or, " the bird with B <* a whiter 2 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. " a white head ;" arc to be found in the American language. But likcnefs of found in a few words will not be deemed fufficient to ef- tablilh the faft; efpecially if the meaning has been evidently per- verted ; for example, the whole penguin tribe have unfortunately not only black heads, but are not inhabitants of the Northern hemifphere ; the name was alfo beftowed on them by the Dutch, a pinguedlne, from their exceffive fatnefs : but the inventor of this, thinking to do honour to his country, inconfiderately caught at a word of European origin, and. unheard of in the New World. It may be added, that the Wellh were never a naval people ; that the age in which Madoc lived was peculiarly Ignorant in navigation j and the moft which they could have attempted muft have been a mere coafting voyage*. ■ The Norwegians put in for a {hare of the glory, on grounds rather better than the Welfli, By their fettlcments in Iceland and in Green- land, they had arrived within fo fmall a diftance of the New World, that there is at leaft a pofTibility of its having been touched at by a people fo verfed in maritime affairs, and fo adventurous, as the ancient Normans vvere. The proofs are mugh more numerous than thofe pro- duced by the Britifh Hiftorians; for the difcovery is mentioned in feveral of the Iflandic manufcripts. The period was about the year 1002, when it was vifited by one Biorn; and the difcovery purfued to greater effedl by Leif, the fon of Eric, the difcoverer of Greenland. It does no,t appear that they reached farther than Labrador ; on which coaft they met with the Efquimaux, on whom they bellowed the name of Skrarl'wgues, or dwarfifh people, from their fmall ftature. They were armed with bows and arrows, and had leathern canoes, fuch as they have at prefent. All this is probable ; nor fhould the tale, of the Ger- man, called Tuckilf one of the crew, invalidate the account. He was one day miffing; but foon returned, leaping and fmging with all the extravagant marks of joy a bon 'vi^vant could Ihow, on difcovering the inebriating fruit of his country, the grape : Torfseus even fays, that he returned in a ftate of intoxication. To convince his commander, he brought feveral bunches, who from that circumllance named that country Vlnla}:d, It is not to be denied, that North America pro- duces the true vine ; but it is found in far lower latitudes than our ad- * If the reader, however, wifhes to examine this curious queftion ftill farther, he Vill meet with all that can be faid upon tlie fubjeft, in Williams's Enquiry into the truth of the traditiony concerning the Difcovery of America hy Prince Madog. 8vo.— See alfo Im^ay's jlccount of Kentucky y pa^e 377, ad Edit. venturers DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 3 venturers could reach in the time employed in their voyages, which was comprehended in a very fraall fpace. There appears no reafon to doubt of the difcovery; hut as the land was never colonized, nor any advantages made of it, it may. fairly be conjeftured, that they reached no farther than the barren country of Labrador. In fhort, it is from a much later period that we muft date the real difcovery of America *. Towards the clofe of the 14th century, the navigation of Europe was fcarcely extended beyond the limits of the Mediterranean. The mari- ner's compafs had been invented and in common ufe for more than a century ; yet with the help of this fure guide, prompted by the moft ardent fpirit of difcovery, and encouraged by the patronage of princes, the mariners of thofe days rarely ventured from the fight of land. They acquired great applaufe by failing along the coaft of Africa and difcovering fome of the neighbouring iflands ; and after pufliing their refearches with the greateft induftry and perfeverance for more than half a century, the Portuguefe, who were the moft fortunate and en- terprifmg, extended their difcoveries Southward no farther than the equator. The rich commodities of the Eaft, had for feveral ages been brought into Europe by the way of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean ; and it tad now become the objeft of the Portuguefe to find a pafTage to India, by failing round the Southern extremity of Africa and then taking an Eaftern courfe. This great objeft engaged the general attention of mankind, and drew into the Portuguefe fervice adventurers from every maritime nation in Europe. Every year added to their experience in navigation, and feemed to promife a reward to their induftry. The profpeft, however, of arriving at the Indies was extremely diftant ; fifty years perfeverance In the fame track, had brought them only to the equator, and it was propable that as many more would elapfc before they could accomplifh their purpofe, had not Columbus, by an uncommon exertion of genius,' formed a defign no lefs aftonifhing to the age in vvhich he lived, than beneficial to pofterity. Among the foreigners whom the fame of the difcoveries made by the Portuguefe had allured into their fervice, was Chriftopher Colon or Columbus, a fubjeifl of the republic of Genoa. Neither the time nor * In the ad Vol. of the Tranfadions of the Philofophlcal Society al Philadelphia, Mr. Otto, in a Memoir on the Difco-very of America, ftrenuoufly contends, that one IJehem, a German, difcovered the American Continent prior to its being difcovercd by Columbus. For the ingenious arguments in fupport of this opinion, the reader Is re- ferred to the Memoir^ 32; place 4 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, place of his birth arc known with certainty'; but he was dcfccndcd of an honourable family, though reduced to indigence by various mis- fortunes. His anceflors having betaken themfclvcs for fubfiftencc to a fca-faring life, Columbus difcovtred, in his early youth, the peculiar charafter and talents which mark out a man for that profclTion. His parents, inftcad of thwarting this original propcnfity of his mind, feem to have encouraged and confirmed it, by the education which they gave him. After acquiring fomc knowledge of the Latin tongue, the only language in which fciencc was taught at that time, he was inftruded in geometry, cofmography, aftronomy, and the art of drawing. To thefc he applied with fuch ardour and prcdile*^ion, Qn account of their con- nexion with navigation, his favourite obje6^, that he advanced with rapid proficiency in the ftudy of them. Thus qualified, in the year 1461, he went to fea at the age of fourteen, and began his career 01% that clement which conduced him to fo much glory. His early voyages were to thofc ports in the Mediterranean which his countrymen the Gcnocfc frequented. This being a fphere too narrow for his aflivc mind, he made an cxcurfion to the northern feas, in 1 467, and vifitcd the coafts of Iceland, to which the Englifh and other nations had begun torcfort on account of its filhery. As navigation, in every direftion, was now become cnterprifing, he proceeded beyond that ifland, the 'i'hule of the ancients, and advanced ffcveral degrees within the polar circle. Having fatisfied his curiofity by a voyage which tended more to enlarge his knowledge of naval affairs, than to improve his fortune, he entered into the fervice of a famous fca- captain, of his own name and family. This man commanded a fmall fquadron, fitted out at his own cxpence, and by cruifing fometlmes againft the Mahometans, fomc- times againft the Venetians, the rivals of his country in trade, had ac- quired both wealth and reputation. With him Columbus continued for fcveral years, no Icfs diftinguilhed for his courage, than for his ex- perience as a failor. At length, in an ohftinatc engagement, off the coaft of Portugal, with fome Venetian Caravels, returning richly laden from the Low Countries, the veflcl on board which he ferved took firc> together with one of the enemy's fliips, to which it was faft grappled. In this dreadful extremity his intrepidity and prcfcnce of mind did not forfakc him. He threw himfelf into the fea, laid hold of a floating oar, and by the fupport of it, and his dexterity in fwimming, he reached the Ihorc, though above two leagues diftant, and favcd a life rcfcrved for great undertakings. As foon a.s he recovered (Ircngth for the journey, he repaired to Lifton, where many of his countrymen were fettled. They foon con- ceived • 1. . \ DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. g ceived fuch a favourable opinion of his merit, as well as talents, tha^ they warmly folicited him to remain in that kingdom, where his naval ikill and experience could not fail of rendering him confpicuous. To every adventurer, animated either with curiofity to vifit new countries, or with ambition to diftinguifli himfelf, the Portugucfe fervice was at that time extremely inviting. Columbus Hftened with a favourable car to the advice of his friends, and having gained the eftccm of a Portu- guefe lady, whom he married, ^xed his refidendfe in Lifbon. This alli- ance, inftead of detaching him from a fcu-fiiring life, contributed, to en- large the fphere of his naval knowledge, and to excite a defirc of ex- tending it ftill farther. His wife was a daughter of Bartholomew rereftrcllo, one of the captains employed by prince Henry in his early- navigations, and who, under his protetlion, had difcovcrcd and planted the iflands of Porto Santo and Madeira. Columb\is got pofTcflion of the journals and charts of this experienced navigator, and from them he learned the courfc which the Portuguefc had held in making their dif- covcries, as well as the various circumftanccs which guided or encouraged them in their attempts. The ftudy of thefe foothcd and inflamed iiis favourite paflion ; and while he contemplated tlip maps, and read the dcfcriptions of the new countries which Pereftrello had feen, his im- patience to vifit them became irrefiftible. In order to indulge it, he piadea voyage to Madeira, and continued during fovcral years to trade with that idand, with the Canaries, the Azores, the fettlcments in Guinea, and all the other places which the Portuguefc had difcovcrcd oi^ ^hc continent of Africa, By the experience which Columbus acquired, during fuch a variety of voyages, to almoft every part of the globe with which, at that time, ai;^ intercourfc was carried on by fea, he wa^ now become one of the moll fkilful navigators in Europe. Btit, not fatisfied with that praife, his ambition aimed at fomething more. The fuccefsful progrefs of the Portuguefc navigators had awakened a fpirit of curiofity and emulation, which fct every man of fciencc upon examining all the circumftanccs that led to the difcoverics which they had made, or that afforded a prof- pe«5l of fucceeding in any new and bolder undertaking. The mind of Columbus, naturally ihquifitive, capable of deep reflei^Hon, and turned to fpeculations of this kind, was fo often employed in revolving the minciplcs upon which the Portugucfe had founded their fchemcs of dif- covery, and the mode in which they had carried them on, that he gradu- ally began to form an idea of improving upon tlicir plan, and of ac- compliftiing difcoveries which hitherto they had attempted in vain. To find out a paflage by fea to the Kaft Indies, was the great objcfl in view at that period. From the time that the Portugucfe doubled Cape dc " Vcrd. 6 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. Vcrd, this was the point at which they aimed in all their navigations! aod> in comparifon with it, all their difcovcries in Africa appeared in- confiderablc. The fertility and riches of India had been known for many ages ; its fpiccs and other valuable commodities were in high re- qucft throughout Europe, and the vaft wealth of the Venetians arifmg from their having engroffed this trade, had raifed the envy of all nations. But how intent focver the Portugucfe were upon difcovering a new route tothofe defirablc regions, they fearched for it^only by fleering towards the fouth, in hopes of arriving at India, by turning to the eaft, after they had failed round the farther extremity of Africa. This courfe was ftill unknown, and, even if difcovered, wasof fuch immenfe length, that a voyage from Europe to India muft have appeared, at that period, an undertaking extremely arduous, and of very uncertain iffue. More than half a century had been employed in advancing from Cape Non to the equator ; a much longer fpace of time might elapfe before the more extenfive navigation from that to India could be accompliflied. Thefe refledlions upon the uncertainty, the danger and tedioufnefs of the courfe which the Portugucfe were purfuing, naturally led Columbus to confider \vhether a ftiorter and more diredl palTage to the Eaft Indies might not be found out. After revolving long and ferioufly every circumftancc fuggeflcd by his fuperior knowledge in the theory as well as praftice of navigation, after comparing attentively the obfervations of modern pilots with the hints and conjedures of ancient authors, he at laft concluded, that by failing dircclly towards the weft, acrofs the Atlantic ocean, new countries, which probably formed a part of the great continent of India, muft infallibly be difcorered. Principles and arguments of various kinds, and derived from different fources, induced him to adont this opinion, feemingly as chimerical as it was new and extraordinary. The fpherical figure of the earth was known, and its magnitude afcertained with fome degree of accuracy. From this it was evident, that the continents of Europe, Afia, and Africa, as far as they were known at that time, formed but a fmall por, tion of the terraqueous globe. It was fuitable to our ideas concerning the wifdom and beneficence of the Author of Nature, to believe that the Taft fpace, ftill unexplored, was not covered entirely by a wafte unprofit- able ocean, but occupied by countries fit for the habitation of man. It; appeared likewife extremely probable, that the continent, on this fide of the globe, was balanced by a porportional quantity of land in the other hemifphere. Thefe conclufions concerning the exiftence of another continent, drawn from the figure and ftrudure of the globe, were con- firmed by the obfervations and conjeaures of modern navigators. A 3 - » Pprtuguefe DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. *J Portuguefe pilot, having ftretched farther to the weft than was ufual at that timfc, took up a piece of timber artificially carved, floating upon the fea ; arid as it was driven towards him by a wefterly wind, he concluded that it came from fome unknown land, fituated in that quarter. Colum- bus's brother-in-law had found, to the weft of the Madeira ifles, a piece of timber fafhioned in the fame manner, and brought by the fame wind ; and had feen likewife canes of an enormous fize floating upon the waves, which refembled thofe defcribed by Ptolemy, as produftions peculiar to the Eaft Indies. After a courfe of wefterly winds, trees, torn up by the roots, were often driven upon the coafts of the Azores, and at one time the dead bodies of two men, with lingular features, refembl- ing neither the inhabitants of Europe nor of Africa, were caft afhore there. As the force of this united evidence, arifing from theoretical princi- ples and pradical obfervations, led Columbus to expedl the difcovery of new countries in the Weftern Ocean, other reafons induced him to be- lieve that thefe muft be connefted with the continent of India, Though the ancients had hardly ever penetrated into India farther than the banks of the Ganges, yet fome Greek authors had ventured to defcribe the provinces beyond that river. As men are prone, and at liberty, to mag- nify what is remote or unknown, they reprefented them as regions of an immenfe extent, Ctefias affirmed that India was as large as all the reft of Afia. Oneficritus, whom Pliny the naturalift follows, contended that it was equal to a third part of the inhabitable earth. Nearchus aiferted, that it would take four months to march in a ftraight line from one extremity of India to the other. The journal of Marco Polo, who had proceeded towards the Eaft far beyond the limits to which any Eu- ropean had ever advanced, feemed to confirm thefe exaggerated accounts of the ancients. By his magnificent defcriptions of the kingdoms of Cathay and Ctpango, and of many other countries, the names of which were unknown in Europe, India appeared to be a region of vaft extent. From thefe accounts, which, ]\ovvever defedlive, were the moft accurate that the people of Europe had received at that period, with refpeft to . the remote parts of the Eaft, Columbus drew a juft conclufion. He contended, that, in proportion as the continent of India ftretched out « towards the Eaft, it muft, in confequence of the fpherical figure of the . earth, approach nearer to the illands which had lately been difcovered to the weft of Africa ; that the diftance from the one to the other was probably not very confiderable ; and that the moft direfl, as well as fhorteft courfe, to the remote regions of the Eaft, was to be found by failing due v/eft. This notion concerning the vicinity of India to the wcftcm h DISCOVERY OF AMERICA; wefterh parts of our continent, was countenanced by fomc^ craincnf writcn among the ancients, the fandion of whofe authority was necef^ fary, in that age, to procure a favourable reception to any tenet. Arlf- totlc thought it probable that the Columns of Hercules, or Straits of Gibraltar, were not far removed from the Eaft Indies, and that there might be a communication by fea between them. Seneca, in terms ftill more explicit, affirms, that, with a fair wind, one might fail from Spain to India in a few days. The famous Atlantic ifland defcribed by Plato, and fuppofed by many to be a real country, beyond which an unknown Continent was fituated, is reprefented by him as lying at no great dff- tance from Spain. After weighing all thefe particulars, Columbus, in whofe character the modefty and diffidence of true genius was united with the ardent enthufiafm of a projedor, did not reft with fuch abfo- lute afTurancc either upon his own arguments, or upon the authority of the ancients, as not to confult fuch of his contemporaries as were capable of comprehending the nature of the evidence which he produced in fup- port of his ppinion. As early as the year one thoufand four hundred and fevent}'-four, he communicated his ideas concerning the probability of difcovering new countries, by failing weftwards, to Paul, a phy- £cian of Florence, eminent for his knowledge of cofmography, and who, from the learning as well as candour which he difcovers in his reply, appears to have been well intitled to the confidence which Co- lumbus placed in him. He warmly approved of the plan, fiiggefted feveral fads in confirmation of it, and encouraged Columbus to perfe- vere in an undertaking fo laudable, and which muft redound fo much to the honour of his country, and the benefit of Europe. To a mind lefs capable of forming and of executing great defigns than that of Columbus, all thofe reafonings, and obfervations, and au- thorities, would have itirved only as the foundation of fome plaufiblc and fruitlefs theory, which might have furnifhed matter for ingenioui difcourfe, or fanciful conjcfture. But with his fanguine and enterprifing temper, fpeculation led direftly to aftion. Fully fatisfied himfelf with refpeft to the truth of his fyftem, he was impatient to bring it to the teft of experiment, and to fet out upon a voyage of dlfcovjcry. The firrt ftcp towards this was to fecure the patronage of fome of the confiderablc powers in Europe, capable of undertaking fuch an enterprife. As long abfence had not extinguifhed the afFedion which he bore to his nativd country, he wifhed that it fhould reap the fruits of his labdurs and in- vention. With this view, he laid his fchemc before the feriate of Ge- noa, and making his country the firft tender of his fervice, offered to iail under the banners of tEe republic, in quell of the new regions whicll he DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. g ht expected to difcover. But Columbus had refidcd for fo many yeaw in foreign parts, that his countrymen were unacquainted with his abi- lities and charafter ; and, though a maritime people, were fo little ac- cuftomed to diftant voyages, that they could form rio juft idea of the principles on which he founded his hopes of fuccefs. They inconfider- ately rejeded his propofal, as the dream of a chimerical projedor, and loft for ever the opportunity of reftoring their commonwealth to its an.- cient fplendour. Having performed what was due to his country, Columbus was fp little difcouraged by the repulfe which he had received, that, inftead of relinquifhing his undertaking, he purfued it with frelh ardour. He made his next overture to John II. king of Portugal, in whofe domi^ nions he had been long eftabliflied, and whom he confideted, on that account, as having the fecond claim to his fervice. Here every circum- (lance feemed to proinife him a more favqurable reception. He applied to a monarch of an enterprifmg genius, no incompetent judge in naval affairs, and proud of patronifmg every attempt to difcover new countries. His fubjefts were the moit experienced navigators in Europe, and th« leaft apt to be intimidated either by the novelty or boldncfs of any ma- ritime expedition. In Portugal, the profeffionaL ikill of Columbus, as well as his perfonal good qualities, vi^ere thoroughly known ; and as the former rendered it probable that his fcheme was not altogether vi- fionary, the latter exempted him from the fufpicion of any fmifter in- tention in propofmg it. Accordingly, the king lillened to him in th« jnoft gracious manner, and referred the confid^ration of his plan to Diego Ortiz, bifliop of Ceuta, and two Jewifh phyficians, eminent cof- mographers, whom he was accuftomed to confult in matters of thi« kind. As in Genoa, ignorance had oppofed and difappointed Colum- bus ; in Lifbon, he had to. combat with prejudice, an enemy no lefs for- midable. The pcrfons, according to whofe decllion his fcheme was to be adopted or rejeded, had been the chief diredors of the Portuguefe navigations, and had advifed to fearch fov a paffage to India, by fleer- ing a courfe direiflly oppofite to that which Columbus recommended as Ihorter and more certain. They couH not, therefore, approve of hi* propofal, without fubmitting to the double rnortification, of condemn* ning their own theory, and of acknowledging his fuperlor fagacity. After teafing him with captious quellions, and ftarting innumerable, ob- jedlions, with a view of betraying him into fuch a particul,ar explana- tion of his fyllem, as might draw from him a full difcovery of its na- ture, they deferred paffing a final judgement with refped to it. In th^ inean time, they confpired to rob him of ^h^ Honour and advantages C • ' ^" .,^ ..^^.v^.* which 10 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. which he cxpe^cd from the fucccfs of his fcheme, advifmg the king f» difpatch a veffel, fecrctly, in order to attempt the propofed difcovcry, by following exadly the courfe which Columbus fecmed to point out. John, forgetting on this occafion the fentimcnts becoming a monarch, meanly adopted this perfidious counfel. But (he pilot, chofen to exe- cute Columbus's plan, had neither the genius, nor the fortitude of its author. Contrary winds arofe, no fight of approaching land appeared, his courage failed, and he returned to Lifbon, execrating the projeft as equally extravagant and dangerous. Upon difcovering this difhonourable tranfaftion, Columbus felt the indignation natural to an ingenuous mind, and in the warmth of his re- fentment determined to break off all intercoilrfe with a nation capable of fuch flagrant treachery. He inftantly quitted the kingdom, and landed in Spain towards the clofe of the year one thoufand four hundred and eighty-four. As he was now at liberty to court the protedlion of any patron, whom he could engage to approve of his plan, and to carry it into execution, he refolved to propofe it in perfon to Ferdinand and Ifabella, who at that time governed the united kingdoms of Caftile and Arragon. But as he had already experienced the uncertain iffue of appli- cations to kings and minifters, he took the precaution of fending into England his brother Bartholomew, to whom he had fully communicated his ideas, in order that he might negociate, at the fame time, with Henry VII. who was reputed one of the moft fagacious as well as opu- lent princes in Europe. It was not without leafon that Columbus entertained doubts and feari with refpeft to the reception of his propofals in the Spanilh court. Spain was, at that jundure, engaged in a dangerous war with Granada, the laft of the Moorilh kingdoms in that country. The wary and fuf- picious temper of Ferdinand was not formed to relifti bold or uncommon defigns. Ifabella, though more generous and enterprifing, was under the influence of her hulband in all her aftions. The Spaniards had hitherto made no efforts to extend navigation beyond its ancient limits, and had beheld the amazing progrefs of difcovery among their neigh- bours the Portuguefe, without one attempt to imitate or to rival them. The war with the Infidels afforded an ample field to the national adivity and love of glory. Under circumflances fo unfavourable, it was impof- fible for Columbus to make rapid progrefs with a nation, naturally flow and dilatory in forming all its rcfolutions. His charader, however, was admirably 'adapted to that of the people, whofe confidence and protec- tion he folicited. He was grave, though courteous in his deportment ; circurafped in his words and adions ; irreproachable in his morals; and . 3 cxemplaiy DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 11 «Xemplary in his attention to all the duties and funftions of religion. By qualities fo rerpeftable, he not only gained many private friends, but acquired fuch general efteem, that, notwithftanding the plainnefs of his appearance, fuitable to the mediocrity of his fortune, he was not confidered as a mere adventurer, to whom indigence had fuggefted a vi- fionary projeft, but was received as a perfon to whofe propolitions ferioug attention was due. Ferdinand and Ifabella, though fully occupied by their operationt againft the Moors, paid fo much regard to Columbus, as to remit the confidcration of his plan to the queen's confeffor, Ferdinand de Tala- vera. He confultcd fuch of his countrymen as were fuppofed beft qua- lified to decide with refpeft to a fubjed of this kind. But true fciencc had, hitherto, made fo little progrefs in Spain, that the pretended phi- lofophers, felefted to judge in a matter of fuch moment, did not com- prehend the firft principles upon which Columbus founded his conjec- tures and hopes. Some of them, from miftaken notions concerning the •liraenfions of the globe, contended that a voyage to thofe remote part* of the eaft, which Columbus expected to difcover, could not be per- formed in lefs than three years. Others concluded, that either he would find the ocean to be of infinite extent, according to the opinion of fome ancient philofophers ; or, if he (hould perfift in fleering towards the weft beyond a certain point, that the convex figure of the globe would prevent his return, and that he muft inevitably perifti, in the vain at- tempt to open a communication lietween the two oppofite hemifpheres, which nature had for ever disjoined. Even without deigning to enter into any particular difcuflion, many rejeftsd the fcheme in general, upon the credit of a maxim, under which the ignorant and unenterprifing (belter themfelves in every age, " That it is prefumptuous in any per- fon, to fuppofe that he alone poffeffes knowledge fuperior to all the reft of mankind united," They maintained, that if there were really any fuch countries as Columbus pretended, they could not have remained Co Jong concealed, nor would the wifdom and fagacity of former ages have left the glory of this invention to an obfcure Genoefe pilot. It required all Cot\imbus*s patience and addrefs to negociate with mea capable of advancing fuch ftrange propofitions. He had to contend not only with the obftinacy of ignorance, but with what is ftill more intrac- table, the pride of falfe knowledge. After innumerable conferences, and wafting five years in fruitlefs endeavours to inform and to fatisfy judges fo little capable of deciding with propriety, Talavera, at laft, made fuch an unfavourable report to Ferdinand and Ifabella, as induc€d them to acquaint Columbus, tha?t until the war with the Moors Aould be C a brought f^ J5ISCOVE^Y or AMERICA. brought to a period, it would fee imprudent to engage in any Hew toA cxpcnfive enterprife. WhatcYcr care was taken to ibften the harfhneft of this - thufiafm, which can neither be cooled by delays, nor damped by difap- pointmcnt. Columbus was of this fanguine temper. Though he felt deeply the cruel blow given to his hopes, and retired immediately from a court, where he had been amufed fo long with vain expeiflations, hi» confidence in the juftnefs of his own fyftem did not diminifli, and hia impatience to demonftrate the truth of it by an adual experiment becam* greater than ever. Having courted the protedion of fove reign ftatcft \yithout fuccefs, he applied, ne\ty to perfons of inferior rank, and ad- dreffed fucceflivcly the dukes of Medina Sidonia, and Medina Celi, who, though fubjeds, were pofleffed of power and opulence more than equal to the enterprife which he projedled. His ncgociations with them proved as fruitlefs, as thofe in which he had been hithertor-engaged ; for thefc noblemen were either as little convinced by Columbus's arguments a» their fuperiors, or they were afraid of alarming the jealoufy, and of- fending the pride of Ferdinand, by countenancing a fcheme which he had rcjefled. Amid the painful fenfations occafioned by fuch a fuccellion of difap* pointments, Columbus had to fuftain . ••! additional diftrcfs, of having received no accounts frofa his brother, whom he had fent to the court of England. In his voyage to that country, Bartholomew had been fo un- fortunate as to fall into the hands of pirates, who having ftripped him of every thing, detained him a prifoner for feveral years. At Jength, he made his efcape, and arrived in London, but in fuch extreme indigence* that he was obliged to employ himfelf, during a confiderable time, in drawing and felling maps, in order to pick up as much money as would purchafe a decent drefs, in which he might venture to appear at court. He then laid before the king the propofals, with which he had been cn- trufled by his brother, and, notwithllanding Henry's exceflive caution and parfimony, which rendered him avcrfe to new or expcnfive under- tiikings, he received Columbus's overtures, with more approbation, thaa any monarch to whom they had hitherto been prefented. Meanwhile, Columbus being unacquainted with his brother's .fate, and having now no profped of encouragement in Spain, refolved to vifit tiie court of England in pcrfon, in l.opes of meeting with a more fa- ir ourabU jeccption there. He had already imide preparations for this ; purpofc» DISCOVERS OF AMERICA. i^ ^urpofe, and taken meafures for the difpofal of his children dafing hit abfence, when Juan Perez, the guardian of the monaftery^of Rabida» near Palos, in which they had been educated, earneftly folicited him to defer his journey for a Ihort time. Perez was a man of confiderable learning, and of fome credit with Queen Ifabella, to whom he wa» known perfonally. He was warmly attached to Columbus, with whofo abilities as well as integrity he had many opportunities of being ac- quainted. Prompted by curioiity or by fricndfhip, he entered upon an accurate examination of his {y^crrr, in conjunftion with a phyfician fettled in the neighbourhood, who was a confiderable proficient in ma- thematical knowledge. This inveftigation fatisfied them fo thoroughly, with refpeft to the folidity of the principles on which Columbus founded his opinion, and the probability of fuccefs in executing the plan which he propofed, that Perez, in order to prevent his country from being deprived of the glory and benefit, which mud accrue to the patrons of fuch a grand enterprife, ventured to write to Ifabella, conjuring her to coniider the matter anew, with the attention which it merited. Moved by the reprefentations of a perfon whom (he refpeded, Ifabella defired Perez to repair immediately to the village of Santa Fe, in which, on account of the fiege of Granada, the court refided at that time, that file might confer with him upon this important fubjecl:. The firfl: cffcft ©f their interview was a gracious invitation of Columbus back to court, accompanied with the ^refent of a fmall fum to equip him for the jour- ney. As there was now a certain profpeft, that the war with tlie Moori would fpeedily be brought to an happy iffue by the redutftion of Gra* aada, which v.-ould leave tht nation at liberty to engage in new under- takings; this, as well as the maVk of royal favour, with which Co- lumbus had been lately honoured, encouraged his friends to appear with greater confidence than formerly in fupport of his fchcme. The chief of thefe, Alonfo de Quintanilla, comptroller of the finances in Caftile, and Luis de Santangel, receiver of the ecclefiaftical revenues in Arragon, whofe meritorious zeal in promoting this grsat defign entities their names to an honourable place in hiftory, introduced Columbus to many pcr- fons of high rank, and interefted them warmly in his behalf. But it v/as not an cafy matter to infpirc Ferdinand with favourable fentiments. He ftill regarded Columbus's project as extravagant and chimerical ; and in order to rencjer the efforts of his partizans ineffec- tual, he had the addrefs to employ in this new negociation with him, fome of the perfons who had formerly pronounced his fcheme to be im- pradlicable. To their allonifliment, Columbus appeared before them with the fame confident hopes of fuccefs as formerly, and infifted upo^ *» the 14 DISCOVERS OF AMERltA. Ac feme high rccompencc. He propofcd that a fmall fleet (hould b« fitted out, under his command, to attempt the difcovery, and demanded to be appointed hereditary admiral and viceroy of all the feas and lands which he (hould difcover, and to have the tenth of the profits arifing £rom them, fettled irrevocably upon himfclf and his defcendants. At the lame time, he oftcred to advance the eighth part of the fum neceflary fat accomplilhing his defign, on condition that he (hould be entitled to a pfX)portional iharc of benefit from the adventure. If the cnterprifc ftonld totally mlfcarry, he made no ftipulatlon for any rewaid or emo- lofscnt whatever, Inftead of viewing this conduft as the clearcft evi- dence of his full pcrfuafion with refped to the truth of his own fyftem, €r being (Irack with that magnanimity which, after fo many delays and icpalfes, would (loop to nothing inferior to its original claims, the pcr- tovis with whom Columbus treated, began meanly to calculate the cx- j>ciicc of the expedition, and the value of the reward which he de- manded. The expencc, moderate as it was, they reprefented to be too great for Spain, in the prefent exhaufled (late of its finances. They con- lc:^cd, that the honours and emoluments claimed by Columbus, were dorbitant, even if he (hould perform the utmoft of what he had pro- Bufcd ; and if all his fanguine hopes (hould prove illufive, fuch vaft con- ccffions to an adventurer would be deemed not only inconfiderate, but ridiculous. In this impofmg garb of caution and prudence, their opi- vion. appeared fo plaufible, and was fo warmly fupported by Ferdinand, d»t Ifabella declined giving any countenance to Columbus, and ab- loptly broke off the negotiation with him which (he had begun. This was more mortifying to Columbus than all the difappointments which he had hitherto met with. The invitation to court from Ifa- bella, like an unexpeded ray of light, had opened fuch profpedi of fuc- ccis, as encouraged him to hope that his labours were at an end ; but now darknefs and uncertainty returned, and his mind, firm as it was» could hardly fupport the (hock of fuch an unforefeen reverfe. He with- drew in deep anguifh from court, with an intention of profecuting his Toyage to England, as his laft refource. About that time Granada furrendered, and Ferdinand and Ifabella, in triumphal pomp, took polTefTion of a city, the reduction of which extirpated a foreign power from the heart of their dominions, and ren- dered them mailers of all the provinces, extending from the bottom of the Pyrenees to the frontiers of Portugal. As the (low of fpirits which jaccompanies fucccfs elevates the mind, and renders it enterprifing, Quin» tanilla and Santangel, the vigilant and difcerning patrons of Columbus, took advantage of thi^ favourable fituation, in order to make one effort ■tore DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. tg more In behalf of their friend. They addreffed themfelves to Ifabclla, and, after exprefiing fome furprife, that Ihe, who had always been the munificent patroiiefs of generous undertakings, fhould hefitate fo long to countenance the mofl fplendid fcheme that had ever been propofedto any monarch; they reprefented to her, that Columbus was a man of a found underftanding and virtuous charaifler, well qualified, by his expe- rience in navigation, as well as his knowledge of geometry, to form jnfl: ideas with refpeft to the ft rupture of the globe and the fituation of its various regions ; that, by offering to rifk his own life and fortane in die execution of his fcheme, he gave the moft fatisfying evidence both of his integrity and hope of fuccefs ; that the fum requifite for equipping Csach an armament as he demanded was inconfiderable, and the advantage* which might accrue from his undertaking were immenfe ; that he de- manded no recompence for his invention and labour, but what was to arife from the countries which he ihould difcover 5 that, as it was wor- thy of her magnanimity to make this noble attempt to extend the fj^re of human knowledge, and to open an intercourfe with regions hitherto unknown, fo it would afford the higheft fatisfaftion to her piety and xeal, after re-eftablifhing the Chriftian faith in thofc provinces of Spain from which it had been long banifhed, to difcover a new world, to which ihe might communicate the light and bleffings of divine truth ; that if now Ihe did not decide inftantly, the opportunity would be irre- trievably loft; that Columbus was on his way to foreign countries, where fome prince, more' fortunate or adventurous, would clofe with his propofals, and Spain would for ever bewail the fatal timidity wliich had excluded her from the glory and advantages that fne had once in facr power to have enjoyed, Thefe forcible arguments, urged by perfons of fuch authority, and at a junfture fo well chofcn, produced the defired effedl. They difpelled all Ifabella*s doubts and fears ; (he ordered Columbus to be inftantly recalled, declared her refolution of employing him on his own terms, and regretting the low ftate of her finances, generoufly offered to pledge her own jewels, in order to raife as much money as might be needed in making preparations for the voyage. Santa ngel, in a tranfport of gra- titude, kifled the queen's hand, and in order to fave her from having recourfe to fuch a mortifying expedient for procuring money, engaged to advance immediately the fum that was requifite. Columbus had proceeded fome leagues on his journey, when the mef» fenger from Ifabella overtook him. Upon receiving an account of the «nexpe<^ed revolution in his favour, he returned direftly to Santo Fe, though fome remainder of diffidence ftill mingled itfelf with his joy. Bttt l6 DISCOVERY or AMERICA. But the cordial reception which he met with from irabella, together with the near profpeft of fetting out upon that voyage which had fo long been the objeft of his thoughts and wiQies, foon effaced the remembrance of all that ht had fulFcrcd in Spain, during eight tedious years of folici* tation and fufpeafe. The negociation now went forward with facility and difpatch, and a treaty of capitulation with Columbus was figned on the feventecnth of April, one thouDnd four hundred and ninety-two. The chief articles of it were, t, Ferdinupd and Ifabclh, as fovereign* of the ocean, conflituted Columbus tlieir high admiral in all the ieas, iilands, and continents which fliould be difcovcred by his induftry ; and ftipulated, that he and his heirs for ever (hould enjoy this office, with the famCjpowers and prerogatives- which belonged to the high admiral of Caflile, within the limits of his jurifdi^f^ion. 2^ They appointed Co- lumbus tkcir viceroy in all the iilunds and continents which he fhould difcover; but if, for the better adminiftration of affairs, it fhould here* after be neceiTary to eflablifh a feparate governor in any of thofe coun* tries, they authorifed Columbus to name three perfons, of whom they would chufe one for that ofiice ; and the dignity of viceroy, with all its immunities, was likewife 10 be l^ereditary in the family of Columbus. 3. They granted to Columbus and his heirs for ever the tenth of the free profits accruing from the produflions and commerce of the countries which he fhould difcover. 4. They declared, that if any controverfy or law-fuit fliall arife with rcfpe(5l to any mercantile tranfa(5lion in the counrries which fhould be difcovered, it fhould be determined by the fole authority of Columbus, or of judges to be appointed by him. 5. They permitted Columbus to advance one-eighth partof v^'hat fhould be expended in preparing for the expedition, and in crirrying on com- merce with the countries which he fhould difcover, and intitlcd him, in jrcturn, to an eighth part of the profit. Though thenarjie of Ferdinand appears conjoined with thatof IfabeMa in this trarifaiflioti, his diilrufl of Columbus was flill fo violent that he refufed to take any part in the enterprife as king of Arragon. As the, whole expence of the expedition was to be defrayed by the crown of Caflile, Ifabella refervcd for her fubjeds of that kingdom an exclufivc light to all the benefits which might redound from its fuccefs. As focn as the treaty was figned, Ifabella, by her attention and ac- tivity in forwarding the preparations for the voyage, endeavoured to make fome reparation to Columbus for the time which he had loft in fruitlefs folicitation. By the twelfth of May, all that depended upon her was adjufled ; and Columbus waited on the king and queen, in order to receive tlieir final inftru.5Uons. Every thing refpcfting the deftination : i and DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. I7 ^nd condii6l of the voyage, they committed implicitly to the difpofal of his prudence. But, that they might avoid giving any juft caufe of of- fence to the king of Portugal, they ftriftly enjoined him not to approach near to the Portugaefe iettlements on the coaft of Guinea, or in any of the other countries to which the Portuguefe claimed right as difcoverers. Ifabellahad ordered the fhi'ps, of which Columbus was to take the com- mand, to be fitted out in the port of Palos, a fmdl maritime town in the province of Andalufia. As the guardian Juan Perez, to whom Co- lumbus has already been fo much indebted, refided in the neighbour- hood of this pl?t"ce, he, by the influence of that good eccleliaftic, as well as by his own connexion with the inhabitants, not only raifed 'among them wha't he wanted of the fum that he was bound by treaty to ad- vance, but engaged feveral of them to accompany him in the voyage. The chief of thefe affociates were three brothers of the name of Pin- zdn, of confide rable wealth, and of great experience in naval affairs^ who were willing to hazard their lives and fortunes in the expedition. But, after all the efforts of Ifabella and Columbus, the armament was not fuitable, either to the dignity of the nation by which it was equip- td, or to the importance of the fervice for which it was defliiled. It conflfted of three vefTcls; The largefl, a (hip of no confiderable burden, v^as commanded by Columbus, as admiral, who gave it the name of Santa Marlay out of refpeft for the BlefTed Virgin, whom he honoured with fmgular devotion. Of the fecond, called the Pinta, Martin Pinzon was captain, and his brother Francis pilot. The thirdj named the Nigna^ was under the command of Vincent Yanez Pinzon, Thefe two were light vefTels, hardly fuperior in burden or force to large boats. This fquadron, if it merits that name, was vidualled for twelve months, and had on board ninety men> moflly failors, together with a few adventurers who followed the fortune of Columbus, and fome gentle- men of Ifabella's court, whom (lie appointed to accompany him» Though the expeiice of the undertaking was one of the circumliancea which chiefly alarmed the court of Spain, and retarded fo long the ne- gociation with Columbus, the fum employed in fitting out this fquadroa did not exceed four thoufand pounds. As the art of. fhip-building in the fifteenth centbry was extremely rude, and the bulk of veifels was accommodated to the fhort and eafy Voyages along the coafl which they were accuftomed to perform^ it is a proof of the courage as well as enterprifmg genius of Columbus, that he ventured, with a fleet fo unfit for a diflant navigation, to explore un- known feas, where he had no chart to guide him, no knowledge of the tides and currents, and no experience of the dangers to which he might l8 ' DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. be cxpofcd. His eagernefs to accomplifli the great defign which had (cf long engroffed his thoughts^ made him overlo6k or dif/cgard every cir- ciimftance that would have intimidated a mind lefs adventurous. He pufhcd forwai'd thfe preparations with fuch ardour, and was fecorided fo cffedually by the perfons to whom Ifabella committed the' fupcrin- tcndencc of this bufmcfs, that every thing was foon in readintfs for the TOyagc, But as Columbus was deeply imprcffed with fentiments of re- Kgion, he would not fet out upon an expeditiori fo arduous, and of which one great objcfl was to extend the knowledge of the Chriftian faith, without imploring publicly the guidance and pitoteftion of Heaven, With this view, he, together with all the perfons under his command, marched in folemn proceflion to the monaftery of Rabida. After con- fcfTmg their fins, and obtaining abfolution, they received the holy facra- ment from the hands of the guardian, who joined his prayers to theirs for the fuccefs of an enterprife which he had fo zealoufly patronized. Next morning, being Friday the third day of Auguft, in the year one thoufand four hundred and ninety-two, Columbus fet fail, a little before fun-rife, in prefence of a vaft crowd of fpeftators, who fent up their fupplications to Heaven for the profperou^fTue of the voyage, whick they wiflied, rather than expe(fled. Columbus fleered dire(5^1y for the Canary Iflands, and arrived there, Auguft 13, 1492, without any occur- rence that would have deferved notice on any other oocafioq. But, ia a voyage of fuch expcftation and importance, every circumftance was the objed of attention. The rudder of the Pinta broke loofe, the day after fhe left the harbour, and that accident alarmed the crew, no lefs fupcr- ftitious than unfkilful, as a certain omen of the unfortunate deftiny of the expedition. Even in the ftiort run to the Canaries, the (hips were found to be fo crazy and ill appointed, as to be very improper for a navigation which was expeded to be both long and dangerous. Columbus refitted thi?m, however, to the beft of his power, and having fupplied himfelf with frefh piovifions he took his departure from Gomcra, one of the ftjoft: wefterly of the Canary iflands, on the fixth day of September. i)«jHere t^c voyage of difcovery ipay properly be faid to begirt : for Columbus holding his courfe due wefl, left immediately the ufual track 0^ navigation, and fl retched into unfrequented and unknown fcas. The firft day,, jts it was very calm, he madq but little way ; but on the fecond, he loft figbt of the Canaries ; and many of the failors, dejedied already and difmayed, when they contemplated the boldnefs of the undertaking, began to beat their breafts, and to pvedj^ars.^as if they were nevermore to behold land. Columbus comf(|^fe/i^tljeiTi >vith afTurances of fuccefs, and. the pjrofpec'l of yg^.,^)ealtl), in thof« opulent regions whither he was conducing them. This early difcovery of the fpirit of his followers taught DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ig taught Columbus^ th^t he mufl: prepare to ftruggle, not only with the unavoidable difficulties which might be expe not believe that'thcre is one ra the whole tribe that can be relied on in pointing oat they«^ty-«f4%|id*** iK^Vi^yfige towards the South Pole, vol. i< . DISCOVERY OF AMERIC4. 2t Upon the firft of Odober they were, according to tlie adrairar$ reckoning, feven hundred and feventy leagues to the weft of the Ca- tiaries ; but left his men fhould be intimidated by the prodigious length of navigation, he gave put that they had proceeded only five hundred and eighty-four leagues; and, fortunately for Columbqs, neither his own pilot, nor thofe of the other (hips, had ikill fufficient to correft this error, and difcover the deceit. They had now been above three weeks at fea ; they had proceeded far beyond what former navigators had attempted or deemed poflible ; all their prognoftics of difcovery, drawn from the. flight of birds and other circumftances, had proved fal- lacious ; the appearances of land, with which their own credulity or the artifice of their commander had from time to time flattered and amufed them, had been altogether illufive, and their profped of fuccefs feemed now to be as diftant as ever, Thefe refledions occurred often to menj, v/ho had no other objeft or occupation, than to reafon and difcourfe concerning the intention and circumftances, of their expedition. They made impreiTion, at firft, upon the ignorant and timid, and extending, by degrees, to fuch as '^ere better informed or more refolute, the con- tagion fpread at length from Ihip to fhip. From fecret whifj)ers or murmurings, they proceeded to open cabals and public complaints. They taxed their fovereign with inconfiderate credulity, in paying fuch regard to the vain promifes and rafti conjeftures of an indigent foreigner, as to hazard the lives of fo many of her own fubjedls, in profecuting a chimerical fchcme. They affirmed that they had fully performed their duty, by venturing fo far in an unknown and hopelefs courfe, and could incur no blame, for refufmg to follow, any longer, a defperate adven- turer to certain deftruftion. They contended, that it was neceffary to think of returning to Spain, while their crazy vefTels were ftill in a con- dition to keep the fea, but expreffed their fears that the attempt would prove vain, as the wind, which had hitherto been ft) favourable to their courfe, muft render it impoffible to fail in the oppolite diredion. All agreed that Columbus fhould be compelled by force to adopt a meafure on which their common fafety depended. Some of the rnore audacious propofed, as the moft expeditious and certain method for getting rid at- once of his remonft ranees, to throw him into the fea, being perfuaded. that, upon their return to Spain, the death of an unfuccefsful projeClor would excite little concern, and be inquired into with no curiofuy. Columbus was fully fenftble of hii perilous fituation. He had obferved, with great uneafinefs, the fatal operation, of ignorance and of fear in producing difaffeftion among his crew, and.faw that it was now ready. ^2 BISCOVERY OF AMERICA. to burft out into open mutiny. He retained, however, pcrfefl prefcncft of mind. He afFecled to feem ignorant of their machinations. Not- withftanding the agitation and folicitudc of his own mind, he appeared with a cheerful countenance, like a man fatisficd with the progref* which he had made, and confident of fuccefs. Sometimes he employed all the arts of infmuation to foothe his men. Sometimes he endeavoured to work upon their ambition or avarice, by magnificent defcriptions of the fame and wealth which they were about to acquire. On oth;ir oc* cafions, he aflumed a tone of authority, and threatened them with ven- geance from their fovereign, if, by their daftardly behaviour, they Ihould defeat this noble effort to promote the glory of God, and to exalt the Spanilh name above that of every other nation. Even with fedi- tious failors, the words of a man whom they had been accuftomed to re- verence, were weighty and peffuafive, and not only reftrained them froni thofe violent exceffes, which they meditated, but prevailed with them tp accompany their admiral for fome tim? longer. As they proceeded, the indications of approaching land feeme4 to be more certain, and excitpd hope in proportion. The birds began to ap- pear in flocks, making towards the fouth-wefi-. Columbus, in imitation of the Portuguefe navigators, who had been guided, in feveral of their difcoyeries, by the motion of birds, altered his courfe from due weft to- wards that quarter whither they pointed their flight. But, after holding on for feveral days in this new diredion, without any better fuccefs than formerly, having feen no objed, during thirty days, but the fea and the iky. the hopes of his companions fubfided fafter than they had rifen ; their fears revived with additional force ; impatience, rage, and defpair, appeared in every countenance. All fenfe of fubordination was loft : the officers, who had hitherto concurred with Columbus in opinion, and fupported his authority, now took part with the private men ; they aflembled tamultuoufly on the deck, expoftulated with their commanderj, mingled threats with their expoftulations, and required him inftantly to tack about and to return to Europe. Columbus perceived that it would be of no avail to have rccourfe to any of his former arts, which having; been tried fo often, had loft their effefl; and that it was impofliblc to rekindle any zeal for the fuccefs of the expedition among men, in whofc breafts fear had cxtinguilhed every generous fentiment. He faw that it was no Icfs vain to think of employing either gentle or fevere meafures, to quell a mutiny fo general and fo violent. It was necelTary, on all thefe accounts, to foothe paflions which he could no longer command, and to give way to a torrent too impetuous to be checked. He pro- • mifed DISCOVERY OF AMERICA: 2« mifed folemnly to his men that he would comply with their requeft, provided they would accompany him, and obey his commands for three days longer, and if, during that time, land were not difcovered, he would then abandon the enterprife, and direft, his courfe towards Spain. Enraged as the failors were, and impatient to turn their faces again ■towards their native country, this propofition did not appear to them unreafonable. Nor did Columbus hazard much in confining himfelf to a term fo Ihort. 'The prefages of difcovering land were now fo numer- ous and promifing, that he deemed them infallible. For fome days the founding line reached the bottom, and the foil which it brought up in- dicated land to be at no great diftance. Tlie flocks of birds increafed, and were compofed not only of fea fowl, but of fuch land birds as could not be fuppofed to fly far from the Ihore, The crew of the Pinta ob- ferred a cane floating, which feemed to have been newly cut, and like- wife a piece of timber artificially carved. The failors aboard the Nigna took up the branch of a tree with red berries, perfedly frefh. The clouds around the fetting fun affumed a new appearance ; the air was more mild and warm, and, during night, the wind became unequal and variable. From all thefe fymptoms, Columbus was fo confident of being near land, that on the evening of the eleventh of Odloberj after public prayers for fuccefs, he ordered the fails to be furled, and the Ihips to lie to, keeping ftrid watch, left they fhould be driven afhore in the night. During this interval of fufpence and expeftation, no man ihut his eyes, all kept upon deck, gazing intently towards that quarter where they expe^ed to difcovcr the land, v/hich had been fo long the objed of their wiihei. About two hours before midnight, Columbus ftanding on the fore- iraftlt, obferved a light at a diftance, and privately painted it out' to Pedro Guttierez, a page of the queen's wardrdbe. Guttierez perceived, it> and calling to Salcedo, comptroller of the fleet, all three faw it in motion; as if jt were carried from place to place. A little after mid- night, the joyful found of land^ landy was heard from the Pinta, which kept always ahead of the other (hips. But, having been io often de- ceived by fallacious appearances, every man was now become flow of belief, and waited, in all the angnifli of uncertainty and impatience, for the return of day. As foon as morning dawned, Friday, Odober 12,, all doubts and fears were difpelled. From every fliip an ifland was feen about two leagues to the north, whofe flat and verdant . fields, well ftored with wood, and watered with many rivulets, prefented the afpeft of a delightful country. The crew of the Pinta inftantly began the Tc D(umt as a hymn of thankf^jivirig to God, and were joined by thofe of 24 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. of the other fnips, with tears of joy and tranfports of congratulationo This office of gratitude to Heaven was followed by an aft of jufticc t6 their commander. They threw themfelves at the feet of Columbus> with feelings of felf-condcmnation nlingled with reverence. They im- plored him to pardon their ignorance, incredulity, and infolence^ which had created him fo much unneceffary difqaiet, and had fo o^tert ob- ftrufted the profecution of his well-concerted plan ; and paffing, in thd warmth of their admiration, from one extiremc to another, they now prono'jnced the man, whom they had fo lately reviled and threatened, to be a perfon infpired by Heaven with fagacity and fortitude more than human, in order to accomplilli a defign, {o far beyorid the ideai and conception of all former ages. As foon as the fun arofe, all their boats were manned and arrced^ They rowed towards the ifland with their colours difplayed, with warlike mufic, and other martial pomp. As they approached the Coaft, they faw it covered with a multitude of people, whom the novelty of the fpedacle had d-rawn together, whofe attitudes and geftures ex- preffed wonder and aftonifhment at the ft range 'objeds which prefented themfelves to their view. Columbus was the firft European who fet foot in the New World which he had difcovered. He landed in a rich drefs, and with a naked fvvord in his hand. His men followed, aod kneeling down, they all kifled the ground v^hich they had fo long de- fired to fee. They next ereded a crucifix, and proft rating tlierafelves before it, returned thanks to God for conducing their voyage to fuch an happy ifRie. They then took folemn polTelfion of the country for the crown of Caftile and Leon, with all the formalities which the Portuguefe were accuftoraed to obferve in afts of this kind, in their new difcoveries. The Spaniards, while thus employed, wefe furrounded by many of (he natives, v\ho gazed> in filent admiration, upon anions which thc}' could not comprehend, and of which they did not forefee the confe- quences. The drcfs of the Spaniards, the whitenefs of their {kins, their beards, their arms, appeared ftrange and furprifmg. The vail machines in which they had traverfed the ocean, that feemed to move upon the waters with wings, and uttered a drcadfiil found referabling thundery accompanied with lightning and fmoke, ftruck them with fuch terror, that they began to refpedt their new guefts as a fuperior order of beings, and concluded that they were children of the Sun, who had defcended to vifit the earthi The Europeans were hardly lefs amazed at the fcene now before them, Erery herb, and (hrub, and tree, was different from thofe which. 3 fburilhcd DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 25 flourifhed in Europe. The foil feemed to be rich, but bore few^'marks of cultivation. The climate, even to Spaniards, felt warm, though ex- tremely delightful. The inhabitants appeared in the fimple innocence of nature, entirely naked. Their black hair, long and uncurled, floated upon their Ihoulders, or was bound in trefles around their heads. They had no beards, and every part of their bodies was perfedlly fmooth. Their complexion was of a duflcy copper colour, their fea- tures iingular, rather than difagreeable, their afpeft gentle and timid. Though not tall, they were well fhaped, and aftive. Their faces, and fcvcral parts of their body, were fantaftically painted with glaring co- lours. They were Ihy at firft through fear, but foon became familiar with the Spaniards, and with tranfports of joy received from them hawks-bells, glafs beads, or other baubles, in return for which they gave fuch provifions as they had, and fome cotton yarn, the only commodity of value that they could produce. Towards evening, Columbus re- turned to his fhips, accompanied by many of the iflanders in their boats, which they called canoeSi and though rudely formed out of the trunk of a fingle tree, they rowed them with furprifmg dexterity. Thus, in the firft interview between the inhabitants of the old and new worlds, every- thing was conduifted amicably, and to their mutual fatisfaflion. The former, enlightened and ambitious, formed already vaft ideas with re- fpeft to the advantages which they might derive from the regions that began to open to their view. The latter, fimple and undifcerning, had no forefight of the calamities and defolation which were approaching their country. Columbus, who now affumed the title and authority of admiral and viceroy, called the ifland which he had difcovered San Sahador, It is better known by the name of Guanahani, which the natives gave to it, and is one of that large clufter of illands called the Lucaya or Bahama ifles. It is fituated above three thoufand miles to the wefl- of Gomera, from which the fquadron took its departure, and only four degrees to the fouth of it ; fo little had Columbus deviated from the wefterly courfe, which he had chofen as the moft proper. Columbus employed the next day in vifiting the coalls of the illand; and from the" univerfal poverty of the inhabitants, he perceived that this was not the rich country for whiQh he fought. But, comformably to his theory concerning the difcovery of thofe regions of Aiia which flretched towards the eaft, he concluded that San Salvador was one of the ifles which geographers defcribed as fituated in the great ocean ad- jacent to India. Having obferved that moft of the people whom he iad fecn wore fmall plates of gold, by way of crnainent, in their nof- £ triis. 26 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, trils, he eagerly inquired whefe they got that precious metal. Thcf pointed towards the fouth, and made him comprehend by figns, that gold abounded in countries fituated in that quarter. Thither he imme- diately determined to direft his courfe, in full confidence of finding there thofe opulent regions which had been the objed of his voyage, and would be a recompence for all his toils and dangers. He took alojig with him feven of the natives of San Salvador, that, by acquiring the Spanilli language, they might ferve as guides and interpreters ; and thofe innocent people confidercd it as a mark of diftindlion when they were feledcd to accompany him. He faw feveral iflands, and touched at three of the largeft, on which he bellowed the names of St. Mary of the Conception, Fernandina, and Ifabella. But as their foil, produdions, and inhabitants, nearly re- fembled thofe of San Salvador, he made no Hay in any of them. He inquired every where for gold, and the figns that were uniformly made by way of anAver, confirmed him in the opinion that it was brought from the fouth. He followed that courfe, and foon difcovered a country which appeared very cxtenfive, not perfedly level, like thofe which he had already vifited, but fo diverfified with rifing grounds, hills, rivers, woods, and plains, that he was uncertain whether it might prove an ifland, or part of the continent. The natives of San Salvador, t^hom he had on board, called it Cuba ; Columbus gave it the name of Juanna. He entered the mouth of a large river with his fquadron, and all the inhabitants fled to the mountains as he approached the ihore. But as he refolved to careen his Ihips in that place, he fent fome Spaniards, together with one of the people of San Salvador, to view the interior parts of the country. They, having advanced above fixty miles from the fliore, reported upon their return, that the foil was richer and more cultivated than any they had hitherto difcovered ; that, beftdes many fcattered cottages, they had found one village, containing ibove a .thoufand inhabitants ; that the people, though naked, feemed to be more intelligent than thofe of San Salvador, but had treated them with the fame refpedful attention, kiffing their ftct, and honouring them as facred beings allied to Heaven ; that they had given them to ^cat a certain root, the tafte of which refembled roafted chefnuts, and likewife a fingular fpecies of corn called maize, which, either when roafted whole or ground into meal> was abundantly palatable ; that there feemed to be no four-footed animals in the country, but a fpecies of dogs, which could not bark, and a creature refembling a rabbit, but of a much fmalier fize; that they had obferved fome ornaments of gold among the people, but of no great value, Thefc DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 2J Thefe meffengers had prevailed with fome of the natives to ac- 'company them, who informed Columbus, that the gold of which they made their ornaments was found in Cuhanacan. By this word they iiKant the middle or inland part of Cuba ; but Columbus, being igno- rant of their language, as well as unaccuftomed to their pronunciation, and his thoughts running continually upon his own theory concerning the difcovery of the Eaft Indies, he was led, by the refemblance of found, to fuppofe that they fpoke of the Great Khan, and imagined that the opulent kingdom of Cathay ^ defcribed by Marco Polo, was not very remote. This induced him to employ fome time in viewing the country. He vilited almoft every harbour, from Porto del Principe, on ,the north coaft of Cuba, to the eaftern extremity of the ifland; but though delighted with the beauty of the fcenes, which every where prefented themfelyes, and amazed at the luxuriant fertility of the foil, both which, from their novelty, made a more lively imprefTion upon his imagination *, he did not find gold in fuch quantity as was fufEcient to fatisfy either the avarice of his followers, or the expeftations of the court to which he was to return. The people of the country, ^s much aftonifhed at his eagernefs in queft of gold, as the Europeans were at their ignorance and fimplicity, pointed towards the eaft, where an ifland which they called Hayti was fituated, in which that metal was more abundant than among them. Columbus ordered his fquadron to bend its courfe thither ; but Martin Alonfo Pjnzon, impatient to be the firft who fliould take polTeffion of the trea- fures which this country was fuppofed to contain, quitted his com- panions, regardlefs of all the admiral's fignals to flacken fail until they ftiould come up with him. Columbus, retarded. by contrary winds, did not reach Hayti till the fixth of December. He called the port where he firft touched St. * In a letter of the admirars to Ferdinand and Ifabella, he defcrlbes one of the harbours in Cuba,, \yith all the enthufiafllc admiration oi a difcoverer. — '' I difcovered a river which 9 galley might eafily enter j the beauty of it induced me to found, and I fQund from five to eight fathoms of water. Having proceeded a conliderable way up the river, every thing invited tne to fettle there. The beauty of tlie river, the clear- , nefs of the water, through which I could fee the findy bottom, the multitude of palm- trees of different kinds, the talleft and fineftl had foen, and an infinite number of other large and fiourifliing trees, the birds, and the verdure of the plains, are fo wonderfully beautiful, that this country excels all others as far as the day furpafles the night in bright- joefs and fplendour, fo that I often faid, that it would be in vain for me to attempt to give ypur highneffes a full account of it, for neither my tongue nor my pen could come up to the truth, and indeed I am fo much amazed at the fight of fuch beauty, that I know not how to defcribe it." Life of Columb. c. 30. £ 2 Nicholasi ' 28 DISCOVERY OF AMEJllCA. Nicholas, and the ifland itfelf Efpagnola, in honour of the kingdom by which he was employed ; and it is the only countrj', of thofe he had yet difcovered, which has retained the name that he gave it. As he could neither meet with the Pinta, nor have any intcrcourfc with th» inhabitants, who fled in great confternation towards the woods, he foon quitted St. Nicholas, and failing along the northern coaft of the ifland, he entered another harbour, which he called the Conception. Here he was more fortunate ; his people overtook a woman who was flying from them, and after treating her with great gentlenefs, difmifled her with a prefcnt of fuch toys as they knew were mod valued in thofe regions. The defcription w hich flie gave to her countrymen of the humanity and wonderful qualities of the 11 range rs ; their admiration of the trinkets, which fhe fliewed with exultation ; and their eagemefs to participate of the fame favours ; removed all their fears, and induced many of them to repair to the harbour. The ftrange obje(5ls which they beheld, and the baubles, which Columbus beftowed upon them, amply gratified their curiofity and their wilbcs. They nearly refembled the people of Guanahani and Cuba. They were naked like them, ignorant, and fimple ; and feemed to be equally unacquainted with all the arts which appear moft neceflary in poliftied focieties ; but they were gentle, cre- dulous, and timid, to a degree which rendered it eafy to acquire the af« cendant over the.m, efpecially as their exccflive admiratiqn led them into the fame error with the people of the other iflands, in believing the Spaniards to be more than mortals, and defcended immediately from Pleaven. They poflefled gold in greater abundance than their neigh- bours, which they readily exchanged for bells, beads, or pins ; and in this unequal traffic both parties were highly pleafed, each confidering themfelves as gainers by the tranfaftion. Here Columbus was vifited by a prince or cazique of the country. He appeared with all the pomp known among a Ample people, being carried in a fort of palanquin upon the (boulders of four men, and attended by many of his fubjefls, who ferved him with great refped. His deportment was grave and ftately, very referved towards his own people, but with Columbus and the Spa- niards extremely courteous. He gave the admiral fome thin plates of gold, and a girdle of curious workmanfljip, receiving in return prefents of fmall value, but highly acceptable to him. Columbus, ftill intent on difcovering the mines which yielded gold, continued to interrogate all the natives with whom he had any inter- courfe concerning their fituation. They concurred in pointing out a mountainous country, which they called Cibao, at fome diftance from the fea, and farther towards the eaft, Stmck with this found, which appeared DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ^g appeared to him the fame with Cipango, the name by which Marco Polo, and other travellers to the eaft, diftinguiflied the iilands of Japan, he no longer doubted with refpeft to the vicinity of the countries which he had difcovered to the remote parts of Afia ; and, in full expeftation of reaching foon thofe regions which had been the obje<5l of his voy- age, he direded his courfe towards the eaft. He put into a commodiouj harbour, which he called St. Thomas, and found that diftrld to be under the government of a powerful cazique, named Guacanahari, who, as he afterwards learned, was one of the five fovereigns among whom the whole ifland was divided. He immediately feiqt meffengers to Colum- bus, who, in his name, delivered to him the prefent of a mafic curioufly falhioned, with the ears, nofe, and mouth of beaten gold, and invited him to the place of his refidence, near the harbour now called Cape Fran- cois, fome leagues towards the eaft. Columbus difpatched fo^ie of his officers to vifit this princG, who, as he behaved himfelf with greater dig- nity, feemed to claim more attention. They returned, with fuch favourable accounts both of the country and of the people, as made Columbus impatient for that interview with Guacanahari to which he had been invited. He failed for this purpofe from St. Thomas, on the twenty- fourth of December with a fair wind, and the fea perfectly calm ; and as, amidfl the multiplicity of his occupations, he had not fhut his eyes for two days, he retired at midnight in order to take fome repofe, having committed the helm to the pilot, with Urid injuiiftions not to quit it for a moment. The pilot, dreading no danger, carelefsly left the helm to an unexperienced cabin boy, and the fliip, carried away by a current, was dafhed againfl- a rock. The violence of the Ihock awakened, Columbus. He ran up to the deck. There, all was confufion and. defpair. He alone retained prefence of mind. He ordered fome of the failors to take a boat, and carry out an anchor aftern; but, inftead of obeying, they made* off towards the Nigna, which was about half a league diilant. He then commanded the malls to be cut down, in order to lighten the fhip; but all his endeavours were too late; the veflel opened near the keel, and filhd fo fail with water tliat its lofs was in- evitable. The fmoothnefs of the fea, and the timely aififtance of boats from the Nigna, enabled the crew to fave th.eir lives. As fonn as the iflanders heard of this difaller, they crowded to the fhore, with their prince Guacanahari at their head, fnllead of taking advantage of the^ diflrefs in which they beheld the Spaniards, to attempt any thing to their detriment, tliey lamented their misfortune with tears of fincere fondolance. Not fatisfied with this unavailing exprefiion of their fympathjr JO DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. fympathy, they put to fea a number of canoes, and, under the dire^oi^ of the Spaniards, affifted in faving whatever could be got out of the wreck; and by the united labour of fo many. hands, almoft every thing of value was carried alhore. As faft as the goods were landed, Guaca- nahari in perfon took charge of them. By his orders they were all de- pofited in one place, and armed centinels were pofted, who kept the multitude at a diftance, in order to prevent them not only from embez- zling, but from infpedling too curioufly what belonged to their guefts. Next morning this prince vifited Columbus, who was pow on board the Nigna, and endeavoured to confole him for his lofs, by offering all that he poffeffed to repair it *. The condition of Columbus was fuch, that he ftood in need of confo- lation. He had hitherto procured no intelligence of the Pinta, and no longer dc^bted but that his treacherous affociatc had fet fail for Europe, in order to have the merit of carrying thq firft tidings of the extraordi- nary difcoveries which had been made, and to pre-occupy fo far the ear of their fovp^-cign, as to rob him of the glory and reward to which he \yas juflly entitled. There remained but one veiTcl, and that the fmalleft and moll crazy of the fquadron, to traverfe fuch a vaft ocean, and carry * The account which Columbus gives of the humanity and orderly behaviour of the natives on this occafion is very ftrilcing. *^ The king (fays he, in a letter to Ferdi- nand and Ifabella) having been informed of our misfortune, exprefled great grief for our Jofs, and immediately fcnt aboard all the people in the place in many large canoes j we foon unloaded the fhip of every thing that was upon deck, as the king gave us great af- fiftance: he Iiimfc'f, with his brothers and relations, took all polfible care that every thing fhculd be properly done both aboard and on flioreJ And, from time to time, he fent fome of his relations wcepir.g, to beg of me not to be dejeded, for he would give me all that he had. I can afi'ure your highnefTes, that fo much car^ would not have been taken in fecuring our cffefis in any part of Spain, as all our property was put toge- ther in ono pbce near his palace, until the houfes which he wanted to prepare for the cuftody of it, were emptied. He immediately placed a guard of armed men, who watched daring the whole n'ghr, and thofe on fhore lamented as if they had been much inter- efted In our lofs. The people are (a afTeitionate, fo tradable, and fo peaceable, that I fwear toyour highnefTcs, that there is not a better race of men, nor a better country In tJae world. They love their ue'ghbour as themfelvesj their converfation is the fwceteft and mi'deft in the world, chcerfu', and always accompanied with a fmil^. And although if i.s true that they go naked, yet yout highnefles may be alfured that they have many very commendable cuftombj the king is ferved with great fiate, and his behaviour is fo decent, that it is pleafant to fee him, as it is likewife to obfcrv;; the wonderful memory which thcfe people have, and their dcfire of knowing every thing, which leads them to inquiie into its caufes and effefts." Life of Columbus, c. 32. It is probable that th? Spaniards were Inccbted for this officious attention, to thcop'nion which the Indians en- tj,;taiacd of them as a fupcrior order of be -ngs. (9 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, gi f fo many men back to Europe. Each of thofe circ'umftances was alarm- ing, and filled the mind of Columbus with the utmoft folicitude. The deiire of overtaking Pinzon, and of effacing the unfavourable impref- fions which his mifreprefentations might make in Spain, made it neccf- fary to return thither without delay. The difficulty of taking fuch a number of perfons aboard the Nigna, confirmed him in an opinion, which the fertility of the country, and the gentle temper of the people, had already induced him to form. He refolved to leave a part of his crew in the ifland, that, by refiding there, they might learn the language of the natives, ftudy their difpofition, examine the nature of the country, fearch for mines, prepare for the commodious fettlement of the colony, with which he purpofed to return, and thus fecure and facilitate the ac- quifition of thofe advantages which he expefted from his difcoverics. "When he mentioned this to his men, all approved of the defign ; and from impatience under the fatigue of a long voyage, from the levity natural to failors, or from the hopes of amafiing wealth in a country which af- forded fuch promifing fpecimens of its riches, many offered voluntarily to be among the number of thofe who fhould remain. Nothing was now wanting towards the execution of this fcheme, but to obtain the confent of Guacanahari ; and his unfufpicious fimplicity foon prefented to the admiral a favourable opportunity of propofing it. Columbus having, in the bell manner he could, by broken words and figns, expreffed f(?me curiofity to know the caufe which had moved the illanders to fly with fuch precipitation upon the approach of his (hips, the cazique informed him that the country was much infefted by the in- curfions of certain people, whom he called Carribeans , who inhabited feveral iflands to the fouth-eaft. Thefe he defcribed as a fierce and war- like race of men, who delighted in blood, and devoured the flefh of the prifoners who were fo unhappy as to fall into their hands ; and as the Spaniards, at their firll appearance, were fuppoled to be Carribeans, whom the natives, however numerous, durft not face in battle, they had recourfe to their ufual method of fecuring their fafety, by flying into the thickeft and moft impenetrable woods. Guacanahari, while fpeaking of thofe dreadful invaders, difcove red fuch fymptoras of terror, as well as fuch confcioufnefs of the inability of his own people to refill them, as led Columbus to conclude that he would not be alarmed at the propofition of any fcheme which afforded him the profped of an additional fecurity againft their attacks. He inftantly offered him the afliftance of the Spa- niards to repel his enemies ; he engaged to take him and his people under the protedion pf the powerful monarch whom he ferved, and offered X.o leave in the ifland fuch a number of his men as fliould be fufiicient, not S only 32 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. only to defend the inhabitants from future incurfions, but to avenge their pad wrongs. The credulous prince clofcd eagerly with the propofal, and thought himfclf already fafe under the patronage of beings fprung from Heaven, and fuperior in power to mortal men. The ground was marked out for a fmall fort, which Columbus called Nofvidadi bccaufe he had landed there on Chriftmas day. A deep ditch was drawn around it. The ramparts were fortified with p^llifades, and the great guns^ faved out of the admiral's (hip, were plaitted upon them. In ten days the work was finiftied ; that fimple race of men labouring with inconfiderate afliduity in erefting this firft monument of their own fervitude. During thit time Columbtis, by his carefles and liberality, laboured to increafe the high opinion which the natives entertained of the Spaniards. But whiici he endeavoured to infpire them with confidence in their difpofition to do good, he wifhed likcwife to give them fome ftriking idea of their powr r to punilh and deftroy fuch as were the objefls of their indignation. With this view, in prefence of a vaft affembly, he drew up his men in order of battle, and made an oftentatious but innocent difplay of the Iharpnefs of the Spanifh fwords, of the force of their fpears, and the operation of their crofs-bows. Thefe rude people, ftrangers to the ufe of iron, and un- acquainted with any hoftile weapons, but arrows of reeds pointed with the bones of fiihes, wooden fwords, and javelins hardened in the fire, wondered and trembled. Before this furprife or fear had time to abate, hQ ordered the great guns to be fired. The fudden explofion ftruck them with fuch terror, that they fell flat to the ground, covering their faces with their hands ; and when they beheld the aftonilhing efFed of the bullets among the trees, towards which the cannon had been pointed, they concluded that it was impofllble to refift men, who had the com- mand of fuch deftrudive inftruments, and .who came armed with thun- der and lightning againft their enemies. After giving fuch impreflions both of the beneficence and power of the Spaniards, as might have rendered it eafy to preferve an afcendant ovet the minds of the natives, Columbus appointed thirty-eight of his people to remain in the ifland. He entrufted the command of thefe to Diego de Arada, a gentleman of Cordova, invcfting him with the fame powers which he himfelf had received from Ferdinand and Ifabclla; and fur- tiilhed him with every thing requifite for the fubfiftencc or defence of this infant colony. He ftri^tly enjoined them to maintain concord among themfelves, to yield an unrefervcd obedience to their commander, to avoid giving offence to the natives by any violence or exadion, to cul- tivate the friendfhip of Guscanahari, but not to put theinrdves in hi« power DISCOVEkY OF AMERICA. gg jpower by ftraggling in fmall parties, or marching too far from the fort* He promifed to rcvifit them foon, with fuch a reinforcement of ftrength as might enable them to take full poffeflion of the country, and to reap fell the fruits of their difcoveries. In the mean time, he engaged to mention their names to the king and queen, and to place their merit jind fervices in the moft advantageous light. Having thus taken every precaution for the fecurity of the Colony, he left Navidad on the fourth of January, one thoufand font hundred and ninety-three, and fleering towards the eaft, difcovered, and gave names to moft of the harbours on the northern coaft of the ifland. On the fixth, he defcried thb Pinta, and foon came up with her, after a fepi* iration of more than fix weeks. Pinzon endeavoured to juftiry his con- duct, by pretending that he had been driven from his courfe by ftrefs of Weather, and prevented from returning by contrary winds. The admi- ral, though he ftill fufpeded his perfidious intentions, and knew well what he urged in his own defence to be frivolous as well as falfe, was fo fenfible that this was not a proper time for venturing upon any high' ftrain of authority, and felt fuch fatisfadion in this jundion with his confort, which delivered him from many difquieting apprehenfions, that lame as Pinzon*s apology was, he admitted of it without difficulty, and reftored him to favour. During his abfence from the admiral) Pinzon had vifited feveral harbours in the ifland, had acquired fome gold by trafficking with the natives, but had made no difcovcry of any import-* ance. From the condition of his (kips, as well as the temper of his mett, Cb* lumbus now found it neceffary to haften his return to Europe. The for- mer, having fuffered much during a voyage of fuch an Unufual length, were extremely leaky. The latter expreffed the utmoft impatience to tevifit their native country, from which they had been fo long abfent> and where they had things fo wonderful and un-heard of to relate. Ac- cordingly, on the fixteenth of January, he dired^ed his courfe toward* the north-eaft, and foon loft fight of land. He had on board fome of the natives, whom he had taken from the different iflands which he dif* covered ; and befides the gold, which was the chief objed of refearch, he had colleded fpecimens of all the produdions which were likely to become fubjeds of commerce in the feveral countries, as well as many iinknown birds, and other natural curiofities, which might attraft th$ attention of the learned, or excite the wonder of the people* The voy- age was profperous to the fourteenth of February, and he had advanced near five hundred leagues acrofs the Atlantic Ocean, when the wind be- Ijan to ri{«; and continued to blow with is.6reafwJS ^^Sl^s y^^^^^ termi* 34 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. natcd in a furious hurricane. Every expedient that the naval fkill aiti experience of Columbus could devife was employed, in order to fave the (hips. But it was impoflible to withftand the violence of the ftorm, and as they were ftill far from any land, deftruiflion fecmed inevitable. The failors had rccourfe to prayers to Almighty God, to the invocation of faints, to vows and charms, to every thing that religion di^tes, or fu- perdirion fuggefts, to the affrighted mind of man. No profpeft of de- liverance appearing, they abandoned themfelves to defpair, andexpesfled every moment to be fwallowed up in the waves. Belides the paflions which naturally agitate and alarm the human mind in fuch awful fitua- tions, when certain death, in one of his moft terrible forms, is before it, Columbus had to endure feelings of diftrefs peculiar to liimfelf. He dreaded that all knowledge of the amazing difcoveries which he had made was now to perilh ; mankind were to be deprived of every benefit that might have been derived from the happy fuccefs of his fchemes, and his own name would defcend to pofterity as that of a rafh deluded ad- venturer, inftead of being tranfmitted with the honour due to the author and conduftor of the moft noble enterprife that had ever been under- taken. Thefe refieftions extinguiQied all fenfe of hiff own perfonal daiv jer. Lefs afFeded with the lofs of life, than felicitous to preferve the .«iemory of what he had attempted and achieved, he retired to his cab- bin j and wrote, upon parchment, a Ihort account of the voyage which he liad made, of the courfe which he had taken, of the fituaiion and riches of the countries which he had difcovered, and of the colony that he had -left there. Having wrapt up this in an oiled cloth, which he inclofcd in a cake of wax, he put it into a calk carefully Hopped up, and threw it into the fea, in hopes that fome fortu-nate accident might prefervc a dc- pofit of fo much importance to the worH*. At • Every monument of' fuch a man a Columbus is valua:6le. A letter which he wrote to Ferdinand and Ifabella, defcribing whatpafTc.l on this occafion, exhibits a moft ftrik- ing pidlure of his intrepidky, his humanity, his prudence, his puWic fpirit, and courtly MtUrcfs. *' I would have been lels conceriKd for this misfortune, had I alone been in danger, both becaufe my life is a debt that I owe to the Supreme Creator, and becaufel have at oth r times been expofed to the moft imminent hazard. But what gave me in- iiaiie grief and vexation was, that after it had pleafed our Lord to give me faith to un- dertake this enterprizc, in which I had now been fo fuccefsful, that my opponents woufd have been convinced, and (he gl6ry of your highneflls, and the extent of your territory ijicreafcd by me j it fliould plcafe the Divine MjQefty to ftop all by my death. All this YToUfd hav« been more- tolerable, had it not been attended with the lofs of thofe men whom 1 had cjrriei with me, upon prornife of the greateft profperity, who feeing themfelvcs ia fuch diftrcff, curfed not only their c«nuDg akmg vrith me, but that fcAr and awe of J.. -. . . i »tf. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ^5 At length Providenee Interpofed, to fave a life referred for other fer- vices. ' The wind abated, the fea became calm, and on the evenfng of the fifteenth, Columbus and his companions difcovered land ; and though uncertain what it was, they made towards it. They foon knew it to be St. Mary, one of the Azores or weftern ifles, fubjeft to the crown of Por- tugal. There, after a violent conteft with the governor, in which Co- lumbus difplayed no lefs fpirit than prudence, he obtained a fupply of ftefli provifions, and whatever elfe he needed. One circumftance, how- ever, greatly difquieted him. The Pinta, of which he had loft fight on the firft day of the hurricane, did not appear; he dreaded for fome time that fhe had foundered at fea, and that all her crew had perifhed : af- terwards, his former fufpicions recurred, and he became apprehenfive that Pinzon had born away for Spain, that he might reach it before him, and, by giving the firft account of his difcoveries, might obtain fome Hiare of his fame. In order to prevent this, he left the Azores on the twenty-fourth of Febru^iry, as foon as the weather would permit. At no great diftanca froBi the coaft of Spain, when near the end of his voyage, and feem- nie^ whi^h jw^vented them from returning as they had often refolved to have done. But befides all this, my forrow was greatly increafed, by recolle£Hng that I had left my two fons at fchool at Cordova, deftitute of friends, in a foreign country, when it could not in aJi probability be known that I had done fuch feryJces as might induce your highnefles to rcincmber them. And though I comforted myfelf with the faith that our Lord woulcT not permit, that, which tended fo much to the glory of his church, and which I had • braughtabout wjth fo much trouble, to remain imperfeft, yet I confi^ered, that on ac- count of my fins, it was his will to depriye me of that glory, which I might have at- tained in 'this world. While in this confuftd ftate, I thought on the good fortune which accompanies your highnelTes, and imagined, that although I fliould perifli, and the vcfTel be loft, it was poflible that you might fomehow come to the knowledge of my voyage, and the fuccefs with v/hich it was attended. For that reafon I wrote upon parchment with the brevity which the fituation required, that I had difcovered the lands which I promifed, in how many days I had done it, and what courfe I had followed. I men- tioned the goodnefs of the country, the charadler of the inhabitants, and that your high- nefles fubjsds were left in pofleflion of all that 1 had difcovered. Having fealed this wri- ting, I addrefTed it to your highnefles, and promifed a thoufand ducats to any perfon who fhould deliver it fealed, fo that if any foreigners found it, the promifed reward might pre^ vail on them not to give the information to another. I then caufed a great caflc to be brought to me, and wrapping up the parchment in an oiled cloth, and afterwards in a cake of wax, I put it into the calk, and having ftopt it well, I caft it into the fea. All the men believed that it was fome adl of devotion. Imagining that thjs might never chance to be taken up, as the ihips approached nearer to Spain^ I made another packet like the firft, and placed it at the top of the poop, fu that if the ihip funk, the cafk re- •nVmin^ above water might be committed to theguidance of fortune*'* F 2 , ingly g6 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, ingly beyond the reach of any difaftcr, another ftorm arofc, Httlc in- ferior to the former in violence; and after driving before it during two days and two nights, he was forced to take flielter in the river Tagus« Upon application to the king of Portugal, on the fourth of March, one thoufand four hundred and ninety-three, he was allowed to come up to Lilbon; and, notwithftanding the envy which it was natural for the Portuguefe to feel, when they beheld another nation entering upon that province of difcovery which they had hitherto deemed peculiarly their own, and in its firft eflay, not only rivalling but eclipfing their fame, Golnmbus was received with all the marks of diftindlion due to a man who had performed things fo extraordinary and unexpefted. The king admitted him into his prefence, treated him with the higheft refpeft, and liftened to the account which he gave of his voyage with' admiratioix mingled with regret. While Columbus, on his part, enjoyed the fatif- faftion of defcribing the importance of his difcoveries, and of being now able to prove the folidity of his fchemes to thofe very perfons, who with an ignorance difgraceful to themfelves, and fatal to their country, had lately rejefted them as the projeds of a vifionary or defigning adven- turer, Columbus was fo impatient to return to Spain, that he remained only £ve days in Lilbon. On the fifteenth of March he arrived in the port of Palos, feven months and eleven days from the time when he fet out thence upon his voyage. As foon as his fhip was difcovered approaching the port, all the inhabitants pf Palos ran eagerly to the Ihore, in order to welcome their relations and fellow-citizens, and to hear tidings of their voyage. When the profperous iffue of it was known, when they beheld the ftrange people, the unknown animals, and lingular produdiong brought from the countries which had been difcovered, the effufion of joy was general and unbounded. The bells were rung, the cannon fired ; Columbus was received at landing with royal honours, and all the people, in folemn proceffion, accompanied him and his crew to the church, where they returned thanks to Heaven, which had fo wonder- fully conduced and crowned with fuccefs, a voyage of greater length and of more importance, than had been attempted in any former age. On the evening of the fame day, he had the fatisfadion of feeing the Knta, which the violence of the tempeft had driven far to the north, cuter the harbouj, Ths firft care of Columbus was to inform the king and queep, who were then at Barcelona, of his arrival and fuccefs. Ferdinand and Ifa- bcll?, no lefs aftonilhed than delighted with this uncxpcdcd event, de- DISCOVERY OF AMERICA; ^j fired Columbus, in terms the moft refpe(fbful and flattering, to repair immediately to court, that from his own mouth they might receive a full detail of his extraordinary fervices and difcoveries. During his journey to Barcelona, the people crewded from the adjacent country, following him every where with admiration and applaufc. His entrance into the city was condud^ed, by order of Ferdinand and Ifabella, with pomp fuitable to the great event, which added fuch diftinguilhed lull re to their reign. The people whom he brought along with him from the ..countries Which he had difcovered, marched firft, and by their Angular complexion, the wild peculiarity of their features, and uncouth finery, appeared like men of another fpecies. Next to tliem were carried the ornaments of gold, faftiioned by the rude art of the natives, the grains of gold found in the mountains, and duft of the (^me metal gathered in the rivers. After thefe, appeared the various commodities of the new difcovered countries, together with their curious produdions. Co- lumbus himfelf clofed the proceffion, and attraded the eyes of all the fpedlators, who gazed with admiration on the extraordinary man, whofc fuperior fagacity and fortitude had conduced their countrymen, by a route concealed from paft ages, to the knowledge of a new world. Fer- dinand and Ifabella received him clad in their royal robes, and feated upon a throne, under a magnificent canopy. When he approached they (lood up, and raifing him as he kneeled to kifs their hands, commanded him to take his feat upon a chair prepared for him, and to give a cir- cumllantial account of his voyage. He delivered it with a gravity and pompofure no lefs fuitable to the difpofitiqn of the Spanifh nation, than to the dignity of the audience in which he fpoke, and with that modefc ^mplicity which charafterifes men of fuperior minds; who, fatisfied with having performed great aftions, court not vain applaufe by an of- ^ntatious difplay of their exploits. When he had finifhed his narra- tion, the king and queen, kneeling down, offered up folemn thanks to Almighty God for the difcovery of thofe new regions, from which ^hey expefted fo many advantages to flow in upon the kingdoms fubjedt jto their government. Every mark of honour that gratitude or admira- jtion could fuggeft was conferred upon Columbus. liCtters patent were ifTued, confirming to him and to his heirs all the privileges contained in the capitulation concluded at Santa Fe ; his family was ennobled ; the king and queen, and, after their example, the courtiers, treated him, on every occafion, with all the ceremonious refpeifl paid to perfons of the higheft rank. But what pleafed him moft, as it gratified his adive pind, bent continually upon great objeds, was, an order to equip, witjiout delaj^, an armain^pt of i*vich fofce, as might enable him not only 38 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. to take poffcflion of the countries which he had already dircovered, but ' 10 go in fearch of thofe more opulent regions, which he ftill confidently expefted to find. v While preparations were making for this expedition, the fame of Co- lumbus's fuccefsful voyage fpread over Europe, and excited general at- tention. The multitude, ftruck with amazement when they heard that a new world had been found, could hardly believe an event fo much above their conception. Men of fcience, capable of comprehending the nature, and of difcerning the effefts, of this great difcover)', re- ceived the account of it with admiration and joy. They fpoke of his voyage with rapture, and congratulated one another upon their felicity, in having lived in the period when, by this extraordinary event, th« boundaries of human knowledge were fo much extended, and fuch a new field of inquiry and pbfervation opened, as would lead mankind to a perfecl acquaintance with the ftruflure and produftions of the habi- table globe. Various opinions and conje(5lures were formed concerning the new-found countries, and what divifion of the earth they belonged to. Columbus adhered tenacioufly to his original opinion, that they fhould be reckoned a part of thofe vaft regions in Afia, comprehended under the general name of India. This fentiment was confirmed by the obfervations which he made ccnccrning the productions of the countries he had difcovered. Gold was known to abound in India, and he bad met with fuch promifing famples of it in the iflands which he vifited, as led him to believe that rich mines of it might be found, Cot^ ton, another produftion of the Eaft Indies, was common there. The pimento of the iflands he imagined to be a fpecies of the Eaft-Indian pepper. He miftook a root, fomewhat rcfembling rhubarb, for that valuable drug, which was then fuppofed to be a plant peculiar to the Eaft Indies. The birds brought home by him were adorned with the fame rich plumage which diftlnguifhes thofe of India. The alligator of the one country appeared to be the fame with the crocodile of the other. After weighing all thefe circumftances, not only the Spaniards, but the other nations of Europe, feem to have adopted the opinion of Columbus. The countries which he had difcovered were confidered as a part of Indian In confequence of this notion, the name of Indies is given to them by Ferdinand and Ifabella, in a ratification of their former agree- ment, which was granted to Columbus upon his return. Even after the error which gave rife to this opinion was detecled, and the true pofitlon of the New World was afcertained, the name has. remained, and the ap- pellation of Weft Indies is given by all the people of Europe to. the coun-. txy, and that of Indians \o its inhabitant?. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ng iThe name by which Columbus diftinguiflied the countries which he had dircovered was fo inviting, the fpecimens of their riches and fer- tilityj which he produced, were fo confiderable, and the reports of hit companions, delivered frequently with the exaggeration natural to travellers, fo favourable, as to excite a wonderful fpirit of enterprife among the Spaniards. Though little accuftomed to naval expeditions, they were impatient to fct out upon the voyage. Volunteers of every rank folicited to be employed. Allured by the inviting profpefts whicK ' opened to their ambition and avarice, neither the length nor danger of the navigation intimidated them. Cautious as Ferdinand was, and averfe to every thing new and adventurous, he feems to have catched the ■fame fpirit with his fubjeds. Under its influence, preparations for a fccond expedition were carried on with a rapidity unufual in Spain, and to an extent that would be deemed not inconfidetable in the prefent age. The fleet confided of feventeen Ihips, fome of which were of good burden. It had on board fifteen hundred perfons, among whom were many of noble families, who had ferved in honourable ftations. The greater part of thcfe being deftined to remain in the country, were fur- tlilhed with every thing requifite for conqueft or fettlement, with all kinds of European domeftic animals, with fuch feeds and plants as were moft likely to thrive in the climate of the Weft Indies, with utenfils and inftruments of every fort, and with fuch artificers as might be moft ufeful in ^n infant colony. But, formidable and well provided as this fleet was, Ferdinand and Ifabella did not reft their title to the poffefTion of the newly-difcovered countries upon its operations alone. The example of the Portuguefe, as well as the fuperftition of the age, made it neceflary to obtain from the Roman pontiff a grant of thofe territories which they wilhed to oc- cupy. The Pope, as the vicar and reprefentative of Jefus Chrift, was fuppofed to have a right of dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth, Alexander VJ. a pontiff infamous for every crime which difgraces hu- manity, filled the papal throne at that time. As he was born Ferdinand's fubjeft, and very folicitous to fecure the proteftion of Spain, in order to facilitate the execution of his ambitious fchcmes in favour of his own family, he was extremely willing to gratify the Spanifli monarchs. By an adt of liberality which coft him nothing, and that ferved to eftablifh the jurifdidion and pretenfions of the papal fee, he granted in full right • to Ferdinand and Ifabella all the countries inhabited by Infidels, which they had difcovered, or fhould difcover; and, in virtue of that power which he derived from Jefus Chrift, he conferred on the crown of Cailile vail regioas, to the poffcinon of which he himfelf was fo far from 40 biSCOVtRY OF AMERICA. from having any title, that he- was unacquainted with their fituatlon/ and ignorant even of their cxiftence. As it was neceffary to prevent this grant from interfering with that formerly made to the crown of Portugal, he appointed that a line, fuppofed to be drawn from pole to jjolcj a hundred leagues to the weftward of the Azores, (hould fervc as the limit between them ; and, in the plenitude of his power, beftowed all to the eaft of this imaginary line upon the Portuguefe, and all to •the weft of it upon the Spaniards. Zeal for propagating the Chriftian faith was the confideration employed by Ferdinjmd in foliciting this bull, and is mentioned by Alexander as his chief motive for iffuing it* In order to manifeft fome concern for this laudable objeft, feveral friars, under the diredion of Father Boyl, a Catalonian monk of great repu- tation, as apoftolical vicar, were appointed to accompany Columbus, and to devote themfelves to the inftrudion of the natives. The Indians whom Columbus had brought along with him, having received fome tindure of Chriftian knowledge^ were baptized with much folemnity, the king himfelf, the prince his fon, and the chief perfons of his court, ftanding as their godfathers. Thofe firft fruits of the New World have not been followed by fuch an incrcafe as pious men wifticd, and had reafon to expe(ft. * Ferdinand and Ifabella having thus acquired a title, which was then deemed completely valid, to extend their difcoveties, and to cftablilh their dominion over fuch a confiderable portion of the glol?p, nothing now retarded the departure of the fleet. Columbus was extremely im- patient to revifit the colony which he had left, and to purfue that career of glory upon which he had entered. He fet fail from the bay of Cadiz on the twenty-fifth of September, and touching again at the ifland of Gomera, he ftcered farther towards the fouth than in his former voyage^ By holding this courfe, he enjoyed more fteadily the benefit of the regular winds^ which reign within the tropics, and wai carried towards a large clufter of iflands, fitualcd eonfiderably to the eaft of thofe which he had already difcovered. On the twenty-fixth day, Nov. 2, after his departure from Gomefa, he made land. It was one of the Caribbee or Leeward iflands, to which he gave the name of Defeada, on account of the Impatience of his crew to difcover fomc part of the New World; After this he viflted fucceflively Dominicai Marigalante, Antigua, San Juan de Puerto Rieoj and feveral other iflands, fcattered in his way as he advanced towatds the north- weft* All thefe he found to be inhabited by that fierce race of people whom Guacaeahari had painted in fuch frightful colours. His dcfcriptiona appeared not to have been exaggerated. The Spaniards never at- j tempted DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 4t tcn^)ted to land without meeting with fuch a reception; as difcovered the martial and daring fpirit of the natives ; and in their habitations were found relics of thofe horrid feafts which they had made upon the bodies of their enemies taken in war. But as Columbus was eager to know the ftate of the colony which he had planted, and to fupply it with the neceffaries of which he fuppofed it to be in want, he made no Hay in any of thofe i Hands, and proceeded direftly to Hifpaniola. When he arrived off Navidad, the ftation ia which he had left the thirty-eight men under the command of Arada, he was aftoniflied that none of them appeared, and expisded every mo- ment to fee them running with tranfports of joy to welcome thett countrymen. Full of folicitude about their fafety, and foreboding in his mind what had befallen them, he rowed inftantly to land. All the natives from whom he might have received information had fled. But the fort which he had built was entirely demoliftied, and the tattered garments, the broken arms and utenfils fcattered about it, left no room to doubt concerning the unhappy fate of the garrifon. While the Spaniards were fhedding tears over thofe fad memorials of their fellow- citizens, a brother of the cazique Guacanahari arrived. From him Columbus received a particular detail of what had happened after his departure from the ifland. The familiar intercourfe of the Indians with the Spaniards tended gradually to diminifli the fuperftitious veneration with which their firft appearance had infpired that fimple people. By their own indifcretion and ill conduft, the Spaniards fpeedily effaced thofe favourable impreflions, and foon convinced the natives, that they had all the wants, and weaknefTes, and paffions of men. As foon as the powerful reftraint which the prefence and authority of Columbus im- pofed was withdrawn, the garrifon threw off all regard for the officer whom he had invefled with command. Regardlefs of the prudent in- ftruftions which he had given them, every man became independent, and gratified his delires without controul. The gold, the women, the provifions of the natives, were all the prey of thofe licentious oppreffors. They roamed in fmall parties over the ifland, extending their rapacity and infolence to every corner of it. Gentle and timid as the people were, thofe unprovoked injuries at length exhauftcd their patience, and rouzed their courage. The cazique of Cibao, whofe country the Spaniards chiefly infefted on account of the gold which it contained^ furprifed and cut off feveral of them, while they ftraggled in as perfect fecurity as if their condudl had been altogether inoffenlive. He then affembled his fubje<5ls, and furrounding the fort, fet it on fire. Some of the Spaniards wtrc killed in defending it, the reft periflied in attempting G to 42 DISCOVERV OF AMERICA. to make their cfcapc by croffing an arm of the fca. Guacanahan^ whom all their cxaftions had not alienated from the Spaniards, took arms in their behalf, and, in endeavouring to proteft them, had received a wound, by which he was ftill confined. Though this account was far from removing the fufpicions which the Spaniards entertained with refpeft to the fidelity of Guacanahari, Co- lumbus perceived fo clearly that this was not a proper junfture for in- quiring into his condufl with fcrupuleus accuracy, that he rejeded the advice of feveral of his officers, who urged him to feize the perfon of that prince, and to revenge the death of their countrymen by attack- ing his fubjeds. He reprefented to them the neceffity of fecuring the friendfhip of fome potentate of the country, in order to facilitate tht fettlement which they intended, and the danger of driving the native* to unite in fome defperate attempt againft them, by fuch an ill- timed and unavailing exercife of rigour. Inftead of wafting his time in puniftiing paft wrongs, he took precaution for preventing any future injury. With this view, lie made choice of a fituation more healthy and commodious than that of Navidad. He traced out the plan of a town in a large plain near a fpacious bay, and obliging every perfon to put his hand to a work on which their common fafety depended, the houfes and ramparts were foon fo far advanced by their united labour, as to afford them flielter and fecurity. This rifing city, the firft that the Europeans founded in the New World, he named Ifabeila, in honour of his patronefs the queen of Caftile. In carrying on this neceffary work, Colombus had not onfy to fuftain all the hardlhips, and ta encounter all the difficulties, to which infant colonies are expofed when they fettle in an uncultivated country, but he fcad to contend with what was more infuperable, the lazinefs, the im- patience, and mutinous difpofition of his followers. By the enervating influence of a hot climate, the natural inaftivity of the Spaniards feemed to increafe. Many of them were gentlemen, unaccuftomed to the fatigue of bodily labour, and all had engaged in the cnterprife with the fanguine hopes excited by the fplendid and exaggerated defcriptions of their countrymen who returned from the firft voyage, or by the mif- taken opinion of Columbus, that the country which he had difcovcred was cither the Cipango of Marco Polo, or the Ophir, from which Solomon imported thole precious commodities which fuddenly difFufed fuch extraordinary riches through his kingdom. But when, inftead of that golden harveft which they had expeded to reap without toil or pains, the Spaniards faW their profpe^ of wealth was remote as well as imccitain» and that it could not be attained but by the i4(^w and per- ievering. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 43 fevering efforts of induftry, the difappointment of thofe chimerical hopes occafioned fuch dejeftion of mind as bordered on defpair, and Jed to general difcontent. In vain .did Columbus endeavour to revive their fpirits by pointing out the fertility of the foil, and exhibiting the fpecimens of gold daily brought in from different parts of the ifland. They had not patience to wait for the gradual returns which the former might yield, and the latter they defpifed as fcanty and inconfidcrable. The fpirit'of difaffeftion fpread, and a confpiracy was formed, which might have been fatal to. Columbus and the colony. Happily he dif- covered it, and feizing the ring-leaders, punifhed fome of them, fent others prifoners into Spain whither he difpatched twelve of the fhips which had ferved as tranfports, with an earnefl requeft for a reinforce- ment of men and a large fupply of provifions. Meanwhile, in order to banifh that idlenefs which, by allowing hi$ people Icifure to brood over their difappointment, nourifhed the fpirit of difcontent, Columbus planned feveral expeditions into the interior part of the country. He fent a detachment, under the command of Alonfo de Ojeda, a vigilant and enterprifing ofHcer, to vifit the diftrift of Cibao, which was faid to yield the grcateft quantity of gold, and fol- lowed him in perfon with the main body of his troops. In this expedi- tion, March 12, 1494, he difplayed all the pomp of military magnifi- cence that he could < xhibit, in order to ftrike the imagination of the natives. He marched with, colours flying, with martial mufic, and with a fmall body of cavalry that paraded fometimes in the front and fometimes in the rear. As thofe were the firil horfes which appeared in the New World, they were objeds of terror no lefs than of admiration to the. Indians, who having no tame animals themfelves, were unac- quainted with that vaft acceffion of power, which man hath acquired by fubjedling them to his dominion. They fuppofed them to be rational creatures. They imagined that the horfe and the rider formed one »nimal, with whofe fpeed they were aftonifhed, and whofe impetuofity and ftrength they confidered as irrefifliblc. But while Columbus en- jdeavoured to infpire the natives with a dread of his power, he did not neglea the arts of gaining their love and confiaence. He adhered fcru- pttloufly to the principles of integrity and juftice in all his tranfadions with them, and treated them, on every pccafion, not only with humani- ty, but with indulgence. The diftria of Cibao anfwered the defcrip- jion given of it by the natives. It was mountainous and uncultivated^ but in every river, and brook, gold was gathered either in dull or m grains, fome of which were of confiderable fize. The Indians had jifiver opened any mines in fearch of gold. To penetrate into the Q 2 bowels I.'. 44 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. bowels of the earth, and to refine the rude ore, were opcrationi to« complicated and laborious for their talents and induftry, and they had no fuch high value for gold as to put their ingenuity and invention upon the ftretch in order to obtain it. The final! quantity of that precious metal which they pofleffed, was either picked up in the beds of the rivers, or walhed from the mountains by the heavy rains that fall within Ac tropics. But, from thofe indications, the Spaniards could no longer doubt that the country contained rich treafures in its bowels, of which tliey hoped foon to be mailers. In order to fecure the command of this valuable province, Columbus eredled a fmall fort, to which he gave the name of St. Thomas, by way of ridicule upon fomc of his incredulous followers, who would not believe that the country produced gold, until they faw it with their own eyes, and touched it with their hands. The account of thofe promifing appearances of wealth in the country of Cibao came very feafonably to comfort the defponding colony, which was effcded with diftreffes of various kinds. The flock of provifions 'v.hkh had been brought from Europe was moftly confumed ; what re- mained was fo much corrupted by the heat and moifture of the climate, as to be almoft unfit for ufe ; the natives cultivated fo fmall a portion of ground, and with fo little fkill, that it hardly yielded what was fuf. ficient for their own fubfiftence j the Spaniards at Ifabella had hitherto neither time nor leifure to clear the foil, fo as to reap any confiderabic fniits of their own induftry. On all thefe accounts, they became afraid of peiilhing with hunger, and were reduced already to a fcanty allow* ance. At the fame time, the difeafes predominant in the torrid zone, and which rage chiefly in thofe uncultivated countries, where the hand of induftry has not opened the woods, drained the marches, and confined the rivers within a certain channel, began to fpread among them. Alarmed at the violence and unufual fymptoms of thofe maladies, they exclaimed againft Columbus and his companions in the former voyagej who, by their fplendid but deceitful defcriptions of Hifpaniola, had allured them to quit Spain for a barbarogs uncultivated land, where they muft e'ther be cut oiF by famine, or die of unknown diftempers. Several of the ofiicers and perfons of note, inftead of checking, joined in thofe feditious complaints. Father Boyl, the apoftolical vicar, was one of the moft turbulent and outrageous. It required all the authority and addrefs of jColumbus to ie-eftabli(h fubordination and tranquillity in the 4p)0oy. Threat^ and promifes were alternately employed for this pur- pofe ; but nothing contributed more to f(X)the the malcontents than the pofpeft.o^A^jng, in the mines of„ Cibao, fuch a rich ftore of trcaforc DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ^^ as would be a recompence for all their fufferings, and efface tlie memory ©f former difappointments. When, by his unwearied endeavours, concord and order were fo far reftored, that he could venture to leave the ifland, Colambus refolved to purfue his difcoveries, that he might be able to afcertain whether thofc new countries with which he had opened a communication were con- nefted with any region of the earth already known, or whether they were to be confidered as a feparate portion of the globe hitherto unvi- fited. He appointed his brother Don Diego, with the affidance of a council of officers, to govern the ifland in his abfence ; and gave the command of a body of foldiers to Don Pedro Margarita, with which he was to viiit the different parts of the ifland, and endeavour to cftablilh the authority of the Spaniards among the inhabitants. Having left them very particular inftrudlions with refpeft to their conduft, he weighed anchor on the twenty- fourth of April, with one fliip and two {mall barks under his command. During a tedious voyage of full fire months, he had a trial of almoft all the numerous hardfliips to whicli perfons of his profeffion arc expofed, without making any difcovery of importance, except the ifland of Jamaica. As he ranged along thjc fouthern coafl: of Cui)a, he was entangled in a labyrinth formed by an iacredible number of fmall iflands, to which he gave the name of the ^cen's Garden, In this unknown courfe, among rocks and flielves, he was retarded by contrary winds, aflaulted with furious llorms, and alarmed with the terrible thunder and lightning which is often almoft iriceflant between the tropics. At length his provifions fell fliort 5 hi* crew, exhaufted with fatigue, as well as hunger, murmured and threat- ened, and were ready to proceed to the moft defperate extremities againfl: him* , Befet with danger in fuch various forms, he was obliged to keep continual watch, to obferve every occurrence with his own eyes, to iflbe every order, and to fuperlntend the execution of it. On no occafion, was the extent of his fkill and ex* The name of Amerigo has fupplanted that of Columbus ; and mankind may regret an a<^ of injaftice, which, having received the fanftioa qi time, it is now top late to redjrefs* During the fame year, another voyage of difcovery was undertaken, Columbus not only introduced the fpirit of naval cntcrprife into Spain, bat all the firft adventurers who diftinguifhed themfelves in this new career, were formed by his inftruftions, and acquired in his voyages the {kill and information which qualified them to imitate his example. Alonzo Nigno, who had ferved under the admiral in his laft expedition, fitted out a iingle ftiip, in conjundion with Chriftophcr Guerra, 3 merchant of Seville, and failed to the coaft of Paria. This voyage feems to have been conduced with greater attention to private emolu- ment, than to any general or national objeft, Nigno and Guerra mad^ no difcoveries of any importance ; but they brought home fuch a re* turn of gold and pearls, as inflamed their countrymen with the dcfire of ' engaging in fimilar adventures. Soon after, Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of the admiral's companions in his firft voyage, failed from Palos with four fhips. He ftood boldly towards the fouth, and was the firft Spaniard who ventured to crofs the' fcjuinoftial line ; but he feems to have landed on no part of the coalk DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 6^ Vcyond the mouth of the Maragnon, or river of the Amazons. All thefe navigators adopted the erroneous theory of Columbus, and believed that the countries which they had difcovered were part of the vaft con- tinent of India. During the laft year of the fifteenth century, that fertile diftrid of America, on the confines of which Pinon had ftept ihort, was more fully difcovered. The fuccefsful voyage of Gama to the Eaft Indie* having encouraged the king of Portugal to fit out a fleet fo powerful, as not only to carry on trade, but to attempt conqueft, he gave the com- mand of it to Pedro Alvarez Cabral. In order to avoid the coaft of Africa, where he was certain of meeting with variable breezes, or fre- quent calms, which might retard his voyage, Cabral flood out to fea, and kept fo far to the weft, that, to his furprife, he found himfelf upon the Ihore of an unknown countr)^, in the tenth degree beyond the line. He imagined, at firft, that it was fome ifland in the Atlantic ocean hitherto Mnobferved; but, proceeding along its coaft for feveral days, he was led gradually to believe, that a country fo cxtenfive formed a part of fome great continent. This latter opinion was well founded. The country with which he fell in belongs to that province in South America, now known by the nJTme of Brafil. He landed ; and having formed a very high idea of the fertility of the foil, and agreeablenefs of the climate, he took poffeflion of it for the crown of Portugal, and dif^ patched a ftiip to Lift)on wifh an account of this evient, which appeared to be no lefs important than % was unexpefted. Columbus's difcovery «f the New World was the ciFort of an active genius, enlightened b/ icfence, guided by experience, and afting upon a regular plan, executed with no lefs courage than perfeverance. But from this adventure of the Portuguefe, it appears that chance might have accomplifhed that great defign which it is now the pride of human reafon to have formed and perfeded. If the fagacity of Columbus had not conduded mankind to America, Cabral, by a fortunate accident, might have led them, a few years later, to the knowledge of that exrenfive continent. While the Spaniards and Portuguefe, by thofe fucceffivc voyages, wetc daily acquiring more enlarged ideas of the extent and opulence of that quarter of the globe wh5ch Columbus had made known to them, he himfelf, far from enjoying the tranquillity and honoursr with which his fervices ftiould have been recompenfed, was ftruggling with every dif- trefs in which the anvy and malevolence of the people under his com* roand, or the ingratitude of the court which he ferved, could involve him. Though the pacification with Roldan broke the union and weak- ened the force of the mutineers, it did not extirpate the feeds of difcord out 64 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. out of the ifland. Several of the malcontents continued in arms, ft fufing to fubmit to the admiral. He and his brothers were obliged to take the field altcmatcly, in order to check their incurfions, or to pu- nilh their crimes. The perpetual occnpation and difouiet which this created, prevented him from giving due attention to the dangerous ma- chinations of his enemies in the court of Spain. A good number of fuch as were moft diffatisficd with his adminiftration, had embraced the opportunity of returning to Europe with the (hips which he difpatched from St. Domingo. The final difappointment of all their hopes in- flamed the rage of thefc unfortunate adventurers againft Columbus to the utmoft pitch. Their poverty and diftrefs, by exciting compaffion, rendered their accufations credible, and their complaints interefting. They teazed Ferdinand and Ifabella inceffantly with memorials, con- taining the detail of their own grievances, and the articles of their charge agaiaft Columbus. Whenever either the king or queen ap- peared in public, they furrounded them in a tumultuary manner, in- filling with importunate clamours for payment of the arrears due to them, and demanding vengeance upon the author of their fufferings. They infulted the admiral's fons wherever they met them, reproaching them as the offspring of the projeaor, whofe fatal curiofity had dif- covered thofc pernicious regions which drained Spain of its wealth, and would prove the grave of its people. The{^^ avowed endeavours of the malcontents from America to ruin Columbus, were feconded by the fe- cret, but more dangerous infinuations of that party among the courtiers, which had always thwarted his fchemes, and envied his fuccefs ancl. credit. Ferdinand was difpofed to Uflen, not only with a willing, but with a partial ear, to thefc accufations. Notwithftanding the flattering ac- counts which Columbus had given of the riches of America, the remit- tances from it had hitherto been fo fcanty, that they fell far (hort of the expence of the armaments fitted out. The glory of the difcover}', tpgether with the profpcft of remote commercial advantages, was all that Spain had yet received in return for the efforts which (he had made- But time had already dimini^ed the firft fenfations of joy which the difcovery of a New World occafioned, and fame alone was not an objedl to fatisfy the cold interefted mind of Ferdinand. The nature of com- merce was then fo little underftood, that, where immediate gain was not acquired, the hope of diftant benefit, or of flow and moderate re-- turns, was totally difregarded. Ferdinand confidered Spain, on this' account, as having loft by thff- enterprife of Columbus, and imputed it ta bis mifcondu<^ and incapacity for government, that a country abound- DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 65 Ihg in gold had yielded notliing of value to its conquerors. Even Ifa- bclla, who from the favourable opinion* which (he entertained of Co- lumbus, had uniformly proteded him, was Ihaken at len^h by th« number and boldnefs of his accufers, and began to fufped that a dif- . affeflion fo general mull have been occafioned by real grietrances, which called fgr redrefs. The bilhop of Bajados, with his ufual animofity againft Columbus, encouraged thefe fufpicions, and confirmed them. As foon as the queen began to give way to the torrent of calumny, a refolution fatal' to Columbus was taken. Francis de Bovadilla, a knight of Calatrava, was appointed to repair to Hifpaniola, with full powers to enquire into the conduft of Columbus, and, if he (hould find the charge of mal-adminift ration proved, to fuperfede him, and aflurae the government of the ifland. It was impoffible to efcape condemnation, when this prepofterous commiffion made it the intereft of the judge to pronounce the perfon, whom he was fent to« try, guilty. Though Co- lumbus had now compofed all the diffenrions in the ifland ; though he had brought both Spaniards and Indians to fubmit peaceably to his go- vernment ; though he had made fuch efFeftual provifion for working the mines, and cultivating the country, as would have fecured a confider- able revenue to the king, as well as large profits to individuals, Bova- dilla, without deigning to attend to the nature or merit of thofe fer- vices, difcovered, from the moment that he landed in Hifpaniola, a de- termined purpofe of treating him as a criminal. He took poffeffion of the admiral's houfe in St. Domingo, from which its mailer happened at that time to be abfent, and feized his efFsfts, as if his guilt had been already fully proved ; he rendered himfelf mailer of the fort and of the king's ftores by violence ; he required all perfons to acknowledge him as fupreme gqvernor ; he fet at liberty the prifoners confined by the ad- miral, and fummoned him to appear before his tribunal, in order to anfwer for his condu(S ; tranfmitting to him, together with the fum- mons, a copy of the royal mandate, by which Columbus was enjoined to yield implicit obedience to his commands. Columbus, though deeply afFedcd with the ingratitude and injnftlce of Ferdinand and Ifabella, did not hefitate a moment about his own condud. He fubmitted to the will of his fovereigns with a refpedful filence, and repaired direftly to the court of that violent and partial judge whom they had authorifcd to try him. Bovadilla, without ad- mitting him into his prefence, ordered him inftantly to be arrefted, to be loaded with chains, and hurried on board a fliip. Even under this humiliating reverfe of fortune, the firmncfs of mind which dillinguiihes the charader of Golumbus, did not forfake him* Confcious of his own No, II. K • integrity 66 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA* integrity, and folacing hfinfelf with reflefting upon the great things which he had achieved, he endured this infult offered to his charaerfon of dilUnaion, fitted out two fhips, in January, in co-partnery with John de la Cofa, who having ferved under the admiral in two of his voyages, was deemed the moft flvilful pilot in Spain. They fleered direftly towards the con- tinent, arrived on the coafl: of Paria, and pi-oceeding to the weft, dif- covercd all the coaft of the province now known by the name of Tierra, Firm^, from Cape de Vela to the gulf of Darien. ' Not long after Ojcda, with his former aflbciatc Amerigo Vefpueci, fet out upon a fccond voyage, and being unacquainted with the deftination of Baftidas, held the fame courfe, and touched at the fame places. The voyage of Baf- tidas was profperous and lucrative, that of Ojcda unfortunate. But both tended to increafe the ardour of difcovery j for in proportion as the Spaniards acquired a more extenftve knowledge of the American continent, their idea of its opulence and fertility increafed. Before thefe adventurers returned from their voyages, a fleet was equipped, at the public expence, for carrying over Ovando, the new governor to Hifpaniola. His prefence there was extremely requifite, in order to ftop the inconftderate career of Bovadilla, whofe imprudent adminiftration threatened the fettlement with ruin. Confcious of the violence and iniquity of his proceedings againft Columbus, he con- ' tinned to make it his fole objed to gain the favour and fupport of his countrymen, by accommodating himfelf to their paftions and preju- dices. With this view, he eftabliOied regW'lations, in every point the reverfe of thofe which Columbus deemed eflential to the profperity of the colony. Inftead of the fevere difcipline, neceflary in order to ha- bituate the diffolute and corrupted members of which the fociety was compofed to the reftraints of law and fubordination, he fuffcred them to enjoy fuch uncontrouled licence, as encouraged the wildeft cxcefTes. Inftead of proteding the Indians, he gave a legal fan^ion to the oppref- iion of that unhappy people. He took the exaci number of fuch as fur- vived their paft calamities, divided them into diftinft clafTes, diftribu- ted them in property among his adherents, and reduced all the people oftheifland to a ftate of complete fervitude. As the avarice of the Spaniards was too rapacious and impatient to try any method of ac- quiring wealth but that of fearching for gold, this fervitude became as grievous as it was unjuft* The Indians were driven in crowds to the mountains, and compelled to work in the mines by matters, who im- pofed their talks without meic/ or difcretion. Labour, fo difpropor- '3 ' . tioned DISCOVE^RY OF AMERICA: gg tioned to their ftrength and former habits of life, wafted that feeble race of men with fuch rapid confumption, as muft have foon terminated in the utter extindion of the ancient inhabitants of the country. The neceiTity of applying a fpeedy remedy to thofe diforders, haft- cned Ovando's departure. He had the command of the moft refpeflable armament hitherto fitted out for the New World. It confifted of thirty, two Ihips, on board of which two thoufand five hundred perfons era-^ barked, with an intention of fettling in the country. Upon the arrival of the new governor with this powerful reinforcement to the colony, in the year one thoufand five hundred and two, Bovadilla refigned his charge, and was commanded to return inftantly to Spain, in order to anfwer for his condud. Roldan, and the other ringleaders of the mu- tineers, who had been moft aftive in oppofing Columbus, were required to leave the iflaud at the fame time. A proclamation was iflued, de- claring the natives to be free fubje^ls of Spain, of whom no fervicc was to be exaded contrary to their own inclination, and without paying them an adequate price for their labour. With refpedl to the Spaniards thcmfelves, various regulations were made, tending to fupprefs the li- centious fpirit which had been fo f^tal to the colony, and to eftablifh that reverence for law and order on which fociety is founded, and to which it is indebted for its increafe and ftabillty. In order to limit the exorbitant gain which private perfons were fuppofed to make by work- ing the mines, an ordinance was publifhed, direding all the gold to be brought to a public fmeJting-houfe, and declaring one half of it to be the property of the crown. While thefe fteps were taking for fecuring the tranquillity and welfare of the colony which Columbus had planted, he himfelf was engaged in the unpleafant employment of foliciting the favour of an ungrateful court, and, notwithftanding all his merits and fervices, he folicited in vain. He demanded, in terms of the original capitulation in one thou- fand four hundred and ninety-two, to be reinftated in his office of vice- roy oyer the countries which he had difcovered. By a ftrange fatality, the circumftancc which he urged in fupport of his claim, determined a jealous monarch to rejeft it. The greatncfs of his difcoveries, 'jnd the profped of their increafing value, made Ferdinand confider the coh- feeffions in the capitulation as extravagant and impolitic. He was afraid of entruftijpg a fubjeft with the exercife of a jurifdiftion that now ap- peared to be fo truly extenfive, and might grow no lefs formidable. He infpired Ifabella with the fame fufpicions; and under various pretexts, equally frivolous and unjuft, they eluded all Columbus's requifitions to perform that which a folemn compa(ft bound them to accomplilh. After ^ ' ' attending yO DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. attending the court of Spain for near two years, as an humble fiiitor, he found it impoflible to remove Ferdinand's prejudices and apprehcnlions; and perceived, at length, that he laboured in vain, when he urged a claim of juftice or merit with an interefted and unfeeling prince. But even this ungenerous return did not difcoiirage him from purfuing the great objed which firft called forth his inventive genius, and ex- cited him to attempt difcovery. To open a new paflage to the Eaft Indies was his original and favourite fcheme. This ftill engrofled his thoughts; and either from his own obfervations in his voyage to Paria, or from fome obfcure hint of the natives, or from the accounts given by Baflidas and de la Cofa, of their expedition, he conceived an opinion that, beyond the continent of America, there Vvas a fea which extended to the Eaft Indies, and hoped to find fome narrow ftrriit or narrow neck of land, by v/hich a communication might be o^>ened with it and the part of the ocean already known. By a very fortunate conje<^ure, he ibppofcd this ftrait or ifthmus to be fituated near the gulf of Darien. Full of this idea, though he was now of an advanced age, worn out with fetigue, and broken with infirmities, he offered, with the alacrity of a youthful adventurer, to undertake a voyage v^hich would afcertain thif important point, and perfect the grand fcheme wliich from the begin- ning he propofed to acomplifh. Several circumftances concurred in dif- pofing Ferdinand and Ifabclla to lend a favourable ear to this propo- fal. They were glad to have the pretext of any honourable employment for removing from court a man with whofe demands they deemed it im- politic to comply, and whofe fervices it was indecent to negledt. Though unwilling to reward Columbus, they were not infenfible of his merit, and from their expcr;ence of his Ikill and conduft, had reafon to give credit to his conje(flures, and to confide in his fuccefs. To thefe con- fiderations, a third muft be added of ftill more powerful influence. About this time the Portuguefe fleet, under Cabral, arrived from the Indies.; and, by the richnefs of its cargo, gave the people of Europe a more perfcfl idea, than they had hitherto been able to form, of the opu- lence and feiti'ity of the ea.l. The Portuguefe had been more fortunate in their difcovcries than the Spaniards. They had opened a communi- cation with countries v,herc induftry, arts, and elegance flouriflied; and where commerce had been longer cftabliftied, and carried to greater extent, than in any region of the earth. Their firft voyages thither yielded immediate, as well as vaft returns of profit, in commodities ex- tremely t rccious and in great rcqurft. Lifl^on became immediately the feat of com urce and of wealth; while Spain had only the expedation of remote benefit, and of future gain, from the weftern world. No- ^hin^» DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. *^l thing, then, could be more acceptable to the Spaniards than Columbus's offer to condua them to the eaft, by a r9ute which he expeded to be fhorter, as well us lefs dangerous, than that which the Portuguefc had taken. Even Ferdinand was roufed by fuch a profped, and warml/ approved of the undertaking. But, interefting as the objed of his voyage was to the nation, Co- lumbus could procure only four fmall barks, the largeft of which did not excedd feventy ton$ in burden, for performing it. Accuftomed to brave danger, and to engage in arduous undertakings with inadequate force, he did not hefitate to accept the command of this pitiful fqua- dron. His brother Bartholomew, and his fecond fon Ferdinand, the hiftorian of his adicns, accompanied him. He failed from Cadiz on the ninth of May, and touched, as ufual, at the Canary Iflands ; from thence he purpofed . to have ftood direftly for the continent; but his largeft veffel was fo clumfy and unfit for fervice, as conftrained him to bear away for Hifpaniola, in hopes of exchanging her for fome fhip of the fleet that had carried out Ovando. When he arrived off St. Do- mingo, on June the twenty-iuinth, he found eighteen of thefe fhips ready loaded, and on the point of departing for Spain. Columbus immediately acquainted the governor with the deftination of his voyage, and the ac- cident which had obliged him to alter his route. He requefted per- mifTion to enter the harbour, not only that lie might negociatc the ex- change of his Ihip, but that he might take fhelter during a violent hurricane, of which he difcerned the approach from various prognoftics, which his experience and fagacity had taught him to obferve. On that account, he advifed him likewife to put off for fome days the departure of the fleet bound for Spain. But Ovando refufed his requeft, and defpifed his counfel. Under circumilances in which humanity would have afforded refuge to a ftranger, Columbus was denied admittance into a country of which he had difcovered the exiftcnce and acquired the pofTeffion. His falutary warning, which merited the greatefl at- tention, was regarded as the dream of a vifionary prophet, who arro- gantly pretended to predicl an event beyond the reach of human fore- fight. The fleet fet fail for Spain. Next night the hurricane came on with dreadful impetuofity. Cohambus, aware of the danger, took pre- cautions againll it, and faved his little fquadron. The fleet deftined for Spain met with the fate which the rafhnefs and obilinacy of its com- manders deferved. Of eighteen Hiips two or three only efcaped. In this general wreck perifhed Bovadilla, Roldan, and the greater part of thofe who had been the moft aflivc in perfecuting Columbus, and op- preffmg the Indians. Together wich themfelves, all the wealth which they 72 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA . they had acquired by their injufticc and cruelty was fwallowcd np. It exceeded in value two hundred thoufand pefos ; an immenfe (urn at that period, and fufficient not only to have fcreened them from any fevcre fcrutiny into their conduft, but to have fecured them a gracious recep- tion in the Spanilh court. Among the fhips that efcaped, one had on board all the efFe^s of Columbus which had been recovered from the iruins of his fortune. Hiftorians, ftruck with the exadt difcriminatiori of charadlerSj as well as the juft diftribution of rewards and punilhments, confpicuous in thofe events, univerfally attribute them to an immediate interpofition of divine Providence, in order to avenge the wrongs of ah injured man, and to punifh the opprefTors of an innocent people. Upon the ignorant and fuperllitious race of men, who were witnefles of this occurrence, it made a different impreffion. From an opinion, which vulgar admiration is apt to entertain with refpeft to perfons who hav"^ diftinguilhed themfelves by their fagacity and inventions, they believed Columbus to be pofTefled of fupernatural powers, and imagined that he had conjured up this dreadful ftorm by magical art, and incanta- tions, in order to be avenged of his enemies. Columbus foon left Hifpaniola, July 14, where he met with fuch an inhofpitable reception, and flood towards the continent. After a tedi- ous and dangerous voyage, he difcovered Guanaia, an ifland not far dif- tant from the coaft of Honduras. There he had an interv iew with fome inhabitants of the continent, who arrived in a large canoe. They appeared to be a people more civilized, and who had made greater pro- grefs in the knowledge of ufeful arts, than anf whom he had hitherto difcovered. In return to the inquiries which the Spaniards made, with their ufual eagernefs, concerning the places where the Indians gat the gold which they wore by way of ornament, they direded them to countries fituatcd to the weft, in which gold was found in fuch pro- fufion, that it was applied to the moft common ufes, Inftead of fleer- ing in queft of a country fo inviting, which would have condufted him along .lie coaft of Yucatan to the rich empire of Mexico, Columbus waa fo bent upon his favourite fcheme of finding out the ftrait which he fuppofed to communicate with the Indian ocean, that lie bore away to the eaft towards the gulf of Darien. In this navigation he difcovered all the coaft of the continent, from Cape Gracias a Dios, to a harbour which, on account of its beauty and fecurity, he called Porto Bello. He fearched, in vain, for the imaginary ftrait, through which he ex- peded to make his way into an unknown fea ; and though he went on Ihore feveral times, and advanced into the country, he did not penetrate fo far as to crofs the narrow ifthraus which feparates the gulf of Mexico from DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 73 from the great fouthern ocean. He was fo much delighted, however, with the fertility of the country, and conceived fuch an idea of its wealth, from the fpccimens of ^old produced by the natives, that he re- folved to leave a fmall colony upon the river Belcm, in the province of Vera?ua, under the command of his brother, and to return himfelf to Spain, in order to procure what was requifite for rendering the efta- bliihment permanent. But the ungovernable fpirit pf the people under his command, deprived Columbus of the glory of planting the firft colony on the continent of America. Their infolence and rapaciouf- nefs provoked the natives to take arms, and as thefe ^yere a more hardy and warlike race of men than the inhabitants of the iflands, they cut off part of the Spaniards, and obliged the reft to abandon .a ftation which was found to be untenable. This repulfe, the firft that the Spaniards met with from any of the American nations, was not the only misfortune that befel Columbus j it was followed by a fucceffion of all the difafters to which navigation is expofcd. Furious hurricanes, with violent ftorms of thunder and lightning, threatened his leaky veflels with deftruftion ; while his dif- contented crew, exhaufted with fatigue, and deftitute of proviiions, was unwilling or unable to execute his commands. One of his ftiips perifhed ; he was obliged to abandon another, as unfit for fervice ; and with the two which remained, he quitted that part of the continent which in his pnguifti he named the Coaft of Vexation, and bore away for Hifpaniola. New diftreffes awaited him in this voyage. He was driven back by a violent tempeft from the coaft of Cuba, his (hips fell foul of one another, and were fo much (battered by the (hock, that with the utmoft difficulty they reached Jamaica, on June 24, where he was obliged to run them aground, to prevent them from finking. The meafure of his calamities feemed now to be full. He vvas caft afhore upon an ifland at a confiderable diftance from the only fettlement of the Spaniards in America. His (hips were ruined beyond the po(fibiIity of being repaired. To convey an account of his fituation to Hifpaniola, appeared impradlicable ; and without this it was vain to expcdl relief. His genius, fertile in refources, and moft vigorous in thofe perilous ex- tremities when feeble minds abandon themfelves to defpair, difcovered the only expedient which afforded any profpedl of deliverance. He had recourfe to the hofpitablc kindnefs of the natives, who confidering the Spaniards as beings of a fuperior nature, were eager, on every occa- fion, to minifter to their wants. From them he obtained two of their canoes, each formed out of the trunk of a fingle tree hollowed with fire, and fo mif-(hapen and aukward as hardly to merit the name of boats. No. II. L la p74 DISCOVER V OF AMERICA. In thefe, which were fit only for creeping along the coafl, or eroding from one fide of a bay to another, Mcndez, a Spaniard, and Fiefchi, a Gcnoefe, two gentlemen particularly attached to Columbus, gallantly offered to fet out for Hifpaniola, upon a voyage of above thirty leagues. This they accompliihed in ten days, after furmounting incredible dan- gers, and enduring fuch fatigue, that feveral of the Indians who ac- companied them funk under it, and died. The attention paid to them hy the governor of Hifpaniola was neither fuch as their courage merited, iior the dirtrefs of the pcrfons from whom they came required. Ovando, from a mean jealoufy of Columbus was afraid of allowing him to fet foot in the ifland under his government. This ungenerous paflion hardened his heart againft every tender fentiment, which refledion upon the fervices and misfortunes of that great man, or compaflion for his own fellow-citizens involved in the fame calamities, muft have excited. Mendez and Fiefchi fpent eight months in foliciting relief for their commander and aflbciates, without any profpeft of obtaining it. During this period, various paflions agitated the mind of Columbus, and his companions in adverfity. At firft the expe<5lation of fpeedy deliverance, from the fuccefs of Mendez and Fiefchi's voyage, cheered the fpirits of the moft defponding. After fome time the more timorous began to fufped that they had raifcarried in their daring attempt. At length, even the moft fanguine concluded that they had periflied. The ray of hope which had broke in upon them, made their condi- tion appear now more difmal. Defpair, heightened by difappoint- jment, fettled in every breaft. Their laft refource had failed, and no- thing remained but the profpeft of ending their mifcrable days among naked favages, far from their country and their friends. The feamen, ;n a tranfport of rage, rofe in open mutiny, threatened the life of Co- lumbus, whom they reproached as the author of all their calamities, feized ten canoes, which he had purchafed from the Indians, and defpif- ^ng his remonftrances and entreaties, made oiF with them to a diftant part of the ifland. At the fame time the natives murmured at the long refidcnce of the Spaniards. in their country. As their induftry was not greater than that of their neighbours in Hifpaniola, like them they found the burden cf fupporting fo many ftrangers to be altogether in- tolerable. They began to brihg in provifions with reluftance, they furnifhcd them with a fparing hand, and threatened to withdraw thofe Supplies altogether. Such a refolution muft have been quickly fatal to the Spaniards. Their fafety depended' upon the good-will of the Irt- dians ; and unlefs they could revive the admiration and reverence with vhich that fimple people had at firft beheld them, deftrudion was un- - '.'' avoidable DISCOVERY OF AMERICA; h^ avoidable. Though the licentious proceedings of the mutineers had, in a great meafure effaced thofe impreffions which had been fo favourable to tlie Spaniards, the ingenuity of Columbus fuggefted a happy artifice, that not only reftored but heightened the high opinion which the Indians ,had originally entertained of them. By his ikill in aftroriomy he knew ' that there was fliortly to be a total eclipfe of the moon. He afTembled all tlie principal pcrfons of the diftri<5t around him oh the day before it happened, and, after reproaching them for their ficklenefs in withdraw- ing their aifeftion and affiftance from men whom they had lately revered, he told them, that the Spaniards were fervants of the Great Spirit who dwells in heaven, who made and governs the world; that he, offended at their refufing to fupport men who were the objefts of his peculiar favour, was preparing to punid^ this crime with exemplary feverity, and that very night the moon Ihould withhold her light, and appear of a bloody hue, as a fign of the divine wrath, and an emblem of the ven- geance ready to fall upon ^hem. To this marvellous predidion fome of them liftened with the carelefs indifference peculiar to the people of America ; others, with the credulous aftoniihment natural to barbarians, Eut when the moon began gradually to be darkened, and at length ap- peared of a red colour, all were ftruck with terror. They ran with confternation to their houfes, and returning iriftantly ^to Columbus loaded with provilions, threw them at his hzty conjuring him to inter- cede with the Great Spirit to avert the dellrudlion with which they were threatened. Columbus, feeming to be moved by their entreaties, promifed to comply with their defire. The eclipfe went off, the moon recovered its fplendour, and from that day the Spaniards were not only furnifhed profufely with provifions, but the natives, with fuperflitious attention, avoided every thing that could give them offence. During thofe tranfadions, the mutineers had made repeated attempts to pafs over to Hifpaniola in the canoes which they had feized. But, from their own mifconduft, or the violence of the winds and currents, their efforts were all unfuccefsful. Enraged at this difappointment, they marched towards that part of the ifland where Columbus remained, threatening him with new infults and danger. While they were ad- vancing, an event happened, more cruel and afHiding than any cala- mity which he dreaded from them. The governor of Hifpaniola, whofe mind was flill filled with fome dark fufpicions of Columbus, fent a fmall bark to Jamaica, not to deliver his diftrefTcd countrymen, but to fpy out their condition. Lefl: the fympathy of thofe whom he employed ihould afford them relief, contrary to his intention, he gave the com- mand of this veffel to Efcobar, an inveterate enemy of Columbus, who L 2 - adhering ^^^^^^ V OF THE yS DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. adhering to his inftru in a correfponding northern latitude. The north wind is the only one that reaches this part of America, after blowing over a o;reat continent. But, from an attentive furvey of its pofition, this will be found to have a tendency rather to dirainifh than augment the degree of heat. The fouthernr extremity of America is properly the termination of theimraenfc ridge of the Andes, which ftretches nearly in a dired line from north to fouth, through the whole extent of the con- tinent. The moft fultry regions in South America, Guiana, Brafil, Paraguay, and Tucuman, lie many degrees to the eaft of the Magellanit regions. The level country of Peru,, which enjoys the tropical heats, k fituated confiderably to the weft of them. The north wind, then, though it blows over land, does not bring to the fouthern extremity of America an increafe of heat collefted in its pafTage over torrid regions; but, before it arrives there, it rauft have fwept along the fummit of the Andes, and come impregnated with the cold of that frozen region.'* Another particularity in the climate of America, is its exccflive moif- turc in general. In fome places,- indeed, on the weftern coaft, rain ia not known ; but, in all other parts, the moiftnefs of the climate is ^ remarkable as the cold. — The forcfts wherewith it is every where co- vered, no doubt, partly occafion the moifture of its climate ; but the moft prevalent caufe is the vaft quantity of water in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, with which America is environed on all fides. Hence thofe places where the continent is narroweft are deluged with almoft perpetual raifts^ accompanied with violent thunder and lightning, by which fome of tlic{n> particularly Porte Bello, arc tendered io aciannc* junijihabitable,, , ,„ ^„^i, ., , . ^ , . ^11* OF AMERICA. 83 ^ This extreme molilure of the American climate is produaive of inuch larger rivers there than in any other part of the world. The Da- nube, the Nile, the Indus, or the Ganges, are not comparable to the Mifliflippi, the river St. Laurence, or that of the Amazons; nor are fuch large lakes to be found any where as thofe which North America af- fords. To the fame caufe we are alfo partly to afcribe the excefiive luxu- riance of all kinds of vegetables in almoft all parts of this country. In the fouthern provinces, where the moifture of the climate is aided by the warmth of the fun, the woods are almoft impervious, and the furface of the ground is hid from the eye, under a thick covering of fhrubs, herbs, and weeds.— Ih the northern provinces, the; forefts are not en- cumbered with the fame luxuriance of vegetation ; neverthelefs, they afford trees much larger of their kind than what are to be found any where elfe. From the coldnefs and the moifture of America, an extreme malig- pify of climate-has been inferred, and aiferted by M. de Paw, in his Recherches Philo/ophiques. Hence, according to his hypothefis, the fmall- nefs and irregularity of the nobler animals, and the fize and enormous multiplication of reptiles and infeds. - But the fuppofed fraallnefs and lefs ferocity of the American animals, the Abbe Clavigero obferves, inftead of the malignity, demonftrates the mildnefs and bounty of the clime, if we give credit to Buffbn, at whofe fountain M. de Paw has drank, and of whofe teftimony he has availed himfelf againft Don Pernetty. EufFon, who in many places of his Na- tural Hiftory produces the fmallnefs of the American animals as a cer- tain argument of the malignity of the climate of America, in treating afterwards of fa vage animals, in Tom. II. fpeaks thus : " As all things, even the moft free creatures, are fubjed to natural laws, and animals as well as men are fubjefted to the influence of climate and foil, it appears that the fame caufes which have civilized and polifhed the human fpecies in our climates, may have likewife produced fimilar efFefts upon other fpecies. The wolf, which is perhaps the fierceft of all the quadrupeds of the temperate zone, is however incomparably lefs terrible than the ty^er, the lion, and the pz^nther, of the torrid zone ; and the white bear gnd hyena of the frigid zone. In America, where the air and the earth are more mild than thofe of Africa, the tygcr, the lion, and the panther, are not terrible but in the nanxe. They have degenerated, iffiercenefs, joined to cruelty, made their nature ; or, to fpeak more properly, they have only fuffered the influence of the climate ; under a milder Iky, their nature alfo has become more mild. From climes which are im- Hjpd^rat? ii^ (heir temperature, are obtained drugs, perfumes, pojf^ns, M2 and 84 GENERAL DESCRIPTION tnd all thofe plants whofe qualities are ftrong. The temperate earth, on the contrary, produces only tilings which are temperate ; the mildeft hcrbsi the raoft wholefome pulfe, the fweeteft fruits, the moft quiet anl^ mals, and the moft humane men, are the natives of this happy clime. As the earth makes the plants, the earth and plants make animals ; the earth, the plants, and the animals, make man. The phyfical qualities of man, and the animals which feed on other animals, depend, though mora tcmotely, on the fame caufcs which influence their difpofitions and cuf- toms. This is the greateft proof and demonftration, that in temperato climes every thing, becomes temperate, and that in intemperate climes every thing is exceffive ; and that fize and form, which appear fixed and determinate qualities, depend, notwithftanding, like the relative quali- ties, on the influence of climate. The fize of our quadrupeds cannot be compared with that of an elephant, the rhinoceros, or fca-horfe. Tha largeft of our birds arc but fmall, if compared with the oftrich, the con- dore, and ca/oare," So far M. BuiFcn, whof^ text we have copied, be- caufe it is contrary to what M. de Paw writes againft the climate of America, and to Buffon himfelf in many other places. If the large and fierce animals are natives of intemperate climes, and fmall and tranquil animals of temperate climes, as M, BufFon has here eftablifhed; if mildnefs of climate influences the difpofition and cuftoms of animals, M. de Paw does not well deduce the malignity of the climate of America from the fmaller fize and lefs liercenefs of its animals; he ought rather to have deduced the gentlenefs and fweetnefs of its climate from this antecedent. If, on the contrary, the fmaller fize and lefs fierce- nefs of the American animals, with refped: to thofe of the old continent, are a proof of their degeneracy, arifing from the malignity of the clime, isM. de Paw would have it, we oqght in like mannsr to argue the ma- lignity of the climate of Europe from the fmaller fize and lefs fiercenefs of its animals, compared with thofe of Africa. If a philofopher of the country of Guinea Ihould undertake a work in imitation of M. do Paw, with this title, RecherchcsPhilofophiquesfurlesEuropcetis^ he might avail himfelf of the fame argument which M. de Paw ufes, to demonftrate the malignity of the climate of Europe, and the advantages of that of Africa, The climate of Europe, he would fay, is very unfavourable to the pro- liuftion of quadrupeds, which are found incomparably fmaller, and more cowardly than ours. What are the horfe and the ox, the largeft of its animals, compared with our elephants, our rhinocerofes, our fea^ horfes, and our camels ? What are its lizards, either in fize or intrepi- dity, compared with our crocodiles ? Its wolves, its bears, the raoft dreadful of its wild beafts, when bcfide our Hops o^: tigers ? Its eagle, its Tul^^6. IL N ' fa«e, go GENERAL DESCRIPTION face, and that little never extending beyond a fmall part of the chin au^ upper lip. Ifmay eafily be fuppofcd that this general defcription cannot apply, in all its parts, to every individual; but all of th^in partake Cc/ mvtch of it, that they may eafily b*^ diftinguifhcd even from the raulat- toes, who come neareft to them in point of colour. 'n:The refeniblance among all the American tribes is not lefs remarkable Sh tcfpeft to their genius, charade r, manners, and particular cuftoms. The raoft diftant tribes are, in thefe refpcds, as fimilar as though they formed but one nation. All the Indian nations have a peculiar pleafure in painting their bodiei of a red colour, with a certain fpecies of earth. The mine of Guanca- velica was formerly of no other ufe than to fupply them with this ma- terial for dyeing their bodies ; and the cinnabar extraified from it was •applied entirely to this purpofe. The tribes in Louifiana. and Canada have the fame pafTion ; hence minium is the commodity moft in demand there. It may feera fingular that thefc nations> whofe natural colour is redr Ihould afleft the fame colour as an artificial ornament. But it may be obferved, that they do nothing in this refpedl but what correfponds to the pradice of Europeans, who alfo ftudy to heighten and difplay to ad- vantage the natural red and white of their complexions. The Indians of Peru have now indeed abandoned the cuftom of painting their bodies: but it was common among them before they were conquered by the Spaniards; and it ftill remains the cullom of all thofe tribes who have preferved their liberty. The northern nations of America, befides the red colour which is predominant, employ alfo black, white, blue, and green, in painting their bodies. The adjuftment of thefe colours is a matter of as great confidcration with the Indians of Louifiana and the vaft regions extending to tht north, as the ornaments of drefs among the mofi: poliHicd nations. The bufinefs itfclf they call Madachery and they do not fail to apply all their talents and afliduity to accomplilh it in the moft finifned manner. No lady of the greateft fafnion ever confukcd her mirror with more anxiety ». than the Indians do while painting their bodies. The colours are ap- plied wiih the utmofl: accuracy and addrefs. Upon the eye-lids, pre- cifely at the root of the eye-lalhes, they draw two lines as fine as the fmalleft thread ; the fame upon the lips, the openings of the noftrils, the eye-brows, and tht ears; of which laft they even follow all the inflex* ions and infinuofities. As to the reft of the" face, they diftribute various figures, in all which the red predominates, and the other colours are af- ibrtcd fo as to thro\f it out to the bqft advantage. The neck alfo rcn ceiv€» OP AMERICA. ^1 ^ves its proper prnamerits : a thick coat of vermilion commonly dif- linguifhes the cheeks. Five or fix hours are requifite for accompli{hing all this with the nicet/ which they afFed. As their firft attempts do not always fucceed to their wilh, they efface them, and begin a-new upon a better plan. No coquette is more faftidious in her choice of ornament, none more vain when the important adjuftment is finiflied. Their de- light and felf-fatisfaftion are then fo great, that the mirror is hardly ever laid down. An Indian Madahed to his mind is the vaineft of all the human fpecies. The other parts of the body are left in their natural ftate, and, excepting what is called a cachecuh they go entirely naked. Such of them as have made themfelves eminent for bravery, or other qaalifications, are diftinguilhed by figures painted on their bodies. They introduce the colours by making punfturcs on their Ikins, and the extent of furface which this ornament covers is proportioned to the ex- ploits they have performed. Some paint only their arms, others both their arms a^d legs ; others again their thighs, while thofe who have at- tained the fummit of warlike renown, have their bodies painted from The waift upwards. This is the heraldry of the Indians ; the devices of which are probably more exaftly adjulled to the merits of the perfons who bear them than thofe of more civilized countries. Befides thefe ornaments, the warriors alfo carry plumes of feathers on their heads, their arms, and ancles. Thefe likewife are tokens of valour, and none but fuch as have been thus diftinguifhed may wear them. The propenfity to indolence is equal among all the tribes of Indians, civilized or favage. The only employment of thofe who have preferved their independence is hunting and filhing. In fome diftrids the women cxcrcife a little agriculture in raifing Indian corn and pompions, of which they form a fpecies of aliment, by bruifing them together : they alfo prepare the ordinary beverage in ufe among them« taking care, at ithe fame time, of the children, of whom the fathers take no charge. The female Indians of all the conquered regions of South America pradlice what is called the tircu (a word which among them fignifio* tienjattoTt),; It .confifts in throwing forward the hair fro^i the crown of the head upoiath^ brow^ and cutting it round from the ears to above the eye ; fo t"haT ffte ' fdttihead and eye-brows are entirely covered. The fame cuftom takes jplace in the Northern countries. The female inhabi- tants of both regions tie the reft of their hair behind, fo exa(5lly on the fame fafhion, that it might be fiippofed the effed of mutual imitation. This hovyevcr being impofiible, from the vaft diftance that feparates them, is thought to countenance the fiippofitlon of the whole of America bein|f originally planted with one race of people. N 2 TMs g2 . GENERAL DESCRIPTION This caftom docs not take place among the males. Thofe of the higher parts of Peru wear long and flowing hair, which they reckon a great ornament. In the lower parts of the fame country they cut it fhort, on account of the heat of the climate ; a circumftance in which they imitate the Spaniards. The inhabitants of Louifiana pluck out their hair by the root, from the crown of the head for\vards, in order to obtain a large forehead, othenvife denied them by nature. The reft of their hair they cut as fhort as poffibic, to prevent their enemies from icizing them by it in battle, and alfo to prevent them from cafily getting their fcalp, fhould they fall into their hands as prifoners. The whole race of American Indians is diftinguilhed by thicknefs of (kin and hardnefs of fibres; clrcumftances which probably contribute to that infcnfibility to bodily pain for which they are remarkable. An in- ftance of this infenfibility occurred In an Indian who was under the ne- ceffity of fubmitting to be cut for the ftone. This operation, in ordinary- cafes, feldom lafts above four or five minutes. Unfavourable circum- ftances in his cafe prolonged it to the uncommon period of 27 minutes. Yet all this time the patient gave no tokens of the extreme pain com» monly attending this operation : he complained only as a perfon docs who feels fome flight uneafinefs. At lad the flone was extradedB Tv/o days after, he exprefled a defire for food, and on the eighth day from the operation he quitted his bed, free from pain, although the wound was not yet thoroughly clofed. The fame want of fenfibility is obferved in cafes of fraftures, wounds, and other accidents of a firailar nature. In all thefe cafes their cure is eafily eifefted, and they feem tQ fuffer lefs prefent pain than any other race of men. The (kulls that have been taken up in their ancient burying-grounds are of a greater thicknefs than that bone is commonly found, being from fix to fevei? lines from the outer to the inner faperficies. The fame is remarked a« to the thicknefs of their {kins. It is natural to infer from hence, that their comparative infenfibility to pain is owing to a coarfer and ftronger organization than that of othei. nations. The eafe with which they endure the feverities of climate i\ another proof of this. The inhabitants of the higher parts of Peru liv« amidft perpetual froft and fnow. Although their cloathing is very flight, they fupport this inclement temperature without the leaft inconvenience. Habit, it is to be confefled, may contribute a good deal to this, butp much alfo is to be afcribed to the compad texture of their (kins, wliich defend them from the impredlon of cold through their pores. The northern Iridia-is TcfembJe iheto in this refpeft. The utmoft rigours of !hc wintci* ^eafon do not prevent them fro^i following thf chacfli OF AMERICA. ^g ttt the. flighteft cloathing. They even frequently throw afide ,|:hi$ oloak wheji they go a-hunting, that it may not embarr^fs them in traverfing their foreitsj, where they fay the thorns and undergrowth would take hold of itj while, on the contrary, they Aide fmoothly over the furface of their Baked bodies. At all times they go with their heads uncovered, with- out fufFering the leaft inconvenience, either from the coiJ, or from thofp eoups de folelly which in Louifiana are To often fatal to t^A inhabitants of other climates. Dress. The Indians of South America diftinguifn themfelvesby mor- dern dreffcs, in which they afFeft various taftes, Thofe of tiie high countTy, ;ind of the valleys in Peru, drefs partly in the Spaniih fafnion. Imlea If he betrays the leaft fymptom of impatience, or even of fenfibility, he i§4ifgracc4 for ever, and rejeded as unworthy of the honour. After fome interval, hi§ conftancy is proved by a more excruciating trial. He ;s laid in his hammock with his hamls bound faft j and an innumerable inultitude of venoojous ^mtSj whaf9bite..pccafioiis 4 violent pain and in- flammation, ^re thrown upon J;im. The judges of his merit ftand around the hammock ; and whilft thcfe c/uel infe^^s faften upon the ^oft fenfible parts pf his body, a {igh, a^^-pan, or an involuntary motion •Xjpre$yc of wlj^f ^? frf^i%y9P4^. ^fp^f^^^ .^¥. I^R^ ^^^ dipity of whicli. 54 GENERAL DESCRIPTION which ht fr^triSltibtJs. E^feil after this evidence, his fcrtituae is not deemed to be fufficicntly afcertained, till he has flood another teft more feveit, if J)6ffible, than the former. He is again fufpended in his ham- mock, and covered with the leaves of the palmetto. A fire of (linking lierbs is kindled underneath, fo as he may feel its heat, and be involved itt fmoke. Though fcorched and almoll fuffocated, he mud continue to endure this with the fame patient infcnfibility. Many perilh in this eflay of their firmnefs and courage ; but fuch as go through it with ap- plaufe, receive the enfigns of their new dignity with much folemnity, and are ever after regarded as leaders of approved refolutlon, whofe be- haviour, in the mofl trying fituations, will do honour to their country. In North America, the previous trial of a warrior is neither fo formal «or fo fevere : Though, even there, before a youth is permitted to bear arms, his patience and fortitude are proved by blows, by fire, and by Infults, more intolerable to a haughty fpirit than either. MANNEits A^D Customs. Of the manners and culloms of the North Americans more particularly, the following is the mofl confident account that can be collefled from the bed informed and mod impartial writers. When the Europeans firft arrived in America, they found the Indians quite naked, except thofe parts which even the mofl uncultivated people ufually conceal. Since that time, however, they generally ufe a coarfc blanket, which they buy of the neighbouring planters. Their huts or cabins are made of ftakes of wood driven into th» giound, and covered with branches of trees or reeds. They lie on thft floor cither on mats or the fkins of wild beads. Their didics are of timber; but their fpoons are made of the fJ.uIIs of wild oxen, and their kflivcs of flint. A kettle and a large plate conditute almod all the whole utenfils of the family. Tlieir diet conf^fts chiefly in what they procure by hunting ; and fagamite, or pottage, is likewife one of their mod common kinds of food. The mod honourable furniture amongft them i« the fcalps of their enemies ; with thofe they ornament their huts, which are edeemed in proportion to the number of this fort of fpoils. The charafler of the Indians is altogether founded upon their circum- dances and way of life. A people who are condantly em.pioyed in pro- curing the means of a precarious fubfidence, who live by hunting the wild animals, arid who are generally engaged m war.witb tlieir neigh- bours, cannot be fuppofed to enjoy much gaiety of temper, or a high flow of fpirits. The Indians therefore are in general grave even to fad- nefs ; they have nothing of that giddy vivacity peculiar to fome nations of Europe, and they defpife it. Their behaviour to thoie about them is 3 regular. OF AMERICA. gg regular, modeft, and refpeftful. Ignorant of the arts of amufement, of which that of faying trifles agreeably is one of the jnoft confiderable, they never fpeak but when they have fomething important to obfervc ; and all their adlions, words, and even looks, are attended with fomc meaning. This is extremely natural to men who are almoft continuallj engaged in purfuits which td them are of the higheft importance. Their fubfiftence depends entirely on what they procure with their hands ; and their lives, their honour, and every thing dear to them, maj be loft by the fmalleft inattention to the defigns of their enemies. As they have no particular objeft to attach them to one place rather than another, they fly wherever they expeft to find the neceflarics of life in greateft abundance. Cities, which are the effects of agriculture and arts^ they have none. The different tribes or nations are for the fame reafon extremely fmall, when compared with civilized focieties, in which in- duftry, arts, agriculture, and commerce, have united a vaft number of individuals, whom a complicated luxury renders ufeful to one another. Thefe fmall tribes live at an immenfe diftance; they are feparated by a defert frontier, and hid in the bofora of impenetrable and almoft boiind- lefs fotefts. Government. There is eftabllihed in each foclcty a certain fpcciesof government, which over the whole continent of America prevails with ex- ceeding little variation ; becaufe over the whole of this continent the man- ners and way of life are nearly fimilar and uniform. Without arts, riches, Or luxury, the great inftruments of fubjeftion in polifhed focieties, an American has no method by which he can render himfelf confiderable among his companions, but by fuperiority in perfonal qualities of body or mind. But as Nature has not been very lavifli in her perfonal dif- tin(5lions, where all enjoy the fame education, all are pretty much equal, and will defire to remain fo. Liberty, therefore, is the prevailing paf- fion of the Americans; and their government under the influence of ih'is fentiment, is better fecured than by the wifeft political regulations. They are very far, however, from defpifing all fort of authority; they ^re attentive to the voice of wifdon?, which experience has conferred on the aged, and they inlift under the banners of the chief in whofe valor r and military addrefs they have learned to repofe their confidence. In every fociety, therefore, there is to be confidered the power of the chief and of the elders ; and according as the government inclines more to the one or to the other, it may be regarded as monarchical, or as a- fpecles of ariftocracy. Among thofe tribes which are moft engaged in war, the power of the chief is naturally predominant ; becaufe the idea of: iiavin^a- naiZitary leader was the fijft fource of his fuperiority, and : vfU )ifO ' the gS GENERAL DtSCRll^TlOK the conthitClt ejdgencies of the ftate requiring fuch a leader, Tt^ll Coil* tinuc to fupport, and even to enhance it. His power, however, is rather perfuafive than coercive ; he is reverenced as a father, rather than feared as a monarch. He has no guards, no prifons, no officers of juftice, and one aft of ill-judged violence would pull him from the throne. The elders^ in the other form of government, which may be confidered as an ariftocracy, have no more power. In fome tribes, indeed, there are a kind of hereditary nobilitj*, whofe influence belrig conftantly augmented by time, is more confidcrable. But this fource of power, which depends chiefly on the invagination, by which we annex to the merit ©four con- temporaries that of their forefathers, is too refined to be very common among the natives of America. In mod countries, therefore, age alone is fufTicient for acquiring refpedt, influence, and authority. It is age which teaches experience, and experience is the only fource of knowledge among a barbarous people. Among thdfe pcrfons bufmefs is conduced with the utmoft fimplicity, and which may recal to thofe who are ac- quainted with antiquity a pidure of the mod early ages. The heads of fa- milies meet together in a houfe or cabin appointed for the purpofe. Here the bufmefs is difcuflcd ; and here thofe of the nation, dilHn- guifhed for their eloquence or wifdom, have an opportunity of difplay- ing thofe talents. Their orators, like thofe of Homer, exprefs them- felves in a bold figurative ftyle, ftronger than refined, or rather foftened, nations can well bear, and with geftures equally violent, but often ex- tremely natural and expreffive. When the bufmefs is over, and they happen to be well provided with food, they appoint a feaft upon the de- cagon, of which almoft the whole nation partakes. The feaft is ac- companied with a fong, in which the real or fabulous exploits of their forefathers are celebrated. They have dances too, though, like thofe of the Greeks and Romans, chiefly of the military kind j and their raufic and dancing accompany every feaft. o;. '^ s: ' To affift their meniory, they have belts of fmall (hells, or beads, of different colours, each reprefenting a particular objcft, which is marked by their colour and arrangement. At the conclufion of every fubjeft on which they difcourfe, when they treat with a foreign ftate, they de- liver one of thofe belts; for if this ceremony (hould be omitted, all that they have faid pafles for nothing. Thofe belts are carefully depofitcd in each town, as the public records of the nation ; and to them they oc- ofionally have rccourfe, when any public ccnteft happens with a neigh- bouring tribe* Of kte, as the materials of which thofe belts are madt" have become fcarce> they often give fome Ikin in place of the wampum (die nam© of the bcadij> and recejv^ ip i^lp/n p^r^fcats of a moyd.va- ■%''i '. ■: i>r^ - . ' • , . < .. luable Of AMERICA. P7 ^able kind from our commilfioncrsy fer't^ey'nferef Cdhfider a'treaty as of any weight, uniefs cVcry article iii it be ratified t/futh* a' g^tifiba- tion. It often happens, that thofe different triScs or nations,' fcatteitd as they are at an immenfe diftance from one another, meet in their excur- fions after prey. If their fubfifts no animofity between them, which ieldonj.is the cafe, they behave in the mod friendly and courteous raan- .lier^. but if they happen to be in a ftate of war, or if there has been no brevioiis intercouirfe between them, all who are not friends are deemed enemies, and they nght with the moft favage fury, . ^ ; ^. . War^ if we except hunting, is the only employment of the nien ; as to ^very other concern, and even the little agriculture they enjoy, it is left Xq tha women. Their moft common motive for entering ihto war, when jjt.doets npt arife from an accidental rencounter or interference, is either to revenge themfelves for the death of fome loft friends, or to acquire prifoners, who may alTift them in their hunting, and whom they adopt into their fociety. Thefe wars are either undertaken by fgrne private adventurers, or at the inftance of the whole community. In the latter cafe, . all the young men who are difpofed to go out to battle' (for no ttn^^jiS ,t:;oinpelIed contrary to his inclination), give a bit of y^ood to the chief, as a token of their delign to accompany- him ; for every thing among thofe people is tranfadled with a great deal of ceremony and rnany forms, /r|ie chief who is to condud them fafts feveral day?, during which he converfes with no one, and is particularly careful to obferve his dreams; which the prefumption natural to favages gecie- tally renders as favourable as he could delire. A variety of other fu- perftitions and ceremonies are obferved. One of the moft hideous is fctting the war-kettle on the fire, as an emblem that they are going out to devour their enemies; which among fome nations rauft formerly have been the cafe, fince they ftill continue to exprefs if in clear terms, and ufe an emblem fignificant of the ancient ufage. Then they difpatch a porcelane, or large ihell, to their allies, inviting them to come along, and drink the blood of their enemies* They think' that thofe in their alliance muft not only adopt their enmities, but have their refentmenC wound up to the fame pitch with themfelves. And indeed no people carry their friendlhip or their refentment fo far as they do; and this is what Ihould be expeded from their peculiar cireumftaifces : that prin'- «ple in human nature which is the fpring of the focial affe^ions, ads with fo much the greater force th* ihi^^'ifis retrained. The Ameriv cans, who live in fmall focleties, whb-fee few obje(5ls and few perfons, become wonderfully attached to thofe obje<^s and perfons, and cannot No. 11, O . ht gS GENEIIAL DESCRIPTION be deprived of them without feeling themfelves miferablc. Their ideaj arc too confined to enable them to entertain juft fcntiments of humanity, pjF junivcrfal benevolence. But tliis very circumilance, while it make* them cruel and favage to an incredible degree towards thofe with whom they are at war, adds a new force to their particular friendfhips, and to ^tlie common tie which unites the members of the fame tribe, or of thofc different tribes which are in alliance with one another. Without at- tending to this refleftion, fome fads we are going to relate would excit« ^9^jr wonder without informing our reafon, and we Ihould be bewildered in a number of particulars, feemingly oppofite to one another, without ^being fenfible of the general caufe from which they proceed. J . Having finiihed all the ceremonies previous to the war, and the day appointed for their fetting out on the expedition being arrived, they take leave of their friends, and exchange their clothes, or whatever moveables they have, in token of mutual friendfhip; after which they "proceed from the town, their wives and female relations walking before, and attendmg them to fome diftance. The warriors march all dreffed jin their fincft apparel and moft (howy ornaments, without any order. The chief walks flowly- before them, finging the war-fong, while the tell obferve the moft profound filence. When they come up to their Vomen, they deliver them all their finery, and putting on their worlt clothes, proceed on their expedition. Every nation has its peculiar enfign or ftandard, which is generally ^fome beaft, bird, or fifii. Thofe among the Five Nations are the bear, otter, wolf, tortoife, and eagle; and by thefe names the tribes are.ufually diftinguiflied. They have the figures of thofe animals pricked and painted on feveral parts of their bodies ; and when they march through the woods, they commonly, at every encampment, cut the reprefentation of their enfign on trees, efpecially after a fuccefsful campaign : marking at the fame time the number of fcalps or prifoners they have taken. Their military drefs is extremely fingular. They cut off or pull out all their hair, except a fpot about the breadth of two Englilh crown-pieces, aear the top of their heads, and entirely deftroy their eye-brows. The lock left upon their heads is divided into feveral parcels, each of which is ftiffened and adorned with wampum, beads, .nnd feathers of various kind?, the whole being twifted into a form much refembling the modern vpompoon. Their heads are painted red down to the eye-brows, and fprinkled over 'with white down. The griftles of their cars are fplit almoft quite round, and diftended with wires or fplinters fo as to meet and tie together on the nape of the neck. Thefe are alfo hung with or- •araent;^ and gcudrally bear the reprefentation of fome bird or beaft. •, ..'i they infult over the dead bodies, tearing the fcalp from the head, wal- lowing in their blood like wild beafts, and fometimes devouring their flefli. The flame rages on till it meets with no refiftance ; then the pri- foners are fecured, thofe unhappy men, whofe fate is a thoufand times more dreadful than theirs who have died in the field. The conquerors fct up a hideous howling to lament the friends they have lofl. 'They approach in a melancholy and fevere gloom to their own village -, a mcf- fenger is fent to announce their arrival, and the women> with frightful fhrieks, come out to mourn their dead brothers or their huibands. When they are arrived, the chief relates in a low voice to the elders, a circum- ftantial account of every particular of the expedition. The orator pro- claims aloud this account to the people ; and as he mentions the names of thofe who have fallen, the ftirieks of the women are redoubled. The men too join in thefe cries, according as each is moft conneded with the deccafed by blood or friendfhip. The laft ceremony is the proclama- ti(Mi of the vidory ; each individual then forgets his private misfortunes, and joins in the triumph of the nation ; all tears are wiped from their eyes, and by an unaccountable tranfition, they pafs in a moment from the bitternefs of forrow to an extravagance of joy. But the treatment of the prifoners, whofe fate all this time remains undecided^ is what chkfiycharaderifes the favages. . /^ '- i'^o ..'... '.; " '"':'• We have already mentioned the flrength of their afFeifilons or refent- roents. United as they are in fmall focicties, connedcd within them- fdivcs by the firmeft ties, their friendly afFeftions, which glow with the raoft intenfe warmth within the walls of their own village, feldom ex- tend beyond them. They feel nothing for the enemies of their nation ; and their refentment is eafily extended from the individual who has in- ji^red them to all others of the fame tribe. The prifoners, who have themfelves the fame feelings, know the intentions of their conqueror*, and are prepared for them. The perfon who has taken the captive at-, tends him to the cottage, where, according to the diflribution made by the elders, he is to b? delivered to fupply the lofs of a citizen. If thofe who receive him h^ve their family weakened by war or other accidents, tliey adopt the captive into the family, of which he becomes a member'. ■'■■•'"•■•■ Bui PF AMERIC4. iQi ]But if they have no occafion for him, or their refentment for the lofi of their friends be too high to endure the fight of any connedled with thofe who were concerned in it, they fentence him to death. All thofe who have met with the fame fevere fentence being colleded, the whole nation is affembled at the execution, as for fome great folemnity. A fcafFold is ereded, and the prifoners are tied to the ftake, where they commence their death-fong, and prepare for the enfuing fcene of cruclt/ with the moll undaunted courage. Their enemies, on the other fidci are determined to put it to the proof, by the moft refined and exquifitc tortures. They begin at the extremity of his body, and gradually ap- proach the more vital parts. One plucks out his nails by the roots, one by one; another takes a finger into his mouth, and tears off the flefh with his teeth ; a third thrufts the finger, mangled as it i8> into the bow! of a pipe made red-hot, which he fmokes like tobacco ; then they pound his toes and fingers to pieces between two fl:ones ; they cut circles about his joints, and gaflies in the flefhy parts of his limbs, which they fear im- mediately with red-hot irons, cutting, burning, and pinching them alter- nately ; they pull off this flelh, thus mangled and roafted, bit by bit, devouring it with greedinefs, and fmearing their faces with the blood in an enthufiafm of horror and fury. When they have thus torn off the fleft], they twill the bare nerves and tendons about an iron, tearing and fnapping them, whilft others are employed in pulling and extending their limbs in every way that can increafe the torment. This continues often five or fix hours ; and fometimes, fuch is the ilrength of the favage, days together. Then they frequently unbind him, to give a breathing to their fury, and to think what new torments they fhall inflidl, and to refrefti the Ilrength of the fufferer, who, wearied out with fuch a va- riety of unheard-of torments, often falls into fo profound a fleep, that they are obliged to apply the fire to awake him, arid renew his fuffer- ings, ' He is again failened to the flake, and again they jenew their cruelty ; they ilick him all over with fmall matches of wood that eafily takes fire, but burns llowly ; they continually run fharp reeds into every part of his body ; they drag out his teeth with pincers, and thrull out his eyes ; and lallly, after having burned his fleih from the bones with flow fires ; after haying fo mangled the body that it is all but one wound ; after having mutilated his face in fuch a manner as to carry nothing human in it ; after having peeled the (kin from the head, and poured a heap of red-hot cods or boiling water on the naked Ikull— they once more unbind the wretch ; who, blind, and daggering with pain and weaknefs, affaulted and pelted upon every fide with clubs and 'ftonw, BOW up, now down, falling into their fires at every ftep, runs Q ■ "^' r- ' ''- -i ' ' ' ' ■ ■ ' • hither 102 GENERAL DESCRIPTION liithcrand thither, until one of the chiefs, whether out of compaflion, or weary of cruelty, puts an end to his life with a club or dagger. The body is thes put into a kettle, and this barbarous employment is fucceed- cd by a feail as barbarous. The women, forgetting the human as well as the female nature, and transformed into fomething worfe than furies, even outdo the men in this fcene of horror; while the principal perfons of the country fit round the flake, fmoaking and looking on without the leaft emotion. What is moft extraordinary, the fuiferer himfelf, in the little intervals pf his torments, fmokes too, appears unconcerned, and converfes with his torturers about indifferent matters. Indeed, during the whole time pf his execution, there feems a conteft which Iball exceed, they in in- fiidling the moft horrid pains, or he in enduring them with a firmnefs and conftancy almoft above human : not a groan, not a figh, not a dif- tortion of countenance efcapes him ; he poffefles his mind entirely in the midft of his torments ; he recounts his own exploits ; he informs them what cruelties he has inflided upon their countrymen, and threat- ens (hem with the revenge that will attend his death ; and, though his reproaches exafi:>erate thefn to a perfe«fl madnefs of rage and fury, he continues his infults even of their ignorance of the art of tormenting, pointing out himfelf more exquifite methods, and more fenfible parts of the body to be afHifted. The women have this part of courage as well 9s the men ; and it is as rare for an Indian to behave otherwife as it would be for any European to fuiFer as an Indian. Such is the wonderful power of an early inft^tution, and a ferocious third of glory, *< I am . brave and intrepid (exclaims the favage in the face of his tormentors) ; I do not fear death, nor any kind of tortures ; thofe who fear them arc upwards; they are lefs than women; life is nothing to thofe that have courage : May my enemies be confounded with defpair and rage ! Oh ! ^hat I could devour them, and drink their blood to the laft drop.'* ^^^ut neither the intrepidity on one fide, nor the inflexibility on the otlier, are among themfelves matter of aftoniHiment : for vengeance, and fortitude in the midft of torment, are duties which they con fide r as fa^tred ^ they are the effeds of their carlieft education, and depend upoii principles inftilled into them from their infancy. On all other occafions they are humane and compafHonate. Nothing can exceed the warmth of their affeftion towards their friends, v/ho confiil of all thofe who live- in the fame village, or are in alliance with-it ; among thefe all things are common ; and this, though it may in part arife from their not pofleffing^ very diftinft notions qf fepara^e property, ischielly to be attributed to ^e ftrength of their att^cljm^nt ; becaufe in every thing elfc, with their OF AMERICA. I03 liv::, al: ^o.[C' rirhlo ^orf? 01 JAOiTiibn; Let us now attend to other pi6^ures which have been given of the aboriginal inhabitants of the New World. The vices and defefts of the American Indians have by feveral writers been moft unaccountably ag- gravated, and every virtue and good quality denied them. Their cruelties have been already defcribed and accounted for. The follow- ing anecdote of an Algonquin woman we find adduced as a remarkable proof of their innate thirft of blood. That nation being at war with the Iroquois, fhe happened to be made prifoner, and was carried to one of the villages belonging to them. Here fhe was ftripped naked, and her hands and feet bound with ropes in one of their cabins.. In this con- dition flie remained ten days, the favages lleeping round her every night. The eleventh night, while diey were aflcep, {he found means to difengage one of her hands, with which fhe immediately freed herfelf from the ropes, and went to the door. Though flie had now an opportunity of cfcaping unperceived, her revengeful temper could not let flip fo favour- able an opportunity of killing one of her enemies. The attempt was ipanifeflly at the hazard of her own life ; yet, fnatching up a hatchet, fhe killed the favage that lay next her ; and, fpringing out of the cabin, concealed herfelf in a hollow tree which fhe hiad obferved the day before. The groans of the dying perfon foon alarmed the other favages, and the young ones immediately fet out in purfuit of her. — Perceiving from her tree, that they all direded their courfe one way, and that no favage was near her, fhe left her fandluary, and, flying by an oppofite diredion, ran into a foreft without being perceived. The fecond day after this hap- pened, her footfteps were difcovered, and they purfued her with fuch expedition, that the third day fhe difcovered her enemies at her heels. Upon this fhe threw herfelf into a pond of water; and, diving amon* fome weeds and bulrufhes, fhe could jufl breathe above water without being perceived. Her purfuers, after making the mofl diligent fearch, were forced to return. — For 35 days this woman held on her courfe through woods and defarts, without any other fuftenance than roots and wild berries. When fhe came to the river St. Lawrence, fhe made with her own hands a kind of a wicker raft, on which fhe crofTed it. As fhe went by the French fort Trois Rivieres, without well knowing where {he was, fhe perceived a canoe full of favages ; and, fearing they might b^ Iroquois, ran again into the woods, where fhe remained till fun fet.— pontinuing her courfe, foon after fhe faw Trois Rivieres j and was then f a difcovered lo8 GENERAL DESCRIPTION difcpvcrj^clby a party whom (he knew to be Hurons, a nation inallianc?^ Wl^L^fAteo"^""^* ^^^^ ^^^^ fquattcd down behind a buih, calling out to them that (he was not in a condition to be feen, becaufe Ihe was ^ raked. They immediately threw her a blanket, and then conduced her toih<;iart, where fixe recounted her ftory. ' i 'jil^' !rifni n^ ; > Perfonal courage has been denied them. In proof 6f their pufillarii- xnity, the following incidents are quoted from Charlevoix by Lord Karnes, in his Iketches of the Hiftory of Man. *« The fort de Vcrcheres in Canada, b<^longing to the French, was, in tlie year 1690, attacked by fome Iroquois. They approached filently, preparing to fcale the pali- faq^, when fome mufket fhot njadc them retire. Advancing a fecond tirne, they were again repulfed, wondering that they Could difcover none but a woman, who was fecn every where. This was Madame de Ver- crfercs,.who appeared as refolute as if fupported by a numerous garrifon. The hopes of ftorming a place without men to defend it occafioned re- iterated attacks. After two days fiege, they retired, fearing to be in- tercepted ill their retreat. Two years after, a party of the fame nation appeared before the fort fo unexpeftedly, that a girl of fourteen, daughter of the proprietor, had but time to fhut the gate. With the young- woman there was not a foul but one raw foldier. She Ihovved herfelf with her affiftant, fometimes in one place and fometimcs in another ; changing her drefs frequently, in order to give fome appearance of a garrifon; and always fired opportunely. The faint-hearted Iroquois decamped without fuccefs." There is no inftance, it is faid, either of a fmgle Indian facing an in- dividual of any other nation in fair and open combat, or of their jointly venturing to try the fate of battle with an equal number of any foes. Even with the grcateft fuperiority of numbers, they dare not meet an open attack. Yet, notwithftanding this want of courage, they are ftill formidable ; nay, it has been known, that a fmall party of them has routed a much fuperior body of regular troops : but this can only hap- pen when they have furprifed them in the faftneflbs of their forcils, where the ccvjrt of the wood may conceal them until t*hey take their aim with their utmoft certainty. After one fuch difcliarge they imme- diately retreat, without leaving the fmalleft trace of their route. It may eafily be fuppofed, that an onfet of this kind muft produce confufion even among the fteadiell troops, when they can neither know the number of their enemies, nor perceive the place wher^ they lie in ambufh. Perfidy combined with cruelty has been alfo made a part of their charatter, Don UUoa relates. That the Indians of the country called ^atcheti in Louiiiana, laid a plot of maifacring in one night every indi- y)i:;UiJ f-->.a:a;:,iub bur, loc:; fj ;('i 'V^'^'.i^'-' — ' - . ' • yiduai pF AMERICA. log vidual belonging to the French colony eftabllflied there. This plot they aftually executed, notwithftandiqg the feeming good underaanding that fubfifted between theni and thefe European neighbours. Such was the fecrecy which they obferved, that no perfonha^ the leaft f^fpiciop of their defign until the blow was ftruck. One Frenchman a}one efcaped, by favour of the dafknefs, to relate the difafter of his countrymen* The comp^fiion of a female Indian contributed alfo in fome meafure to his exemption from the general maffacre. The tribe of Natchcs had in- vited the Indians of other countries, even to a confiderable pittance, tQ join in the fame confpiracy. The day, or rather the night, was fixed, on which they were to make an united attack on the French cojonifts. It was intimated by fending a parcel of rods, more or lefs numerous ac- cording to the local diftance of each tribe, with an injundlion to abftraif^ one rod daily ; the day on which the iaft fell to be taken away being that fixed for the execution of their plan. The women were partners of the bloody fecret. The paraels of rods being thus diftjibuted, that be- longing to the tribe of Natches happened to remain in the cuftody of a female. This woman, either moved by her own feelings of compaflion, or by the qommiferation exprefled by her female acquaintances in the view of the propofed fcene of bloodlhed, abft?a(Sled one day three or four of the rods, and thus anticipated the term of her tribe's proceeding to the execution of the general confpiracy. The confequence of thi« was, that the Natches were the only aftors in this carnage; their diftant affociates having ftill feveral rods remaining at the time when theTormei; made the attack. An opportunity was thereby given to the colonifts ict thofe quarters to take meafures for their defence, and for preventing^ ipore extenfive execution of the defign. It was by confpiracies fimilar to this that the Indians of the province of Macas, in the kingdom of Quito, deftroyed the opulent city of IxDg- rogno, the colony of Guambaya, and its capital Sevilla del Oro; and tliat fo completely, that it is no longer known in what place thefe fettle- ments exlfted^ or where that abundance of gold was found from which the laft-mentioned city took the addition to its name. Like ravages have been committed upon I'lmperiale in Chili, the colonies of the iVIifiions of Chuncas, thofe of Darien in Terra Firma, and many ether places, which have afforded fcenes of this barbarous ferocity. Thefe confpiracies are always carried on in the fame manner. The fecret is inviolably kept, the aftors affemble at the precife hour appointed, and every individual is animated with the fame fanguinary purpofes. The males that fall into their hands are put. to death with Qvory Ihocking Ittrcuraftance that can be fuggeftcd by a cool and determined cruelty. 3 - • The i^- no GENERAL DESCRIPTION jo2b'r)'-jt ■• . ■ ■■■ ^•-'^v • - ' The females are carried ofF, and preferved as monuments of their vie- tory^ to be employed as their occafions require. ^'^TSTor can this odious cruelty and treachery, it is faid, be juftly afcribed to meir fubjeflion to a foreign yoke, feeing the fame charafter, belongs equally to all the original inhabitants of this vaft continent, even thofe idio have preferved their independence moH completely. Certain it is, continues he, that thefe people, with the mod limited capacities for every Amg clfe, difplay an aftonifhing degree of penetration and fubtlety with refpeft to every objcifl that involves treachery, bloodfhed, and japine. As to thefe, they feem to have been all educated at one Ichool ; and a fecret, referring to any fuch plan, no confideration on earth can extort from them. Their underftandings alfo have been represented as not lefs contempti- , ble than their manners are grofs and brutal. Many nations are neither Capable of forming an arrangement for futurity; nor did their folicitudc or forefight extend fo far. They fet no value upon thofe things of which they were not in fome immediate want, Ip the evening, when a Carib is going to reft, no confideration will tempt him to fell his ham- mock; but fn the morning he will part with it for the flighteft trifle. At the clofe of winter, a North American, mindful of what he has fuf- lered fiom the cold, fets himfelf with vigour to prepare materials fop* credling a comfortable hut to protedl him againft the inclemency of the fucceeding feafon : but as foon as the weather becomes mild, he abandons his work, and never thinks of it more till the return of the cold compels him to refume it. — In fhort, to be free from labour feem$ to be the utmoft wifh of an American. They will continue ^l¥)le days ftretched in their hammocks, or feated on the earth, without changing their pofture, raifmg their eyes, or uttering a fmgle word. They can^ not compute the fucce.Tion of days nor of weeks. The different afpeftsi of the moon alone engage their attention as a meafure of time. Of the year they have no other conception than what is fuggefted to them by the alternate heat of fummer and cold of winter ; nor have they the leaft idea of applying to this period the obvious computation of the month* vhich it contains. When it is afked of any old man in Peru, even the inoft civilized, what age he is of? the only anfwer he can give is the cumber of caciques he has feen. It often happens, too, that they only recoiled the moil diilant of thefe princes in v/hofe time certain circum- cumftances had happened peculiarly mernqrable, while ^f^ thpfe^at ■ lived in a more recent period they have loft all remerabrapce,r'.nrv^,.yjr ., The fame grofs ftupidity is aliedged to be obferval^le in thofe Indians whp have retained their original liberty, They are never known to fix. OF AMERICA. Ill ttie dates of any events in their minds, or to trace the fucceffion of cir- cumftances that have arifen from fuch events. Their imagination takcf in only the prcfent, and in that only what intimately concerns them- felves. Nor can difcipline or inftruAion overcome this natural defeat of apprehenfion. In fad, the fubjeded Indians in Peru, who have a continual intercourfe with the Spaniards, who are furnilhed with curates perpetually occupied in giving them leflbns of religion and morality, and who mix with all ranks of the civilized fociety eftablifhed among them, are almoft as ftupid and barbarous as their countrymen who have had no fuch advantages. The Peruvians, while they lived under the government of their Incas, preferved the records of certain remarkable events. They had alfo a kind of regular government, defcribed by the hiftorians of the conqueft of Peru. This government originated entirely from the attention and abilities of their princes, and from the regulations enadled by them for dircding the conduft of their fubjefts. This an- cient degree of civilization among them gives ground to prefume, that their legillators fprung from fome race more enlightened than the other tribes of Indians ; a race of which no individual feem« to remain in the prefent times. Vanity and conceit are faid to be blended with their ignorance and treachery. Notwithftanding all they fulFer from Europeans, they ftill. It is faid, confider themfelves as a race of men far fuperior to their con- querors. This proud belief, arifing from their perverted ideas of excel- lence, is univerfal over the whole known continent of America. They do not think it poffible that any people can be fo intelligent as them- felves. When they are deteded in any of their plots, it is their com- mon obfervation, that the Spaniards, or Variacochas, want to be as know- ing as they are. Thofe of Louifiana, and the countries adjacent, are, equally vain of their fuperior underftanding, confounding that quality with the cunning which they themfelves conftantly praftife. The whole objeft of their tranfaftions is to over- reach thofe with whom they deal. Yet though faithlefs themfelves, they never forgive the breach of pro- mife on the part of others. While the Europeans feek their amity by' prefents, they give themfelves no concern to fccure a reciprocal friend- Ihip. Hence, probably, arifes their idea, that they muft be a fuperior race of men, in ability and intelligence, to thofe who are at fuch pains to court their alliance and avert their enmity. Their natural eloquence has alfo been decried. Tjjie . fr^ tribef o£ favaffesVhb dntef into conventlohs v^ith^tfe Europeans, .it is obltrvca,., are accuftomed to make long, pompous, and, according to their own notions, fublirac harangues, but without anv method or connjtdion. The 112 GENERAL DESCRIPTION whole is a colle^ion of disjointed metaphors and comparifons. The light, heat, and courfc of the funi form the principal topic of their dif- courfe ; artd thefc unintelligible reafonings are always accompanied with violent and ridiculous gcllures. Numberlefs repetitions prolong the oration, which, if not interrupted^ would laft whole days : At the fame time, they meditate very accurately beforehand; In order to avoid men- tioning any thing but what they ^re defirous to obtain. This pompous feculty of making fpeeches is alfo one of the grounds on whith they con- ceive themfelves to be fuperior to the nations of Europe : They ima- gine it is tlieir eloquence that procures them the favours they afk. The fobjeded Indians converfe precifely in the fame ftyle. Prolix and te- " dious, they never know when to flop ; fo that^ excepting by the dif- ference in language, it would be impoflible, in this refpeft, to diftiri- guilh a civilized Peruvian from an inhabitant of the moft favage diftrifta to the northward. But fuch partial and detached views as the above, were they even free from mifreprefentation, are not the juft ground upon which to form an cftimatc of their charader. Their qualities, good and bad (for they certainly poflefs both), their way of life, the ftate of fociety amolig them,' with all the circumftances of their condition, ought to be confidered in connexion, and in regard to their mutual influence. Such a view has been given in the preceding part of this article : from which, it is Loped, their real charader may be eafily deduced. Many of the difagrecable traits exhibited in the anecdotes juft quoted^ are indeed extraded from Don Ulloa : an author of credit and reputa- tion ; but a Spaniard, and evidently biaffed in fome degree by a defire to palliate the enormities of his countrymen in that quarter of the globe. And with regard to the worft and leaft equivocal parts of the American charafter, cruelty and revenge, it may be fairly queftioned, whether the inftances of thefe, either in refpeft of their caufe or their atrocity, be at all comparable to thofe exhibited in European hiftory, and ftaining the annals of Chtiftendom : — to thofe, for inftance, of the Spaniards them- felves, at their firft difcovery of America ; to thofe indicate4 by the engines found on board their mighty Armada; to thofe which, in cold blood, were perpetrated by the Dutch at Amboyna ; to the dragoonings of the French ; to their religious maffacres ; or even to the tender mer* cies of the Inquifition ! Still harlher, however, are the defcriptions given by BuJFon and tie Paiv of the natives of this whole continent, in which the moft mortify- ing degeneracy of the human race, as well as of all the inferior animals, is ailerted to be confpicuous. Againft thofe philofophers, or rather theorifts. OF AMERICA. 1 f 3 theorlfts, the Americans have found an able advocite in the At)be Cla* 'vigera; an hiftorlan whofe fituation and long refidence in America af- forded him the beft means of information, and who, though himfelf a fubjcd of Spain, appears fuperio/ tP^pejudiccj and difdams m fcription the glofles of policy* :.,f .?'iR,r.' ,,v h-st •>T;:jr;>rjfTr v^rf? .^/jiU Concerning the ftature of the Americans, M. de Paw fays, in general, that although it is not equal to the ftature of the Caftilians, there is but Jittle difference between them. But ^the Abbe Clavigero evinces, that the Indians who inhabit thofe countries lying between 9 and 40 degrees of north latitude, which are the limits of the difcoveries of the Spaniards, are more than five Parifian feet in height, and that thofe that do not Mach that ftature are as few in number amongft the Indians as they are amongft the Spaniards. It is beftdes certain, that many of thofe nations, as the Apaches^ the Hiaqnefe^ the Plmifej and Cochimies, are at leaft as tall as the taJleft Europeans; and that, in all the vaft extent of the New "World, no race of people has been found, except the Efquimaux, fo di- minutive in ftature as the Laplanders, the Samojeds, and Tartars, in the north of the Old Continent. In this refpedl, therefore, the inhabitants of the two continents are upon an equality. Of the Ihape and chiirader of the Mexican Indians, the Abbe gives a moft advantageous defcription ; which he afferts no one who r-eads it in America will contradid, unlefs he views them with the eye of a preju- diced mind. It is true, that Ulloa fays, in fpeaking of the Indians of 'Quito, he had obferved, *' that imperfedt people abounded among them; .that they were either irregularly diminutive, or monftrous in fome other cefpcd; that they became either infenfible, dumb, or blind, or wanted ifome limb of their body." Having therefore made fome inquiry re- fpefting this fmgularity of the Quitans, the Abbe found, that fuch de- fe thofe places of the fame kingdom of Quito, where the Indians arc under np fuch op- preffion. M. de Paw, and in agreement with him Dr. Robertfon, fays, *hat no deformed perfons are to be found among the favages of America; becaufe, like the ancient Lacedemonians, they put to death thofe chil- dren which are bom hunch-backed, blind*. or defcdive in any linib; but that in thofe countries where they are formed into focieties, and the vi- gilance of their rulers prevent the murderof fuch infants, the number of ^oA\. Q^^ their 114 GENERAL DESCRIPTION their deformed individuals is greater than it is in any other conntry of Europc.^ This would make an exceeding good folution of the difficulty if it were true : but if, poffibly, there has been in America a tribe of favages who have imitated the barbarous example of the celebrated La- cedemonians, it is certain that thofe authors have no grounds to impute , "fueh inhumanity to the reft of the Americans ; for that it has not been the pradice, at leaft with the far greater part of thofe nations, is to be demonftrated from the atteftations of the authors the beft acquainted with their cuftoms. No argument agalnft the New World can be drawn from the colour . of the Americans: for their colour is lefs diftant from the white of the »Euro[)eans than it is from the black of the Africans, and a great part of the Afiatics. The hair of the Mexicans, and of the greater part of the Indians, is, as we have already faid, coarfe and thick ; on tlieir face . they appear to have little, and in general none on their arms and legs : but it is an error to fay, as M. de Paw does, that they are entirely dcfti- . tute of hair in all the other parts of the body. This is one of the many paffages of the Philofophical Refearches, at which the Mexicans, and all the other nations, muft fmile to find an European philofopher fo eager ' to diveft them of the drefs they had from nature. Don Ulloa, indeed, in tl>e defcription which he gives of the Indians of Quito, fays, that hair .neither grows upon the men nor upon the women when they arrive at puberty, as it does on the reft of mankind ; but whatever fmgularity may attend the Quirans, or occafion this circumftance, there is no doubt, that among the Americans in general, the period of puberty is accom- panied with the fame fymptoms as it is among other nations of the world. Ill fad, with the North Americans, it is difgraceful to be hairy on the body. They fay it likens them to hogs. They therefore pluck the hair as fail as it appears. But the traders who marry their women, and prc- rail on ihem to difcontinue this pradice, fay, that nature is the fame with them as with the whites. As to the beards of the men, had BufFon or de Paw known the pains and trouble it cofts them to pluck out by the roots the hair that grows on their faces, they would have feen that na- ture had not been deficient in that refped. Every nation has its cuf- toms. ** I have feen an Indian beau, with a looking-glafs in his hand {fays Mr. Jefferfon), examining his face for hours together, and pluck- ing out by the roots every hair he could difcover, with a kind of tweezer made of a piece of fine brafs wire, that had been twiftcd round a flick, and which he ufed with great dexterity,'* The very afped ©f an Angolan, Mandigan, or Congan, would have ifeockcd M. de Paw, and made him KQal that cenfure which he palTet -^#. o. OF AMERICA. II5 ©n the colour, the make, and the hair of the Americans. What can be imagined more contrary to the idea we have of beauty, and the perfec- tion of the human frame, than a man whofe body emits a rank fmell, uhofe flcin is as black as ink, ^ whofe head and face are covered with black wool indead of hair, whofe eyes are yellow and bloody, whofe lips are thick and blackifh, and whofe nofe is flat ? Such are the inha- bitants of a very large portion of Africa, and of many iflands of A^a. What men can be more imperfeft than thofe who meafure no more than four feet in Mature, whofe faces are long and flat, the nofe comprcfled, the irides yellowifli black, the eye-lids turned back towards the temples, . the cheeks extraordinarily elevated, their mouths monftroufly large, their lips thick and prominent, and the lower part of their vifages ex- tremely narrow? Such, according to Count de BufFon, are the Lapland- ers^ the Zemblans, the Borandines, the Samojeds, and Tartars in the Eaft. What objeds more deformed than men whofe faces are too long and wrinkled even in their youth, their nofes thick and comprefled, their eyes fmall and funk, their cheeks very much raifed, their upper jaw low, their teeth lohg and difunited, eye-brows fo thick that they fliade their eyes ; the eye-lids thick, fome briftles on their faces inftead of beard, large thighs and fmall legs ? Such h the pifture Count de BufFon gives of the Tartars ; that is, of thofe people wha, as he fays, inhabit a traft of land in Afia 1200 leagues long and upwards, and more than 750 broad. Amongft thefe the Calmucks are the mofl: remarkable for their deformity ; which is fo great, that, according to Tavernier, they are the moil brutal men of all the univerfe. Their faces are fo broad that there is a fpace of five or fix inches between their eyes, according as Count de BufFon himfclf affirms. In Calicut, in Ceylon, and other countries of India, there is, fay Pyrard and other writers on thofe re- gions, a race of men who have one or both of their legs as thick as the body of a man ; and that this deformity among them is almofl: heredi- tary. The Hottentots, befides other grofs imperfeftions, have that mon- ftrous irregularity attending them, of a callous appendage extending from the os pubis downwards, according to the teftimony of the hiflo- rians of the Cape of Good Hope. Strays, Gemelli, and other travellers affirm, that in the kingdom of Lambry, in the iflands of Formofa, and of Mindoro, men have been found with tails. Bomare fay, that a thing ©f this kind in men is nothing elfe than an elongation of the os coccy- gis ; but what is a tail in quadrupeds but the elongation of that bone, though divided into diftind articulations ? However it may be, it is cer- tain, that that elongation renders thofe Afiatics full/ aa irregular as if it was a real tail* ^ Q^a if Il6 GENERAL DESCRIPTION If we were, in like manner, to go through the nations of Afia and Africa, we ihoiild hardly find any extenfive country where the coloar ot* men is not darker, where there are not llronger irregularities obferved, and grofTer defeds to be found in them, than M. dc Paw finds fault with in the Americans. The colour of the latter is a good deal clearer than that of almod all the Africans and the inhabitants of fouthcrn Afia. Even their alledged fcantinefs of beard isi common to the ^inhabitants of the Philippine Illands, and of all the Indian Archipelago, to tl.e famous Chinefe, Japanefe, Tartars, and many other nations of the Old Conti- nent. The impcrfe(ftions of the Americans, however great they may be reprefcnted to be, are certainly not comparable with the dcfeds of that immenfc people, whofe chara(5^er we have ikctched, and others whom v/e omit. M. de Paw rcprefents the Americans to be a feeble and difeafed fct of nations ; and, in order to demonftrate the wcakncfs and diforder of their phyfical conftitution, adduces feveral proofs equally ridiculous and ill founded, and which it will not be expefted we fliould enumerate. He alleges, among other particulars, that they were overcome in wreftling by all the Europeans, and that they funk under a moderate burden; that by a computation made, 200,000 Americans were found to have perilled in one year from carrying of baggage. With refped ta the firft point, the Abbe Clavigero obferves, it would be neceflary that the ex- periment of wreftling was made between many individuals of each con- tinent, and that the viftory (hould be attefted by the Americans as well as the Europeans. It is not, however, meant to infift, that the Americans arc ftronger than the Europeans. They may be lefs ftrong, without the human fpecics having degenerated in them. The Swifs are ftronger than the Italians ; and ftill we do not believe the Italians are degenerated, nor do we tax the climate of Italy. The inftance of 200,000 Americans having died in one year, under the weight of baggage, were it true, would not convince us fo much of the weaknefs of the Americans, as of the inhumanity of the Europeans. In the fame manner that thofe 200,000 Americans periftied, 200,000 Pruflians would alfo have perifhed, had they been obliged to make a journey of between 300 and 400 miles, with 100 pounds of burden upon their backs ; if they had collars of iron about their necks, and were obliged to carry that load over rocks and mountains; if thofe who became exhaufted with fatigue, or wounded their feet fo as to impede their progrefs, had their heads cut off that they might not retard the pace of the reft ; and if they were not allowed but a fmall morfcl of bread to enable them to fupport fo fevere a toil. Lc« Cafas, from whom M.jde Paw got tjie account of the 200,000 Americans who OF AMERICA, II7 who died under the fatigue of carrying baggage, relates alfo all the above mentioned circumftances. If the author therefore is to be credited in the laft, he is alfo to be credited in the firft. But a philofo^ pher who vaunts the phyfical and moral qualities of Europeans over thofc of the Americans, would have done better, we think, to have fuppreffed fads fo opprobrious to the Europeans themfelves. Nothing in faft demonftrates fo clearly the robullnefs of the Ameri- cans as thofe various and lading fatigues in which they are continually engaged. M. dc Paw fays, that when the New World was difcovered, nothing was to be feen but thick woods; that at prefent there are fome iands cultivated, not by the Americans, however, but by the Africans and Europeans; and that the foil in cultivation is to the foil which is uncultivated as 2000 to 2,000,000. Thefe three alTertions the Abbe de> monfl rates to be. precifely as many errors. Since the conqueft, the Ame- ricans alone have been the people who have fupported all the. fatigues of agriculture in all the vaft countries of the continent of South America, and in the greater part of thofe of South America fubjcft to the crown of Spain. No European is ever to be feen employed in the labotirs of the field. The Moors who, in comparifon of the Americans, are very few in number in the kingdom of New Spain, are charged with the cul- ture of the fugar cane and tobacco, and the making of fugar; but the foif deftined for the cultivation of thofe plants is not with refped to all the cultivated land of that country in the proportion of one to two thou- Yand. The Americans are the people who labour on the foil. They are the tillers, the fowlers, the weeders, and the reapers of the wheat, of ^he mMze, of the rice, of the beans, and other kinds of grain and pulfe, of the cacao, of the 'vanilla, of the cotton, of the indigo, and all other plants ufcful to the fuftenance, the clothing, and commerce of thofe provinces; and without them fo little can be done, that in the year 1762, the harveft of wheat was abandoned in many places on account of a ficknefs v/hich prevailed and prevented the Indians from reaping it. But this is not all; the Americans are they who cut and tranfport all the neceflary timber from the woods; who cut, tranfport, and work the ftones ; who make lime, plafter, and tiles ; who conftruft all the build- ings of that kingdom, except a few places where none of them inhabit ; who open and repair all the roads, who make the canals and fluices, and clean the cities. They work in many mines of gold, of filver, of cop. per, &:c. they are the Ihepherds, herdfmcn, weavers, potters, balket- makersj bakers, couriers, day-labourers, &c.; in a word, they are the perfons who bear all the burden of public labours. Thefe, fays our juftly indignant author, are the employments of the weak, daftardly, and Il8 GENERAL DESCRIPTION SAcl ufejefs Americans ; while the vigorous M. de Paw, and other in- detatigable Europeans, are occupied in writing inve their cuftoms are very becoming ; and their king, who is ferved with great majefty, has fuch engaging manners, that it gives great pleafure to fee him, and aifo to confider the great retentive faculty of that people, and tlieir defire of knowledge, which incites them to a Ik the caufes and the effefts of things." '* We have had intimate commerce ^ith the 'Aftieiricans (continues the Abbe) ; have lived for fome years in a feminaty deftined for their in-_ ftrudiori ; faw the ere ']y^'^-- V^i ''.^ The advances which the Mexicans had made in the ftudj^bf aftrbnoriiy is perhaps the moft furprifing proof of their attention and fagacity ; for it appears from Abbe Clavigero's hiftory, that they not only counted 365 days to the year, but alfo knew of the excefs of about fix hours in the folar over the civil year, and remedied the difference by means gf Intercalary days. * Of American morality, the following exhortation of a Mexican to his 4bn may ferve as a fpecimen. " My fon who art come into the light from the womb of thy mother like a chicken from the egg, and like it are preparing to fly through the world, we know not how long Heaven will grant to us th^ enjoyment of that precious gem which we poflefs in thee ; but however (hort the period, endeavour to live exaftly, praying God continually to affift thee. He created thee ; thou art his property. He is thy father, and loves thee ftill more than I do : repofe in him thy thoughts, and day and night dired thpre, nor rifing pp frequently, if thou art fitting ; for fuch anions are indications of levity and low- breeding." — He prpcecds to mention feveral particular vices which are R 2 * to 424 GENERAL DESCRIPTION to be avoided, and concludes, — ** Steal not, nor give thyfelf to gaming 5 Otherwife thou wilt^be a difgrace to thy parents, whom thou oughteft ikther to honour for the education they have given thee. If thou wilt be virtuous, thy example will put the wicked to (hame. No more, my fon'j enough has been faid in difcharge of the duties of a father. With thefe counfels I wi(h to fortify thy mind. Refufe them not, nor aft in "contradiftion to them; for on them thy life and all thy happinefs de- Animals. As ranging on the fame fide with the Abbe Clavigero, tiie ingenious Mr. JcfFerfon deferves particular attention. This gentleman, in his notes on the State of Virginia, Stc. has taken occafion to combat the opinions of BufFon ; and feems to have fully refuted them both by iirgument and fads. The French philofopher afferts, ** That living na^j ture is lefs adive, lefs energetic, in the New World than in the Old," He a^irras, 1. That the animals common to both continents arc fmaller In America. 2. That thofe peculiar to the New are on an inferior fcale. 3. That thofe which have been domefticated in both have dege- nerated in America. And 4. That it exhibits fewer fpecies of living creatures. The caufe of this he afcribes to the diminution of heat in America, and to the prevalence of humidity from the extenfion of its lakes and waters over a prodigious farface. In other words, he affirms, that fe/ is friendly and moifture adverfe to the produ<5lion and develope- inent' of the large quadrupeds. The hypothefis, that moifture is unfriendly to animal growth, Mr. JefFerfon fhows to be contradided by obfcrvation and experience. It is by the afliftance of heat and moifture that vegetables are elaborated from the elements. Accordingly we find, that the more humid climates pro- duce plants in greater profufion than the dry. Vegetables are imm.e- diately or remotely the food of every animal ; and, from the uniforni operation of Nature's laws we difcern, that, in proportion to the quan- tity of food, animals are not only multiplied in their numbers, but im- i proved in their fize. Of this laft opinion is the Count de BufFon him- \ felf, in another part of his work : " En general, il paroit que les pays ■ on peu froids conviennent mieux a nos boeufs que les pays chauds, et qu'ils font d'autaot plus gros et plus grands que le climat eft plus humide, j et plus abondans en paturages. Les boeufs de Danemarck, de la Podolie, de rUkfaine, et de la Tartaric qu'habitent les Calmouques, font les plus grands te tons." Here, then, a race of animals, and one of the largeft: too, has been incteafcd in its dimenfions by cold and moifture, in dired oppofition to the hypothefis, v, hich fuppofes that thcfe two circuraftances dirtiinifh animal buHc, aid that it 15 their contraries, heat and drynef; OF AMERICA. t^g whicli enlarge it. But to try the queftion on more general ground, let lis take two portions of the earth, Europe and America for inftanccj fufficiently extenfive to give operation to general caufes ; let us conlider the circuraft.ances peculiar to each, and obferve their effeft on animal nature. America, running through the torrid as well as temperate zone, has more heat, coUedivcly taken, than Europe, But Europe, ac- cording to our hypothelis, is the drieft. They are equally adapted then to animal produdions ; each being endowed with one of thofe caufes which befriend animal growtli, and with on6 which oppofes it. Let us, then, take a comparative view of the quadrupeds of Europe and Ame-- rica," prefenting them to the eye in three different tables; in one of which fhall be enumerated thofe found in both countries ; in a fecond, thofe found in one only; in a third, thofe which have been domefticated in both. To facilitate the comparifon, let thofe of each table be ar- ranged in gradation, according to their fizes, from the greateft to the fmalleft, fo far as their fizes can be conjedlured. The weights of the large animals fhall be expreffed in the Englifh avoirdupoife pound and its decimals ; thofe of the fmaller in the ounce and its decimals. Thofe which are marked thus *, are adiial weights of particular fubjefts, deemed am.ongft the largeft of their fpecies. Thofe marked thus +, are furnifhed by judicious perfons, well acquainted with the fpecies, and faying, from conjefture only, what the largefl individual they had feen would probably have weighed. The other weights are taken froni Meffrs. Buffon and D'Aubenton, and are of fuch fubje<5ls as came cafaally to their hands for dilTeftion. " Comparative View of the Quadrupeds of Europe and of America^ TABLE I, 4horig'inals of both. Mammoth Buffalo. Bifon - - - ^ - - . White bear. Ours blanc Caribou. Renne Bear. Ours - ------- Elk. Elan. Original, palmated Red deer. Cerf ---_--_ Fallow deer. Daini ------ Wolf, Loup -------- Roe. Chevreuil ^ - . 1 - - . Glutton. Glouton. Carcajou Wildcat. Chat fauvage - ^ <^ t '" Lynx. Loup cervier - - - - - Beaver, Callor ------- Badger. Blaireau - - - - « - |led fox. Renard - - • - - , Europe. America, lb. lb. *i8oo *53-7 *4iQ 288.8 167.8 6q.8 *^73 56.7 +3^ 25. 18.5 13.6 *45 •^'? Crey 126 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Tabu I. continued. Grey fox. Ifatis Otter. Loutre - - . Monax. Marmottc - - Vifen. Fouine - - , Hedgehog. Heriffon Martin. Marte '- ^4 , - Water rat. Rat d'eau - - Wcfel. Belette - - - . Flying fqujrrel. Polatouche Shrew jnoufe. Maufaraigne TABLE II. Aboriginals of one only, EUROPE. AMERICA. Europe. America. lb. lb. 89 6.5 2.8 + 1S 2.2 1.9 oz. +6 7-5 2, 2 2.2 1. oz. +4 Sanglier. Wild boar Mouflonn. Wild (heep - Bonquetin, Wild goat Lievre. Hare - - - Lapin. Rabbit - - Patois. Polecat Genette - - - - - Defman. Muflcrat EcurcuiJ. Squirrel - - He^rmine. Ermin - Rat. Rat - - - - Loip - - - - . - Lcrot. Dormoufe - Toupe. Mole - - - - Hamfter ------ Zifel ,J^ming $onris. Mcufe - - . lb. 280. 56. 7.6 3-4 3-3 3-1 oz. 12. ?:8 Tapir .,---. Elk, round horned - Puma Jaguar ----- . Cabiai - - - - - Tamanoir - - » . Tamandua - - - Copgar of N. America Cougar of S. America 8.2 1 Ocelot 7.5 Pecari - - - - - jaguaret . - - - Alco . Lama Paco Paca - - - - - Serval Sloth. Unau Saricovienne Kincajou Tatou Kabaffou Urfon. Urchin Raccoon. Raton - Coati Coendoy - - - - Sloth. Ai - - - Sapajou Ouarini Sapajou Coaita Tatou Encubert Tatou Apar Tatou Cachica - - Little Coendou - OpofTum. Sariguc Tapeti Margay lb. 534. +450- 218. 109. 109. - 65.4 75- - 59-4 46.3 43-6 32.7 21.8 16.5 16.3 ?3- 9.8 7- ^.5 Crabier OF AMERICA. 127 Talfle II, continued. EUROPE. AMERICA, Crabier Ao"OIltl ^ • _ _ ^'_ _ A r^ nguun - - - • ,- - - ^^3 Sapajou Sai - - i^' - - 3,5 Tatou Cirquin9on aP&y 7^ Tatou Tatouate - -^**- - 3.3 Mouirette Scjuafli . MoufFette Cinche MoufFette Conepate. Scuhk-^* Mouffette. Zorilla Whabus. Hare. Rabbit Aperea Akouchi ' Ondatra. Muflcrat Pilori Great grey fquirrel - - +2.7 Fox fquirrel of Virginia +2.625 Surikate ------ 2. Mink ------ +2. - Sapajou. Sajou - - - 1.8 Indian pig. Cochon dlnde 1.6 Sapajou, Sai'miri - - - 1.5 Phalanger Coquallin Lelier grey fquirrel - - fi.s Black fquirrel - -; * -. +1*5 Red Squirrel - - *» /** lo. 0Z« Sagoin Saki Sagoin Pinche Sagoin Tamar in ' oz. Sagoin Ouiftiti - - •. 4.4 ,Sagoin Marakinc Sagoin Mico * Cayopolin Fourmillier \'^-\ r^ > Marmofe Sarigue of Cayenne Tucan Red mole oz. Ground fquirrel - - - 4. TABLE III. Domejikated in loth. Europe. America. lb. lb. v twr 7^3- *2500 Vi»UW Horfs *i366 Afs Hog. *1200 Sheep ♦125 Goat •80 £)op- - 67.6 Gat 1^ i28 GENERAL DESCRIPTION <^ The refult of this view is, that of 26 quadrupeds common to both countries, feven are faid to be larger in America, feven of equal fize> and 1 2 not fufficiently examined. So that the firft table impeaches the firft member of the aflertion, that of the Animals common to both coun- tries the American are fmalleft, " Et cela fans aucune exception.'* It Ihofws it- not juft, in all the latitude in which its author has advanced it, and probably not to fuch a degree as to found a diftindion between the wo countries. *' Proceeding to the fecond table, which arranges the animals foiind in one of the two countries only, M. de BufFon obferves, that the taphir, Ac elephant of America, is but of the fize of a fmall cow. To preferve our comparifon, Mr. JefFerfon dates the wild boar, the elephant of Eu- rope, as little more than half that fize. He has made an elk with round or cylindrical horns, an animal of America, and peculiar to it; becaufe he ha&feen many of them himfelf, and more of their horns; and be- caufe, from the beft information, it is certain that in Virginia this kind of elk has abounded much, and flill exifts in fmaller numbers. He makes the American hare or rabbit peculiar, believing it to be different from both the European animals of thofe denominations, and calling it therefore by its Algonouin name Whabus, to keep it diftind from thefe. Kalmisofthe fame opinion. The fquirrels are denominated from a knowledge derived from daily fight of them, becaufe with that the Eu- ropean appellations and defcriptions feem irreconcileable. Thefe are the only inftances in which Mr. Jefferfon departs from the authority of M. de Buffon in the conftruftion of this table ; whom he takes for his ground-work, becaufe he thinks him the beft informed of any naturalift who has ever written. The refult is, that there are 18 quadrupeds pe- culiar to Europe ; more than four times as many, to wit 74, peculiar to America ; that the firft of thefe 74, the tapir, the largeft of the animals peculiar to America, weighs more than the whole column of Europeans ; and confequently this fecond table difprovcs the fecond member of the affertiott, that the animals pecuHar to the New World are on a fmaller fcale, fo far as that affertion relied on European animals for fupport : and it is in full oppofition to the theory which makes the animal vo- lume to depend on the circumftances of heat and moifture. <* The third table comprehends thofe quadrupeds only which are do- raeftic in both countries. That fome of thefe, in fome parts of America, have become lefs than their original ftock, is doubtlefs true ; and the reafon is very obvious. In a thinly people country, the fpontaneons pro- dudions of the forefts and wafte fields are fufficient to fupport indiffer- ently the domeftxc animals of the farmer, with a very little aid from' him . . . - .- ia OF AMERICA. 1^9 in the fevereft and fcarceft feafon. He therefore finds it more conveni- ent to receive them from the hand of Nature in that indifferent ftate, than to keep up their fize by a care and nourifhraent which would coft him much labour. If, on this low fare, thefe animals dwindle, it is no more than they do in thofe parts of Europe where the poverty of the foil, or poverty of the owner, reduces them to the fame fcanty fubfift- cnce. It is the uniform effedl of one and the fame caufe, whether a<^- ing on this or that fide of the globe. It would be erring, therefore, againft that rule of philofophy, which teaches us to afcribe like effeds to like caufes, fhould we impute this diminution of lize in America to any imbecillity or want of uniformity in the operations of nature. It may be affirmed with truth, that in thofe countries, and with thofc individuals of America, where neceffity or curiolity has produced equal attention as in Europe to the nouriihment of animals, the horfes, cattle, fheep, and hogs of the one continent are as large as thofe of the other. There arc particular inftances, well attefted, where individuals of America have imported good breeders from England, and have improved their fize by jcare in the courfe of fome }'ears. And the weights aftually known and ftated in the third table, will fuffice to (how, that we may conclude, on probable grounds, that, with equal food and care, the climate of America will preferve the races of domeflic animals as large as the European ftock from which they are derived ; and confequently that the third member of Monf. de Buffon*s affcrtion, that the domeftic animals are fubjed to degeneration from the climate of America, is as probably wrong as the firft and fecond were certainly fo. That the laft part of it is erroneous, which affirms, that the fpecies of American quadrupeds are comparatively few, is evident from the tables taken altogether ] to whiph may be added the proof adduced by the Abbe Clavigero, According to Buffon's lateft calculation, in his Epoches de la Nature^ there are 300 fpecies of quadrupeds ; and America, though it does not make more than a third part of the globe, con- tains, according to Clavigero, almoft one half of the different fpecies pf its animals. Qf the human inhabitants of America, to whom the fame hypothefis of degeneracy is extended, M. Buffon gives the following defcrip- tion : *^ Though the American favage be nearly of the fame ftature with men in polifhed focieties ; yet this is not a fufficient exception to the general contraction of animated Nature throughout the whole continent. In the favage, the organs of generation are fmall and feeble. He has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female. Though nimbler than the Euro-^ pcan, becaufe more a^cuftoiped to running, his ftrength is not fo great, $^0, m, S Hi$ 130 GENERAL DESCRIPTION His fenfations are lefs acute : and yet he is more timid and cowardly. He has no vivacity, no adivity of mind. The adivity of his body is not fo much an excrcife of fpontaneous motion, as a ueeeflary adion produced by want. Deftroy his appetite fur vidluals and drink, and you will at once annihilate the aftivc principle of all his movements : He remains in ftupid repofe, on his limbs or couch, for whole days. It is eafy to difcover the caufe of the fcattered life of favages, and of their cftrangement from fociety. They have been refufed the moft precious fpark of Nature's fire : They have no ardour for women, and, of courfe, no love to mankind. Unacquainted with the moft lively and moft tender of all attachments, their other fcni'ations of this nature are cold and lan- guid. Theii love to parents and children are extremely weak. The bonds of the moft intimate of all focieties, that of the fame family, are feeble ; and one family has no attachment to another. Hence no union, no republic, no focial ftate, can take place among them. The phyfical caufe of love gives rife to the morality of their manners. Their heart is frozen, their fociety cold, and their empire cruel. They regard their females as fervants deftined to labour, or as beafts of burden, whom they load unmercifully with the produce of their hunting, and oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform labours which often ex- ceed their ftrength. They have few children, and pay little attention to them. Every thing muft be referred to the firft caufe : They are in- diiibrent, becaufe they are weak ; and this indifference to the fex is the original ftain which difgraces Nature, prevents her from expanding, and, by deftrcying the germs of life, cuts the root of fociety. Hence man makes no exception to what has been advanced. Nature by deny- ing him the faculty of love, has abufed and contraded him more than any other animal." A humilating pifture indeed ! but than which, Mr. JefFerfon aflfures us, never was one more unlike the original. M. BufFon grants, that their ftature is the fame as that of the men of Europe.; and he might have ad- mitted, that the Iroquois were larger, and the Lenopi or Delawares taller, than people in Europe generally are : But he fays their organs of generation are fmaller and weaker than thofe of Europeans; which is not a faft. And as to their want of beard, this error has been alrea- dy noticed. *' They have no ardour for their female." — It is true, that they do not indulge thofe exceffes, nor difcover that fondnefs, which are cuf- tomary in Europe ; but this is not owing to a defew*iii* vW»' with OF AMERICA. I33 •^ith more deliberation, and endures tortares with a firmncfs unknowa almoft to religious enthufiafm among us. ;^. .,,^ Much lefs are they to be charaderifed as a people of nonvacity, and who are excited to aftion or motion only by the calls of hunger and thirft. Their dances in which they fo much delight, and which to a European would be the moft fevere exercife, fully contradidl this ; not to mention their fatiguing marches, and the toil they voluntarily and cheerfully undergo in their military expeditions. It is true, that when at home they do not employ themfelves in'labour or the culture of the foil : but this, again, is the effed of cuftoms and manners which have *ffigned that to the province of the women. But it is faid, <* they arc averfe' to fociety and a focial life." Can any thing be more inapplicable than this to a people who always live in towns or in clans ? Or can they be faid to have no republlqice, who conduft all their affairs in national councils ; who pride themfelves in their national charafter ; who con- fider an infult or injury done to an individual by a llianger as done to the whole, and refent it accordingly ? To form a juft eftimate of their genius and mental powers, Mr, Jef- ferfon obferves, more fafts are wanting, and great allowance is to be made for thofe circumftances of their fituation which call for a difplay of particular talents only. This done, we fhall probably find that the Americans are formed, in mind as well as in body, on the fame model with the homo fap'tens Europaus, The principles of their fociety [f#r- bidding all compulfion, they are to be led to duty and to enterprife by perfonal influence and perfuafion. Hence eloquence in council, bravery and addrefs in war, become the foundations of all confequence with, them. To thefe acquirements all their faculties are diredled. Of their bravery and addrefs in war we have multiplied proofs, becaufe we have been the fubjeds on which they were exercifed. Of their eminence in oratory we have fewer examples, becaufe it is difplayed chiefly in their own councils. Some, however, we have of very fuperior luftre. We may challenge the whole orations of Demofl:henes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, if Europe has furniflied more emioent, to pro- duce a fingle paflfage fuperior to the fpeech of Logan, a Mingo chief, to Lord Dunmore when governor of this ftate. The ftory is as follows ; of which, and of the fpeech, the authenticity is unquellionable. In the fpring of the year 1774, a robbery and murder were committed on an inhabitant of tlie frontiers of Virginia by two Indians of the Shawanec tribe. The neighbouring whites, according to their cuftom, undertook to puniih this outrage in a fummary way. Colonel Crefap, a man infa« mous for the many muiders he had committed on thofe much-injured people. ■134 GENERAL DESCRIPTION t)Copley collcdcd a party, and proceeded down the Kanhaway in qucd o( vengeance. Unfortunately a canoe of women and children, with one man only, was feen coming from the oppofite (hore, unarmed, and un- fufpefting any hoftile attack from the whites, Crefap and his party concealed themfelves on the bank of the river ; and the moment the canoe reached the (hore, fingled out their obje<5ts, and at one fire killed itvcry perfon in it. This happened to be the family of Logan, who had long been diftinguifhed as a friend of the whites. This unworthy re- turn provoked his vengeance. He accordingly fignalized himfelf in Ac war which enfued. In the autumn of the fame year a decifive bat- tle was fought at the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, between the col- kdled forces of the Shawanees, Mingoes, and Delawares, and a detach- ment of the Virginia militia. The Indians were defeated, and fued for peace. Logan, however, difdained to be feen among the fuppliants ; but, left the fincerity of a treaty Ihould be diftrufted from which fo dif- tinguifhed a chief abfented himfelf, he fent by a meflcnger the following fpeech, to be delivered to Lord Dunmore : — ** I appeal to any white man to fay if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he came cold and naked, and he cloathed him not. During the courfe of the laft long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they paffed, and faid Logan is the friend of njohite men, I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Crefap, the laft fpring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not fparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge, I lave fought it; I have killed many; I have fully glutted my ven- geance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace ; but do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to fave his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? — Not one.'* To the preceding anecdotes in favour of the American charader, may be added the following by Dr. Benjamin Franklin, The Indian men, when young, are hunters and v/arriors : when old, counfellors > for all < their government is by the counfel or advice of the fages. Hence they generally ftudy oratory; the beft fpeaker having the moft influence. The Indian women till the ground, drefs the food, nurfe and bring up. the children, and preferve and hand down to pollerity the memory of public tranfadions. Thefe employments of men and women are ac- ; counted natural ancl honourable. Having few artificial wants, the/ q hart OF AMERICA. iQg have abundance of leifure for improvement by converfation. Our laborious manner of life, compared with theirs, they efteem flavilh and bafe ; and the learning on which we value ourfelves, they regard as frivolous and ulelels. 3d? / r' . n -t ^H»an ^n&, j^ij;)^m} Having frequent occafions to hold public coundisj ^tfiey hivfe ^ac- quired great order and decency in conducing them. The old men fit in the foremoft ranks, the warriors in the next, and the women and children in the hindmoft. The bufmefs of the women is to take exaft notice of what paflcs ; imprint it in their memories, for they have no writing, and communicate it to their children. They are the records of the council, and they preferve tradition of the ftipulations in treaties a hundred years back ; wliich, when we compare with our writings, we always find exaft. He that would fpeak rifes. The reft obferve a pro- found filence. "VMien he has fmilhed, and iits down, they leave him ^ five or fix minutes to recolleft, that if he has omitted any thing he in- tended to fay, or has any thing to add, he may rife again and deliver it. To interrupt another, even in common converfation, is reckoned highly indecent. The politenefs of thefe favages in converfation is, indeed, carried to cxcefs ; fince it does not permit them to contradid or deny the truth of what is afferted in their prefence. By this means they indeed avoid dif- putes ; but then it becomes difficult to know their minds, or whit im- prefllon you make upon them. The miflionaries who have attempted to convert them to Chriftianity, all complain of this as one of the greateft difficulties of their miflion. The Indians hear with patience the truths of the gofpel explained to them, and give their ufual tokens of afient and approbation; but this by no means implies convidion j it is mere civility. When any of them come into our towns, our people are apt to crowd round them, gaze upon them, and incommode them where they defire to be private; this they efteem great rudenefs, and the efFed of the want of inftru(5lion in the rules of civility and good manners. ** We have", fay they, *< as much curiofity as you ; and wheri you come into our towns, we wifti for opportu-nities of looking at yoii';' 'but for this,^ purpofe we hide ourfelves behind bufties where you are to pafs, and never intrude ourfelves into your company.'* . irj^iuj. ;u. ,;ji- . There manner of entering one another's villages'^fias'^Iite wile' its 'rules. It is reckoned uncivil in travelling ftrangers to enter a village abruptlj^ without giving notice of their approach. Therefore, as foon as .tfiey arrive within hearing, they ftop and hollow, remaining there till invited to enter. Two old men ufually come out to them and lead them in, ere 136 GENERAL DESCRIPTION There is in every village a vacant dwelling, called the ftrangen hdttfi. Here they arc placed, wlii.'e the old men go round from hut to hut, ac* qoainting the inhabitants that ftrangers are arrived, who are probably hungr}' and weary ; and every one fends them what he can fpare of vie- toals, and flcins to repofe on. When the ftrangers ars refrelhed, pipes 3nd tobacco are brought ; and then, but not before, converfation begins, with enquiries who they are, whither bound, what news, &c. and it ufaally ends with offers of fervice ; if the ftrangers have occafion for ^ides, or any ncceffaries for continuing their journey ; and nothing is exafted for the entertainment. The fame hofpitality, efteemcd among them as a principal virtue, is praftifcd by private perfons ; of which Conrad Weifer, the interpreter, gave Dr. Franklin the following inftance : He had been naturalized among the Six Nations, aqd fpoke well the Mohock language. In going through the Indian country to carry a meffage from our governor to the council at Onondaga, he called at the habitation of Canafletego, an old acquaintance, who embraced him, fpread furs for him to fit on, placed before him fome boiled beans and venifon, and mixed fome rum and water for his drink. When he was well refrefhed, and had lit his pipe, Canafletego began to converfe with him : aflced how he had fared the many years fmcc they had feen each other, whence he then came, what _ had occalioncd the journey, &c. Conrad anfwered all his queftions j and when the difcourfe began to flag, the Indian, to continue it, faid, •* Conrad, you have lived long among the white people, and know ** fomething of their cuftoms ; I have been fometimcs at Albany, and <* have obferved, that once in feven days they (hut up their fhops, <* and affemble all in the great houfe; tell me what it is for ? — What do <* they do there ?*' ** They meet there," fays Conrad, ** to hear and " learn ^W things,** " I do not doubt (fays the Indian) that they teU '* you fo ; they have told me the fame : but I doubt the truth of what *^ they fay, and I will tell you my reafons. I went lately to Albany to *« fell my {kins, and buy blankets, knives, powder, rum, ^c. You •• know I generally ufed to deal with Hans Hanfon ; but I was a little " inclined this time to try fome other merchants. However I called «« firft upon Hans, and aflced him what he would give for beaver. He " faid he could not give more than 4s. a pound ; but (fays he) I cannot <* talk on bufincfs now ; this is the day when we meet together to learn «* good things y and I am going to the meeting. Sal thoiight to myfelf,i ** fmce I cannot do any bufinefs to-day, I may as well go to the meeting| « too; and I went with him,— There ftood up a man in black, an4 « bcgafl, OF AMERICA. igy «' began to talk to the people very angrily. I did not underftand what « he faid ; but perceiving that he looked much at me and at Hanfon, ** I imagined he was angry at feeing me there : fo I went out, fat down '• near the houfe, ftruck fire/ and lit my pipe, waiting till the meeting " ftiould break up. I thought too, that the man had mentioned fome- " thing of beaver, and I fufpeded that it might be the fubjeft of their " meeting. So when they came out, I accofted my merchant.— Well '« Hans (fays I) I hope you have agreed to give more than 4s. a-pound ?" « No (fays he), I cannot give fo much, I cannot give more than 3s. 6d." ** I then fpoke to feveral other dealers, but they all fung the fame fong, " three and fixpence, three and fixpence. This made it clear to me that ** my fufpicion was rio^ht ; and that whatever they pretended of meeting ** to Itzxn good things y the real purpofe was, to confultiiow to cheat In- ♦* dians in the price of beaver. Confider but a little, Conrad, and you •* muft be of my opinion. If they met fo often to learn good thingsy " they certainly would have learned fome before this time. But, they ** are ftill ignorant. You know our pradice. If a white man, in tra- ** veiling through our country, enters one of our cabins, we all treat ** him as I treat you ; we dry him if he is wet, wc warm him if he is ** cold, and give him meat and drink, that he may allay his thirft and ** hunger ; and we fpread foft furs for him to reft and fleep on : we de- ** mand nothing in return. But if I go into a white man's houfe at " Albany, and aflc for viftuals and drink, they fay. Where is your mo- " ney ? And if I have none, they fay, Get out, you Indian dog. You ** fee they have not yet learned thofe little good things that we need no *' meeting to be inftrudled in ; becaufe our mothers taught them to us <* when we were children ; and therefore it is impofTible their meetings **, Ihould be, as they fay, for any fuch purpofe, or have any fuch ** efFeft ; they are only to contrive the cheating of Indians in the price of •* heaver,'* The next queflion that occurs is. Whether the peculiarities of the Americans, or the difparity between them and the inhabitants of Europe, afford fufficient grounds for determining them, as fome have done^ to be a race of men radically different from all others ? In this queftion, to avoid being tedious, we fhall confine ourfelves to what has been advanced by Lord Karnes j who is of opinion, that there are many different fpecies of men, as well as of other animals ; ^nd gives an hypothelis, whereby he pretends his opinion may be main- tained in a confiftency with Revelation. " If (fays he) the only rule afforded by nature to claifing animals can be depended on, there are No. III. T ^,.^ , different 138 GENERAL DESCRIPTION different races of men as well as of doqrs: a maftiif differs not more frorif a fpaniel, than a white man from a negro, or a Laplander from a Dane. And, if we have any faith in Providence, it ought to be fo. Plants were created of different kinds, to fit them for different climates ; and fo were brute animals. Certain it is, that all men are not fitted equally for every climate. There is fcarce a climate but what is natural to fomc min, where they profper and flourifh ; and there is not a climate but where fome men degenerate. Doth not then analogy lead us to con- clude, that, as there are different climates on the face of this globe, f^ there are different races of men fitted for thefe different climates ? ** M. Butfon, from the rule. That animals which can procreate toge- tl^e r, and whofe progeny can alfo procreate, are of one fpecies ; con- cludes, that all Boen are of one race or fpecies ; and endeavours to fup- port that faTOurite opinion, by afcribing to the climate, to food, or other accidental caufes, all the varieties that are found among men. But is he ferioufly of opinion, that any operation of climate, or of other accidental caufe, can account for the copper colour and fmooth chin univerial among the Americans; the prominence of the pudenda univer- fal among the Hottentot women ; or the black nipple no lefs univerfal among the female Samoiedes ? — It is in vain to afcribe to the climate the low flature of the Efquimaux, the fmallncfs of their feet, or the over- grown fize of their heads. It is equally in vain to afcribe to climate the low ftature of the Laplanders, or their ugly vifage. The black co- lour of negroes, their lips, flat nofe, crifped woolly hair, and rank fmelL diftinguiOi them from every other race of men. The AbyiTmians, on the contrary, are tall and well made, their complexion a brown olive, features well proportioned, eyes large and of a fparking black, thin lips, a nofe rather high than flat. There is no fuch diiterence of climate be- tween AbyfHnia and Negro-land as to produce thefe ftriking differences. " Nor fhall our author's ingenious hypothefi5 concerning the extre- mities of heat and cold, purchafe him impunity with refped to the fal- low complexion of the Samoiedes, Laplanders, and Greenlanders. The Kinlanders, and northern Norwegians, live in a climate not lefs cold than that of the people mentioned ; and yet are fair beyond other Europeans. I fay more, there are many inftances of races of people prc- ferving their original colour, in climates very different from their own; but not a fmgle inftance of the contrary, as far as I can learn. There have been four complete generations of negroes in Pennfylvania, without any vifible change of colour; they continue jet black, as origiiially. Thofe 3 OF AMERICA, l^g Thofe who afcribe all to the fun, ought to confidcr how little probable it Is, that the colour it impreffes on the parents fhould be communicated to their infant children, who never faw the fun : I fhould be as foon in- duced to believe with a German naturalift, whofe name has efcaped me, chat the negro colour is owing to an ancient cuftom in Africa, of dyeing the Ikin black. Let a European, for years, expofe himfelf to the fun in a hot climate, till he be quite brown ; his children will neverthelefs have the fame complexion with thofe in Europe. From the aftion of the fun, is it poffible to explain, why a negro, like a European, is born with a ruddy Ikin, which turns jet black the eighth or ninth day^^"- Our author next proceeds to draw fome arguments for the exiftence of different races of men, fi-om the various tempers and difpofitions of dif- ferent nations ; which he reckons to be fpecific differences, as well as thofe of colour, ftature, &c. and having fummed up his evidence, he con- cludes thus : " Upon fumming up the whole particulars mentioned above, would one hefitate a moment to adopt the following opinion, were there no counterbalancing evidence, viz. ' That God created many pairs of the human race, differing from each other, both externally and internally j that he fitted^ thofe pairs for different climates, and placed each pair in its proper climate ; that the peculiarities of the original pairs were preferved entire in their defcendants ; who, having no affift- anc^e but their natural talents, were left to gather knowledge from ex- perience J and, in particular, were left (each tribe) to form a language for itfelf; that figns were fufHcient for the original pairs, without any language but what nature fuggefls ; and that a language was formed gradually as a tribe increaf^d in numbers, and in different occupations, to make fpeech neceifary ?" Eut this opinion, however plaufible, we are not permitted to adopt : being taught a different leffon by Reve- lation, viz. That God created but a fmgle pair of the human fpecies. Though we cannot doubt the authority of Mofes, yet his account of the creation of man is not d little puzzling, as it feems to contradict every one of the fads mentioned above. According to that account different races of men were not formed, nor were men formed originally for different climates. All men muft have fpoken the fame language, viz. That of our firll: parents. And what of all feems the moll contradidory to that account, is the favage flate : Adam, as Mofes informs us, was endued by his Maker with an eminent degree of knowledge ; and he certainly was an excellent preceptor to his children and their progeny, among whom he lived many generations. Whence then the degeneracy of all men unto the favage ftate ? To account for that difmal cataftrophe, mankind muft have fuffered fome terrible con- yulfion. That terrible convulfion is revealed to us in the hiftory of the T a tower 140 GENERAL DESCRIPTION "^ tower of Babel, contained in the nth chapter of Genefis, which is, * That, for many centuries after the deluge, the whole earth was of one language, and of one fpcech ; that they united to build a city on a plain in the land of Shinar, with a tower, whofe top might reach unto heaven ; that the Lord, beholding the people to be one, and to have all one lan- guage, and thnt nothing would be rcftrained from them which they im- agined to do, confounded their language that they might not underftand one another, and fcattcred them abroad upon the face of all the earth/ Here light breaks forth in the midft of darkncfs. By confounding the language of men, and fcattering them abroad upon the face of all the earth, they were rendered favages. And to harden them for their new habitations, it was neccffary that they fhould be divided into dif- ferent kinds, fitted for different climates. Without an immediate change of conftitution, the builders of Babel could not poffibly have fubfided in the burning region of Guinea, nor in the frozen region of Lapland; houfes not being prepared, nor any other convenience to proted them againft a deftruCiivc climate." We may firft remark, on his Lordfhip's hypothcfis, that it is evidently incomplete ; for, allowmg the human race to have been divided into different fpecies at the confufion of languages, and that each fpecies was adapted to a particular climate ; by what means v*'ere they to get to the climates proper for them, or how were they to know that fuch climates exifled? How was an American, for inftance, when languifhing in an improper climate at Babel, to get to the land of the Amazons, or the banks of the Oioonoko, in his own country ? or how was he to know thefe places were more proper for him than others ? — If, indeed, we take the fcripture phrafe, '* The Lord fcattered the7n abroad upon the face of all the earth," in a certain fenfe, we may account for it. If we fuppofc that the different fpecies were immediately carried off by a whirlwind, or other fupernatural means, to their proper countries, the difRculty will vanifh : but if this is his Lordfhip's interpretation, it is certainly a very fmguLir one. Before entering upon a confidcratlon of the particular arguments ufed by our author for proving the diverfity of fpecies in the human race, it will be proper to lay down the following general principles, which may fcrve as axioms. (1.) When we affert a multiplicity of fpecies in the human race ; we bring in a fupernatural caufe to folve a natural pheno- menon : for thefe fpecies are fuppofed to be the immediate work of the Deity. (2.) No perfon has a right to call any thing the immediate effeft of omnipotence, unlefs by exprefs rfevelation from the Deity, or from a certainty that no natural caufe is fufficicnt to produce the effed. The feafo^ OF AMERICA. 1^1 reafon is plain. The Deity is invifible, and fo are many natural caufes: when we fee an effeft therefore, of which the caufe does not manifeft itfelf, we cannot know whether the immediate caufe is the Deity, or an invifible natural power. An example of this we have in the phenomena of thunder and earthquakes, which were often afcribed immediately to the Deity, but are now difcovered to be the effeds of eledricity. (3.) No perfon can aflert natural caufes to be infufficient to produce fuch and fuch effe(fts, unlcfs he perfeftly knows all thefe caufes and the limits of their power i.i all poffible cafes ; and this no man has ever known, or can know. By keeping in view thefe principles, which we hope are felf-evident, we will eafily fee Lord Kames*s arguments to confiH entirely in 2i-petttto principit, — In fubftance they are all reduced to this fingle fentence: " Natural philofophers have been hitherto unfucccfsful in their en- deavours to account for the differences obferved among mankind, therefore thefe UiFerences cannot be accounted for from natural caufes.** His I.ordiliip, however, tells us in the pafTages already quoted, that "a maftiff diftcrs not more from ?. fpaniel, than a Laplander from a " Dane;" that ** it is vain to afcribe to climate the low ftature of the Laplanders, or their ugly vifage." — .Yet, in a note on the word Lapf landers, he fubjoins, that, ** by late accounts it appears, that the Lap- landers are only degenerated Tartars; and that they and the Hungarians originally fprung from the fame breed of men, and from the fame couutr try."— The Hungarians are generally handfome and well made, like Danes, or like other people. The Laplanders, he tells us, differ as much from them as a maftiff from a fpaniel. Natural caufes, therefore, according to Lord Kames himfelf, may caufe two individuals of the fame fpecies of mankind to differ from each other as much as a maftiff does from a fpaniel. While we are treating this fubjeft of colour, it may not be amifs to obferve, that a very remarkable difference of colour may accidently hap- pen to individuals of the fame fpecies. In the ifthmus of Darien, a fmgular race of men have been difcovered. — They are of low ftature, of ^ feeble make, and incapable of enduring fatigue. Their colour is a dead milk white ; not refembling that of fair people among Europeans, but without any blufti or fanguine complexion. Their fkin is covered with a fine hairy down of a chalky white ; the hair of their heads, their eye-brows, and eye-lafties, are of the fame hue. Their eyes are of a fmgular form, and fo weak, that they can hardly bear the light of the fun ; but they fee clearly by moon-light, and are moft adlive and gay in >he night. Among the negroes of Africa, as well as the natives of the Indiai^ 142 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Indian iflands, a fmall number of thefe people are produced. They are called Albinos by the Portugucfo, and Kackerlakcs by the Dutch, This race of men is not indeed permanent ; but .'t is fufficlent to fhovr, that mere colour is by no means the charaderillic of a certain fpecies of mankind. The difference of colour in thefe individuals is undoubtedly owing to a natural caufe. To conftitute, then, a race of men of thi» colour, it would only be ncceflary that this caufe, which at prefent is merely accidental, (hould become permanent, and we cannot know but it may be fo in fome parts of the world. If a difference in colour is no charadleriftic of a different fpecies of marvkind, much lefs can a difference in ftature be thought fo. — In the foothcrn parts of America, there are faid to be a race of men exceeding the common fize in height and flrength. This account, however, is doubted of by fome : but be that as it will, it is certain that the Efqui- maux are as much under the common fize, as the Patagonians are faid to be above it. Neverthclefs we are not to imagine, that either of thefe are fpecific diiferences ; feeing the Laplanders and Hungarians are both of the fame fpecies, and yet the form.er are generally almoft a foot Diorter than the latter; and if a difference of climate, or other accidental caufes, can make the people of one country a foot fhorter than the common lize of mankind, undoubtedly accidental caufesof a contrary nature may make thofe of another country a foot taller than other men. Though the fun has undoubtedly a Ihare in the production of the fwarthy colour of thofe nations which are moll expofed to his influence; yet the manner of living to which people are accuftomed, their viftuals, their employment, &c. muft contribute very much to a diiFerence of complexion. There are fome kinds of colouring roots, which, if mixed with the food of certain animals, will tinge even their bones of a yellow colour. It cannot be thought any great degree of credulity to infer from this, that if thefe roots were mixed with the food of a white man, they might, without a miracle, tinge his fkin of a yellow colour. If a man and woman were both to ufe food of this kind for a length of time, till they became as it were radically djed, it is impolfiblc, without the in- tervention of Divine power, or of fome extraordinary natural caufe, but their children muft be of the fame colour ; and was the fame kind of food to be continued for fcveral generations, it is more than probable that this colour might refift the continued ufe of any kind of food whatever. Of this indeed we have no examples, but we have an example of changes much more wonderful. It is allowed on all hands, that it is more eafy to work a change upon the bpdy of a man, or any other animal I Ot AMERICA. 1^3 animal, than upon his mind. A man that is naturally choleric may in- deed learn to prevent the bad effeds of his paffion by reafon, but the paflion itfelf will remain as immutable as his colour. But to reafon in a manner fimilar to Lord Kajnes ; though a man (hould be naturally cho- leric, or fubjeft to any other paffion, why (hould his children be fo> — This way of reafoning, however plaufible, is by no means conclufivc, as will appear from the following paffage in Mr. Forfter 's Voyage. June 9th. ** The officers who could not yet relifh their fait provi- fions after the refrefliments of New Zealand, had ordered their black dog, mentioned p. 135, to be killed : this day, therefore, we dined for the firft time on a leg of it roafted ; which tafted fo exaftly like mutton, that it was abfolutely undiftinguilhable. In our cold countries, where animal food is fo much ufed, and where to be carnivorous perhaps lic« in the nature of men, or is indifpenfably neceffary to the prefervation of their health and ftrength, it is ftrange that there fhould exift a Jewiih averfion to dogs-fiefli, when hogs, the moft uncleanly of all animals, are eaten without fcruple. Nature feems exprefsly to have in- tended them for this ufe, by making their offspring fo very numerous, and their increafe fo quick and frequent. It may be objefted, that the exalted degree of inflinft which we obferve in our dogs, infpircs us with oreat unwillingnefs to kill and eat them. But it is owing to the time we fpend on -the education of dogs, that they acquire thofe eminent qualities which attach them fo much to us. The natural qualities of our dogs may receive a wonderful improvement ; but education mufl give its affiilance, without which the human mind itfelf, though capable of an immenfe expanfion, remains in a very contrafted flate. In New Zea- land, and (according to former accounts of voyages) in the tropical ifles oi'the South Sea, the dogs are the moft flupid, dull animals imaginable, and do not feem to have the leafl advantage in point of fagacity over our iheep, which are commonly m24e the emblems of fillinefs. In the for- mer country they are fed upon fifn, in the latter on vegetables, and both thefe diets may have ferved to alter theil difpofition. Education may perhaps likewife graft new inftin6\s : the New Zealand dogs aje fed on the remains of their mafter's meals; they eat the bones of other dogs; and the puppies become true cannibals from their birth. We had a yonng New Zealand puppy on board, which had certainly had no op- portunity of tafling any thing but the mother's milk before we purchafed it : however, it eagerly devoured a portion of the flefh and bones of the dog on which we dined to-day ; while feveral others of the European breed taken on board at the Cape, turned from it without touching it. '' On the foanh of Auguft, a young bitch, of the terrier breed, taken on 144 GENERAL DESCRIPTION on board at the Cape of Good Hope, and covered by a fpaniel, brought ten young ones, one of which was dead. The New Zealand dog men- tioned above, which devoured the bones of the roafted dog, now fell upon the dead puppy, and eat of it with a ravenous appetite. This is a pnx>f how far education may go in producing and propagating new in- fiin<5b in animals. European dogs are never fed on the meat of their own fpecies, but rather feem to abhor it. The New Zcalan ? dogs, in all likelihood, are trained up from their earlieft age to cat the remains of their mailer's meals : they are therefore ufed to feed upon fifli, their own fpecies, and perhaps human flelh ; and what was only owing to habit at firH, may become inftinft by length of time. This was remark- able in our cannibal dog ; for he came on board fo young, that he could not have been weaned long enough to have acquired a habit of devouring his own fpecies, and much lefs of eating human flefh; however, one of our feamen having cut his finger, held it out to the dog, who fell to greedily, licked it, and then began to bite it." From this account it appears, that even t»,e inftinds of animals are not unchangeable by natural caufes ; and if thefe caufes are powerful enough to change the difpofitions of fucceeding generations, much more may we fupp.ofe them capable of making any poffible alteration in the exter- nal appearance. We are not here necefhtated to confine ourfelves to obfervations made on brute animals. The Franks are an example of the produflion of one general character, formed by fome natural caufe from a mixture of many different nations. — They were a motley multitude, confifting of various German nations dwelling beyond the Rhine : who, uniting in defence of their common liberty, took thence the name of Franks; the word frank fignifying in their language, as it ftill does in ours, free. Among them the following nations were mentioned, viz. the A(^uarii, Chamavi, Brufteri, Salii, Frifii, Chaufi, Amfwarii, and Catti. We cannot fup- pofe one charader to belong to fo many different nations ; yet it is cer- tain, that the Franks were nationally charaflerizcd as treacherous ; and fo deeply feems this quality to have been rooted in their nature, that their defcendants have not got quite free of it in 1500 years. It is in vain, then, to talk of different races of men, either from their colour, fize, or prevailing difpofitions, feeing we have undeniable proofs that all thefe may be changed, in the moft remarkable manner, by natural caufes, Vkithout any miraculous interpofition of the deity. The first peopling of America. The next queftion, then, which prcfents itfelf is, From what part of the Old World America has fliofl probably been peopled ? Difcoveries (OF AMERICA; I45 i^ifcoveries Ibng ago made inform us, that an intercourfe between the Gld Continent and America might be carried on with facility from the north- weft extremities of Europe and the north-eaft boundaries of Afia, Iti the ninth century the Norwegians difcovered Greenland, and planted a colony there. The communication with that country was renewed in the laft century by Moravian miffionaries, in order to propagate their doftrine in that bleak and uncultivated region. By them we are in- formed that the north-weft coaft of Greenland is feparated from America by a very narrow ftrait ; that at the bottom of the bay it is highly pro- bable that they are united ; that the Efquimaux of America perfeftly refemble the Greenlanders in their afpeft, drefs, and mode of living ; and that a Moravian miffionary, well acquainted with the language of Greenland, having vifited the country of the Efquimaux, found, to his aftoniftiment, that they fpoke the fame language with the Greenlanders, and were in every refpeft the fame people. The fame fpecies of ani- mals, too, are found in the contiguous regions. The bear^ the wolf, the fox, the hare, the deer, the roebuck, the elk, frequent the forefts of North America, as well as thofe in the north of Europe. Other difcoveries have proved, that if the two continents of Afia and America be feparated at all, it is only by a narrow ftrait. From this part of the Old Continent, alfo, inhabitants may have pafled into the New ; and the refemblance between the Indians of America and the eaftern inhabitants of Afia, would induce us to conje«^ure that they have a common origin. This is the opinion 'adopted by Dr. Robertfon in his Hiftory of America, where we find it accompanied with the following narrative. " While thofe immenfe regions which ft retched eaftward from the Tiver Oby to the fea of Kamtfchatka were unknown, or imperfeftly ex- plored, the north-eaft extremities of our hemifphere wete fuppofed to be fo far diftant from any part of the New' World, that it was not eafy to conceive how any communication lliould have been carried on between them. But the Riiflians, having Aibje(5led the weftern part of Siberia to their empire, gradually extended their knowledge of that vaft country, by advancing towards the eaft into unknown provinces. Thefe were difcoverdd by hunters in their excurfions after game, or by foldiers em- ployed in levying the taxes ; and the court of Mofcow eftimated the importance of thofe countries only by the fmall addition which they made to its revenue. At length, Peter the Great afcerided the Ruffian throne: His enlightened comprehenfive mind, intent upon every circum- ftance that could aggrandize his empire, or render his reign iiluftrious, iifterned confcquences of thofe difcoveries, which had efcaped the ob- ^Ko,III, y fervation 146 GENERAL bESCRIPTION fcrvation of his ignorant predeceflbrs. He perceived, that, in propof- tion as the regions of A fia extended towards the eaft, they muft approach nearer to America ; that the communication between the two conti- nents, whidi had long been fearched for in vain, would probably be found in this quarter ; and that, by opening this intercourfe, fome part of the wealth and commerce of the weftern world might be made to flow into his dominions by a new channel. Such an objed fuited a genius that delighted in grand fchemes.* Peter drew up inftruftions with his own hand for profecuting this defign, and gave orders for carrying it into execution, ** His fucceflbrs adopted his ideas, and purfued his plan. The officerg whom the Ruffian court employed in this fervice, had to ftruggle with fo many difficulties, that their progrefs was extremely flow. Encouraged by fome faint traditions among the people of Siberia concerning a fuc- cefsful voyage in the year 1648 round the north-eaft promontory of Afia, they attempted to follow the fame courfe. Veffels were fitted out, with this view, at different times, from the rivers Lena and Kolyma ; but in a frozen ocean, which nature feems not to have deflined for navigation, they were expofed to many difafters, without being able to accomplifh their purpofe. No vciTcl fitted out by the Ruffian court ever doubled this formidable cape; we are indebted for what is known of thofe ex- treme regions of Afia, to the difcoveries made in excurfions by land. In all thofe provinces, an opinion prevails, that countries of great extent: and fertility lie at no confidcrablcdillance from their own coafts. Thefc the Rufllans imagined to be part of America ; and feveral circum{lance% concurred not only in confirming them in this belief, but in perfuading them that fome portion of that continent could not be very remote. Trees of various kinds, unknown in thofe naked regions of Afia, ara driven upon the coaft by an eaflerly wind. By the fame wind fioating ICC is brought thither in a few days 5 flights of birds arrive annually ftom the fame quarter ; and a tradition obtains among the Inhabitants, of an iatercourle for.iicrly carried on with fome countries fituated t(» the eaft. " After weighing all thcfe particulars, and comparing thepofition of the countries in Aiia uhich they had difcovered, with fuch parte in the north- weft of America as were al/eady known ; the Ruffian court formed a plan, which would have hardly occurred to any nation lefs accuftomed to engage in arduous undertakings and to contend with great difficulties* Orders were ififued to build two vcfTcls at Ochotz* in the fea of Kamt- fchatka, to fail on a voyage of difcovery. Though that dreary uncul- tivated region furniflied nothing that could be of ufe in coliftruding them but fome larch-trees j though not only the iron, the cordage, th;; fails. .OF AMERICA. I47 fails, and all the numerous articles requifite for their equipment, but the provifions for vid:ualling them, were to be carried through the im- menffi deferts of Siberia, along rivers of difficult navigation, and roads almoft impaffable, the mandate of the fovereign, and the perfeverance of the people, at laft furmounted every obftacle. Two veflels were finiihed ; 'and, under the command of the captains* Behring and Tfchiri- kow, failed from Kamtfchatka in queft of the New World, in a quarter where it had never been approached. They fliaped their courfe towards the eaft ; and though a llorm foon feparated the vefTcls, which never re- joined, and many difafters befel them, the expeftations from the voyage were not altogether fruftrated. Each of the commanders difcovered land, which to them appeared to be part of tl^ American continent ; and, according to their obfervations, it feems to be fituated within a few degrees of the north-weft coaft of Carifornia. Each fent fome of his people afhore : but in one place the inhabitants fled as the Ruffians approached ; in another, they carried off thofe who landed, and de- ft royed their boats. The violence of the weather, and the diftrcfs of their crews, obliged both to quit this inhofpitable coaft. In their return they touched at feveral iflands, which ftretch in a chain from eaft to weft between the coaitry which they had difcovered and !he coaft of Afia. They had fome intercourfe with the natives, who feemed to them to refemble the North Americans. They prefented to the Ruffians the calumet, or pipe of peace, which is a fymbol of friendihip univerfal among the people of North America, and an ufage of arbitrary inftitu- tion peculiar to them." The more recent and accurate difcoveries of the illuftrlous navigator Cooke, and his fucceiTor Gierke, have brought the matter ftill nearer to certainty. The fea, from the fouth of Behring's Straits to the crefcent of ifles between Afia and America, is very fhallow. It deepens from thefe ftraits (as the Britilh fcas do from thbfe of Dover) till foundings are loft in the Pacific Ocean ; but that does not take place but to the fouth of the ifles. Between them and the ftraits is an increafe from i 2 to 54 fathom, except only off St. Thaddeus Nofs, where there is a chan- nel of greater depth. From the volcanic difpofition, it has been judged probable, not only that there was a feparation of the continents at the 3traits op-Behring, but that the whole fpace from the ifles to that fmall opening had once been occupied by land; and that the fury of the wa- tery element, aduated by that of fire, had in moft remote times, fub- verted and overwhelmed the trad, and left the iflands monumental frag- ments. Without adopting all the fancies of BufFon, there can be no doubt, as ' U 2 the 148 GENERAL DESCRIPTION the Abbe Clavigero obfervcs, that our planet has been fubje(fl to great viciffitudes fince the deluge. Ancient and modern hiftories confirm the truth which Ovid has fung in the name of Pythagoras : Video ego quodfuerat quondam folidijfima telluSi EJfef return; 'vidi fadas ex tequore terras. At prefent they plough thofe lands over which (hips formerly failed, and now they fail over lands v/hich were formerly cultivated ; earthquakes have fwallowed fome lands, and' fubterraneous fires have thrown up Others : the rivers have formed new foil with their mud ; the fea re- treating from the Ihores has lengthened the land in fome places, and ad- vancing in others has diminilhed it ; it has feparated fome territories which were formerly united, and formed new ftraits and gulphs. We have examples of all thefe revolutions in the paft century. Sicily was united to the continent of Naples, as Eubea, now the Black Sea, to Boetia. Diodoius, Strabo, and other ancient authors, fay the fame thing; of Spain and Africa, and affirm, that by a violent erupiion of the ocean upon the land between the mountains Abyla and Calpe, that communi- cation was broken, and the Mediterranean Sea was formed. Among the people of Ceylon there is a tradition that a frmilar irruption of the fea feparated their ifland from the peninfula of India. The f:ime thing is believed by thofe of Malabar v/ith refpedt to the ifles of Maldivia, and with the Malayans with refpedl to Sumatra. It is certain, fays the Count de Buffon, that in Ceylon the earth has loft 30 or 40 leagues, which the fea has taken from it ; on the contrary, Tongres, a place of the low countries, has gained 30 leagues of land from the fea. The northern part of Egypt owes its exiftence to inundations of the Nile. The earth which this river has brought from the inland countries of Africa, and depofited in its inundations, has formed a foil of more than 25 cubits of depth. In like manner, adds the above author, the pro- vince of the Yellow River in China, and that of Louifiana, have only been formed of the mud of rivers. Pliny, Seneca, Diodorus, and Strabo, report innumerable examples of fimilar revolutions, which we omit, tha^ our differtation may not become too prolix ; as alfo many ipodern revo- lutions, which are related in the theory of the earth of the Count de BufFon and other authors. In South America, all thofe who have ob- ferved with philofophic eyes the peninfula of Yucatan, do not doubt that that country has once been the bed of the fea; and, on the contrary, in the channel of Bahama many indications (hew the ifland of Cuba to have been once united to the continent of Florida. In the ftrait which feparates America from Afia many iflands are found, which probably 3 ' '• ' ■■ " ' '' ' were OF AMERICA. ^49 were the mountains belonging to that traft of land which we fuppofe to have been fwallowed up by earthquakes ; which is made more probable by the multitude of volcanoes which we know of in the peninfula of Kamtfchatka. It is imagined, however, that the finking of that land, and the feparation of the two continents, has been occafioned by thofc great and extraordinary earthquakes mentioned in the hiftories of the Americans, which formed an era almoft as memorable as that of the deluge. The hiftories of the Toltecas fix fuch earthquakes in the year I Tecpatl ; but as we know not to what century that belonged, w^e can form no conjefture of the time that great calamity happened. If a great earthquake ihould overwhelm the ifthmusof Suez, and there fhould be at the fame time as great a fcarcity of hillorians as there were in the firll ages after the deluge, it would be doubted, in 300 or 400 years after, whether Afia had evey been united by that part to Africa; and many- would firmly deny it. Whether that great event, the feparation of the continents, took place before or after the population of America, is ^s impoflible as it is of little moment for us to know ; but we are indebted to the above-men- tioned navigators for fettling the long difpute about the point from which it was effefted. Their obfervations prove, that in one place the diftance between continent and continent is only 39 miles, not (as the author of the Recherches Fhilojophtques fur les Amerkains would have it) 8co leagues. This narrow ftrait has alfo in the middle two iflands, which would greatly facilitate the migration of the Afiatics into the New World, fuppofing that it took place in canoes after the convulfion which rent the two pontinents afunder. Befides, it may be added, that thefe ftraits are, even in the fummer, often filled with ice; in winter, often frozen. In either cafe mankind might find an eafy paffage ; in the laft, the way was extremely ready for quadrupeds to crofs and ftock the continent of America. But where, from the vaft expanfe of the north-eaftern world, to fix on the firft tribes who contributed to people the New Continent, now inhabited almoft from end to end, is a matter that bafiles human reafon. The learned may make bold and ingenious conjeftures, but plain good fenfe cannot always accede to them. As mankind increafed in numbers, they naturally protruded one another forward. Wars might be another caufe of migrations. There appears no reafon why the Afiatic north might not be an ofidnta 'viramm, as well as the European. The overteeming country, to the caft of the - Kiphcsan mountains, muft find it neceffary to difchargs its inhabitants : the firft great wave of people was forced forward by the next to it, more tumid and more powerful than itfelf : fucceflive and new impulfes con- tinualljf l^O GENERAL DESCRIPTION tinually arriving, (hort reft was given to that which fprcad over a more eaftern traft; difturbed again and again, it covered frefh regions; at length, reaching the fartheft limits of tlr Old World, found a new one, \rith ample fpace to occupy unmolefted for ages ; till Columbus curfed them by a difcovery, which brought again new fins and new deaths to both worlds. " The inhabitants of the New World (Mr. Pennant obferves), do not confift of the offspring of a fingle nation ; different people, at feverai periods, arrived there ; and it is impofTible to f^^y, that any one is now to be found on the original fpot of its colonization. It is impoiFiblc, with the lights which we have fo recently received, to admit that Americgi could receive its inhabitants (at Icaft the bulk of them) from any other place than eaftern Afw. A few proofs may be added, taken from cuftoms or drefles common to the inhabitants of both worlds : fome have been long extlntfl in the Old, others, remain in both in full force. " The cuftom of fcalping was a barbarifm in ufe with the Scythians, who carried about them at all times this favage mark of triumph : they cut a circle round the neck, and ftripped off the Ikin, as they would that of an ox. A little image found among the Calmucs, of a Tartarian deity, mounted on a horfe, and fitting on a human Ikin, with fcalps pendent from the breaft, fully illudrates the cuftom of the Scythian pro- genitors, as defcribed by the Greek hifiorian. This ufage, as the Eu- rojpeans know by horrid experience, is continued to this day in America. The ferocity of the Scythian^ to their prifoners extended to the remotell part of Afia. The Kamtfchatkans, even at the time of their difcovery by the Ruffians, put their prifoners to death by the motl lingering and ex- cruciating inventions ; a practice in full force to this very dxy among the aboriginal Americans. A race of the Scythians were ftiled Anthropophagi^ from their feeding on human flefh. The people of Nootka Sound ftill make a repaft on their fellow creatures : but what is more wonderful, the favage allies of the Britifh army have been known fo throw the mangled, limbs of the French prifoners into the horrible cauldron, and devour them with the fame relifn as thofe of a quadrujx^d. *< The Scythians were faid, for a certain time, annually to transform themfelves into wolves, and again to rcfume the human Ihape. The new difcovered Americans about Nootka Sound; at this time cHfguife themfelves in dreffes made of the fkins of wolvs and other wild bcafts, and wear even the heads fitted to their own. Thefe habits they ufe in the chace, to circumvent the animals of the field. But would not igno- rance OF AMERICA* 3^1 ranee or fuperftition afcribc to a fupernatural metamorpofis thefe tempo* tary expedients to deceive the brute creation ? *' In their marches, the Kamtfchatkans never went abreaft, but fol- lowed one another in the fame trad. The fame cuftom is exaftly ob- ferved by the Americans, " The Tungufi, the moft numerous nation refident in Siberia, prick their faces with fmall punftures, with a needle, in various fhapes ; then rub into them charcoal, fo that the marks become indelible. This cuf- tom is ft ill obferved in feveral parts of America. The Indians on the back of Hudfon's Bay, to this day, perform the operation exaftly-in the fame manner, and pundure the ikin into various figures ; as the natives of New Zealand do at prefent, and as the ancient Britons did with the herb glaftum, or woad ; and the Virginians, on the firft difcovery of that country 'by the Englifti. " The Tungufi ufe canoes made of birch-bark, diftended over ribs of wood, and nicely fewed together. The Canadian, and many other American nations, ufe no othei; fort of boats. The paddles of the Tun- gufi are broad at each end ; thofe of the people near Cook's river, and ©f Oonalafcha, are of the fame form. ** In. burying of -the dead, many of the American nations place the i-oq^fe at full length, after preparing it according to their cuftoms; others place it in a fitting pofture, and lay by it the moft valuable cloalh- ing, wampum, and other matters. The Tartars did the fame : and both people agree in covering the whole vv'ith earth, fo as to form a tumulus, barrow, or carnedd. " Some of the American nations hang their dead in trees. Certain of the Tungufi obferve a fimiiar cuftom. *' We can draw forae analogy from drefs : conveniency in that article muft have been confulted on both continents, and originally the materials muft have been the fame, the Ikins of birds and beafts. It is fingular, that the conic, bonnet of,the Chinefe lliould be found among the people of Nootka. I cannot give into the notion, that the Chinefe contributed to the population of the New World ; but we cin readily admit, that a (hipwreck might furnifti thofe Americans with a paitern for that part of the drefs. " In refped to the features and form of the human body, almoft everf tribe found along the weftern coaft has fome fimilitude to the Tartar nations, and ftiil retain the little eyes, fmall nofes, high cheeks, and broad faces. They vary in fize, from the lufty Calmucs to the little Nogaians. The internal Americans, fuch as the Five Indian nations, who aie tall of body, robuft in make, and of oblong faces, are derived from 152 GENERAL DESCRIPtlON from a varicly among the Tartars thcmfelves. The fine race of TTchut- fei feem to be the ftock from which thofe Americans' are derived, Th6 Tfchutlki, again, from th§t fine race of Tartars the Kabardinlki, or in- habitants of Kaba^rdai ,. ■ /,,/.* " But about Prince William's Sound begins a race chiefly difttnguilhed by fheir drefs, their canoes, and their inftruments of the chace, from the tribes to the fouth of them. Here commences the Efquimaux people, or the race known by that name in the high latitudes of the eaftern fide of the continent. They may be divided into two varieties. At this place they are of the largeft fize. As they advance northward they de- creafe in height, till they dwindle into the dwarfifh tribes which occupy feme of the coafts of the Icy Sea, and the maritime parts of Hudfon's Bay, of Greenland, and Terra de Labrador. The famous Japanefe map places fome iflands feemingly within the Straits of Behring, on which is bellowed the title of Ta Zue, or the Kingdom of the Dwarfs. Does not this in fome manner authenticate the chart, and give us reafon to fup- pofe that America was not unknown to the Japanelb ; and that they had (as is mentioned by Kaempfer and Charlevoix) made voyages of dif- covery, and according to the laft, aftually wintered on the continent ? That they might have met with the Efquimaux is very probable ; whom, in comparifon of themfelves, they might juftly diftinguiih by the name of dtuarfs. The reafon of their low ftature is very obvious : Hthefe dwell in a moft fevere clitnate, amidft penury of food; the former ^n one much more favourable, abundant in provifions ; circumflances that tend to"pre\xnt the degeneracy of the human frame. At the ifland Tof Oonalafcha, a dialeft of the Efquimaux is in ufe, which was continued ^along the whole coaft from thence northward.** ♦ - The continent which flocked America with the human race poured •in the brute creation through the fame pafTage. Very few quadrtipeds ^continued in the peninfula of Kamtfchatka ; Mr. Pennant enumerates •^only 25 which are inhabitants of land : all the reft perfifted in their mi- "gration, and fixed their refidence in the New World. Seventeen of the *^Kamtfchatkan quadrupeds are found in America : others are common only to Siberia or Tartary, having, 'for unknown caufes, entirely evacu- 'ittd Kamtfchatka, and divided themfelves between America and the parts of Afia above cited.' Multitudes again have deferted the did World even to an individual, and fixed their feats at diflances mpft re- mote from the fpot 'from which they took their departure ; from mount Ararat, the reflihg place of the ark, m a central part of the Old World, and excellently adapted for the difperfion of the animal creation to all its parts. We need not be ftartled (fays Mr.' Pennant) at the vaft joBrneya OF AMERICA. I53 journeys many of the quadrupeds took to arrive at their prcfent feats. Might i^ot numbers of fpecies have found a convenient abode in the vaft Alps of Afia, inftead of wandering to the Cordilleras of Chili ? or might not others have been contented with the boundlefs plains of Tartary, in-* Head of travelling thoufands of miles to the extenfive flats of Pampas ?— r To endeavour to elucidate common difficulties is certainly a trouble worthy of the philofopber and of the divine ; not to attempt it would be a criminal indolence, a negled to •< Vindicate the ways of God to man." But there are multitudes of points beyond the human ability to explain, and yet are truths undeniable ; the fads are indifputable, notwithftand- ing the caufes are concealed. In fuch cafes, faith muft be called in to our relief. It would certainly be the height of folly to deny to that Being who broke open the great fountains of the deep to efFeft the de- luge — and afterwards, to compel the difperfion of mankind to people the globe, direded the confufion of languages— powers inferior in their nature to thefe. After thefe wondrous proofs of Omnipotency, it will be abfurd to deny the poflibility of infufing inftinft into the brute cre- tion. Deus eji anima brutorum ; ** God himfelf is the foul of brutes :" His pleafure muft have determined their will, and direded feveral fpe- cies, and even the whole genera, by impulfe irreliftiblc, to move by flow progreiTion to their deftined regions. But for that, the Lama and the Pacos might ftill have inhabited the heights of Armenia and fome more neighbouring Alps, inftead of labouring to gain the diftant Peruvian Andes ; the whole genus of armadillos, flow of foot, would never have quitted the torrid zone of the Old World for that of the New ; and the whole tribe of monkeys would have gamboled together in the forefts o^ India, inftead of dividing their refidgnce between the fhades of Indoftad and the deep forefts of the Braflls, Lions and tigers might have infefted the hot parts of the New World, as the firft do the defarts of Africa, and the laft the provinces of Afia; or the pantherine animals of South America might have remained additional fcourgcs with the favage beaftg of thofe ancient continents. The Old World would have been over* flocked with animals ; the New remained an unanimated wafte I or both have contained an equal portion of every beaft of the earth. Let it not be objeded, that animals bred in a fouthern climate, after the defcent of their parents from the ark, would be unable to bear the froft and fnovr of the rigorous north, before they reached South America, the place of their final deftination. It muft ba confidered, that the migration muft have been the work of ages ; that in the courfc of theit progrefs each No. Ill, X generatioa 154 GENERAL DESCRIPTION generation grew hardened to the climate it had reached ; and that afttff ' their arrival in America they would again be gradually accuftomed to warmer and warmer climates, in their removal from north to fouth, as they had in the reverfe, or from fouth to north. Part of the tigers ftill inhabit the eternal fnows of Ararat, and multitudes of the very fame fpecies live, but with exalted rage, beneath the line, in the burning foil of Borneo or Sumatra; but neither lions or tigers ever migrated into the New World. A few of the firft are found in India and Perfia, but they are found in numbers only in Africa. The tiger extends as far north as weftern Tartary, in lat 40. 50. but never has reached Africa." In fine, the conjectures of the learned refpefting the vicinity of the Old and New, are now, by the difcoveries of our great navigators, loft in con- viftion ; and, in the place of imaginary hypothefes, the real place of migration is uncontrovertibly pointed out. Some (from a paffage in Plato) have extended over the Atlantic, from the ftraits of Gibraltar to the coaft of North and South America, an illand equal in fize to the continents of Afia and Africa ; over which had paffed, as over a bridge, from the latter, men and animals ; wool-headed negroes, and lions and tigers, none of which ever exifted in the New World. A mighty fea afofe, and in one day and night engulphed this ftup^ndous traift, and with it every being which had not completed its migration into Ame- rica. The whole negro race, and almoft every quadruped, now inha- bitants of Africa, perilhed in this critical day. Five only are to be found at prefent in America ; and of thefe* only one, the bear, in South America: Not a fingle cuftom, common to the natives of Africa and America, to evince a common origin. Of the quadrupeds, the bear, ftag, wolf, fox, and weefel, are the only animals which we can pro- nounce with certainty to be found on each continent. The ftag, fox, and weefel, have made alfo no farther progrefs in Africa than the north ; but on the fame continent the wolf is fpread over every part, yet is un- known in South America, as are the fox and weefel. In Africa and South America the bear is very local, being met with only in the north of the firf^, and on the Andes in the laft. Some caufe unknown arrefted its progrefs in Africa, and impelled the migration of a few into the Chi- Ifan Alps, and induced them to leave unoccupied the vaft tra'■>-' •• - ' isSy.—The yea'f following, Sir Walter fent another company to Viri ginia, under Governor White, with a charter and twelve atEftaijits, In, July he arrived at Roanoke. Not one of the fecond com|)any remained. He determined, however, to rifque a third colony. Accordingly Ke left 1 1 5 people at the old fettlement, and returned to England. , This year (Aug. 13) Manteo was baptized in Virginia. He was the firft native Indian who received that ordinance In that part of An^erica. On the 18th of Auguft, Mrs* Dare wjis delivered of a daughter, whom fhc called Virgi nia. She was the firft Engliih child that was. born ia North America. 1590,— In the year 1590, Governor White came over to Virginia with fupplies and recruits for his colony; but, to his great grief* not a man was to be found. They had all miferably famiflied with hunger^ or were maflacred by the Indians. • 1602. — In the fpring of this year, Bartholomew Gofnold> with 32 perfons, made a voyage to North Virginia, and difcovered and gave names to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Elizabeth Illands, and to Dover Cliff. Elifabeth Illand was the place which they fixed for their firft fettle;nent. But the courage of thof^ who were to have tarried> 'failing, they all went on board and returned to England. All the at- tempts to fettle this continent which were made by the t)utch, French, and Engliih, from its difcovery to the prefent tiaiCi a period pf 1 10 years, proved ineffedlual. The Spaniards only, of all the European nations, had been fuccefsful. There is no account of there having been one European family, at this time, "in all the vaft extent of 'coaft from Florida to Greenland* No. IH, y Martin l62 DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS 1 603. — Martin Pring and William Brown were this year fent by Sir Walter Raleigh, with two fmali vcflels, to make difcoveries In North Virginia. They came upon the coaft, which was broken with a multi- tude of iflands, in latitude 43^ 30' north. They coaftcd fouthward to Cape Cod Bay ; thence round the Cape into a commodious harbour in latitude 41* 25', where they went alhore and tarried feven weeks, dur- ing which time they loaded one of their veflels with falTafras, and re- turned to England. Bartholomew Gilbert, in a Voyage to South Virgina, In fcarch of the third colony which had been left there by Governor White in 1587, hav- ing touched at feveral of the Weft-India Iflands, landed near Chefapeek Bay, where, in a ikirmifli with the Indians, he and four of his men were unfortunately flain. The reft, without any further fearch for the colony, returned to England. France, being at this time in a ftate of tranquility in confequence of the edid of Nantzin favour of the Proteftants, paffed by Henry IV. (April 1598) and of the peace with Philip king of Spain and Portugal, was induced to purfue her difcoveries in America. Accordingly the king figned a patent in favour of De Mons, (1603) of all the country from the 40th to the 46th degrees of north latitude under the name 1604 of Acadia. The next year De Mons ranged the coaft from St. Lawrence to Cape Sable, and {o round to Cape Cod. 1605^. — In May 1605, George's Ifland and Pentecoft Harbour were difcovered by Capt. George Weymouth. In May he entered a large river In latitude 43** 20', (variation 11^ 15' weft) which Mr. Prince, in his Chronology, fuppofes muft have been Sagadahok ; but from the latitude, it was more probably the Pifcataqua. Capt. Weymouth carried with him to England five of the natives. 1606. — In the Spring of this year, James I. by patent, divided Virgi- nia into two colonies. Thzfouthern included all lands between the 34th and 41ft degrees of north latitude. This was ftyled iht frji colonj , under the name of South Virginia, and was granted to the London Company. The northern, called the fecond colony, and known by the general name of North Virginia, included all lands between the 38th and 45th degrees north latitude, and was granted to the Plymouth Company. Each of thefe colonies had a council of thirteen men to govern them. To pre- vent difputes about territory, the colonies were prohibited to plant within an hundred miles of each other. There appears to be an incon^ fiftcncy in thefe grants, as the lands lying betweea the 38th atid 41ft cJegrees, ar« covered by both patents. OF NORTH AMERICA, 163 Both the London and Plymouth companies enterprized fettlcments u'lthin the limits of their refpeftive grants. With what fuccefs will no'.v he mentioned. Mr. Piercy, brother of the Earl of Northumberland, in the fervice of the London Company, went over with a colony to Virginia, and difco- vered Powhatan, now James River. In the mean time the Plymouth Company fent Capt. Henry Challons in a veffel of fifty-five tons to plant a colony in North Virginia ; but in his voyage he was taken by a Spanifn fleet and carried to Spain. 1607. — The London Company this fpring, fent Capt. Chriflopher April 26. Newport with three veffels to South Virginia. On the 26th of April he entered Chefapeek Bay, and landed, and foon after gave to the moft fouthern point, the name of Cape Herny, which it ftill May 13. retains. Having elefted Mr. Edward Wingiield prefident for the year, they next day landed all their men, and began a fet- tlement on James river, at a place which they called James- June 22. Town. This is the firll town that was fettled by the Englifh in North America. The June following Capt^ Newport failed for England, leaving with the prefident one hundred and fourperfons. Angufl 11, — In Augufl died Capt. Bartholomew Gofifiold,: the firll projedlor of this fettlement, and one of the council. "*'Thle fcllowing winter James-Town was burnt, •^^ . -^ t-.- During this time the Plymouth company fitted Out two (hips under the command of Admiral Rawlcy Gilbert. They failed for North Virginia on the 31(1 of May, with one hundred planters, and Capt. ' George Popham for their prefident. They arrived in Auguil, and fet- tled -about nine or ten leagues to the fouthward of the mdiith of Sagada- hok river. A great part of the colony, however,' difheartcned by the feverity of the winter, returned to England in December, leaving their prefident, Capt. Popham, with only forty-five men. It was in the fall of thij? y^e.ar,that the famous Mr. Robinfon, with part of his congregation, who afterwards fettled at Plymouth in New- England, removed from the North of England to Holland, to avoid the cruelties of perfecutioiv^ and far the fake of 'enjoying ** purity of worlhip and liberty of confcience." 1 his year a fmall company of merchants at Dieppe and St. Malo's, founded Quebeck, or rather the colony which they fent, buift a few huts there, which did not take the form of a town until the reign of' Lewis XIV. , 1 608. — The Sagadah6k colony fnfFered incredible hardihips after the departure of their friends in December. In the depth of winter, which ^^ ya ' wa* 164 DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS was extremely cdd> , their ftorc-houfe caoght fire and was confumed^ with mod of their provifions and lodgings. Their misfortunes were in- creafed, foon after, by the death of their prclident. Rawley Gilbert was appointed to fuccecd him. .;.,. ^< . Lord Chief Jufticp Popham made every exertion to keep this colony ^ive by repeatedly fending them fupplies. But tlie circumllance of his death, which happened this year, together with that of prefidcnt Gilbert's being called to England to fettle his affairs, broke up the colony, and they all returned with hira to England. fjjj.Thc unfavourable reports which thefc £rft unfortunate adventurers propagated refpeding the country, prevented any further attempts to fct- jEk North Virginia for feveral years after. J M 1609. — The London company, laft year, fent Capt. Nelfon, with two (kips and one hundred and twenty perfons, to James-Town ; and this year Capt. John Smith, afterwards prefident, arrived on the coaft of South Virginia, and by failing up a number of the rivers, difcovered the interior country. In September, Capt. Newport arrived with feventy perfons, which increafed the colony to two hundred fouls. Mr. Robinfon and his congregation, who had fettled at Amftcrdam, removed thjs year to Leyden, where they remained more than eleven years, till apart of them came over to New England. The council for South Virginia having refigned their old commiffion, requefted and obtained a new one; in confequence of which they ap- pointed Sir Thomas Weft, Lord De la War, general of the colony; Sir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant ; Sir George Somers, admiral ; Sir Thomas Dale, high niar(hal ; Sir Ferdinand Wainman, general of the. horfa, and Capt. Newport, vice admiral. yune 8. — In June, Sir T. Gates, admiral Newport, and Sir George Somers, with feven (hips and a ketch and pinnace, having five h"undred fouls on board, men, women, and children, failed from Fal- yulj 24. mouth for South Virginia. In eroding the Bahama Gulf, on the 24th of July, the fl:et was overtaken by a violent ftorm, and feparated. Four days after, Sir George Somers ran his veflel afhofb on one of the Bermudas Iflands, which, from this circumftance, have been called the Somer Iflands. The people on board, one hundred and fifty in number, all got fafe on fliore, and there remained until the fol- lowing May. The. remainder of the fleet arrived at Virginia in Auguft, The colony was now increafed to five hundred men. C§pt. Smith, then prefident, a little before the arrival of the fleet, had been very badly burnt by means of fome powder which had accidentally caught fire. Tliis unfortunate circumllance, together with the oppofition he 3 mcj OF NORTH AMERICA. 165 met with from thofe who had lately arrived, induced him to leave the colony and i^turn to England, which he accordingly did the laft of September. Francis Weft, his fucceflbr in office, foon followed him, and George Piercy wa$ eleiled prefident. 1610.— The year following, the South Virginia or London company, fealed a patent to Lord De la War, conftituting him Governor and Cap- lain General of South Virginia, He foon after embarked for Amerioa with Capt. Argal and one hundred an4 fifty men, in three Ihips. The unfortunate people, who, the year before, had been fhipwrccked on the Bermudas Iflands, had employed themfelves during the winter and fpring, under the direftion of Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and admiral Newport, in building a (loop to tranfport themfelves to the continent. They embarked for Virginia on the 10th of May, with about one hundred and fifty perfons on board, leaving two of their men behind, who chofe to ftay, and landed at James-Town on the 23d of the fame month. Finding the colony, which at the time of Capt. Smith's departure, confifted of five hundred fouls, now reduced to fixty, and thofe few in a diftrelTed and wretched fituation, they with one voice re- folved to return to England ; and for this purpofe, on the 7th of June, the whole colony repaired on board their veffels, broke up their fettle- ment, and failed down the river on their way to their native country. Fortunately, Lord De la War, who had embarked for James-Town the March before, met them the day after they failed, and perfuaded them to return with him to James- Town, where they arrived and landed the 10th of June. The government of the colony cf right devolved upon Lord De la War. From this time we may date the effcdual fet- tlement of Virginia. Its hiftory, from this period, will be given in its proper place. As early as the year 1608, or 1609, Henry Hudfon, an Englifliman under a commiflion from the king his mailer, difcovered Long Ifland, New York, and the river which ftill bears his name, and afterwards fold the country, or rather his right, to the Dutch. Their writers, however, contend that Hudfon was fent out by the Eaft-India company in 1609, to difcover a north-weft paffage to China ; and that having firft difcovere4 Delaware Bay, he came and penetrated Hudfon's river as far as latitude 43^. It is faid hov/ever that there was a fale, and that the Englifh ob- jeded to it, though for fome time they neglefted to oppofe the Dutch Settlement of the country. 1610. — In 1610, Hudfon failed again to this country, then called by jihe Dutch iWxu Netherlands, and four years after, the States-General granted l66 DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMI^NTS granted a patent to fundry merchants for an exclufivc trade on the 161 ^ North river, who the fame year, (1614) built a fort on the weft fide near Albany. From this time we may date the fettlement of New York, the hiftory of which will be ahnexed to a dffcription of the State. Conception Bay, on the Ifiand of Newfoundland, was fettled in the year 1610, by about forty planters under governor John Guy, to whom king James had given a patent of incorporation. Champlain, a Frenchman, had begun a fettlement nt Qtiebec, 160B, St, Croix, Mount Manfel, and Port Royal were fettled ab(;ut the fame time. Thcfc fettlements remained undifturbcd till 1613, when the Vir- ginians, hearing that the French had fettled within their limits, fent Captain Argal to diflodge them. For tliis purpofe he failed to Saga- dahoc, took their forts at Mount Manfel, St. Croix, and Port Royal, with their reflels, ordnance, cattle, and provifions, and carried them to James-Tovm in Virginia. Quebec was left in polTcflion of the French,^ 1614, — This year Capt. John Smith, with two fhips and forty-five men and boys, made a voyage to North Virginia, to make experiments upon a gold and copper mine, Kis orders were, to fifli and trade with the natives, if he fliould fail in his expectations with regard to the mine. To facilitate this bufmefs, he took with him TaNtnm^ an Indian, per- haps one that Capt. Weymouth carried to England in 1605. In April he reached the Ifland Monahigan in latitude 43'^ 30'. Here Capt. Smith was direded to (lay and keep pofleiriou, with ten men, for the purpofe of making a trial of the whaling bufmefs, but being difappoint«^d 3n thi?, he built fevcn boats, in which thirty-feven men made a very fiKCcfsful fifhing voyage. In the mean time the captain himfclf, with eight men only, in a fniall boat, coafted from Penobfcot to Sagadahok, Acocifco, Pafiataquack, Tragabizanda, no\r called Cape Ann, thence to Acoraak, where he fkirmiihed with fomc Indians ; thence to Cape Cod vviiere he fet his Indian, Tantum, alhore and left him, and returned to Monahignn. In this voyage he found two French lliips in the Bay of Mafiachufats, who had come there fix weeks before, and during that time, had been trading very advantageoufiy with thle Indians. It was ccnjc(f^urcd that ther^ was, at this time, three thcufand IndiaYis upoa the Mafliichufetts Iflands. In July, Capt. Smith embarked fpr England in one of the veflels, leaving tlic other under the command of Capt. Thomas Hunt, to equip for a voyage to Spain. Afrcr Capr. Smith's departure. Hunt perfidi- oufly allurt-d twenty Indians (one of whcm was ^nunnto^ afterwards fo fcrviccablc to the Fnglifli) to come on board hii Ihip at Patuxit, and f^ven OF NORTH AMERICA. l6j fevjsn more at Naufit, and carried them tp the Illand of Malaga, where he fold them for twenty pounds ..each, to be flaves for life. This^conj- dua, which fixes an indelible fligma upo.i the char?i(5ler of Hunt, ex- cited in the breafts of the Indians fuch an inveterate hatred of the Englifli, as that, for many years after, all commercial intercourse with them was rendered exceedingly dangerous. ,> per- '■>■ Capt. Smith arrived at London the laft of Auguft, wh^re hp 4r3vv,a map of the country, and called it New-England. From this time North- Virginia affumed the name of Ne-zv-Eng/a^d,^d tj\-^^.s\^^^ Fir^ glnia was confined to the fouthern colony, .:.f , . ,i,/ ^ .,.,^ -, Between the years 1614 and 1620, feveral attempts were made by the Plymouth Company to fettle New-England, but by various means t|i^y were all rendered ineffeftual. During this time, however, an advantage* ©us trade was carried on with the natives. 1617. — -^^ ^^^ year 1617, Mr. Robinfon and his congregation, influ- enced by feveral weighty reafons, meditated a removal to America. Various difficulties intervened to prevent the fucce/s of their dc- 162Q figns, until the year 1620, when apart of Mr. Robinfon's congre- gation came over and fettled at Plymouth. At this time com- menced the fettlement of New-England. ^ , ,^^ ^' The particulars relating to the lirft emigration's to this northern part of America; the progrefs of its fettlement, Stc. will be given in the hi f- tory of New-England, to which the reader is referred. In order to preferve the chronological order in which the feveral colo- nies, not grown into independent Hates, were firfc fettled, it will be 1621 neceffary that I fhould juft mention, that the next year after the fettlement of Plymouth, Captain John Mafon obtained of the Plymouth council a grant of a part of the prefent Hate of New- 1623 Hampfhire. Two years after, under the authority of this grant, a fmall colony fixed down near the mouth of Pifcataqua river. From this period wcmay date the fettlement of jISIew-Hampfhire. 1627.— In 1627, a colony of Swedes and. Fins came over and landed at Cape Henlopen ; and afterwards purchafed of the Indians the land from Cape Henlopen to the Falls of Delaware on both fides the river, which they called Ne^io Sivedtland Streatn, On this river they built feveral forts, and made fcttlements, 1628. On the 19th of March, 1628, the council for New-England fold to Sir Henry Rofwell, and five others, a large trad of land, lying round MalTachufetts Bay. The June following, Capt. John Endicot, with his wife and company, came over and fettled at Naumkeag, now called Salem. This was the firfl fettlement which was made in MaHa- chufetts, l68 DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS ehufetts Bay. Plymouth, indeed, which is now included in the Com- monwealth of Maflachufetts, was fettled eight years before, but at this time it was a feparate colony, under a diftinft government, and con- tinued fo until the fecond charter of Maflachufetts was granted by William and Mary in 1691 ; by which Plymouth, the Province of Main and Sagadahok were annexed to Maflachufetts. June 13, 1633. — In the reign of Charles the Firft, Lord Baltimore, a Rom^n Catholic, apptied for and obtained a grant of a trafl of land upon Chefapeck Bay, about one hundred and forty miles long and one htjndred and thirty broad. Soon after this, in confequence of the rigor of the laws of England againfl: the Roman Catholics, Lord Baltimore, with a number of his perfecuted brethren, came over and fettled it, and in honour of queen Henrietta Maria, they called it Maryland. The firft grant of Conneftj^cut was made by Robert, Earl of Warwick, prefident of the council of Plymouth, to Lord Say and Seal, ta 1631 Lord Brook and others, in the year 1631. In confequence of feveral fmaller grants made afterwards by the patentees to particu- lar perfons, Mr. Fcnwick made a fcttlement at the Mouth of Con- 1635 nefticut river, and called it Saybrook. Four years after a number of people from Maflachufetts Bay came and began fettlements at Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windforon Connefticut river. Thus com- menced the Engllfh fettleraent of Connedicut, Rhode Ifland was firfl: fetdcd in confequence of religious perfecution. Mr. Roger Williams, who was among thofe who early came over to Maflachufetts, not agreeing with fome of his brethren in fentim^nt, was very urjuftifiably baniflied the colony, and went with twelve 1635 others, his adherents, and fettled at Providence in 1635. From this beginning arofe the colony, now flate of Rhode-Iiland. 1664. — On the 20th of March, 1664, Charles the Second granted to the Duke of York, what is now called New-Jerfey, then a part of a large traft of country by the name of New Netherland. Some parts of New-Jerfey were fettled by the Dutch as early as about 1615. 1662. — In the year 1662, Charles the Second granted to Edward, Earl of Clarendon, and (tvtw others, almoft the whole territory of the three Southern flares. North and South Carolinas and Georgia. 1664 Two years after he granted a fecond charter, enlarging their boundaries. The proprietors, by virtue of authority vefted in them by their charter, engaged Mr. Locke to frame a fyftem of laws for the government of their intended colony. Notwithftanding thefc 1669 preparations, no efFedual fettlement was made until the year 1669, (though one was attempted in 1 667J whea Governor Sayle came over OF NORTH AMERICA. l6g over with a colony, and fixed on a neck of land bctw'cen Afhley and Cooper Rivers. Thus commenced the fetflement of Carolina, which then included the whole territory between the 29th and 36th 30' de- grees, north latitude, together with the Bahama Hands, lying betweep latitude 22^ and 27'^ north. 1681.— The Royal charter for Pennfylvania was granted to William Penn on the 4th of March, 1681. Thefirft colony came over the 1682 next year, and fettled under the proprietor, William Penn, who afted as Governor from Odlobcr 168^ to Auguft 1684. The firft aflembly in the province of Pennfylvania^ vv^as held at Chqiler, on .the 4th of December, 1682. Thus William Penn, a Quaker, juftly celebjated as a great and good man, had the honour of laying the foundation of the prefent populous and very flouriftiing State of Penn- fylvania- . The proprietory government in* Carolina, was attended with fo many inconveniences, and occafioned fuch violent difTentions among the {^t- tiers, that the Parliament of Great- Britain was induced to take the pro- vince qnder their immediate care. The proprietors (except Lord ' Granville) accepted of j^. 22,500 fterling, from the crown for the pro- perty and jurifdidion. This agreement was ratified by a^ of 1729 Parliament in 1729. A claufe in this aft referved to Lord Granville his eighth ihare of the property and arrears of quit- lents, which continued legally veiled in his family till the revolution in 1776. Lord Granville's Ihare made a part of the prefent ftate of North-Carolina. About the year 1729, the extenfive territory belong- ing to the proprietors, was divided into North and South Carolina. They remained feparate royal governmeints until they became indepen- dent States. For the relief of poor indigent people of Great Britain and Ireland, and for the fecurity of Carolina, a projeft was formed for planting a co- lony between the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha. Accordingly appli- cation being made to king George the Second, he ilTued letters 1732 patent, bearing date June 9th, 1732, for legally carrying into ex- tion the benevolent plan. In honour of the king, who greatly en- couraged the plan, they called the new province Georgia. Twenty-one truftees were appointed to conduft the afFairs relating to the fettlement of the province. Th^ November following, one hundred and fifteen per- fons, one of whom was General Oglethorpe, embarked for Georgia, where they arrived, and landed at Yamacraw. In exploring the coun- try, they found an elevated pleafant fpot of ground on the bank of a . navigable river, upon which they marked out a town, and from the Vol. L . Z Indian 170 DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS Indian name of the river which paiTed by it^ called it Savannah. From this period wc may date the fettlement of Georgia. The country now called Kentucky, was well Icnown to the Indiaji traders many years before its fettlement. They gave a defcription of it to Lewis Evans, who publilhed his fi/ft map of it as early as the 1752 year 1752. James Macbride, with fomc others, explored this 1754 country in 1754. Col. Daniel Boon vifited it in 1769. 1773. — Four years after Col. Boon and his family, with five other fa- milies, who were joined by forty men from Powle's valley, began the fettlement of Kentucky *, which is now one of the moft growing colo- nies, perhaps, in the world, and was erefted into an independent ftate, by aft of Congrefs, December 6th, 1790, and received into the Union, June ift, 1792. The tradl of country called Vermont, before the late war, was claim- ed both by New- York and New-Hamplhire. When hoftilities com- menced between Great-Britain arid her Colonies, the inhabitants con- fidering themfelves as in a ftate of nature, as to civil government, and xiot within any legal jurifdiftion, affociated and formed for themfelves a conftitution of government. Under this conftitution, they have ever lince continued to exercife all the -powers of an independent State. Vermont was not admitted into union with the other ftates till March 4, 1791, yet we may venture to date her political exiftence as a 1777 feparate government, from the year 1777, becaufe, fince that time, Vermont has, to all intents and purpofes, been a fovereign and independent ^tate. The firft fettlement in this ftate was made a; Bennington as early as about 1764. The extenfive traft of country lying north-weft of the Ohio River, within the limits of the United States, was erefted into a feparate te7npo~ rary government by an Ordinance of Congrefs paffed the 13 th of 1787 July, 1787. Thus we have given a fummary view of the firft difcoveries and pro- greflive fettlement of North America in their chronological order. The following recapitulation will coniprehend the whole in one view, * This fettlement was made in violation of the Treaty, in 1768, at Fort Stanw^x, which exprefsly ftipulates, that this traft of country fhould be referved for the weftern nations to hunt upon, until they and the crown of England ftiould otherwife agree. This has been one great caufc of the enmity of thofe Indian nations to the Virginians, l(qfnts OF AMERICA, 171 { By ivhom* By the French. By Lord De la War. By Governor John Guy, By the Dutch. By part of Mr. Robinfon's congre-* gation. By a fmall Englifh colony near the rtiouth of Pifcataqua river. By the Swedes and Fins. ByCapt. JohnEndicotand company, r ByLordBaltinKKc, with a colony of \ Roman Catholics. f By Mr.Fenwick, at Saybrook, near \ the mouth of Connefticut river. {By Mr. Roger Williams and his per- fecuted brethren. {Granted to the Duke of York by Charles II. and made a diftind: goverament, and fettled fome time before this by the Englilh, By Governor Sayle. r By William Penn, with a colony of I Quakers, J Erefted into a feparate government, \ fettled before by the Englilh. By General Oglethorpe, By Col. Daniel Boon. J By emigrants from Conne6Ucut and \ other parts of New England, By the Ohio and other eompanies« The above dates arc from the pcriodfi, when the firft permanent fcttlc- jRieats were made. h^ames of placet, <^ebec, Virginia, J Newfoundland, New- York 1 New-Jerfey, J Plymouth, New-Hampftiire, Delaware, 1 Pennfylvanla, J Maffachufett's Bay, Maryland, Connedicut, Rhode-lfland, New-Jerfey, Whenfettled. 1608 une 10, i6io June, 1610 about 1614 1620 1623 1627^ 1628 1G33 1635 1664 South Carolina, 1669 Pcnnfylvania, 1682 North-Carolina* about 1728 Georgia, Kentucky, 1732 1773 Vermont, about 1764 Territory N, W. of Ohio river. } 1787 %% NORTH NORTH AMERICA. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. North America compreliends all that part of the weflern coh- tinent which lies north of the Ifthmus of Darien, extending north, and fouth from about the loth degree north latitude to the north pole ; and eaft and weft from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, between the 45th and 165th degrees weft longitude from London. Beyond the 70th degree N. Lat. few difcoveries have been made. In July 1779, Cdpt. Cook proceeded as far is liit. 71**, when he came to a folid body of ice extending from continent to continent. Bays, Sounds, Straits and Islands. — Of thefe (except thofe in the United States, which wc Ihall defcribe under that head) we know littie more than their names. Baffin's Bay, lying between the 7olh and 80th degrees N* Lat. is the larg^ft and moft northern, that has yet been difco\ ered in North America. It opens into the Atlantic ocean through Baffin's and l!)avis's Straits, between Cape Chidley, on the Labrador coaft, and Cape Farewell. It communicates with Hudfon's Bay to the fouth, through a clufter of illands. In this capacious bay or gulph is James Ifland, the fouth point of which is called Cape Bedford ; and the fmaller iflands of Waygate and Difko. Davis's Straits feparate Green- land from the American continent, and are between Cape Walfingham, on James Ifland, and South Bay in Greenland, where they are about 66 leagues broad, and extend from the 67th to the 71ft degrees of latitude above Dilko ifland. The moft fouthern point of Greenland is called Cape Farewell. Hudfon's Bay took its name from Henry fJudfon, who difcovered it in 1610. It lies between 51 and 69 degrees of north latitude. The eaftern, boundary of the Bay is Terra de Labrador ; the northern part has a ftraight coaft, facing the bay, guarded with a line of ifles innumerable. A vaft bay, called the Archiwinnipy Sea, lies within it, and opens into Hudfon's Bay, by means of gulph Hazard, through which the Beluga whales pafs in great numbers. The entrance of the bay, from the At- lantic ocean, after leaving, to the north, Cape Farewell and Davis's Straits, i hetwecn Refolution ifles on the north, and Button's ifles, oa the Labrador coall, to the fouth, forming the caftg:n extremity of Hud- fon's btraiiSi The NORTH AMERICA. I73 The coafts are very high, rocky and rugged at top ; in Tome places precipitous, but foinetimes exhibit extenfive beaches. The illands of Saliibury, Nottingham, and Digges are very lofty and naked. The depth of water in the middle of the bay is 140 fathoms. From Cape Churchill to the fouth end of the bay are regular foundings ; near the fhore, Ihallow, with muddy or fandy bottom. To the northward of Churchill-, the foundings are irregular, the bottom rocky, and in forac parts the rocks appear above the furface at low water. James's Bay lies at the bottom, or mofl fouthern part of Hudfon*s Bay, with which it communicates, and divides New Britain from South Wales. To the northweilward of Hudibn's Bay is an extenfive chain of lakes, among which is Lake Menichlicfe, lat. 61*', long, 105® W. North of this is Lake Dobount, to the northward of which lies the extenfive country of the northern Indians. Weft of thefe lakes, between the latitudes of 60 and 66 degrees, after paffing a large clufter of unnamed lakes, liea the hke or ifea Arathapefcow, whofe fouthern fhores are in- habited by the Arathapefcow Indians. North of this, and near the Ardic circle, is Lake Ediande, around which live the Dog ribbed In- dians. Further •oorth is BufFaloe lake, near which, is Copper Mine river, in lat. 72** N. and long. 119® W. of Greenwich. The Copper Mine Indians inhabit thh countty. Between Copper ^^ine river, which, accerditig to Mr. flerhe, empties into the Ndrthem fca, whete thfe tide rifes 1 2 or 14 feet, and which in its whole courfe is encumbered with Ihoals and falls, and the North-weft coaft of America, is an extenfive tra6l of unexplored country. As yo]i defcend from north to fouth on the wcftern coaft of America, juft fouth of the Arftic circle, you come to Cape Prince of Wales, oppofitc E^H Cape on the ©aftern continent ; and here the two continents approach neareft to each other. Proceeding fouth ivard you pafs Norton Sound, Cape Stepl^n's, Shoalnefs, Biiftol Bay, Prince William's Sound, Cook's River, Admiralty Bay, and Port Mulgrave, Nootka Sound, &e. From Nootka Sound proceeding fouth, you pafs the unexplored country of New Albion, tllehce to California, and New Mexico, mvL DIVISIONS OF NORTH AMERICA. X HE vaft tra094 Dover, Wilmington, Newcaftle Maryland 319,728 Annapolis, Baltimore •T3 Virginia 747,610 Richmond, Peterlburgh, Norfo'Jc «* Kentucky 73,677 Lexington '1 North Carolina 393»75i Newbern, Edenton, Halifax South Ciirolina 249,073 Charlefton, Columbia Georgia 82,548 Savannah, Augufta Territory S. of Ohio 35,691 Abingdon ^ Territory N. W. of Oh" Marietta ^ ( New Biitiin unknown ■ I ' Upper Canada 20,000 Kingfton, Detroit, Niagara .s Lower Canada 7 Cape Breton 1. J 130,000 Quebec, Montreal s 1,000 Sidney, Louifburgh cu New Bruufwick. 7 Nova Scotia 7 3 f S. John's m. J in 1783 Fredericktown *s 35,000 Halifax •3 5,000 Charlottetown « 1 ' Newfoundland Ifland 7,000 Placentia, St. John's •i \ Greenland 10,000 New Hcrmhut '»4 " Eaft Florida Auguftine i Weft Florida Penfacola CO Louifiana New Orleana New Mexico St. Fee California St. Juaa ^ , Mexico, or New Spain Meicie. TH] THE UNITED STATES. SITUATION AND EXTENT. Miles. Degrees. r 31^ and 46" North Latitude. Length 1250 1 between \ 8<> E. and 24^ W. Long, from Philadelphia, Breadth 1040 j J^g^o ^nd 96^ W. Longitude from London. Boundaries. Jdounded north and eaft by Britifli America, or the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and New Brunfwick ; foutheaft, by the Atlan- tic Ocean; fouth, by Eaft and Weft Forida; weft, by the river Mi ffiffippi. In the treaty of peace, concluded in 1783, the limits of the American United States are more particularly defined in the words following : <* And that all difputes which might arife in fature on the fubjedl of the boun- daries of the faid United States may be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following are and fhall be their boundaries, viz. From the north-weft angle of Nova-Scotia, viz. That angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the fource of St. Croix River to the High- lands, along the faid Highlands, which divide thofe rivers that empty thera- felves into the river St. Lawrence, from thofe which fall into the At- lantic Ocean, to the north- wefternmoft head of Connefticut river; thence down along the middle of that river to the forty-fifth degree of nortli latitude ; from thence by a line due weft on the faid latitude, until it flrikes the river Iroquois or Cataraquy; thence along the middle of the faid river into Lake Ontario, through the middle of the faid Lake, until it ftrikes the communication by water between that lake and Lake Erie ; thence along the middle of the faid communication into Lake Erie, through the middle of the faid lake, until it arrives at the wat^r communication between that lake and Lake Huron ; thence through the middle of the faid lake to the water communication be- tween that lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior northward of the Ifles Royal and Philipeaux to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of the faid Long Lake, and the water com- munication between it and the Lake of the Woods to the faid Lake of the Woods; thence through the faid lake to the moft northweftern point thereof, and from thence, on a due weft courfe, to the River Mifliffippi ; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of the faid River Mifliffippi, until it Ihall interfeft the northernmoft part of the thirty.firft degree of north latitude. South, by a line to be drawn due eaft from the determination of the line laft mentioned, in the latitude of 2 thirty- lyS GENERAL DESCRIPTION thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the River j\palachicoIa, or Catahouche ; thence along the middle thereof to its junftion with the Flint River; thence ftrait to the head of St. Mary's River; and thence down along the middle of St. Mary's River to the Atlantic Ocean ; eaft, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the River St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy, to its fource* and from its fource diredly north, to the aforefaid Highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the AtlaBtic Ocean, ftom thofe which fall into the River St. Lawrence, comprehending all iflands within twenty leagues of any part cvf the fhores of the United States, and lyino- l)etween lines to be drawn due eaft from the points where the aforefaid boundaries between Nova-Scotia on the one part, and Eaft-Florida on the other, fhall refpeftively touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean, excepting fuch illands as now arc, or heretof6re have been;» within the limits of the faid province of Nova-Scotia.'* ^^ follonuhrg calculatiom ivere made from adnal meafurement of the bejf maps, by Thomas Hutchins, geographer to the United States, The territory of the United States contains ^y computation a million ©f fquare miles, in which are 640,000^000 of acres Dedudl for water 51,000,000 Acres of land in the United States, 589,000,000 That part of the United States comprehended between the weft boun- dairy line of Pennfylvania on the eaft, the boundary line between Great- Britain and the United States, extending from the river St. Croix to the north-weft extremity of the Lake of the woods on the north, the river Mifliffippi, to the mouth of the Ohio on the weft, and the river Ohio on the fouth to the aforementioned bounds of Pennfylvania, contains by computation about four hundred and eleven thoufand fquare miles, in which are 263,040,000 acre^ Dcdud for water 43>o4o,ooo To be difpofed of by order of Congrefs, \ r ^^,^^ u ^ u r / f*i taJ'-, o r 220,000,000 ot acres, when purchaled 01 the Indians. j ' ' Tl>e whole of this immcnic extent of unappropriated wellern territory, containing as above ftatcd, 220,000,000 of acres, and feveral large t^rads fouth of the Ohio *, have been, by the ceffion of {oifit of the * Ceded by North Carolina, South Carolina anJ Georgia, with certain rcfervation for the Indians and other purpofcs, as wiH be mentioned hereafter. original OF THE UNITED STATES. I77 original thirteen dates, and by the treaty of peace, transferred to the fe- deral government, and are pledged as a fund for finking the debt of the United States. Of this territory the Indians now pofiefs a very large proportion. Mr. Jefferfon, in his report to Congrefs, Nov. 8, 1791, defcribes the boundary line between us and the Indians, as follows: << Beginning at the mouth of the Cayahogana, which falls into th^ fouthernmoft part of Lake Erie, and running up the river to the portage, between that and the Tufcaroro or N. E. branch of Mufkingum; then down the faid branch to the forks, at the crofling place above Fort Lawrence ; then weftwardly, towards the portage of the Great Miami, to the main branch of that river, thea down the Miami, to the fork of that river, next below the old fort, which was taken by the French in 1752 ; thence due weft to the river De la Panfe, a branch of the Wabafh, and down that river to the Wabalh. So far the line is precifely deter- mined, and cleared of the claims of the Indians. The traft compre- hending the whole country within the above defcribed line, the Wabalh, the Ohio, and the weftern limits of Pennfylvania, contains about 55,000 fquare miles. How far on the weftern fide of the Wabafh, the fouthem boundary of the Indians has been defined, we know not. It is only un- derftood, in general, that th^r title to the lower country, between that river and the Illinois, was formerly extinguifhed by the French, while in their pofleffion. , ^Jlimate of the number of aires of *waterj north and ijoejl^ward of the r'l'ver Ohio, 'within the territory of the United States, Acres, In Lake Superior, . - - 21,952,780 Lake of the Woods, - - - i>i33j8oo Lake Rain, &c. - « - 165,200 Red Lake, . - > • -, - 551,000 Lake Michigan, - • . - • 10,368,000 Bay Puan, . • - • 1,216,000 Lake Huron, - - • 5,009,920 Lake St. Clair, • • - .' 89,500 Lake Erie, weftern part, • - 2,252,800 Sundry fmail lakes and rivers, • - 301,000 43*040,000 Vol.1* A a Eftimaa 178 GENERAL DESCRIPTION 2ji\mate of the number of acres of nuater 'w'tthin the Thirteen United States^ In the lakes as before mentioned - - • 43j04o,ooo In Lake Erie, weftward of the line extending from the north-weft corner of Pennfylvania, due north, to the boundary between the Britifti terri- tory and the United btates, 410,000 In Lake Ontario, 2,390>ooo Lake Champlain, 500,000 Chefapeek bay. 1,700,000 Albemarle bay, - - . 330,000 Delaware bay, - - - 630,000 All the rivers within the thirteen ftatcs. including the Ohio, 2,000,000 ' Total 7,9^0,000 • 51,000,000 LAKES AND RIVERS. It may in truth be faid, that no part of the world is fo well watered with fprings, rivulets, rivers, and lakes, as the territory of the United States. By means of thefc various ftreams and coIIeAions of water, the whole country is chequered into iflands and peninfulas. The United States, and indeed all parts of North America, feem to have been formed by nature for the moft intimate union. The facilities of na- vigation render the communication between the ports of Georgia and 2^ew-Hamp{hire, far more expeditious and prafticable, than between thofe of Provence and Picardy in France; Cornwall and Ciithnefs, in Great-Britain ; or Gallicia and Catalonia, in Spain. The canals propofed between Sufquehannah, and Delaware, between Pafquetank and Elizabeth rivers, in Virginia, and between the Schuylkill ?ind Suf- quehannah, will open a communication from the Carolinas to the weftern countries of Pennfylvania and New-York. The improvements of the Potomak, will give a pafTage from the fouthern States, to the weftera parts of Virginia, Maryland, Pennfylvania, and even to the lakes. From Detroit, to Alexandria, on the Patomak, fix hundred and feven miles, are but two carrying places, which together do not exceed the diftance of forty miles. The canals of Delaware and Chefapeek will open the communication from South-Carolina to New-Jerfey, Delaware, the moft populous parts of Pennfylvania, and the midland counties of New OF THE UNITED STATES. ly^ KeW-York. Were thefe and the propofcd canal between Afliley and trooper rivers in South Carolina, the canals in the northern parts of the jftate of New York, and thofe of Maffachufetts and New Hamplhirc all opened. North America would thereby be converted into a clufter of large and fertile illands, communicating with each other with eafe and little expence, and in many inftances without the uncertainty or danger of the feas. There is nothing in other parts of the globe which refembles the pro- digious chain of lakes in this part of tlie World. They may properly be termed inland feas of frelb water ; and even thofe of the fecond or third clafs in magnitude, are of larger circuit than the greateft lake in the caftern continent. Some of the moil northern lakes belonging to the United States, have never been furveyed, or even vifited by the white people ; of courfe we have no defcription of them which can be relied on as accurate. Others have been partially furveyed, and their relative iituation determined. — The bell account of them which we have been able to procure is as follows : Thr Lake of the Woods, the moft northern in the United States, is fo called from the large quantitias of wood growing on its banks ; inch as oaks, pines, firs, fpruce, &c. This lake lies nearly eaft of the ibuth end of Lake Winnepeck, and is fuppofed to be the fource or condudor of one branch of the river Bourbon, if there be fuch a river. Its length from eaft to weft is faid to be about feventy miles, and in fome places it is forty miles wide. The Killiftinoe Indians encamp on its borders to fi(h and hunt. This lake is the communication betweea the Lakes Winnepeck and Bourbon, and Lake Superior, Rainy or Long Lake lies eafir of the Lake of the Woods^ and is faid to be nearly an hundred miles IpHg, and in no part more than twenty miles wide, Eaftward of this lake, lie feveral fmall ones, which extend in a ftring to the great carrying place, and from thence into Lake Superior. Betweea tliefe little lakes are feveral carr}'ing places, which render the trade to the north-weft difficult, and exceedingly tedious, as it takes two years to make one voyage from Michillimakkinak to thefe parts. Lake Superior, formerly termed the Upper Lake, from its north- ern fituation, is fo called from its magnitude, it being the largeft on the continent. It may juftly be termed the Cafpian of America, and is fuppofed to be the largeft body of frefti water on the globe. According to the French charts it is fifteen hundred miles in circumference. -A great part of the coaft is bounded by rocks and lyieven ground. The water is pure and tranfparent, and appears, generally, throughout tki lake, to lie upon a bed of huge rocks. It has been remarked, in A a 2 regard l8o GENERAL DESCRlPTIO^J regard to the waters of this lake, with how much truth I pretend not to fay, that although their furface, during the heat of fummer, is impreg- nated with no finall degree of warmth, yet on letting down a cup to the depth of about a fathom, the water drawn from thence is cool and rcfrefhing. The fituation of this lake, from the moll accurate obfervations which have yet been made, lies between forty fix and fifty degrees of north lati* tude, and between nine and eighteen degrees of weft longitude^ from the meridian of Philadelphia. There are many iflands in this lake, two of them have each land enough if proper for cultivation, to form a confiderable province; efpe- cially Ifle Royal, which is not lefs than an hundred miles long, and in many places forty broad. The natives fuppofc thefe iflands arc the re- fidence of the Great Spirit. Two very large rivers empty themfelves into this lake, on the north and north-eaft fide ; one is called the Nipegon, which leads to a tribe of the Chipevvays, who inhabit theborders of a lake of the fame name, and the other is the Michipicooton river, the fource of which is towards James's Bay, from whence there is but a fhort portage to another river, which empties itfelf into that bay. Not far from the Nipegon is a fmall river, that juft before it enters the lake, has a perpendicular fall from the top of a mountain, of more than one hundred feet. It is very narrow, and appears at a diftancelike a white garter fufpended in the air. There are upwards of thirty other rivers, which, empty themfelves into this lake, Ibme of which are of a confiderable fize. On the fouth fide of it is a remarkable point or cape of about fixty miles in lengtli, called Point Chegoraegan. About a hundred miles weft of this cape, a confiderable river falls into the lake, the head of which is corapofed of a great aflemblage of fmall ftreamy. This river is remarkable for the abundance of virgin copper that is found on and near its banks. Many fmall iflands, particularly on the eafterit fhores, abound with copper ore, lying in beds, with the appearance of copperas. This metal might be eafily made a very advantageous article of commerce. This lake abounds with fifh, particularly trout and fturgcon ; the former weigh from twelve to fifty pounds, and are caught almoft any feafon in the year in great plenty. Storms afFeft this lake as much as they do the Atlantic Ocean ; the waves run as high, and the navigation is equally dangerous. It difcharges its waters from the fouth- eaft corner through the Straits of St. Marie, which are about forty miles long. Near the upper end of thefe ftraits Is a rapid, which though it is impofllble for canoes to afcend, yet, when conduced by careful pilots, may be defcended without danger. - ^ Though OF THE UNITED STATES. l8l Though Lake Superior is fupplied by near forty rivers, many of which are large, yet it does not appear that one tenth part of the wa- ters which are conveyed into it by thefe rivers, is difcharged by the abovementioned ftrait. Such a fuperabundance of water can be dif- pofed of only by evaporation *. The entrance into this lake from the ftraits of St. Marie, affords one of the moft pleafing profpefts in the world. On the left may be feen many beautiful little iflands, that «xtend a confiderable way before you ; and on the right, an agreeable fucceflion of fmall points of land, that projedl a little way into the water, and contribute, with the illands, to render this delightful bafoa calm, and fecure from thofe tcmpeftucus winds, by which tha adjoining lake is frequently troubled. Lake Huron, into which you enter through the ftraits of St. Ma- rie is next in magnitude to Lake Superior. It lies between 43* 30 and 46^ 30' of north latitude, and between fix and eight degrees weft longitude. Its circumference is about one thoufand miles. On the north fide of this lake is an ifland one hundred miles in length, and no more than eight miles broard. It is called Manataulin, fignifying 9. place of fpirits, and is confidered as facred by the Indians. On the ibuth wfeft part of this lake is Saganaum Bay, about eighty miles in length, and about eighteen or twenty miles broad. Thunder Bay fo called from the thunder that is frequently heard there, lies about half * That fuch a fuperabundance of water ihouldbe difpofedof by evaporation Is n9fia- gular circumftance. There are fome feas in which there is a pretty juft balance between the waters received from rivers, brooks, Scc» and the wafte by evaporation. Of this the Cafpian Sea, in Afia, affords an inftance ; which, though it receives feveral large rivers, has no outlet. There are others, to fpeak in borrowed language, whofe expence ex- ceeds their income } and thefe would foon become bankrupt, were it not for the fuppfi» which they conftantly receive from larger colleftions of water, with which they are con- netted ; fuch are the Black and Mediterranean feas ; into the former of which there is a coiiftant current from the Mediterranean, through the Bofphorus of Thrace ; and into the latter, from the Atlantic, through the Straits of Gibraltar. Others again derive more from their tributary ftrearas than they lofe by evaporation. Thefe give rife to large rivers. Of this kind are the Dambea ia Africa, the Winipifeogee in New Hamp- fliire, Lake Superior, and other waters in North America ; and the quant'ty they dif- charge, is only the difference between the influx and the evaporation. It is obfervable, that on the fhores the evaporation is much greater than at a diftance from them on the ocean. The remarkable clufter of lakes in the middle of North America, of which Lake Superior is one, was doubtlefs defigned, by a divine Providence, to furniih -the ia*- terior parts of the country with that fupply of vapours, without which, like the interior parts of Africa, they muft have been a mere defert. It may be thought equally fur*. prizing that there fliould be any water at all difcharged from them, as that the quan- tity Ihould bear fo fmall a proporEJoaiABi iii^ll lljM juiin ^5^^ ? vN^^ way . ^ V' OF THE ^\ ' 1 1 UNIVERSITY ) i82 General descriptioj^ way between Saganaum Bay and the north-weft comer of the lake. It is about nine miles acrofs either way. The fi(h are the fame as in Lake Superior. At the north. weft corner, this lake communicates with Lake Michigan by the Straits of Michillimakkinak. Many of the Chipeway Indians live fcattered aroand this lake ; par- ticularly near Saganaum Bay. On its banks are found amazing quantities of fand cherries. Michigan Lake, lies betwee.i latitude 42** 10' and 46* 30^ north; and between 11^ and 13^ weft long, from Philadelphia. Its computed length is 280 miles from north to fouth ; its breadth from fixty to fe- venty miles. It is navigable for fhipping of any burthen ; and at the north-eaftern part communicates with Lake Huron, by a ftrait fix miles broad, on the fouth fide of which ftands fort Michillimakkinak, which is the name of the ftrait. In this lake are feveral kinds of fifti, particu- larly trout of an excellent quality, weighing from twenty to dyity pounds, and fome have been taken in the Straits of Michillimakkinak, of ninety pounds. Weftward of this lake are large meadows, faid to extend to the Miffiflippi. It receives a number of rivers from the weft and eaft, among which is the river St. Jofeph, very rapid and full of Iflands ; it fprings from a number of fmall lakes, a little to the north-weft of the Miami village, and runs north-weft into the fouth-eaft part of the lake. On the north fide of this river is fort St. Jofeph, from which there is a joad, bearing north of eaft, to Detroit. The Powtewatamie Indians, who have about two hundred fighting men, inhabit this river oppofite fort St. Jofeph. Between Lake Michigan on the weft, and Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and the weft end of Erie on the eaft, ^ a fine traft of country, peninfu- lated, more than two hundred and fifty miles in length, and from one hundred and fifty to two hundred in breadth. The b^ks of the lakes, for a few miles inland, are fandy and barren, producing a few pines, Ihrub oaks, and cedars. Back of this, from either lake, the timber is heavy and good, and the foil luxuriant. Lakc St, Clare, lies about half way between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, and is about ninety miles in circumference. It receives the waters of the three great lakes, Superior, Michigan and Huron, and difcharges them through the river or ftrait, called Detroit, into Lake Erie. This lake is of an oval form, and navigable for large veffcls. The fort of Detroit is fituated on the weftern bank of the river of the fame name, about nine miles below lake St. Clair. The fettle- ments are extended ©n both fides of the ftrait or river for many miles towards Lake Erie, and fome few above the fort* Lake OF THE UNITED STATES. 183 Lake Erie, Is fituat^d between forty-one and fortv-tliree degrees of , -porth latitude, and between 3^ 40' and 8^ degrees weft longitude. It h nearly three hundred miles long, from eaft to weft, and about forty In ■its broadeft part. A point of land projeds from the north fide into this lake, feveral miles, towards the fouth-eaft, called Long Point. The iflands and banks towards the weft end of the lake are fo infefted with rattle- fnakes, as to render it dangerous to land on them. The lake iscovered near the banks of the iflands with the large pond-lily ; the leaves of which lie on the furface of the water fo thick, as to cover it entirely for many acres together; on thefe, in the fammer feafon, lie myriads of water-fnakcs bafking in the fun. Of the venomous ferpents which infeft this lake, the hiiTmg fnake is the moft remarkable. It is about eighteen inches long, fmall and fpeckled. When you approach it, it flattens itfelf in a moment, and its fpots, which are of various colours, become vifibly brighter through rage ; at the fame time it blows from its mouth, with great force, a fubtil wind, faid to be of a naufeous fmell ; and if drawn in with the breath of the unwary traveller, will infallibly bring on a de- cline, that in a few months muft prove mortal. No remedy has yet been found to counteraft its baneful influence. This lake is of a more dan- gerous navigation than any of the others, on account of the craggy rocks which projed into the water, in a perpendicular direftion, many mile* together from the northern ftiore, affording no ftielter from ftorms. Prefque Ifle is on the fouth-eaft fliore of this lake, about hit. 42^ 10'.. From this to Fort Le Beuf, on French Creek, is a portage of fifty-one miles and a half. About twenty miles north-eaft of this another portage cf nine miles and a quarter, betweeaChatoughque Creek, emptying inta. Lake Erie, and Chatoughque Lake, a water of Allegany river. Fort Erie ftands on the northern ftiorc of Lake Erie, and the weft bank of Niagara river, in Upper Canada. This lake at its north-eaft end, communicates with Lake Ontario by the river Niagara, which runs from fouth to north, about thirty miles, including its windings, embracing in its courfe Grand Ifland and receiving Tonewanto Creek, from the eaft. About the middle of this river are the celebrated falls of Niagara, which are reckoned one of the greateft natural curiofities in the world. The waters which fapply the river Niagara rife near two thofand miles to the north-weft, and pafling through the lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie, receiving in their courfe, conftant accu- mulations; at length, with aftoniftiing grandeur, rufli down a ftupendbuSr precipice of one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular ; and in a ftrong rapid, that extends to the diftance of eight or nine miles below, fall near as much more : the river then lofes itfelf in Lake Ontario. The 2 noifc 184 GENERAL DESCRIPTION noifc of thcfe falls, in a clear day and fair wind, may be heard between forty and fifty miles. When the water ftrikes the bottom, its fpray rifes a great height in the air, occafioning a thick cloud of vapours, on which the fun, when it (hines, paints a beautiful rainbow. Fort Ni- agara is fituated on the eaft fide of Niagara river, at its entrance into Lake Ontario. This fort, and that at Detroit, contrary to the treaty of 1783, are yet in poffeflion of the Britifli Government. Lake Ontario, is fituated between forty-three and forty-five de- grees north latitude, and between one and five weft longitude. Its form is nearly oval. Its greateft length is from fouth-weft to nnrth-eaft, and in circumference about fix hundred miles. It abounds with filh of an excellent flavour, among which are the Ofwego bafs, weighing three or four pounds. It receives the waters of the Cheneflee river from the fouth, and of Onondago, at Fort Ofwego, from the fouth-eaft,by which it communicates, through Lake Oneida and Wood Creek, with Mohawk river. On the north-eaft, this lake difcharges itfelf through the river Cataraqui, which at Montreal, takes the name of St. Lawrence, into the Atlantic Ocean. About eight miles from the weft end of Lake Ontario is a curious cavern, which the Meffifaugas Indians call Manito ah nuigqvam, or houfe of the De'vil. The mountains which border on the lake, at this place, break off abruptly, and form a precipice of two hundred feet perpendicular defcent ; at the bottom of which the cavern begins. The firft opening is large enough for three men conveniently to walk abreaft. It continues of this bignefs for feventy yards in a horizontal diredion. Then it falls almoft perpendicularly fifty yards, which maybe defcended by irregular fteps from one to four feet diftant from each other.. It then continues forty yards horizontally, at the end of which is another perpendicular defcent, down which there are no fteps. The cold here is intenO.-. In fpring and autumn, there are, once in about a week, explofions from this cavern^ which fliake the ground for fixteen miles round. Lake Champ LAIN, is next in fize to Lake Ontario, and lies nearly caft from it, forming a part of the dividing line between the ftate of New York and the ftate of Vermont. It took its name from a French gover- nor, whofe name v/as Champlain, who was drowned in it. It was before called Corlaer's Lake. It is about eighty miles in length from north to fouth, and in its broadeft part, fourteen. It is well ftored with filh, and the land on its borders and on the banks of its rivers, is good. Crown Foint and Ticonderoga are fituated on the banks of this lake, near the fouthern part of it. Lakj I I OF THE UNITED STATES. 185 lAKt George, lies to the fouthward of Champlain, and is a moft tlear, beautiful coUeaion of water, about thirty-fix miles long and from one to feven miles wide. It embofoms more than two hundred iflands, fome fay three hundred and fixty-fivc ; very few of which are any thing more than barren rock, covered with heath, and a few cedar^ fpruce, and hemlock trees, and (hrubs, that harbor abundance of rattle- fnakes. Oh each fide it is {kirted by prodigious mountains, from which large quantities of red cedar are every year carried to New- York, for fhip timber. The lake is full of fifties, and fome of the belt kind; among which are the black Ofwego bafs and large fpeckled trout s. The water of this lake is about one hundred feet above the level of Lake Champlain. The portage between the two lakes is one mile and a half; but with a fmall expence might be reduced to fixty yards ; and with one or two locks might be made navigable through for batteaux. This lake, in the French charts, is called Lake St. Sa- crament; and it is fJd that the Roman Catholics, in former times, were at the pains to procure this water for facramental ufes in all theit Churches in Canada : hence probably it derived its name. The Mississippi river, is the great refervoir of the waters of the •Ohio and Illinois, and their numerous branches from the eaft ; and of the Miflburi and other rivers from the weft. Thefe mighty ftreams united, Jj re borne down with increafing impetuofity, through vaft forefts and meadows, and difcharged into the Gulf of Mexico. The great length and uncommon depth of this river, and the exccflive muddinefs and falubrious quality of its waters, after its junftion with the Mjiflburi^ are very fingular *, The direction of the channel is fo crooked, tliat from New Orleans to the mouth of the Ohio, a diftance which does not exceed four hundred and frxty miles in a ftrait line, is about eight hundred and fifty-fix by water. It may be fhortened at leaft two hundred and fifty miles, by cutting acrofs eight or ten necks of land, fome of which are not thirty yards wide. Charlevoix relates that in the year 1722, at Point Coupee, or Cut Point, the river made a great turn, and fome Ca- nadians, by deepening the channel of a fmall brook, diverted the water* of the river into it. The impetuofity of the ftream was fo violent, and ^ ^ * In a half pint tumbler of this water has keen found a fediiiient of oiie Inch. It !s, notwithftanding, extremely wholefome and well taded, and very cool irt the hotteft feafons of the yearj the rowers, who are there employed, drink of it when they are in the ftrongcft perfplration, and never receive any bad effeds from it. The inhabitaht* of New Orleans ufe no other water than that of this river, which, by being kept ia jars, becomes perfeftly clear. Vol. I. . B b tht l86 GENERAL DESCRIPTION the foil, of fo rich and loofe a quality, that, in a Ihort time, the point was entirely cut through, and travellers favcd fourteen leagues of their ' voyage. The old bed has no water In it, the times of the periodical overflowings only excepted. The new channel has been fmce founded with a line of thirty fathoms, without finding a bottom. Several other points, of great extent, have, in like manner, been fincc cut off, and the river diverted into new channels. . In the fpring floods the Miflifllppi is very high, and the current fo ftrong, that it is with difficulty it can be afcended ; but this difadvantagc is in part compenfated by eddies or counter-currents, which arc found in the bends clofe to the banks of the rirer, which runs with nearly equal velocity againd the llream, and afiift the afcending boats. The current at this feafon defeends at the rate of about five miles an hour. In autumn, when the waters are low, it does not run fafl:er than two miles, but it is rapid in fuch parts of the river, as have cluftersof iflands, ihoals, and fand-banks. The circumference of many of thefe fhoak being feveral miles, the voyage is longer, and in fome parts more dan- gerous than in the fpring. The merchandize neceflary for the com^ merce of the upper fettlements on or near the Mifliffippi, is conveyed in the fpring and autumn in batteaux, rowed by eighteen or twenty mer>, and carrying about forty tons. From New Orleans to the Illinois, the voyage is commonly performed in eight or ten weeks. A prodigious number of iflands, fome of which are of great extent, Interfperfe this mighty river. Its depth increafes as you afcend it. Its waters, after overflowing its banks below the river Ibberville on the eaft, and the river Rouge on the weft, never return within them again, there being maay outlets or llreams, by which they are cwidudlcd into the bay of Mexico, more efpecially on the weft fide of the Mifliffippi, div iding the coantry into numerous iflands. Thefe fingularities diftinguifli it from every other known river in the world. Below the Ibberville,^ the land begins to be very low on both fides of the river acrofs the country, and gradually declines as it apprpaches nearer to the fea. The ifland of New Orleans, and the lands oppofite> are to all appearance of no long date ; for in diggiwg ever fo little below the furface, you find water and great quantities of trees. The many beaches and breakers, as well inlets, which have arifen out of the channel within the laft half century, at the feveral mouths of the river, are convincing proofs that this peninfula was wholly formed in the fame manner, And it is certain that when La Salle failed down the Mifllflippi to the fea, the opening of that river was very different from what it is at prefcnt. ^ The OF THE UNITED STATES. iSj The nearer you approach to the Tea, this truth becomes more ftriking. The bars that crofs moft of thefe fmall channels opened by the current, ' have been multiplied by means of the trees carried down with the ftrcams ; one of which (lopped by its roots or branches in a ihallow parr, ■ is fufficiciit to obftru(^ the pafTage of thoufands more, and to fix them at the fame place. Aftonifhing colle6lions of trees are daily feen in pafling between the Balize and the Miffouri. No human force being fafEcient for removing them, the mud carried down by 'the river ferves to bind and cement them together. They are gradually covered, and every inundation not only extends their length and breadth, but- adds another layer to their height. In lefs than ten years time, canes, ^ Ihrubs, and aquatic timber grow On them, and form points and iflands,- # which forcibly (hift the bed of the river. Nothing can be aflerted with certainty, refpef^ing the kngth of this. river. Its fource is not known, but fuppofed to be upwards of three thoufand miles from the fea, as the river runs. We only know, that from St. Anthony's falls, in lat. 45^, it glides with a pleafant, clear current, and receives many large and very extenfive tributary ftreams before its junftion with the Miffouri, without greatly increafmg the breadth of the Mifilffippi, though they do its depth and rapidity. The muddy waters of the Miffouri difcolour the lower part of the river, till it empties kfelf into the bay of Mexico. The Miffouri is a longer, broader, and deeper river than the Miffiffippi, and affords a more extenfive navigation; it is, in fafl, the principal river, contributing more to the common ftream than does the Miffiffippi It has been afcended by French traders about twelve or thirteen hundred miles, and from the depth of water, and breadth of the river at that diftance, it appeared to be navigable many miles further. ,- From the Miffouri river, to nearly oppofite the Ohio, the weftem bank of the Miffiffippi, is, fome few places excepted, higher than the eaftern. From Mine au fer, to the Ibberville, the eaftern bank is higher than the weftern, on which there is not a fingle difcej*nible rifing or eminence for the diftance of feven hundred and fifty miles. From the Ibberville to the fea there are no eminences on either fide, though the eafter bank appears rather the higheft of the two, as far as the Englifh turn. Thence the banks gradually diminifti in height to the mouths of the river, where they are not more than two or three feet higher than the common fur- face of the water. The flime which the annual floods of the river Miffiffippi leaves on the furfacc of the adjacent Ihores, may be compared with that of the Nile, B b 2 which l88 GENERAL DESCRIPTION which depofits a fimilar manure, and for many centuries paft hta infured the fertility of Egvpt. When its banks (hall have been cultivated as the ' excellency of its foil and temperature of the climate deferve, its popula- tion will equal that of any other part of the world. The trade, wealth, and power of America, may, at feme future period, depend, and perhaps centre, upon the Miffiflippi. This alfo refembles the Nile in the number of its mouths, all iifuing into a fea, that may be compared to the Medi- terranean, which is bounded on the north and fouth by the two conti- nents of Europe and Africa, as the Mexican Bay is by North and South America. The fra^Uer mouths of this river might be eafily ftopped up, \^y means of thofe floating trees with which the river, during the floods, is always covered. The whole force of the channel being united, the only opening then left would probably grow deep, and the bar be re- moved. Whoever for a moment will caft his eye over a map of the town of New Orleans, and the immenfe country around it, and view its advan- tageous fituation, mull be convinced that it, or fome place near it, muft, in procefs of time, become one of the greateft marts in the world. The falls of St. Anthony, in about latitude 45®, received their name from Father Lewis Hennipin, a French mifiionary, who travelled into thefe parts about the year one thoufand fix hundred and eighty, and was the firft European ever feen by the natives. The whole river, which is more than two hundred and fifty yards wide, falls perpendicularly about thirty feet, and forms a moft plcafing catarad. The rapids be- low, in the fpace of three hundred yards, render the defcent confiderably greater; fo that when viewed at a diftance, they appear to be much higher than they really are. In the middle of the falls is a fmall ifland, about forty feet broad, and fomewhat longer, on which grow a few cragged hemlock and fpruce trees ; and about half way between this ifland and the eaftern fliore is a rock, lying at the very edge of the fall, in an oblique pofition, five or fix feet broad, and thirty or forty long. Thefe falls are peculiarly fituated, as they are approachable without the lead obftruftion from any intervening hill or precipice, which cannot be faid of any other confiderable fall, perhaps, in the world. The country around is exceedingly beautiful. It is not an uninterrupted plain where the eye finds no relief, but compofcd of many gentle ^fcents, which in the fpring and fummer are covered with verdure, and intcrfperfed with little groves, that give a pleafing variety to the profpcd. A little diftance below the falls, is a fmall ifland of about an acre and 1^ half, on which ^row a great number of ouk trccs^ almoft all th« branches OF THE UNITED STATES. lS§ brandies of which, able to bear rhje weight, are, in the proper fcafon of the year, loaded with eagles nefts. Their inftinaive wifdom has taught them to choofe this place, as it is fecure, on account of the rapids above from the attacks either of man or beaft. From the bed accounts that can be obtained from the Indians, wc learn that the four moft capital rivers on the continent of North Ame- rica, viz. the St. Lawrence, the Miffidippi, the river Bpurbon, and the Oregon, or the river of the Weft, have their fourccs in the fame neigh- bourhood. The waters of the three former, are faid to be within thirty miles of each other ; the latter is rather farther weft.€ This {hews that thefe parts are the higheft lands in Noim America ; and it is an inftance not to be paralleled in the other thre^juarters of the globe, that four rivers of fuch magnitude fhould take thl^ir rife to- gether, and each, after running feparate courfes, difcharge their waters into different oceans, at the diftance of more than two thoufand miles from their fources. For in their paifage from this fpot to the bay of St. Lawrence, eaft ; to the bay of Mexico, fouth ; to Hndfon's Bjty, north ; and to the bay at the ft raits of Annian, weft ; where the river Oregon is fuppofed to empty itfelf, each of them traverfes upwards df two thoufand miles. The Ohio is the moft beautiful river on earth : its current gentle, waters clear, and bofom fmooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a fingle inllance only excepted. It is one quarter of a mile wide at Fort Pitt : five hundred yards at the mouth of the Great Kanhaway : twelve hundred yards at Louifville; and the rapids, half a mile, in fome ftw places below Louifville : but its general breadth does not exceed fix hundred yards. In fome places its width is not four hundred, and in one place particularly, far below the rapids, it is lefs than three hundred. Its breadth in no one place exceeds twelve hundred yards, and at its junftion with the Miffiffippi, neither river is more than nine hundred yards wide. Its length, as meafured according to its meanders by Capt. Hiitchins, is as follows : 1 From Fort Pitt Miles. Mlies. 2 To Log's Town i8f 9 Mufkingum 25 i 3 Big Beaver Creek ^o| lo Little Kanaway .2i 4 Little Beaver Creek ^3l 11 Hockhocking 16 5 Yellow Creek 11 i 12 Great Kanhaway 82 i 6 Two Creeks 21 J 13 Guiandot 43 4 7 Long Reach 53 i 14 Sandy Creek ■'4* 8 End Long Reach i6| 15 Sioto 48 i To igo GENERAL DESCRIPTIOM 16 To Little Miami ..6{ - 23 Buffalo River 6-1 f 17 Licking Creek 8 24 Wabafh 97 I 18 Great Miami =6 1 2 ; Big Cave . 42 i 19 Big Bones 3M 26 Shawanee River 5»f ao Kentucky 44 1 27 Cherokee River >3 21 Jlapids 77 i 28 Maffac It tz Low Country ^ssi 29 Mifiiffippi 46 t 118S In common winter and Tpring floods, it affords thirty or forty feet water to Louifville, twenty-five or thirty feet to La Tartes's rapid^ forty miles above the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, and a fuSiciency at all times for light batteaux and canoes to Fort Pitt. The rapids arc ip latitude 28° 8'. The inundations of this river begin about the laft of March, and fubfide in July, although they frequently happen in other months, fo that boats which carry three hundred barrels of flour, from the Monongahela, or Youhiogany, above Pittfburg, have feldom long to wait for water only. During thefe floods a firft rate man of war may be carried from Louifville to New Orleans, if the fudden turns of the river ?mdthe flrength of its current will admit a fafe fteerage; and it is, the opinion of Col. Morgan, who has had all the means of information, that a vcflel properly built for the fea, to draw 1 2 feet water, when loaded, ^d carrying from twelve to fixteen hundred barrels of flour, may be more eafily, cheaply, and fafely navigated from Pittfburgh to the fca, than thofe now in ufe ; and that this matter only requires one man of capacity and enterprize to afcertain it. He obferves, that a veflcl in- tended to be rigged as a brigantine, fnow, or fhip, fhould be double decked, take her malls on deck, and be rowed to the Ibbervilie, belovr, \vhich are no iflands, or to New Orleans, with twenty men, fo as to afford reliefs of ten and ten in the night, — Such a veflfcl, without the ufe of oars, he fays, would float to New Orleans, from Pittlburg, twenty times in twenty-four hours. If this be fo, what agreeable prof- pefts are prefented to thofe who have fixed their refidence in the wcfterii country. The rapids at Louifville defcend about ten feet in a length of a mile and a half. The bed of the river there is a folid rock, and is divided by an ifland into two branches, the fouthern of which is about two hundred yards wide, but impaffable in dry feafons, about four months in thft year. The bed of the northern branch is worn into channels by the conftant courfe of the water, ar,d attrition of the pebble fton^s Carried on with it, fo as to be paffable for batteaux through^hc greater part. OF THE UNITED STATES. Ipl |)art of the year. Yet it is thought that the fouthern arm may be the nloft eafily opened for conftant navigation. The rife of the waters in thefc rapids does not exceed twenty or twenty-five feet. The Americans kave a fort, fituated at the head of the falls. The ground on the foutli fide rifes very gradually. At Fort Pitt the river Ohio lofes its name, branching into the Monon- gahela and Allegany. The Monongahela is four hundred yards wide at its mouth. From thence is twelve or fifteen miles to the mouth of Yohogany, where it Is three hundred yards wide. Thence to Redftone by water is fifty miles, by land thirty. Then to the mouth of Cheat river by water forty miles, by land twenty-eight, the width continuing at three hundred yards, and the navigation good for boats. Thence the width is about two hundred yards to the weftern fork, fifty miles higher, and the navigation frequent- ly interrupted by rapids ; which however with a fwell of two or three feet, become very paffable for boats. It then admits light boats, except in dry feafons, fixty-five miles further to the head of Tygart's valley, prefenting only fome fmall rapids and falls of one or two kct perpendi- cular, and lelTening in its width to twenty yards. The weftern fork is navigable in the winter ten or fifteen miles towards the northern of the Little Kanhaway, and will admit a good waggon road to it. The Yo- hogany is the principal branch of this river. It pafTes through the Laurel mountain, about thirty miles from its mouth ; is fo far, from three hun- dred to one hundred and fifty yards wide, and the navigation much ob- llrufted in dry weather by rapids and Ihoals. In its paffage through the mountain it makes very great falls, admitting no navigation for ten miles to the Turkey foot. Thence to the great crofling, about twenty miles, it is again navigable, except in dry feafons, and at this place is two hun- dred yards wide. The fources of this river are divided from thofe of the Potomak by the Allegany mountains. From the falls, where it inter- fefts the Laurel mountain, to Fort Cumberland, the head of the naviga- tion on the Potomak, is forty miles of very mountainous road. Wills's creek, at the mouth of which was Fort Cumberland, is thirty or forty yards wide, but affords no navigation as yet. Cheat river, another con- fiderable branch of the Monongahela, is two hundred yards wide at its mouth, and one hundred yards at the Dunkard's fettlement, fifty miles higher. It is navigable for boats, except in dry feafons. The boundary between Virginia and Pennfylvania crofles it about three or four miles above its mouth. The Allegany river, with a flight fwell, affords navigation for light batteaus to VenangO; at the mouth of French creek, where it is two hun- dred yards wide ; and it is pradifed even to Le Boeuf, from whence 2 there 1^2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION there is a portage of fifteen miles and a half to Pefque Ifle on Lake Erie. The country watered by the Miffiflippi and its caftern branches, con- ftitutes five-eights of the United States ; two of which five-eighths are occupied by the Ohio and its waters; the refiduary ftreams, which run into the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, and the St. Lawrence, water the remaining three -eights. Before we quit the fubjcearances are fecn far up the rivers, from eighty to one hundred miles from the fea, where^ when the rivers are low, the banks are from fifteen to twenty feet high. As you proceed down the rivers toward the fea, the banks decreafe in height, but ftill are formed of layers of fand, leaves and logs, fome of which are entirely found, and appear to have been fud- denly covered to a confiderable depth. 3. It has been obferved, that the rivers in the fouthern States fre- quently vary their channels; that the fwamps and low grounds are con- ftantly filling up ; and that the land in many places annually infringes up- on the ocean. It is an authenticated fad, that no longer ago than 177 1> at Cape Look-out on the coaft of North-Carolina, in about latitude 34** 50', there was an excellent harbour, capacious enough to receive an hundred fail of {hipping at a time, in a good depth of water : it is now entirely filled up, and is folid ground. Inllances of this kind are frequent along the coaft. It is obfervable, likewife, that there is a gradual defcent of about'^'ght hundred feet, by meafurement, from the foot of the mountains to the fea board. This defcent continues, as is demonftrated by foundiilgs, far into the fea. 4. It is worthy of obfervation, that the foil on the banks of the rivers is proportionably coarfe or fine according to its diftance froni the mountains. When you firft leave the mountains, and for a confiderable diftance, it is obfervable, that the foil is coarfe, w^th a large mixture of fand and fhin- ing heavy particles. As you proceed tov/ard the fea, the foil is lefs coarfe, and fo on ; in proportion as you advance, the foil is finer and finer, until, finally, is depofited a foil fo fine, that it confolidates into pcrfed clay ; but a clay of a peculiar quality, for a great part of it, has intermixed with it reddi&i ftreaks and veins, like a fpecies of ochre ; brought probably from the red-lands which lie up towards the mountains. This clay, when dug up and expofcd to the weather, will difTolve into a fine mould> without the leaft mixture of fand or any gritty fubftance whatever. Now we know that running waters, when turbid, will de- pofit, firft, the coarfeft and heavieft particles, mediately, thofe of the ieveral intermeilate degrees of finenefs, and ultimately, thofe which ate: the moft light and fubtle; and fuch in faft is the general quality of tRe foil on the banks of the fouthern rivers. 5. It is a well-known fad, that on the banks of Savannah river^ about ninety miles from the fea in a dired line, and one hundred and, fifty or two hundred, as the river runs, there is a verv remarkable coiledion of oyfter ig8 GENERAL DESCRIPTION oyfter {hells of an uncommon fizc. They run in a north-eaft and fouth- well direftion, nearly parallel to the fea coaft, in three diftinft ridges, which together occupy a fpacc of feven miles in breadth. The lidgct commence at Savannah river, and have been traced as far fouth as the northern branches of the Alatamaha river. They ate found in fuch quantities, as that the indigo planters carry them away in large boat loads, for the purpofe of making lime water, to be ufed in the manu- fadure of indigo. There are thoufands and thoufands of tons ftill re- maining *. The queftion is, how came they here ? It cannot be fup- pofed that they were carried by land. Neither is it probable that they were conveyed in canoes, or boats, to fuch a diftancc from the place where oyfters are now found. The uncivilized natives, agreeable to their roving manner of living, would rather have removed to the fea Ihore, than have been at fuch immenfe labour in procuring oyfters. Befidcs, the difficulties of conveying them would hare been infurmount^ able. They would not only have had a ftrong current in the river againft them, an obftacle which would not have been eafily overcome by the Indians, who have ever had a great averfion to labour ; but could they have furraounted this difficulty, oyfters conveyed fuch a diftance, either by land or water, in fo warm a climate, would have fpoiled on the paffage, and have become ufelefs. The circumftance of thefe (hells being found in fuch quantities, at fo great a diftance from the fea, can be lationally accounted for in no other way, than by fuppofmg that the fea Ihore was formerly near this bed of ftiells, and that the ocean has fmce, by the operation of certain caufes not yet fully inveftigated, receded, • <« On the Georgia fida of the river, about 15 miles below Silver BlufF, the high road crofles a ridge of high-fwelling hills of uncommon elevation, and perhaps 70 feet higher than the furface of the river. Thefe hills arc from three feet below the common vegetative furface, to the depth of zo or 30 feet, compofed entirely of foiTil cyfter ihelU, internally of the colour and confiflcncy of clear white marble : they are of an incredible magnitude, generally 15 or 20 inches in length j from 6 to 8 wide, and from z to 4 in thicknefs, and their hollows fufficient to receive an ordinary man's foot. They appear all t have been opened before the period of petrifaftion \ a tranfmutation they fcem cvit dently to have fufFtred. They are undoubtedly very ancient, and perhaps antediluvian. The adjacent inhabitants burn them to lime, for building, for which purpofe they ferve well} and will yndpubtedly aft'ord an excellent manure, when their lands re<)uire it^. thefe hills now being remarkably fertile. The heaps of fhells lie upon iifiratum of yellowiflr find mould, of feveral feet in depth, upon a foundation pf foft white rocks, that has the outward appearance of frce-ftone, but on ftrid examination is really a tcftaceous con-v Crete, or compofition of fand and pulverifed fea fhells. In fliort, this teftaceous rock approsiches near in quaVity and appearance to the Bahama or Berjnudian White Rock.** SartraTb^iTra'velsjp.^iZ," ...■.■> — - - ■ 3 Theft OF THE UNITED STATES. igg Thefe phenomena, it isprefumed, will authorize this conclufion, that a great part of the flat countty which fpreads eafterly of the Allegany mountains, had, in fome paft period, a fuperincumbent fea; or rather, that the conftant accretion of foil from the various caufes before hinted At, has forced it to retire. i?7i k icn £:£>/ r^a < .-k;;..;ivu ..-,-- .. ' . -^ - - r-fT^"' ri'^innlq Q-^iitmi -:r:'} msiU «>. .^^t>n<3nti0vv ^:mr.m ^m tt^ br^i-id o' FOUNTAINS. ^^> ^^-'H'^^'l '■¥i' ^^i .^i^^^^ 'rtie trail of country eaft of Hudfon's river, comprehending part of the State of New York, the four New England States, and Vermont, is rough, hilly, and in fome parts mountainous. Thefe mountains will be more particularly defcribed under New England. In all parts of the world, and particularly on this weftern continent, it is obfervable, that as you depart from the ocean, or from a river, the land gradually rifes ; and the height of land. In common* is about equally diflant from the water on either fide. The Andes, In South America, form the height of land between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The high lands between the diftrift of Maine and the province of Lower Canada, divide the rivers which fall into the St, Lawrence, north, and into the Atlantic?, fouth. The Green Mountains, in Vermont, divide the waters which flow eafterly into Connedlicut river, from thofe which fall wefterly iu^o Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Hudfon's River, M^*-^ Between the Atlantic, the Mifliflippi, and the lakes, runs a long raiage of mountains, made up of a great number of ridges. Thefe mountains extend north-eafterly and fouth-wefterly, nearly parallel to the fea coaft, about nine hundred miles in length, and from fixty to one hundred and fifty and two hundred miles in breadth, Mr. Evans obferves, with re- fped to that part of thefe mountains which he travelled over, viz. in the back part of Pennfylvania, that fcarcely one acre in ten is capable of cul- ture. This, however, is not the cafe in all parts of this range. Nu- merous trads of fine arable and grazing land intervene between the ridges. The different ridges which corapofe this immenfe range of mountains, have different names in different flates. As you advance from the Atlantic, the firft ridge in Pennfylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, is the Blue Ridge, or South Mountain, which is from one hundred and thirty to two hundred miles from the fea. Between this and the North Mountain fpreads a large' fertile vale; next lies the Allegany ridge ; next bej^ond this is the Long Ridge, called the Laurel Mountains, in a fpur of which, about latitude 36°, is a i*pring of water fifty feet deep, very cold, and it is faid„ tobeas blueas indigo. From thefe ievieral ridges proceed innumerable namelef^.brapches or fpurs. The 200 GENERAL DESCRIPTIONf The Kittatinny mountains run through the northern parts of Ne«^ Jcrfey and Pennfylvania. All thefe ridges, except the Allegany, arc feparated by rivers, which appear to have forced their jiaffages through folid rocks. The principal ridge is the Allegany, which has been defcriptively cal- led the back-bone of the United States. The general name for thefe mountains, taken colledively, fcems not yet to have been determined. Mr. Evans calls them the Endle/s Mountains : others have called them the Appalachian Mountains, from a tribe of Indians who live on a river which proceeds from this mountain, called the Appalachicola. But the moft common name is the Allegany Mountains, fo called, either from the principal ridge of the range, or from their running neady parallel to the Allegany or Ohio river; which, from its head waters, till It empties into the MIfliffippI, is known and called by the name of Allegany River, by the Seneca and other tribes of the Six Nations, who once inhabited It. Thefe mountains are not confufedly fcattered and broken, rifing here and there into high peaks, overtopping each other, but ftretch along in uni- form; ridges, fcarcely half a mile high. They fpread as you proceed fouth, and fome of them terminate in high perpendicular bluffs. Others gradually fubfide into a level country, giving rife to the rivers which run foutherly into the Gulf of Mexico. They afford many curious phenomena, from which naturalifts have deduced many theories of the earth. Some of them have been whimfical enough; Mr. Evans fuppofcs that the moft obvious of the theories which have been formed of the earth is, that It was originally made out of the ruins of another. ** Bones and Ihells which efcaped the fate of fofter animal fubftances, we find mixed with the old materials, and ele- gantly prefer\'ed in the loofe ftones and rocky bafes of the highett of thefe hills." With deference, however, to Mr. Evans's opinion, thefe appearances have been much more rationally acrunted for by fuppofing the reality of the flood, of which Mofcs has given us an account. Mr. Evans thinks this too great a miracle to obtain belief. But whether is it a greater miracle for the Creator to alter a globe of earth by a deluge, when made, or to create one new from the ruins of another ? The former certainly is not lefs credible than the latter. ** Thefe mountains," fays our author, " exifted in their prefent elevated height before the deluge, but not fo bare of foil as now," How Mr, Evans came to be fo circum- ftantially acquainted with thefe pretended fads, is difficult to determine, unlefs we fuppofe.him to have been an Antediluvian, and to have fur- xty^di them accurately before the convulfions oi the deluge ; and until we can be fully afTured of this, we muft be excufed in not affcnting io hi? OF THE UNITED STATES. 201 Kis opinion, and in adhering to the old philofophy of Mofes and his ad- vocates. We have every reafon to believe that the primitive ftate of the earth was totally mctamorphofed by the firft convulfion of nature ^ the time of the deluge ; that th^ fountains of the great deep oven indeed broken up, and that the various firata of the earth were difievered, and thrown into every poflible degree of confufion and diforder. Hence thofe vaft piles of mountains which lift their craggy cliiFs to the clouds, were pro- bably thrown together from the floating ruins of the earth : and this con* jefture is remarkably confirmed by the vaft number of foflils and other marine exttvio' which are found imbeded on the tops of mountains, in the interior parts of continents remote from the fea, in all parts of the world hitherto explored. The various circumftances attending thefe marine bodies leave us to conclude, that they were aftually generated^ lived, and died in the very beds wherein they are found, and therefore thefe beds muft have originally been at the bottom of the oceaOj though now in many inftances elevated feveral miles above its furface. Hence it appears that mountains and continents were not primary produftions of nature, but of a very diftant period of time from the creation of the world ; a time long enough for the Jirata to have acquired their greateft degree of cohefion and hardnefs ; and for the teftaceous matter of marine {hells to become changed to a ftony fubftance ; for in the fiffures of the lime-ftone and other ftrata, fragments of the fame Ihell have been fre- quently found adhering to each fide of the cleft, in the very ftate in which they were originally broken ; fo that if the feveral parts were brought together, they would apparently tally with each other exa^ly. A very confiderable time thereforc^muft have elapfed between jhe chaotic ftate of the earth and the deluge, which agrees with the account of Mofes, who makes it a little upwards of fixteen hundred years. Thefe obfervations are intended to (hew, in one inftance out of many others, the agreement between revelation and reafon, between the account which Mofe505 4j*58t Males. New Hamp/hirc - 70>937 70,160 777 do» Dlftrid of Maine J MafTachufctts - 18^,742 190,582 7>84o Females. Rhode Ifland - 31,818 3^*652 834 do. Conne5ii do. New York - - 161,822 152,320 9}502 Males. New Jerfey - - 86,667 83,2^7 3>38o do. Pennfylvania - 217,736 206,263 JJ>373 do. Delaware - - 23,926 ^2,384 Ij540 do. * Mr. Bruce, in his Travels, affirms, that in that trail of country from the Ifthmirs of Suez to the Straits of Babelmandel, which contains the three Arabias> the propor- tion is fuWJhur women to otie man. f In the columns of the cenfus, in which are noted all other free perfons 2nd Jlaves, the Uaales and females are not diftinguiihed, and are therefore not regarded in this table, % The males and fem^es are not diftinguiflied in the diftrid of Maine, in the late ' '." Dd 2 ^ Maryland 204 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Males. Females. Exccfs. Sex. Maryland . . . XP7>»54 »o'»39S. 5>SS9 Males. Virginia - • i»7»C7i 215,04.6 i»>0JS ^o» Kentucky - - 3i,iii 18,922 3,289 4o« North Catolin* - .247,494 140,710 6,784 do. South CavUna - 73>298 66,&8o 6,418 do. Georgia • - »7»I47 »S»739 J>4o8 do. Territory S. of Ohio '^>54S 15*365 ly^S} do. It is remarkable, th^t the cxccfs in all the States is on the fide of males, except in Maflachufetts, Rhode Ifland, and Connedllcut. In thefc States the females are confiderably the mod numerous. This difference is obvioufly to be afcribe^ to the large migrations from all thefe States to Vermont, the northern and weftern parts of New York, the territory N. W. of Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennfylvania, and fome to almoft all the fouthern States, A great proportion of thefe migrants were males ; and while they have ferved to inereafe the proportion of males in the States where they have fettled, as is ftrikingly the cafe in Vermont and Ken- tucky, to which the migrations have been mod numerous, and where the males are to the females nearly as ten to niney they have ferved to leffen the proportion of males in the States from whence they emigrated. The number of flaves, in 1790, in all the States, was fix hundre'd ninety- feven thoufand fix hundred and ninety- feven. The inereafe of this number fince, owing to falutary laws, in feveral of the States, ancj the humane exertions of the government in favour of their emancipation and the prevention of any further importation, has happily been fmall, and will be lefs in future. CHARACTER AND MANNERS. Federal Am em cans, coUeded together from various countries, of ferent habits, formed under different governments, have yet to form their national charafter, or we may rather fay, it is in a forming ftate. They have not yet exifted as a nation long enough for us to form an idea of what will be, in its maturity,* its prominent features. Judging, how- ever, from its prcfent promifing infancy, we are encouraged to hope, that, at fome future period, not far diftant, it will, in twtty point of view, be refpedable. Until the revolution, which was accomplifhed in 1783, Europeans were ftrangely ignorant of America and its inhabitants. They con- cluded, that the new world tnuji be inferior to the old. The Count dc Buffon fuppofed, that even the animals in that country were uniformly lefs than in Europe, and thence concluded that, " on that fide the Atlantic there OF THE UNITEP 3TATES. t205 there Is a tendency in nature tQ belittle her prpdud;ions.** Ths Abbe Raynal, in a former edition of his works, fuppofed this hAhtling ten- dency, or influence, had its effects on the race of vyhites tranfplanted from Europe, and thence had the prefuiuption to affert, ,tbj?t ** Atnerica had not yet produced one good poet, one able mathematician, nor one man of genius, in a fingle art or fciencc." Had the Abbe been juftly informed refpecling the Americans, we prefume he would not have made an afler- tion fo ungenerous and injurious to their genius and literary charaftcr; This aflcrtion drew from Mr. Jeffcrfon the following reply : ** When we Ihall have exlfted as a people as long as the Greeks did before they produced a Homer, the Romans a Virgil, the French a Racine and Voltaire, the Englidi a Shakefpeare and Milton, Ihould this reproach be ftill true, we will inquire from what unfriendly caufes It has proceeded, that the other countries of Europe and quarters of the earth, fhall not have infcrlbed any name in the roll of poets. In war we have -produced a Walhington, whofe memory will be adored while liberty ihall have votaries, whofe name will triumph over time, and will in future ages affume its juft 'ftation among the moft celebrated worthies of the "\^orld, when that wretched philofophy (liall be forgotten, which would arrange him among the degeneracies of nature. In phyfics we have pro- duced a Franklin, than whom no one of the prefent age ha? made rnoic important difcoverles, nor has enriched philofophy with more, or mort: ingenious folutions of the phenomena of nature. We have fuppofed Mr. Rittenhoufe fecond to no aftronomer living : that in genius he muH: b« the firft, becaufe he Is felf-taught. As an artlft, he has exhibited as great proofs of mechanical genius as the world has ever produced. — He has not indeed made a world ; but he has, by Imitation, approached nearer its Maker than any man who has lived from the creation to this day. As in philofophy and war, fo In government, in oratory, in painting, in the plaftic art, we might Ihew that America, though but a child of yeiler- day, has already given hopeful proofs of genius, as well of the nobler kinds, which aroufe the bed feelings of man, which call him into aftion, which fubftantiate his freedom, and conduft him to happinefs, as of the- fubordinate, which ferve to amufe him only. We therefore fuppofe, that this reproach is as unjuft as it is unkind ; and that, of the geniufes which adorn the prefent age, America contributes its full {hare. For com- paring it with thofe countries, where genius is moft cultiva:ted, uhcrc are the^moft excellent models for art, and fcaffoldings for the attainment of fcience, as France and England, for inftance, we calculate thus : the United States contain three millions of inhabitants, France twenty mil- lions, and the Britiih iilaads ten. We produce a V/ailiington, a Frank-r lin, 206 GENERAL DESCRIPTION lin, a Rlttenhoufe. France then fhoulJ have half a dozen in each of thefe lines, and Great Britain half that number equally eminent. U may be true that France has; we are but jull becoming acquainted with her, and oilr acquaii;tance fo far gives us high ideas of the genius of her inhabitants. It would be injuring too many of them to name particu- larly a Voltaire, a Buffbn, the conilellation of Encyclopediih, the Abbe Raynal, himfclf, See. &c. We therefore have reafon to hslicve (he can produce her full quota of genius." The two late important revolutions in America, which hare been fcarcely exceeded fmce the memory of man, I mean that of the declara- tion and eftablilhment of independence, and that of the adoption of a new form of government without bloodfhed, have called to hiftoric fame many noble and dilUnguifhed charaders who might otherwife have llept in oblivion. But while we exhibit the fair fide of the charader of the Federal Americans, we would not be thought blind to their faults. *' If there be an objed truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, figning refolutions of independency with one hand, and with the other brandifhing a whip over his affrighted flavcs.'* Much has been written to fhew the injuftice and iniquity of enflaving the Africans ; fo much, as to render it unneceffary here to fay any thing on that part of the fubjeft. We cannot, however, forbear introducing a few obfervations refpecling the influence of flavery upon policv, morals, and manners. From calculations on tlie fubjcd, it has been found, that the expence of maintaining a flave, efpccially if the purchafe money be included, is much greater than that of maintaining a free man : this, however, is difputcd by feme ; but fuppofe the expence in both caft^s be equal, it is certain that the labour of the free man, influenced by the powerful motive of gain, is, at Icafl, twice as proiitable to the employer as that of the Have. Eefides, flavery is the bane of induftry. It renders labour, among the whites, not only anfafliionable, but difreputable. Induftry is the offspring of necciTity rather than of choice. Slavery pre- cludes this neceffity ; and indolence, which ftrikes at the root of all focial and political happinefs, is the unhappy confequence. Thefe obfervations, without adding any thing upon the injuftice of the pradiee, fiiew that fiavery is impolitic. Its influence on manners and morals is equally pernicious. The negro wcnches» in many inftances, are nurfes to their miilreffes children. The infant babe, as foon as it is born, is delivered to its black nurfc, and per- haps fcldom or never taftes a drop of its mother's milk. The children, by bein^ brought up, and conftantly affofiating with the negroes, tea 4 oftsn OF THE UNITED STATES. 20/ ©ften imbibe their low ideas, an^ vitiated manners and morals, and con- traft a 7iegroiJh kind of accent and dialeft, which they often carry with them through life. To thefe I fliall add the obfervations of a native * of a ftate whicli contains a greater number of flaves than any of the others. Although his obfervations upon the influence of llavery were intended for a parti- cular ftate, they will apply equally well to all places where this pernici- ous pradice in any confiderable degree prevails. *' There muft doubtlefs," he obferves, " be an unhappy influence o« the manners of our people, produced by the exiftence of llavery among; Us. The whole commerce between maftcr and flave is a perpetual exer- cife of the moft boifterous paiTions, the moft unremitting defpotifm on the one part, and degrading fubmiffions on the other. Our children fee this, and learn to imitate it; for man is an imitative animal. This quality is the germ of all education in him. From his cradle to his grave, he is learning to do vvhat he fees others do. If a parent could fmd no motive either in his philanthropy or his felf-Iove, for reftraining the intemperance of a palfion tewards his flave, it fliould always be a fufticient one, that his child Is prcfent. But ge.ierally it is not fufHcient. The parent ftorms, the child looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the fame airs in the circle of fmaller flaves, gives a loofe to hi» Worft of paffions, and thus nurfed, educated, and daily cxercifed ia tyranny, cannot but be ftamped by it u ith odious peculiarities. The man muft be a prodigy who can retain his manners and morals unde- pravcd by fuch circamftances. And with what execration Ihould the ftatefman be loaded, who, permitting one half of the citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms thofe into defpots, and thefe into enemies ; deftroys the morals of the one part, and the amor fatrice of the Other. For if a flave can have a country in this world, it miift be any other in preference to that in which he is born to live and labour for another : in which he muft lock up the faculties of his nature, contribute, as far as depends on his individual endeavour, to the evanifliment of the human race, or entail his own raiferable conditiooon the endlefs generations proceeding from llim. With the morals of the people, their induftry alfo is deftroyed. For in a warm climate, no man will labour for himfelf who can make another labour for him. This is {o true, tliat of the proprietors of flaves a very fmall proportion indeed are ever feen to labour. And can the liberties of a nation be thought fecure when we have removed their only iirra bafts, a conviiflioa in tlie minds of ♦ Mr. ]t?ti.xUn. the 208 GENERAL DESCRIPTION^ the people that thefe liberties are the gift of God ? That they arc not to be violated but with his wrath ? Indeed I tremble for my country when I refleft that God is juft : that his juftice cannot llcep for ever : that confide ring numbers, nature, and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of fituation, is among pofllhle events : that it may become probable by fupernatural inference ! — The Almighty has no attribute which can take fide with us in fuch a con- teft. But it is impoflible to be temperate and to purfue this fubje but each ftate fhall have at leaft one reprefentative ; and until fuch enu- meration fhall be made, the ftatc of New-Hampfliire fhall be entitled to choofe three, MafTachufetts eight, Rhode-Ifland and Providence Planta- tions one, Gonnedicut five. New- York fix, New-Jerfey four, Penfyl- yania eight, Delaware one, Maryland fix, Virginia ten, North-Carolina five, South-Carolina five, and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the reprefentation of any ftate, the exe- cutive authority thereof, fhall ilTue writs of eledion to fill fuch vacancies* The Houfe of Reprefl^tahves fhall choofe their Speaker and other ofHcers ; and fhall have the fole power of impeachment. S E c T. 1 1 1. The Senate of the United States fhall be compofed of two fenators from each ftate, chofen by the legiflature thereof^ for fi5c yearsj and each fenator ftiall have one vote. Immediately after they ftiall be alTembled, in confequence of the firft eledlion, they fhall be divided as equally as may be into three clafTes. The feats of the fenators x)f the firft clafs fhall be vacated at the expiration of the fecond year ; of the fecond clafs at the expiration o£ the fourth year ; and of the third clafs at the expiration of the fixth year, fo that one third may be chofen every fecond year; and if ya- cancies happen by refignation, or otherwife, during the recefs of the le- giflature of any ftate, the executive power thereof may make temporary ippointraents until the next meeting of the legiflature, which fhall then fill fuch vacancies. No perfon ftiaH be a fenator who fiiall not have attained to the Age of Eea thirtjj 212 GENERAL DESCRIPTION thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and wh0 fhall not, when elefted, be an inhabitant of that ftate for which he (hall be chofen. The vice-prefident of the United States (hall be prcfident of the fenatc, but (hall have no vote, unlefs they be equally divided. The fenate (hall choofe their other officers, and alfo-a prefident pr§ itmporef in the abfence of the vice-prefident, or when he (hall cxercife the office of prefident of the United States. The innate (hall have the fole power to try all impeachments. When fitting for that purpofe, they (hall be orv oath or affirmation. When the prefident of the United States is tried, the chief juftice (hall prefide : And no pet fon (hall be convided, without the concurrence of two-thirda of the members prefent. Judgment in cafes of impeachment, (hall not extend further than to re- moval from ofHce, and difqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour, truft, or profit under the United States ; but the party convided Ihall neverthelefs be liable and fubjcft to indidraent, tiidX, judg^nent,- and punifhment accord ing to law. Sect. IV. The times, places, and manner of holding ekdions for fena- tors and reprefentatives,. (hall be fubfcribed in each ftatc by the legifla- ture thereof; but the Congref? may at any time by law, make or altct fuch regulations, except as to the places of choofmg fenators. The Congrefs (hall aflfemble at leaft once in every year, and fucK meet- ing (hall be on the firft Monday in December, unlefs they (hall by \d,yr appoint a different day. » Sect, v. Each houfe (hall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each (hall confti- tute a quorum to do bufinefs ; but a fmaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorifed to compel the attendance of abfeat members, in fuch manner, and uader fuch penalties as each houfe may provide. Each houfe may determine the rules of its proceedings, punifh its mem- bers for diforderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds^ expel a member. Each houfe (hall keep a journal of it& proceedings^ and from time to time publifh the fame, excepting fuch parts as may in their judgment re- quire fecrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either houfe, on any queftion, (hall at the defire of one fifth of thofe prefent,- be entered «n ^he journal. Neither houfe, during the fcffion of Congrefs, (hall, without the .con- OF THE UNITED STATES. 2I3 fent of the oth:T, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houfes fhall be fitting. Sect. vi. The Senators and Reprefentatives (hall receive a com- toenfation for their fervices, to be afcertained by law, and paid out of the treafury of the United States. They Ihall, in all cafes, except treafon, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arreft during their attendance at the feffion of their refpedlivc houfes, and in going to and returning from the fame; and for any fpeech or debate in either houfe, ;they (hall not be quettioned in any other place. No fenator or reprefentative (hall^ during the time for which he was eleded, be appointed to any civil o(fice under the authority of the United States, which (hall have been created, or the emoluments whereof (hall have been increafed during fuch time ; and no perfon holding any office under the United States, (hall be a member of either Houfe during his continuance in office. Sect. vii. All bills for raifmg revenue (hall originate in the Houfe of Reprefentatives ; but the Senate may propofe or concur with amend- ments, as on other bills. Every bill which (hall have pafled the Houfe of Reprefentatives and the Senate, (hall, before it becomes a law, be prefented to the Prefident of the United States ; if he approve, he (hall fign it, but if not, he (hall return it, with his objections, to that houfe in which it originated, wh» ihall enter the objedions at large on their journal, and proceed to re- confider it. If, after fiich re-confiderafion, two thirds of that houfe Ihall agree to pafs the bill, it (hall be fent, together with the objec- tions, to the other houfe, by which it (hall likewife be re-con(idered, aad if approved by two thirds of that houfe, it (hall become a law. But in all fuch cafes the votes of both houfes (hall be determined by yeas and hays, and the names of the perfons voting for and againll the bill (hall be entered on the journal of each houfe refpeftively. If any bill (hall not be rettirned by the Prefident within ten days, Sundays excepted> after it (hall have been prefented to him^ the fame fhall be a law, iti like manner as if he had iigned it, unlefs the Congrefs, by their adjourn- liient, prevent its return, in which cafe it (hall not be a law^ Every order, refolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Se- hatc arid Houfe of Reprefentatives may be neceflTary (cxeept on a quef- tion of adjournment) (hall be prefented to the Prefident of the United States ; and before the fame (hall take efFefl, fhall be approved by him, or, being difapproved by him, fhall be re-paffed by two thirds of the Senate and Houfe of Reprefentativesj according to the rules and Kmita- Uons prefcribed in the «afe of » biU« 214 GENERAL DESCRIPTIOlf Sf CT. vriF. The Congrcfs fliall av;: power, To lay and collcft taxes, duties, impofts, and excifes; to pay fJne debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, impofts, and excifes Ihall be uniform throughout the United States ; To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the feverai States, and with the Indian tribes ; To eftablifli an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws o« the fubje(fl of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the ftandard of weights and meafures; To provide for the punifhment of counterfeiting the fecuritics and current coin of the United States ; To eftablifh poft offices and poll roads ; To promote the progrefs of fcience and ufeful arts, by fecuring for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclufivc right to their rc- {peAivc \Vritings and difcoveries ; To conftitute tribunals inferior to the fupreme court ; To define and puniib piracies and felonies committed on the high {eas# and offences againft the law of nations ; To declare war, grant letters of marque and rcprlfal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water ; To raife and fupport armies, but no appropriation of money to that ufe (hall be for a longer term than two years 5 To provide and maintain a navy ; To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, fupprefs infurredlions, and repel invafions ; To provide for organizing, arming, and difciplining the m-ilitia, and for governing fuch part of them as may be employed in the fervice of the United States, referving to the States refpeftively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training tho militia according to the difcipline prefcribed by Congrefs ; To exercife exclufive kgiflation in all cafes whatfoever, over fuch diftrift, not exceeding ten miles fquiare, as may by ceffion of particular States, and the acceptance of Congrefs, become the feat of government of the United States ; and to exercife like authority over all places pur- chafed by the confent of the legiflature of the State in which the fame a Ihall OF THE UNITED STATES. 215 fhaW be, for the ere<5lion of forts, magazines, arfenals, dock-yards, and ether needful buildings :— And To make all laws which fhall be neceffary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers veiled by this conftitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart- jnent or officer thereof. Sect. ix. The migration or importation of fuch perfons, as any of the States now exifting Ihall think proper to admit, fliall not be pro- hibited by the Congrefs prior to the year one thoufand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be impofed on fuch importation, not exceeding ten dolkrs for each perfon. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (hall not be fufpended, un- lefs when, in cafes of rebellion or invalion, the public fafety may ic* 4|uire it. No bill of attainder or ex poft h6io law fliall be paffcd. No capitation, or other direct tax, ftiall be laid, unlefs in proportioa to the cenfus, or enumeration, herein before dire<5led to be taken. No tax or duty Ihall be laid on articles exported from any State.— No preference Ihall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over thc^e of another : nor fliall veflels bound to or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in an- ©ther. No money fliall be drawn from the treafury, but in confequence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular ftatement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money fliall be publiftied from time to time. No title of nobility fliall be granted by the United States. — And no perfon holding any office of profit or truft under them, fliall, without the confent of Congrefs, accept of any prefent, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign ftate. Sect. x. No State fliall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confedera- tion J grant letters of marque and reprifal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make any thing but gold and filvcr coin a tender in payment of debts ; pafs any bill of attainder, ex poll fa^o law, or law impairing tha obligation of contrafts, or grant any title of nobility. No State fliall, without the confent of the Congrefs, lay any impofti or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abfolutely neceffary for executing its infpeftion laws ; and the net produce of all duties and impofts, laid by any State on imports or exports, fliall be for the ufc of the Treafury of the United States j and all fuch laws ihall be fubjc^ to the 2l6 GENERAL DESCRIPTION the rcvifion and controul of the Congrcfs. No State Ihall, without the confcnt of Congrcfs, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or Ihips of war, in time of peace, enter into any engagement or compadl with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unlefs adually invaded, or in fuch imminent danger as will not admit of delay. ARTICLE II. Sect. i. The executive power (hall be vefted in a Prefident of the United States of America. He (hall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-Preiident, chofen for the fame term, be eleAed as follows : Each State (hall appoint, in fuch manner as the legidature thereof may diredt, a number of ele6lors, equal to the whole number of fenators and reprefentatives to which the State may be intitled in the Congrefs : buf no fenator or reprefentative, or perfon holding an oflice of trull or profit under the United States, (hall be appointed an elsdor. The cleftors Ihall meet in their refpeftivc States, and vote by ballot for two perfons, of whom one at lead (hall not be an inhabitant of the' fame State with themfelves. And they (hall make a lift of all the per- fons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which lift they {hall fign, certify and tranfmit, fealed, to the feat of tlw govern- ment of the United States, direfted to the Prefident of the Senate. The prefident of the Senate (hall, in the prefence of the Senate and Houfe oi Keprefcntative, open all the certificates, and the vot«s (hall then be counted. The perfon having the greateit number of votes (hall be the Prefident, if fuch number be a majority of the whole number of elec- tors appointed ; and if there be more than one who have fuch majority, and have an equal number of votes, than the Houfe of Reprefentatives fiiall immediately choofe, by ballot, one of them for Preftdent ; and if no perfon have a majority, then from the five higheft on the lift, the faid houfe (hall in like manner choofe the Prefident. But in choofing the Prefident, the votes (haU be taken by States, the reprefentations from each State having one vote ; a quorum for thh purpofe (hall confift of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States ihall be necefTary to a choice. In every cafe, after the choice of the Prefident, the perfon having the greateft number of votes of the eleftors fliall be the Vice- Prefident. But if there (hould remain two or more who have equal votes, thfc Senate (hall choofe from them by ballot the Vice- Prefident. The Congrcfs may determine the time of ^hoofing the elcvlors, s^nd OF THE UNITED STATES. 2I7 the day on which they fhall give their votes; which day Ihall be the fame throughout the United States. Noperfon, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at, the time of the adoption of this conftitution, (hall be eligible to the office of Prcfident ; neither fhall any perfon be eligible to that office who (hall not have attained to the age of thirty.fivc years, and been four- teen years a refident within the United States. ;.v -'» In cafe of the removal of the Prefident from office, or of his deathf refignation, or inability to difcharge the powers and duties of the faid office, the fame ihall devolve on the Vice- Prefident, and the Congrcfs may by law provide for the cafe of removal, death, refignation, or ina- bility, both of the Prefident and Vice- Prefident, declaring what officer fhall then aft as Prefident, and fuch officer ihall adl accordingly, until the difability be removed, or a Prefident ihall be eleded. The Prefident ihall, at ilated times, receive for his fervices, a compen- fation, which ihall neither be increafed or diminifhed during the period for which he ihall have been eleded, and he ihall not receive within that perfod any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enters on the execution of his office, he Ihall tako- the fol- lowing oath or affirmation : " I do folemnly fwear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the << office of Prefident of the United States, and will, to the beil of my « ability, preferve, proteft, and defend the conilitution of the United « States."- Sec. 2. The Prefident fiiall be commander in chief of the army' and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the feveral States, when called into the aftual fervice of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any fubjedl relating to the duties of their refpeftive offices, and he fhall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences aigainil the United States, except in cafes of impeachment. He fhall. have power, by and With the advice and confent of the Se- nate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the fenators prefent con- cur; and he ihall nominate, and by and with the advice and confent of the Senate (haM appoint an-ibafTadors, other public miniflers, and confuls, judges of the fup re me court, and all other officers of the United States, whofe appointments are not herein otherwife provided for, and which fliall be eftablifhed by law. But the Congrefs ijnay by law veil the ap- pointment of fuch inferior officers, as they think proper, in the Prefident alone, in the courts of law, or iu the heads of departments. Vol. I, F f • • The 21& GENERAL BESCRIPTIOM The prcfident /hall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recefs of the fcnate, by granting commiffions which Ihali expire at the end of their next feffion. < Sbct. 3. He fliall ffom time to time give to the Congrefs informa* tion of the ftate of the union, and recommend to their confideration fuch meafures as he (hall judge neceffary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occafions, convene both houfes, or either of them, and in <;afc of difagreement between them, with refpedl to the time of adjourn- ment, he may adjouni them to fuch time as he fhall think proper; he fliall receive ambafladors and bther public minifters ; he (hall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and (hall commi(rion all the officers of the United States. Sect^ 4- The Prefident, Vice-Prefident, and all civil officers of the United States, (hall be removed from office on impeachment for, and convidion of, treafon, bribery, or other high crimes and mifdemeanors. ARTICLE III. Sect. i. The judicial power of the United States (hall be yefted in one fupreme court, and in fuch inferior courts, as the Congre(s may from time to time ordain and e(labli(h. The judges, both of the fupreme and inferior courts, (hall hold their o(fices during good behaviour, and (hall, at ftated times, receive for their fervices, a compenfation, which (hall not be diraini(hed during their continuance in office. Sect. 2. The judicial power (hall extend to all cafes, in law and equity, arifing under this conftitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which (hall be made, under their authority ; to all cafes afFefting ambaflfadors, other public minifters, and confuls ; to all cafes of admiralty and maritime jurifdiftion ; to controverfies to which the United States (hall be a party ; to controverfies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the fame State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof^ and foreign States, citizens, or fubjefts. In all cafes affeding amba(radors, other public minifters, and confuls, and thofe in which a State (hall be party, the fupreme court (hall have original jurifdiftion. In all the other cafes before mentioned, the fu- preme court (hall have appellate jurifdiAion, both as to law and faft, with fuch exceptions, and under fuch regulations as the Congrefs (hall make. " The trial of all crimes, except in cafes of impeachment, fhall be by jury ; and fuch trial (hall be held in the State where the faid crime (hall have been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the . :. uid OF THE UNITED STATES. 219 trial fhall be at fuch place or places ias the Congreft may by law have dlreaed. • 'dr-in rc Sect. 3. Treafon againft the United States Ihall confifV bivty ffr ievy-> ing war againft them, or in adhering to their eneniies, giving them aid and comfort. No perfon Ihall be convifted of treafon, unlefs on thd teftimony of two witncffesto the fame overt ad, or on confeffionin open court. The Congrefs {hall have power to declare the punilhment of trcafonj but no attainder of treafon (hall work corruption of blood, or forfeitiireij except during the life of the perfon attainted. -' ARTICLE fSrJ^^'^^>^^'-'P^^^-^''"-^ Sect. I. Full faith and credit fhall be given In each State to the public ads, records, and judicial proceedings of evety other Stite. And the Congrefs may by general laws prefcribe the manner in which fuch ads, records, and proceedings Ihall be proved, and the effed thereof^ ; Sect. 2. The citizens of each State Ihall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the feveral States. ^ - ; .-^ A perfon charged in any State with treafon, felony, or other criipcj who fhall flee from juftice, and be found in another State, Ihall, on de* mand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be de- livered up, to be removed to the State having jurifdidion of the crime,. No perfon held to fervice or labour in one State, under the laws thereof, efcaping into another, ihall, in confequence of any law or regu-- lation therein, be difcharged from fuch fervice or labour, but fhall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom fuch fervice or labour may be due. Sect. 5. New States may be admitted by the Congrefs into this union, but no new State fhall be formed or ereded within the jurifdic-^ tion of any other State; nor any State be formed by the jundion,of tvio or more States, or parts of States, without the confent of the legifla-, tures of the States ooncerncd as well as of the Congrefs. The Congrefs fhall have power to difpofe of and make all needful rules and regulations refpeding the territory or other property belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this conftitution fhall be fo cdn- ftrued as to prejudice any claim? of the United States, or of any parti- cular State. Sect. 4. The United States fhall guarantee to every State in' tfiis union a republican form of government, and fhall proted each of them againfl invafion ; and on application of the legiflature, or of the execu- tive, when the legiflature cannot "be convened, agaihfi'domeftic violence, ARTICLE V, The Congrefs, whenever two thirds of both houfes fhall deem it nc- F f ^ ccffary, 22Q GENERAL DESCRIPTION cciTary, (hall propofc amendments to this conftitution, or, on the appli- cation of the Icgiflatures of two thirds of the feveral States, ihall call a convention for propofing amendments, which, in cither cafe, Ihall be valid to all intents and purpofcs, as part of this conftitution, when rati- fied by the legiflatures of three fourths of the feveral States, or by con- ventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of rati- fication may be propofed by the Congrcfs : provided, that no amend- ment which may be made prior to the year one thoufand eight hundred »nd eight, (h^l in any manner affeft the firft and fourth claufes in the ninth fedlion of the firft article ; and that no State, without its content, ihall be deprived of its equal fuffrage in the Senate, ARTICLE VI. All debts contrafted, and engagements entered into before the adop- tion of this conftitution, Ihall be as valid againft the United States under this conftitution, as under the confederation, ■ This conftitution, and the laws of the United States, which ftiall be made in purfuance thereof ;"and all treaties made, or which ftiall be made, under the authority of the United States, fliall be the fuprcmc law of the land ; and the judges in every State Ihall be bound thereby, any thing in the conftitution or laws of any 'State to the contrary not- withftanding. The Senators and Rcprefentativcs before mentioned, and the Mem- bers of the feveral State Legiflatures, and all Executive and Judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the feveral States, ftiall be bound by oath or affirmation to fupport this conftitution; but no re- ligious teft ftiall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public truft under the United States, ARTICLE VII. The ratification of the conventions of nine States (hall be fufficient for the cftablifhnjent pf this conftitution^ betwccp the States fo ratifying the fapic, DONE in Conventhfti by the unanimous cotifent cf the States pre/ent, the feventeenth day of September) in the year of our Lord Ope Thoujand Se^'en Hundred and Eighty -fe'vent and of the Independence of the United States of America the TiAtelfth, Jn Wttnefs nuhereof furrcnder to it a part of their natural independence, which they be- fore enjoyed as men. When a confederate republic is inftituted, the communities, of which it is compofed, furrender to it a part of their political independence, which they before enjoyed as ftates. The prin- ciples, which direded, in the former cafe, what part of the natural liberty of the man ought to be given up, and what part ought to be retained, will give fiiniiar directions in the latter cafe. The ftates fliould refign, to the national government, that part, and that part only, of their political liberty, which placed in that government, will pro- duce more good to the whole, than if it had remained in the feveral ftates. While they refign this part of their political liberty, they retain the free and generous exercife of all their other faculties as ftates, fo far as it is compatible with the welfare of the general and fuperintending confederacy. Since ftates as well as citizens are rcprefented in the conftitution be- fore us, and form the objcfts on which that conftitution is propofed to operate. OF THE UNITED STATES. 23I operate, it was neceflary to notice and define federal as well as cin:tl liberty. We now fee the great end which they propofcd to accomplifli. It was to frame> for their conftituents, one federal and national conftitu- tion — a conftitution, that would produce the advantages of good, and prevent the inconvenicncies of bad government — a conllitution, whofe beneficence and energy would pervade the whole union ; and bind and embrace the interefts of every part — a conftitution, that would cnfure peace, freedom and happinefs, to the ftates and people of America. We are now naturally led to examine the means, by which they pro* pofed to accomplifti this end. But previoufly to our entering upon it, it will not be improper to ftatc forae general and leading principles of go- remment, which will receive particular application in the courfe of our inveftigations. There neceflarily exifts in every government, a power from which there is no appeal ; and which, for that reafon, may be termed fupreme, abfolute and uncontrollable. Where does this power refide ? To this quefdon, writers on different governments will give different anfwers. According to Blackflone, in this country, this power is lodged in the Britiih parliament, and the parliament may alter the form of govern- ment ; and its power is abfolute without control. The idea of a con- ftitution, limiting and fuperintending the operations of legiflative autho- rity, feems not to have been accurately underftood in this kingdom. There are, at leaft no traces of pradice, conformable to fuch a principle. To control the power and conduft of the legillature by an over- ruling conftitution, was an improvement in the fcience and pradlicc of govern- ment, referved to the American ftates. Perhaps fome politician, who has not confidered, with fufHcient accu- racy, their political fyftems, would anfwer, that in their governments, the fupreme power was vefted in the conftitutions. This opinion ap- proaches a ftep nearer to the truth ; but does not reach it. The truth is, that, in the American governments, the fupreme, abfolute and uncon- trollable power remains in the people. As their conftitutions are fupcrior to their legiflatures ; fo the people are fuperior to their conftitutions. Indeed the fuperiority, in this laft iriftance, is much greater; for the people poffefs, over their conftitutions, control in aS, as well as in right. The confequence is, that the people may change the conftitutions, whenever, and however they pleafe. This is a right, of which no po- fitive inftitution can ever deprive them. Thefe important truths, are far from being merely fpeculative : To their operation, we are to afcribe the fcene, hitherto unparallelled, which ' 3 AmericJt 232 GENERAL DESCRIPTION' America now exhibits to the world — a gentle, a peaceful, a voluntary and a deliberate tranfition from one conftitution of government to an- otlicr. In other parts of the world, the idea of revolutions in govern- ment is, by a mournful and indiffoluble aflbciation, conncdcd with the idea of wars, and all the calamities attendant on wars. But happy ex- perience teaches us to view fuch revolutions in a very different light- to confider them only as progrefTive fteps in improving the knowledge of government, and increafing the happincfs of fociety and mankind. With filent pleafure and admiration we view the force and prevalence* of this fentiment throughout the United States, that the fupreme power refides in the people; and that they never can part with it. It may be called the Panacea in politics. There can be no diforder in the commu- nity but may here receive a radical cure. If the error be in the legifla- ture, it may be corrected by the conftitution : If in the conftitution, it may be corredcd by the people. There is a remedy, therefore, for every diftemper in government ; if the people are not wanting to them- selves. For a people wanting to themfelves, there is no remedy : From' their power, there is no appeal : To their error, there is no fuperior principle of correftion. The leading principle in politics, and that which pervades the Ame- rican conftitutions, is, that the fupreme power refides in the people ; their conftitution opens with a folemn and practical recognition of this prin- ciple; " WE, -THE PEOPLE OF THE Unitei? States, in order to form a more perfe<^ union, eftablifli juftice, &c. do ORDAIN and ESTABLISH this conftitution, for the United States of America." It \% announced in their name, it receives its political exiftence from their authority — they ordain and eftablifti : What is the neceflary confequence ? — thofe who ordain and eftabliih, have the power, if they think proper, to repeal and annul. — A proper attentien to this principle may fatisfy die minds of fome, who contend for the neceflity of a bill of rights. Its eftabliftiment, I apprehend, has more force, than a volume written on the fubjedl — it renders this truth evident, that the people have a right to do what they pleafe, with regard to the government. Therefore, even in a fmgle government, if the powers of the people reft on the fame eftabliftiment, as is expreffcd in this conftitution, a bill of rights is by no means a neceflary meafure. In a government poflefltd of enumerated powers, fuch a meafure would be not only unneccflary, but prepofterous and dangerous i whence come this notion, that in the United States there is no fecurity without a bill of rights ? Have the citizens of South -Carolina no^ecurity for their liberties ? they have no bin of rights. Are the citizens on the eaftern fide of the Delaware lefs free, or Icfs fccured in their liberties, than thofe on the weftern fide \ OF THE UNITED STATES. 233 The ftate of.New-Jerfey has no bill of rights.— The ftatc of New- York has no bill of rights. — The ftates of Connedicut and Rhode-Ifland have no bill of rights. I know not whether I have exaftly enumerated the ftates who have thought it unneceflary to add a bill of rights to their conftitutions : but this enumeration will ferve to (hew by experience, as well as principle, that even in fmgle governments, a bill of rigltts is not an effential or neceflary meafure.— But in a government, confiding of .enumerated powers, fuch as is adoptjed by the United States, a bill of rights would not only be unneceffary, but, in my humble judgment, highly imprudent. In all focieties, there are many pov/ers and rights^ ■which cannot be particularly enumerated. A bill of rights annexed to a conftitution, is an enumeration of the powers referved. If we attempt an enumeration, every thing that is not enumerated, is prefumed to be given. The confequence is, that an imperfefl enumeration would throw all implied power into the fcale of the government ; and the rights of the people would be rendered incomplete. On the other hand ; an im- perfcdl enumeration of the powers of government, referves all implied power to the people ; and, by that means the conftitution becomss in- complete ; biit of the two, it is much fafer to run the rilk on the fide of the conftitution ; for an omiffion in the enumeration of the powers of government, is neither fo dangerous, nor important, as an omiflion ia the enumeration of the rights of the people. In this conftitution, the citizens af the United States appear difpenfing a part of their original power, in what manner and in what proportion they think fit. They never part with the whole ; and they retain the right of re-calling what they part with. When, therefore, they poffefs, the fee-fimple of authority, why fliould they have recourfe to the mi- jiute and fubordinate remedies, which can be neccffary only to thofe^ who pafs the fee, and referre only a rent-charge ? To every fuggeftion concerning a bill of rights, the citizens of the United States may always fay, WE reserve the right to do what WE PLEASE. This obfervation naturally leads to a more particular confideration of the government before us. In order to give permanency, ftability and fecurity to any government, it is of eflential importance, that its legif- lature Ihould be reftrained ; that there fllouId not only be, what we call a pqffi^ey but an a^hie power over it ; for of all kinds of defpotifm, this is the moft dreadful, and the moft difficult to be correfted. It is therefore proper to have efficient reftraints upon the legiflative body. Thefe reftraints arife from different fources : In th® American conftitution they are produced in a very confiderablc degree, by a divi- yoL.I. Hh fioa 234 GENERAL DESCRIPTIONf fion of the power in the legiflative body itfelf. Under this fyftem, they may arifc likewifc from the interference of thofe officers, who arc introduced into the executive and judicial departments. They may fpring alfo from another fource ; tije eleftion by t^jc people ; and finally, under this conftitution, they may proceed from the great and laft re- fort— from the PEOPLE themfelves. In order to fecure the prefident from any dependence, upon the legif- lature, as to his falary, it is provided, that he fhall, at dated times, re- ceive for his fervices, a corapenfation that Ihall neither be increafed nor diminilhed, during the period for which he ihall have been elefted, and that he fhall not receive, within that peiiod, any other emolument from the United States, or any of them individually. To fecure to the judges independence, it is ordered rhat they (hall re- ceive for their fervices, a compenfation which Ihall not be diminifhed during their continuance in office. The congrefs may be retrained, by the eledion of its conftituent parts. If a legiflature fhall make a law- contrary to the coiiftitution, or opprcffive to the people, they have it in their power, every fecond year, in one branch, and every fixth year in the other, to difplace the men, who aft thus ineonfiftent with their duty; and if thb is not fufficient, they hav» ftill a farther power ; they may affume into their own hands, the alteration of the conftitution itfelf-^ they may revoke thelcafci wheji the conditions are broken by the tenant. There is ftill a further reftralnt upon the legiflature — the qualified negative of the prefident. This will be attended witk very impor- tant adtantages, for the fecurity and happinefs of the people of the United States, The prefident, will not be a ftranger to the country, ta its laws, or its wifhes. He will, under this conftitution, be placed in office as the prefident of the whole union, and be chofen in fuch a manner that he may juftly b,e ftiled t^e man of the PEOPLE; being elefted by the different parts of the United States, he willconfider himfelf as not particularly interefted for any one of them, but will watch over the whole with paternal care and affcftion. This will be his natural con- duft, to recommend himfelf to thofe who placed him in that high chair, and it is a very important advantage, that fuch a man muft have every law prefcjnted to him, before it can become binding upon the United States. He will have before him the fulleft infortnation of their fitua- tion, he will avail himfelf not only of records and official communicar tions, foreign and domeftic, but he will have alfo the advice of the execu* tive officers in the different departments of the general government. If in confe(juence of this information an4 advice, h? cxercife the authority rY j r UNIVERSiTY J authority^ given to him, the efFedl will not be loft — ^he returns his objec- tions, together with the bill, and unlefs two thirds of both branches of the legiflatQre are nonjo found to approve it, it does not become a law. But even if his objeftions do not prevent its paffing into a law, they will not be ufelefs ; they will be kept together with the law, and, in the ar- chives of congrefs, will be valuable and pra^iical materials, to form the minds of pofterity for legiflation — if it is found that the law operates in- conveniently, or oppreffively, the people may difcover in the prefident's objedions, the fource of that inconvenience or oppreflion. Further, when objedlions ihall have been made, it is provided, in order to fecure the greateft degree of caution and refponfibility, that the votes of both houfes (hall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the per- fons, voting for and againft the bill, fhall be entered in the journal of each houfe ';:efpe00Q 17^500 1,000 1,000 800 1,200 800 i>ooo 1,500 1,000 1,600 800 1,500 1,800 t,ooo 1,500 1,800 1,500 1,900 30,00a — 43>20o MEMBERS 2^0 GENERAL DESCRIPTIONT MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENT4't TIVES, AND THEIR OFFICERS. ^om^enfatioli to the Members of Congrcfsf efiimating the attendance of the nuhole for fix months. Speaker of the Houfc of Reprefcntatives, at twelve dollars per day - - - 2,19a One hundred and thirty-four members, at fix dollars per day - - - 14^3730 Travelling expenfes to and from the feat of govern- ment - - - 25,000 Secretary of the Senate, for one years falary C 1,500 Additional allowance eftimated for fix months, < at two dollars per day - L 3^5 1,865 Principal clerk to the Secretary of the Senate, for 365 days, at three dollars per day - ^^095 Two engroffing clerks to ditto, at two dollars per day each, for 365 days - - 1,460 Chaplain to the Sepate, eflimated for fix raonihs, at 500 dels, per annum - - 250 Door-keeper to the Senate, one year's falary 500 Affiftant door-keeper, do. do. - - 45Q Clerk to the Houfe of Reprcfentatives, one f year's falary - > . J 1,500 Additional allowance, efl:imate4 for fix months, | ^t two dollars per day _ . J^ ^5^ 1,865 Principal clerk in the office of the clerk of the Houfc of Reprcfentatives, for 365 days, at 3 dols. per day 1,095 Two engroffing clerks at two dollars per day each, for 365 days . - . 1,460 Chaplain to the Houfe of Reprcfentatives, eftimated for fix months, at 500 dollars per ann. - 250 Serjeant at Arms for'the fame time, at four dols. per day 730 Poor-keeper to the Houfe of Reprcfentatives, one year's falary - - . 500 Affiftant door-keeper do. do, ^ ^ 450 Treasuht OF THE UNITED STATES. Treasury Department. Secretary of the Treafury - - 3)5^9 Two principal clerks at 800 dollars each - i>6pp Five clerks, at 500 dols. each - - 2,500 Meffenger and office-keeper - - 250 Comptroller of the Treafury - - fii^5Q Pri^ipal clerk - - - 800 Thirteen clerks, at 500 dollars each - 6,500 Meffenger and office-keeper - - 250 Treafurer - - • 2,400 Principal clerk - - ♦ 600 Two clerks, at 500 dollars each - - 1,000 Meffenger and office-keeper - - 100 Auditory of the Treafury - - 2,400 Principal clerk - - - 8co Fourteen clerks, at 500 dollars each - 7,000 Salary of the meffenger - - 250 Commiffioner of the revenue - - 2,400 Principal and fix other clerks, on the bufinefs of the revenue, light houfes, general returns, and llate- ments, &c. , - . 3,500 Meffenger and office- keeper * - 250 Regifter of the treafury - - 2,000 Three clerks on the impoft, tonnage, and excife ac- counts - • - - 1,590 Two ditto, on the books and records relative to the receipt and expenditures of public monies - .1,090 Two ditto, on the duties affigned to the regifter, by the ads concerning the regiftering and recording, enrolling and licenfing fhips or veffels - 1,000 Three ditto, for drawing out, checking, and iffuing, . and taking receipts for certificates of the domelUc and affuraed debts - - - 1j500 Three ditto on the books of the general and particular loan offices, comprehending the intereft, accounts, and claimed dividends, at the feveral loan offices - '1,500 u^ Vol, li 7*850 10,200 4,100 10,450 6,^50 Six I H 242 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Dols. Six clerks on the books and records which relate to the public creditors, on the feveral dcfcriptions of ftock and transfers . - - 3>ooo Two ditto, on the books and records of regiftered debt, including the payment of its intereft - 1,000 One ditto, to complete the arrangement of the public fecurities in books prepared for their reception in numerical order - - . 500 Two ditto, on the books of the late government 1,000 One tranfcribing clerk - _ _ ^00 Two office-keepers, incident to the feveral offices of record, at 250 dollars per annum each - 500 Department of State. The Secretary of State - - - 3>5oo Chief Clerk - _ - 800 Four clerks, at 500 dollars each - - 2,000 Clerk for foreign languages - - 250 Office-keeper and MtiTenger - - 250 Mint of the United States. Direftor of the Mint - - 2,000 Aflayer - - • - i,5Po Chief coiner - - . 1^500 Engraver - . - * - 1,500 * Three clerks, at .500 dollars each - 1,500 The Direftor eftimates ten or twelve workmen at 6j dollars per week - . 3y3^5 5,000 53»75^ 6,800 11,285 • The dircdtor ohfervcs, that three clerks are cftimated to provide agalnft a contin- gcncy} but of the three efUniated for laft yeir, only one had been employed, and tba at 4C0 dollars per pnnum, excepting three months laft >*inter, tor which one other was paid at the rate of 500 d^^llars per annum. Depart- OF. THE UNITED STATES, 243 Dols. Dols. Department of War. The Secretarj^ of the department - - 3>ooo Principal clerk - - - 800 Six clerks, at 500 dollars each - - 3>ooo Meffenger and office-keeper - - 250 Accomptant of the war department - - 1,200 Seven clerks, at 500 dollars each - - 3>500 Land OFfiriRs. vFor New Hampfhire - - 650 MafTachufetts . - - i>5oo Rhode Ifla«nd . - _ 600 Connefticut - ■ - 1,000 New York > - - 1,500 New Jerfey - . - ^00 Pennfylvania - - 1,500 Delaware - - .- 600 Maryland ... 1,000 Virginia ... 1,^00 North Carolina ... 1,000 South Carolina - - 1,000 Georgia - - - -700 Government of the Western Territory, Dijiria North Weft of the Riw Ohio. Governor, for his falary as fuch, and for difcharging the duties of Supcrintendant of Indian Affairs, Northern Department - » 2,000 The Secretary of the faid diftri50o li a Dijlria 244 GtK^ERAL DESCRIPTION Dols. CtS4 Diftria South^Wefl dfthe R't*vir OJsd, Governor, for his falary as foch, and fbr dif- charging the duties of Superintendant of In- J dian Affairs, Southern Department - fi,00d j Secretary of the faid diftrift - . 750 i Threir Judges at 800 dols. each - - 2,400 Stationary, office- rent, &c. - - 356 5*5^ Pensions granted by the late Government. Ifaic Van Voert, John Paulding, and David Williams, each a penfion of 200 dols. per annum purfuant to an adl of Congrefs of 23d Nov. 1780 _ - _ 600 Dominique L'Eglize, per aft of Congrefs of 8th Auguft, 1792 - - - 120 Jofeph Traverfe per ditto - - 1 20 Youngeft children of the late major-general War- ren, pci aft of the id July, 1780. 450 Samuel M*Kenzie, Jofeph Bruflcls, and John Jor- don, per aft of 10th Sep. 1783, entitled to a penfion of forty dols. «ach p^r annum - 120 Eliz. Bergen.per aft of 21ft Auguft, 1781 53 33 Joff'ph De Bea\ileau, per aft of 5rh Auguft, 1782 100 Richard Gridley, per afts of 17th Nov. 1775, and 26th Feb. 1781 - - 444 40 Licat. Col. Toufard, per aft of 27th Oft. 1788 360 2^367 73 Grant io Baron Steuben, &c. His annual allowance per aft of Congreft - 2,500 Annual allowance to the widow and orphan chidren of Col. John Harding, per aft of 57th Feb. 1 793 450 Annu:»l allowance to the orphan children of Major Alexander Trueman, per fame aft - 300 Annual allowance for the education of Hugh Mer- ^cer, fon of the late major-general Mercer, per aft dated 2d March, 1793 - - 400 3,650 Fo» OF THE UNITED STATES, For the Incidental and Contingent ex- pences relative to the civil list es- tablishment*. Secretary of the Senate, hds eftimate '.^r^.^'; 3,000 Clerk of the Houfe of Reprefentatives, his do. 7,000 Dols. Cts, ■10,000 Treasury Department. Secretary of the Treafury, per eftimate Comptroller of the Treafury, per do. Treafurer, per do, - - - Commiffioner of the Revenue, per do. Auditor of the Treafury, per do. .Regifter of the Treafury (including books for the public ftocks) per do. Rent of the Treafury Ditto, of a houfe taken for a part of the office of the Regifter ^ - - Ditto, of a houfe for the office of the Commiffioner of the Revenue, and for part of the office of the Comptroller, and part of the office of the Auditor Rent of a houfe for the office of the Auditor, and a fmall ftore for public papers Wood for the department (Treafurers excepted] candles, &c. - - - Department of State. Including the expenfe which will attend the publi- cation of the laws of the firft feffion of the third Congrefs, and for printing an edition of the fame to be diftributed according to law 500 800 400 300 2,COO 650 240 266 66 440 1,200 7,296 66 2,061 6; Mint of the United States. The Dire^lor eftimates for the feveral expenfes of the mint, including the pay of a refiner, when employed, for gold, filver and copper, and for the completion of the melting furnace^ »7QO * Under this head are comprehended fire-wood and fl-ationary, together with printing work, and all the contingent expenfes of the two houfes of Congreis, rent and office expenfes of the three feveral departnients, viz. Treafury, State 2>nd War, and aifo for the Mint of the United States* Depart- 246 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Department of War. Secretary at War, per ftatement - - 800 Accoroptant to the war department - - 400 1,200 Dels. Cts. 23»258 33 Total Dollars 397,201 6 An additional Ejiimntej for malibig good deficiencies for the fnppori of the C'f-vtl Lifi ejlahlijhmcnt, for aiding the fund appropriated for the pajmcnts of certain officers of the CourtSy Jurors andW'itneffcsy for the fupport of the Lighthoufes, and for other purpofs. To make good deficiencies for the fupport of the Civil Lift for the year 1793. Extra clerk-hire, in the office of the Secretary of State, in preparing documents for Congrefs 600 For an index to the laws of the 2d Cono-refs poo Dels. Cts, •800 The 5^ccrctary at War, his eftimates to make good fo much fliort, eftimated, for contingent ex- pences for the year 1793 Additional compenfation from ift Od. 1793, to 3jft December following, to certain public officers, by a«fl pafTed the fecond of March, 1793*- Auditor of the Treafury, at 500 dols. per ann. CommifTioners of the Revenue, ditto Comptroller of the Treafury, at 500 dols. per annum . . _ ^ B-egifter of the Treafury, ditto 1,380 76 • By the faid adl, this additional compenfation comnnence4 the firfl of April, 179;;, the two quarters preceding the firft Oft. 1793, were paid out of the fum of 5,169 dol- lars, grant*! in the appropriation of i,«89,044 76-ico dollais for the purpofc of dif- c'rurgiiig clainns admitted in due courfe of fettlement at the Ticafury. * The 125 300 »25 62 50 62 5*^ "875 OF THE UNITED STATES. 2^/ Expencei sf CommiJJtonen of Loam for Clerk-hire and Siatienarjy from \Ji March y 1793, to ^\Ji December, 1794. The accounts of many of the faid commiflioners having been tranf- mltted to the treafury, under an idea that legiflative provifion will be made for defraying the faid expences, the following ftatemcnt, ex- tracted from their faid accounts, fo far as the fame have been rendered, will fliew the amount thereof at each loan-office, viz. Dols. Cts. New-Hampshire, Eflimatc 697 i Massachusetts, ' . Account rendered in the month of March - 326 12 Do. from ift April to 30th June - - 816 97 Do. from ift July to 30th Sept - - 865 85 Eftimate from ift OAober to 31ft December, the fame as the preceding quarter - - 865 85 Rhode-Island. Account rendered from ift March to 31ft ditto - 68 83 Ditto from ift April to 30th June - - *9o 74 Eftimate from ift July to 31ft Dec. - - 381 48 2*874 79 641 Connecticut. Account rendered from ift March to 30th June - 408 94 Do. from ift July to 30th Sept. - - 256 52 Eftimate from ift Od. to 31ft Dec. - - 256 52 New- York. Account rendered,from ift March to 31ft March 515 Do. from ift April to 30th June - - 1j43o 38 Do. from ift July to 30th Sept. - - ' 1,3^3 81 Eftimate from 6th OiS. to 31ft Dec. - - 1^303 81 921 98 New-Jersey. Account rendered from ift March to 31ft Ma,rch - 26 Do. from ift April to 30th June - - 8 Do. from ift July to 30th Sept ^:^faMl <_ ^ 5452 Eftimate from ift Oa. to 31ft Dec. rC' •^•^"^^ '^'"^-^ 4;553 £21 Pennsyl- 248 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Pennsylvania. iDoIs. Cts, Account rendered from ift March to 31ft do. - 154 16 Eftimate from 1 ft April to 31ft Dec. - - 1*317 44 1,541 62 250 ' Delaware. Account rendered from ift March to 31ft do. - 25 Eiliinate from ill April to 31ft Dec. - - 225 Maryland. Acconat rendered from ill to 31ft March - 1 10 5a EiUinats from ift April to 3 ill Dec. - - 991 5^ Virginia. Account rendered from ill: to 31ft Marcli Do. from ill April to 30th June Do, from lil July t© 30th September Eflimate from ill Oa. to 3 ill Dec. North Carolina. EHimate from ift March to 3iil December, 1 793 South Carolina. A.ccount rendered from id to 3 ill March Dit. from ill April to 30th June Do. from ift July to 30th September Eftimate from ift Oft. to 31ft December Gf-orgta. Eftimate from ift March to 31ft Decern. 1793 240 For clerk-hire and ftaticnary of the feveral ftate com;niiTioners of loans, from ill January, i7Q4» to the 31ft of December following, eftimated on a reference to the claims exhibited and re- ferred to in the above ftatement, at - - - 22,622 25 1,1^^^ 227 16 741 ^9 649 5 649 5 2,266 45 800 127 47 377 50 380 43 380 43 1,265 83 Clerks ok Courts, Juries, Witnesses, &c. Tlip fund arifing from fines, forfeitures anJ pe- nalties, having laft year proved infufiicient for the difcharge of the accounts of clerks. Sec, to 3 which 20,000 4,ooo 4,000 1,500 24,000 5>5QO OF THE UNITED STATES. 249 '' whicH tHey were appointed, a fum for the prefent Dols. Dols. year is eftimated, in order to provide againft a fimilar contingency, of - - - - 12,000 For the maintenance and fupport ef light-houfes, bea- cons, public piers and fteakage of channels, bars, and (hoals, and for occafional improve- ments in the conftruftion of lanterns, and of the lamps and materials ufed therein - To make good a deficiency in the eftimate for 1792, for the fame objeds - - - - - For the expences towards the fafe-keeping and pro- fecuting of perfons committed for oifences againft the United States - - For the purchafe of hydrometers for the ufe of the offi- cers of the Cuftoras and Infpeftors of the Revenue, for the year 1794 - - - - . For the Coinage of Copper at the Mint of THE United States. To replace fo much advanced at the Bank of the Uni- ted States, for the purpofe of an importation of copper, under the fuperintendance of the Direftor ofth^Mint - - - - - - 10,000 To pay for copper purchafed in the year 1 ^793* - 7>350 For the purchafe of ditto 1 794 - - - - 7>350 Arrears of Penfion due to the Widow and Orphan children of Col. John Harding, Fc I their allowance from ift of July 1792, to the 31ft of Dec. 1793, per aft of Congrefs, dated Feb. 27, 1793, at 450 dollars per annum - - - 675 Arrears of Penfion due to the Orphan children of ma- jor Alexander Truman For the allowance from ill July, ijg2, to the 31ft Dec. 1793, per aooo 10,000 2,500 i7>333 34 30,000 1 2iOOO 8,250 5,000 10,000 20,000 2,000 3,000 1,000 6,000 130,000 5OjO0D 150,000 30,000 Bo,239 55 Total, Dollars 1,457)835 69 Circumftances having rendered it neceflary to attend to the defence of the frontiers, as well as the fortification of the principal ports of the United States, a confiderable addition muft be made to this eftimate for ihe prefent year. TOTAL EXPENDITURE. On the firft of thefe eftimates relating to the civil lift, or expenditure for the fupport of government during the year 1794, including the incidental and contingent ex- pences of the feveral departments and offices - 397,201 6 Kk2 On 252 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Dols. Cts. On the fccond relating to certain deficiencies in former appropriations for the fiipport of government, to a pro- viiion in aid of the fund heretofore eftablifticd for the compcnfation of certain officers of the conrts, jurors, , witnefies, Sec. to tht maintenance of light-houfes, bea- cons, buoys and public piers, and to certain other pur- pofes therein fpecified — - - 147,689 78 The third relating to the department of war, comprehend- ing the probable expenditure of that department for the year 1794, induding certain extraordinaries for build- ings, repairs, arms and military ftores, amounting to 20^,783 dollars and 34 cents, and a fum of 80,239 dol* lars and 55 cents, for penfions to invalids - ir457j835 ^9 Total amount 2,002,74a 53 FINANCES. The funds, out ©f which appropriations may be made for the fore- going purpofes, are — ift. The fum of 600,000 dollars referved annually for the fupport of government, out of the duties on imports and ton- nage, by the ad making proviffc)n for the debt of the United States, and which will accrue in the year i794.-^2d. The furpUis of revenue and income beyoTid the appropriations heretofore charged thereupon, to the end of the fame year 1794. The ftatement herewith fubmitted, ihews a furplus to the end of 1793, of 2,534,212 dollars, and 82 cents, whick it is believed may be relied upon. Statement of the Re^venne of the United Stafefj and Appropriat'tons charged thereon to the end of the jear ly^^. REVENUE, Dols. Cts, Proceeds of the duties on imports and tonnage, and of fines, penalties and forfeitures, from the commence- ment of the prefent government to the 3iflof Dec. 1791 - - - 6,534,263 84 Proceeds of duties on fpirits diftillcd within the United States, for a half year, «nding the 31ft of Dec. 1791, agreeable to accounts fettled at the trcafury - 141,84998 Proceeds OF THE UNITED STATES. '253 Dols. Cts. Proceeds of duties on imports and tonnage, and of iincs, penalties, and forfeitures for tlie year 1792, agreeable to a&counts fettled at the trcafury - - 4*615,559 Proceeds of duties on fpirits diftilled within the United States in the year 1792, agreeable to accounts fettled at the Treafury 294,344 35, to which add the dif- ference between the faid fum, and the amount eftimated for 1792, for accounts remaining to be fettled 105,655 dollars and 65 cents - ^ - 400,000 Proceeds of duties on imports and tonnage, and of fines penalties and forfeitures for the year 1793, cftimated at nearly the fame as for the year 1792 - 4,^617,510 Proceeds of duties on fpirits diftilled within the United States, in the year 1 793, eftimated at the fame as for the year 1792 - - - 400^000 Cafti received in the Treafury to the end of the year 1791, from fines, penalties and forfeitures, and for balances - - - ^h33S 93 Cafli received into the Treafury to the end of the year 1 792, for arms and accoutrements fold, fines and penal- ties, balance of accounts fettled, and on account of th« ^ dividend declared by the bank of the United States to June 30, 1792 - - 21,860 87 Cafh received into the Treafury during the year 1793, oa account of patents, 630 dollars of cents and half cents coined at the mint 1,154 3-100 dollars, balances due under the government 8,448, 58-100 dollars; and on account of dividends declared by the bank of the United States, from the ift of July, 1792, to the 30th June, 1793, 38,500 dollars : - 4^^732 61 Eftimated produdl of the dividend to be declared from the ifl of July to the 31ft of Dec. 1793, beyond the intereft payable to the bank on the loan of two millions 10,000 16,801^112 23 APPROPRIATIONS. Dates of Afts. Dols. Cts. 1789, Aug. 20. For treaties with the Indians • 20,000 Sept. 29. For the fervice of the year 1 789 693,000 *79P>Mar, 26, For the fupport of government for the year 1790 . • ' 754*658 99 July 254 GENERAL DESCRIPTION 1790, July 1. For intcrcourfe with foreign nations, for the years 1790, I79i> and 1792 For fatisfying the claims of John MCord July 12, For treaties with certain Indian tribes Aug. 4. For intereft on the debts, foreign and doraeftic, for the year 1791, efti- mated at For ditto ' ditto 1792 For ditto ditto 1793 For the eftablifhment of cutters to. For finilhing the light-houfc on Port- land-head For the relief of difabled foldiers and feamen, and certain other perfons 1 2. For fundry objeds For the redudion of the public debt, being furplus of revenue to the end of the year 1790 1791, Feb. 11. For the fupport of government during the year 1791, and for other purpofes March 3. For a recognition of the treaty with Morocco - For compenfations to the officers of the judicial courts, jurors, and witneffes, and for other purpofes ; being net pro- ceeds of fines, penalties and forfei- tures to the endof theye«r 1791 For raifmg and adding another regi- ment to the military eftablidiment, and for making farther provifion for the protedion of the frontiers Dec. 23. For the fupport of government foe the year 1792 1792, April 2. For finiftiing the light-houfe on Bald- head For the mint eftablilhment 13. For compenfating the corporation of truftees of the public grammar fchool and academy of Wilmington Dols. Cts. 1 20,000 1,309 71 20,000 2,060,861 40 2,849,194 73 2,849,194 73 10,000 548 5? 233»2i9 97 i>374»656 43 740,232 60 20,000 4^055 33 312,686 20 1,059,222 81 4,000 7,0 00 2,533 ^4 May OF THE UNITED STATES. May 2. For the prote(flion of the frontiers, and other purpofes For intereft on 400,000 dollars received on account of a loan from the bank of the United States of 523,500 dol- lars, to Dec. 31, 1793 8. For fundry objefts For compenfating the fervices of the late Col. George Gibibn For an advance on account of the claim of John Brown Cutting 1793, ^^^' 9* -^^^ intercourfe with foreign nations for the year 1793 28. For the fervice of the year 1793 For intereft on a loan of 800,000 dollars from the bank of the United States, to 31ft Dec. 1793 For defraying the expence of clerks of courts, jurors and witnelTes, being the net proceeds of fines, penalties and forfeitures, to the end of the year 1792 March 2. For treaties with the Indian tribes north weft of the river Ohio For the relief of Elijah Boftwick For defraying certain fpecific demands Dels. Cts, 673,500 28,753 4t 84*497 9? 1,000 2,000 40,000 1,589,044 yz 18,333 301 46 100,000 59,107 41 14,266,899 41 Balance being the eftimated furplus of revenue to the end of the year 1793* coUefted and to be coUefted, beyond the appropriations charged thereon 2,534,212 82 Dols. 16,801,112 23 The produft of the duties on imports and tonnage, for the prefent year, is eftimated, according to the afcertained amount, in the preceding year. This eftimate is juftified by the abftrad herewith alfo fubmitted, exhibiting the produd for the two firft quarters of the prefent year, as founded on returns received at the treafury, being 2,568, 870 dclkrs and fii^S GENERAL DESCRIPTION artd 22 cents. The produft for the two remaining qL^arters is not com- puted as high as that of the two firft,betaufe eircumftances and informa- tion render it probable, that it will be tefs, and that the drawbacks pay- able within the laft, will be more confideTable than thofe payable within the firft half yeaf. The afcertained produ823 52 a-4 340,621 5 3-4 348,444,58 1-2 Khode 111 and 1,665 52 67,078 93 68,7,14 45 Connetticut 26,394 47 70,507 84 96,002 31 Vermont - - Kew Yoik . 122,419 49 532,542 45 654,961 94 New Jerfey 924 3» 1,879 4 2,Bo3 35 Fennfylvania 157*523 9'i 586,000 743>523 93 Delaware I2g 7 2,31971 2,448 78 211,499 83 1-2 Maryland 49>5^-^ 54 3-4 l6ly;87 28 3-4 Virginia 40,993 15 104,182 62 1-2 H5»^75 77 1-2 Kentucky - - - N. Carolina 25^37^ 75 3-4 16,696 93 4;!, 068 68 3-4 S. Carolina 91,040 54 106,547 "64 197,588 18 Georgia 27^23 23 2,367 67 30,290 90 551*721 54 1-4 2,019,124 44 2,570:»845 9^ 1-4 DcdudN.Hamp. i>S93 42 1-2 - - Vermont. -- ^-^vL* ^■«'. 82 33 1*975 75 1-22 Nef iiiiiitfiit .549,828 11 j-4^ 2,019,042 I 1 2,568,870 2rr 3 4 But t\\iic Is a provifion alfo to be made for the payment of intereft on the balances found by the cominiffioncrs for fettling accounts between the OF THE UNITED STATES. 25/ the United and individual States> in favour of certain dates. The annual fum of intereft upon thofe balances, is 128,978 dollars and S cents, computed according to the proportions by which intereft is adjufted on the aflumed debt. If Congrefs fhall think proper to make the requifite provifion out of the duties on imports and tonnage, it will be neceflfary to its efficacy, that a priority be fecured to it : an objet^ which will require attention in making the appropriations above contemplated. It is confidered, that there will be ftill no ha- zard of deficiency ; and if there ftiould be any, it would feem molt proper, that it fhould fall on the appropriation for the current fervice, to be fupplied, till further provifion can be made, by a loan. A provifion for paying, during the year 1794, intereft on fuch part of the domeftic debt, as may remain unfubfcribed, will come under a like confideration. It appears proper, likewife, to notice, that no provifion has yet been made, for paying the yearly intereft, on the two million loan had of the bank of the United States. The bank has hitherto dif- counted the amount of that intereft out of its dividends on the ftocjc belonging to the United States, but for want of an approbation the bufinefs cannot receive a regular adjuftment at. the treafury. An ap- propriation of fo much of the dividends as may be neceflary towards the payment of the intereft will obviate the difficulty.: — The fecond inftalment of that loan has been comprifed in the foregoing view ; becaufe it is imagined that Congrefs may judge it expedient to pro- vide for its payment out of the foreign fund, as they did with regard to the firft inftalment. The ftatement herewith alfo communicated, exhibits the prefent fituation of that fund, ihewing a balance unex- pended of five hundred and feventy-feven thoufand, two hundred and eighty-four dollars, and fifty-fix cents, liable to the obfervation at the bott'om thereof. State of Monies tramferrei to the United Siateh out of the proceeds of Foreign Loans » To this fum paid to France for the ufe of St. Dr, Domingo - - - - Dols. 726,020 Payment to France of 3 millions of livres, pur- fuant to an agreement with M. Ternaat - 544,500 Ditto for mifcellaneous purpofes paid to M. Tenant . - - - - 49,400 Iiiftalment due to France, September 3d, 17931 1,500,000 livres - - - 272,250 No. V. LI laftalmeni 258 GENERAL i)ESCRIPTION Inftalmcnt due to France November 5th, 17931 1,000,000 livres. On which there has been paid Dols. 178,87935 Balance to be paid - - 2,626 65 , Payqient made to foreign of- ficers - - - Dols. Referved to be paid 66,089 77 125.227 13 191,316 90 This fum expended in pur- chafes of the public debt, ~ viz. <■ I793> Feb. 4, Dols. Ditto 19, Sept. 2, 50,000 234,901 89 5,000 334,901 89 200,000 Inftalment to the bank of the United States Balance fubjedt to further difpofition 577,284 s6 Dols. 3,077,173 35 By this fum drawn by the treafurcr on the commiflioners in Amller- v "diain.^ r Florins 5,649,621 8 — 2,305,769 13 From which deduct the amount of bills fold to the bank of ' the United States, afterwards furren- ' jdered 495,000 — 200,000 ^'*"' 5,154,621 2-8 • 1,105,769 13 By this fum applied in Europe to che payment of intcreft, for which provifion was made out of domeftic funds, and thereby virtually drawn to the 'United States, viz. Intereft from the i ft of Feb. 1 791, to 4793, j^iidaiui to. , OF THE UNITED STATES. 259 be paid. Florins 2,940,790 13 From which dedu(fl this fum remitted .^ .^, _^, -^ from hence SS^yS^S 4 '-^-^fm Florins 2,404,225 g* it $6 ^-^ii 971,404,22 •■:x»: D0I3. 3»°llf^l3* 35 But in judging of the cjtpediency of making the jxroyifion intimated, it is neceffary to take into confiderat ion, that on the firfl: of June 1794, afecond inftalment of 1,000,000 of florins, of the capital of the Dutch debt, became payable j for which, by the laft advices, it appeared problematical, owing to the fituation of the affairs of Europe, whether provifion could be made by a further loan. This circumftance is an obftacie to the immediate application of the refidue of the foreign f\ind according to its deftination — that being the only refource yet provided, out of which the inftalment of the Dutch debt can be paid, if a farther loan cannot be procured in time. More decifive informa- tion on the point may every day be expelled. In the mean time, no inconvenience can enfue from applying a por* tidft of that refidue to the payment of the inftalment of the two mil- lion loan—the degree in which it will intrench upon the means in pofTeffion for fatisfying theenfuing inftalment of the Dutch debt, being cafily fufceptible of a fubftitute, And there will be time enough for providing one, if a loan fhoul4 not be obtained. By an arrangement made with the bank, the intereft of the firft in- ftalment ceafed the laft of December 1 792, though the payment could not legally be confumraated till July following. A provifion for payment on the fecond inftalment at the end of the prefent year will continue this defirable courfe, and work a public faving ; though, owing to the long credit^ given for the duties^ an- ticipations of their- proceeds, by temporary loans, may be i^eceffary to the being prepared for the exigences of the current feyvicc, , . Thus the prefent eligible fituation of the United States, compared to that of Great Britain, or Europe at large, as it refpeds taxes or contributions, for the p^^ment of 4II public charges, appear^ ma- ♦ The preclfe account of fums thus pard for interefl, cannot be dennitively pro- nounced till the conipletion of the fettlenicnt of foreign accounts, now going on at the irealury. 2(56 GENERAL DESCRIPTION In the United States, the average proportion of his earnings, which each citizen pays per annum, for the fupport of the civil, military, and naval eftablilhraents, and for tho difcharge of the intereft of the public debts of his country, &c. is about one dollar and a quarter. In Great Britain, the taxes of thefe obje^fts, on an average, amount to above two guineas per annum to each pcrfon. Hence it appears, that in the United States they enjoy the bleflings of a free government and mild laws, of perfonal liberty,' and proteftion of property, for nearly one tenth part of the fum which is paid in England for the pur- chafe of fimilar benefits, too generally without the attainment of them. The American citizen lil^ewife has the profpeft of the taxes, which he pays, fmall as they are, being leflened, while the fubjefts of all the old European governments can have no expeftation but of their burdens be- ing increafedr SOCIETY OF-THE CINCINNATI. This focicty, inftituted immediately on the clofe of the war, in 1785, has made fo much noife both in Europe and America, and has derived fuch dignity and importance from the chara(^ers who compofe it| that it is thought proper to infert the inftitution at large, for the information of the uninformed, and for the gratification of the refpec- table members of the Cincinnati, who wifh to have their friendly and charitable intentions fully underftood by all claffes of their fellow citizens, It originated with General Knox, who, with the good intention pf reconciling the minds of his military brethren to the private life on which they were foon to enter, projefted the plan. Knox imparted his pjropofals to certain officers^ They weye afterward communicated to the feveral regiments of the refpedivc lines, and an officer from each [ was appointed, who, with the generals, (houl4 take the fame into con» (id^ratipn at a meeting to be held pn the loth of May, at which Baron Stuben/ the fenior officer prefent, prefided, At their next meeting on the ilth| the plan, having been revifed,was accepted, Thefubilancc of it was — f^ The officers of the American army do hereby, in tho moft folemn manner, aflbciate, conftitute, and combine themfelves, into pne Saciety of Friends, to endure as long as they (hall endure, or a,ny pf jHEjR ELPEST MALE POSTERITY ; and in failure thereof, the PPJ.LAT9RAL BRANCHES, WHO MAY BE JUDGED WORTHY O^ BE- CQ,j^^jfq ^ts sup^Qi^TEi^s A^D MBMB E^s.— 'The officers of the Ame^ \\c^T^ J^rmyi having genofally been taken from the citizens of A^ericaj, ppflefs high veneration for the charader of that illullrious Roman, OF THE UNITED STATES. ^6t tiUCius QtTTNTius CiNCiNNATus, and being refolved to follow his example, by returning to their citizenlhip, they think they may with propriety denominate themfelves The Society of the Cincinnati. The following principles (hall be immutable — an inceffant attention to pre- ferve inviolate the exalted rights and liberties of human nature, for which they have fought and bled — An unalterable determination to promote and cherifh between the refpedive ftates, union and national honour— ^To render permanent, cordial affedion, and the fpirit of brotherly kindnefs among the officers — and to extend afts of benefi- cence toward thofe officers and their families, who may unfortunately be under the neceffity of receiving it. The general fociety will, for the fake of frequent communications, be divided into ftatc focieties ; and thofe again into fuch diftrids as ihall be diredled by the Hate fo- cietiesi The ftate focieties (hall meet on the fourth of July annually, and the general fociety on the firft Monday in May annually, fo long as they fliall deem it neceffary, and afterward at ieaft once in every three years. The ftate focieties are to have a prefideut, vice-prefident, fecretary, treafurer, and affiftant-treafurer. The meeting of the ge- neral fociety ihall confift of its officers, and a reprefentation from each ftate fociety, in number not exceeding fire, whofe expences fliall be borne by their refpeftive ftate focieties. In the general meeting, the prefident, vice-prefident, fecretary, affiftant-fecretary, treafurer, and affiftant-treafurers-general, ftiall be chofen to ferve until the next meeting. Thofe officers who are foreigners, are to be confidered as members in the focieties of any of the ftates in which they may happen to be. As there are and will at all times be men in the refpeftivc ftates eminent for their abilities and patriotifm, whofe views may be direfted to the fame laudable objeds with thofe of the Cincinnati, it ftiall be a rule to admit fuch charadlers, as honorary members of the fociety for their own lives only : provided that the number of the ho- norary members do not exceed a ratio of one to four of the officers and their defcendants. The fociety ftiall have an or^er, by which its members ftiall be known and diftinguiftied, which ftiall be a medal of gold, of a proper ftze to receive the propofed emblems, and to be fuf- pended by a deep blue ribbon, two inches wide, edged with white, defcriptive of the union of America and France.'* The fociety at the faid meeting directed, that the prefident-genend fiiould tranfmit, as foon as might be, to each of the following cha- raders, a medal containing the order of the fociety, viz, the cheva- lier de la Luzerne, the Sieur Gerard, the count d'Eftaing, the count' r_» reformation."" ,, - , .^,i \. The alarm became general, the extreme jealoufy of the new repub- lics, fafpeded danger from the union of the leaders of their late army* and efpecially from a part of the inftitution which held out to their pofterity the honour of being admitted members of the fame fociety. "To obviate all grounds of jealoufy and fear, the general meeting of the fociety recommended an alteration of their inftitution to the ftate fo- cictics, which has been adopted. By this recommendation it was pro- pofed to expunge every thing that was hereditary, and to retain little elfe than their original name, and a focial charitable in- ftitution for perpetuating their perfonal friendlhip,, and relieving th^ wants of their indigent brethren. . . , ... The liCiTirv Tio'H of the S o ci e t y , /z/ altered and amended ai thetrfrf ' General Meeting at ?HlLAD2t? HI x,Majf 1784. * IT having pleafcd the fupreme governor of the univerfe to give fuccefs to the arms of our country, and to eftablifh the United ftatci ffee and iniiependent : Therefore, gratefully to commemora^ tbfs event — to inculcate to the lateft ages the duty of laying down in peace, arms affumed for public defence, by forming an inftitution >t'hich recognizes that moft important principle — to continue the mu- tual fri<*hdihij»s which commenced under the prefTure of common dan- ger, and to effeduate the afts of beneficence, didlated by the fpirit of brotherly kindnefs, towards thofe ofiicers arid their families, who un- fortunately may be under the neceffity of receiving them; the officers of the American army do hereby conftitute themfclves into A fociety ef friends: and, poffeffing the higheft veneration for the charafter of that illuftrious Roman, Lucius ^untius Cinci?inatuSi denominate therii- felves the society of the Cincinnati. '' >r '^> .'^.^ ^^ -r.i, 7 Sect. I. < The perfons who conftitute this fpcletj', ar^. all the CommilTioned and brevet officers of the army and navv of the United Statei, who have fcrved three years, ""and who left the fervice.^'ith I reputation ; 264 GENERAL DESCRIPTION icputation; all officers who were in adual fervice at the conclufion of the war; all the principle ftatF-officers of the continental army; and the cfficcrs who have been deranged by the feveral refolutions of Congrds, upon the different reforms of the army. Sect. II. * There are alfo admitted into this fociety, the late and prcfent minifters of his moA chriftian majefty to the United States; all the generals and colonels of regiments and legions of the land forces; all the admirals and captains of the navy, ranking as colonels, who have co-operated with the armies of the United States in their exertions for liberty ; and fuch other perfons as have been admitted hy the rcf^JcAive ft ate- meetings. Sect. III. « The fociety ftiall have a prcfident, vice-prcfident, fer crctary, and affiftant fecretary. ^ Sect. IV. < There fhall be a meeting of the fociety, at leaft once in three years, on the firft Monday in May, at fuch place as the pre* fidcnt (hall appoint. « The faid meeting (hall confift of the aforefaid officers, whofc cx- pcnocs ihall be equally bom by the ftate funds, and a reprefentation fjom each ftate. • Thcbofinefs of this general meeting (hall be — to regulate the dif- tribution of furplus funds ; to appoint officers for the enfiiing term— and to conform the bye-laws of ftate meetings to the general objefts of t^ inftitution. Sect. V. < The fociety ihall be divided into ftatc-mcetings : eacli fleeting (hall have a prefident, vice-prefident, fecretary and treafurcr, refpcftively to be chofen by a majority of votes annually. Sect. VI. * The ftate meetings (hall be on the anniverfary of in- dependence. They fhall concert fuch meafures as may conduce to the benevolent purpofes of the fociety ; and the feveral ftate-mectings fliall, at fuitable periods, make application to their refpe^ive legida- turcs for grants of charters. Sect. VII. « Any member removing from one ftate to another, is to |>c confide red, in all refpeils, as belonging to the meeting of the ilatc.in which he ihall adually refide. Sect. V]I1. * The date-meeting ihali judge of tAc qualificatioa rof its member^, adiiK)iviih, and, if neccfl^y, expel any one who ma/ coAdu^ himfelf unworthily. Sect. IX. < The fecretary of each ilatc- meeting (hall rcgiftcr the o^^nth of the ipemher* rdident.in each ftate, and tranfrait a copy thereof to the fecretary of the fociety. Sect. X. «..lo iM-der.U) form fundi for the I^Ucf of unfortunate t)^ tttte UNltEft STATES. ^6$ tnembers, their widows and orphans, each officer ihall deliver to the txeafurer of the ftate-meeting, one month's pay. .« a..i .i.«..T... i . . Sect. XI. « No donation (hall be feceived but frdtft th^ cKiite !^ the United States. Stcr. XII. ' The funds of each ftate-mecting fhall be loaned' to fiwftate, by permiffion of the legiflature, and the intereA only, an- Anally be applied for the purpofes of the fociety ; and if> in pro- cefsoftimc, difficulties (hould bccur in ex^ftcuting the intentions of this fociety, the legiflatures of the feveral ftates fhall be entitled to make fuch equitable difpofi'tion as miy be moft correfpondent witt the otiginal defig^n df the conftitiition. Sect. XlH. ^ The fubjedls dfhis niioft ChriHian majef^y, mert. bers of this fociety, may hblA irteetings at their plcafurev and form rcgulatiohs for theit police, confornmblc to the ohjeAs of the inftitu- tion, and to the fpirit of theii' governments. Sect. XIV. « The fociety (hall have an order; Which f^aU be an eagle of gold, fufpendcd by a deep blue ribbon, edged with white, defcriptive of the union of America and France, bearing on its bread the emblems defctibed> as follows* .ir-(--«mS4i.Hf^ « The principal figure to be CiKciiJNAt^Jj thiree fenatbVs pfefeMi ing him with a fword and other military enfigns : On a field in the back ground his wife (landing at the door of the cottage j near it a plough j and other inftruments of hulbandryv Round the whole) omma reliquit Jervare rempuhlicam-. On the revferfe, the fuA rifingi a city with Open gates, and veffels entering the port \ Fame c^rowning C^ncinnatiii with a wreath, infcribed* I'irtutis prcemium. Below, hands joiningj fitppoft^ ing a heart, with the motto> efto perpetna% Round the whole, Sacutas^ Cinchtfiaierum, injittttta A; Z>* 1783* . T^ii^^- ..i ; - ^i- AGRtCULtURB. The three important objefts of attention In the United States arc agriculture, commerce, and manufaftures* The richnefs of the foili which amply rewards the induftrious hufbsmdnian; the tempefatuj-eof the climate) which admits of fteady labout; the cheafjnefs of land/ whicK tempts the foreigner from his native home, lead us to Confide r agri-' culture as the prefent great Icadiug intcreft of that coUntty* This fuf- ni(hes outward cargoes, not only for all thei* own (hips, but for thofc alfo which foreign nations fend to their ports ; or in other words, it pays for all their importations j it fupplies a great part Of the clothing ©f the inhabitants, ai>d food for them and thtir cattle* What is con- VoL, I, Mm fumed 266 GENERAL DESCRIPTION fumed at hof»c, including the materials, for mariufaduring,' is four or five times the value of what is exported. The number of people employed in agriculture, is at Icaft three parti in four of the inhabitants of the United States ; fome faj more. It fol- lows of courfe that they form the body of the militia, who are thebul-* wark of the nation. The value of their property occupied by agricul. ture, is many times greater than the property employed in every othei way. The fettlement of wafte lands, the fubdivifion of farms, and th*. numerous improvements in hufbandry, annually increafe the pre-emi- nence of the agricultural intereft. The refources they derive from it, arc at all times certain and indifpenfably neceflary : befides, the rural life promotes health, by its aftive nature ; and morality, by keeping the people from the luxuries and vices of the populous towns. In fliort, agriculture is the fpring of their commerce, and the parent of manufac- tures. _ , COMMERCE. . The vaft extent of fea-coaft, which fpreads before the confederated {^tcs; the number of excellent harbours and fea-port towns they pof« £cfs ; the numerous creeks and immenfe b^ys, which indent the coaft ; and the rivers, lakes, and canals, which peninfulate the whole country; added to its agricultural advantages and improvements, give this part of America fupcrior advantages for trade. Their commerce, including their exports, imports, (hipping, raanufaftures, and fiftieries, may properly be confide red as forming one intereft. This has been confi-- dered as the great objeft, and the moft important intereft of the New , England States- Since commerce has ever been confidered as the handmaid ofagri-^ culture, particularly in America, where the agricultural intereft fo greatly predominates ; and fmce neither can flourilh without the other, policy and intereft point out the neceflity of fuch a fyftem of commer- cial and agricultural regulations, as will originate and eftedually pre- serve e proper connexion and balance between them. The confumption of fiih, oil, whale-bone, and other articles ob- tained through the fifheries, in the towns and counties that are con- venient for navigation, has become much greater than is generally fuppofed. It is computed that no lefs than five thoufand barrels of niatkarel, falmon, and pickled codfifti, are vended annually in the city cf Philadelphia ; add to them the dried fiih, oil, fpermaceti candles, whalc-boae, ^c, and it will be found that a little fleet of floops and fchooncf* are employed in the buiinefs. ^ l--, ci ^-W" .--'- ' • '- -'''• '"' -.'.-'-■; ■:■''■ The OF THE UNITED STATES^ 267 The demand for the foremeiitioned articles is proportionably great in the other parts of the Union, efpecially in Bofton and the large commfercial towns that lie along the coaft north-eaftward, which enter largely iitf6' the filhihg tfiide/ ^nd'the VeiTels employed in traif^tfttl ing theni pf6p6rtionabIy numerous, "l^he increafe of thei4r towns atiA manufadtures will increafe the demand for thefe articles, and of coat^i' the numbefr of coafting velteis/ lA the prefent ftate of their naviga- tion, they cdn be in no doubt of procuring thefe fupplies by meahi' of their own veflels. This will afford encouragement to the bufi-- nefs of fliip-building, and increafe the number of their feamen, who muft hereafter form an important part of the defence of their coun- try. Add to thefe, their profpeds from the fur trade of Canada ; the vaft fettlcments which are making at Pittfburg, GenefTe, and in other parts in th6 neighbourhood of Canada ; the advantages of their inland navigation, by means of the lakes, the northern branches of the Ohio, the Potomack, the Sufquehannah, and the Hudfon, with many other circumftances depending not only on the fituation, but likewiie on the climate, proximity, &c. muft, in a few years, put a large lliare of this trade into their hands, and procure them, ait leaft, a proportionable fliare of the large profits thence ariling, which Canada, fince the year 1763, has enjoyed almoft exclulively. Thefe advantages, however, are flill but in profped; and mufl remain fo untij the Britifli, agreeable to the treaty of peace, fhall have evacuated the forts at Niagara, the largeTettlements of the Heights, that of Michilil- makinak, &:c. And although the Britifh, by the treaty of peace, are to enjoy with the Americans the portages of the navigation of the tekes,[ yet, fliould a difpute arife, it will not be convenient for the former to conteft it ; for the northern and north-eaftern parts of the continent, in- cluded in the Britifh limits, are much colder, more mountainous and poorer than the United States, and have no rivers, but fuch as are full of rapids and falls ; confequently, this trade cannot be carried on by the Canadians with the fame facility nor advantage as by the Americans. Still England will have left the exclufive right to the communication fnom Montreal with the High-lands, through the large river of the Ottawas^ which flows into the river St. LawTenceat the lake of the Two Mourt- tains, nine miles from that city; but its rapids and falls render this way, if not impradicable, at leaft always very expenfive and precarious. ^ The quantity of furs, deer and elk fkins, annually imported from the northern parts of America to England, is prodigious. In 1784, the amount of fales for furs was more than two hundred and f6rty- M m » five 268 GENERAL DESCRIPTION five thoufand pounds. It has not ccjuallcd this (urn every year fince, but has fcldora varied more than from ten to twenty thouiand pounds, and this often pn the favourable ^ide. When we conficler tjiie jipiv- ber of animals dcftroyed to furnifh fuch extenfiveprodudts, th? mind feels itfclf loft in contemplating theyaft tradl; qfpoyjiU-)^ ^tJ^aUpi^ld. af- ford an habitation for the,^,^.,, .^^ ^j li^l.^v/oa oot fie>i"io ?uw icrfj. *. The following is a itatement.of ,the. p^ipber .of fe,^ 3{:c. expofed to fale at the New- York coflfeq-hpuf^ jin Lon^Oj>,iriJ^ 1794, by the regular brokersx ^^-j ^g,^, ^..^ ^j^ ,^^ ^, „^, •09,892 racoon.^, I,,., 10,090 w/>lf ,^^,.^ . ,.,,304,1301 deer 45,674 bear .>.,<>;.„, 18,930 fox^.,^,;i.j .^ ',i»9;?5',e|it. ,. . . 34,300 martin 780 y/pl^^^ii^^ , j 1 1 6,%^ .ieajsi - • - *» 145,830 beaver S^jS?© mufquafh . 9;8'3.1at^b -.♦. ^ s,; . 89,845 otter r rabbit ai)4 ,4,820, fqwrreV,,j; ,., 5,840 oppoflum 1 white.tofi, ..8,309. fiftt^ip.iiswoq y 13,220 cat 10,785 kidd ; J ;. :.; ^*^i6fi9 -f^ne^ ) - 57,580 mink . - • .. .. - . :: .:>.^: To ihefe muft be added a fmall quantity of futSy.^nd^ceirinjot.^ct fold ; thofe fold in private trade, and a quantity fold public: by ranor- ther hand, amounting to more than fix thoufand pounds; In thia enumeration, the quantity imported by the Hudibn's BayCnmpaiiy is not noticed. The chief of thefe furs are paid for irt Englrlh-ttiavj- nufadtures. — Not more than a fourth part of them, beavery Irabbttj''- and deer Ikins excepted, if fo much, are done any thing iiiore to'itt- England, than beat, forted, and re-packed; a great p6rtiot\ JirJEi^Mi*^^' fliipped to Germany, and difperfed through the various^ paits dfi'ffie^'' empire, France, &:c. fome are (hipped from London diredtfor Frai^, ' -- andfometoRuflia, China, &c. at immenfe profits; '-'H'--^-^'^^' '^o [hicJiuL- This valuable trade, which is carried on throii^b<5^'i6ee,^'wlfI%-''' great part of it fall into the hands of the Americahs, asTo^fr'as'fh'e ffifi-^*' ■ tifications, which the Britilli polTefs in their rtortherrf ftlfrTfdi^i-ffikfl ^*; ■ be reflored. To this confideratioti, rathtr thaii''t6^tK?^'pt^%rW^cnt principles, excited unhappy jealoufies between the clafhing States, and occafioned frequent ftagnations in their trade, and in fome inftances, a fecrccy in their commercial policy. But the mCc ngieafi|re* which have Ijeen adopted by Congrefs, under the pre- fcnt efficient government of the United States, have extricated theni almoft entirely from thefe embarraffraents, and put ^ new and pleaf^ ing face upon their public? affairs. Inverted with the adequate powers, Congrefs h^ve formed a fyftem of commercial regulations, which jpnable tljem to meet fl|e oppofers of their trade upon their own ground; ^ fyftem which has placed their commerce on a refpedable, , uniform, and intelligible footing, adapted to promote the general interefts of the union, with the fmalleft injur/ to the individual States. The countries with which the United States have had their chief fpnjioerciaj intcxcouife are Spain, Portugal, France, Great Britain, the . ' United V.*JO GENERAL DESCRIPTION United Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, and their American pof. icflions, Ruflia, (fee. &c.&c. and the articles of export which. jcpnftitute, at prefent, the bafis of that commerce are as follows : , > i: ORES> METALS, &C. ' ^<"<^ Copper Ore Skimmers and Udles Pig Anchors Sheet Crapnails '^ *. Manufadured Mulkets Iron, the ton Cutlaffes Pig Knives and forks Shot for cannon Chefts of carpenters* tools B^r Nails ^^ij rods, &c. Waggon boxes Hoops Pots, kettles, and othei caftings Axes Cannon Hoes Swivels Drawing knives Shot for cannon Sq'thes Lead, Sheet , . .? ; .., l^cks and bolts Pig ■■ >:.::■:, ^^V^' Shovels . Shot NAVAL STORES. . .^' ^w, * ♦,.;^ - .,/^ J Hemp Rofin ' f"'^* ;;> Turpentine cx"^;ii,i Sailcloth ^ '■t^'^ Cables and cordage Pitch Tar J.,.. PROVISIONS. Rice j^ Dried filh Flour Pickled fi{h „ • , ^ • Ship (luff Rye meal ^'^' ' Cheefe ■*' Lard , ■ Indian meal Butter "' , ;. Saufages ^ Carcafes of mutton ^ „ Neats tongues Oytterspickka -««'I'''^ "■••'i-" Onions ' ■■»>'*'<'ia«a'*«^ Buckwheat meal pat meal Muftard Bread Beef- Pork Crackers ^^^^^' • Other vegetables: '''' ^>^roW ''l Hams and bacon >^ii- Reeds ->^^ ^ ^»' - m^'m^V.^i FJ Vcmfbn and mutton ham^^"^ ' -^ - i ' '^^ ^^-m^i^^^^^ SPIUfff) OtTH£ UNITED STATES. 2^t Rum, American -^^^^^^ ^^^/'^ottled ditto ^ ^^^^ '''' ^^"^^ '^ Rum, Weft India ^ .i^ ^^uAiVincgar ' Brandy , / . v . oEffence of Spruce , . , -.i Brandy, Peach ^'^^^^ J Beer v Ditto ;;r ; vDitto bottled , j.,...| Cordials ._.,.. l,,a.;,-..wf Horned Cattle Deer , c Horfes , . Hogs Mules , , . ' Poultry Sheep •''>^* V '. - ^^_^ DRVCS, MEDICINES, &C, . ., j Gkubcr falts Saffafras wood or root ,.iU Pink, China and fnake root Genfang, &c. &c. Saffafras bark ,^ GROCXRIES. c.jv^JiA^, Caffia and cinnamon Cocoa Cloves Chocolate ...,,.Tf Pimento Brown fugar Pepper Loaf fugar ,..^ Sago Other fugars , ^ i Teas , ' Raifins Coffee QRAIN SEEDS AND PULSE. \' '^ Wheat ^ Madder ^ J'''^'\\ Rye , Garden feeds ''' ,^ . Barley \^ Hay feed Indian corn . ^Muftard feed .^ "^ Oats - .^Cotton feed Buck wheat , , Flax feed . . ,, Peas and Beans , ; SKINS A^D FURS, %. .tt Buffalo and cow hides g^^oinO Beaver ^^^^ Morocco ^i.^^ljdH^^^ „,ijOMartin at^ios/J Calf in hair ^b^^gMink ftoosd bftB imsH Moofb and elk / Mufqua% ^^^j^^ ^,^^ xtoii^^V' * Deer ^2 .C£NERAL DESCRIPTlOIf ,3;;.t ^<^ii!iM and fxrs contitmuljm Deerfluns ^.,, ., ^., Cat Seals :.,,.,. ,^ ,1 FoK Bear, wolft, and tygci Wolvercn Otter SqUirfcI* and ,<« Raccoon Sundry other flcins and fuf;|;.^ r SADLIRY, AKD OTHia AUTICLtt IN LfeATHtK* -'^-'^ Saddles, mens* Shoesj mens' and womens* Bridles Boots Whips Boot legs Coach and other carriage hamefs Leather tanned and drelTe^ Waggon and cart gecrs TIMBER. WORK. Frames of vcffels Frames of }iou{es fnows windows and doon ' boats -..•■• HOUSE FURNttURB. ,„,A :»■» o Tables Clocks Bedfteada Clock cafes Defks Cheils Bureaus Chairs, Windfor Sophaa and fettees Chairs Rulh CARRIAGES* Coaches, Phaetons, &c. Chariots, Waggons and carts- • WOOD. Staves and heading Boxes and brakes Shingles Blocks Shook calks Oars Calks Gar rafters Laths Trunnels Hoops Cedar and oak kneel Hoop-polca . Bread hooks Mafts Callings Bowfprits Anchor ftocks Booms Cedar po(ls. ♦•• .. Spars .. Qak boards and plank Hand fpikes ..^ Pine balk Pumps Pine beards and plank Other OI THE UNITED STATES. V . L» (Wood^ continued.) Other boards and plank*-*'^* •^*^' Maft hoops Scantling .-'^- Axe helves ^. rOak, pine, &c. '^^ Trufs hoops •| i Ditto, ditto ' ^^^^H'^^^ Yokes and bowes for oxcrf' ^ iMahogany . ^^^ ' ^-^^'"^"^ Lock flocks *-'^'^ Ligmim vittc' '"' ^"^^^ v'^^''"^ Worm tubs . "''^ Logwood and nicva^j * i r A a Wheel barrows : '- ^ ' " Mahogany, logwood, jc. ^^, Waggon and cart wheels ,;.^;^ Oak, pine, &c. "" '^^U Spokes and Fellies .j Cords of oak, pine, hickory, ic? Spinning wheels Ditto of oak bark ^ ^ ... ' Tubs, pails, &c. Oak bark, ground Bowls, difhes, platters, &c. 2?^ SUNDRIES. * ■'. ■ ••' ? ;!ar:^ 1« ^ -iiu* '■ Afhes, f)ot no^. ^^ Nutts ' Alhcs, pearl Oil whale Apples Oil fpermaceti ft) fir T' Bricks Oillinfeed '■.. j!Ul» & abhr^ibz^ Boats Spirits of turpentine >-XfnO Bellows for fmiths Porcelain or China ware Z Bfimftone Powder, gun .- . .'. -^• Blacking or lampblack Powder, hair t.-':jA ('BA^-J^ Bayberries Pomatum Cider Paints • :'^-^.3oCv Ditto bottled Pipes '...-..O Chalk Printing prefles Cotton Printing types Candles, myrtle wax Plaiflerof J^arii '^ Wax Soap Tallow Starch cii.r.; >. . ^:i\i Spermaceti Snuff Coals Steel Craneberries Silk, raw .Corks Silver, old Corn-fans Salt Puck Ruflia Stone ware Canes and walking-flicks Feathers American cotton and wo>ol-cards Flints Flax Grindftones Vol. I, N n Glaf5 ,< .)i^ 274 GENERAL DESCRIPTlOH (SxuiirUs continued,) Glafswarc '-nifnajq')^ Nankeens Ditto for window*^ /« bnituo/' ^i"° manufa(5lurc4 Honey .,^v :.,,» ..Tallow ' ^^ Hops Twine Hay ; J, _. Towcloth Hats . .^jc Toys for children Horns Tin Horntipc ^ . .Ditto manufadured Indigo Vamilh Lime Whalebone, &c. Yellow or queen's ware Wax, Bees Tobacco Myrtle, &c. The proportion of their exports, and their value to the nations before mentioned, and to their dominions rcfpeftivcly, as they flood in the year 1 79a is as follows. SUMMARY OF EXPORTS. Dols. Cts. To the dominions of Ri^flia • - . 3»570 To the dominions of Sweden - . - 21,866. 2 To the dominions of Denmark - - - 277,273.53 To the dominions of the United Netherlands - 1,634,825. 6 To the dominions of Great Britain - - 7,953>4i8. 21 To the Imperial ports of the Auftrian Netherlands and Germany - - . - 362,010. 2t To Hamburg, Bremen, and other Hanfe towns - 64,259. 25 To the dominions of France ... 4,298,762.26 To the dominions of Spain - - - 1,301,286.95 To the dominions of Portugal - - 1,039,696.47 Totheltalian Ports - . - 31,726.90 To Morocco - . _ - 3,660. 50 To the Eaft Indies, generally ... 318,628.46 To Africa, generally - • - 168,477.92 To the Weft Indies, generally - - 59>434» 36 To the North Weft Coaft of America - - 3,380 To Europe and the Weft Indies for a market 7 29,274, 5 Total Dollars ^7;57i>55i« 45 The O^ THE UNITED STATES, ^75 The exports of the year ending September 31, 1792, amounted in value to twenty-one millions, five thoufand five hundred and fixty-eight pounds, from whioh time they have been gradually on the increafe. The imports of America, confift moftly of articles on which European induftry has been cxhaufted, an idea of their extent, ^s well as of that of the American navigation, depending on their commerce, will appear by the following tables, containing abft rafts of duties on the imports, and on the tonnage of veffels entered into the different ports of the United States, in the year 1791, " r •, c 'd8,\', -.0 oii -<•' ^ ''v«'- "■|^.l.;m\v . 1:: '■■'->'. I "' "' ■ ' . '-^0,:^^^ ■-'3^:K - ■ ? -, .c ,^ ^ -■ ■ . ' '..: ' . r - . 'i''V'\ ■^^,^Oi' . ■.^or- ^ , -:** f -:o . ~ / t.i; " ■ ^ '■^-■^ v:^^l\ Viia-'j'.;, .:-kr ^b-' . • - .^-^ > ' -■ , ■ vUi-i^n^^ ', ,:.A _ X'ffeTSrn^^ ,^3!Dni. ^--T/ 7.T^- ■ ■ >'^ -SDJl ^MltA lo flBoO ^i'iW :-, - V ; • .,es' : :y\:li£.m uroi i?>lbnl i}3W ?'t' ^-.v -^ - ---.^--^ '**■ 'Ui^Xc^X^ ■rrdhahjoT N n 2 ABSTRACT .s 1 •g C7% 4 C/3 H Q u« o h < Pi H S E 8 El ID ^ 2 in < 8" <« *'fc,Mi^H*H'*H»« Hh**P«M i-Hm -l: « i: c> r- u> ccvo oo a\VO jts (?o M CO (T, 'O o . O e* - COtOr^VO «M00 C^OO Tf CO ^ vo -^ C3 »o C4 • . <5 O «r> •© ^ iOOO VD C^vO 00 00 -^6 r.- cniotooicj a. aoo o « Q »^ o* t^^** c^^ 5r<» «r s°^ ;S % w t o » <^ii«vo t- coco a O C?> ^ ^t^ M|t< Hi* ., 6S 8 ^^? . . . . S, . . r VD •i .^» -H* oo* CO -T' t^ t^ c! S •* iO 'T r^ r" w "TO 1 C^ CO M O VX3 -^ CO 'T (III III • «l^ >-li^^ "»!«» .■5-coo CO icoo 00 ^ crv 00 M ^ TT 0000 -^ -H CO lOVD C4 r< (S ^ o d O r* »-'*♦ ^ • i-i|<^-H'-iHH'+ Mm m|n«i^m|»^»»,ItJ- %• 6 ,< - cooo o^ icoo 00 vo « cr.oo oo t^ \C Ocooocjc e^ rrcorr cr,<^ rr r- co r- ^ i ■^* coco-^coo cr, dvo ccvxj 6 cr, «s vd ^ Lo lo ^ cr,^ ""TOO '^ ci i-»oo J^ o^ " c o ►S u:)a^cr^^o■ f»(MMl«a »-H o .■^ cr»ir) ^ ^ rt^ Lo - -N rH loivo "T^o i-^vo cr. r- ^ O O '^'^ too^i^ ciVO^O o. o ■^ i-Q o^, ^ CO (N a^^£^ d o^. cTi^ <^ "^ ^o „ c« oit^^'-'^ co^eo "^vo -^ tt r-» ,o ri* r^ ^ so r- coc^ M H CO o -o •^ r<»'-;«- «ooo TT^o >^ot-ovo«io Mas •> •\«««IA«. CO -1 <^6" VO ^« MINWIM H" Mir) .•^ ■^r~r~0^ir)0>O^W5M O r^c»^>t~- iO vj C'l o^ CO -^"vO 'T' '^ o r^ o^ cooo CO ^ tree vd ?* r>i •«r M -^ OO (v> -<* oo -"t^ ' d oiooi o^ 0-«0 r-o^, ^00 « CO 00 Difco, per c Goods in A 0'-'-'«0 O -^to CO *«• ! '-'l«N (H L ■s. ^ r^ c^ t>, co^ r^ (^ IT) CO -< o^ - f ^5 . &. 6^6 oo lo rj co<^* in CO to eJ Tj^ 1^1 00 ~^3 ei cj »o!N(XiVO cococoovo ^ CO \ Cj ^ n. ^ "Z- n. *; I 9. o, <^ o a,^ C<0O«-CO cj;nco "^sO CO •^ rr ^ ^ \o t^ coco c< CO • t2 W < h Ic «n -^ • • • 1 c 3 • ^2«:u;i;i5£2;Q:g>2;go W »-«4 u o < < < o ^2u lU CO O CO 15 y;- - ■ H > o (I) c < o ■«-• G O t>0 C ..IWMlfjKM N N oo o - r-00 1 m1*> »? « r- co^ r^ , ;^ d CO CM ^O ^-no t- i^co ^co . « ^ ^. CO «• 6 co^*- ^ 0-) to rrco r-* 's^'vd n- d 00 CO «i , *H *-l TH O r^ t) M - • CO ■« « r- 00 rr to O^ O O to « H TT M to toOD C- r^ CO to (N M r^ to vo o-'-^ 'o d ^* ^ 00 Pi »C30 O'OO vo to e^ rH T^ r- 00 « 03 l T^ c? 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They do not difcouragc the rice, pot and pearl afh, falted provifions^ or whale oil of the United States ; but thefe articles being in fmall de- mand at their markets, arc carried thither but in a fmall degree. Their demand for rice, however, is increafmg. Neither tobacco, nor indigo arc received there. American commerce is permitted with their Ca- nary Iflands, under the fame conditions. The Spaniards, and their colonies, are the aflua! confumcrs of what they receive from the United States. The navigation of the United States Is free with, the kingdom of Spain ; foreign goods being received there in their {hips, on the fame conditions as if carried in their own, or in the veflels of the country of which fuch goods are the manufadure or produce. Portugal receives favourably American grain, bread, falted fifh, and other falted provifions, wood, tar, pitch and turpentine. For flax-feed, pot and pearl-alh, though not difcouxaged, there is little demand. American fhips pay 20 per cent, on being fold to Portugocfe fubjcfis> and are then free bottoms. Foreign goods, except thofe of the Eaft Indies, arc received on the fame footing in. American veffels, as in their own, or any others; that is to fay, on general duties of from twenty to twenty-eight per cent. and confecjuently their navigation is unobllrufted by them. — Tobacco,, rice and meals are prohibited. The Portuguefc and their colonics copfurae wl^at tkcy receive from the American States, Thefe regulations extend ^o the Aiiores, Madeira, ^nd the Cape dc Verd iflands, except that in thefe, mqals and rice are received freely. France receives favourably American bread ftuff, ricf, wood, pot and pearl a(hes. A duty of Qyc foqs the kental,, or ncarl|r four and pn |ja|f cents ii 4 P*^^ GF THE UNITED STATES. 281 paid on American tar, pitch, and turpentine. Whale oils pay fix livres the kental, and are the only foreign whale oils admitted. .Of the Hates, indigo pays five livres on the kental ; their own two and an half: but a difference of quality, Hill more than a difference of duty, prevents its fceking that market. Salted beef is received freely for re-exportation, but if for home con- fumption, it pays five' livres the kental. Other falted provifions pay that duty in all cafes, and falted fifh is made lately to pay the prohibitory one of twenty livres in the kental. American Ihips are free to carry to France all foreign goods which may be carried in their own or any other veffels, except tobaccoes not the growth of the dates ; and they participate with the French (hips in the exclufive carriage of whale oils and tobaccoes. During their former government, the tobacco was under a monopoly; but paid no duties, and American (hips were freely fold in their ports, and converted into national bottoms. The firft natirmal affembly took from A.merican (hips this privilege : they emancipated tobacco from its monopoly, but fubjeded it to duties of eighteen livres fifteen fous the kental, carried in their own, and twenty-five livres if carried in Ame- rican veffels, a difference more than equal to the freight of the article. The French nation have however offered to enter into a new treaty of commerce with the United Stares on more liberal terras and in, the mean time have relaxed fome of the above reftraints and feverities. Great Britain receives from the dates pot and pearl afhes free> while thofe of other nations pay a duty of two {hillings and three- pence the kental. There is an equal diftindion in favour of their bar iron, of wliich article, however, they do not produce enough for their own ufe. Woods are free from America, whilft they pay fome Hx^sW duty from other countries. Their tar and pitch pay iid. llerling the barrel; from other alien countries they pay about a penny and a third more. Their tobacco, for Britifn confumption, pays is. 3d. fterling the pound, cuftom and cxcife, befides heavy expences of colle(5lIon. And rice, in the fame cafe, pays 7s. 4d. fterling the hundred weight-; which, rendering it too dear as an article of common food, it is confequently ufed in very fmall quantity. The falted fiih, and other falted provifions of the tfnite^ States,, ex- cept bacon, are prohibited. Bacon and whale oil are under prohibitory duties ; fo are their grains, meals, and bread, as to our internal confump- tions unlefs in times of fuck fcarcity as may raife the price of wh«^t to •,os. fterling the quarter, and other grains and meals in prpportipn, . Vol. I, O o American 282 GENERAL DESCRIPTION American (hips, though purchafed ftnd navigtited by Britilh fubjedlsi arc not permitted to be ufed, even in our trade with them. While the velTcls of other nations are fecured by (landing laws, which cannot be altered, but by the concurrent will of the three branches of the Britilh Icgiflaturc, in bringing hither any produce or manufadurs of the countr)' to which they belong, which may be lawfully carried in any ve(rcls, American lliips with the fame prohibition of what is foreign, arc further prohibited by a (landing law (12 Car. II. 28. §. 3,) from bringing hither all and any of their own domeftic produftions and ma- nufa^ures. A fubfequent adl, indeed, has authorifed the executive power to permit the carriage of their produdions in their own bottoms,at its folc iifcretion ; and the pcrmifTion has been giren from year to year by pro- clamation, but fubjed every moment to be withdrawn on its fmgle will, in which event, American veflels having any thing of the kind on board, (land interdi it would be advifeable to begin it with that nation; fince it is one by one only that it can be extended to all. Where the circumftances of either party render it expedient to levy a revenue, by way of impoft, on commerce, its freedom might be modified, in that particular, by mutual and ecjuivalent meafures, preferving it entire in ail Qthei*s. Some nations, not yet ripe fdr ffee commerce, in all its ejctehf, might ftill be willing to mollify its reftridions and regulations for them in pro- portion to the advantages which an intercourfe with them might offers Particularly they might concur, with them in reciprocating the duties to be levied on each fide, of in compenfating any excefs of duty, by eqiiiva* lent advantages of another nature* Their commerce is certainly of ft charader to entitle it to favour in moft countries. The commodities they offer, are either necelTaries of life, or materials for manufeiflure ; ot convenient fubjeAs of revenue ; and they take in excha(nge> either ma* nufadures, when they have received the laft finifli of art and induftry> or mere luxuries* Such cuftomers may reafonably expeft welcome, and friendly treatment at every market ; cuftomers too, whofe demands,- in* creaiing with their v/ealth and population, mufl very fhortly give full employment to the whole induflry of any nation whatever, in any line of fupply they may get into the habit of calling for, from it. But fhould any nation;, contrary to their wiflies, fappofe it may better find its advantage by coiltinuirtg it& fyftem of prohibitions, duties, and regulations, it behoves them-to proted their citizens, their commerce and navigatiortj by counter-prohibitions, duties, and regulations a!fo; Fre;^ commerce and navigation are not to be given in exchange for reftriilions and vexations 5 nor are they likely to produce a rela^^ationi of them. Their navigation involves flill hlghtt confiderafioris. As' a br&nch of induftry, it is valuable ; but, as a refource^ effential; Its talue, as a branch of iudtiftry, is enhanced by tlie iependence of fo Eiany other branches on it. In times of general peace it multiplies com- J>etitors for employment in traofpcrtatlon, and £0 keeps that at its proper Vol.1, fp jevd; ggO GENKRAL DESCRIPTION level ; and in times of war, that is to fay* when thofe nations who may be dieir principal carriers, (hall be at war with each other, if they have not within themfelves the means of tranfportation, their produce muft be ex- ported in belligerent veffels, at the incrcafed cxpence of war-freight and infurance, and the articles which will not bear that, muft periih on their hands. But it is as a rcfource for defence that their navigation will admit neither neglcd nor forbearance. The pofition and circumftances of the United States leave them nothing to fear on their land, and nothing to dcfirc beyond their prefent rights. But on the fea they are open to in- jury, and they have there, too, a commerce which muft be protefted. This can only be done by poffeffing a refpeftable body of citizen- sea- men, and of artiils and eftablifliments in readinefs for fhip-building. Were the ocean, which is the common property of all, open to the induftry of all, fo that every perfon and veflel IhoulJ be free to take em- ployment wherever it could be found, the United States would certainly not fet the example of appropriating to themfelves, exclufively, any por- tion of the common ftock of occupation. They would rely on the en- terprize and adivity of their citizens for a due participation of the bene- fits of the feafaring bufmefs, and for keeping the marine clafs of citizens equal to their objed. But if particular nations grafp at undue ftiares, and more efi>ecially if they feiae on the means of the United States to con- vert them into aliment for their own ftrength, and withdraw them entire- ly from the fupport of thofe to whom they belong, defenfive and pro- teetition with their own of the fame kind; felefting next fuch manufadures as they take from thepiin greateft quantity, and which at the fame time they could the fooneft furniih to themfelves, or obtain from other countries ; impofing on them duties lighter at firft, but hea- vier and heavier afterwards, as other channels of fupply open. S'4ch duties having the eifeifl of indired encouragement to domeftic manufae- tures of the fame kind, may induce the manufafturer to come himfelf into thefe ftates; where cheaper fubfiftence, equal laws, and a vent of his wares, free of duty, may enfure him the highett profits from his fkill and induilry. And here it would be in the power of tjie ftate go». vernments to co-operate eflcntially, by opening the refources of encou* ragement which are under their controul, extending them liberally to artifts in thofe particular branches of manufadure, for which their foil, climate, population, and other circumftances have matured them, and foftering the precious etforts and progrefs of houfehold manufafture by fome patronage fuited to the nature of its objefts, guided by the local informations they poffefs, and guarded againft abufe by their prefence and attentions. The oppreffions on their agriculture in foreign ports tvould thus be made the occafion of relieving it from a dependence on the councils andcondud of others, and of promoting arts, manufafturesi and population among themfelves. 2d. Where a nation refufes permiffion to their merchants and fadlors to refide within certain parts of their dominions, they may, if it fhould be thought expedient, refufe refidenceto theirs, in any and every part of the ftates, or modify their tranfadions, 3d. Where a nation refufes to receive in their veffels any produflions but their own, they may refufe to receive, in theirs, any but their own produdions. 4th. Where a nation refufes to confider any veffel as belonging to the United States, which has not been built within their territories, they (hould refufe to confider as belonging to them, any vefTeJ not built within their territories, 5th. Where a nation refufes to their veffels the carriage even of their own produdlions to certaia countries under their domination, they might refufe to theirs, of every defpription, the carriage of the fame produc- tions to the fame countries. But as juftice and g-ood neighbourhood would didate, that thofe who have no part in impofing the reftridion on them, ftioi;ld not be the vidims of the meafures adopted to defeat its P P 2 effed. 2g2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION tSt&, it njay be proper to confine the reftriftions to vcfTcIs owndd of navigated by any fubjccts of the fame dominant power, other than this inhabitants of the country to which the faid productions arc to be car- jied.— And to prevent all inconvenience to the faid inhabitants, and to their own, by too fudden a check on the nicans of tranfportation, they may continue to admit the vcflels marked for future exclufion, on an ad-e >ftaced tonnage, and for fuch length of time only, as may be fuppofcd jj^^cflary to provide agajnft that inconvenience. ^ The eftablilhment of fome of thefe principles by Great Britain alone, lias already loft the Americans, in their commerce vvith that country ^d its pofleffions, between eight and nine hundred vefTcls ot near 40,000 tons burthen, according to ftatements from official materials, This in- volves a proportional lofs of feamcn, fhipnrights, and fhip building, ;ind is too ferious a lofs to admit forbearance of fome efFedual remedy. It is true they mud expc(fl fome inconvenience in pradice, from the fftabliflinient of difcriminating duties. But in this, as in fo m^ny other cafes, they are left to chufe between two evils. Thefe inconveniences are nothing when weighed againft the lofs of wealth and lofs of force,i which will follow their perfeverance in the plan of indifcrimination. — When once it {hall be perceived that they are cither in the fyftem or the habit of giving equal advantages to thofe who extinguifti their commerce and navigation, by duties and prohibitions, as to thofe who treat both with liberality and juftice, liberality and juftice will be converted by all into duties and prohibitions. 1; is not to the moderation and juftice of others that they are to truft for fair and equal accefs to market with their produftions, or for their due ftiare in the tranfportation of them; but to their means of independence, and the firm will to ufe them. Nor do the inconveniences of difcrimination merit confide ration. Not one of the nations beforementioned, perhaps, not a commercial nation cn earth, is without them. In their cafe, one diftindion alone will fuf-' fice, that is to fay, between nations who favour their produftions and Davigation, and thofe who do not favour them. One fet of moderate duties, fay the prefent duties, for the firft, and a fixed advance on thefe ^s to fome article, and prohibitions as to others, for the laft. Still rauft it be repeated, that friendly arrangementa arc preferable with all who will come into them; and that they Ihould carry into fuch arrangements, all the liberality ^nd fpiri; pf accommodation, which the nature of the cafe will admit. France has, of her own accord, propofed negociations for improving, by a new treaty, on fair and equal principles, the commercial relations tf the two countries. But her internal difturbanccs have hitherto pre* vented OF THE UNITED STATES. 293 V'cnted the profecution of them to effect, though America has had rcf peated aflurances of a continuance of the difpofition. Propofals of friendly arrangement have been made on the part of the United States, by the prefent government, to that of Great Britain, but being already on as good a footing in law, and a better in fad, than the moft favoured nation, they have not as yet difcovered any difr pofition to attend to thofe overtures. We have no rcafon to conclude that friendly arrangements will be de- clined by the other nations, with whom they have fuch commercial inter- courfe as may render them important. In the mean while, it will reft with the wifdom of Congrefs to determine whether, as to thofe nations, they will not furceafe exparte regulations, on the reafonable prefamp- tion that they will concur in doing whatever juilice and moderation didlate Ihould be done. MANUFACTURES. WE no\v come to the fubjetft of manufactures, the expediency of encou- raging of which in the United States, was not long fince deenjed very queftionable, bat the advantage's of which, appear at this time to be generally admitted. The embarraffments which have obftrufted the progrefs of their external trade with European nations, have led them to ferious reflexions on the neceifity of enlarging the fphere of their do- mcftic commerce : the reftridive regulations which in foreign markets have abridged the vent of the increafing furplus of their agricultural produce, have ferved to beget in them an earneft defire, that a more ex- tenfive demand for that furplus may be created at home : And the com-- plete fuccefs which has rewarded manufaduring enterprife, in fome va* luable branches, confpiring with the promifing fymptoms which attend fome lefs mature efTays in others, juftify a hope, that the obftacles to the growth of this fpecies ofj^induftry are kfs formidable than they were ap- prehended to be ; and that it is not difHcult to End, In Its further exten- fion, a full indemnification for any external difadvantages, which are or may be experienced, as well as an acceflion of refources, favourable to national independence and fafety. There ftill are, neverthelefs, among the Americans, many refpedable patrons of opinions unfriendly to the encouragement of manufadures.— , The following are, fubllaatially, the arguments by which thefc opinions are defended : *' In every country, fay thofe who entertain them, agriculture is the moft beneficial and p-oduclinje obj^d of human induilry. This pofition, generally. 2gi GENERAL DESCRIPTION gfnerally, if not univerfally trur, applies with peculiar cmphaHs to the United Slates, on account of iheir immenfc trads of fen i-r- territory, uninhabited and unimproved. Nothing can afford To advantageous an employment for capital and labour, as the convcrfion of this cxtenftve wildcrnefft fnto cultivated farms. Nothing, equally with this, can con- tribate to the population, llreagJth, and real riches of the country," ** To endeavour, "oy the extraordinary patronage of government, to accelerate the growth of manu'adurcs, is, in faft, to endeavour, by force and art, to transfer the natural current of induftry, from a more to a Icfs beneficial channel. Whatever has fuch a tendency mud neceffarily be unwife : Indeed it can hardly ever be wife in a government to attempt to give a diredion to the induftry of its citizen*. This, under the quick-fighted guidance of private intereft, will, if left to itfelf, in- falliblv fmd its own'way to the moft profitable employment ; and it is by fuch employment that the public profperity uill be moft efFeifiually pro- moted. To leave induftry to itfelf, therefore, is, in almoft every cafe, the foundcft as well as the fimplcft policy." " This policy is nat only recommended to the United States, by confi- derations which afteft all nations ; it is in a manner diftatcd to th.em by the imperious force of a very peculiar fituation. The finallnefs ef their population, compared with their territory, the conftant allurements to emigration from the fettled to the unfetrled parts of the country ; the fa- cility with which the lefs independent condition of an artifan can be ex- changed for the more independent condition of a farmer ; thefe, and fimi- larcaufcs, confpire to produce, and for a length of time muft continue to occafioij, a fcarcity of hands for manufacluring occupation, and dear- refs of labour genenilly. To thrfe difadvantagcs for the profecutionof manuf'-clures, a deficiency of pecuniary capita! being added, the profped of a fuccefsful comj-Krtition with the manufaelurers of Europe muft be re- garded 35 little lefs than defperate. Extenfue manufa<5lures can only be the oiT.prlng of a redundant, at leaft of a full papulation. Till the lat- ter (hall chara(fterire tlie fituation of this country, 'tis vain to hope for the former." ** If, contrar}- to the natural courfe of things, an unfeafonable and premature fpring can be given to certain fabrics, by heavy duties, prohi^ bitiohs, bounties, pr by other forced expedient?, this v.ill only be to fa- crificc the intercfls of the community to thofe of particular clalfcs. Be- fides the mifdireftion of labour, a virtual monopoly will be given to the perfons employed on fuch fabrics; and an enhancement of price, the in- evitable confcqucnce of every monopoly, muft be defrayed at the expence of the other parts of the fociety. It is far preferable that thofe pcrfons 4 . (houl4 OF THE UNITED STATES. 295 fhould be engaged in the cultivation of the earth, and that wefhould procure, in exchange for its prodiiflions, the commodities with which foreigners are able to fupply us in greater perfedion, and upon better terms.** , This mode of reafoning is founded upon fa(fts and principles, which have certainly refpecflable pretenfions. If it had governed the condud of nations more generally than it has done, there is room to fuppofe, that it might have carried them fafter to profperity and greatncfs than they have attained by the purfuit of maxims too widely oppofite. Moft general theories, however, admit of numerous exceptions, and there are few, if any, of the political kind, which do not blend a confiderable portion of error with the truths they inculcate. In order to form an accurate judgement, how far that which has been juft ftated ought to be deemed liable to a fimilar imputation, it is necef- fary to advert carefully to the confiderations which plead in favour of manufadures, and which appear to recommend the fpecial and polltivc encouragement of them, in certain cafes, and under certain reafonablc limitations. It ought readily to be conceded, that the cultivation of the earth, as the primary and moft certain fource of national fupplyj as the immediate and chief fource of fubfiftence to man; as the principal fource of thofe materials which conftitute the nutriment of other kinds of labour; as in- cluding a ftate moft favourable to the freedom and independence of the human mind ; one, perhaps, moft conducive to the multiplication of the human fpecies ; has intrinfically a ftrong claim to pre-eminence over every ©ther kind of induftry. But that it has a title to any thing like an exclufive prcdiledion in any country, ought to be admitted with great caution. That it is even more produdive than every other branch of induftry, requires more evidence than has yet been given in fupport of the pofition. That it» real interefts, precious and important as, without the help of exaggera- tion, they truly are, will be advanced, rather than injured, by the due encouragement of manufaftures, may be fatIsfa(florily demonftrated- And the expediency of fuch encouragement, in a general vieWi may be (hewn to be recommended by the moft cogent and perfuafive motives of national policy. It has been maintained, that agriculture is not only the moft p^joduc- tive, but the only produftive fpecies of induftry. The reality of this affertion, in either refped, has, however, not been verified by any accu- rate detail of fa6ls and calculations ; and the general arguments, whicb are adduced to prove it, arc rather fubtle and paradoxical^- than folid or convincing^. Thofe 29S GENERAL DESCRIPTION Thofc which maintain its exclufivc produftivcncfs arc to this cffe^ ;— * Labour bcftowcd upon the cultivation of land produces enough, riof only to replace all the neceffary expences incurred in the bufmefs, and to maintain the perfons who are employed in it, but to afford, togetlief with the ordinary profit on the (lock or capital of the farmer, a nett fur- plus, or rent for the landlord or proprietor of the foil. But the labour of artificers does nothing more than replace the (lock which employs them, or which furnilhcs materials, tools, and wages, and yield the §rdinary profit \i^on that ftoclc. It yields nothing equivalent to the rent of land; neither does it add any thing to the total 'value of the ^whole annual produce oi iht XdiViA diVidi labour of the country. The additional value given to thofc parts of the produce of land, which are wrought into manufadures, is counterbalanced by the value of thofe other parts of that produce which are confuraed by the manufadurers. It can there- fore only be by faving, or parjimovy^ not by the ^o^\ii\-c prOiiu^l-vene/s of their labour, that the claiTes of artificers can in any degree augment the revenue of fociety. To this it has been anfwcred, that inafmuch as it is acknowledged that manufaftaring labour re-produces a value equal to that which is expended or confumed in carrying it on, and continues in exiftcnce the original ftock or capital employed, it ought on that account alone 10 cfcape being confidered as wholly unprodudive : that though it fhould be admitted, as alledged, that the confumption of the produce of the foil^ by thcclaffes ot artificers or manufadurers isexadly equal to the value added by their labour to the materials upon which it is exerted ; yet it would not thence follow, that it added nothing to the revenue of the fociety, or the aggregate value of the annual produce of its land and labour. If the confumption for any given period amounted to a ^njtnfum) and the increaj'cd value of the produce manufadured in the fame period to a like fumy the total amount of the confumption and produftion during that period would be equal to the t the labour employed in the culture of land can pretend to no advantage over that engaged in manu- faftares : that with regard to an augmentation of the quantity of. ufeful ; labour, this, excluding adventitious circumftances, muft depend effen- tially upon an increafe of capitaly which again muft depend upon the favings made out of the revenues of thofe who furnifh or manage ihat, which is at any time employed, whether in agriculture, or in manufac- tures, or in any other way. But while the exclufi^e produdivenefs of agricultural labour has beert thus denied and refuted, the fuperiority of its produftivenefs has been conceded without hefitation. As this concellion involves a point of eonfiderable magnitu de, in relation to maxims of public adminijlration, the grounds on which it refts are worthy of a diftind and particular exa- minationi One of the arguments made ufe of. In fupport of the idea, may be pronounced bdth quaint ^nd fuperficial : it amounts to this — that in the produdions of the foil, nature co-operates with man ; and that the feffedl of their joint labour muft be greater than that of the labour of mart alone. " , " ' This, however, is far from being a nedeflai-y inference. It is very conceivable, that the labour of man alone laid out upon a work requiting great Ikill and art to bring it to perfeftion, may be mote produftive in. tvalue, than the labour of nature and man combined, when direded towards more fimple operations and objeft? : and when it is recoUedled to what an extent the agency of nature, in the application of the me-« chanical powers, is made auxiliary to the profecution of manufadures, the fuggeftion which has been noticed iofes even the appearance of plaufjbiiity, VoLI, ^ Q,^ ;, It 298 GENERAL DESCRIPTIOI^ It might alfo be obfervcd, with a contrary view, that the labour cm* ployed in agriculture is in a great meafurc periodical and occafional, de- pending on fcafons, liable to various and longintermiffions; while that oc- cupied in many manufaftures is conftant and regular, extending through the year, embracing in fomc inftances, night as well as day. It is alfo probable, that there arc among the cultivators of land more examples of rcmiffncfs than among artificers. The farmer, from the peculiar fer- tility of his land, or fome other favourable circumflances, may fre- quently obtain a livelihood, even with a confidcrablc degree of carc- leffnefs in the mode of cDltivatlon ; but the artifan can with great difficulty cffeft the fame objeft, without ciccrting himfclf pretty equally with all thofe wl'.o are engaged in the fame purfuit. And if it may likewifc be affumcd as a fail, that manufadures open a wider field to exertions of ingenuity than agriculture, it would not be a ftrained con- jefturc, that the labour employed in the former, being at once more conftant, more uniform, and more ingenious, than that which is employed in the latter, will be found at the fame time more produ^flive. But it is not meant to Iny ftrefs on obfervations of this nature ; th^y ought only to fervc as a counterbalance to thofe of a fimilar com- plexion. Circumftanccs fo vague and general, as well as fo abftrad, can afford little inftruftion in a matter of this kind. Another, and that which feems to be the principal argument of- fered for the fuperior produftivcnefs of agricultural labour, turns upon the allegation, that labour employed on manufadlures yields nothing equivalent to the rent of land ; or to that nett furplus, as it is called, which accrues to the proprietor of the foil. But this dillindion, important as it has been deemed, appetrs rather verbal x\\2X\ /ubjiantial. It is eafily difccrnible, that what in the firft inftance is divided into two parts under the denomination of the ordinary profit of the (lock of the &rmer and rent to the landlord, is in the fecond infl an ce united nnder the general appellation of the ordhiary profit on the Hock of the undertaker ; and that this formal or verbal dilhibution conftitutes the whole difiercnce in the two cafes. It feems to have been overlooked, that the land is itfelf a flock or capital, advanced or lent by its owner to the occupier er tenant, and that the rent he receives is only the ordinary profit of a certain (lock in land, not managed by the proprietor him- felf, but by another to whom he lends or lets it, and who, on his part, advances a fccond capital to ftock and improve the land, upon which he alfa receives the ufual profit. The rent of th6 landlord and the profit of the farmer arc therefore nothing more than the ordinary profits OF THE UNITED STATES. 2^9 of ^wfi capitals belonging to /'xyo different perfons, and united in the cultivation of a farm : as in the other cafe, the furplus which arifes upon any manufadcry, after replacing the expenses of carrying it on, an- fwers to the ordinary profits of ojie or more capitals engaged in the pro- fecution of fuch manufadory. It is faid one or more capitals ; becaufe in fad, the fame thing which is contemplated in the cafe of the farm, fometimes happens in that of a manufadory. There is one who fur- nifhes part of the capital, or lends a part of the money, by which it if carried on, and another who carries it on with the addition of his own . capital. Out of the furplus which remains, ,after defraying expences, .an intereil is paid to the money lender for the portion of the capital fur- ; - nifhed by him, which exadly agrees with the rent paid^.to the landlord ; - and the refidue of that furplus conftitutes the profit of the undertaker or manufadurer, and agrees with what is denominated the ordinary profits of the flock of the farmer. Both together make the ordinary profits of two capitals employed in a manufadory ; as in the other cafe jhe rent of the landlord and the revenue of the farmer compofe the ordi- / nary profits of two capitals, employed in the cultivation of a farm. The rent therefore accruing to the proprietor of the land, far from being a criterion of exclnfi've produftivenefs, as has been argued, is no criterion even of fuperior produdivenefs. The queftion mufl flill be, whether th^ furplus, after defraying expences of a gmen capital, em- ployed in the piinhaje and improvcmint of a piece of land, is greater c; lefs than that of a like capital employed in the profecution of a manufaftory; or whether the nvhole -value produced hova 2. gmen capital and a givenTjuantity of labour, employed in one way, be greater or Ie(s than- the whole value produced from an equal capital and an equal quan- tity of labour employed in the other way ; or rather, perhaps, whether the bufinefs of agriculture or that of manufadlures will yield the greateft produft, according to a compound ratio of the quantity of the capital and the quantity of labour which are employed in the one or in the other. The folution of eitlier of thefe quellions is not cafy ; it involves nu- merous and complicated details, depending on an accurate knowledge of the objects to be compared. It is not known that tlie comparifon has ever yet been made upon fufficient data properly afcertained and analyfed. To be able to make it with fatisfatlory precifion would demand much previous inquiry and clofe invefligation. Some effays, however, have been made towards acquiring the requifite inforniatipn, which have rather ferved to throw doubt upon, than to , Q^q 3 confirm gOO GENERAL DESCRIPTION confirm the hj'pothcfis under examination. Bur it ought to be ackno\r^ Icdgeti, that they have been too little divcrfified, and are too imperfeft to authorifc a definitive conclufion cither way, leading rather to proba- ble conjefture than to certain dedui^Ion. They render it probable that there are various branches of manufaftures in which a given capital vyiU yield a greater total produdl, and a confiderably greater nett produdl thai^ an equal capital inverted in the purchafe and improvement of lands; and that there are alfo fome branches, in which both the grofs and the nett produce will exceed that of agricultural induftry, according to a com- pound ratio of capital and labour. But it is on this laft point that there appears to be the greatcft room for doubt. It is far lefs difiicuh to infer generally that the nett produce of capital engaged in manufafturing en- terprifes is greater than that of capital engaged in agriculture. The foregoing fuggcftions are not defigned to inculcate an opinioq that manufaduring induftry is more^rodud^ive than that of agriculture. They are intended rather to (hew that the reverfe of this propofition is l^ot afcertained ; that the general arguments which are brought to eftab- lifli it are not fatisfaclory ; and, confcquently, that a fuppoiition of the fuperior produdivenefs of tillage ought to be no obilacle to likening to any fubftantial inducement to the encouragement of manufadures, which may be otherwife perceived to exift, through an apprehenfion that they in^y have a tendency to divert labour from a more to a lefs profitable employment. It is extremely probable, that on a full and accurate developement^of the matter, on the ground of fad and calculation, it would be difcoverr cd that there is no material difference between the aggregate prcdudive- , nefs of the one, and of the other kind of induftry ; and that the pro- priety of the encouragements, which may in any cafe be propofed to be given to either, ought to be determined upon confiderations iuelative tQ any comparifon of that nature. But without contending for the fuperior produdiyenefs of manufac. turing induftry, it may conduce to a better judgement of the policy, which ought to be purfued by the United States refpeding its encourage- ment, to contemplate the fubjed under fome additional afpeds, lending not only to confirm the idea, that this kind of induftry has h^een impro^ perly reprefented as unprodudive in itfclf; but to evince iu addition, that the eftabliftiment and dilfufion of manafadures wiU have the effed of rendering the total mafs of ufcful and produdive labour, in a com- munity, greater than it would otherwife be. In profecuting this dif- cufTion, it may be neceffary briefly to refume and review fome of thq topics which have been already touched, T8 OF THE UNITED STATES. gOl To affiirm tliat the labour of the manuiaaurer is unproduftive, becaufc he confumes as much of the produce of land as he adds value to the raw , materials which he manufadures, is not better founded, than it would be to affirm, that the labour' of the farmer, which furnifhes materials to the «ianufaaurer, is unproduaive, becaufe he confumes an equal value of inanufaaurcd articles. Each furnifhes a certain portion of the produce of his labour to the other, and each deftroys a correfpondent portion of the produce of the labour of the other. In the mean time the maintenance of two citizens, inftead of one, is going on ; the (late has two members inftead of one ; and they together confume twice the value of what is produced from the land. If inftead of a farmer and artificer, there was a farmer only, he would be under the ncceffity of devoting a part of his labour to the fabrication of cloathing and other articles, which he would procure of the artificer, in the cafe of there being fuch a perfon ; and of courfe, he would be able to devote lefs labour to the cultivation of his farm, and would draw from it a proportionably lefs produa. The whole quantity of produaion, in this ftate of things, in provifions, raw materials and manufaaures, would certainly not exceed in value the amount of what would be produced in provifions and raw materials only, if there were an artificer as wpll as 1 farmer. Again— If there were both an artificer and a farmer, the latter would be left at liberty to purfue exclufively the cultivation of his farm. A greater quantity of provifions and raw materials woiild of courfe be produced, equal, at leaft, as h^s been already obferved, to the whole amount of the provifions, raw materials, and manufaaures, which would exift on a contrary fuppofition. The artificer, at the fame time, would be^ going on in the produaion of manufaaured commodities, to an amount fufficient not only to repay the farmer, in thofe commodities, for the provifions and materials which were procured from him, but to furnifh the artificer himfelf with a fnpply of firailar commodities for his own ufe. Thus, thea, there would be two quantities or values in exillencc inftead of one ; and the revenue and confumption would be double in one cafe, what it would be in the other. If in place of both thefe fuppofitions, there were fuppofed to be two farmers and no artificer, each of whom applied a part of his labour to the culture of land, and another part to the fabrication of manufaaures ; in this cafe, the portion of the labour of both beftowed upon land would produce the fame quantity of provifions and raw materials only, as would be produced by the entire fum of the labour of one applied «> the fanie nianne)? 202 GENERAL DESCRIPTION manner, and the portion of the labour of both bellowed upon manufac- tures, would produce the iaroc quantity of manufactures only, as would be produced by the entire Turn of the labour of one applied in the fainc mtnncr. Hence the produce of the labour of the two farmers would pot be greater than the produce of the lai)our of tlie farmer and the artificer ; and hence it xefults, that the labour of the artificer is as pofi- tively produdivc as that of the farmer, and, as ppfitivvly, augments the iCTcnue of the fociety. The labour of the artificer replaces to the farmer that portion of his labour with which he provides the materials of exchange with the artif ficcr, and which he would otherwife have been compelled to apply to jxianufaftures ; and while the artificer thus enables the farmer to enlarge his (lock of agricultural induftry, a portion of which he purchafes for jus own ufe, he aljo fup piles himfclf nxiith the mamifadured articles ofivh.ch hejlunds in need. He does ftill more — Befides this equivalent which he gives' for the portion of agricultural labour confumed by him, and this fupply of manufadured commodities for his own confumption, he fur- idlhes ftill a furplus, which compenfates for the ijfe of the capital ad^ vanced either by himfelf or fome other perfon, for carrying on the bufi- nefs. This is the ordinary profit of the ftsck employed in the manufac* tory, and is, in every fenfe, as effcdive an addition to the income of the fociety as the rent of land. Tke produce of the labour of the artificer, confequently, may be re- garded as compofed of three parts; one by which the provifions for his iubfiftence and the materials for his work are purchafed of the farmer ; one by which he fupplies himfelf with raanufaclured ncceffaries ; and a third which conftitutes the profit on the ftock employed. The two laft portions feem to have been overlooked in this fyftem, which reprefents nianufaetition upon equal terms, both as to quality and price, is in moft cafes imprafticable. The difparity in the one or in the other, or in both, muft neceffarily be fo confiderable as to forbid a fuccefsful rivalftiip, without the extraordinary aid and proteftion of government. But the greateft obftacle of all to the fuccefsful profecution of a new branch of induftry in a country in which it was before unknown, con- fifts, as far as the inftances apply, in the bounties^ premiums, and other Vol, L Si aids 314 GENERAL DESCRIPTION aids which are granted, in a variety of cafes, by the nations in which the cftablifhrnents to be imitated are prcvioufly introduced. It is well known, that certain nations grant bounties on the exportation of parti- cular commoditiesi to enable their own workmen to underfcll and fup« plant all competitors, in the countries to which thofe commodities are fent. Hence the undertakers of a new manufafture have to contend not only with the natural difad vantages of a new undertaking, but with the gratuities and remunerations which other governments beftow. To be enabled to contend with fuccefs, it is evident that the interference and aid of their own government are indifpenfable. Combinations by th^fe engaged in a particular branch of bufinefs in one country to fruftrate the firft efforts to introduce it into another, by temporary facrificcs, reconipenfed perhaps by extraordinary indemnifi- cations of the government of fuch country, are believed to have exifted, and are not to be regarded as deftitute of probability. The exiftence or affurance of aid from the government of the country in which the bufi- nefs is to be introduced, may be eflential to fortify adventurers againft the dread of fuch combinations— to defeat their effefts, if formed, and to prevent their being formed, by demonftrating that they muft in the end prove fruitlefs. Whatever room there may be for an expectation that the induilry of a people, under the direction of private intereft, will upon equal terms find out the mod beneficial employment for itfelf, there is none for a reliance that it will ftruggle againft the force of unequal terms, or wiU of itfelf furmount all the adventitious barriers to a fuccefsful compe- tition, which may have been ereded either by the advantages naturally acquired from pradlice and previous poffeflion of the ground, or by thofe which may have fprung from pofitive regulations and an artificial po- licy. This general refledion might alone fuffice as an anfwer to the objeflion under examination, exclufively of the weighty confiderations which have been particularly urged. - The objedions to the purfuit of manufaftures in the United States, which next prcfcnt themfelves to difcuflion, reprefent an impradicabi- lity of fuccefs, arifing from three caufes — fcarcity of hands, dearnefs of labour, want of capital. : ? The two firft circumftances are to a certain extent real, and, within due limits, ought to be admitted as obftacles to the fuccefs of manufac- turing enterprife in the United States, But there are various confidera- tions which leffen their force, and tend to afford an aflfurance that they are not fufficient to prevent the advantageous profecution of many very ufeful and extenfive manufa^ories, ...With OF THE UNITED STATES. gig With regard to fcarclty of hands, the faft Itfelf muft be applied with no fmall qualification to certain parts of the United States. There are large diftrifts which may be confidered as pretty fully peopled, and which, notwithftanding a continual drain for diftant fettlements, are thickly interfperfed with flourilhing and increafmg towns. If thefedif- trids have not already reached the point at which the fcarcity of hands ceafes, they are not remote from it, and are approaching faft towards it: and having, perhaps, fewer attradlions to agriculture than fome other parts of the union, they exhibit a proportionably ftronger ten- dency towards other kinds of induftry. In thefe diftrifts may be diC- cemed no inconfiderable maturity for manufafturing eftablifhraents. But there are circumftances, which have been already noticed with another view, that materially diminifh every where the effed of a fcarcity of hands. Thefe circumftances are — the great ufe which can be made of women and children ; on which- point a very pregnant and inftruftivc fkft has been mentioned ; the vaft extenfion given by late im- provements to the employment of machines, which, fubftituting the agen- cy of fire and water, has prodigioufly leffened the neceffity for manual labour ; the employment of perfons ordinarily engaged in other occu- pations, during the feafons, or hours of leifure ; which, befidcs giving pcca{}on to the exertion of a greater quantity of labour by the fame number of perfons, and thereby increaling the general ftock of labour, as has been elfewhere remarked, may alfo be taken into the calcula- tion, as a refource for obviating the fcarcity of hands— laftly, the at- tra^ion of foreign emigrants. Whoever infpe one year will not exceed eight dollars j but there will be at everj' inftant Vol.1, Tt ©£ 322 GENERAL DESCRIPTION of lime during the whole period in queftion, a fum correfponJing with fo much of the principal as remains unredeemed in the hands of fomc pcrfon or other, employed, or ready to be employed, in fome pro- fitable undertalting. There will therefore conftantly be more capital in capacity to be employed, than capital taken from employment. The cxcefs for the firft year has been ftatcd to be ninety two dollars; it will dimini(h yearly; but there will always be an excefs, until the prin- cipal of the debt is brought to a level with the redeeming annuity, that is, in the cafe which has been affumed by way of example, to eight dollars. The reality of this excefs becomes palpable, if it be fup- pofed, as often happens, that the citizen of a foreign country imports into the United States lOo dollars for the purchafe of an equal fum of public debt — here is an abfolute augmentation of the mafs of circu^ lating coin to the extent of lOO dollars. At the end of a year, the foreigner is prefumed to draw back eight dollars on account of his principal and intereft, but he dill leaves ninety-two of his original de- pofit in circulation, as he ia like manner leaves eighty-four at the end of the fecond year, drawing back then alfothe annuity of eight dollars: And thus the matter proceeds; the capital left in circulation diminifh- ing each year, and coming nearer to the level of the annuity drawn back. There are, however, fome differences in the ultimate operation of the part of the debt, which is purchafed by foreigners, and that which remains in the hands of citizens. But the general efFefl in each cafe, though in different degrees, is to add to the adive capital of the country. Hitherto the. reafoning has proceeded on a conceffion of the pofition, that there is a deflruflion of fome other capital, to the extent of the annuity appropriated to the payment of the intereft and the redemption of the principal of the debt; but in this too much has been conceded. There is at moll a temporary transfer of fome other capital, to the amount of the annuity, fromthofe who pay to the creditor who receives; which He again reftores to the circulation to refume the offices of a capital. This he does either immediately by employing the money in fome branch of induftry, or mediately by lending it to fome 6ther perfoa who does fo employ it, or by fpending it on- his own maintenance. In cither fuppofition, there is no deflruftion of capital: there is nothing more than a fufpenfion of its motioh for a time, that is, while it is paf- fmg from the hands of thofe who pay into the public coffers, and thence through the public creditor into fome other channel of circulation. When the payments of intereft are periodical and quick, and made by the inftrumentality of banks, the diverfion or fufpcnlion of capital may almoU: OF THE UNITED STATES. '323 almofi: be denominated momentary. Hence the deduftion on this ac- count is far lefs than "it a^ firfl fight appears to be. There is evidently, as far as regards the annuity, no deftruftion nor transfer of any other capital, than that portion of the income of each individual, which goes to make up the annuity. The land which fur- niihes the farmer with the fum which he is to contribute remains the the fame; and the like may be obferved of other capitals. Indeed, as far as the tax, which is the objeft of contribution "(as frequently happens when it does not opprefs by its weight) may have been a motive to greater exertion in any occiipation ; it may even ferve to Increafe the con- tributory capital. This idea is not without importance In the general view of the fubjeft. It remains to fee, what further deduftion ought to be made from the capital which is created, by the exiftence of the debt, on account of the coin which is employed inks circulation. This is fufceptible of much lefs precife calculation than the article which has been juft difcuffed. It is impoffible to fay, what proportion of coin is neceffary to carry on the alienations which any fpecies of property ufually undergoes. The quantity, indeed, varies according to circumftances. But it may Hill without hefitation be pronounced, from the quicknefs of the rotation, or rather of the tranfitions, that the medium of circulation always bears but a fmall proportion to the amount of the property circulated. And it is thence fatisfaiflorily deducible, that the coin employed in the negociations of the funds, and which ferves to give them adivlty as ca- pital, is incomparably lefs than the fum of the debt negociated for the purpofe of bufmefB. It ought not, however, to be omitted, that the negoclation of the funds becomes itfelf a diftlnft bufmefs, ^vhlch employs, and. by employ- ino^, diverts a portion of the circulating coin from other purfuits. But making due allowance for this circumftance, there is no reafon to con- clude, that, the effect of the diverfion of coin in the whole operation bears any confiderable proportion to the amount of the capital to which it gives aftivity.' The fum of the debt in circulation is continually at the command of any ufeful enterprife; the coin itfelf, which circu- lates it. Is never more than momentarily fufpended from its ordinary fundlons. It experiences an inceffant and rapid flux and reflux to ajid from the channels of induftry to thofe of fpeculatlons in the funds. There are ftrong circumftances in confirmation of this theory. The force of monii---' I, Tanned and tawed leather, dreffed (kins, fh^s/ boots and flip- pers, hamefs, and fadlery of all kinds, portmanteaus and trunks, leather bre^ghes, gloves, muffs and tippet?, parchment and glue, II. Bar 326 GENERAL DESCRIPTION IL fiar and Ihect iron, ftecl, nail rods, and nails, implements of huf, bandry, ftoves, pots and other houfchold utenlils, tlic Heel and iron work for carriages, and fliip-building, anchors, fcale-bcams and weights, various tools of artificers, arms of different kinds, the manufadlurxj of thefe laft has of late diminilhed for want of demand. HI. Ships, cabinet wares and turnery, wool and cotton cards, and other rnachiner)* for manufafturcs and hulbandry, mathematical inftru- mcnts, cooper's wares of every kind. IV. Cables, fail-cloth, cordage, twine and packthread. V. Bricks and coarfc tiles, and potters wares. VI. Ardent fpirits and malt liquors. VII. Writing and printing paper, fheathing and wrapping paper, paflcboards, fullers or prefs papers, paper hangings. VIII. Hats of fur and wool, and of mixtures of both. — Women^ f.uifand filk (hoes. IX. , Refined fugars. X. Oils of animals and feeds, foap, fpermaceti and tallow candles. XI. Copper and brafs wares, particularly utenfils for diftillers, iugar retiners and brewer?, and irons and other articles for houfchold ufg— philofophical apparatus, &c. XII. Tin wares for mofl purpofcs of ordinary ufe. XIII. Carriagesof all kinds. XIV. Snuff, chewing and fmoaking tobacco. XV. Starch and hair powder. XVI. Lampblack and other painters colours. XVII. Gunpowder. Befides manufadories of thefe articles which arc carried on as regular trades and have attained to a confiderable degree of maturity, there is a vaft fcene of houfchold manufadluring, which contributes more largely to the fupply of the comniunu/ than could be imagined, without having made it an objed of particular incjuiry. This obfcrvation is the pleafing refult of theinveftigation to which the fubjed has led, and is applicable as well to the fouthern as to the middle and northern dates; great quan- tities of coarfe .cloths, coatings, ferges, and flannels, lin fey- wool fey s, hofiery of wool, cotton and thread, coarfe fuftiaps, jeans and muflins, checked and firij^d cotton and linen goods, bedticks, coverlets and coun^ tcrpancs, tow linens, coarfe fhirtings, (heetings, toweling and table linen, and varioos mixtures of wool and. cotton, and of cotton and flax, are made in the household way, and in many inftanccs to an extent not only fufficicijt for the fupply of the families in which thev are made^ but for ■ mi OF THE UNITED STATES. 327 Tale, and even in fome cafes for exportation. It is computed in a number of diftrifts, that two-thirds, three-fourths, and even four-fifths, of all the clothing of the inhabitants are made by themfelves. The ini- portanc« of fo great a progrefs, as appears to have been made in family manufaflures within a few years, both in a moral and political view, renders the fad highly inte reft ing, . ■ iO. r.Ma in.;.,.> ;.., u :.s.u -.i.t nyJ- Neirher does the above enumeration cbmpTthend all the aiticies ' tfigt are manufa(5lurcd as regular trades ; many others occur which are equally well eftablilhed, but which not being of equal importance have been omitted; and there are many attempts ftill in their infancy, which, though attended with very favourable appearances, could not have been proj>erly comprifed in an enumeration of manufadories already efta- blilhed. There are other articles alfo of great importance, which, though ftri(5lly fpeaking manufaftures, are omitted, as being imme- diately connefled with hulbandry, fuch are flour, pot and pearl alh, pitch, tar, turpentine, and the like. There remains to be noticed an objedlion to the encouragement of manufadures, of 4 nature different from thofe which qucftion the pro- bability of fuccefs. — This is derived from its fuppofed tendency to give a monopoly of advantages to particular clafTes at the expence of the reft: of the community, who, it is affirmed, would be able to procure the re' - quifite fupplies of manufadured articles on better terms from foreigners than from their own citizens, and jvho, it is alledged, are reduced to the neceffity of paying an enhanced price for whatever they want, by every meafure which obftruds the free competition of foreign commodities*' It is not an unreafonable fuppofition, that meafures which ferve to abridge the free competition of foreign articles have a tendency to occa- fion an enhancement of prices, and it is not to be denied that fuch is the effeft in a number of cafes; but the fa6t does not uniformlj' correfpond with the theory. A reduction of prices has, in feveral inftances, imme- diately fucceeded the eftablifhment of a domeftic manufafturc. Whe- ther it be that foreign mannfadures endeavour to fupplant, by under- felling their own, or whatever elfe ba'thc caufe, the efFed has been fuch as is ftated, and the reverfe of wliat might have been expelled. But though it were true, that the immediate' and- certain efFedl" of re- gulations controuling the competition of- foreign With domeftic fabrics was an increafe of price, it is univerfally true, that the contrary is the ultimate efFeft with every fuccefsfuL jnanufai5lure. When a domeftic ^anufadure has attained to perfeftioui and has engaged in the profecu- tionof it a competent number of f>e#>ift/!4tiiiv«riablybecolne3cheap«jr. 328 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Being fiec from the heavy charges which attend the importation of fo- teign commodities, it can be afforded, and accordingly feldom or never fails to be fold cheaper, in procefs of lime, than was the foreign article for which it is a fubftitute. The internal competition which takes place, foon does away every thing like monopoly, and by degrees re- duces the price of the article to the m'ln'tmum of a reafonablc profit on the capital employed. This accords with the reafon of the thing and with experience. ' Hence it follows, that it is the intereft of the United States, with a view to eventual and permanent econoaiy, to encourage the growth of manufaftures. In a national view, a temporary enhancement of price muft always be well compenfated by a permanent redudion of it. It is a refleflion which may with propriery be indulged here, that this eventual diminution of the prices of manufa6\ured articles, which is the rtfult of internal manufafturing eflablifhments, has a direft and very important tendency to benefit agriculture. It enables the farmer to pro- care, with a fmaller quantity of his labour, the manufaftured produce of which he ftands in need, and confequently increafes the value of his income and property. The objedions which are commonly made to the expediency of en- couraging, and to the probability of fucceeding in manufacturing pur- fuits in the United States, having now been difcuflcd, the confidera- tions which have appeared in the courfeof the difcuflion, recommending that fpccies of induftry to the patronage of the American government, will be materially ftrengthened by a few general and fome particular topics, v/hich have been naturally referved for fubfequent notice. I. There feems to be a moral certainty, that the trade of a country, which is both manufafturing and agricultural, will be more lucrative and profperous than that of a country which is merely agricultural. One reafon for this is found in that general effort of nations, to pro- cure from their own foils the articles of prime necclfity requifite to their own confumption and ufe, and which ferves to render their demand for a foreign fupply of fuch articles in a gre.-it degree occafional and contingent. Hence, while the neceflities of nations cxclufively devoted to agriculture, for the fabrics of manufafturing dates, are conftant and regular,' the wants of the latter for the produfts of the former arc liable to very confiderablefludluation and interruptions. The great inequa- lities rcfnhing from difference of feafons have been clfewhere remarked : this uniformity of demand on one fide, and unftcadinefs of it on the t>ther, muft neceffarily have a tendency to caufe the general courfe of the exchange of commodities between the parties to turn to the difad- vantagc OF THE UNITED Sf ATES. 32^ vantage of the merely agricultural ilates. Peculiarity of fituation, a climate and foil adapted to the produaion of peculiar commodities, may. fometimes coittradia the rule ; but there is every reafoa to -believe that it will be found in the main a juft one. Another circumftance which gives a fuperiorlty of commercial advan- tages to ftates, that manufafture, as well as cultivate, confifts in the more numerous attraftions which a more diverfified market oiFers to fo- reign cullomers, and in the greater fcope which it affords to mercantile cnterprize. It is a pofition of indifputable truth in commerce, depend- ing too on very obvious reafons, that the greateft refort will ever be to thofe marts, where commodities, while equally abundant, are mod va- rious. Each difference of kind holds out an additional induceme'*^ and it is a pofition not lefs clear, that the field of enterprife m«ft b^ enlarged to the merchants of a country, in proportion to the variety at well as the abundance of commodities which they find at home for ex- exportation to foreign markets, A third circumftance, perhaps not inferior to either of the other two, conferring the fuperiority which has been flated, has relation to the flag- nations of demand for certain commodities, which at fome time or other interfere more or lefs with the fale of all. — The nation which can bring to market but few articles, is likely to be more quickly and fenfibly af- feded by fuch flagnations, than one which is always pofTefTed of a great variety of commodities; the former frequently finds too great a portion of its flock of materials, for fale or exchange, lying on hand— or is obliged to make injurious facrifices to fupply its wants of foreign arti- cles, which are numerous and urgent, in proportion to the fmallnefs- of the number of its own. The latter commonly finds itfelf indemnified by the high prices of fome articles for the low prices of others— and the prompt and advantageous fale of thofe articles which are in demand en.- ables its merchants the better to wait for a favourable change, in refpedl to thofe which are not. There is ground to believe, that a difference of fituation, in this particular, has iramenfely different effects upon the wealth and profperity of nations, :>v't '10 :lq,-i :;j:j1^^ i^ .. From thefe circumftances colkdively, two important inferences are to be drawn ; one, that there is always a higher probability of a favourr able balance of trade, in regard to countries in which manufaduresj founded on the bafis of a thriving agriculture, flourifh, than in r^ard to thofe which are confined wholly, or almofl wholly, to agriculture f the other, which is a confequence of the firft, that countries of the foti mer defcription are likely to pofTefs more pe<:uniary wealth, or moHeyy ^han thofe of the latter, - , .••■' -• ^ -J-t -^;:...w.,. .:.^ .. [^..:.:i,j:.. . ' Vol. I . U u Faas g^O GENERAL DESCRIPTION Fafts appear to correfpond with this conclufion. The importatidiil of manufadured fupplies feera invariably to drain the merely agricultiu ral people of their wealth. Let the fituaiion of the manufaduring coun- tries of Europe be compared in this particular with that of thofe coun- tries which only cultivate, and the difparity will be ftriking. Other caofes, it is thie, help to account for this difparity between fome of them ; and among thefc caufes, the relative ftate of agriculture ; but between others of them, the mod prominent circumftance of diflimili- tudc arifes from the comparative ftate of manufaftures. In corrobora- tion of the fame idea, it ought not to efcape remark, that the Weft India iflands, the foils of which are the moft fertile, and the nation, which in the greateft degree fupplies the reft of the world, with the precious mfttais, exchange to a lofs with almoft every other country. As far as experience in America may guide, it will lead to the fame conclufion. Previous to the revolution, the quantity of coin poffefled by the colonies, which now compofe the United vStates, appeared to be inadequate to their circulation, and their debt to Great Britain was pro- greflive. Since the revolution, the ftates, in which manufaftures have liioft increafed, have recovered fafteft from the injuries of the late war, and abound moft in pecuniary refourccs. It ought to be admitted, however, in this as in the preceding cafe, Aat caufes irrelative to the ftate of manufa(5lures accountj in a degree, ibr the phenomena remarked. The continual progrefs of new fettle- Tfients, has a natural tendency to occafion an unfavourably balance of trade, though it indemnifies for the inconvenience, by that increafe of the national capital which flows from the converfion of wafte into im- proved lands : and the different degrees of external commerce which arc carried on by the different ftates, may make material differences in the comparative ftate of their wealth. The firft circumftance has re- ference to the deficiency of coin, and the increafe of debt previous to the revolution ; the laft, to the advantages which the moft manufac- turing ftates appear to have enjoyed over the others, fmce the termina- tion of the late war. But the uniform appearance of an abundance of fpecie, as the con- comitant of a flourifhing ftate of manufadures, and of the reverfe where they do not prevail, afford a ftrortg prefumption of their favourable ope- ration upon the wealth of a country. Not only the wealth, but the independence and fecurity of a country, appear to be materially connefted with the profperity of manufafturcs, i)very nation, with a view to thofe great objects^ °"S^^ ^° endeavour to OF THE UNITED. STATES. 33^ Ijoffefs within itfelf all the eflbntials of national fupply. Thefe com-' prife the means of fubfiftence, habitation, cloathing, and defence. The pofleffion of thefe Is neceifary to the perfedion of the body po- litic, to the fafety as well as to the welfare of the fociety ; the want of cither is the want of an important organ of political life and motion; and in the various critical events which await a ftate, it muft feverely feel the effedls of any fuch deficiency. The extreme embarraffments of the United States during the late war, from an incapacity of fupplying themfelves, are ftill matter of keen recolledion : a future war might be expeded again to exemplify the mifchicfs and dangers of a fituation, to which that incapacity is ftill in too gr«at a degree applicable, unlefs changed by timely and vigorous exertions. To efFeft this change, as faft as fhall be prudent, merits all the attention and all the zeal of their public councils ; it is the next great work to be accomplilhed. The want of a navy to proted the external commerce of the United States, as long as it fhall continue, muft render it a peculiarly precarious reliance for the fupply of eflential articles, and muft ferve to ftrengthen prodigioufly the arguments in favour of manufadures. To thefe general confiderations are added fome of a more particular nature. Their diftance from Europe, the great fountain of manufa(5lured fupply, fubjefts them, in the exifting ftate of things, to inconvenience and lofs in two ways. The bulkinefs of thofe commodities which are the chief produftions of the foil, neceflarily impofes very heavy charges on their tranfporta- tlon to diftant markets. Thefe charges, in the cafes in which the nations, to whom their produds are fent, maintain a competition in the fupply of their own markets, principally fall upon them, and form material dedudions from the primitive value of the articles furniftied. The charges on manufadured fupplies carried from Europe are greatly enhanced by the fame circumftance of diftance. Thefe charges, again* in the cafes in which their own induftry maintains no competition in their own markets, alfo principally fall upon them, and are an addi- tional caufe of extraordinary dedudion from the primitive value of tlie^r own produds, thefe being the materials of exchange for the foreign fa-» brics which they confume. The quality and moderation of individual property, and the growing fettlements of new diftri6ls, occafion in the United States an unufual demand for coarfe manufadures, the charges of which being greater in proportion to their greater bulk, augment the difadvantage which has been juft defcribed, Uu2 ^ 332 GENERAL DESCRIPTION As in moft countries domcftic fupplies maintain a very confiJerabU competition with fuch foreign produdions of the foil as arc imported for fale ; if the extenfive cftablilhmcnt of manufaftorics in the United States does not create a fimilar competition in rcfped to manufailured articles, it appears to be clearly deducible, from the confiderations which have been mentioned, that they muft fuftain a double lofs in their exchanges with foreign nations, ftrongly conducire to an unfavourable balance of trade, and very prejudicial to their interefts. Thefe difadvantages prefs with no fmall weight on the landed intereft of the country ; in feafons of peace they caufe a ferious deduftion from the intrinfic value of the produds of the foil ; and in cafe of war, which Ihould either involve tlicmfelves, or any other nation, poffefling a confiderable fhare of their carrying trade, the charges on the tranfporta- tlon of their commodities, bulky as moft of them are, under fuch cir- cumftances, could hardly fail to prove a grievous burthen to the farmer, while obliged to depend in fo great a degree as he now docs upon foreign markets for the vent of the furplus of his labour. As far as the profperity of the fiflieries of the United States is impeded by the want of an adequate market, there arifcs another fpecial reafon for dcfiring the extenfion of manufadures. Befides the fifli, which in' many places would be likely to make a part of the fubfiftence ot the perfons employed, it is known that the oils, bones, and Ikins of marine animals, are of extenfive ufe in various manufadures ; hence the profpeft of an additional demand for the produce of the fiflieries. One more point of view only remains, in which to confider the expe- diency of the utmoft encouragement being given to manufadures in th& United States. It is not uncommon to meet with an opinion, that though the promot- ing of maaufadures may be the intereft of a part of the Union, it is contrary to that of another part ; the northern and fouthern regions arc fomctimes reprefented as having adverfe interefts in this refpeft ; thofe are called maniifadurlng, thefe agricultural ftates, and a fpccies of op- pofitioa is imagined to fubfift between the manufaduring and agricul- tural interefts. This idea of an oppofition between thofe two interefts has been the common error of the early periods of every country, biit experience gradually diflipates it; indeed, they are perceived fo often to iuccour and to befriend each other, that they come at length to be confide red as one ; a fuppofition which has been frequently abufed, and is not univer- fally true. Particular encouragements of particular manufadures may be of a nature to facrificc the interefts of landholders to thofe of manu- fadures ; OF THE UNITED STATES. 39^ faclurers • but it is neverthclefs a maxim well eftablilhed by experience, and generally acknowledged, where there has been fufficient experience, that the aggregate profperity of manufaeaking, cffl*ntial to tlic overcoming of the obftacles which ariJTe from the competitions of fupcrior Ikill and maturity clfewhare. ^curitie.-* are efpecially cllential in regard to articles upon which thofe foreigners, who have becji accullomed to fipply a country, are in the '^raitice of granting them. 0^ ' The^dsrttinuan'ce of b(>unties bn'mamVMures long cfiablifhcd, muft almolt always be of qucllionable policy ; becauic a prefumption vrbUHl'af'ife lQiieVy''J^ch cafci tiiat there were natural and inherent impcdi- OF THE UNITED STATES. 339 impediments to fu-^cefs. But in new und,ertakin^§ ,tliQ/ axca^ jufti- fiablc, as they are oftentimes necefiary.., ^^-^ 3jomoiq 01 ^n'vr p linv/ There is a degree of prejudice againft bounties,- from an appearaijijCC of giving away the public money, without an immediate confidcratiop, and from a fuppofition that they ferve to enrich particular, ciaflfes at the expence of the community. , / . , .-. But neither of thefe fources of diHikcwiU bear a ferious examina- tion when applied to an infant ftate. There is no purpofe to which public money can be more beneficially applied, than to the acquifition of a new and ufeful branch of induftry ; no confideration more valua- ble than a permanent addition to the general dock of produftive labour. .^ A5 to the fecond fource of objeftion, it equally lies againfl other modes of encouragement which are admitted to be eligible. As ofteo as a duty upon a foreign article makes an addition to its price, it caufes an extra expence to the community, for the benefit of the .dqmeftic manufafturer. A bounty does no more. But it is the intereft of the fociety in each cafe to fubmit to a temporary expence, which is more than compenfated by an increafe of induttry and wealth, by an aug- mentation of refources and independence; and by the circumftance of of eventual cheapnefs, which has been noticed in another place. It would deferve attention, however, in the employment of this fpecies of encouragement in the United States, as a reafon for mode- rating the degree of it in the inftances in which it might be deemed eligible, that the great diftance of the United States from Europe ira- pofes very heavy charges on all the fabrics which are brought from thence, amounting from 15 to 30 per cent, on their value, acCjprding to tl:ieir bulk, V. Premiums* Thefe are of a nature allied to bounties, though diftinguilhablc from them in fome important features. Bounties are applicable to the wholp quantity of an article produced or manufaftured, or exported, and involve a correfpondent expence, ^i— Premiums ferve to reward fon^e p^v^ticular excellence or fuperiority, fome extraordinary exertiqii or ikiU, and are difpenfed only in a fmali number of cafes : b^t theif efFed is to ftimulate general effort con- " trlved fo as to be bjoth honorary and lucrative, they addrefs themfelves to different paflions, touching the chords as well of ^mulatioti as of intereft.~They are accordingly >,vcry^^ec?^i^o^^,^^|«,^^X9^^^ the enterprife pf a whole community, .!^ ., ^^ , j , There are various focicties in different ^ountri^* whofc obled is X X z the 54^ GENERAL DESCRIPTION tkc ^if})efd?itlon of premiums for the encouragement of agriculturf, ani, /feanufadlures, and commerce ; and though they arc for the moll . prt voliihtary afiboiations, with comparatively flender funds, their utllTly has been immenfe. Muqi has been done by this mean in Great Britain ; ScotKind in particular owes materially to it a prodigious afrielibration of condition. From a fimilar eftablifhment in the United Staites, fiipplied and fupportcd by the Government of the Union, vaft benefits might rcafonably be expefled. • VT. 77v exemption of I he materials of mahttfa^urei from duty. The policy of that exemption as a general rule, particularly in rela- tion to new eOablifhments, is obvious. It can hardly ever be advife- able to aJd the obftruf\ions of fifcal burthens to the difficulties which naturally embarrafs anew manufadure ; and where it is'matured and in condition to become an objeft of revenue, it is, generally fpeaking, better that the fabric, than the material, (hould be the fubjeft of taxation. — Ideas of proportion between the quantum of the tax and the value of the article can be more eafily adjufted in the former than ih the latter cafe. An argument for exemptions of this kind in the' United States is to be derived from the praftice, as far as their necef- fities have permitted, of thofe nations whom they are to meet as com- petitors in their own and in foreign markets. There are, however, exceptions to it; of which fome examples will be given under the next head. The laws of the Union afford indances of the obfervance of the policy liere .recomrnended, but it will probably be found advifeahle to extend it to fome other cafes. — Of a nature, bearing fome affinity to that po» licy, is the regulation which exempts from duty the tools and imple- ments, as well as the books, clothes, and houfehold furniture of foreign artifts who come to refide in the United States; an advantage already fccured to them by -the laws of the Union, ^nd which it is, in every view, prqpcr ^o continue. 'VII, Dra'whach of the duties nvhich are impcfed on the materials of WXtnufaBures, ^t has already been obferved, as a general rule, that duties on thofe materials ought, with certain exceptions, to be foreborne. Of thefe exceptions, three cafes occur, which may ferve as examples — one, where "the material is itfelf an objeift of general or extenfive confump- tiOD, and 'a lit*' and prodnftive fource of revenue — another where a ma- imfaAufCor a fimpter kind, the competition of wljich with a like do- njcftic article is dcfirod to be reftrainedj partakes of the nature of a ,riw material, from bnsftng capabfei by a further proccfs> to* be con- verted or THE UNITED STATES* 34I verted Into a .jjM4«ffadure of a different kind, the introdiidlion or growth jof which is defired to'bc encouraged — a third, where the matejfal itfelf is a production of the country, and in fufficicnt abun- dance to farnifh a cheap and plentiful fupply to the national manu- faflion, the fame reafons which recommend, as a general rule, the exemptions, of thofe materials from duties, would recommend, as a like general rule, the allowance of drawbacks, in favour of the manufadurer: iic- cordingly fuch drawbacks are familiar in countries which fyilemati- cally purfue the bufmefs of manufadures ; which iurniChes an argu- ment for the obfervance of a fmiilar policy i^ the United States; and the idea has been adopted by the laws of the Union, in the inftances pf fait and molaifes. And it will be found advantageous to extend it ,fo fome other articles. - Vlllf ^Jpe encouragement of ne^w invetitJons and ^ifccverieSf and of the ^.introduciion i?2lo the United States of fuch as hafe been made in other coun- triesj particularly thofe ivhich relate to machinery, '■ ' This is among the moil ufeful and unexceptionable of the aids which can be given to manufactures. The ufual means of that encourage- ment are pecuniary rewards, and, for a time, exclufive privileges. The iirft muft be employed according to the occafion, and the utility of the invention or difcovery. For the lad, fo far as refpefts ** au- thors- and iffventors," provifion has been spade by law. But it is dc- firable, in regard to improvements and fecrets of extraordinary value to be able to extend the fame benefits to introducers, as well as au- ithors and inventors;.a policy which hfs 'peep pradtifed with advan- tage ia other countries, Herej ^cmej'^., , at.. i» ftmc o^ieT cafe«^ there «J45 GE^JERAL DESCRIPTION thcfc is.cauft; to ^gr^t, that the competency of the authority of the National Government to the good which might be done, is not with- out a qucftion. Many aids might be given to induftry; many in- ternal improvements of primary magnitude might be promoted, by an authority operating throughout the Union, which cannot be effedled by an authority confined within the limits of a fingle (late. But if the Lcgiflature of the Union cannot do all the good that might be wiftied, it is at leaft defireabie, that all may be done which is praifticable. It is cuflomary with manufa«5^uring nations to prohibit, under fc- vere penalties, the exportation of implements and machines, which they have either invented or improved. There are already objects for a fimilar n-gulation in the United States; and others may be expected to occur from time to time. The adoption of this line of condu under which denomination are comprifed all tho(e that leave the quantum of the tax to be raifed on each perfon to the difcretion of certain officers, are as contrary to the genius of liberty as to the maxims of induftry. In this light they have been viewed by the moft judicious obfervers on government, who have beftowed upon them the fevereft epithets of reprobation, as conftituting one of th« worft features ufually to be met with in the praflice of defpotic go-_ veraments* f^r^:;>L^'^^ It is certain, at leaft, that fuch taxes afe particularly inimical to the fucccfs of rpanufafturing induftry, and ought carefully to be.- Av^i^ed- by a government which defires to promote it* '. Ind'lfarf^ -Sih'^ The great copioufncfs of this fubjed has infenfibly led to a lon^f preliminary difcuffion than was originally contemplated, or intended* it appeared proper to inveftigiite principles, to confider the objeftions which have been brought forward againft the eftablifhment of rnanu* failures in the United States, and to endeavour to eftablifh their uti- lity on general principles, which have long experience for their bafts : It now remains to fpecify fome of the objefts which appear particulariy to merit, and which will require the encouragement of the govarn- ment of the United States to bring them to perfeftion* In the feledlion of objeds, feveral circumftances feem entitled to particular attention : The capacity of the country to furnifh the raw material— the degree in which the nature of the manufa<5lure admits of a fubftitute for manual labour in machinery .^the facility of execution — ■ the extenfivenefs of the ufes to which the article can be applied— its Tubferviency to other interefts, particularly the great one ofna* tional defence. There are, however, objeas to which thefe circum- ftances are little applicable, which, fbribnae ifpccial-reafonSf may^hayfi a claim to encouragement* ' ^^-.v rui'u' .r* >i;> .-..,r;vi ;ij> 'nU vd A defignation of the principal raw" matcTial of which each minufab^ ture is compofed, will ferve to introduce the remarks -upon it. — As,- in the fir ft place> y / IRON, 346 GENERAL DESCRIPTION I R O K. The manura(f^urcrs of this article arc entitled to pre-eminent rank— *^ JSonc arc more cfTential in their kinds, nor fo extenfive in their ufesw They conftjtute in whole or in part the implements or the materials, or both, of almoft every ufeful occupation. Their inflrumentality is ^yeijy where conrpicuous. ^t jis fortiiqate for the United States that they have peculiar advan- tages for deriving the full benefit of tVis moft valuable material, and they have ev^^y. motive to iaiprove it with fyftematic care. It is ta )jc found in x*rious pajts of the United States, in great abundance ^d of almoft every quality j and fuel, the chief inftrument in manu-. ^(fluting it, is both cheap and plenty. — This particularly applies to charcoal ; but there are produdivc coal mines already in operation, and ftrong indications that the material is to be found in abundance ia ^ variety of other places. The kinds of iron manufaduces, in which the greateft progrefs has been made, have been mentioned in another place, and need not be repeated; but there is little doubt that every other kind, with ^uc cultivation, will rapidly fucceed. It is worthy 'of remark, that feveral of the particular trades, of which iron is the bafis, are capable ^f being carried on without the aid of large capitals. ; Iron works have 'very greatly increafed in the United States, and are profecuted. with much more advantage than formerly. The average price before the revolution was about fixty-four dollars per ton, at prefent it is about eighty ; a rife which is chiefly to be attributed to the increafe of the manufactures of the material. The ftill further extenfion and multiplication of fuch manufactures will have the double effed of promoting the extraftion of the metal itfelf, and of converting it to a greater number of profitable purpofes, Thofe majiufaClures, too, unite in a greater degree than almoft any others, the feveral requifites which have been mentioned, as proper to be confulted in the feledion of objeds. The only further encouragement of manufaClorlcs of this article, the propriety of which may be confidered as unqueftionable, feems to be an increafe of the duties on foreign rival commodities. Steel h a branch which has already made a confiderable progrefs in the United States, and fome new enterprizes, on a more extenfive fcale, have been lately fet on foot. The facility of carrying it to an extent, which will fupply all internal demands, and furnifl\ a confiderable furplus for exportation, cannot be doubted. The duty upon the im- portation of this ;article into the United States, which is at prefent feventy* OF THE UNITED STATES. 347 fevfnty-five cents, per cvvt. may, it is conceived, be fafely and ad- vantagcoufly extended to I QO cents, It is defirable, by dccifive ar^ rangements, to fecond the efforts which are making in fo very valua- ble a branch. The United Spates already in a great meafure fupply themfelvel with nails and fpikes ; they are able, and ought certainly to do it entirely. The firft and moft laborious operation in this manufa<5turc is preformed by water-mills ; and of the perfons afterwards employe4 a great proportion are boys, whofe early habits of induftry are of importance to the community, to the prefent fupport of their families, and to their own future comfort. It is not lefs curious than true, that in certain pzirts of the United States, the making of nails is an occafional family manufaftOre, The expediency of an addition^il duty on the Importation of thefc articles is indicated by an iniportant faft. About one million eight hundred thoufand pounds of them were imported into the United States in the courfe of one year, ending the 30th of September, 1790. A duty of two cents, per pound would, it is prefumeable, fpeedily put an end to fo confiderable an importation, And it is in every view- advantageous to the States that an end Ihould be put to it. The implements of hulbandry are made in feveral flutes in great abundance. In many places it is done by the common blackfmiths. And there is no doubt that an ample fupply for the wljple country- can with great eafe be procured among themfelves, jv ,-,:•,,' Various kinds of edged tools for the ufe of mechanics are alfomade, ^nd a confiderable quantity of hollow wares; though the bulinefs of tailing has not yet attained the perfection which might be wifhed, Jt is however improving, and as there are refpedlable capitals in ^ood hands, embarked in the profecution of thofe branches of iroi^ manufaftories, which are yet in their infancy, they may all be coa of their own manufafture, to a certain determinate extent, in order to the formation of arfenals; and to replace from time to time fuch as (hould be withdrawn for ufe, fo a^ always to have in ftore the quantity of each kind, which Ihould be ^emed a competent fuppl}-. f - Imported manufaiflures of fteel generally, or of which fteel is the ar- ticle of chief value, may with advantage, be placed in the clafs of ^oods rated at feven and an half per cent. As manufadures of this kind have not yet made any coafidcrable progrefs in the United Sates, it is a reafon for not rating tl;em as high at thofe of iron ; but as this material is the bafis of them, and as their extenfion is not lefs pradi- cable than important, it is delirablc to promote it by a fomewhat hi|;her duty than the prefent, COPPER. The manufa<5lures of which this article is fufceptiblp are alfo of great extent and utility. Under this defcription, thofe of brafs, of which it is the principal ingredient, are intended to b^ included. The material is a natural produdlion of the country. In many parts of the United States mines of copper have aftually been wrought, and with profit to the undertakers. And nothing is eafier than the intro- duftion of it from other countries, or^ moderate terms, and in great plenty. Copperfmiths and brafs-foundcrs, particularly the former, are nu^ merous in the United States j fome of whom carry on bufinefs to a^ refpeftable extent. To multiply and extend manufaftorics of the materials in queftion, is worthy of the attention and efforts of the federal government. In or- der to this, it is defirable for then? to facilitate a plentiful fupply of the materials ; and a proper mean to this end is -to place them in the clafs of free articles. Copper in plates and brafs are already in this predicament ; but copper in pigs and bars is not ; neither is lapis iialaminaris, which, together with copper and charcoal, conftitutc the component ingredients of brafs. The exemption from duty, by parity of reafon, ought to embrace all fuch of thefe articles as are obje(fls of Importation. An additional duty on brafs wares will tend to the general end in view, Thefe now (land at five per cent, while thofe of tin, pewter, i^d copp<^are rated at feven and an half. There appears to be a pro- priety iA CTcry view in placing brafs wares upon the fame level with ,'' '^'^ '' fhcraj OF THE UNITED STATES. Q^g them ; and it merits their confide ration whether the duty upon gll of them ought not to be rajfed to ten per cent* LEAD. There are numerous proofs, that this material abounds in the United States, and requires little to unfold it to an extent, more than equal to every domeftic occafion. A prolific miijie of it has Jong been open in the fouth-weftern parts of Virginia, and under a public adminir ^ration, during the late war, yielded a confiderable fupply for mili* tary ufe. This is now in the hands of individuals, who not only carry it on with Ipirit, but have eftablillied njanufaftories of it at Richmond in the fame ftate. The duties already laid upon the importation of this article, either in its unmanufadured or manufactured ftate, infure it a decifive ad- vantage in the home market— which amounts to confiderable encou- ragement. If the duty on pewter wares fhoyld be raifed, it would afford a further encouragement. Nothing elfe occurs as proper to be added, fOSSILCOAL. This, as an important inftrument of manufactures, may, without impropriety, be mentioned among the fubjeds of the prefent re* marks. A copious fupply of it would be of great confequence to the iron Jjranch ; As an article of houfehqld fuel alfo it is an intcrefting pro- fjuftion^ the utility of which muft increafe in proportion to the dc- creafe of wood, by the progrefs of fettlement and cultivation. And its importance to navigation, as an immenfe article of tranfportatioa ^oaft-wife, is fign^Uy exemplified in Great. Britain. It is known, that there are feveral coal mines in Virginia, now worked,, and appearances of their exiilence are. familiar in a number of places. ; - '- The expediency of a bounty on all this fpecies of coal of home pro- duction, and of premiums, on the opening of new mines, under certain qualifications, appears to be worthy of the particular attention of the American government. The great importance of the article wiU amply juftify a reafonable expence in this way, if it fhali appear tq |)e neceffary to^ and fhall be thought likely tp anfwcr, the end. i WOOD, Several manufaClures of this article flourilh in the United States, Ships are nowhere built in greater perfection, and cabinet wares* gcncrjJJ/i §5^ ti'E'NtllAL. DESCRIPTION generally, arc made little, if at all inferior to thofe of Europe. Their extent is fuch as to have admitted of conficlcrablc exportation. An exemption from duty of the federal kinds of wood ordinarily nfed in thefe manuta(5tures feems to be all that is rcquifite by way of encouragement. It is recommended by the confideration of a fimilar policy being purfiied in other countries, and by the expediency of giving equal advantages to their oWn wbrkmcn in wood. The ;^bunr dance of timber proper for fhip-buiMing in the United States docs Hot appear to be any objcftion to it. The increafmg fcarcity and the growing importance of that article, in the European countries, tdmonifh the United States to commence, and fyftematically to purfuc meafures for the prefervation of their (lock. Whatever may promote the regular eftablilhment of magazines of (hip-timber is in various views dcfireable, SKINS. There are fcarcely any manufaftories of greater importance to the United States than of this article. Their direft and very happy inl fluence upon agriculture, by promoting the raifmg of cattle of dif^ fcrent kinds, is a very material recommendation. It is pleaiing, too, to obferve the extenfive progrefs they have made in their principal branches ; which are fo far matured ^s almoft to defy foreign competition. Tanneries in particular are not only car*- jied on as a regular bufmefs in numerous inftances, and in various parts of the country, but they conftitute in fome places a Valuable item of incidental family manufafturcs. Reprefentations however have been made to the government, im- porting the expendiency of further encouragement to the leather branch in two ways ; one by increafmg the duty on the manufaftures of it, which are imported ; the other by prohibiting the exportation of bark. In fupport of the latter it is alledgcd, that the price of barki chiefly in confequence ofl^rge exportations, has rifen within a few years from about three dollars to four dollars and a half per cord. The exportation of this article will however be checked by the improve, fflents made in this article of manufadurc in Europe, and by the cxi. Mfifioh of them to the States. Thefe improvements are, — ift, A more judicious ufe of the barki tfelf, by cxtrading more of its qualities by boiling it after it has been taketi out of the pits in the hitherto common method of ufmg it. This me- thod, if attended to properly, will render two thirds of the quantity Heretofore ufed uhnecefTary idly. The fm)erceding the ufc of tttrtt ill tanning altogett^cr by the introdudion of articles of lefsex- penc^ OF. THE UNITED STATES* Q^^ pence in its ftead> for which a pajtent has been obtamed by ^aa ii^habi* tant of England. It is howeveri perhaps an additional reafpn for the prohibition,, that one fpecies of the bark ufually exported from the United Statat is in fome fort peculiar to the country, and the material, of a vejry. valuable dye, of great ufe in fome other manufactures, in whiph th«. United States have begun a competition. There may alfo be this argument in favour of an increafe of duty# The objed is of importance enough to claim decifivc encoarageni^tt and the progrefs which has been made, leaves no room to ^pprehead, any inconvenience on the fcore of fupply from fuch an increafe. It would be of benefit to this branch, if glue, which is now rated Jit five per cent, were made the objeft of an excluding duty. It !$, already made in large quantities at various tanneries; and, like paper, is an entire economy of materials, which, if not manufadlured, would be left to perilh. It may be placed with advantage in tht dafs of ay* tides paying fifteen per cent on importation. GRAIN. Manufaftufes of the feveral fpecies of this article hare a title to pc* culiar favour, not only becaufe they are moft of them immediatelf conneded with the fubfiftence of the citizens, but becaufe they en- large the demand for the moft precious produfts of the foil. Though flour may with propriety be noticed as a manafafhire of grain, it were ufelefs to do it but for the purpofe of fubmitting the expendency of a general fyftem of infpeftion throughout the ports of the United States, which, if eftabliftied upon proper principles, would be likely to improve the quality of their flour every where, and would raife its reputation in foreign markets. There are, how- ever, confi derations which ftand in the way pf fuch an arrange- ment. Ardent fpltits and malt liquors are, next to flour, the two prin- cipal manufadu res of grain; the firft has made a very extenfive, the laft a confiderable progrefs in the United States : in refpeft to both, an exclufive pofleflion of the home market ought to be fecured to the domeftic manufafturers as faft as circumftances will admit. Nothing is more pradicable, and nothing more defirable. An augmentation of the duties on fpirits imported into the Statci Would favour as well the diftillation of fpirits from molafles as that from grain ; and to fecure to a nation the benefit of a manufafturc, even of foreign materials, is always of great, though, perhaps, of fe- condary importance. It 55^ (JenJIrAL DESCRIPtlON It would therefore be advantageous to the States that an aiddition^ of two cents per gallon be made to the duty on imported fpirits of the firft clafs of proof, with a proportionable increafe on thofe of higher proof; and that a reduftiori of one per cent per gallon be made from the duty on fpirits diftiUed within the United States, beginning with the firft clafs of proof, and a proportionable dcduftion from the duty, on thofe of higher proof. T ' It is afcertained, that by far the greateft part of the malt liquors tonfumed in the United States arc the produce of their domeftic brew- eries. It is defirable, and in all likelihood attainable, that the ivhoU cenfumption fhoold be fupplied by themfelves. The malt liquors made in the States, though inferior to iht bed, arc equal to a great part of thofe which have been ufually imported j the progrefs already made is an earneft of what may be accomplifhed ; the growing competition is an aflurance of improvement j this fliould be accelerated hj meafures tending to invite a greater capital into thi» channel of employment. To render the encouragement of domeftic breweries decifive, it may be advifeable for the government to fubftitute to the prefent rate^ of duty eight cents per gallon generally ; and it will deferve to be con- fidcrcd by them as a guard againft invafions, whether there ought not to be a prohibition of their importation, except in cafks of confidera- ble capacity. Such a duty would baniih from their markets foreign malt liquors of inferior quality, and the beft kind only would continue to be imported until fupplanted by the efforts of equal ikill or care ift the States. Till that period, the importaftion fo qualified would be an ufeful ftimulus to improvement ; and in the mean time, the payment of the increafed price, for the enjoyment of a luxury^ in order to the encou- ragement of a moft ufeful branch of domeftic induftry, could not^ffa- fonably be deemed a hardlhip. , . .y,^ .^^ , J . As a farther aid to the manufactures of grain, though upon a fmallef fcale, the articles of ftarch, hair powder, and wafers, may with great propriety be placed among thofe which are rated at fifteen per cent. Nomanufaftures are more fimple, nor more completely within the reach of a full fupply from their domeftic fources; and it i« a policy, as common as it is obvious, to make the importation of them the objects cither of prohibitory duties, or of exprefs prohibition. .^ FLAX AMD HEMr. Manufaftures of thcfe articles hare fo much affinity to each other, and they are fo often blended, that they may with advantage be con- fidered OF THE UNITED STATES. ^^^ fidered in conjunftion. The importance of the linen branch- to agricul- ture — its happy cfFcdls upon houfehold induftry — the eafe with which its materials can be produced in the United States to any requisite ex- tent — the great advances which have been already made in the coarfef fabrics of them, efpecially in the family way, conftitute claims of peculiar force to the patronage of the American government* This patronage may be afforded in various ways ; by promoting the growth of the materials ; by increafing the impediments to an advan- tageous competition of rival foreign articles j by direft bounties or pre* miums upon the home manufafture. Firft. As promoting the gronvth of the materials, A ftrong wifli naturally fuggefts itfelf to the friends of America, that fomc method could be devifed of affording a more direft encouragement to the growth both of flax and hemp, fuch as would be effeftual, and at the fame time not attended with too great inconveniencies. To this end, bounties and premiums offer themfelves to confideration ; but no modifi- cation of them has yet occurred, which would not either hazard too much expencc, or operate unequally in reference to the circumftances of different parts of the Union, and which would not be attended with Ytty great difficulties in the execution. ' * Secondly* As to increafing the impediments to an ad'vantageous competition of rival foreign articles. To this purpofc) an augmentation of the duties on importation is the obvious expedient ; which, in regard to certain articles, appears to be recommended by fufiicient reafons. The principal of thefc articles is fail-cloth, one intimately connefted with navigation and defence j and of which a flouriihing manufactory is eftablilhed at Bofton, and very promifihg ones at feveral other places. It is prefumed to be both fafe and advifeablc for the American govern- ment to place this in the clafs of articles rated at ten per cent. A ftrong reafon for it refults from the confideration, that a bounty of two-pence ftcrling per ell, is allowed in Great Britain upon the exportation of the fail-cloth manufaftured in that kingdom. It would likewife appear to be good policy for the States to rai/e the duty to feven and a half per cent, on the following articles : drillings, ofnaburghs, ticklenburghs, dowlas, canvas, brown rolls, bagging, and upon all other linens, the firft coft of which, at the place of exportation, does not exceed thirty-five cents, per yard. A bounty of twelve and a half per cent, upon an average, on the exportation of fuch or fimilar linens from Great Britain, encourages the manufa^ure of them, and in- Vot, I. Z% cieafes 354 GENERAL DESCRIPTION crcafes the obftaclcs to a fuccc(*ful competition in the countries to which they arc fent. The quantities of tow and other houfchold linens raanufadured in different parts of the United States, and the expedations which are de- rived from fome late experiments, of being able to extend the ufe of f labour- fa ving machines in the coarfer fabrics of linen, obviate the danger of inconveniwce from an increafe of the duty upon fuch articles, and authorife the expei' ] ' To fecure to the national manufafturers fo eflential an advantage, a re- peal of the prefent duty on imported cotton is indifpenfable. A fubilitute for this, far more encouraging to, 4ofnelJic.prT»uudion, will be to grant a bounty on the cotton grown in the United States, when wrought at a home manufadory, to which a bounty on the. ex- portation of it may be added. Either, or both* would do topcl^ mo:fjp towards promoting the growth of the article than the merely nominal encouragement which it is propofed to abolifh. The iirft would ^Ifo h^ye a diredl: influence in encouraging the raanufadiure. Zza . The 35^ GENERAL DESCRIPTION The bounty, which has been mentioned as cxiftingin Great Britain, tipon the exportation of coarfe linens not exceeding a certain value, ap-. plies alfo to certain dcfcriptions of cotton goods of fimilar value. This furnilhcs an adviitional argument for allowing to the manufac- turers the fpecics of encouragement juft fuggcfted, and indeed for adding fome other aid. One cent per yard, not lofs than of a given width, on all goods of cotton, or of cotton and linen mixed, which are manufaftured in the United States, with the addition of one cent per lb. weight of the ma- terial, if made of national cotton, would amount to an aid of conHderable importance, both to the produdion and to the manufadure of that va- luable article. And the expence would be well juftified by the magni* tude of the objeft. The printing and ftaining of cotton goods is known to be a diftini^ bufinefs frorti the fabrication of them. It is one eafily accomplilhed, and which, as it adds materially to the value of the article in its white ilate, and prepares it for a variety of new ufcs, i& of importance to be promo tt;d. As imported cottons, equally with thofe which are made at home, may be the objects of this manufacture, it is worthy of confide ration, vJiQtlacr it would not be for the advantage of the States that the whole, or part of the duty, on the white goods, ought not to be allpwed to be drawn back in favour of thofe who print or ftain them. This raeafure would certainly operate as a powerful encouragement to the bufmefs, and though it may in a degree countera<5l the original fa-» fabrication of tlie articles, it would [robably more than compenfate for this difadvantage in the rapid growth of a collateral branch, which is of a nature fooner to attain to maturity, When a fufficient progrcfs IhalJ have been made the drawback may he abrogated, and by that time the doracftic fupply of the articles to be printed or ftained will have been extended* If the duty of 7f per cent, on certain kinds of cotton goods were ex- tended to all goods of coKon, or of which it is the principal material, it would probably more than counterbalance the effcd of the drawbaek propoied, in relation to the fabrication of the articje ; and no material objedion occurs to fuch an cxtenfion. The duty then, confidering all the ci^cumftances which attend goods of this defcription, could not be deemed inconveniently high; and it may bo inferred, from varioqs Caufes, that the prices of them would ft ill continue moderate. . >. .,- ^anufa^ories pf cotton goods, not long fmce eftabliihed at Bevcfley, in Maifecliufctt's^ ap4 at Providence, in tlie (late of Rhode Iflandi 8n4 at OF THE UNITED STATES. 357 at New York, and conduced with a perfcverance correfponding with the patriotic motives which began them, feem to have overcome the firft obftacles to fuccefs, producing corduroys, velverets, fuftians, jeans, and other fimilar articles, of a quality which will bear a comparifon with the like articles from Manchefter, The one at Providence has the merit of being the firft in introducing into the United States the celebrated cot- ton mill, which not only furnifhes the materials for that manufadory itfelf, but for the fupply of private families for houfehold manufac- ture. Other manufadlories of the fame material, as regular bufinefles, have alfo been begun at different places in the ftate of Connefticut, but all upon a fmaller fcale than thofe above mentioned. Some effays are alfo making in the printing and ftaining of cotton goods. There are feveral fmall eftabliftiments of this kind already on foot. .*(>f V ?"> WOOL. In a country, the climate of which partakes of fo confiderable a pro- portion of winter, as that of a great part of the United States, the wool- len branch cannot be regarded as inferior to any which relates to the cloathing of the inhabitants. ■ -^ '^ 'i-'^' Houfeh«>ld manufa(5lures of this material are carried on, in different parts of the United States, to a very interefting extent; but there is only one branch, which as a regular bufmefs, can be faid to have acquired maturity ; this is the making of hats. Hatsof wool, and of wool mixed with fur, are made inlafge quantities in different ftates, and nothing feems wanting, but an adequate fupply of materials to render the manufafture commenfurate with the demand. A promifing eflay towards the fabrication of cloths, caffimeres, and Other woollen goods, is likewife going on at Hartford, in Connefticut. iSpecimens of the different kinds which are made, evince, that thefe fa- brics have attained a very confiderable degree of perfedion. Their qua- lity certainly furpaiTes any thing that could have been looked for, in fo JhoYt a time, and under fo great dlfadvantages, and confpires with the fcantinefs of the means, which have been at the command of the direc- tors, to form the eulogium of that public fpirit, perfcverance and judgr ment, which have been able to accomplifh (o much. Meafures, which tend to promote an abundant fupply of wool of good quality, would probably afford the moft efficacious aid that pre- fent circumftances permit to this and fimilar manufadures. -^ ' ^ <^ --^'^ To encourage the raifing and improving the breed of {fieep'^rt'thft. United States would certainly be the nioft definable ex^pedient for that - purpofej 358 GEN^ERAL DESCRIPTION purpofe ; fe'ik it' inay not be alone fufficient, efpccially as it is ytt a pro* bleiDi whether their wool is capable of fuch a degree of improvement as to render it fit for the finer fabrics. Premiums would probably be found the beft means of promoting thd domeftic, and bounties the foreign fupply ; and they ought of courfe to be adjufted with an eye to quality as well as quantity. A fund for this purpofe may be derived from the addition of 2} per cent, to the prefcnt rate of duty on carpets and car^^eting imported into the flates; an increafc to which the nature of the articles fuggefts no objedion, and which may at the fame time furnifh a motive the more to the fabrication of them at home, towards which forae beginnings have been made, SILK. The produdlion of this article is attended with great facility in mod parts of the United States. Some p^eafing eifays are making in Cjn- ncdicut, as well towards that as towards the manufadure of what is pro- duced. Stockings, handkerchiefs, ribbons, and buttons, are made, though as yet but in fmall quantities, A manufadory of lace, upon a fcale not very extenfive, has been long memorable at Ipfwich in the ftate of Maffachufets. An exemption of the material from the duty which it now pays on importation, and premiums upon the produdion, feem to be tht only fpecics of encouragement advifeable at fo early a ftage, CLASS, The materials for making glafs are found every where ; in the United States there is no deficiency of them. The fands and ilones called Tarfo, which include flinty and chryflalline fubftances generally, and the falts of various plants, particularly the fea-weed kali, or kelp, conftitute the efTtntial ingredients. An extraordinary abundance of foci is a particular advantage enjoyed by America for fuch mzi' jiufaftures ; they, however, require large capitals, and involve much manual labour. Different manufadorics of glafs are novv on foot in the United States, The prefeni duty of 1 2^ per cent, laid by the ftates on all imported arti- cles of glafs amount to a confidcrable encouragement to thofe manu- fadories; if any thing in addition is judged eligible, the mod pror- y>ci would appear to be a dired bounty on window glafs and black bottleVr'^'^' — "^'^'^i^^^' - ''- --' • Tb5 OF mt UNITED STATES. g^g The fir ft recommends itfelf as an objeft of general convenience, the laft adds to that charader the circumllance of being an important item in breweries, A complaint is made of greai^ deficiency ia this^reibe^, ' GUNPOWDER, No fmall progrefs has been of late made in the manufadure of thi» Important article; it may, indeed, be confidercd as already cfta- blifhed, but its high importance renders its farther extenfion very de- iirable. The encouragements which it already enjoys, are a duty of ten per cent, on the foreign rival article, and an exemption of falt-pctre, one of the principal ingredients of which it is compofed, from duty. A like exemption of fulphur, another chief ingredient, would ap- pear to be equally proper. No quantity of this article has yet been produced from any internal fources of the States. This confidera- tion, and the ufe made of it, in finifhing the bottoms of (hips, is an additional inducement to placing it in the clafs of free goods. Re- gulations for the careful infpedion of the article would have a favolir* able tendency, ■ ' V!)7 2'K rignont • PAFER. ' wunfimA Mahufadlories of paper are among thofe which are arrived at t;he greateft maturity in the United States, and are moft adequate to na- tional fupply. That of paper hangings is a branch in which refpedablc progrefs has been made. ' Nothing material feems wanting to the farther fuccefs of this valuable branch, which is already proteded by a competent duty on fimilar im* portant articles. ^ ' ' In the enumeration of the feveral kinds made fubje tliat is looolbs. to each man.'* If fuch be the amazing produ<5l of fjx weeks labour of an individual, what may be expefted from the labours of the many thoufands of people who now inhabit, and may hereafter inhabit, the extenfive trafts of country which abound with the fugar maple tree ? This manufafturc is fo important and interefting, that it refpefts the wealth and profperity of their country, and the caufe of hu- manity, that it deferves the countenance of every ^ood citizen, and even national encouragement. No lefs than eighteen millions of pounds of Weft India fugars, manufaftured by the hands of flaves, is annually im- ported into and confumed in the United States. In proportion as this quantity can be leffened by their own manufa<5lurer£, by the hands of freemen, the wealth of the United States wfU be increafcd, and the caufe of humanity promoted. The foregoing heads coraprife the moft important of the feveral kinds of manufaftures which have occurred as requiring, and, at the famb time, as moft proper for public encouragement in the United States; 362 GENERAL DESCRIPTION and ofFer fuch meafurcs for affording it, as have appeared bcfl calculated to anfwcr the end propofed. The meafures, which have been fubmitted, though fome of them may have a tendency to infure the revenue, yet when taken aggregately, [ they will, for a long time to come, rather augment than decreafe it. There is little room to t\y>c6i that the progrefs of manufaftures will Co equally keep pace with the progrefs of population as to prevent even a gradual augmentation of the produfk of the duties on imported articles. As, neverthelefs, an abolition in fome inftances, and a reduftion in others of duties which have been pledged for the public debt is propofed, it iselTential that it ftiould be accompanied with a competent fubftitute. In order to this, it is requifitc that all the additional duties which (hall be laid be appropriated, in the firft inftancc, to replace all defalcations which may proceed from any fuch abolition or diminution. It is evi,- dent at firft glance, that they will not only be adequate to this, but will yield a confidcrable furplus. There is reafon to believe that the progrefs of particular manufadiires in the United States has been much retarded by the want of ikilful workmen ; and it often happens that the capitals employed are not equal to the purpofes of engaging workmen of a fiiperior kind from Europe. Here, in cafes worthy of it, the auxiliary agency of government, would ir\ all probability be ufeful. There are alfo valuable workmen in every branch who are prevented from emigrating folely by the want of means. Occafional aids to fuch perfons, properly adminillcred, might be a fourcc of valuable acquifition to the States. The propriety of Simulating by rewards the invention and introduc- tion of ufeful improvements is admitted without difficulty. But the fuccefs of attempts in this way muft evidently depend much on the man- ner of condufiing them. It is probable that the placing of the difpenfa- tion of thofc rewards under fome proper difcretionary direction, where they may be accompanied by collateral expedients, will fcrve to give them the fireft efficacy. It feems impradicable to apportion by general rules fpecific compenfations for difcoveries of unknown and difpropor-. tionate utility. The great ufc which any country may make of a fund of this nature iC^!^- procure and import foreign improvements, is particularly obvious, •f'Among thefe, the article of machines form a moft important item. The operation and utility of premiums have been adverted to, together with the advantages which have refulted from their difpenfation under the diredion of certain public and private focieties. Of this, fome ex- perience has been had in the inftance of the Pennfylvania fociety for the promotiQU OF THE UNITED STATES. 363 promotion of manufactures and ufeful arts ; but the funds of that aflbcia* tion have been too contraded to produce more than a very fmall portion of the good to which the principles of it would have led. It may con- fidently be affirmed, that there is fcarcely any thing which has been de- vifed better calculated to excite a general fpirit of improvement than the inftitutions of this nature. They are truly invaluable. In countries where there is great private wealth much may be effe^ed by the voluntary contributions of patriotic individuals ; but in a com- munity fituated like that of the United States, the public purfe mull fup- ply the deficiency of private refource. In what can it be fo ufeful as in promoting and improving the efforts of induflry ? BANK. Conne^fled with the agriculture, commerce, and manufa6lures, is the bank of the United States, the happy efFe«5ls, and benefits of which, have been experienced to a very confiderable degree. This bank \^a8 incorporated by aft of congrefsj February 25th, 1791, by the name and ftile of The Prcjidcnti Dlredors^ and Company of the Bank of the United States, The amount of the capital (lock is ten million dollars, one fourth of which is in gold and filver; the other three fourths in that part of the public debt of the United States, which, at the time of payment, bears an accruing intereft of fix percent, per an- num. Two millions of this Capital llock of ten millions, is fubfcribed by the prefident, in behalf of the United States. The ftockholders are to continue a corporate body by the aft, until the 4th day of March 1811; and are capable, in law, of holding property to an amount not exceeding, in the whole, fifteen million dollars, including the aforefaid ten million dollars, capital flock. The corporation may not at any time owe, whether by bond, bill or note, or other contraft, more than ten million dollars, over and above the monies then aftually depofited in the bank for fafe keeping, unlefs the contrafting of any greater debt fhall have been previoufly authorifed by a law of the United States. The corporation is not at liberty to receive more than fix per cent-* per annum for or upon its loans or difcounts , nor to purch^e any public debt whatever, or to deal or trade, direftly or indlreftly, in iti any thing except bills of exchange, gold or filver bullion, or in the fale of goods really and truly pledged for money lent, and not redeemed in due time, or of goods which fhall be the produce of its bonds ; they may fell any part of the public debt of which its ttock fhall be com- pofcd. Loans, not exceeding 100,000 dollars, may be made to the. 3 A ft Uniffci* GENERAL DESCRIPTION 3^4 United States, and to particular dates, of a fum not exceeding 50,00;^ dollars. Offices for the purpofes of difcount and depofit only, may be cfta* bliflied within the United States, upon the fame terms, and in the iame manner, as (hall be praftifed at the bank. Four of thefc offices, called Branch Banks, have been already eftablifhcdj^ viz. at Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Charleston. The faith of the United States, is pledged, that no other bank (hall be eftabliftied by any future law of the United States, during the continuance of the above corporation. MILITARY STRENGTH. The governments of Europe, for the moft part, though they in many things differ materially from each other, agree in keeping up a large military force, the excufes far which, are the jealoufies they enter- tain of each other, and the necclTity of preferving a ballancc of power. To render thefe excufes plaufible, national prejudices and animofities have been artfully encouraged, and the people, blinded by thefe, have' been brought to acquiefce in the fchemes of their governors, in creating a power which being entirely at the difpofal of the latter, has often been ufed againft the juft rights of thofe whofe property is exhaufted for its fupport. But if the policy of keeping (landing armies was fully inveftigated, it would be found to have its origin, not in the jealoufies of one nation with refpeft to anotlier, but in the tyrannic principles and fearg of different governments, with refpeft to their fubjefts at home. The fad is notorious, that the origin of moft of the old governments, has been in conqueft and ufurpation. Few of them which fubfift in Europe, have originated where they ought, (from the people) the confequence of which has been, that princes, anxioully concerned for the preferva- tion of their own power, and dreading that their fubjefts fliould recover their jaft rights, hare found it neceffary to detach a large part of them from the general mafs, and by military habits and rewards, to blind them to their own interefts, and to unite them more intimately to them- felves. Standing armies are therefore unneeeflary, and inconfiftent in a republican goverment; America of courfe has none. Their military flrength lies in a well-difcipltned militia. According to the late cenfus> there were in the United States, eight hundred and fourteen thoufand men of fixtcen years old and upwards, whites, and thefc have fince ra- pidly Jncreafed. Suppofe that the fuperannuated, the officers of go- vernment, and the other claffes of people who are excufed from mili- tary duty, amount to one hundred and fourteen thoufand, there will remain OF THE UNITED STATES. §65 Remain a militia of more than feven hundred thoufand men. Of thcfe a great proportion are well-difciplined, veteran troops. Scarcely any nation or kingdom in Europe can bring into the field an army of equal numbers, or more formidable than can be raifed in the United States. Five thoufand regular troops have, however, been enlifted for three years, and an jf tempt has been made by the (enate, on account of the prefent pofture of affairs,* to increafe that number to fifteen thoufand, but the Houfe of Reprefentatives have refufcd to comply, rather chufing, in cafe of a war, to truft to the energy and exertions of the militia, than thus to rilk the introdudioa of a military, (landing force, NAVAL STRENGTH. Marine ftrength, in a drift fenfe, the United States have none, many of their merchants veffels might, however, foon be converted into (hips of war of confiderable force, and their fituation and refources will enable them to eftablifli and fupport a navy equal to that of any nation in the world, (hould they determine on fo doing, and that they will deem it neceffary to cftabJiih and fupport a naval power, there can be little doubt. The aftual habits of their citizens attach them to commerce. They will exercife it for themfelves. Wars then we fear, rauft fometimes be their lot; and all the wife can do, will be to avoid that half of them which would be produced by their own follies, and their afls of injuftice; and to make for the other half the bed preparations they can. Of what nature, It may be afked, (hould thefe be ? A land army would be ufelefs for offence, and not the bed nor fafeft inftrument of defence. For cither of thefe purpofts, the fea is the field on which they (hould meet an European enemy. On that element it is neceflary they (hould therefore polTefs fome power. To aim at fuch a navy as the greater nations of Europe pofTefs, would be a foolifh and wicked wafte of the energies of their citizens. It would be to pull on their own heads that load of military expence, which makes the EuRopsAy LABOURER GO SUPPERLESS TO BED, AND MOISTENS HIS BREAD WITH THE SWEAT OF HIS BROW. It will be cnoiigh if they enable themfelves to prevent infults from thofe nations of Europe which are weak on the fea, becaufe circumftances exil^, which render even the ftronger ones weak as to them. Providence has placed the richeft and moft defcncelefs European po(refllQns at their door; has obliged their mod precious commerce to pa(s as it were in review before the United States. To prote^a this, or to a(rai} them, a fmall part only of their naval' force will ever be riiked acrofs the Atlantic. The dangers to vhich the elements expofe them there are too well known, and the * X794. ^ greater 36S GENERAL DLSCRIFTION greater dangers to which they weuld be expofcd at home, were inj general calamity to involve their whole fleet. They can attack them by detachment only; and it will foffiec for the United States to make ihcmfelvcs equal to what they may detach. Even a ftnallcr force than 2ny of the nations of Europe may detach, will be rendered equal cr foperior by the quicknefs with which any check may be repaired with the Americans, while lofles with European powers will be irreparable till too late, A fmall naval force then is fuffioient for the States, and a fmall one is ncceffary. What this fliould be, we will not undertake to fay; it ihould, ho\Vever, by no means be fo great as they arc able to make it. Mr. Jeflferfonobfervcs, that Virginia alone, can annually fparc without diftrefs, a million of dollars, or three hundred thoufand pound? ; fuppoTe this fum to be applied to the creating a navy, a fingle year's con- tribution would build, equip, man, and fend to Tea, a force which would carry three hundred guns. The reft of the confederacy, exerting themfelves in thefame proportion, would equip in the fame time fifteen hundred guns more. So that one year's contributions would (ct up a navy of eighteen hundred guns. Bririib (hips of the line average feventy-fix guns, and iheir frigates thirty-eight. Eighteen hundred guns then would form a fleet of thirty (hips, eighteen of which might be of the line, and twelve frigates. Allowing eight men, the Britifh average for every gun, their annual exi>ence, including fubfiflence, clothing, pay, and ordinary repairs, would be about twelve hundred and eighty dollars for every gun, or two million three hundred and four thoufand dollars for the whole. This is only Hated as one year's pofllblc exertion, without de- ciding whether more or Icfa than a year's exertion Ihould be thus applied, or would be nccclTary. . RELIGION. The conftitutlon of the United States difeovers in no one inftance more excellence than in providing ngalnft the making of any law refpeftin^ an cjlahlijiiment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercife of it. And the conftltutions of the refpedive States are equally entitled to praife in this rcfped, in them religious libertj is a fundamental principle. And in this important article, the American government is diftinguilhed from that of every other nation, if we except France. Religion in the United States is placed on its proper bafis ; without the feeble and un- nuarranted aid of the civil power, it is left to be fupported by its own evidence, the lives of its profcflbrs, and the Almighty care of its Divine Author, , 11 vAII OF THE UNITED STATES. 367 All being thus left at liberty to choofe their own religion, the people, as might eafily be fuppofed, have varied in their choice. The bulk of" the people denominate themfelves Chriftians ; a fmall portion of them are Jews ; fome plead the fufficiency of natural religion, and rejeft re- velation as unnecefTary and fabulous ; and many, we have reafon to believe, have yet their religion to choofe. Chriftians profefs their re- ligion under various forms, and with different ideas of its doftrines, ordinances, and precepts. The following denominations of Chriftians are more or lefs numerous in the United States, viz. Congregation- ALisTS, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed Church, Episco- palians, Baptists, Unitarians, Quakers or Friends, Me- THODISTS,,RoMAN CaTIIOI.ICS, GeRMAN LuTHERANS, GeRMAN Calvinists or Presbyterians, ^/loRAV^A^'S, Tunke&s, Mem* NONisrs, Universalists, and Shakers. CON GREG AT ION A lists. Of thefc the Congregationalifts are the moft numerous. In New England alone, befides thofe which are fcattered through the middle and fouthern States, there are not lefs th^n a thoufand congregations of this denomination, viz. ' In New Hampihire - . . 200 Maffachufetts - ^ - 440 Rhode Ifland ' - - - 13 Conneflicut - - n 197 Vermont (fay) - - - 150 Total 1000 It is difficult to fay what is the prcfent ecclefiaftical conftitution of the Congregational churches. Formerly their ecclefiaftical/ proceedings were regulated, in Maffachufetts, by the Cambridge Platform of church difcipline, eftablifhed by the fynod in 1648 ; and in Connefticut, by the Saybrook Platform of difcipline ; but fmce the revolution, lefs regard has been paid to thefe conftitutions, and in many inftances they arc wholly difufed. Congregationalifts are pretty generally agreed in this opinion, that " Every church or particular congregation of vifible faints, in gofpel order, being furhiflied with a Paftor or Bifhop, and walking together in truth and peace ; has received from the Lord Jefut full power and authority ecclefiaftical within itfelf, regularly to ad- minifter all the ordinancies of Chrift, and is not under any other ecclefi- aftical jurifdiftion whatever." Their churches, with fome exceptions^ HifclaiiA 368 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ' difclaim the term IncU^ndenti as applicable to them, and claim a iiftcrfy ' relation to each other. From the anfwer of the elders, and other meflengers of the churches affcmblcd at Bofton, in the year 1662, to the queftions propofed to them by order of the General Court, it appears that the churches, at that period, profcfled to hold communion with €ach other in the following jjids, viz, <« In hearty care and prayer one for another. In affording relief, by communicating of their gifts in temporal or fpiritual neceflities. In maintaining unity and peace, by giving account one to another of their pnbHc aftions, when it is properly defired \ to ftrengthen one another in their regular adminiftratioas ; in particular by a concurrent teftimony againft perfons juftly cenfured. To feek and accept help from, and afford help to each other, in cafe of divifions and contentions, whereby the peace of any church is difturbed ; in matters of more than ordinary importance, as the ordination, inftallation, removal, and depofition of paftors &c; The higheft judicatory of tne Prelhyterlan church is lliled, Ths General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 'th2 United States of America. This grand Affernbly ecnfifts of an equal delegation of bifhops and elders ffoni each prelhytery within their jdiifciidlon, by the title of Commiflionef s to the General AfTemi bly. Fourteen conimiffibriers make k quorilm. The General AflembljT conftitute the bond of uiiion, peace* correfporidence, and mutual confi- dence amorig all their churches ; knd have power to receive and iflue all appeals and references which may regularly be brought before therft from inferior judicatoties— to regulate arid c6rre ftiled The Dutch reformed synod of New York and New Jerfcy. Th? clalTes confift of minifters and ruling elders ;. each clafs delegates two minifters and an elder to reprefent them in fynod. From the firft planting of the Dutch churches in New York and New Jerfe-y,* they have, under the diredionof theclaifes-of Amfterdam, been fprmed. cxadly upon the plan of the eftablilhed church of Holland as far as- that is ecclefiaftical. A fcri^f^ correfpondence i? maintained between the Dutch Reformed Synod of New York, and New Jerfey, and the fynod- of North Holland and the claffcs of Amfterdam. The a^ -of their ^nods are mutually exchanged every year, and mutual advice is given ^nd received in difputesrefpeding doctrinal points and church difcipiinc*. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH^ I The Pjoteftant Epifcopal Church in the United States,, th c^urchcs^ of that denominatUm in Neiv England excepted, met in Convention at rhiiadelphia, in OAober 1785^ and revifed the book of common pra) er^. and adminiftration of the facramentSy and other, rites and ceremonies, with a view to render the liturgy confiftent with the American Revo- lution. But this revifed form was adopted by none o£ the cliurchesJ^. except ojie or two in Philadelphia- In Oftober 17S9, at another meeting of their convention, a plan of union among all the Proteftant Epifcopal churches in the United States of America was agreed upon and fettled : and an adequate reprefenta- tion from the feveral States being prefent, they again revifed tlie book of common prayer, which is now publifhed and generally adopted by *fheir churches. They alfo agreed upon and publifhed feventeen canons "for the government of their church, the firft pf which declares, that .*' there (hall, in this church, be three orders in the minillry, viz.. 'BisHo.ps, Priests, and Deacons.'* At the fame time they agreed upon a Conftitution, which provide* 'that there (hall be a general convention of the Proteftant Epifcopal 'Church in the United States, on the ilcond TucfJaj' in Septcmpcr, of fvcr/tKir4 year £1001*1789— That cachilate is entitle*! to a-Kprcfen- tation Of THE UNITED STATEfS. <3^ tation of ;bG(th. the' clergy aud laity, or either of them, ^nd.may fend deputies, not exceeding four. of eadh orier^ chofenhy the conventiort of the State— That the bi(hops of ,^he churchy W;fcen three or more ^re prefent, fhail, in their general ^crenventions^ form a fe|>ai;at;e /houfe^ with -a right to originate afnd propofe aftsfor the conqur-reneeof the houfe of deputies, con^pofed of dei;gy and Jaity ; and with a p(>wer to negative a(fts paflfed by the houfe ,of depudes, unlefs ladhered : ta^^ four-hfths of the other houfe-^That every.bilhop fha!l confine t>he«x- ercife of his -epitcc^pal office to his proper diocefe — Th/it no perfqn IJ^all fee admitted to holy orders, until examined, by the biihop and two pf;pC* byters— and fhalJ not be ordained until he {hall have fubfcrihed th^ icjl-' lowing declaration — " I. do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old au^ New Teftament to be the Wor.^ of God, andto contain all things necd^ fary to falvation ; and I do folemnly engage to conform to the doftri^s and wo r (hip of the" Proteftant Epifcopal Church in the United States.'* They have not yet adopted ;any Article&jof religion oib&i than th^fe contained in the Apoftles and-Nicene Creeds, The number of t^e^ churches in the United States is not afcertalned ; in New Eng- land th^rCiare between forty and fifty j hut in the fouthetm tees, t^^ are rauch more numerous. Four iBifhops, ,viz* of Conne^icut, 'Hc^r York, Penfylvania, and Virginia, have been' eledled by the conten- tions of their refpe6:ivc States, and have been duly confcerated. T^ie fonner by the Bilhops of the Scotch Church, the three latter, by 15 879 Firft Wednefday in June — ^ 10 22 1500 IFirft Tuefday in Oaobe r . — 49 56 4' 00 Third Saturday in Odober — 9 II 600 Third Saturday in Auguft and Odober 6 H 1400 Third Friday in Auguft — 10 12 650 Second Wednefday in September — 7 H 85.0 Second Friday in Oftober 22 32 4600 ]Firft Friday in May and Odober -.- 36 26 51.00 Fourth Saturday in May, and 2d in Od. 45 51 SS'P Firft Saturday in May and Oftober — 24 25 ^000 fourth Saturday in May, and ift in Od. 11 18 uoo Second Saturday in June, and 4th in Od, j8 i8 2200 Fourth Friday in May and Odobe?: -r- 15 14 1200 May and Odober -^ 10 12 noo ' 4 5 500 firft Saturday in June, and 2d in Od. 10 17 I2CX> Fourth Saturday in Odober — 10 ij J29O Fourth Saturday in April and Sept. — l-'ourth Saturday in Odober ' ■ — II H ' '"8bo ;6 19 1 8 JO Second Saturday in Auguft — 9 ^^ 1200 Second Saturday ii) May and Odober '22 31 •2700 ,452 , $n ^ 50970 Churches not belonging to Aflbciations, 100^ 15.0 8ppo -, r 552 7^.3,,., 5897?. Seventh Day ^aptifts — » , 12 :j /i^j- /?^^t. Twal 564 748 60970 Since 3't6- general description Since the above period, accounts of fix other aflbciations have reached England^ aild, according fo an account taken by Mr. John Afplund, a fniniftei' of the ^aptift denomination, who has travelled through the Uniteil States, ttfafcertain their number and fl'ate. l"he ftatement of their diurches, iflihillerS' and church members,, is as follows. States* New Hamptl^irc Maflachufctts' Rhode laand' Connejflicutr iTermont New York — Kew JerfcjA — Penhrylvania — JDelaware — Mar^^land — Virginia — Kentucky — "Wcftern Territory — - l^o'rlh Carolina — jbeceded Territory — South Carolina — Churches 107 38 Ministers ordained liceiifed 55 34 57 z8 7 12 207 42 I 94 18 68 — 42 Total 868 23 95 37 44 21 ^l 20 26 9 8 157 40 81 '5 48 33 710 *7 31 39 15 30 9 7 I 3 109 21 76 6 28 9 422 ME\rB*i-fts^ 1732 7116 3502 . 3214 i6ro * 3987 2279 J231 409 776 20157 3105 30 7742 889 4012 3 1 84 ^75 To this account, it is prefiimec, that about two thoufand five hun- dred meinbers, and forty-five phurdhes, ought to be added — makmg the wliolc number of churches about nine hundred and ten, and the mem|3ers about fixty-feven thoufand. But at leaft three times as many attend their meetings for public worfhip as have joined their churches, which, v^6 miy fuppofe, are in principle Baprifts, thefe will make the whol% ritrtnber of that denomination in the United States two hundred and one thoufand, of a twenty- fifth part of the inhabitants. The leading principles of the regular or particular Baptifts are — The iffiputation of Adam's fin to his pollerity — the inability of man to recortrr himfelf — cflTeftual calling by fovereign grace — ^jufiification by th" Manured r'*i'^yir^ourners of CI rift — baptifm by immerfion, and that on profcflion of fait^ aod repenta^icc--r^opgregational churches, their independency, OF THE UNITED STATES. 377 independency, and reception into them upon evidence of found con- verfion. Unitarians, The Unitarian?, or as they are denominated, though not with drift propriety, Socinians, are far from being numerous in the United States, they have, however, received confiderable additions of late from different parts of Great Britain ; the generous attachment of this body of Chrif- tians, to the caufe of civil and religious liberty, has marked them out as objefts of the dread and vengeance of the Britifh government, every manoeuvre has been tried, and every influence exerted to fink them in the cfteem of their countrymen, the confequence of which has been, that many of them have found it necefiary tofeek a refidence in a country more con- genial with their fentiments and views of the rights of mankind, and where they can enjoy their religious principles without political degrada- tion. Among the charadlers which are an ornament to this clafs of Chrif- tians, and whom the ungrateful and unrelenting hand of perfecution has driven to the hofpitable fliores of the United States, the names of Priestley, Russel, and Cooper, deferve particular notice; the former of thefe charafters has long been celebrated as a philofopher, and the avowed champion, of the Unitarian Faith. In both thefe fituations, however we may diifer from him in opinion, his candour, zeal, and perfeverance, entitle him to our admiration; but as the friend of MANKIND, he claims more than admiration — he commands our esteem — the direftion of his philofophical purfuits to the benefit of his fellow-creatures — the warmth and ability with which he has efpoufed and defended the caufe of civil a,nd religious liberty — the patience, for- titude, and refignation with which he has endured the moft cruel and un- juft perfecutions— the difcovery of the moft amiable difpofition to thofe who differed with, and even perfecuted bin?, will endear his memory to pofterity, and awaken the utrcofl abhorrence and indignation at that fpirit of bigotry and party rage, which forced him from his country and friends, and obliged him., at an advanced period of life, to feek an afy- lum acrofs the Atlantic ; Arnerica will, however, value what Britain de- fpifed, and will no doubt amply reward him for all his paft fufferings— his name will live in the affeftions of fucceeding ages, while thofe of his perfecutors will be configned to the infamy they merit. It will be unneceffary here to fay any thing on the peculiar tenets of the Unitarians, as they have been of late fo amply and ably difcuffed, and Vol. I. 3C i^ g^S GENERAL DESCRIPTION in a variety of forms, adapted to every clafs of readers,* wc (hall therefore pafs to a qonfiderauon of the people called Quakers. Quakers. This denomination of Chriftians arofe about the year 1648, and were firft collefted into religious focieiies by their highly refpcded elder, George Fox. They emigrated to America as early as 1656. The firft fettlers of Pennfylvania were all of this denomination ; and the number of their meetings in the United States, at prefent, is about three hundred imd twenty. Their doftrinal tenets may be concifely cxprefled as follows — In com- mon with other Chriftians, they believe in One Eternal God, and in Jefus Chrift the Mefliah and Mediator of the new covenant. To Chriit alone, in whofe divinity they believe, they give the title of the Ji^ord of God, and not to the Scriptures ; yet they profefs a high efteem for thefe facrcd writings, in fubordination to the Spirit who indited them, and believe that they are able, through faith, to make men wife to fal- vation — They reverence the excellent precepts of Scripture, and believe them pradicable and binding on every Chriftian; and that in the life to come, every man will be rewarded according to his works. In order to enable mankind to put in pradlice thefe precepts, they believe, that every man coming into the world is endued with a meafure of the Light, Grace, or Good Spirit of Chrift ; by which he is enabled to diftinguifh good from evil, and corred the diforderly paflions and corrupt propcnfities of his nature, which mere reafon is altogether infufficient to overcome — > that this divine grace is, to thofe who fincerely feek it, an all-fufiicient jmd prefent helpin time of need — and that by it the fnares of the enemy ^re detedled, his allurements avoided, and deliverance experienced, through faith in its effcclunl operation, and the foul tranflated out of the kingdom of darknefs into the marvelUus light and kingdom of the Son of God — Thus perfuaded, they think this divine influence efpecially neceffary to the performance of the higheft aft of which the human mind is capable, the v/or(hip of God in fpirit and in truth; and therefore con- ifider, as obftruclion to pure worfhip, all forms which divert the mind I'rom the fecret influence of this unftion of the Holy One— Though true worlhip is not confined to time or place, they believe it is incum- bent on churches to meet often together, but dare not depend for accept- ance on a formal repetition of the words and experience of others — * If the reader fhould wi(h for in/orination on the fubje^, he is refered to Liiidfey*t HtHvicalvtew of the Unitarian Dofirint &(» OF THE UNITED STATES. 37^ They think it their duty to wait in filence to have a triie fight of their condition bellowed on them I and believe even a fingle figh, arifing froni afcnfe of their infirmities and need of divine help to beimore acceptable to God, thaii any performances which origiriate in the tvill of man. They believe the renewed affiftance of the light and power of Chri{i-> which *is not at command, nor attainable by ftudy, but the free gift of God, to be indifpenfably neceffary to a true gofpcl miniftry — Hence arifes their teftinlony againft preaching for hire, and confcientious ire- fufal to fupport any fuch miniftry by tythes or other means. As they dare not encourage any miniftry, but fuch as they believe to fpring from the influence of the Holy Spirit i fo neither date they attempt to reft rain this influence to perfons 6f any condition in life) oi: to the male fex-- but allow fuch of the female fex as appear to be qualified, to exetcifd their gifts for the general edification of the church. They hold that as there is one Lord and one faithi fo hisbaptifniisoiie In nature and operation, and that nothing (hort of it caii make us living members of his myftical body ; and that baptifm with water belonged to a difpenfation inferior tb the prefent; With tefped to the Lord's Supper, they believe that communication between Chrift and his church is not maintained by that nor any other external ordinance, bUt Only by a real participation of his divine natUrcj through faith ; that this is the fupper alluded to in Rev. iii. 20 — and that where the fubftance is at- * tained, it is unneceflary to attciid to the fhadow. ' Believing that the grace of God is alone fufficlcht foi* falvation, they can neither admit that it is conferred on a few only; while others ar6 left without it; nor, thus aflerting its Univerfality, can they limit its operation to a partial cleanfing of the foul from fin, even in this life — On the contrary they believe that God doth vouchfafe to aftift the obe- dient to fubmit to the guidance Of his pure fpirit, throiigh whofe affiftartce they are enabled to bring forth fruits unto holinefs, and to ftand ferfe£t in their preferit rank. As to oaths, they abide literally by Chrift's pofitive injunftion> *> Swear not at all.** They believe that *« wars and fight- ing^" are, in their origin arid effefts, utterly repugnant to the Gofpel^, which breathes peace and good will to men *, They alfo are firmly perfuadedj that if the benevolence of the Gofpel weire geiierally preva- lent in the minds of nien, it would cflfeftually prevent them froni oppreff- *>. During the Ute war, fome of their number, coiitrary to this article of their faith^ diought it their duty to take up arms iii defence of their country. This laid the foun- dation of a feceffion from their brpsthren, and t^y po-w/orm a fepai^te jJong^cgation iii niladclphia> by the name of the "Refifting^t^ fighting Q^Wlvt ,, 380 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ing, much more from cnflaving * their brethren, of whatever com- plexion ; and would even influence their treatment of the brute crcatiort, which would no longer groan the vid^ims of their avarice, or of their falfc ideas of pleafure. — They profefs that their principles, which in- culcate fubmifllon to the laws in all cafes wherein confciencc is not vio- lated, arc a fecurity to the falutary purpofcs of government. But they hold that the civil magiftrate has no right to interfere in matters of reli- gion, and think perfecution, in any degree, unwarrantable. They re- ject the ufe of thofe names of the months and days, which, having been given in honour of the heroes or gods of the heathcu, originated in their flattery or Aipcrftition ; and the cuftoni of fpeaking to a fmgle perfon in the plural number, as having arifen alfo from motives of adulation. Compliments, fuperfluity of apparel or furniture, outward fliews of re- joicing or mourning, and obfcrvations of days and times, they deem in- compatible with the fimplicity and fmcerity of a Chrillian life— and they condemn public diverfions, gaming, and other vain amufemcnts of the world. They require no formal fubfcription to any articles, either as the condition of memberlhip, or to qualify for the fcrvice of the church. To cflfeft the falutary purpofcs of difcipline. Monthly, Quar- terly, and Yearly meetings are cllabliflicd, A monthly meeting is compofed of fevcral neighbouring congregations. Its bufmefs is to provide for the fubfiftence of the poor, and for the educatidn of their ofi^pring— to judge of the fmcerity and fitnefs of pcrfons appearing to be convinced of the religious principles of the fociety, and defiring to be admitted to memberfliip; to excite due attention to the difchargc of religious and moral duties; to deal with diforderly members — to ap- point overfecrs to fee that the rules of their difcipline arc put in prafticc — to allow of marriages, &c.+ • Ib the prefcnt ftruggle of liberality and humanity, agalnft avarice anJ cruelty, in de- fence of the Blacks, the Quakers have had the fjgnal honour of having firft fct the illuftii- ous example of aiming at a total emancipation. f Their mode of marrying is as follows— Thofe who Intend to marry, appear together, and propofe their intention to the monthly meeting, and if not attended by their parents or guardians, produce a written certificate of their confcnt, figncd in the prefcncc of witneflcs. The meeting then appoints a committee to inquire whether they are clear of other engagements refpcfting marriage j and if at a fubfequcnt meeting, to which the parties alfo come and declare the continuance of their intention, noobjcftions arc reported, they have the metting's conf nt to fjlcmnizc their intended marriage. This is done in a ptiblic meeting for wor/hip, towards the clofe of which the parties ftand up and folcmnly take each other for hufband and wife. A certificate of the proceedings is then publicly read, and figned by the parties, and afterwards by the relations iind olhers as witneflcs. whxb cbles the folemoicy. A quar- 3 OF THE UNITED STATES. ggt A quarterly meeting is compofcd of feveral monthly meetings, Ac this meeting are produced written anfwers from monthly meetings, to certain quellions refpcding the conduCl of their members and the meeting's care over them. The accounts thus received, are digcfted and fent by reprefcntatives to the yearly meeting. Appeals from tU judgement of monthly meetings arc brought to the quarterly meetings. The yearly meeting has the gejicral fupcriiitcndanccof thcfociety in the country in which it is eilablilhed.* 'llic bufuicfs of this meeting is to give forth its advice — make fuch regulations as apjxiar to be rcquifitc, or excite to the obfervance of thofc already made, &c. Appeals from the judgement of quarterly meetings arc here finally determined; and a brotherly correfpondencc, by epilllcs, is n^aintaincd with other yearly meetings. As they believe women may be rightly called to the work of the miniftry, they alfo think think they may Ihare in the Chriftian difcipllnc. Accordingly they have monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings of their own fex; held at the fame time, and in tlic fame place with thofc of the men; but feparately, and without the power of making rules. Their elders and miniftcrs have meetings peculiar to themfclvcs. Thcfc meetings, called Meetings of ininilleru and elders, are generally held in the compafs of each monthly, quarterly, and yearly meeting for the purpofe of exciting each other to the difcharge of their fcveral duties— of extending advice tothofewho may appear weak, «Jvc. 'XXizy alfo, in the intervals of the yearly meetings, give ccrtilicatcs io thofc rainifters who travel abroad in the work ol the miniftry. The yearly meeting, held in London, in r 675, appointed a meeting to be held in that city, for the purpofe of adviling or affiiling in cafcj of fuffcring for confcience fake, called a Meeting for fulferings, which is yet continued. It is compofcd of Friends under the name of corref- pondcnts, chofcn by the fe\ eral quarterly meetings, who refidc in and near the city. This meeting is entrullcd with the care of printing and diftributing books, and with the management of its flock, and confi- dered as a Handing committc of the yearly meeting. In none ol tlicir meetings have they a Prefident, as thc^ believe Divine wifdoin alonq euglit to prefide i nor has any member a right to claim pre-cmincnco over the reft. • The Qualctrs have, In»II,ypt/^«ycaily meeting*. One \\\ LonJon, to which c^mft ifprcfcntativei from Ireland. The other lix are in the United Swtcs. i. New Kngli^ud, 1. New York, j. New Jerfey, and Pernifylvaoia, 4* Maryland, 5. Virginia, 0. TlicCa- lulinas ind CcorgU MlTHOOtlTI 382 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Methodists. The Methodift denomination of Chriftians arofe in England in 1 7303 and made their firft appearance in America about twenty-four years lince. Their general ftyle is, " The United Societies of the Methodift Epifcopal Church." They profcfs themfelves to be " A company of men, having the form and feeking the power of godlinefs, united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their falvation.'* Each fociety is divided into claflcs of twelve per- fons ; one of whom is ftiled the Leader, whofe bufmefs it is to fee each pcrfon in his clafs once a week, in order to inquire how their fouls profper, to advife, reprove, comfort, or exhort as occafion may require; and to receive contributions for the relief of Church and Poor. In order to admiffion into their focietles they require only one condition, viz. ** A dejire to flee from the fwrath to come, i. e^ a defire to be faved from their fms." It is expefted of all who continue in their focieties, that they (hould evidence their defirc of falvation, by doing no harm, by avoiding all manner of evil, by doing all manner of good, as they have ability and opportunity, cfpe- cially to the houfehold of faith ; employing them preferably to others, buying of one another, U7ilefs they can he fer^ced better el/e*wherey and helping each other in bufinefs — And alfo by attending upon all the or- dinances of God; fuch as public worlhip, the fupper of the Lord, family and private prayer, fearching the fcriptures, and falling or ab- ftinence. The late Mr. John Wefley is confidered as the father of this clafs of Methodifts, who, as they deny fome of the leading Calviniftic doftrines, and hold fome of the peculiar tenets of Arminius, may be called Arm INI AN Methodists — The late Mr. Whitefield was the leader of the Calvinistic Methodists, who are not very numerous in the United States, the greater part being now formed into independent Calvinift churches, or mixed with Congregationalifts and Prcfbyterians. In 1788, the number of Wejleian Methodifts iii the United States ftood as follows : Georgia - - - 2011 South Carolina - - 3366 North Carolina - - 6779 Virginia - - - 14*35^ Maryland • "*i*^ - 1x^617" Delaware l Pennfylvania/ V .- »998 New Jerfey - ' -* * 1751 New Yoric -- ' • ' *- ^"ftoo^ j:ihy'i .^-jiL-iUi . r^o^di. 43,2821 ^.^: i:>f 3<3. ??nT -^ji' «£ v' V 'Skwsf OF THE UNITED STATES. 383 Since this ellimate of their numbers was taken, fome few fcattering focieties have been colleded in different parts of the New England States, and their numbers increafed in othef parts ; fo that in 1 790, the whole connexion amounted to fifty-feven thoufand fix hundred and twenty-one. To fuperintend the methodift connexion in America, they had, in 1788,, two bilhops«, thirty elders, and fifty deacons. Roman Catholics. The whole number of Roman Catholics in the United States is eftimated at about fifty thoufand; one half of which are in the State of Maryland. Their peculiar and leading doftrines and tenets are too ge- nerally known to need a recital here. They have a Bishop, who re- fides in Baltimore, and many of their congregations are large and re- fpcftable. GermanLutherans and Calvinists. The German inhabitants in thefe ftates, who principally belong to Pcnnfylvania and New York, are divided into a variety of feels ; the principal of which are, Lutherans, Calvinists, Moravians, TuNKERs, and Mennionists, Of thefe the German Lutherans are the moft numerous. Of this denomination, and the German Cal- vinifts, who are next to them in numbers, there are upwards of ^xty minifters in Pennfylvania— and the former have twelve, and the latter fix churches in the ftate of New York. Many of their churches are large and fplendid, and in fome inftances furnilhed with organs, Thefe two denominations live together in the greateft harmony, often preaching in each other's churches, and fometimes uniting in th^ credtion of a church, in which they alternately worfhip. Moravians, The Moravians are a refpeftable body of Chriftians in thefe States. Of this denomination, there were, in 1788, about one thoufand three hundred fouls in Pcnnfylvania ; viz . at Bethlehem, between five and fix hundred, which number has fince increafed — at Nazareth, four hundred and fifty— at Litiz^ upwards of three hundred. Their other fettlements, in the United States, are at Hope, in New Jerfey, about one hundred fouls; at Wachovia, on Yadkin river. North Carolina, containing fix churches. Befides thefe regular fettlements, formed by fuch only as are member* of the bifethren's church, and live together in 384 GENERAL DESCRIPTION in good order and harmony, there are in different parts of PcnnfJ'Ivama, Maryland, and New Jerfey, and in the cities of Newport, (Rhode Ifland) New York, Philadelphia, Lancaftcr, York-town, &c. congre- gations of the brethren, who have their own churches and minifters, and hold the fame principles, and dodrinal tenets, and church rites and ceremonies as the forn>er, though their local fituationdoes not admit of fuch particular regulations, as are peculiar to the regular fettle- xnents. They call themfeives " The United Brethren of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church.'* They are called Moravians, be- caufe the firft fcttlers in the Englifti dominions were chiefly emigrants from Moravia. Thefe were the remnant and genuine defcendents of the antient United Brethren, eftablilhed in Bohemia and Moravia, as early as the year 1456. About the middle of the laft centqry, they left their native country to avoid perfecution, and to enjoy liberty of confcience, and the true exercife of the religion of their forefathers. They were received in Saxony, and other Proteflaiit dominions, and were encouraged to fettle among them, and were joinpd by many fe- xious people of other dominions. They adhere to the Auguftine Con- feffion of Faith, which was drawn up by the Proteftant divines at the time of the reformation in Germany, in the year 1530, and prefented at the diet of the empire at Aufburg; and which, at th^t time, con. tained the dodrinal fyftem of all the eftablilhed Proteftant churches. They retain the difcipline of their ancient churgh, and make ufe of Epifcopal ordination, which has been handed down to them in a diredl line of fucceflion for more than three hundred years^* They profefs to live in ftri(ft obedience to the ordinances of Chrifl, fuch as the obfervation of the Sabbath, Infant Baptifm, and th? X,ord's Supper; and in addition to thefe, they pradice the foot wafliing, the kifs of love, and the ufe of the lot. Tliey were introduced into America by count Zinzeiidorf, and fettled at Bethlehem, which is their principal fettlement in America, as early as 1741. Regularity, induftry, ingenuity, andeconom^^ are char raftcrillics of this people. ♦ See David Crantz' Hift. of «Thc ancient and modern ITnltcd Brethren's Church, tranflated from the Gcrnun, by the Rev. Benjamin La Trobe.' London, 1780 Thofe who wi/h to obtain a thorough and impartial knowledge of their religious fentiments and cuftoms, may fee them excellently fummed up in a plain, but nervous ftile, in * An ex- pofition of Chriftian Do£Hne, as taught in the Proteftant church of the United Brethren,' yii\;uj^ in German, by A. C* Spangcnbcrg, aod trannated and publifhed in fingHlh in 17S4. TUNKERS, ' OF tHE ONlTEn STATESf. 38^ TUNKERS. The TuNKERs are fo called in derifion, from the word Tunken"* $0 put a morfel in fauce. The Englifli word that conveys the proper meaning of Tunkers is Sops or Dippers, They have been alfo called Tumblers, from the manner in which they perform baptifm, which is by putting the perfon, while kneeling, head firi^ under water, fo as to re- semble the motion of the body in the adlion of tumbling. The Ger- mans found the letters / and b like d and/; hence the words Tunkers and Tumblers, haye been corruptly written Dunkers and Dumplers. The firft appearing of thefe people in America was in the year 1719, when about twenty families landed in Philadelphia, and difperfed them- felves in various parts of Pennfylvania. They are what are called Ge- neral Baptifts, and hold the dodlrine of general redemption and general falvation. They ufe great plainnefs of drefs and language, andnuitt neither fwear nor fight, nor go to la-jjy nor tale intereji far the mo7iey they lend. They commonly wear their beards — keep the firft day Sabbath, except one congregation — have the Lord's Supper with its ancient at- tendants of Love-feafts, with walhing of ittt^ kifs of charity, and right hand of fellowfliip. They anoint the fick with oil for their re- covery, and ufe the trine immerfion, with laying on of hands and prayer, even while the perfon baptifed is in the water. Their church government and difcipline are for the moft part fimilar with thofe of the Englifh Baptifts, except that every brother is allowed to fpeak in the congregation; and their beft fpeaker is ufually ordained to be their minifter. They have deacons, deaconeffes, from among their ancient widows, and exhorters, who are all licenfed to ufe their gifts ftatedly. On the whole, notwithftanding their peculiarities, they appear to be HUMBLE, WELL-MEANING CHRISTIANS, and havc acquired the cha- tafter of the harmkfs * Tunkers. Their principal fettlement is at Ephrata, fometimes called Tunkers Town, in Lancafter county, fixty miles weft ward of Philadelphia. It confifts of about forty buildings, of which three are places of wor- fhip : one is called Sharon., and adjoins the fifter's apartment as a chapel ; another, belonging to the brother's apartment, is called Bethany. To thefe the brethren and fift.ers refort, feparately to worihip morning and evening, and fometimes in the night. The third is a common church, called ZioHy where all in the fettlement meet once a week for public wor- _ * It would be exceedingly Jiappy for mankind, if this epithet could bs beftowed o» ihe profefled followers of every other religious perfuafion. , ,,, Vol. I. 3 I^ ' ^ip qSS General t>ESCKi?TWvt Ihip. The brethren have adopted the White Frier's drefs, with fornf alterations; the fillers that of the nuns; and many of both like thepi have taken the vow of celibacy. All, however, do not keep the vow. When they marry, they leave their cells and go among the married people. They fubfift by cultivating their lands, by attending a print- ing office, a grift mill, a pap<;r mill, an oil mill. Sec, and the fitters by fpinning, weaving, fewing, &c. They at firft llept on board couches, but now on beds, and have otherwife abated much of their former feve- rity. This congregation keep the fevcnth day Sabbath. Their fmging is charming, owing to the pleafantnefs of their voices, the variety of parts, and the devout manner of performance. Befides this congrega- tion at Ephrata, there were, in 1770, fourteen others in various otiier parts of Pennfylvania, and fopie in Maryland. The whole, exclufive of thofe in Maryland, amounted to upwards of two thoufand fouls. Mennonist*. The Mennomsts derive their name from Menno Simon, a native of Witmarsin Germany, a man of learning, bom in the year 1505, in the time of the reformation by Luther and Calvin. He was a famous Roman Catholic preacher, till about the year 1531, when he became a Baptift. Some of his followers came into Pennfylvania from New York and fettled at German-town, as early as 1692, This is at prcfent their principal congregatibn, and the mother of the reft. Their whole num- ber, in 1770, in Pennfylvania, was upwards of four thoufand, divided into thirteen churches, and forty-two congregations, under the care of fifteen ordained minifters, and fifty-three licenfed preachers. The Mennonifts do notylike the Tunkers, hold the dcftrine of gene- ral falvation ; yet like them, tJj(y ^lvIU neither f-iXicar nor fight, nor hear any ci'vil office, nor go to Aziu, nor take ijitereft for the money they lend \ many, however, break this lail rule. Some of them wear their beards; wafti each others feet, &c. and all ufe plainnefs of fpeech and drefs. Some have been expelled their fociety for w(?aring buckles in their ftioes, and having pocket-holes in their coats. Their church government is demo- cratical. They call themfelves the Harmless Christians, Re- YENGELESS CHRISTIANS, and WEAPON LESS CHRISTIANS. The/ arc Baptifts rather in name than in faft ; for they do not ufe immerfion,/ Their common mode of baptifm is this ; the perfoiv to be baptifed kneels ; the minifter holds his hands over him, into which the deacon pours water, which runs through upon the head of the perfon kneeling. After this, follows impofuion of hands and prayer,^ OF THE UNITED STATES* 387 Universalists. The denomination ftiled Universalists, though their fchemes are very various, may properly enough be divided into two clafles, viz. Thofe who embrace the fcbeme of Dr. Chauncey, exhibited in his book entitled " The Salvation of all Men ;" and the difciples of Mr. Win- chefter and Mr. John Murray, A judicious fummary of Dr. Chauneey*s fentiments, has been given in H. Adams's View of Religions, as follows : " That the fcheme of revelation has the happinefs of all mankind lying at bottom, as its great and ultimate end; that it gradually tends to this end; and will not fail of its accomplifliment, when fully com- pleted. Some, in confequence of its operation, as conduced by the Son of God, will be • difpofed and enabled, in this prefent Hate, to make fuch improvements in virtue, the only rational preparative for happinefs, as that they fhall enter upon the enjoyment of it in the next ilate. Others who have proved incurable under the means which have been ufed with them in this ftate, inftead of being happy in the next, will be awfully miferable; not to continue fo finally, but that they may be convinced of their folly, and recovered to a virtuous frame of mind : and this will be the effe<5l of the future torments upon many ; the confequence whereof will be their falvation, they bein^ thus fitted for it. And there may be yet other ftates, before the fcheme of God may be perfeded, and mankind univerfally cured of their moral difor- ders, and in this way qualified for, and finally inflated in, eternal happi- nefs. But however many ftates fome of the individuals of the human fpecies may pafs through, and of however long continuance they may he, the whole is intended to fubferve the grand defign of uni'verfal hap. ptnefsi and will finally terminate in it ; infomuch, that the Son of God and Sanj'iour of men will not deliver up his truft into the hands of his Father i who committed it to him, till he has difcharged his obligations in virtue of it ; having finally fixed all men in heaven, when God will hzAll in All:' The number of this denomination is not known. The open advo- cates of this fcheme are few ; though the number is larger who embrace the doftrine of the falvation of all men, upon principles fomewhat fimi- lar, but varioufly differing froiji thofe on which the above-mentioned fcheme is grounded. Article Umverfalijis, where the reader may find a!fo a fummary of the arguments for and ag^inil his (cheme* 3PS Th* 388 GENEllAL DESCRIPTIOIT * The latter clafs of Univerfalills have a new fchemc, dlflTenng ciTcrt- tially from that of the former, which they rcjc«^l as inconfiftent and ab- furd : and they cannot conceive how they who embrace it, can, *' with any degree of propriety,- be called Universalists, on Apoftolic prin- ciples, as it does not appear that they have ai.y idea of being faved by, or ;// the Lord, with an evcrlafting, or with any falvation." — Hence they call them ** Pharisaical Universalists, who are nuUUng to It is difficult to fay what is the prefent fcheme of the denomination of which we arc now fpcaking; for they differ not only from all other Univerfalifts, and from each other, but even from themfclves at dif- ferent periods. The reader, however, may form an idea of fome of their tenets from what follows, colleded from the letter referred to in the note. This letter, written by a.man of firft rate talents, and ^he head of the denomination, and profefling to re(flify miftakes refpcding doc- trines propagated under the Chriftian name — to give the charader of a Consistent Universalist — and to acquaint the world with their REAL fentiments, we have reafon to conclude, gives as true an account of their fcheme as can be obtaincd- From this letter it appears, that they believe " that Religion o^ fome fort or others is a public benefit;" and that every perfon is at liberty, and is bound to fupport what he conceives to be tlie true Religion — That public worfliip on e^<:ery firH day of the week, is an incumbent duty on rt//real lovers of divine truth — that prayer, as it indicates truft in, and dependence on God, is part of his worfhip — They believe that the De- cckrt'i who beguiled Eve, and not omu frji parents themfelves, did the deed which brought ruin and death on all the human race — That ther« are two clafles of fallen finners — the Angels who kept not their firft eftate, and the human nature, deceived by the former, and apparently deftroycd confcquent thereon ; — that a jufl God, in the law given by Mofes, has denounced death and the curfe on e'veryone ijoho cojiiinueth not in all thing!, nvritten in the hock of the lanv to do them—hwt. that xhtfame God was manifeftcd in tlic flefh as the head of every man, fnade under the Iwjjy to redeem them that are under the laiVy being made a curfe for them—- that he taficd death fr ei-erj man, being a Saviour, not of zfeiv only, but of all men — and that the declaration of this is the Gnfpel, — They be- lieve that when God denounces on the human race, woes, wrath, tribu- lation, death, damnation, &c. in the Scriptures, he fpeaks in his Icgifla- tivc f opacity, ^s the juft God who will by no weans clear the guilty — that *Mr. Murray's ** Letter to a Frlen^," page 40, 41. printed in Bofton, 1791. when OF THE UNITED STATES. 389 vhen he ipcaks of mercy, grace, peace, of life as the gift of God, and falvation in whole or in part, he fpeaks in the charadler of the ji(/i^ God and Sa'viour, — that the former is the language of the law ; the latter is the language of the Gofpel. They believe that the Prince of Peace came to fave the humaji nature from the power and dominion of the Dcvilt and his works — that he came to defttoy the latter, that he might fave the former — That ** Sin is tlie work of the Devil — that he is the Worker and Doer of whatever gives oiFence" — That Jefus, as the Saviour of the world, Ihall feparate from his kingdom, both the evil Worker and his evil works ; the e'vil Worker, in the charadler of goats — the einl tuorks in the charafter of iares. They fuppofe that what is wicked in mankind, is reprefented by the evil feed fown by the evil One in human nature ^ and that *' when the Sower of the evil feed, and all the evil feed fown, Ihall be feparated from the feed which God fowed, then the feed* which is properly God's feed, will be like him who fowed it, pure and holy.'* They confider all ordinances as merely Jhadanfjs ; yet they celebrate the Lord's Supper, by eating and drinking wine — and fome of them,/uppofe that every time they eat bread and drink wine, they comply with our Lord's injundion, " Do this in remembrance of me.'* — Various other opinions prevail among them refpefting this ordinance, and that of bap- tifm. They ** admit of but one baptifm, the baptizer Jefus Chrift ; the elements made ufe of, the Holy Ghoft and fire" — yet they arc willing, in order to avoid contention, " to become all things to all men," and to baptize infants by sprinkling, or adults by im- mersion — or to omit thefe figns altogether, according as the opinions of parents may vary upon this fubjedl — Some think it proper to dedicate their children to the Lord, by putting them into the arms of the minifter, to be by him prefented to Chrift, to be baptized with his baptifm, in the name of the Trinity, the minifter at the fame time to blefs them in the words in which God commanded Aaron and his fons to blefs the children of Ifrael — " The Lord blefs thee, &c." It appears in (hort, that their notions refpefting thefe ordinances arc various, and with many vague, and unfettled. They believe In a judgment /«/? and a judgment to come — that the faji judgment is either that in which the world was judged in the fecond Adam, according to the word of the Saviour, " Noiv is the judgment of this ivorld — wcw is the Prince of this nvorld cajl out and judgment exe- cuted on them and on the whole human nature^ according to the righte- ous judgment of God—or that which every man is to exercife upoa , . , himfclf 390 GENERAL DESCRIPTION himfelf, according to the words ** judge jour/dves and ye JhaU not It judged'* — ** The judgmont to come is that in which all who have not judged ihemfclves — all unbelievers of the human race, and all the fallen angels, (hall be judged by the Saviour — but thefe two charaders, viz, tinheUcveri of the human race^ and the fallen angeh^ (hall be placed, the former on the rrght, the latter on the left hand of their Judge ; the one under the denomination of ^^^^-/j for whofe falvation the Saviour laid down his life — the other under the denomination of goatsy who are the accurfcd, whofe nature he pafled by — " The human nature" i. e. the Jheep or unbelievers of the human race, " as the offspring of the ever- Jafting Father, and the ranfomed of the Z,(?r^— fhall be brought, by divine power, into the kingdom prepared for them, before the foundation of the nvorld— 'the other nature, i. e. the goats, or fallen angels, " will be fent into x^tf re prepared for them,"* From which it appears, that it is their opinion, that uttMic^^ers tf the human race, ox Jhcep-i and tht fallen angels, or gsatsy will be the only claffes of creatures concerned in the awards of the laft judgment — and that the righteous, or believers in Chrift, will not then be judged, having previoufly judged themfelves + — ** But the reil of mankind," fay they, ** will be the fubjefts of this judgment, when our Saviour JhaU he repealed from hea is at prefent their lead&r. with OF THE UNITED STATES. 3^3 witli angels, the fpirits of the faints and their departed friends. That they ^eak with divers kind of tongues in their public aflfemblics. That it is lawful to pra&ife 'vocal imijic with dancing in the Chriftian churches, if itbe praj^ifedin praifing the Lord. Thar their church is come out t)f the order of natural generation, to be as Chrift was ; and that thofc who have wives are as though thej had none. That by thefe means Jieaven begins upon earth, and they thereby lofe their earthly and fen- fual relation t© Adam tlie firft, and come to be tranfparent in their ideas, in ihe bright and heavenly vifions of God. That fome of their people are of the number of the hundred and forty- four thoufand, who were re- deemed from the earth, and were not defiled with women. That the word everlafting, when applied to the puniihment of the wicked, means only a limited p&dod, except in the cafe oj ihofc nxSho fall from their church ; and that for fuch there is no forgivenefs, neither in this world nor that which is to come. That it is unlawful to fwear, game, or ufe compli- ments—and that water baptifm and the Lord's Supper are aboliflied. That Adam's fin is not imputed to his pofterity — rand that the doftrincs rof eledlion and reprobation are to be rejeded." The difcipline of this denomination is founded on the fuppofed per- feftion of their leaders. The Mother, or the Elefl Lady, it is faid, obeys God thrcHigh Chrift. European elders obey her. American labourers, and common people obey them : while confeflion is made of every fecret things from the oldeft to the youngeft. The people are made to be- lieve that they are feen through and through in the gofpel glafs of perfeftion, by their teachers, who behold the ftate of the dead, and in- numerable worlds of fpirits good and bad. Thefe people are generally inftrufted to be very induftrious, and to bring in according to their abilitjy to keep up the meeting. They vary in their exercifes. Their heavy dancing, as it is called, is performed by a perpetual Springing from the houfe floor, about four inches up and down, both in the mens and womens apartment, moving about with ex- traordinary transport, finging foraetimes one at a time, fometiroes more. Tills elevation aiFe(fls the nerves, fo that they have intervals of fhud- Bering, as if they were in a ftrong fit of the ague, they fometimes clap hands and leap fo as to llrike the joifts above their heads. They throw oiF their outfide garments in thefe exercifes, and fpend their ftrength very cheerfully this way. Their chief fpeaker often calls for attention ; when they all ftop and hear fome harangue, and then fall to dancing again. They affert that their dancing is the token of the great joy ^nd happinefs of th^ new JerufalcTn jiatcj and denotes the vi(5tory over 394 GENERAL DESCRIPTION fm. One of the pofturcs which iytcreftjes among them, is turnin» rnund very fwift for an hour or two. This, they faj", is to fliow the great power of God. They fomctimes fall on their jcnecs and make a found like the roar- ing of many waters, in groans nnd cries to God, as they fay, for the wicked world who perfccute them. * JEWS. The Jews are not numerous in tlie United States. They have, how- ever, fynagogucs at Savannah, Charleflon, (South Carolina) Philadelphia, New York, and Newport. Bcfides thofe who refide at thefe places, there are others fcattered in diiTerent towns in the United States. The Jews in Charlefton, among other peculiarities in burying their dead, have thefe : After the funeral dirge is fung, and juft before the corpfe is depofited in the grave, the coffin is opened, and a fmall bag of earth, taken from the grave, is carefully put under the head of the de- ceafed; then fome powder, faid to be earth brought from Jcrufa- lem, and carefully kept for this purpofe, is taken and put upon the eyes of the corpfe, in token of their remembrance of the holy land, and of their expectations of returning thither in God's appointed time. The articles of their faith are well known, and therefore need no de- fcription. They generally exped a glorious return to the Hely Land, when they (hall be exalted above all the nations of the earth. And they flatter themfelves that the period of their return will fpecdily arri%^, though they do not venture to fix the precife time. The whole number of perfons who profefs the Jewifh religion, in all parts of the world, is fuppofcd to be about tlirce millions, who, as their phra/e /V, are witneffes of the unity oiGod in all the nations in the world. Befides the religious fc(^s here enumerated, there are a (t\v of the Ger- man inhabitants in Pennfylvan;i, who are (lyled Swinsjildians, and, [ in Maryland, a fmall number called Nicolites or New Quakers; but the diftinguifliing fentimcnts of thefe feds are not material, confjflin^ J;^ chiefly of a few peculiarities. • H. Adams's « View of Religions." Article Shakers. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ^g^ HISTORY OF TH RISE, PROGRESS, and ESTABLISHMEKT OF T H E INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. IN addition to what we hare already watten of the difcovery and fettlement of North America, we fliall give a brief hiftory of the late war with Great Britain, with a fketch of the events which preceded and prepared the way for tiie revolution. This general view of the hiftory of the United States will ferve as a fuitable introdudion to the particular hiilories of the feveral ftates, which will be given in their proper places. America was originally peopled by uncivilized nations, which lived moftly by hunting and fifning. The Europeans, who firil vifited thefc Ihores, treating the natives as wild bealts of the foreft, wliich have no .property in the woods where, they roam, planted the ftandard of their refpeftive mailers where they firft landed, aiid in their names claimed the country by r/'^/jt of di/co-verj\ Henry the Seventh of England granted to John Cabot and his three fons a commiffion, " to navigate all parts of the ocean for the purpofc of difcovcring iflands, countries, regions, or provinces, either ofGfntilci or Infidels, which have been hitherto unknown to all Chriftian people, with power to fet up his ftandard, and to take pofTeffion of the fame as vaflals of the crown of England." By virtue of this commiilion, in 1498, 3 E 2 ' , bebaftiaa 3p6 HISTORY OF THfi ' Scbaftian Cabot explored and took poflcfTion of a great part of tht North American continent, in the name and on behalf of the king of England. The country thus difctwcred by Cabot, was poffeffed by nume* rous tribes or nations of people. As thefe had been till then unknown to all other princes or dates, they could not poflibly have owed their allegiance or fubjefticn to any foreign power on earth ; they muft have therefore been independent communities, and as fuch,. capable of ac- quiririt territorial property, in the fame manner as other nations. Of the various principles on which a right to foil has been founded, there is none fuperior to immemorial occupancy. From what time the Abo- jigines of America had refided therein, or from what place they migrated thither, were queftions of doubtful folution,. but it was certain that they had long been folc occupants of the country. In this (late no Eu- ropean prince could derive a title to the foil from difcovery, becaufe that can give a right only to lands and things which cither have never been owned or poffeffed, or which, after Icing owned or pofTelfed^ have been voluntarily deferted. The right of the Indian nations to the foil in their pofTelfion was founded in nature. It was the free and liberal gift of heaven to them, and fuch as no foreigner could rightfully annul. The blinded fuperftition of the times regarded the Deity as the partial God of Chriftians, and not as the common father of faints and favages» The pervading influence of philofophy, reafon, and truth, has,fince that period, given us better notions of the rights of mankind, and of the obligations of morality. Thefe unqucftionably are not confined t« particular modes of faith, but extend univerfally to Jews and Gen- tiles, to Chriflians and Infidels. Unfounded, however, as the claims of European Sovereigns to Ame* iican territories were, they feverally proceeded to afl upon them, Bjr tacit confent they adopted as a new law of nations, that the countriet which each explored fhould be the abfolute property of the difcoveier^ While they thus fported with the rights of unoffending nations, they could not agree in their refpedive fhares of the common fpoil* The Portuguefe and Spaniards, inflamed by the fame fpirit of national ag- grandiv:ement, contended for the exclufive fovereignty of what Co- lumbus had explored. Animated by the rancour of commercial jea* ipafy, the Dutch and Portuguefe fought for the Brazils, Contrary to her genuine interefls, England commenced a war in order that her con- traband traders on the Mexican coaft, claimed by the king of Spain^ vsgbt no longer be fearched. No farther back tjian the middle of the- *^- prefent AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 397 pfefent century, a conteft concerning boundaries of American territorjr belonging to neither, occafioned a long and bloody war between France and England, Though Queen Elizabeth and Janies the Firft denied the authoritjr of the Pope of Rome to give away the country of infidels, yet they fo far adopted the fanciful diftinftion between the rights of Heathens and the rights of Chriftians, as to make it the foundation of their refpcc- tive grants. They freely gave away what did not belong to them with ho other provifo, than that *« the territories and diftrids fo granted, be not previoufly occupied and poffefled by the fubjeds of any other Chriftiaa prin«e or date." The firft Englifh patent which was given for the pur- pofe of colonizing the country difcovered by the Cabots, was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Humphry Gilbert, in S578, but this proved abortive. In 1584, {he licenced Walter Raleigh, " to fearch for Hea- then lands not inhabited by Chriftian people,'* and granted to him in fee all the foil ** within two hundred leagues of the places where his people ihould make their dwellings and abidings.** Under his aufpiccs an inconfiderable colony took poffefTion of a part of the American coaft, which now forms North-Carolina. In honoar of the Virgin Queen his fovereign, he gave to the whole country the name of Virgijiia. Thefc lirfl fettlers, and feveral others who followed them, were either dc- ftroyed by the natives, removed by fucceeding navigators, or died without leaving any behind to tell their melancholy ftorj', for thcj were never more heard of. No permanent fettlement was efFeded tiil the reign of James the Firfl. In the courfe of little more than a century, was the Englifh North- American continent peopled and parcelled out into diftind governments^ Little did the wifdom of the two preceding centuries forefee the confequences both good and evil, that were tp refult to the old.worl4 from difcovering and colonizing the new. Wh«i we confider the im» menfe foods af gold and filver which have flowed from it into Europe,. th€ fubfequent increafe of induftry and population, the prodigious ex- tenfion of commerce, manufaftures, and navigation, and the influence of the whole on manners and arts, we fee fuch an accumulation of good, as leads us to rank Columbus among the greateft benefadors of the human race : but when we view the injuftice done the natives, the cx-» tlrpatic^n of many of their numerous nations, whofe names are no more heard ; — The havoc made among the firft fettlers ;— The flavery of the Africans, to which America has furnifhed the temptation ; and the many long a^ bloody war* which it has occafioned, we behold fuch a crowd 398 HISTORA' OK THE of woes, as excites an apprehenfion, that the evil has outweighed the good. In vain do we look among ancient nations for examples of colonics eftablilhed on principles of policy, fimilar to thofe of the colonies of Great- Britain. England did not, like the republics of Greece, oblige her fons to form diftant communities in the wiles of the earth. Like Rome (he did not give lands as a gratuity to foldicrs, who became a military force fcr the defence ot her frontiers. She did not, like Car- thage, fubdue the neighbouring ftates, in order to acquire an exclu- five right to their commerce. No conqueft was ever attempted over the Aborigines of America. Their right to the foil was difregarded, and their country looked upon as wafle, which was open to the occu- pancy and ufe of other nations. It was confidered that fettlements might be there formed for the advantage of thofe who fhould migrate thither, as well as of the Mother Country. '1 he rights and interefts of the native proprietors were, all this time, deemed of no account. What was the extent of obligations by which colonies planted under thefe circumftances were bound to the Mother Country, is a fubjed of nice difcuflion. Whether thefe arofe from nature and the conftitution, or from compadi, is a queftion neceiTarily conneded with many others. While the friends of Union contended that the king of England had a property in the foil of America, by virtue of a right derived from prior difcovery : and that his fubjeds, by migrating from one part of his dominions to another, did not lefTen their obligations to obey the fupreme power of the nation, it was inferred, that the emigrants to Englifli America continued to owe the fame obedience to the king and pailiament, as if they had never quitted the land of their nativity. But if as others contended, the Indians were the only lawful proprietors cf the country in which their Creator had placed them, and they fold their right to emigrants who, as men, had a right to leave their native country, and as fubjefts, had obtained chartered permiffion to do fo, it follows from thefe premifcs, that the obligations of the colonifts to their parent ftate muft have refulted more from compact, and the pro- fped of reciprocal advantage, than from natural obligation. The lat- ter opinions feem to have been adopted by feverai of the colonifts, par- ticularly in New-England. Sundry perfons of influence in that coub- try always held, that birth was no necefTary caufe of fubje^tion, for that the fubjeft of any prince or ftate had a natural right to remove to any other ftate or quarter of the globe, efpecially if dcprived^of liberty of confcience, and that, upon fuch removal, his fubjeftion ceafed. k a The AMERICAN REV^DLUTION. ggg The validity of charte.rs about which the emigrants to America were univerfally anxious, refts upon the fame foundation. If the right of the fqvereigns of England to the foil of America was ideal, and contrary to natural juftice, and if no one can give what is not his own, their charters were on feveral accounts a nullity. In the eye of reafon and philofophy, they could give no right to American territory. The only validity which fuch grants could have, was^ that the grantees had from their fovereign a pern JiTion to depart from their native country, snd negociate with the proprietors for the purchafe of the foil, and thereupon to acquire a power of jurifdidlion fubjed to his crown, Thefe were the opinions of many of the fettlers in New- England. They looked upon their charters as a voluntary compad between their fovereign and themfelves, by which they were bound neither to be fub- jcd to, nor feek protedlion from any other prince, nor to make any Jaws repugnant to thofe of England : but did not confider them as inferring an obligation of obedience to a parliament, in which they were unreprc- fcnted. The profpeds of advantage which the emigrants to America expefted from the protcftion of their native fovereign, and the profped of aggrandifement which their native fovereign expeded from the ex- tenfion of his empire, made the former very folicitous for charters, . and the latter very ready to grant them. Neither reafoned clearly on their nature, nor well underftood their extent. In lefs than eight years one thoufand five hundred miles of the fea coaft were granted away, and fo little did they who gave, or they who accepted of charters, under- {land their own tranfadions, that in feveral cafes the fame ground was covered by contradiftory grants, and with an abfurdity that can only- he palliated by the ignorance of the parties, fome of the grants excnded to the South Sea, over a country whofe breadth is yet unknown, and which to this day is unexplored. Ideal as thefe charters were, rhey anfu-ercd a temporary purpofe. Tlic Colonills repofed confidence in them, and were excited to induftry on their credit. They alfo deterred European powers from difturbing them, becaufc, agreeable to the late law of nations, relative to the appropriation of newly difcovered Heathen countries, they Inferred the protedion of the fovereign who gave them. They alfo oppofed a barrier to open and grofs encroachments of the mother country on the rights of the colo- nifts ; a particular detail of thefe is not now neceilary. Some general remarks may, neverthelefs, be made on the early periods of colonial hiftory, as they caft light on the late revolution. Long before the de- claration of independence, feveral of the colonies on different occafions declared, that they ough^ not to be taxed but by their own provincial aifemblies, and that they confldered fubjeciion to ads of a Britifh Par- liament, 4O0 , HISTORY OF THE liarnent, in which they had no rcprefentation, as a grle? ance. It is sKq worthy of being noted, that of the thirteen colonies, formed into ftatcs at the end of the war, no one (Georgia excepted) was fettled at the «xpencc of government. , Towards the fetllement of that fouthcrn fron- tier, confiderable funis had at different times been granted by par- liament, but the twelve more northern provinces had been wholly (ttm tied by private adventurers, without any advances from the national .treafury. It does not appear, from exifting records, that any compea- fation for their lands was ever made to the Aborigines of America by Ahe, cfown or parliament of England ; but policy, as well as jaftice, led the cplonifts to purchafe and pay for what they occupied. This was an increafe of nearly fifty for one, in little more than half a century. In Maryland and Virginia, a policy lefs favourable to population, and fomewhat different from that of Pennfylvania, took place. The church of England was incorporated with the firft fettlemcnt of Virginia, and in the lapfe pf time, it alfo became the eftablifhed religion of Maryland. In both thefe provinces, long before the American revolution, that church poffeffed a legal pre-eminence, and was maintained at the e;c- pcnce, not only of its own members, but of all other denominations. This AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 405 This deterred great numbers, efpecially of the Prefbyterian denomina*- tion, who had emigrated from Ireland, from fettling within the limib of thefe governments, and fomented a fpirit of difcord between thofe who belonged to, and thofe who diffented from, the eftablrlhed cfiurcfli ^ The firft emigrants from England for colonifing America, left tn& Mother Country at a time when the dread of arbitrary power ip^as the predominant paffion of the nation. Except the very modern charter (ff Georgia, in the year 1732, all the Engliih Colonies obtained "their charters and their greateft number of Enropean fettlers, between the years 1603 and 1688. In this period a remarkable ftruggle between prerogative and privilege commenced, and was carried on till it termi- nated in a revolution highly favourable to the liberties of the people. In the year 1621, when the Englifli Houfe of Commons claimed freedoni of fpeech, *• as their ancient and undoubted right, and an inheritance tranfmitted to them from their anceftors ;" King James the Firft re- plied, " that he could not allow of their ftyle, in mentioning their an- cient and undoubted rights, but would rather have wifned they had faid> that their privileges were derived from the grace and permifiion of their fovereign." This was the opening of a difpute which occupied the tongues, pens, and fwords, of the moft aftive men in the nation, for' a period of feventy years. It is remarkable that the fame period is ex- aftly co-incident with the fettlement of the Engliih Colonies. James, educated in the arbitrary fentiments of the divine right of Kings, con- ceived his fubjefts to be his property, and that their privileges were matters of grace and favour flowing from his gene rofi ty. This high claim of prerogative excited oppofition in fupport of the rights of the people. In the progrefs of the difpute, Charles the Firfl, fon of King James, in attempting to levy fhip-money, and other revenues without confent of Parliament, involved himfelf in a war with his fubje felt the reftraint of law more feebly than they, who are educated in countries, where long habits have made fubmiffion familiar. The mind of man naturally relifhes liberty— v/ here ver from the extent of a new and unfettled country, fome abridgements thereof are ufclefs, and others im* prafticable, this natural defire of freedom is ftrengthened, and the Inde- pendent mind revolts at the idea of fubjedion. The Colonifts were alfo prefer ved from the contagion of minifterial influence by their diftance from the metropolis. Remote from the feat of power and corruption, they were not over- awed by the one, nor de- bauched by the other. Few were the means of detaching individuals from the intereft of the public. High offices were neither fufiicient]/ numerous nor lucrative to purchafe many adherents, and the moft valu- Voul. ' ^2'G able 410 History of the able of thefe were conferred on natives of Britain. Every man occupied that rank only, which his own induftry, or that of his near anceftorsr had procured him. Each individual being cut off from all means of rifing to importance, but by his perfonal talents, was encouraged to make the mod of thofe with which he v as endowed. Profj^efls of this kind excited emulation, and produced an enterprifing laborious fet of men, not eafily overcome by difficulties, and full of projcfts for bettering their condition. The enervating opulence of Europe had not yet reached the colonifts. They were deftitute of gold and filver, but abounded in the riches of nature. A famenefs of circumftances and occupations created a great fenfe of equality, and difpofed them to union in any common caufe, from the fuccefs of which, they might exped to partake of equal ad- vantages. The Colonies were communities of feparate independent individuals, under no general influence, but that of their perfonal feelings and opi- nions. They were not led by powerful families, nor by great officers in church or ftate. Refiding chiefly on lands of their own, and employed in the wholeforae labours of the fieild, they were in a great meafurc ftrangers to luxury. Their wants were few, and among the great bulk of the people, for the moft part, fupplied from their own grounds. Their enjoyments were neither far-fetched, nor dearly purchafed, and were fo moderate in their kind, as to leave both mind and body unim- paireJ. Inured from their ea'rly years to the toils of a country life, they dwelled in the midft of rural plenty. Unacquainted vvith ideal wants, they delighted in perfonal independence. Removed from the preflures of indigence, and the indulgence of affluence, their bodies were ftrong, and their minds vigorous. The great bulk of the Britifii colonifi:s were farmers, or planters, who were alfo proprietors of the foil. The merchants, mechanics, and ma- nufadurers, taken colledively, did not amount to one fifteenth of the whole number of the inhabitants. While the cultivators of the foil depend on nothing but Heaven and their own induftry, other claflcs of men contract more or lefs of fervility, from depending on riie caprice of their cuftomers. The excefs of the farmers over the collei^ive numbers of all the other inhabitants, gave a caft of independence to the manners of the people, and diffufed the exalting Tentinlents, which have always predominated among thofe who arc cultivators of their own grounds : thefe were farther promoted by their moderate circumftances, which deprivcdthemflfall fupcxfljuity. fojr idlp- ncfs, or effeminate ir.dulgence. }r:<-^T do^yuorj.-. rr. • u^^'in^: "The AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 4II The provincial conftltutions of the Engllfh colonies nurtured a fpirit of liberty. The king and government of Great Britain held no patro- nage in America, which could create a portion of attachment and in- fluence, fufficient to counteract that fpirit in popular afiemblies, which, when left to itfelf, ill brooks any authority that interferes with its own. The inhj^bitants of the colonies from the beginning, efpecially in New England, enjoyed a government which was but little fhort of being independent. They had not only the image, but the fubftance of the Englilh conftitution. They chofe moft of their magiftrates, and paid them all. They had in effeft the fole dire<^ion of their internal go- vernment. The chief mark of their fubordination confifted in their making no laws repugnant to the laws of their mother country ; in their fubmitting to have fuch laws as they made to be repealed by the king; and their obeying fuch reftri(5lions as were laid on their trade by Par- liament. The latter were often evaded, and with impunity. The other fmall checks were fcarcely felt, and for a long time were in no refpeds injurious to their intereils. Under thefe favourable circumftances, colonies in the new world had advanced nearly to the magnitude of a nation, while the greateft part of Europe was almoft wholly ignorant of their progrefs. Some arbi- trary proceedings of governors, proprietary partialities, or democratical jealoufies, now and then interrupted the political calm which generally prevailed among them, but thefe and other occafional impediments of their profperity, for the moft part, foon fubfided. The circumftances of the country afforded but little fcope for the intrigues of politicians, or the turbulence of demagogues. The colonifts being but remotely afFefted by the buftlings of the old world, and having but few objeds of ambition or contention among themfelves, were abforbed in the or- dinary cares of domeftic life, and for a long time exempted from a great proportion of thofe evils, which the governed too often expe- rience from the paffions and follies of ftatefmen. But all this time they were rifing higher, and though not fenfible of it, growing to a greater degree of political confequence. One of the firft events which, as an evidence of their increafmg im- portance, drew on the colonies a ftiare of public attention, was the taking of Louifbourg, in the year 1745, from France, while that coun- try was at war with Great Britain. This enterprife was projeded by Governor Shirley, of Maflachufetts, and undertaken by the fole autho- rity of the legiflature of that colony. It was carried by only a finglc vote to make the attempt, but after the adoption of the meafure, there was an immediate union of all parties, and all were equally zealous in carrying it into execution. The expedition was committed tp General 3Gj^ Pepperell, ^13 HISTORY OF THE J*eppcrell, and upwards of five thoufand men were Tpeedily raifed for the fer\ ice, and put under his command. This force arrived at Canfo on the 4th of April ; a Britiih marine force from the Weft-Indies, com- manded by Commodore Warren, which arrived in the fame month, a(5\ed in concert with thcfc land forces. Thejr combined operations were carried on with fp mpch judgment, that on the 17th of June the furtrefs cap tulated, The war in which Louifbourg was taken, was fcarcely ended when another began, in which the colonies were diftinguifhed parties. The leduftion of that fortrefs, by colonial troops, muft have given both to France and England; enlarged ideas of the value of American territory, pnd might have given rife to that cagernefs for extending the boundii- lies of their refpedlive polonies, which foon after, by a coUifion of claims to the fame ground, laid the foundation of a bloody war between ^he two nations. It is neither poffible nor neceilar)' to decide on the rights of either to the lands about which this ponteft began. It is cer- tain that the profpeds of convenience and future advantage had much more influence on both, than the confiderations of equity. As the contending powers confidered the rights of the native inhabitants of no account, it is not wonderful that they (hould not agree in fettling their own. The vvar vyas brought on in the following manner : about tl^e the year 1749, a grant of fix hundnd thoufand acres of land in the neighbourhood of the Ohio, vi^as made out in favour of certain perfons in Weftminfter, London, and Virginia, who had affociated under the title of the Ohio Company. At thi§ time France was in pcffeflipn of the country, on both fides of the mouth of the Mifliffippi, as well as of Canada, and wifhed to form a communication between thefe two extremities of her territories in North- America. She was, therefore, alarmed at the fcheme in agitation by the Ohio Company inafmuch as the land granted to them lay between her northern and fouthern fettle- ments. Rcmonfirances agalnft Britiih encroachments as they were (Called, having been made in vain by the Governor of Canada, the French, at length, in 1753, feized fome Britiih fubjeds who weee trading among the Twightwees, a nation of Indians near the Ohio, as intruders on the land of his Moft Chriftian Majefty, and fent them to a fort on the fouth fide of Lake Erie. The Tvyightwses, by wiy of retaliation for capturing Britifh traders^ whom they deemed their allies, feized three French traders, and fent them to ,Fepnfylvania, The French perfifting in the.r claims to the country, on the QWp, as part of Canada, ftrengthened themfelves by ereding new forts in its vicinity, an4 at length began to feizc and plunder every Britiih trader found on AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 413 any part of that river. Repeated complaints of thefe violences being made to the Governor of Virginia, it was at length determined to fend a fuitable perfon to the French commandant near the Ohio, to demand the reafon of his hoftile proceedings, and to infift on his evacuating a fort he had lately built. Major Wafhington, being then but little more than twenty-one years of age, offered his ferviccj which was thankfully accepted. The diflance to the French fettlement was more than four hundred miles, and one half of the rout led through a wildernefs, inha- bited only by Indians. He nevcrthelefs fet out in an uncommonly fe- vcre feafon, attended only by one companion. From Winchefter, he proceeded on foot, with his provifions on his back. When he arrived and delivered his meffage, the French commandant refufed to comply, and claimed the country as belonging to the King his mafler, and ftraints. From the conqueft of Canada, in 1759, fome have fuppofed, that France began fecretly to lay fchemes for wrefting thofe Colonies from Great Britain which fhc was not able to conquer. Others alledge, that from that period the Colonifts, releafed from all fears of dangerous neighbours, fixed their eyes on independence, and took fundry ftcps preparatory to the adoption of that meafure. Without recurring to either of thefe opinions, the known felflihnefs of human nature is fuihcient to ' ' ti^ ,: accQua AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ^1^ aijcount for that demand on the one fide, and that refufal on the other, which occafioned the revolution. It was natural for Great Britain to wifh for an extenfion of her authority over the Colonies, and equally fo for them, on their approach to maturity, to be more Impatient offubor- dination, and to refift every innovation, for increafing the degree of their dependence. The fad flory of Colonial opprefHon commenced In the year 1764, Grent Britain then adopted new regulations refpedling her Colonies, which after dillurbing the ancient harmony of the two countries for about twelve years, terminated in the difmemberment of the empire. Thefe confided in reftrldlng their former commerce, but more efpe- clally in fubjefting them to taxation, by the Britfh Parliament. By ad- licring to the fpirit of the navigation aft, in the courfe of a century, the ttade of Great Britain had increafed far beyond the expeftation of her nioft fanguine fons, but by rigidly enforcing the drift letter of the fame, in a different fituation of public affairs, effeftsdireftly the reverfe were produced. ^ From the enterprifing commercial fpirit of the colonlfts, the trade of America, after filling all its proper channels, fwelled out on every fide, and overflowed its proper banks with a rich redundance. In the cure of evils, which are clofely connefted with the caufes of national profperity, v^ulgar precaution ought not to be employed. In feverely checking a contraband trade, which was only the overflowing of an extenfive fair trade, the remedy was worfe than the difeafe. For forne time before and after the termination of the war of 1755, a confiderable intercfeurfe had been carried on betweeji the Britifli and Spanifti Colonies, confifting of the manufaftures ef Great Britain, im- ported by the former, and fold by the latter, by which the Britifh Colo- nies acquired gold and filver, and were enabled to make remittances to the Mother Country, This trade, though It did not clafh with- the fpirit of the Britifti navigation laws, was forbidden by their letter. On account of the advantages which all parties, and particularly Great Britain, reaped from this intercourfe, it had long been winked at by per- fons in power; but at the period before^raentioned, fome new regulations were adopted* by which it was almoft deftroyed. This was effeftfed by armed cutters, whofe commanders were enjoined to take the ufual cnC- tom-houfe oaths, and to aft in the capacity of revenue ofiicers. So fudden a ftoppage of an accuftomed and beneficial commerce, by an unufually rigid execution of old laws, was a ferious blow to the Northern Colonies. It was their misfortune, chat though th- y i od in need of vaft quantities of Britifii manufaftures, their country produced very 3 H 2 little 420 HISTORY OF THE little that afforded a dircft remittance to pay for them. They wcre^ therefore, under a neceffity of fccking clfev/herc, a market for their pro- duce, and by a circuitous route, acquiring the means of fupporting their credit with the Mother Country. This they found by trading with the Spanilh and French Colonies in their neighbourhood. From them they acquired gold, filver, and valuable commodities, the ultimate profits of which centered in Great Britain. This intercourfe gave life to bufinefi of every denomination, and eftabli(hed a reciprocal circulation of money and merchandize, to the benefit of all parties concerned. Why a trade eflential to the Colonies, and which, fo far from being detrimental, was indiredly advantageous to Great Britain, fhould be fo narrowly watched and fo feverely reftrained, could not be accounted for by the Americans, without fuppofing that the rulers of Great Britain were jealous of their adventurous commercial fpirit, and of their increafmg number of feamen. Their aftual fufferings were great, but their apprehenfions were greater, Inftead of viewing the Parent State as they had long done, in the Hghf of an affeftionate mother, they conceived her, as beginning to be in«« fluenced by the narrow views of an illiberal ftep-dame. After the 29th of September, 1764, the trade between the Britifh, and the French, and Spanifh Colonies, was in fomc degree legalifed, but under circumftances, that brought no relief to the Colonifts, for it was loaded with fuch enormous duties, as were equivalent to a prohibi- tion. The preamble to the aft for this purpofe was alarming, " Whereas it is juft and neceflary, that a revenue be raifed in America, for defraying the expences of defending, protedling, and fecuring the fame, We, .the Commons, &c. towards raifing thfc fame, give and grant unto your Majefty, the fum of" (here followed a fpecification ofduties upon foreign clayed fugar, indigo, and coffee, of foreign produce, upon aH- wines, exceptFrench, upon all wrought filk, and all calicoes, and upon every gallon of melaffcs and fyrups, being the produce of a colony not undcy the dominion of his Majefty), It was alfo enafted, that the monies arifing from the importation of thefe articles into the Colonies, fhould be paid into the receipt of his Majefty's exchequer, there to be entered feparate, and refer ved, to be difpofed of by Parliament towards defray- ing the neceflary expences of defending, protefting, and fecuring America, Till that aft pafled, no aft avowedly for the purpofe of re- venue, and with the ordinary title and recital of fuch, was to be found in the parliamentary ftatutc book. The wording of it made the Colo^ nifts fear, that the Parliament would go on, in charging them with fuch taxes as they pleafed, and for the fupport of fuch military force as they Ihould think proper. The aft was the more difgufting, becaufe the mo* nie» AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 42^ nies arifing from it were ordered to be paid in fpecie, and regulations were adopted, againft colonial paper money. To obftruft the avenue^ of acquiring gold and lilver, and at the fame time to interdidl the ufe of paper money, appeared to the Colonifts as a farther evidence that their interefts were either mifanderftood or difregarded, The impofition of duties, for the purpofe of raifing a revenue in America, was confidere4 as a dangerous innovation, but the methods adopted for fecufing theij polledion, were refented as arbitrary and unconftitutionaU It was cnaded by Parliament, that whenever offences (hould be committed againft the a was conftitutionaJly vcfted with an authority to lay them on every pan of the empire. This dodrinc, plaufrble in itfelf, and conformable to the letter of the Britifh conftitution, when the whole dominions were reprefented in one aflembly, was reprobated in the Colonies, as contrary to the fpirit of the fame go- vernment, when the empire became fo far extended, as to have many diftinft reprefentative aflemblies. The colonifts believed that the chief excellence of the Briti(h conftitution confifted in the right of the f»hjedl« to grant, or withold taxes, and in their having a (hare in enading the laws by which they were to be bound. They conceived, that the fupcriority of the Britifh conftitution, to other forms of government was, not becaufe their fupreme council was called a Parliament, but becaufe the people had a (hare in it by appoint- ing members, who conftituted one of its conftituent branches, and with- out whofe concurrence, no law, binding on them, could be enaded. In the Mother Country, it was afferted to be effential to the unity of the empire, that the Britilh Parliament fhould have a right of taxation over every part of the royal dominions. In the Colonies, it was believed, that taxation and reprefentation were infeparable, and that they could neither be free nor happy if their property could be taken from them without their confent. The common people in America reafoned on tliis fubjeft in a fum;nary way: ** If a Britifti Parliament," faid they, ** in which we are unreprefented, and over which we have no controul, can take from us any part of our property, by direft taxation, they may take as much as they pleafe, and we have no fecurity for any thing that re mains, but a forbearance on their part, lefs likely to be exercifed in our favour, as they lighten themfelves of the burthens of government, in the fame proportion that they impofe them on us." They well knew, that communities of mankind, as well as individuals, have a ftrong propenfity to impofe on others, when they can do it with impunity, and, efpecially, when there is a profped, that the impofition will be attended with advan- tage to themfelves. The Americans, from that jealoufy of their li- berties which their local fituation nurtured, and which they inherited from their forefathers, viewed the exclufivc right of laying taxes on thcmiclvcs, free from extraneous influence, in the fame light as the z Britifh AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 425 Brltifli Parliament views its peculiar privilege of raifing money, inde- pendent of the crown. The Parent State appeared to the Colonifts to ftand in the fame relation to their local legiflatures, as the monarch of Great Britain to the Britifh Parliament. His prerogative is limited by that palladium of the people's liberty, the exclufive privilege of granting their own money. While this right refts in the hands of the people their liberties are fecured. In^he fame manner reafoned the Colonifts, '* in order to be ftiled freemen, our local affemblies, elefted by ourfelves, muft enjoy the exclufive privilege of impofi.ng t^xe* upon us." They contended, that men fettled in foreign parts to better their condition, and not to fubrait their liberties — to continue the equals, not to become the Daves of their lefs-adventurous fellow-citizens, and that by the novel doftrine ol parliamentary power, tbey were degraded from being the fubjedls of a king, to the low condition of being fubjefts of fubjefts. They argued, that it was effentially involved in the idea of property, that the poffefTor had fuch a right therein, tl^^t it was a contradiftion to fuppofe any other man, or body of men, pofleiTed a right to take it from him without his confcnt. Precedents, in the Hiftory.of England, juftified this mode of .reafoning. The love of property ftrengthened it, and it had a peculiar force on the minds of Colonifts, three thoufand miles removed from the feat of government, and growing up to matu- rity, in a new world, where, from the extent of country, and the ftate of fociety, even the neceflary r^ftraints of civil government were im- patiently borne. On the other hand, the people of Great-Britain re- volted againft the claims of the Colonifts. Educated in habits of fub- miflion to parliamentary taxation, they conceived it to be the height of .contumacy for their Colonifts to refufe obedience to the power, which they had been taught to revere. Not adverting to the common intereft which exifted between the people of Great-Britain and their reprefen- tatives, they believed, that the fame right exifted, although the fame community of interefts was wanting. The pride of an opulent, con- quering nation, aided this mode of reafoning. **What,'* faid they, <* Ihall we, who have fo lately humbled France and Spain, be diftated to by our Colonifts ? Shall our fubjedls, educated by c^r care, and de- fended by our arms, prefume to queftion the rights of Parliament, to which we are obliged to fubmit ?'* Refledions of this kind, congenial to the natural vanity of the human heart, operated fo extenfively, that the people of Great Britain fpoke of their Colonies and of their Colonifts, as a kind of polTeflion annexed to their perfons. The love of pDwer and of property on the one fide of the Atlantic were oppofed by the fame powerful paffions on the other» V©L. I 3 I The 426 HISTORY OF THE The dirpofition to tax the Colonies was alfo ftrengthened by exagge- rated accounts of their wealth. It was faid, " that the American plan- ters lived in affluence, and with inconfiderable taxes, while the inhabi- tants of Great Britain were borne down by fuch oppreffive burdens as to make a bare fubfiftence a matter of extreme difficulty." The officers who had ferved .in America, during the late war, contributed to this delufion. Their obfervations were founded on what they had feen in cities, and at a time, when large fums were fpent by government, in fupport of fleets and armies, and when American commodities were in great demand. To treat with attention thofe who came to fight for them, and alfo to gratify, their own pride, the Colonifts had made a pa- rade, of their riches, by frequently and fumptuoufly entertaining the gentlemen of the Britilh army. Thefe, judging from what they faw, without confidering the general ftate of the country, concurred in re- prefenting the Colonifts as very able to contribute largely towards de- fraying the common expences of the empire. The charters, which were fuppofed to contain the principles on which the Colonies were founded, became the fubje«fl of ferious inveftigation on both fides. One claufe was found to run through the whole of them, except that which had been granted to Mr, Penn ; this was a declaration, " that the emigrants to America fliould enjoy the fame privileges, as if they had remained, or had been born within the realm ;" but fuch was the fubtilty of difputants, that both parties conftrued this general prin- ciple fo as to favour their refpedive opinions. The American patriots contended, that as Englifli freeholders could not be taxed but by repre- fentatives, in chufing whom they had a vote, neither could the Colonifts : but it was replied, that if the Colonifts had remained in England, they muft have been bound to pay the taxes itiipofed by Parliament. It was therefore inferred, that though taxed by that authority, they loft none of the rights of native Englilhmen refiding at home. The partifans of the Mother Country could fee nothing in charters, but fecurity againft taxes by royal authority. The Americans, adhering to the fpirit more than to the letter, viewed their charters as a Ihield againft all taxes, not im- pofed by reprefentatives of their own choice. This conftrudion they contended to be exprefsly recogmted by the charter of Maryland. In that, King Charles bound both himfelf and his fuccelfors, not to aflent to any bill, fubjefting the inhabitants to internal taxation by external legiflation. The nature and extent of the connexion between Great Britain and America was a great conftitutional queftion, involving many interefts, and the general principles o£ civil liberty. To decide this, recourfe was in AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 427 in vain had to parchment authorities, made at a diftant time, when neither the grantors nor grantees of American territory had in contem- plation any thing like the prefent ftate of the two countries. Great and flourilhing Colonies, daily increafing in numbers, and already grown to the magnitude of a nation, planted at an immenfc diftance, and governed by conftitutions refembling that of the country from which they fprung, were novelties in the hiftory of the world. To combine Colonies, fo circumftanced, in one uniform fyftem of govern- ment with the Parent State, required a great knowledge of mankind, and an extenfive comprehenfion of things. It was an arduous buiinefs, far beyond the grafp of ordinary ftatefmen, whofe minds were narrowed by the formalities of laws, or the trammels of office. An original genius, unfettered with precedents, and exalted with juft ideas of the lights of human nature, and the obligations of univerfal benevolence, might have ftruck out a middle line, which would have fecured as much liberty to the Colonies, and as great a degree of fupremacy to the Parent State, as their common good required : But the helm of Great Britain was not in fuch hands. The fpirit of the Britifti conftitution on the one hand revolted at the idea, that the Britifh Parliament ihould exercife the fame unlimited authority over the unreprefented Colonies, which it ex- ercifed over the inhabitants of Great Britain, The Colonifts on the other hand did not claim a total exemption from its authority They in general allowed the Mother Country a certain undefined prerogative over them, and acquiefced in the right of Parliament to make many ads, binding them in many fubje6ls of internal policy, and regulating their trade. Where parliamentary fupremacy ended, and at what point colonial independency began, was not afcertained. Happy would it have been had the queftion never been agitated, but much more fo, had it been comproraifed by an amicable compadl, without the horrors of a civil war. The Englilh Colonies were originally eftablifhed, not for the fake of revenue, but on the principles of a commercial monopoly. While England purfued trade and forgot revenue, her commerce increafed at leaft fourfold. The Colonies took off the manufadures of Great Bri- tain, and paid for them with provifions or raw materials. They united their arms in war, their commerce and their councils in peace, without nicely inveftlgating the terms on which the connexion of the two coun- tries depended. A perfed calm In the political world is not long to be expeiHed, The reciprocal happinefs, both of Great Britain and of the Colonies, was too great to be of long duration. The calamities of the war of 1 755 had 3 I 2 fcarcely 428 MiStoKY Ot tHfi fcarccly ended, when the germ of another wit was planted, which foon grew up and produced deadly fruit. At that time (1764) fundry refolutions pafled the Britilh Parliament relative to the impofition of a (lamp duty in America, which gave a ge- neral alarm. By them the rightj the equity, the policy > and even the neceflity of taxing the Colonies was formally avowed. Thefe refolu- tions being confide red as the preface of a fyftem of American revenue, were deemed an introdudlion to evils of much greater magnitude. They opened a profpeft of oppreffion, boundlefs in extent, and endlefs in du- ration. They were neverthelefs not immediately followed by any le- giflative aft. Time and an invitation were given to the Americans td fuggeft any other mode of taxation that might be equivalent in its pro- duce to the ftamp adl: but they objedled, not only to the mode, but the principle, and feveral of their aflemblies, though in vain, petitioned againft it. An American revenue was in England a very popular mea- fure. The cry in fevour of it was fo ftrong, as to confound and filence the voice of petitions to the contrary. The equity of compelling the Americans to contribute to the common expences of the empire fatisfied many, who, without enquiring into the policy or juftice of taxing their unreprefented fellow-fubjefts, readily alTented to the meafures adopted by the Parliament for this purpofe. The profpeft of eafing their own bur- dens, at the expence of the Colonifts, dazzled the eyes of gentlemen of landed intereft, fo as to keep out of their view the probable confequences of the innovation. The omnipotence of Parliament was fo familiar a phrafe on both fides of the Atlantic, that few in America, and ftill fewer in Great Britain, were impreffed in the firft inftance, with any idea of the illegality of taxing the Colonies. The illumination on that fubjeft was gradual. The refolutions in favour of an American ftamp aft, which paffed in March 1764, met with no oppofition. In the courfe of the year which intervened be- tween thefe refolutions, and the pafling of a law grounded upon them, the fubjeft was better underftood, and conftitutional objeftions againft the meafurc were urged by feveral both in Great Britain and America, This aftonifhed and chagrined the Britilh miniftry ; but as the principle of taxing America had been for fome time determined upon, they were unwilling to give it up. Impelled by a partiality for a long cherilhed idea, Mr. Cirenville brought into the Houfe of Commons his long ex- pefted bill, for laying a ftatip duty in America. March, 1765. By this, after pafling through the ufual forms, it was enafted, that the in- ftruments of writing which arc in daily ufe among a commercial people, ihould AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 429 {hould be null and void, unlefsthey were executed on (lamped paper or parchment, charged with a duty impofed by the Britilh Parliament. When the bill was brought in, Mr. Charles Townfend concluded a fpcech in its favour, with words to the following efFcd, " And now will thefe Americans, children planted by our care, nouriihed up by our indulgence, till they are grown to a degree of llrength and opulence, and proteded by our arms, will they grudge to contribute their mite to relieve us from the heavy weight of that burden which ^e lie under ?" To which Colonel Barre replied, <* They planted by your care ? No, your opprefiions planted them in America. They fled from tyranny to a then uncultivated and inhofpitable country, where they expofed them- felves to almoft all the hardlhips to which human nature is liable; and, among others, to the cruelty of a favage foe the moft fubtle, and I wi|l take upon me to fay, the moft formidable of any people upon the face of the earth; and yet, aduatedbyprinciplesof true EngUlh liberty, they met all hardihips with pleafure compared with thofe they fuifered in their own country, from the hands of thofe that (hould ha\e been their friends — They nourifhed up by your indulgence? They grf-.w up by your negled of them. As foon as you began to care abopt them, that care was exercifed in fending perfons to rule them in one department and another, who were, perhaps, the depulles of deputies to fome mem- bers of this Houfe, fent to fpy out their liberties, to mifreprefent their aftions, and to prey upon them. — Vien whofe behaviour on many occa- fions, has caufed the blood of thefe fons of liberty to recoil within them. — Men promoted to the higheft feats of juftice, fome, who to my knowledge, were glad, by going to a foreign country, to efcape being brought to the bar of a, court of juftice in their own. — They proteded by your arms; They have nobly taken up arms in your defence, have exerted a valour, amidft their conftant and laborious induftry, for the defence of a country whofe frontier was drenched in blood, while iti interior parts yielded all its little favings to your emolument. And be-- Jieve me, remember I this day told you fo, that fame fpirit of freedom which adluated that people at firft will accompany them ftill : but pru- dence forbids me to explain myfelf farther. God knows, I do not at this time fpeak from any motives of party heat ; what I deliver are the genuine fentiments of my heart. However fuperlor to me in gene^ ral knowledge and experience the refpedable body of this Houfe may be, yet I claim to know more of America than moft of you, having feen Und been converfant in that country. The people, I believe, are as truly loyal 430 HISTORY OF THE loyal as any fubjefts the King has, but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them, if ever they ihould be violated: but the fubjeft is too delicate — I will fay no more." During the debate on the^bill, the fupporters of it infifted much on the Colonies being virtually reprcfented in the fame manner as Leeds, Halifax, and fome other towns were. A recurrence to this plea was a virtual acknowledgement, that there ought not to be taxation without rcprefentation. It was replied, that the connexion between the ele^ors and non-eledors, of Parliament in Great Britain was fo interwoven, from both being equally liable to pay the fame common tax, as to give fome fecurlty of property to the latter; but with refpeft to taxes laid by the Britilh Parliament, and paid by the Americans, the lituation of the parties was reverfed. Inftead of both parties bearing a proportionable ihare of the fame common burden, what v/as laid on the one, was exaiftly fo much taken off from the other. The bill met with no oppofition in the Houfe of Lords, and on the 22d of March, 1^65, it received the royal affent. The night after it faffed, Dr. Franklin, wrote to Mr. Charles Thomfon, " The fun of liberty is fet, you muft light up the candles of induftry and economy,** Mr. Thomfon anfwered, " He was apprehenfive that other lights would be the confequence," and foretold the oppofition that Ihortly took place. On its being fuggefted from authority, that the ftamp officers would not be fent from Great Britain; but felefted from among the Americans, the Colony agents were defired to point out proper perfons for the pur- pofe. They generally nominated their friends, which affords a pre- fumptive proof, that they fuppofed the aft would have gone down. In this opinion they were far from being fingular. That the Colonifts would be ultimately obliged to fubmit to the ftarfp aft, was at firft com- monly believed, both in England and America, The framers of it, in particular, flattered themfelves that the confufion which would arife upon the difufc of writings, and the infecurity of property, which would re- fult from ufing any other than that required by law, would compel the Colonies, however reluftant, to ufe the ftamp paper, and confequently to pay the taxes impofed thereon: they therefore boafted that it was a law which would execute itfelf. By the terms of the ftamp aft, it was not to take efFeft till the firft day of November, a period of more than feven months after its pafting. This gave the Colonifts an' opportunity for leifurely canvaffing the new fubjeft, and examining it fully on every fide. In the firft part of this interval, ftruck with aftonifhmcnt, they lay in filent confternation, and could not determine what courfe to purfue. By degrees AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 43I degrees they recovered their recolledlion. Virginia led the way in op- pofition to the ftamp aft. Mr. Patrick Henry brought into the Houfe of Burgefles of that Colony, the following refolutions, which were fub- flantially adopted : Refolved, That the firfl: adventurers,- fettlers of this his Majefty*s Co- lony and dominion of Virginia, brought with them and tranfmitted to their pofterity, and all other his Majefty's fubjeds, fince inhabiting in this his Majefty's faid Colony, all the liberties, privileges, and immunities that have at any time been held, enjoyed, and poffeffed by the people of Great Britain. Refolved, That by two royal charters, granted by King James the Firft, the Colonies aforefaid are declared, and entitled to all liberties, privileges, and immunities of denizens, and natural fubjeds, to all intents and purpofes as if they had been abiding, and born within the realm of England. Refolved, That his Majefty's liege people, of this his ancient colony, have enjoyed the rights of being thus governed by their own airembly,^ in the article of taxes, and internal police, and that the fame have never been forfeited, or yielded up, but have been conftantly recognized by the king and people of Britain. Refolved, therefore, That the general aflembly of this Colony, toge- ther with his Majefty, or his fubftitutes, have, in their reprefentative capacity, the only exclufive right and power, to lay taxes and imports upon the inhabitants of this Colony, and that every attempt to veft fuch power in any other perfon or perfons whatfoever, than the general aflem- bly aforefaid, is illegal, and unconftitutional, and unjuft, and hath a manifeft tendency todeftroy Britifh, as well as American liberty. Refolved, That his Majefty's liege people, the inhabitants of this Colony, are not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatever, defigned to impofe any taxation whatever upon them, other than the laws or ordinances of the general aflembly aforefaid. Refolved, That any perfon, who ftiall, by fpeaking or writing, aflert or maintain, that any perfon or perfons, other than the general aflfem- bly of this Colony, have any right or power to impofe, or lay any taxa- tion on the people here, Ihall be deemed an enemy to this his Majefty's Colony. , Upon reading thefe refolutions, the boldnefs and novelty of them afFefted one of the members to fuch a degree, that he cried out, " Treafon ! Treafon!" They were, neverthelefs, well received by the people, and immediately forwarded to the other provinces. They cir- culated 432 HISTORY OF THE culated cxtenfivcly, and gave a fpring to all the difcontcntcd. Till they appeared, mod were of opinion, that the a£l would be quietly adopted. Murmurs, indeed, were common, but they fcemed to be fuch, as would foon die away. The countenance of To refpe^able a Colony as Virginia, confirmed the wavering, and emboldened the timid. Oppofition to the ftamp aft, from that period, affumed a bolder face. The fire of liberty blazed forth from the prefs; fomc well-judged publications fet the rights of the Colonifts in a plain, but ftrong point of view. The tongues and the pens of the well-informed citizens laboured in kindling the latent fparks of patriotifm. The flame fpread from breaft to breaft, till the conflagration became general. In this bufmefs, New-England had a principal Ihare. The inhabitants of that part of America, in particular, confidered their obligations to the mother-country for paft favours, to he very inconfiderabie. They were fully informed, that their forefathers were driven by perfecution to the woods of America, and had there, without any expence to the parent ftate, efFecled a fettlement amidft rude creation. Their refent- ment for the invafion of their accuftomed right of taxation was not fo much mitigated by the recoUedlion of late favours, as it was heightened by the tradition of grievous fufFerings, to which their anceflors, by the rulers of England, had been fubjefted. The defcendants of the exiled, perfecuted, Puritans, of the laft century, oppofed the ftamp^ ad with the fame fpirit with which their forefathers were afluated. when they fet themfelves againil the arbitrary impofitions of the houfe of Stuart. The heavy burdens, which the operation of the ftamp aft would have impofed on the Colonifts, together with the precedent it would eftablifli of future exaftions, furnilhed the American patriots with arguments, calculated as well to move the paflions, as to convince the judgments of their Fellow Colonifts. In great warmth they exclaimed, " If the Parliament has a right to level the ftamp duties, they may, by the fame authority, lay on us impofts, excifes, and other taxes, without end, till their rapacity is fatisfied, or our abilities are exhaufted. We cannot at future elcftions, difplace thefe men, who fo laviflily gra.it away our property. Their feats and their power are independent of us, and it will reft with their gencrofity where to ftpp, in transferring the ex- pences of government from their own to our fhoulders." It was fortunate for the liberties of America, that news-papers were the fubjeft of a heavy ftamp duty. Printers, when uninfluenced by government, have generally arranged themfelves on the fide of liberty, a nor American revolution. 433 feor dfc they lefs remarkable for attention to the profits of their pro- feffion, A ftarap dutyi which openly invaded the firft^ and threatened a great diminution of the laftj provoked their united zealous oppofition. They daily prefsntdd to the piiblicj original differrations, tending to prove, that if the ftamp aft was fufFered to operate, the liberties of America wete at an end, and their property virtually transferred t6 theic Trans- Atlantic fellow-fubjeds* The writers among the Ameri- cans, ferioufly alarmed for ?he fate of their countryj came forward, with elTaysj to provej that agreeable to the Britifti Conftitution, taxa- tion and repfefentation were infeparable, that the only conftitutional mode of railing money from the Golonifts wad by afts of their own le- giflatures, that the Crown polTeffed nd farther power than that of requi- fition, and that the parliamentary tight of taxation was confined to the Mother Country* and therei originated* from the natural right of mau, to do what he pleafed with his own, transferred by confent from the eledors of Great Britain to thofe whom they chofe to reprefent them in parliament. They alfo infilled much on the mifapplication of public money by the Britifla miniftryi Great pains were taken to inform the Colonifts of the large fums annually beftowed on penfioned favourites^ and for the various purpofes of bribery.. Their paffions were enflamed by high-eoloured reprefentations of the hard(hip of b^ing obliged to pay the earnings of their indilftry into a Britilh treafury, well known to be t fund for corruption* The writers on the American fidfc were oppofed by arguments, drawn from the unity of the Empire ; the necefiity of one fupreme head, the unlimited power of parliament, and the great numbers in the Mother Country^ who, though legally difqualified from voting at eledions, were, nevertheless, bound to pay the taxes impofed by the reprefenta- tives of the nation. To thef« objedlions it was replied, that the very idea of fubordination of parts excluded the notion of fimple, undivided unity. That as England was the head, {he could not be the head and the members too-^that in all extenfive empires, \V'hcre the dead uni- formity of fervitude did not prevent, the fubordinate parts had many local privileges and immunities — that between thefe privileges and the fupreme common authority, the line was extremely nice j but neverthe- lefs, the fupremacy of the head had an ample field of exercife, without arrogating to itfelf the difpofal of the property of the unreprefented fubordinate parts. To the affertion, that the power of parliament was unlimited, the Colonifts replied, that before it could conftitutionally exercife that power, it muft be conftitutionally formed, and that, there- iore, it rauft at leaft, in one of its branches, be conllituted by the p§o- VoL. I. \ SJL , pl« 454 HrSTORY OF THE pic over whom it cxercifed unlimited power. That with ref[ic6l tt>> Great Britain, it was Co conftituced — with refpefl to America it was- not. They therefore inferred, that its power ought not to be the fame over both countries^ They argued nlfo, that the delegation of the peo- ple was the fource of power in regard to taxation, and as that delcga» tfon was wanting in America, they concluded,, the right of parliament? to grant away their property could not exift^ That the defeftivc ue* prefentation in Great Britain Ihould be ur^ed as an argument for tax- ing the Americans, without any reprefentation at aJl, proved the in- croaching nature of power.. Inftead of convincing the Colonifts of the propnety of their fubmiffion, it demonftrated the wifdom of their rc- fiftance ; for,, fa id they, « one invafion of natural right is made the- juflification of another,, much more injurious and oppreflive." The advocates for parliamentary taxation laid great ftrefs on the rights, fuppofed to accrue Jx> Great Britian,. on the fcore of herhaving reared up and protefted the Englilh fettlements in America at great expence* It was, on the other hand, contended by the Golonifts^ that irr all the wars which were common to both countries, they Iia(t taken their full fharc,. but in all their own dangers, in all the difficul- ties belonging feparately to their fituation,- which did not immediately concern Great Britain,, they were left to themfelves, and had to ftrug- gle through a hard infancy ; and in particular, to defend themfelves,. without any aid from the Parent State, agai»ft the numerous favages in their vicinity. That when France had mads war upon them, it was- not on their own account) but' as appendages to Great Britain* That confining their trade for the exclufive benefit of the Parent Sate^was an- ample compenfation for her prote(n:iDn, and a fufficient equivalent for their exemption from parliamentary taxation.. That the taxes impofed on the inhabitants of Great Britain were incorporated with their manu- faAures, and ultimately fell on the Colonifts,. who were the eon- fume rs. The advocates for the ftarap a6l alfb contended, that as the Parlia- ment was charged with the defence of the Colonies, it ought to pofTefs the means of defraying the expences incurred thereby. The fame ar- gument had been ufed by King Charles the Firft, in fupport of Ihip money ; and it was now anfwered in the fame manner, as it was by the patriots of that day. ** That the people who were defended or proteded were the fitteft to judge of and to provide the means of defraying the expences incurred on that account." In the mean time, the minds- of the Americans underwent a total transformation, Inftead of their late peaceable ^nd ftcady attachment to the Britifh nation^ they were daily advancing AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 435 aSrancing to the ©ppofite extreme. A new mode of difplaying refent- ment againft the friends of the ftari^p, afl began in Maffachufetts, and of enthufiafm was diiFufed among the fpectators. In the €venin^ the whole was cut down and carri'?d in procelTionby the populace fhouting << liberty and property for C7er; uo damps." They next pulled dowa a new building, lately eredtcJ by Mr. Oliver the {lamp maften They then went to his houfe, beTorc which they beheaded his effigy, and at the fame time broke his windows. Eleven days after> fimilar violence-s ,were repeated. The mob attacked the huufe of Mr. William Storey* deputy regitler of the court of admiralty — broke his windows— forced into his dwelling houfe, aad deftroyed the books and files belonging t& the faid colirt, and ruined a great part of his fufnitare* They next pro- ceeded to the houfe of Benjamin Hallo wel, Comptroller dT the calloms, ^nd repeated fimilar excefl'es, and drank and deftroyed his liquors. They afterwards proceeded to the houfe of Mr. Hutchinfon, and foon ^eaiolilhed it* They carried off his plate, furniture, and apparel, and Scattered or deftroyed manufcrips and other curious and ufeful papers which for thirty years he had been collefting. About half a dozen (Jf the meaneft oi the mob were foon after taken up and committed, but they either broke jail, or otherwife efcaped all punilhment. The town o£ Bofton condemned the whole proceeding, and for fome time, private gentlemen kept watch at night, to prevent further violence. Similar difturbances broke out in the adjacent Colonies, nearly about the fame time. On the 27th Auguft, 1765, the people in New- Port in Rhode Ifland, exhibited three effigies intended for Meilieurs Howard, Moiiatt, and Johnfon, in a cart with halters about their necks, and after iianging them on a gallows for fome time, cut them down and burnt them, amidft the acclamations of thoufands. On the day following, the people coUeftcd at the houfe of Mr. Martin Howard, a lawyer, who had written in defence of the right of parliament to tax the Americans, and demolifhed every thing that belonged to it. They proceeded to Dr. MoiTatt's, who, in converfation, had fupported the fame right, and wiade a fimilar devaftatioa of his property* In Connefticut they exhibited effigies in fandry places, and after» wards committed them to the flames, la New- York, the iiaaip mailer having refigned, the ftamp papers ^K 2 wei« 43^ HISTORY OF THE urcre taken into Fort George, by Lieutenant Governor CoMcn, Nov, I. The people, difliking his political fentiments, broke open hi* ftable, took out his coach, and carried it in triumph through the prin- cipal ftrcets to the gallows. On one end of this they fufpended the effigy of the Lieut. Governor, having in his,right hand a (lamped bill of Jading, and in the other a figure of the devil. After fome time, they carried the apparatus to the gate of the fort, and from thence to the bowling-green, under the muzzles of the guns, and burned the i^^hole aaiid the acclamations of many thonfands. They went thence to Mayor James' hoafe, ft ripped it of every ar-ticle, and confumed the whole, bepaufe he was a friend to the ftamp ad. The next evening the mob re-affembled, and infifted upon the Lieu- tenant Governor delivering the (lamped papers into their hands, and threatened, in cafe of a refufal, to take them by force. After fome negociation, it was agreed that they (hould be delivered to the corpo- ration, and they were depofited in the city hall. Ten boxes of the fame, which came by another conveyance, were burned. The ftamp aft was not lefs odious to many of the inhabitants of the Britiih Weft-India iflands, than to thofe on the continent of North America. The people of St. Kitts obliged the ftamp officer and hi^ deputy to refign. Barbadoes, Canada, and Halifax, fubmitted to the aft. But when the fhip which brought the ftamp papers to Philadelphia, firft appeared round Gloucefter Point, all the veflTels in the harbour hoifted their colours half maft high. The bells were rung mufiled till erening, and every countenance added to the appearance of fincere mourning. A large number of people affembled, and endeavoured to procure the refignation of Mr. Hughes, the ftamp diftributor. He held out long, but at length found it necefTary to comply. As opportunities offered, the affemblies generally palTed refolutions, a(rerting their exclufive right to lay taxes on their conftituents. The people, in their town meetings, inftrufted their reprefentatives to op- pofe the ftamp aft. As a fpecimcn ofthefe, the inftruftions given to Thomas Forftcr, their reprefentative, by the freeholders and other in- habitants of the town of Plymouth, are fubjoined. In thefe the yeo-. manry of the country fpoke the determined language of freedom. After exprcfiing the higheft efteem for the Britifh conftitution, and fet- ting forth their grievances, they proceeded as follows: " Yon, Sir, reprefent a people, wlio are not only dcfcended from -the firft fcttlers of this country, but inhabit the very fpot they firft poflTcffed, Here was firft laid the foundation of the Britifh empire, in ihi? part of Amcric2b which, from ^ vecy fmall beginning, has in- crcdfc4 AMERICAN REVOLUTION'. 43/ >reafed and fpread in a manner very furprifing, and almoft incredible* (cfpecially, when we confide r, that all this has been efFefted without the aid or aiTiiJance of any power on earth ; that we have defended, protefted, and fecured ourfelves againfl the invafions and cruelties of lavages, and the fubtlety and inhumanity of our inveterate and natu- ral enemies, the French; and all this without the appropriation of any tax by ftaraps, or ftamp adls, laid upon our fellow fubjefts, in any part of the King's dominions, for defraying the expence thereof^ This place, Sir, was at firft the afylum of liberty, and we hope, will fiver be preferred facred to it, tliough it was then no more than a bar- ren wildernefs, inhabited only by favage men and beafls. To thi^ place our fathers, (whofe memories be revered) poffefied of the prin- ciples of liberty in their parity, difdaining flavery, fled to enjoy thofe privileges, which they hifd an undoubted right to, but were deprived of, by the hands of violence and oppreffion, in their native country^ We, Sir, their poflerity, the freeholders, and other inhabitants of jhis town, legally affembled for that purpofe, poffefTed of the fame fen^ timents, and retaining the fame ardour for liberty, think it our in- difpenfable duty, on this occafion, to exprefs to you thcfe our fenti- ments of the ftamp aft, and its fatal confequences to this country, and to enjoin upon you, as you regard not only the welfare, but the very being of this people, that you (confiftent with our allegiance to the King, ^nd relation to the government of Great Britain) difregarding all propofals for that purpofe, exert all your power and influence in pppofition to the ftamp aft, at leaft till we hear the fuccefs^ of our pe- titions for relief. We likewife, to avoid dlfgracing the memories of pur anceftors, as well as the reproaches of our own confciences, and the curfes of pofterity, recommend it to you, to obtain, if poffibleg in the honourable houfe of reprefentatives of this province, a full and (explicit affertion of our rights, and to have the fame entered on their public records, that all generations yet to come may be convinced, that we have not only a juft fenfe of our rights and liberties, but that we never, with fubmiffion to Qivine Providence, will be flaves to ^ny power on earth/* The expediency of calling a continental Congrefs to be compofed of deputies from each of the provinces, had early occurred to the people, of MafTachufetts. The affembly of that province paffed a refolution in favour of that meafure, and fixed on New- York as the place, and the fecond Tuefday of Oftober, 1765, as the time for holding the fame. Soon after, they fent circular letters to the fpeakers of the fcveral aflemblies, yequeftin^ their concurrency T^^is firft.advaiic^ tpwards contincntial 438 KISTOIty OF THE tinion was fccondcd in South-Carolina, before it had been agreed to hr any Colony to the fouthward of New- England. The example of this province had a confiderable influence in recommending the meafurc to others, who were divided in their opinions, on the propriety of it. The aflemblies of Virgina, North-Carolina, and Georgia, were prevented, by their governors, from fending a deputation to this Coa- grefs. Twenty-eight deputies from Maflachufetts, Rliode-Iiland, Connefticut, New-'York, Ncw-Jerfey, Pennfylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina, met at New- York ; and after mature deliberation agreed on a declaration of their rights, and on a ftatemcnt of their grievances. They aflferted in ftrong terms, their exemption from all taxes, not impofcd by their own rcprefentatives. They alfo concurred in a petition to the King, and memorial to the Houfe of Lords, and a petition to the Houfe of Commons. The Colonies that were prevented from fending their rcprefentatives to this Congrefs;, forwrirded petitions, fimilar to thofe which were adopted by the de- puties which attended. While a variety of legal and illegal methods were adopted to oppofe the {lamp aft, the firft of November, on which is was to commence its operation, approached. This in Bofton was ufhered in by a funeral tolling of bells. Many Ihnps and ftores were (hut. The efligies of the planners and friends of the ftamp aft were carried about the ftreet* in public derifion, and then torn in pieces by the enraged populace. It was remarkable that though a large crowd was affembled, there wa« not the leaft violence or diforder. At Portfmouth in New-Hampfhire, the morning of Nov. i, was ulhered in with tolling all the bells in town. In the courfe of the day, notice was given to the friends of liberty to attend her funeral. A coffin neatly ornamented, infcribed with the word Liberty in large let- ters, was carried to the grave. The funeral proceiTion began from the ftatc houfe, attended with two unbraced drums. While the inhabi- tants who followed th& coffin were in motion, minute guns were fired, and continued till the corpfe arrived at the place of interment. Then an oration in favour of the deceafed was pronounced. It was fcarcely ended before the corpfe was taken up, it having been perceived that fome remains of life were left, at which the infcription was immedi- ately altered to " Liberty revived." The bells immediately ex- changed their melancholy for a more joyful found, and fatisfaftion ap- peared in every countenance. The whole was condufted with decency» and without injury or infult to any man's perfon or property. Id Maryland, the tSi^ of the ftamp mailer, on one fide of which was AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 4^5 -miS written, « Tyranny," on the other, « Oppreffion,** and acrofs the breaflr, *f Damn my country, I'll get money," was carried through the^ftreets from the place of^confinement to the whipping poft, and from thence to the- pillory. After fuffering many indignities, it wa» firft hanged and then- burnt* The general averlion to the fta'mpr adl was, by limilar methods, iit a variety of places demonftrated. It is remarkable^ that the proceed- ings of the populace on thefe occalions, were carried on with decorun* and regularity. They were not ebullitions of a thoughtlefs mob, but for the moft part planned by leading men of charadler and influence^ who were friends to peace and order. Thefe, knowing well that the bulk of mankind are more led by their fenfes than by their reafon^ conduced the public exhibitions on that principle, with a view of mak- ing the ftamp a6l and its friends both ridiculous and odious. Though the ftamp aft was to have operated from the firft of Novem- ber, yet legal proceedings in the court were carried on as before^ Vefiels entered and departed without ftamped papers. The printers boldly printed and circulated their newfpapers, and found a fufficienC number of readers,, though they ufed common paper, in defiance cf the aft of parliament. In moft departments, by common confent, bufmefs was carried on as though no ftamp aft had exifted. This was accom- fjiflried by fpirited refolutions to rifque all confequences, rather thai? fabmit to ufe the paper required by law.. While thefe matters were ill agitation, the Colonifts entered into afibciations againft importing Britifh manufaftures, till the ftamp aft ftiould be repealed. In this manner Britifh liberty was made to operate againft Britifn tyranny ,- Agreeably to the free conftitation of Great Britain, the fubjeft was at liberty to buy, or not to buy, as he pleaied. By fufpending their future purchafes tiir the repeal of the ftamp aft, the Colonifts made it the intereft of merchants and manufafturers to folicit for that repeaL They had ufualiy taken oiF fo great a proportion of Britifti manu- faftures, that the fudden ftcppageofall their orders, amounting an- nually to feveral millions fte-rling, threw fome thoufands in the Mother Country out of employment, and induced theni, from a regard- to their own intereft, to advocate the meafures wiftied for by America. The petitions from the Colonies were feconded by petitions from the merchants and manufafturers of Great Britain.. Wh^t the former prayed for as a matter of right, and connefted \vith their liberties, the latter alfo folicited from rabtives.^of immediate advantage. In order to re- medy the deficiency of B^ilh' goods, the Colonifts betook themfelvtf* to a variety of neceffary 3omeftlc maftufaftures. In a little time, large 44^ HISTORY OF Tiit lurgc quantities of coarfe and common cloaths were brought to markcty tild thefe, though dearer, and of a worfc quality, were cheerfully pre- fcrrcd to fimllar articles imported from Britain, That wool might not he wanting, they entered into refolutions to abftain from eating, lambs.- J^prcign elegancies were generally laid afide. The women were a? exemplary as the men in various inftances of felf-denial. With great readinefs, they refufcd every article of decoration for their perfons* and of luxury for their tables* Thefe reftriftions, which the Colonills had voluntarily impofed on themfelves, were fo well obferved, that jpultitudes of artificers in England were reduced to great diftrefs, and fome of their moft flourifhing manufadories were, ini a great meafurcr at a ftand. An affociation was entered into by many of the fons of liberty, the name given to thofe who were oppofed to the (lamp a(^, by which they agreed ** to march with the ntmoft expeditiorf^ at their own proper coft and expence, with their whole force, to the relief of tliofe that (hould be in danger from the ftamp z6ii or its promoters and abettors, or any thing relative to it, on account of any thing that may- have been done in oppofition to its obtaining." This was fubfcribeJ by fo many in New York and New England, that nothing but a re-^ peal could have prevented the immediate commencement of a civil wan From the decided oppofition to the (lamp aft, which had been adopted by the Colonies^ it became neceffary for Great Britain to en- force or repeal it. Both methods of proceeding had fupporters. The oppofers of a repeal urged arguments, drawn from the dignity of the Ration, the danger of giving way to the clamours of the Americans* and the confequences of weakening parliamentary authorky ever the Colonies. On the other hand, it was evident, from the determined oppofition of the Coloraes, that it could not be enforced without 2^ civil war, by which, in every event, the nation niuft be a lofifer. In tl^ courfe of thefe difcufiions, Dr. Franklin was examined at the bar of the Houfe of Commons, and gave extenfive information on th(fc fiate of American affairs, and the impolicy of the ftamp aft, which contri- buted much to remove prejudices, and to produce a difpofition that was fri«ndly to a repeal. ,, 3ome fpeakers of great weight, in both Houfes of Parliament, de- nied their right of toxing the Colonies. The moft diftinguifhed fup- porters of this opinion were Lord Ctmdcn in the Houfe of Peers, and Mr. Pitt in the Houfe of Commons. Ilie former, in ftrong language, faid, « My pofition is this, t Icpeat it, I will maintain it to my lalt hour. Taxation and reprefentatlon are infeftrable. This pofition is founded on the laws of natare* It at mofc^ it is itfelf an eternal law of AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 44I t>f Mature. For whatever is a man's own k abfolutely his own. No man has a right to take it ftom him without his confent. 'Whoever iittertipts to do it, attempts an injury ; whoever does it, commits a robbery.'* Mr. Pitt, with an original boldnefs of expreflion, juftififtd the Colonifls in oppofing the ftjtmp ad. « You have no right," faid lie, " to tax America. I rejoice that America has refifted. Three millions of our fellow fubjefts foloft to every fenfe of virtue, as tamely to give up their liberties, would be fit inftrumenfs to make flaves of the reft.** He concluded with giving his advice, that the ftamp aft be i-epealed abfolutely^ totally, and immediately, — that the reafon for the I'epeal be affigned, that it was founded on an erroneous principle. « At the fame time,'* faid he, " let thefovereign authority of this country over the Colonies, be aflerted in as ftrong terms as can be devifed, and be made to extend to every point of legiflation whatfocver ; that we may bind their trade, confine their manufaftures, and exercife evei^ ^ower, except that of taking their money out of their pockets without their confent.** The approbation of this illuftrious ilatefmkn, whofe diftinguifhed abilities had raifed Great Britain to the higheft pitch of irenown, infpired the Americans with additional confidence, in the reditude of their claims of exemption from parliamentary taxation, and emboldened them to fiirther oppofition, when at a future day, as fliall be hereafter related, the projed of ail American revenue was refumed* After much debating, and two protefts in the Houfe of Lords, and palling aft adt "for fecuring the dependence of America on Great Britain," the repeal of the ftamp ad was finally carried March 18, 1 766« Tliis event gave great joy in London* Ships in the river Thames dif- played their colours, and hoiifes were illuminated ^11 over the city. It was no fooner known in America, than the Colqnifts refoinded their tefolutions, and recommenced their mercantile intercourfe with the Mother Country. They prefented their homefpun cloaths to the poor* and imported more largely than ever. The churches refounded with thankfgivings, and their public and private rejoicings knew no bounds. By letters, addrefles, and other means, almoft all the Colonies (hewed unequivocal marks of acknowledgement and gratitude. So fudden a calm recovered after Co violent a ftorm, is without a parallel in hiftory* By the judicious facrifice of one law, the parliament of Great Britain procured an acquiefcence in all that remained**' ^^ ^** v * There were enlightened patriots, fully imprefled with ah idea, that the immoderate joy l)f the 'Colonifts was difproportioned to the ad- vantage they had 8^^^^^'jr^^ ^^ , , ^ The ftamp ad, though^peaieS, was not r^jJealed on American prin- 442 HISTORY OF TIlC ciplcs. The preamble affigncd as the reafon thereof, « That, the col-? Icftirig the fcveral duties and revenues, as by the faid aft was dlreftcdy would be attended with many inconvenicncies* and produftive of con- fequences dangerous to the commercial interefts of thefe kingdoms," Though this reafon was a good one in Englandi it \vas by no meaps • fatisfaAory in America. At the fame time that the (lamp aft was re* pealcdj the abfolute, unlimited fupremacy of parliament wasy in words, aflerted. The oppofers of the repeal contended for this as effenti^U the friend's of that meafure acquiefced in it to ftrengthen their party, and make furc of their objeft. Many of both fides thought, that tTie dignity of Gfeat Britain required fomething of the kind to counterba- fencc thclofs of authority, that might refult from her yielding to the dainours of the Colooifts. The a^ for this purpofe was called the Declaratory Aftr, and was in principle more hoftile to American rights than the ftamp- aftj for it annulled thofe refolutions and afts of the ProTinciai Aifemblies, in which they had aflerted their right to ex- emption from aU'tixesynot impofed by their own reppefentatiycs j; and alfo chaftfid, '* That the parliament had, and of right ought to have,, jower to bind the Colonics, in all cafes whatfoever.'* oil The bulk of the Americans,, intoxicated" with the^ advantage they h^d ^ned, overlooked this ftatute, w^hich, in one comprehenfive fentence, not only deprived them of liberty and property, buJ of every right incident to humanity^ They confidered it as a falva for the honour of parliament, in repealing an aft, which had fo lately received their fanc- tion, and flattered themfelves it would remain a dead letter,, and that although the right of ta:xation was in words retained, it wouI(J neyer be exercifed. Unwilling to contend about paper claims of ideal fupre- macvi they returned to their habits, of good humour with, the Parent .jI .The repeal of the ft^mp aft, in a relative cbnneftibn With all its cir- jc^mftances and cpnfequences, was the firft direft ftep to American in- dependency. The claims of the two countries- were not .only, left iin- decided, b\it a foundation was laid for their extending at a future pe- .riod, to the inipoflibility of a compromife^ Though for the prefent Great Britain receded from enforcing her claim of Ameixcan revenue, ,a numerous party, adhering to that fyftem, referved themfelves for .' ;>|ii^or^ favourable circumftances to enfojfce it ; and at the fame time the ^polondfts, more enlightened on the fu^)je^, and mbre. fully cbiiyince ojftlie reftitude of their clainis, were encouraged tb oppofe it,- under' - whatfocv-er form it (hould appear* oi under, whatfoever difguife it fliouid cover itfelf. ... Elevated' AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 443 Elevated with the advantage they had gained, from that day for- Wird} Inftead of feeling therhfelves dependent on Gieat Britain, they conceived that, in refpeft to commerce, ftie was dependent on riiem. It infpired them with fuch high ideas of the impartance of their trade, that they confidered the Mother Country to be brought under.greater obligations to them, for piarchafing her manufadures, than they wtre ^to ner for protection and the adminift ration of xuvil govcrament, 'Tj|e Freemen of Britifii America, imp reffed with the exalting fenti- ments of patriotifm and of liberty, conceive^ it to be within their power, by future combinations, at any time to conVulfe, if not to bankrupt, the nation from which thdy-fprung. :i Opinions of this kind were ftrengthened by their local Situation, A- fburing ideas, as extenfive as the unexplored -confinent of.t«hich tKey were inhabitants. While the pride of Britons revolted at the thought of their Colonies refufmg" fubjeflion to that Parliament which -they obeyed, the Americans with equal haughtinefs exclaimed <* fhall the '."petty iflaiid of Great Britain, fcarce a fpeck on the. map of the world, ' controul the free citizens of the great continent of America,?'* ^^ '"There high founding pretenfions wqnld have been iliarmiefs, or at moft, fpent themfelves in words, had not a -ruinous policy, untaught 'by recent experience, called them into ferious action. Though the ' Jftamp/ a6l was repealed, an American revei-Kie was-flill-a favourite ob- tjedl with many In Great Britain. The equity and-the advantage of taxing the Colonifts by parliamentary authority were -very apparent to, their underftandings, bat the mode of 6ffe<5ling it, without hazard- "/ing the public tranquility, was not fo obvious.' Mr. Charles To wn- -fend, afterwards Chancellor of the Exchequer, pawned his credit to " accomplifti what many fo tarneftly defired. He' accprdingly -brought *" into parliament, in 1767, a bill for granting duties in the Britifli Co- lonies, on glafs, paper, painters colours, and tea, which was afterwards ' 'enabled into a law. If the fmall duties impofed on thefe articles had ' .preceded the damp aft, they might have paffed unobferved : but the / late difcuflions occafioned by that ad, had produced amongft the Co- "^Tpnifts, not otily an animated conviftion of their exemption from par- iiartientary taxation, but a jealoufy of the defigns of Great Britain. "^ ■ The fentiments of the Americans on this fubjeft bore a great refem- blance to thofe of their Britifli countrymen of the preceding century, in the cafe of Ihip money.. Theamount of that tax was very moderate, little exceeding twenty thoufand pounds. It was diftributed upon the people with equdity, and expended for the honour and advantage of the kingdom, yet all thefe circumftances could not reconcile the people Sh Z of 444 ' HISTORY OF THE of England to the impofition. It was entirely arbitrary. '.< By thp fame right,*' faid they* " any other tax may be impofed." In like manner the Americans confidered thefc fmajl duties in the nature of ■ an entering wedge> defigned to make way for others, which would be greater and heavier. In a relative connexion with late afts of Parlia- ment, refpedling domeftic manufaflures and foreign commerce, laws for impofing taxes on Britifli commodities exported to the Colonies, formed a complete circle of oppreflion, from which there was no poffibility 'Of efcaping. The Colonics had been, previoufly, reftrained from ma- nufaduring certain articles for their own confumption. Other a(5U •confined them to the excluflve ufe of Britifli merchandize. The addi- tion of duties put them wholly io the power and difcretion of Gre^^t .Britain; " We are not," faid they, " permitted to import from any nation, other than our own Parent State, and have been in fome cafes ■ by her reftrained from manufafturing for ourfelves, and Ihe claims a right to do fo in every inftance which is incompatible with her in- tereft. To thefe reftridions we have hitherto fubmitted, but (he now rifes iri her demands, and impofes duties on tjiofe commodities, the purchafing of which, elfewhere thap at her mjyrket, her law forbids, r and the manufafturing of which for our own ufe, (he may, any mo- ment fhe pleafes, rcftrain. If her right is valid to lay a fmall tax, it is equally fo to lay a Urge oije, for from the nature of the cafe, (he muft be guided exclufively by her own opinions of our ability, a»d of the propriety of the, duties (he may impofe. Nothing is left for us but to complain and pay." They contended that there was no real diffe- rence between the principle of thefe new duties and the (lamp a6^, they were both defigned to raife a revenue in America, and in the fame mSmner. The payment of the duties impofed by the ftamp aft, might have been eluded by the total difufe of ftaraped paper, and fo might the payment of thefe duties, by the total difufe ofthofe articles oa** which they were laid, but in neither cafe, without great difficulty. The Coloniils were therefore reduged to the hard alternative of being obliged totally to difufe articles of the greateft necelfity in human life> or to pay a tax without their confent. The fire of oppofition, which had been fmothered by the repeal of the flamp aft, burned afrefh againft the fame principle of taxation, exhibited in its new form. Mr. Dick- cnfon, of Pcnnfylvania, on this occafion prefented to the public a fcries of letters figned the Farmer, proving the extreme danger which threatened the liberties of America, from their acquiefcence in. a pre- cedent which might eflablilh the claim of parliamentary taxation. They were written with great aiiimation, and were read with un- ctmmon AMERICAN REVOLUTIOl^. ^^g common avidity. Their reafoning was fo convincing, that many ot %l\c candid and difintcrefted citizens of Great Britain acknowledged that the American oppofition to parliamentary taxation was juftifiable. The enormous fums which the ftamp,a(5l would have colleAed, had thoroughly alarmed the Colonifts for their property. It was now de- monftrated by feveral writers, efpecially by the Pennfylvania Farmer, that a fmall tax, though more fpecious, was equally dangerous, as it: cftablifhed a precedent which eventually annihilated American pro- perty. The declaratory aft, which . at firft was the fubjeft of but a Jew comments, was now dilated upon as a foundation for every fpe- cies of opprefTion : and the fraall duties lately impofcd were conlidered ^s the beginning of a train of much greater evils. ^ ^ . .* .^ ^ Had the Colonifts admitted the propriety of raifiijig a parliamentanTj.: revenue among them, the ereftion of an American board of commiil. iioners for managing it, which was about this time inftiruted ^t Bofton» woiiid have been a convenience rather than an injury; but united as, they were in fentiments, of the. contrariety of th^t meafure to their , natural and conftitutiona.1 rights, they ill brooked the innovation. As it was coeval with the new duties, they confidered it as a certain evidence that the project of an extenfive American revenue, notw:th-« . Handing the repeal of the ftamp aft, was ftill in contemplation. A diflike to Bri^ifh taxation naturally produced a diflike to a board which was to be inftrumental in that bufinefs, and occafioned many infult^ to,, its commiifioners. ^ . The revenue aft of 1767 produced refolves, petitions; addrefTes, , and remonftranoes, fimilar to thofe with which the Colonifts oppofed. the ftamp aft. It alfo gave rife to a fecond aflbciation for fufpending .. farther importations of Britifti raanufaftures, till thefe offenfive duties,:, fhould be taken off, Uniformity, in thefe meafures, was promoted by a circular letter from the Affembly of Maffachufetts to the f akers of other affemblies, This ftated the petitions and repreie uions» which they had forwarded againft the late duties, and ftrongly pointed out the great difiiculties, that rauft arife to themfelves and inf-ir con, ftituents, from the operation of afts of parliament ii"upofing uu-i s on the unreprefented American Colonies, and requcfted a reciprocal free communication on public affairs. Moft of the Provincial Air^m&lies,, as they had opportunities of deliberating on the fubjeft, approved of the proceedings of the Maffachufetts Affembly, and harmonized with them in the meafures which th.ey had adopted. In refolves, they ftived their rights, i^feftiw^4ecent language j and in petitions, they prayed ^46 HISTORY OF THJ^ for.a itpcal ^pf tlic Ute a(5ts, w))icb thoy wnfi^crcd .a$ infringementj on their liberties. ,. , It is not unreafonablc to fuppof^ th^t the Minjiler wljo jphrmtd jthefe duties, hoped that they would h.c reg.arded as regulations of tjade. He might alfo prefume, that as they amounted only to ari inconfideiable fuip, they would not ^give any alarm, The circular letter of the Maffachufetts AITemblyi „\vhich laid the foundation. fo,r united petitions againft them, gave, therefore, great offence., Lord Hilllhorough, who had laxely.been appointed Secretary, of State for ■the American dppaiftmsflt, wrote, letters to the goyen\ors .qf ;he r and manlfelling, a difpofition to throw off all fubordination to Great-Britain, ....ij., ,. In February, 1709, both Houfes of Parliament went one ftep'fceyond all that had preceded. They then concurred in a joint addrefs to his Majefty, in which they exprefled their fatisfaftion in the meafures his Majefty had purfued — gave the ftrongeft aflurances, that they would tlFedually fupport him in -fuch farther meafures as might be found nc- ceffary to maintain the civil magiftrates in a due execution of the laws, in Maflachufett's-Bay, and befeeched him <' to direft the go- vernor to take the moft efFeftual methods for procuring the fulleft infor- mation, touching all treafons or mifprifions of treafons committed within the government, fmce the 30th day of December, 1767 ; and to tranfmit the fame, together with the names of the perfons who were moft aftive in the commifiion of fuch offences, to one of the fecretaries ^ of ftate, in order that his Majefty might iffue a fpecial commiflion for enquiring of, hearing, and determining, the faid offences, within the realm of Great Britain, purfuant to the provifions of the ftatute of the 35th of King Henry the 8th." The latter part of this addrefs, which propofed the bringing of delinquents from Maffachufctts, to be tried at a tribunal in Great Britain, for crimes committed in America, under- went many fevere animadverfions. It was afferted to be totally inconfiftent with the fpirit of the confti- ^ tution, for in England a man charged with a crime> had a right to be tried in the country in which his offence was fuppofed to have been committed. *' juftice is regularly and impartially adminiftered in ouj? court," faid the Colonifts, *' and yet by diredion of Parliament, offend- ers are to be taken by force, together with all fuch perfons as may bq ' pointed out as witneffes, and carried to England, there to be tried in a diftanl land, by a jury of ftrangers, and fubjeft to all the difadvantages which refult from want of friends, want Of witneffes, and want of money." The,Houfe of Burgeffes of Virginia met foon after official accounts ©f the joint addreffes of Lords and Commons on this fubjed reached America; and in a few days after their meeting, paffedrefolutions expreffmg *« their exclufive right to tax their coftftituents, and their right to peti- tion their Sovereign for redrefs of grievances, and the lawfulnefs of |)rocuring the concurrence of the other Colonies in praying for the royal interpofition in favour of the violated rights of America ; and that all trials for treafon, or for any crime whatfoever, committed in VoK I, 3 M that 450 HISTORY OF THE that Colony, ought to be before his Majefty's courts within the faii Colony ; and that the feizing any pcrfon refiding in the faid Colony, fufpefted of any crime whatfoever committed therein, and fending fuch perfon to places beyond the fea to be tried, was highly derogator)' of the rights of Britifti fubjefts/* The next day Lord Botetourt, the go- vernor of Virginia, fent for the Houfe of Burgeffes and addrefled them as follows : «* Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of the Houfe of Burgeffes, I have heard of your refolves, and augur ill of their effed^s. You have made it my duty to diffolve you, and you are diffolved accordingly.'* The Affembly of North-Carolina adopted refolutions, fimilar to thofe of Virginia, for which Tyron their governor diffolved them. The members of the Houfe of Burgeffes in Virginia, and of the Affembly of North-Carolina, after their diffolution, met as private gentlemen, chofe their late fpeakers moderators, and adopted refolutions againft im- porting Britifli goods. The non-importation agreement was in this manner forwarded by the very meafures which were intended to curb the fpirit of American freedom, from which it fprung. Meetings of the affociators were regularly held in the various provinces. Commit- tees were appointed to examine all veffels arpving from Britain. Cen- fures were freely paffed on fuch as refufedto concur in thefe affoclations, and their names publiflied'in the newfpapers as enemies to their country. The regular afts of the Provincial Affemblies were not fo much refj^ded and obeyed as the decrees of thefe committees, the affociations were in general* as well obferved as could be expelled, notvvithftanding there were fome collufions. The fear of mobs, of public refentment and contempt, co-operating with patriotifm, preponderated over private in- tcreft and convenience. One of the importing merchants of Bofton, who hefitatcd in his compliance with the determination of the inhabi- tants, was waited upon by a committee of tradefraen, with an axeman and carpenter at their head, who informed him, " that one thoufand men were waiting for his anfwer, and that if he refufed to comply, they could not tell what might be the confequence." He complied, and the newfpapers foon after publiflied, that he did it voluntarily. In Bofton, Lieut. Governor Hutchinfon endeavoured to promote a counter affociation, but without effed. The friends of importation ob- jeded, that till Parliament made provifion for the punifhment of the confederacies againft importation, a counter-affociation would anfwer no other purjx)fe, than to expofe the affociators to popular rage. The Boftonians, about this time, went one ftep farther. They re- (hipped goods to Great Britain, inftead of ftoring them as formerly. This was refolved upon in a town meeting, on the information of an 3 inbabitantj AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 45I Inhabitant, who communicated a letter that he had lately received from a Member of Parliament, in which it was faid, ** that fhipping back ten thoufand pounds worth of goods would do more than ftoring a hundred thoufand." This turned the fcale, and procured a majority of votes for re-fhipping. Not only in this, but in many other inftances, the violences of the Colonifts were foftered by individuals in Great Britain, A number of thefe were in principle with the Americans, in denying the right of Parliament to tax them, but others were more influenced by a fpirit of oppofition to the minifterial majority, than by a regard to the conftitutional liberties of either country.. The non-importation agreement had now lafted fome time, and by degrees had become general. Several of the colonial aflemblies had been diffolved, or prorogued, for afferting the rights of their confti- tuents. The royal governors, and other friends to an American revenue, were chagrined. The Colonifts were irritated. Good men, both m England and America, deplored thefe untoward events, and beheld with concern an increafing ill humour between thofe, who were bound by in- tereft and affe as defcendants of emigrants from his dominions. The other was entitled, " Rules for reducing a great empire to a fraall one.** In both thefe he had expofed the claims of the Mother Countrj'-, and the proceedings of the Britifh miniftry, with the feverity of poig- nant fat ire. For ten years there had now been but little intermiffion to the dif^ putes between Great Britain and her colonies. Their refpedive claims had never been compromifed on middle ground. The calm which fol- lowed the repeal of the ftamp a was the immediate prelude to the difafters attending civil difcord. Government finding thcmfelvcs everywhere infulted and defpifod, re- folved to enforce their authority by all poffible means ; and as Bofton had been the principle fcene of the riots and outrages, it was deter- mined to punilh that city in an exemplary manner. Parliament was acquainted by a meffage from his Majefty with the undutiful behaviour of the city of Bofton, as well as of all the colonies, recommending at the fame time the raoft vigorous and fpirited exertions to reduce them to obedience. The parJiament in its addrefs promifed a ready com- pliance ; aod indeed the Americans, by their fpirited behaviour, had uow loft many of tbeio: pajtifans. It was propofed to Jay a fine on the town of Bofton equal to the price of the tea which had been deftjoyed, and to ftiut up its port by armed vefTcls until the re- fradory fpirit of the inhabitants (hould be fubdued ; which it was thought muft quickly yield, as a total ftop would thu. e put to their trade. The bill was flron^ly oppofei ou the fame grounds that the 3 N a other s 460 HISTORY OF THE other had been ; and it was prcdided, that inftf ad of having^ any tendency to reconcile or fubdue the Americans, it would infalli. biy exafperate thenj beyond any poffibility of reconciliation. The petitions a^ainft it, prefented by the colony's agent, pointed out the fame confequences in the ftrongeft terms, and in the moft pofitive manner declared that the Americans never would fubmit to it; but fUch was the infatuation attending every rank and degree of men, that it never was imagined the Americans w6uld dare to refew alarm was occafioncd by the news of tTie port-bill. This had been totally unexpcded, and was received with ^he moft extravjgantexpreffionsof difpleafure among the populace; an4 ^hilt ^hefc continued, the new governor, General Gage, arrived fron^ England* AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 46^ England, He had been chofen to this office on account of bis being well acquainted in America, and generally agreeable to the people j but human wifdom cou}d not now point out a method by which the flame could be allayed. The firft aft of his office as governor was to remove ^he affembly to Salem, a town feventeen miles diltant, in confequence of the late ad. When this was intimated to the affembly, they replied hy requeuing him to appoint a day of public humiliation for deprecating the wrath of heaven, but met with a refufal. When met at Salem, they paffed a refolution, declaring the neceffity of a general congrefs compofe4 of delegates from all the provinces, in order to take the affairs of the polonies at large into confideration ; and five gentlemen, remarkable for their oppofition to the Bfitifh meafures, were chofen to reprefent that of MafTachufetts Bay. They then proceeded with all expedition to draw up a declaration, containing a detail of the grievances they laboured under, and the necelTity of exerting themfelves againft lawlefs power; they (tt forth the difregard ihown to their petitions, and the attempts of Great Britain to deftroy theif ^ncient conftitution ; and concluded with px- jhorting the inhabitants of the colony to obftruft, by every method in their power, fuch evil deCgns, recommending at the fame time a total renunciafion of every thing imported from Great Britain till a redrefs of grievances could be procured. Intelligence of this declaration was carried to the governor on the very day that it was completed ; on which he diffolved the affembly. This was followed by an addrefs from the inhabitants of Salem in favour pf thofe of Bofton, and concluding with thefe remarkable words : ** By ftiutting Tip the port of Boflon, fome imagine that the courfe of trade might be turned hither, and to our benefit ; but nature, in the formation, of our harbour, forbids our becoming rivals in commerce with that con- venient mart ; and were it otherwife, we mufl: be dead to every idea of juflice, loft to all feelings of humanity, could we indulge one thought to feize on we4th, and raife our fortunes on the ruin of our fuffering neigh- bours." It had been fondly hoped by the minifterial party at home, that the advantages which other towns of the colony might derive from the an- nihilation of the trade of Bofton would make them readily acquiefce in the meafure of fliutting up that port, and rather rejoice in it than other- wife ; but the words of the addrefs above mentioned feemed to preclude all hope of tjiis kind ; and fubfequent tranfadlions foon manifefted it to be totally vain. No fooner did intelligence arrive of the remaining bill* paffed hi the feffion of 1774, than the caufe of Bofton became the caufc 9f all the colonies. The port-bill had already occafioned violent com- z motions hi 462 HISTORY OF THE motions throughout them all. It had been reprobated in provincial meetings, and refiftance even to the lall had been recommended againft ftich oppreffion. In Virginia, the ift of June, the day on which the port of Boflon was to be Hiut up, was held as a day of humiliation, and a public intercefliou in favour of America was enjoined. The ftyle of the prayer enjoined at this time was, that " God would give the people one heart and one mind, firmly to oppofe every invafion of the American rights.'* The Virginians, however, did not content themfelves with ads of religion. They recommended in the ftrongcft manner a general congrefs of all the colonies, as fully perfuaded that an attempt to tax any colony in an arbitrary manner was in reality an attack upon the whole, and muft ultimately end in the ruin of them all. The provinces of New York and Pennfylvanla, hoMevcr, were lefs fan- guine than the reft, being fo clofely conneded in the way of trade with Great Britain, that the giving it up entirely appeared a matter of the moft feriou* magnitude, and not to be thought of but after every other method had failed. The intelligence of the remaining bills refpefting Bofton, however, fpread a frelh alarm throughout the continent, and fixed thofc who had feemcd to be the moft wavering. The propofal of giving up all commercial intercourfe with Britain was again propofed ; contributions for the inhabitants of Bofton were raifed in every quarter; and they every day received addreffes commending them for ibe heroic courage with which they fuitained their -calamity. The Boftonians on their part were not wanting in their endeavours to promote the general caufe. An agreement was framed, which, in imita- tion of former times, they called a Solemn League and Covenant. By this the fubfcribers moft rtligioufly bound themfelves to break off all communication with Britain after the month of Auguft enfuing, until the obnoxious afts were repealed ; at the fame time they engaged neither to purchafe nor ufe any goods imported after tliat time, and to renounce all connexion with thofc who did, or who refufed to fubfcribe to this cove- nant ; threatening to publifh the names of the rcfradlory, which at this time was a puniftiment by no means to be defpifed. Agreements of a fimilar kind were almoft inftantaneoufly entered into throughout all America. General Gage indeed attempted to countcrad the covenant by a proclamation, wherein it was declared an illegal and iralterous combination, threatening with the pains of law fucH as fubfcribed or countenanced it. But matters were too far gone for his proclamations to have any efFeft. The Americans retorted the charge of illegality on }ih own proclamation, and iiiHIlcd that the law allowed fubjefts to meet AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 463 in order to confider of their grievances, and aflbciate for relief from oppreffion. Preparations were now made for holding the general congrefs fo often propofed. Philadelphia, as being the nioft centrical and confiderable town, was pitched upon for the place of its meeting. The delegates of whom it was to be compofed were chofen by the reprefentatlves of each province, and were in number from two to feven for each colony, though no province had more than one vote. The firft congrefs which met at Philadelphia, in the beginning of September 1774, confifted of fifty-one delegates. The novelty and importance of the meeting excited an uni- verfal attention ; and their tranfaftions were fuch as could not but tend to render them refpeftable. The firft aft of congrefs was an approbation of the conduft of Mafla- chufct's Bay, and an exhortation to continue in the fame fpirit with which they had begun. Supplies for the fuffe ring inhabitants, whom in- deed the operation of the port-bill had reduced to great diftrefs, were ftrongly recommended ; and it was declared, that in cafe of attempts to enforce the obnoxious ads by arms, all America Ihould join to aflift the town of Bofton ; and fhouid the inhabitants be obliged, during the courfe of hoililities, to remove farther up the country, the loiTes they might fuftain fhouid be repaired at the public expence. They next addrefied General Gage by letter; in which, having ftated the grievances of the people of Mafiachufet's colony, they informed him of the fixed and unalterable determination of all the other provinces to fupport their brethren, and to oppofe the Britifh afts of parliament; that they themfelves were appointed to watch over the liberties of America ; and intreated him to defift from military operations, left fuch hoftilities might be brought oji as would fruftrate all hopes of reconcili- ation with the parent ftate. The next ftep was to publifti the following declaration of iheif rights. Declaration of Rights. The good people of the feveral Colonics of New Hampftiire, Mafla- thufett's-Bay, Rhode-Ifland, and Providence Plantations, Connefticut, New York, New Jerfey, Pennfylvania, Newcaftle, Kent, and Suffex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, alarmed at the arbitrary proceedings of the Britifli Parliament and Ad- miniftration, having feverally elefted deputies to meet and fit in General Congrefs in the city of Philadelphia, and thofe deputies fo chofea being aflembled on the 5th day of September, after fettling feferal neceffary preliminaries, proceeded to take into their moft ferious confideration tht 454 HISTORY OF TliE the beft means of attaining the rcdrcfs of grievances. In the firft placf^ they, as Engliftimen, (and as their anccftors, in like cafes, have ufuall/ done, for aflerting and vindicating their rights and liberties,) declare, That the inhabitants of the EngliHi Colonies in North America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the EngliOi Conftitutiort, and the feveral Charters or Compad^s, have the following rights : — Refolved, nem, con, i. That they are entitled to life, liberty, and pro- perty; and have never ceded, to a^y fovereign power whatever, a right to difpofe of either without their confent. Refoved, n, c. 2. That our anceftors were, at tlie time of their trai- gration from the Mother-Country, entitled to all the rights, liberties, and immunities, of free and natural-born fubjefts within the realm of England. Refolved, ». c. 3. That, by fuch emigration, they neither forfeited, iurrendered, nor loft, any of thofc rights. Refolved, n. c, 4. That the foundation of Englifh liberty, and of all free government, is a right in the people to participate in their Legifla- tive Council ; and as the Englifli Colonifts are not reprefented, and> from their local and other circumftances, cannot properly be reprefented in the Eritilh Parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclufive power of legiflation, in their feveral Provincial Lcgiflatnrcs, where their right of reprefentation can alone be preferved, in all cafes of taxation and internal polity, fubjeft only to the negative of their Sovereign, in fuch manner as has been heretofore ufed and accuftomed : but, from the ne- ccffity of the cafe, and a regard to the mutual interefts of both coun- tries, we chearfully confent to the operation of fuch Afts of the Britifn Parliament as are, bona fide y reftrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpofe of fecuring the commercial advantages of the whole Empire to the pother-Country, and the commercial benefits of its refpe(5\ive members^ excluding every idea of taxation, internal or ex- ternal, for raifmg a revenue, on the fubjefts in America without theit confent. Refolved, n.c. 5. That the refpe(f^ive Colonies are entitled to th6 Common Law of England^ and, more efpecially, to the great and in- eftimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinage, accord- ing to the courfe of that law. Refolved, 6. That they arc entitled to the benefit of fuch of the Englifh Statutes as exifted at the time of their colonization, and which they have, by experience, refpedlively found to be applicable to theit feveral local and other circumftances, Refolved, AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 465 Refolved, «. f , 7. That thefe, his Majefty's Colonies, are likewife entitled to all the immunities and privileges, granted and confirmed to them by Royal Charters, or fecured by their feveral codes of Provincial Lawsv Refolvedj n> c, 8. That they have a right peaceably to aflemble, con- fider of their grievances, and petition the King ; and that all profecu- ^ tions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the Tame, are I illegal. Refolved, n, c. ^. Tbat the keeping a ftmdlng army in thefe Colonies, in times of peace, without the confent of the legillature of that colony in which fuch army is kept, is againft law. Refolved, z?. c, 10. It is indifpenfibly necelfary to good government, and rendered eflential by the Englifti Conftitution, that the conftituent branches of the legillature be independent of each other ; that, there- fore, the exercife of legiflative power, in feveral Colonies, by a Council appointed during pleafure by the Crown, is unconftitutional, dangerous, and deftruftive to the freedom of American legiflation. All and each of which, the aforefaid Deputies, in behalf of them felves and their conftituents, do claim, demand, and infift on, as their indubit- able rights and liberties, which cannot be legally taken from them, altered or abridged by any power whatever, without their own confent, by their Reprefentatives in their feveral provincial legiflatures. Refolved, n, c. That the following Ads of Parliament are infringe- ments and violatioris of the rights of the Colonifts ; and that the repeal of them is effentially neceflary, in order to reftore harmony betweea Great Britain and the American colonies, viz. The feveral Ads of 4 Geo. III. ch. 15. and ch. 34.-5 Geo. III. ch. 25. — 6 Geo. III. ch. 52. — 7 Geo. III. ch. 41. and ch. 46. — 8 Geo. III. ch. 22, which impofe duties for the purpofe of raiiing a revenue in America, extend the powers of the Admiralty Courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American fubjeft of trial by Jury, au- thorife the Judges certificate to indemnify the profecutor from damages that he might othervvife be liable to, requiring oppreffive fecurity from a claimant of {hips and goods feized, before he Ihall be allowed to defend his proj^rty, and are fubverfive of American rights. Alfo 12 Geo. III. ch. 24. intituled, " An Aft for the better fecuring his Majefty's dock-yards, magazines, (hips, ammunition, and (lores ;" which declares a new offence in America, and deprives the American fubjefts of a conftitutional trial by Jury of the vicinage, by authorifing the trial of any perfon charged with the committing any offence de- VoL. I, 3 O fcribed 466 HISTOKY OF THE fcribed in the faid Aft out of the realm, to be indifted and tried for the fame in any (hire or county within the realm. Alfo the three Afts paffed in the laft Seffion of Parh'ament, for ftop- ing the port and blocking up the harbour of Bofton, for altering the charter and government of Maffachufett's-Bay, and that which is in- tituled, «' An Aft for the better adminiftration of juftice, &c/* Alfo the Aft paffed in the fame Seffion for cftablifliing the Roman Catholic religion in the Province of Quebec, abolifhing the equitable fyftem of Englifti laws, and erefting a tyranny there, to the great danger, from fo total a diffimilarity of religion, law, and government, of the neighbouring Britifli Colonies, by the affiftance of whofe blood and treafure the faid country was conquered from France. Alfo the Aft paffed in the fame Seffion for the better providing fuit- able quarters for officers and foldiers in his Majefty's fervice in North- America. Refolved, That this Congrefs do approve of the oppofition made by the inhabitants of the Maffachufett's-bay, to the execution of the faid late Afts of Parliament ; and if the fame fhall be attempted to be carried into execution by force, in fuch cafe, all America ought to fupport them in their oppofition. Refolved, That the removal of the people of Bofton into the country, would be not only extremely difficult in the execution, but fo impor- tant in its confequences, as to require the utmoft deliberation before it is adopted. But in cafe the Provincial Meeting of that Colony (hall judge it ab/olutelj neceffary, it is the opinion of this Congrefs, that all America ought to contribute towards recompenfing them for the injury they may thereby fuftain. ' Refolved, That this Congrefs do recommend to the inhabitants of Mafitichufett's-bay, to fubmit to a fufpenfion of the adminiftration of juftice, where it cannot be procured in a legal and peaceable manner, under the rules of the charter, and the laws founded thereon, until the effefts of our application for the repeal of the Afts by which their charter-rights are infringed, is known. Refolved 'unanimoufly. That every perfon who (hall take, accept, or aft under any commiffion or authority, in any wife derived from the aft paffed in the laft Seffion of Parliament, changing the form of Govern- ment, and violating the chaher of the Province of Maffachufett's-Bay, ought to be held in deteftation, and confidered as the wicked tool of that defpotifm which is preparing to deftroy thofe rights which God* nature, and CQmpaft, hath given to America. j / 3 Refolved AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 467 Rcfolved unanimoully, That the people of Bofton and the Maffachu- fett's-bay, be advifed ftill to conduft themfelves peaceably towards his Excellency General Gage, and his Majefty's troops now ftationed in th» town of Bofton, as far as can poflibly confift with their immediate fafety and the fecurity of the town; avoiding and difeountenancing every violation of his Majefty*s property, or any infult to his troops ; and that they peaceably and firmly perfevere in the line in which they are now conducing themfelves on the defenfive. Refolved, That the feizing, or attempting to feize, any perfon in . America, in order to tranfport fuch perfon beyond the fea, for trial of offences, committed within the body of a county in America, being againft law, will juftify, and ou^ht to meet with refiftance and reprifal, A copy of a letter to General Gage was brought into Congrefs, and, agreeable to order, figned by the Prefident, and is as follows : 'Philadelphia^ Od. 10, 1774. " Sir, ^ , ** The inhabitants of the town of Bofton have informed us, the Re- prefentatives of his Majefty's faithful fubjefts in all the Colonics from Nova-Scotia to Georgia, that the fortifications eredling within that town, the frequent invafions of private property, and the repeated infults they receive from the foldiery, hath given them great reafon to fufpcdl a plan is formed very deftruftive to them, and tending to overthrow the liberties of America. ** Your Excellency cannot be a ftrangerto the fentiaients of America with refped to the late Ads of Parliament, under the execution of which thofe unhappy people are opprefTed ; the approbation univerfally exprelTed of their condu(5t, and the determined refolution of the Colo- nies, for the prefervation of their Common Rights, to unite in their op- pofition to thofe Ads, In confequence of thefe fentiments, they have • appointed us' the guardians of their rights and liberties, and we are under the deepeft concern, that, whilft we are purfuing every dutiful and peaceable meafure, to procure a cordial and efFeftual reconciliation between Great Britain and the Colonies, your Excellency Ihould pro- ceed in a manner that bears fo hoftile an appearance, and which even thofe oppreffive Afts do not warrant. We entreat your Excellency to confider, what tendency this condud niuft have to irritate and force a people, however well difpofed to peaceable meafures, into hoftilities, which may prevent the endeavours of this Congrefs to reftore a good underftanding with a Parent State, and may involve us in the horrors of a civil war, 3Qa «Ia 468 HISTORV OF THE *' In order therefore to quiet the minds, and remove the rcafonable jealoufics of the people, that they may not be driven to a ftate of defpcra- tion, being fully perfuaded of their pacific difpofition towards the King's troops, could they be affured of their own fafety ; we hope. Sir, you will difcontinue the fortifications in and about Bofton, prevent any further invafions of private property, reftrain the irregulariiies of the foldicrs, and give orders that the communications between that town and country may be open, unmolefted, and free. •' Signed, by order and in behalf of the General Congrefs, PEYTON RANDOLPH, Prefidcnt." They further declared in favour of a non-importation and non-con- fumption of Eritifh goods until the a«5ls were repealed by which duties were impofed upon tea, coffee, wine, fugar, and molafles, imported into America, as well as the Boflon port-ad, and the three others pafled in the preceding feffion of parliament. The new regulations againfl the importation and confumption of Britifh commodities were then drawn up with great folemnity ; and they concluded with returning the warmed thanks to thofe members of parliament who had with fo much zeal, though without any fuccefs, oppofed the obnoxious afts of parliament. Their next proceedings were to frame a petition to the King, an ad- drefs to the Britifh nation, and another to the colonies ; all of which were fo much in the ufual ftrain of American language for fome time paft, that it is needlefs to enter into any pafticular account pf them. It is fufficient to fay that they were all drawn up in a mafic rly manner, and ought to have imprefled the people of this country with a more fa- vourable idea of the Americans than they could at that time be induced to entertain. All this time the difpofition of the people had correfponded with thq warmeft wilhes of congrefs. The firfi of June had been kept as a faft, not only throughout Virginia, where it was firft propofed, but through the whole continent. Contributions for the diftrefles of Bofton had been raifed throughout America, and people of all ranks feemed to be particularly touched with them. Even thofe who feemed to be moil likely to derive advantages from them took no opportunity, as has been already inftanced in the cafe of Salem. The inhabitants of Marble* head alfo Ihewed a noble example of magnanimity in the prefent cafe* Though fituated in the neighbourhood of Bofton, and moft likely to de- rive benefit from their diftrefles, they did not attempt to take any ad- vantage, but generoufly offered the ufe of their harbour to the Bofton- iansj AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 46^ ians, as well as their wharfs and warehoufes, free ©f all expence. In the mean time the Britifh forces at Bofton were continually increafing in number, which greatly augmented the general jealoufy and difafFec- tioH ; the country were ready to rife at a moment's warning ; and the experiment was made by giving a falfe alarm that the communication between the town and country was to be cut off, in order to reduce the former by famine to a compliance with the ads of parliament. On this intelligence the country people affembled in great numbers, and could not be fatisfied till they had fent meffengers into the city to enquire into the truth of the report. Thefe meffengers were enjoined to inform the town's people, that if they ihould be fo pufillanimous as to make a fur- render of their liberties, the province would not think itfelf bound by fuch examples ; and that Britain, by breaking their original charter, had annulled the contraft fubfifting between them, and left them to adl as they thought proper. The people in every other refpe(fl manifefted their inflexible determi- nation to adhere to the plan they had fo long followed. The new coun- fellors and judges were obliged to refigtl their offices, in order to prefervc their lives and properties from the fury of the multitude. In feme places they fhut up the avenues to the court-houfes ; and when required to make way for the judges, replied, that they knew of none but fuch as were appointed by the ancient ufage and cuftom of the province. Every where they manifefted the moft ardent defire of learning the art of war; and every individual who could bear arms, was moft afliduous in procuring them, and learning their exerclfe. Matters at laft proceeded to fuch an height, that General Gage thought proper to fortify the neck of land, which joins the town of Bofton to the continent. This, though undoubtedly a prudent meafure in his fitua- tion, was exclaimed agalnft by the Americans in the moft vehement manner; but the General, inftead of giving car to their remonftrances, deprived them of all power of ading againft himfelf, by feizing the pro- vincial powder, amunltion, and military ftores, at Cambridge and Charleftown, This excited fuch indignation, that it was with the ut- moft difficulty the people could be reftralned from marching to Bofton and attacking the troops. Even in the town itfelf, the company of cadets that ufed to attend him dlft^anded themfeives and returned the ftandard, he had as ufual prefented them with on his acceffion to the go- vernment. This was occafioned by his having deprived the celebrated John Hancock, afterwards prefident of the congrefs, of his commiffion ^ (Colonel of the cadets. A fimilar inftance happened of a provincial colonel 470 HISTORY OF THE colone] having accepted a feat in tl.e new council ; upon wliich twenty^ four officers of his regiment refigned their commiifions in one day. In the mean time a meeting was lield of the principal inhabitants of the towns adjacent to Bofton, The purport of this was publicly to re- nounce all obedience to the late ads of parliament, and to form an en- gagement to indemnify fuch as lliould be profecutcd on that account ; the members of the new council were declaied violaters of the rights of their country ; all ranks and degrees were exhorted to learn the ufe of arms; and the receivers of the public revenue were ordered not to de- liver it into the treafury, but retain it in their ow n h-^nds till the con- ftitution (hould be reftored, or a provincial congrefs diipofe of it other- wife. A remonflrance againft the foriificatIi''ns on Bofton Neck was next prepared ; in which, however, they ftill pretended their unwillingnefs to proceed to any hoftile meafures ; aflerting only as ufual their firm determination not to fubmit to the ads of parliament they had already fo much complained of. The Governor, to rcilore tranquillity, if pof- fible, called a general affcmbly ; but fo many of the council had re- figned their feats, that he was inductAi^ to countermand its fitting by proclamation. This meafure, however, was deemed iiiegal ; the affcmbly met at Salem ; and after waiting a day fcr the Governor, voted them- felves into a provovincial congrefs, of vv liich IVJr. Hancock was chofen Prefident. A committee was inftantly appointed, who waited on the governor with a remonflrance concerning the fortifications on BofloQ Keck ; but nothing of confequence took place, both parlies mutually criminating each other. The winter was now coming on, and the Go- vernor, to avoid quartering the foldiers upon the inhabitants, propofed to ered barracks for them ; but the feled men of Bofton compelled the workmen to defift. Carpenters were fent for to New York, but they were refufcd ; and it was with the utmoft difficulty that he could pro- cure winter lodgings for his troops. Nor was the difficulty lefs in pro- curing clothes ; as the merchants of New York told him, that ** they would never fupply any article for the benefit of men fent as enemies to their country.'* This difpofition, known to be almofl univerf^ throughout the conti- nent, was in the highefl degree fali>fadory to congrefs. Every one faw that the enfuing fpring was to be the feafon for commencing hoftilities, and the mofl indefatigable diligence was ufed for t}\c colonies to be well provided againft fueh a formidable enemy. A lift of the fencible men in each colony was made out, and efpecially of thofe who had ferved in the former war ; of whom they had the fatisfadion to fin^ tha^ AMERICAN REVOLUTION. AJt that two-thirds were ftill alive and fit to bear arms. Magazines of arms were colleded, and money was provided for the payment of troops. The governors in vain attempted to put a flop to thefe proceedings by pro- clamations ; the fatal period vi^as now arrived ; and the more the fer- vants of government attempted to reprefs the fpirit of the American?, the more violent it appeared. The beginning of ftrife between the Parent ^tatc and her Colonies- was like the letting out of waters. From inconfidcrable caufes love was changed into fufpicion that gradually ripened into ill will, and fooa ended in hoftility. Prudence, policy, and reciprocal intereft, urged the expediency of concelTion; but pride, falfc honour, and mifconceived dignity drew in an oppofite direflion. Undecided claims and doubtful rights, which under the influence of wifdom and humility might have been eafily compromifcd, imperceptibly widened into an irreconcileabic breach. Hatred at length took the place of kind affedlions, and the calamities of war were fubftituted in lieu of the benefits of commerce. From the year 1768, in which a military force had been ftationed in ^ Bofton, there was a conftant fucceffion of infulting words, looks, and geftures. The inhabitants were ex afpe rated againft the foldiers, and they againft the inhabitants. The former looked on the latter as the inftruments of tyranny, and the latter on the former as feditious rioters, or fraudulent fmugglers. In this irritable ft ate, every incident, however trifling, made a fenfible impreffion. The citizens apprehended conftant danger from an armed force, in whofe power they were ; the foldiers, on the other hand, confidered theisfelves as in the midft of their ene- mies, and expofed to attacks from within and without. In proportion as the breach between Great Britain and her colonies widened, the dif- truft and animofity between the people and the army increafed. From the latter end of 1774, hoftile appearances daily threatened that the flames of war would be kindled from the collifion of fuch inflammable materials. Whatfoever was done by either party by way of precau- tion, for the purpofes of felf-defence, was conftrued by the other as preparatory to an intended attack. Each difclaimed all intentions of commencing hoftilities, but reciprocally manifefted fufpicion of the other's fincerity. As far as was pradicable without an open rupture, the plans of the one were refpeftively thwarted by the other. From every appearance it became daily more evident that arra^ muft ultimately de- cide the conteft. To fufFer an army that was fobn expefted to be an enemy, quietly to fortify themfclves, when the inhabitants wefe Tx>th ^?-; able and willing to cut them off*, appeared to fdme warm fpirits the height of folly ; but the prudence and moderation of others, and efpe- ' ' cially 472 HISTORY OF THE 1 cially the advice and recommendation of Congrefs, reft rained their im* petuofit)'. It was a fortunate ciicumftance for the colonies that the royal army was pofted in New England. The people of that northern country have their pafllons more under the command of reafon and inte- icft, than in the fquthcrn latitudes, where a warmer fun excites a greater degree of irafcibility. One rafli offenfivc aflion againft the royal forces at this early period, though fuccefsful, might have done great mifchief to the caufe of America. It would have loft them European friends, and weakened the difpofition of the other colonies to affift them. The patient and politic New- England men, fully fenfibleof their fituation, fubmitted to many infults, and bridled their refentment. In civil wars or revolutions, it is a matter of much confequence who ftrikes the firft blow. The compaffion of the world is in favour of the at- tacked, and the difpleafure of good men on thofe who are the fiiil to imbrue their hands in human blood. For the fpace of nine months after the arrival of General Gage, the behaviour of the peo- ple of Bofton is particularly worthy of imitation, by thofe who wifli to overturn eftabli(hed gevernments. They conduced their oppofition with exquifite addrefs. They avoided every kind of outrage and vio- lence, prefcrved peace and good order among themfelves, fuccesfully engaged the other Colonies to make a common caufe with them, and counteraded General Gage fo efFedually, as to prevent his doing any thing for his royal mafter, while by patience and moderation they Ikreened themfelves from cenfure. Though rcfolved to bear as long as prudence and policy didated, they were all the time preparing for the laft extremity. They were furnifhing themfelves with arras and ammu- nition, aiid training their militia. Provifions were alfo collefted and ftored in different places, particu- larly at Concord, about twenty miles from Bofton. General Gage, though zealous for his royal matter's intereft, difcovered a prevailing defire after a peaceable accommodation. He wiftied to prevent hoftili- ties by depriving the inhabitants of the means neceffary for carrying them on. With this view he determined to deftroy the ftores which he knew were coUefted for the fupport of a provincial army. Wifhing to accomplilh this without bloodftied, he took every precaution to efFe<5t it by furprife, and without alarming the country. At eleven o'clock at night on April 18, eight hundred grenadiers and light infantry, the flower of the royal army, embarked at the Common, landed at Phipps's farm, and marched for Concord, under the command of Lieutenant- colonel Smith. Neither the fecrecy with which this expedition was planned. AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 473 planned, the privacy with which the troops, marched out, nor an order that no one inhabitant Ihould leave Boflon, were fufHclmt to prevent intelligence from being fent to the counrr v militia, of what was going on. About two in the morning one hundred and thirty of the Lexington mili- tia had afTembled to oppofe thcmj but the air being chiilv, and intelligence refpeding the regulars uncertain, they were difmiflTcd, with orders to appear again at beat of dram. They collected a fecond time to the number of feventv, between four and five o'clock in the morning, and tJie Bririfh regulars foon after made their appearance. Major Pitcairn, who led the advanced corp?, rode up to the in a-^3 called out, " DIf* perfe, you rebels; throw down your arms and difperfe." They ftill continued in a body, on^ which he advanced ner.rer — difcharged his piflol — and ordered his foljUers to fire. This '.va:i done wich a huzza, ^ difperfion of the militia was tlie confequence, but the firing of the regulars wi s neverthelefs continued. Individuals finding they were fired upon, though difi^errmg, returned the fire. Three or four of the militia were kiUed on the green; a few more were (hot after they had begun to dlfperfe. The royal detachment proceeded on to Concord, and executed their commiffion. They dibbled two twenty- four pounders . threw five hundred pounds of bail into rivers and wellr,and broke in pieces about fixty barrels of flour. Mr. John Butrerick ofConcorl, ma- jor ofa minute regiment, not knowing what had pafled at Lexington, or- dered his men not to give the firft fir'*, that they m-ght not be the ag- greffors. Upon his approaching near the regulars, th^v fired, and killed Captain Ifaac Davis, and one private of the provincial minute men. The fire was recurne^ and a f^irmifh enfued. The King's troops having done their bufmefs, began their retreat towards Bofton. T\\\% was conduifled with expedition, for the adjacent inhabitants had affem- bled in arms, and began to attack them in every direction. In their return to Lexington they were exceedingly annoyed, both by thofe who prefied on their rear, and others who pouring in on all fides, fired from behind ftone walls, and fuch like coverts, which fupplied the place of lines and redoubts. At Lexington the regulars were joined by a '^ detachment of nine hundred men, under Lord Piercy, which had been fent out by General Gage to fupport Lieutenant-colonel Smith. This reinforcement having tv/o pieces of cannon awed the provincials, and kepc them at a greater diaance, but thev continued a conftant, though irregular and fcattering fire, which did great execution. The clofe firing from behind the walls by good markfmen, put the regular troops in no fmall confufion, but they neverthelefs kept up a brilk retreating fire on the militia and miiiote men. A little after funfet the regolars 474 HISTORY OF THE readied Banker's HIII, worn down with cxceflire fatignc, haring marched that day between thirty and forty miles. On the next day they croffid Charlsflown ferry, and returned to Bofton. There never were niore than four hundred provincials engaged at one time, and often not fo many ; as fome tired and gave out, others came up and took their places. There was fcarcely any difciplinc obfcrved among them : officers and privates fired when they were ready, and faw a royal uniform, without waiting for the w( rd of command. Their knowledge of the country enabled them to gain opportunities by crofTmg fields and fences, and to afl as flanking parties againfl the King's troops who kept to the main road. The regulars had fixty-five killed, one hundred and eighty wounded, and twenty-eight made prifoners. Of the pivincials fifty were killed, and thirty -eight wounded and mifTmg. As arms were to decide the controverfy, it was fortunate for the Americans that the firft- blood was drawn in New England. The in- habitants of that country are fo connedled with each other by defcent, jTiannsers, religion, politics, and a general equality, that the killing of a fmgle individual intereiled the whole, ar.d made them confider it as a common cauf-, The blood of thofe who were killed at Lexing- ton and Concord proved the firm cement of an extenfive union. To prevent the people "within Bofton from co-operating with their countrymen without, in cafe of an alTaulr, 'vhich was now daily expedlcd, Gener:il GagCf April ?2, agreed with a committee of the town, that upon the inhabitants lodging their arms in FaneuIi-hall,orany other conveni- ent place, under the care of the feled m.en, all fuch inhabitants as were inclined, might depart from the town, with their families and effeds. In five days after the ratification of this agreement, the iiT- Jiabitants had Lpdged one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-eight fire arms, fix hundred and thirty- four piftols, two hundred and fe, yenty- three bayonets, and thirty-eight blunberbuffes. The agreement was well obferved in the begining, but after a (hort time obftruftions were thrown in the way of its final completion, on the plea that pep- fons who went from Bofton to bring in the goods of thofe who choffe to continue within the town, were not properly treated. Congrefs remonft rated on the infraftion of the agreement, but without tSc:{\» The General, on a farther confideration of the confequences of moving tlie whi?s out of Bofton, evaded it in a manner not confident with good faith. He was in fome meafurc compelled to adopt this dif- nonourable meafure, from the clamour of the tories, who alledged, tljat none but enemies to the Britilh government were difpofed to remove* AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 475 l^rtiovft, and that when they were all fafe with iheir families and ef- feds, the town would be fet on fire. To prevent the provincials from obtaining fupplies which they much wanted, a quibble was made on the meaning of the word etFe»fls, which was conftrued by the General as not including merchandize. By this conftrudion, unwarranted by every rule of genuine interpretation, many who quitted the tov/n were deprived of their ufual refources for a fupport, Paffports were not • n<»nt^gainft the Britirti burned wore ftrongly than ever. Martial rage tcok •poffcfTmn of the breads of ihoufands. Combinations were formed and aifGciations fubfcribed, binding the inhabitants to one another by the facred ties of honour, religion and love of country, to do whatever their public bodies di- rected for the pre-lcrva-tion of their liberties. Hitherto the Americans had no r<^gular anny. From principles of policy they cautioully avoided that irit3G.fure, left they might fabjeifi themfelvcs to the charge of being aggrelfors. All thc;r military regulations were carried on by their militia, and under the old eftablilhed laws of the land. For the defence of the Colonies, the inhabitants had been, frOm their early years, enrolled in companies, and taught the ufe of arms. The laws for this purpofe had never been better obfervcd than for feme months pievious to t'le Lexington battle. Thefe military a rrangements, which had been previoully adopted for defending the Colonies from hoflile French and Indians, were on this occafion turned againft tho troops of the Parent State. Forts, magazines, and arfenals, by the conftitution of the country, were in the keeping of his Majcfty, Imme- diately after the Lexington battle, thefe were for the moft part taken poflelTion of throughout the' Colonies, by parties of the provincial mi- litia. Ticonderoga, in which was a fmall royal garrifon, was fux- prifed and taken by^ad venturers from different Hates. Public money which had been colleC€nfure, and without giving offence or hazarding .the. union. The ■Lexington battle not-only furnifned the Americans with a juftifying apology for raifing an army, but infpired them with ideas of their awn |)rOvvers. Amidit the moll animated declarations of £acrrificing.fortunc» and rifqiung life irfeiffor the fecurity of American rights, a fecrcC figh would frequently efcape from the breads ot her moft determined friends, for fear that they could not ilaad before the bravery anddif- cipline of Britilh troops. Hcary fagcs would fiiake their heads and ■fay, '* Your caufe is good, and I wiHi you fuccef, but I fear that your "Undifciplined valour mufi be overcome in the unequal conteff. After ^ f&w thoufands of you have fallen, the Provinces nufl .uitinrateiy bcw ■to that power which has.fo repcatetlly humbled France and Spain." ■So confident were the Britifh of their fuperiority in arms, that, they •feemed deiirous that the conteft might be brought to a military de- cifion. Some of the dillinguilbed fpeakers in Parliament had publicly afferted that the natives of i\merica had nothing of the foidier in thena, and that they v/ere in no re.fpecl qualified to face a Britilh army, £u- Topean philofophers had pubiilhed theories, fetting forth that not only ^vegetables and beafts, but that even men degenerated in the^wcftern •heroifphere. Departing from the fpirit of true philofophy, they over- looked the date cf fociety in the new world, and charged a comparative inferiority on every production that was American. The Coionifts themfeives had imbibed opinions from their forefathers, that no peo- ple on earth were equal to thofe v^ith vvhom thsy were about to con- tend. Impreficd witli high ideas of EritiUi fuperiority, and diiiident of themfeives, their beft informed citizens, thou^^h willing to run all ■■'tifques, feared the confequence of an appeal to arms. The fueccfs that itteaded their full military enterprize in fome degree baniihed thefc fiu,geitions. 478 HISTORY OF THE fuggeftions. Perhaps in no fubfcqucnt battle did the Americans appear to greater advantage than in their firft eflay at Lexington. It is almoit withoat parallel in n^ilitary hiftory, for the yeomenrv of the country to come forward in a fingle disjointed manner, without order, and for th« xnoft part without officers, and by an irregular fire put to flight troops equal in difciplinc to any in the world. In oppofition to the bold af- fertions offomc, and the defponding fears of others, experience proved that Americans might effectually refift Britilh troops. The diffident grew bold in their country's caufe, and indulged in cheerful hopes that Heaven would finally crown their labours with fuccefs. Soon after the Lexington battle, and in confequencc of the event, not only the arms, ammunition, forts, and foitiScations, in the Colonies were fecurcd for the ufe of the Provincials, but regular forces were raifed, and money flruck tor their fupport. Thefe military arrangements were not confined to the New England flates, but were general throughout die Colonies. Tlie determination of the king and parliament to en. force fubmiffion to their acls, and the news of the Lexington battle* came to the diilant provinces nearly about the fame time. It was fup- pofed by many that the latter was ia confequencc of the former, and that General Gage had recent orders to proceed immediately to fubduc the refraflor)' Colonics. From a variety of circumftancf s the Americans had good reafon to conclude that hollilities would foon be carried on vigoroufly in MafTa- chafetts, and alfo to apprehend that, fooner or later, each province would be the theatre of war. <' The more fpeedilv, therefore, faii they, we are prepared for that event, the better chance v/e have foj de- fending ourfelvcs." Previous to this period, cr rather to the 19th of April, 1775* the difpute had been carried on by the pen, or at mofl by affociations and legifiative afts ; but from this time forward it wa« condufted by the fword. The crifls v^as arrived when the Colonies had no alternative, but either to fubmit to t^.e mercy, or to refill the power of Great Britain. An unconquerable love of liberty could not brook the idea of fubmiffion, while reafon, more temperate in her deci- fions, fuggefted to the people their infuSF.ciency to make effeftual oppo- fition. They were fully apprized of the power of Britain — they knew that her fleets covered the ocean, and that her flag had waved in tri- umph through the four quarters of the globe j but the animated language of the time- was, " It is better to die freemen than to live ilavei." Though the jullice of thei'r caufe, and the infpiratlon of liberty gave, in the opinion of difmterefted judges, a fuperiority to the writing* of Americans, yet in the latter mode of conducing their oppofition, the candid AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 479 •andld among themfelves acknowledged an inferiority. Their form of government was deficient in that decifion, difpatch, and coercion, which are neceflary in military operations. In the year 1775, a martial fpirit pervaded all ranks of men in the Colonics. They believed their liberties to be in danger, and were ge- nerally difpofed to rifque their lives for their cftablilhment. Their ig- norance of the military art prevented their weighing the chances of war with that exadnefs of calculation which, if indulged, might have damped their hopes. They conceived that there was little more to do than fight manfully for their country. They confoled themfelves with the idea, that though their firft attempt might be unfuccefsful, their numbers would admit of a repetition of the experiment, tf!l the in- vaders were finally exterminated. Not confidering that in modern war the longell: purfe decides of tener than the longeft fwordjthey feared not the wealth of Britain. They both expeifled and wiOied that the whole difpute would be fpeedily fettled in a few decifive engagements. Ele- vated with the love of liberty, and buoyed above the fear of confc- quenoes, by an ardent military enthufiafin, unabated by calculations about the extent, duration, or probable iffue of the war, jhe people of America feconded the voice of their rulers, in an appeal to Heaven for the vindication of their rights. At the time the Colonies adopted thefe fpirlted refolutions, they pofTeifed not a fmgle (hip of war, nor fo much as an armed veffel ef any kind. It had often been fuggeiled, that their feaport towns lay at the mercy of the navy of Great Britain; this was both known and believed, but difregarded. The love of pro- perty v/as abforbed in the love of libertv. The ifnimated votaries of the equal rights of human nature, confoled themfelves with the idea, that though their whole fea coaft (hould be laid in allies, they could re- tire to the weftern wUdernefs, and enjoy the luxury of being free ; on this occafion It was obferved in Congrefs by ChriRopher Gadflen, one of the South Carolina delegates, *' Our hojfes being conftruded of brick, ftone, and wood, though deftroyed may be rebuilt, but liberty C>nce gone is loft for ever.'*' The fober difcretlon of the prefent age will more readily cenfure than admire, but can more eafily admire than imitate the fervid zeal of the patriots of 1775, who in idea facrificed prcperty in the caufe of U- berty, with the eafe that they now facrifice aimoitc.ery other confider- ation for the acquifition of property, , • ;' /•' .• The Revenues ct Britain were immenfe, and her people were habitu- ilted to the payment of large fumr, in every form which contributions to government have aduraed ] but the Arperic^n Colonies poffeiTcd neither money 4^0 HISTORY OP THE money nrjr fands» nor were their pcopfestcaiftomcd to taxes equal to th« e>;igenees of vtrar. The conteft having^ begun about taxation* to hava FJi'fed money by tixes for carrvina^ it on would have been impolitic. The rc:T)p<».r of the times precluded the nccciTity of attempting the dan- gerous expedient, for fuch was theenthufiafm of the day, that the Con lonifts gave up both their perfonal fervices and their property to ths public, on the vague promifes that they (hould at a future time be rc- imburfed. Without enquiring into the folidity of the funds, or the precife period of pavment, tlie refources of the country were corn^ manded on general affu ranees, that all expcnccs of the war fliould ulti« Inately be equal i fed. The Parent State abounded with experienced ftaternen^nd officers, but the dependent form of government exercifed in the Colonies, precluded their citizens from gaining that pradical knowledge which is acquired from being at the head of public de^ part.Tient?, There were very few in the Colonies who underftood the bufinefs of providing for an army, and ftiil fewer who had experience and knowledge to dired its operations. The difpofitiou of the finan- ces of the country, and the moll effeftual mode of drawing forth its refources, wrre fubjeds with which fcarcc any of the inhabitants were acquainted. Arms and ammunition were almoft wholly deficient; and though the country abounded with the materials of which they arc manufaftured, vet there was neither time nor artiPts enough to fupply an army vvith the means cf defence. The country was dcilitute both of forriiicatians and engineers. Amidft fo many difcourageraents there were fome flattering circumflances. The war could not be carried on by Great Britain, T:ut to a great difadvantage, and at an immenfe ex- pence. It was eafy for Minifters at St, James's to plan campaigns, •but hard v/as the fate of the officer from whom the execution of them in the woods of America was expefted. The country was fo cxtenfive, 'and abounded fo much with defiles, that by evacuating and retreating* •the Americans, though they could not conquer, yet might fave them- 'fclrci^ from being conquered. The authors of the aib of parliament for rejflraining the trade of the Colonies v. ere mod excellent recruiting "Officers for the Congrefs. They impofed a ncccflity on thoufand^ to 'become foldiers. All other bufinefs being fuf^^ntled, the whole rf- •fources of the country were applied in fupporting an army. Though the Colonifts \*"ere without difcipline, they poffefTed native valour, Though they had neither gold nor filver, they poffeffed a mine m t^ 'fsithn^afm of their people. Paper for upwards of two years produced to them more folid advantages than Spain derived from her fupef- ♦ibonnding precious inetalsi Thowpi they had no fhaj^s to prote^^heir ^^- • ' trade AMERICAN REVOLUTION. "481 ttade or their towns, they had fimplicity enough to live without the former, and enthufiafm enough to rifque the latter, rather than fubmit to the power of Britain* They bel?eved their caufe to be jult, and that Heaven approved their exertions in defence of their rights. Zeal originating from fuch motives fupplied the place of difciplinc, and in- fpired a confidence and military ardour which overleaped all difficul- ties. Refiftance being refolved upon by the Americans — the ptripit — the prefs — the bench, and the bar, feverally laboured to unite and encou- rage them. The clergy of New England were a numerous, learned, and refpeftable body, who had a great afcendancy over the minds of their hearers. They conneAed religion and patriotifm, and in their fermons and prayers reprcfented the caufe of America as the caufe of Heaven. The fynod of New York and Philadelphia alfo lent forth a paftoral letter, which was publicly read in their churches. This ear- neftly recommended, fuch fentiments and condudl as were fuitable to their fituation. Writers and printers followed in the rear of the preachers, and next to them had the greateft hand in animating their countrymen. Gentlemen of the bench and of the bar denied the charge of rebellion, and juftified the refiftance of the Colcnifts. A diltinflion founded on law betweefi the king and his miniftry was introduced ; the former, it was contended, could do no wrong. The crime of treafon was charged on the latter", for ufing the royal name to varnifh their own unconftitutional meafnres. The phrafe of a minifterial war be- came common, and was ufed as a medium for reconciling refiftance with allegiance. Coeval with the refolutions for organizing an army, was one, ap- pointing the 20th day of July, 1775* a day of public humiliation, fafting and prayer to Almighty God, « to blefs their rightful Sovereign King George, and to infpire him with wifdom to difcern and purfue the true intereft of his fubjeds ; and that the Britifli nation might be iufluenced to regard the things that belonged to her peace, before they were hid from her tycs — that the Colonies might be ever under the care and protedlion of a kind Providence, and be profpered in all their interefts , that America might foon behold a gracious interpoution of Heaven for the redrefs of her many grievances, the reftoration of her invaded rights, and a Reconciliation with the Parent State on terms conftitu- tional and honourable to both." — The forces which had been colleded in MafTachufetts, were ftationed in convenient places for guarding the country from farther excurftons of the regulars from Bofton. Breafl- works werealfb ereded in different places for thef^me purpofe. While Vo^. I. 3 Qw ^^^^ 482 HISTORY OF THE borh parti« were attempting to carry ofFftock from the feveral iflands, with which the bay of Boflon is agreeably diverfitied, fundry fkirmiihes took place. Thefe were of real fcrvicc to the Americans. They ha- bituated thena to danger, and perhaps much of rhe courage of old fol- therefore, he detached Major General Howe, and Brigadier General Pigot, with the fiowct of the anny, confifting of four battalions, ten companies of the grena- diers, and ten of light infantry, with a proportion of field artillery, to.- effed this bufinefs. Thefe troops landed at Moreton's Point, and, June' 1 7, formed after landing, but remained in that pofition till they were re*- inforced by a fecond detachment of light infantry and grenadier com- panies, a battalion of land forces, and a battalion of marines, making- in. the whcle ne?T three thoufand men. While the troops who firib landed were waiting for this re-inforcement, the provincials, for their farther fecurity, })uii.cd up fomc adjoining poll and rail fences, and fef them down in two parallel lines at a fmall diftance from each other, and" filled the fpace between with hay, which having been lately mowed» remained on the adjacent ground. The king's trocpi? formed in two lines, and advanced flowly, to give their artillery time to demolifli the American works. "While the Britilh were advancing to the attack, they received orders to burn Charleftown. This was not done, becaufe they were fired upon from the houfes in that town, but fiom the military policy of depriving enemies of a cover in their approaches. In a fliort time this ancienr town, confining of about five hi^ndred buildings, chiefly of wood, wat in one great blaze. The lofty fteeple of the meeting. houfc formed at pyramid of fire above thfS reft, and ft ruck the aftonilhed eyes of nu- merous beholders with a magnificent but awful fpedacle. la Boftoni the heights of every kind were covered with the citizens, and fuch of the king's troops as were not on duty. The hills around the adjacent country which afforded a fafe and diftinft view, wei-e occupied by the inhabitants of the country. Thoufands, both within and without Bofton, were anxious fpcfta- tors of the bloody fcene. The honour of Britifh troops beat high in the breafts of ma'hy, while others, with a keener fenfibility, felt for the liberties of a great and growing country. The Britifh moved on* but flowly, which gave the provincials a better opportunity for faking aim. The latter, in general, referved themfelves till their adverfarie^ were within ten or twelve rods, but then began a furious difcharge of fmall arms. The ftream ot the American fire wai fo incefTant, and did 3 CL2 fo 484 HISTORY or THE fo great cxcnition, that the king's troops retreated in difotder and pre- cipitation. Their officers rallied them, and pufhed them forward with their fwords, but they returned to the attack with great rehic- ttnce. The Americans again referyed their fire till their adverfaries were near, and then put them a fccond time to flight. General Howe and the officers redoubled their exertions, and were at laft fuccefsful, though the foldiera difcovered a great averfion to going on. By this time the powder of the Americans began fo far to fail, that they were not able to keep up the fame brifk fire as before. The Britilh alfo brought fome cannon to bear, which raked the infide of the breaft- work from end to end. The fire from the (hips, batteries, and field artillery was redoubled — the foldiers in the rear were goaded on by their officers. The redoubt was attacked on three fides at once. Un- der thefe circumilancesa retreat from it was ordered, but the provin- cials delayed, and made refinance with their difcharged mufkets as if they had been clubs, fo long that the king's troops, who eafily mounted the works, had half filled the redoubt before it was given up to them. While thefe operations were going on at the breaft- work and redoubt, the Britifh light infantry were attempting to force the left point of the former, that they might take the American line in flank. Though they exhibited the moil undaunted courage, they met with an oppofi- tion which called for its greateft exertions. The provincials here, in like manner, rcferved their fire till their adverfaries were near, and then poured it upon the light infantry, with fuch an incefiant ftream, and in fo true a direction, as mowed down their rajiks. The engage- ment was kept up on both fides with great refolution. The perfeve- ring exertions of the King's troops could not compel the Americans to retreat, till they obferved that their main body had left the hill. This, when begun, expofed them to new danger, for it could not be effeded but by marching. over Charleftown Neck, every part of which was raked by the (hot of the Glafgow man of war, and of two floating batteries. The iMceffant fire kept up acrofs this Neck prevented any confiderable re-inforcement from joining their countrymen who were engaged ; but- the few who fell on their retreat over the fame ground proved, that the apprehenfions of thofe provincial officers who declined paffing over to fuccour their companions, were without any folid foun- dation. • The pumber of Americans engaged amounted only to one thoufand five hundred. It was apprehended that the conquerors would puih the advantages they had gained, and march immediately to American head quarters at Cambridge, but they advanced no farther than Bunker's - . . ; ' Hill; AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 485 Hill ; there they threw up works for their own fecurity. The provin- cials did the fame on Profpeft Hill in front of them. Both were guard- ing againft an attack, and both were in a bad condition to receive one. The lofs of the peninfula depreifed the fpirits of the Americans, and their great lofs of men produced the fame effeft on the Britiflu There have been few battles in modern wars, in which, all circum- ftances confidered, there was a greater deftruftion of men than in thit Ihort engagement. The lofs of the Britifti, as acknowledged by Gene- ral Gage, amounted to one thoufand and £fty-four. Nineteen com- miifioned officers were killed, and feventy more were wounded. The battle of Qi^ebec in 1759, which gave Great Britain the province of Canada, was not fo deftruftive to Britilh officers as this affair of a flight entrenchment, the work only of a few hours. That the officers fuffered fo much, muft be imputed to their being aimed at. None of the provincials in this engagement were riflemen, but they were all good markfmen. The whole of their previous military knowledge had been derived from hunting, and the ordinary amufements offportf. men. The dexterity which by long habit they had acquired in hitting beads, birds, and marks, was fktally applied to the deftrudion of Britilli officers. From their fall much confufion was expeftcd ; they were therefore particularly fingled out. Moft of thofe who were near the perfon of General Howe were either killed or wounded, but the General, though he greatly expofed himfelF, was unhurt. The light infantry and grenadiers loft three-fourths of their men. Of one com- pany not more than five, and of another, not more than fourteen efcaped. The unexpeded refillance of the Americans was fuch as wiped away the reproaches of cowardice, which had been caft on them by their enemies in Britain. The fpirited condu<^ of the Britiih officers merited and obtained great applaufc, but the provincials were juftly entitled to a large portion of the fame, for having made the utraoft exertions of their adverfaries neceffary to diflodge them from lines, which were the work only of a fingle night. The Americans loft five pieces of cannon. Their killed amounted to one hundred and thirty- nine. Their wounded and miffing to three hundred and fourteen. Thirty of the former fell into the hands of the conquerors. They particularly regretted the death of General Warren. To the purcft patriotifm and moft undaunted bravery, he added the virtues ofdo- raeftic life, the eloquence of an accomplilhed orator, and the wifdoni of an able ftatefman. Nothing but a regard to the liberty of his coun- try induced him to oppofe the meafures of Government. He aimed not at a feparation fyom, but a coalition with the Mother Country, ■ He 486 KISTORY GF THE He took art Jlftivc part in defence of his country, not that he might be applauded and rewarded for a patriotic fpirit, but becaufe he was, in the bed fenfe of the word, a real patriot. Having no intereftedor per- fonal views to anfwer, the friends of liberty confided in his integrity. The foundncfs of his judgment, and his abilities as a public fpeaker, enabled him to make a di'»Hngui(hed figure in public councils, but hi« intrepidity and aftive zeal induced his countrymen to place him in the n:»i\tary line. Within four days after he was appointed a Major Ge* nerai, he fell a noble facrifice to a caufe which he had efpoufed from the pureft principles. Like Kampden he lived and like Hampden he died, univerfally beloved and univerfaily regretted. His many virtues were celebrated in an elegant eulogim written by Dr. Rufh, in lan- guage equal to the illuftricus fubje(5t. The burning of Charleftown, though a place of great trade, did not difcourage the provincials. It excited refentment and execration, but not any difpofition to fubmit. Such was the high-toned (late of the public mind, and fo great the in- difference for property, when put in competition with liberty, that mi- litary conflagrations, though they diftreffed and impoverifhed, had no tendency to fubdue the Colonifts. They might anfwer in the old xworld, but were not calculated for the new, where the war was under- taken, not for a change of mafters, but for fecuring eifential rights. The adion at Breed's Hill, or Bunker's Hill, as it has been commonly caPed, produced many and very important confequences. It taught the BritiHi fo much rcfped for Americans intrenched behind works, that their fub- fequent operations were retarded with a caution that wafted away a whole campaign to very little pnrpofe. It added to the confi- dence the Americans began to have in their own abilities; but inferences, very injurious to the future ii)tcreft§ of An^erica, were drawn from the good conduft of the new troops on that memorable day. It infpired fome of the leading members of Congrefs with fuch high ideas of what might be done by militia, or men engaged for a ihort term of inliftment, that it was long before they affented to the eftabliihment of a permanent army. Not diftingui(hing the conti- nued exertions of an army through a feries of years, from the gallant efforts of the jeomanry of the country, led di redly to adlion, they were flow in admitting the necefllty of permanent troops. They con- ceived the country might be defended by the occafional exertions of her fons, without the expenceand danger of an army engaged for the war. In the progrefs of hoftilities, as will appear in the fequel, the militia loft much of their firft ardour, while leading men in the councils of America, trufting to its continuaivce, negleded the proper time o£ recruiting AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 487 recruiting for a feries of years. From the want of perfeverance in the militia, and the want of a difcipHncd (landing army, the caufe for which arms were at firft taken up, was more than once brought to the brink of deftruc^ion. In other places the fame determined fpirit of refiftance appeared on the part of the Americans. Lord North's conciliatory fcheme was ut- terly rejeaed by the affemblies of Pennfylvania and New Jerfey, and afterwards in every other colony. The commencement of hoflilitica at Lexington determined the colony of New York, which had hitherto continued to waver, to unite with the reft; and as the fituation of New York renders it unable to refift an attack from the fea, it was re- folvcd, before the arrival of a Britilh fleet, to fecure the military RoTts, fend off the women and children, and to fet fire to the city if it was ftill found incapable of defence. The exportation of provifions was every where prohibited, particularly to the Britifh fifhery on the banks of Newfoiiiidl'and, or to fuch colonies of America as (hould ad- here to the Briiifh intereft. Congrefs refolved on the eftahlifhment of an army, and of a large paper currency in order to fupport it. In the inland northern colonies. Colonels Eaftonand Ethan Allen, without re- ceiving any orders from Congrefs, or communicating their defign to any body, with a party of only two hundred and fifty men, furprifed the forts or Crown Point, Ticonderago, and the reft that form a communi- cation betwixt the Colonies and Canada. On this occafion two hun- dred pieces of cannon fell into their hands, befides mortars, and a large quantity of military ftores, together with two armed vefTels, and ma- terials for the conftrudion of others. After the battle of Bunker's Hill, the provincials erefted fortifica- tions on the heights which commanded Charleftown, and flrengthened the reft in fuch a manner that there was no hope of driving them from thence ; at the fame time that their aftivity and boldnefs aftonifhed the Britifti officers, who had been accuftomed to entertain too mean an opi- nion of their courage. ^ The troops, thus (hut up in Bofton, were foon reduced to diftrefs. Their neceffities obliged them to attempt the carivlng off the American cattle on the illands before Bofton, which produced frequent Ikirmilhes ; but the provincials, better acquainted wiih the navigation of thefe (hores, landed on the iflands, deft royed or carried off whatever was of any ufe, burned the light houfe at the entrance of the harbour, and took prifoners the workmen fent to repair it, as well as a party of ma- rines who guarded them. Thus th? garrifon were reduced to the nc- celTity of fending out aimed vefiels to make prixes indifcriminately of aU 488 HISTORY OF tHE ail that came in their wayi and of landing in different places to plunder for fubfiftencc as well as they could. ^ The Congrefs, in the mean time, continued to adl with all the vi- gour which its conftitaents had cxpeded. Articles of confederation and perpetual union were drawn up and folemnly agreed upon; by which they bound themfelves. ,j After the adlion of Bunker's Hill, however, when the power of Great Britain appeared lefs formidable in the eyes of America than beforcj Congrefs proceeded formally to juftify their proceedings in a declara- tion drawn up in terms more'expreiiive, and well calculated to excite attention. « Were it poflible (faidthey) for men whoexercife their reafon, xo believe that the divine Author of our exiftence intended a part of the human race to hold an abfolute property in and unbounded power over others, marked out by His infinite goodnefs and wifdom as the objedls of a legal domination, never rightfully refiftable, however fe- vere and oppreffive ; the inhabitants of thefe Colonies might at leaft require from the parliament of Great Britain feme evidence that this dreadful authority over them had been granted to that body j but ^ reverence for our Great Creator, principles of humanity, and the dic- tates of common fenfe muft convince all thofe who refle<^ upon the fubje(^, that government was inftituted to promote the welfare of mankind, and ought to be adminiftered for the attainment of that end. « The legiflature of Great Britain, however, ftimulated by an inor- dinate paffion for power, not only unjuftifiable, but which they know to be peculiarly reprobated by the very conftitution of that kingdom ; and defpairing of fuccefs in any mode of conteft, where regard fhould be had to law, truth, or right ; have at length, deferring thofe, at- tempted to effcft their cruel and impolitic purpofe of enflaving thefe Colonies by violence, and have thereby rendered it necelTary for us to clofe with their laft appeal from reafon to arms. Yet, however blinded that aflembly may be, by their intemperate rage for unlimited domi- nation, fo to flight juftice in the opinion of mankind, we cfteem our» felves bound by obligations to the reft of the world to make known the juilice of our caufe." ''■■ After taking notice of the munner in which their anccftors left Bri- tain, the happinefs attending the mutual friendly commerce betwixt that country and her Colonies, and the remarkable fuccefs of the late war, they proceed as follows: " The new miniftry finding the brate foes of Britain, though frequently defeated, yet ftill contending, took AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 489 up the unfortunate idea of granting them a hafty peace, and of then fub- duing her faithful friends. ** Thefe devoted colonies were judged to be in fuch a ftate as to pre- fent vidories without bloodflied, and all the eafy emoluments of ftatu, table plunder. The uninterrupted tenor of their peaceable and refpedful behaviour from the beginning of their colonization; their dutiful, zealous, and ufeful fervices during the war, though fo recently and amply acknowledged in the moft honourable manner by his Majefty, by the late king, and by parliament, could not fave them from the intended in- novations. Parliament was influenced to adopt the pernicious projed ; and affuming a new power over them, has in the courfe of eleven years given fuch decifive fpecimens of the fpirit and confequences attending this power, as to leave no doubt of the effefts of acquiefcence under it. y " They have undertaken to give and grant o.ur money without our con- fent, though we have ever excrcifed an exclufive right to difpofe of our own property. Statutes have been pafled for extending the jurifdi(flion of the courts of admiralty, and vice-admiraltvi beyond their ancient limits ; for depriving us of the accuftomed and ineftimable rights of trial by jury, in cafes afFedling both life and property; for fufpending the legillature of one of our colonies; for interdiding all commerce to the capital of another; and for altering fundamentally the form of government eftabliihed by charter, and fecured by ads of its own legif- lature ; and folemnly confirmed by the crown ; for exempting the mur- derers of colonifts from legal trial, and in elFedl from punifhmtnt ; for erefting in a neighbouring province, acquired by the joint arms of Great Britain and America, a defpotifm dangerous to our very exiftence; and for quartering foldiers upon the colonifts in time of a profound peace. It has alfo been refolved in parliament, that colonifts charged with committing certain offences, fhall be tranfported to England to be tried. " But why ftiould we enumerate our injuries in detail ? — By one ftatute it was declared, that parliament can of right make laws to bind us in all cafes whatever, What is to defend us againft fo enormous, {q unlimited a power ? Not a ffngle perfon who aflumes it is chofen by us, or is fubjed to our controul or influence ; but on the contrary, they are all of them exempt from the operation of fiich laws ; and an American revenue, if not dive;-ted from the oftenfible purpofes from which it is raifed, would adnally lighten their own burdens in proportion as it ia- creafes ours* ^« We faw the mifery to which fuch defpotifm would reduce us. We for ten years inceflantly and ineffeaually befieged the throne as fuppll- 490 HISTORY OF THE cants ; we reafoned, we remonftrated with parliament in the moft mild and decent language; but adrainiftration, fenfible that we (hould re- gard thefe meafures as freemen ought to do, fent over fleets and armies to enforce them. " We have purfued every temperate, every refpeftful meafure ; we have even proceeded to break off all commercial intercourfe with our fellow- fubjeds as our laft peaceable admonition, that our attachment to no nation on earth would fupplant our attachment to liberty : this wc flattered ourfelves was the ultimate ftep of the controverfy ; but fubfe- qucnt events have (hown how vain was this hope of finding moderation in our enemies ! " The Lords and Commons, in their addrefs in the month of February, faid, that a rebellion at that time adually exifted in the province of Maf- fachufett's Bay ; and that thofe concerned in it had been countenanced and encouraged by unlawful combinations and engagements entered into by his Majefty's fubjeds in feveral of the colonies ; and therefore they befought his Majefly that he would take the moft efie^^ual meafures to enforce due obedience to the laws and authority of the fupreme legif- lature. Soon after the commercial intercourfe of whole colonies with foreio-n countries was cut off by an ad of parliament ; by anothei^ feveral of them were entirely prohibited from the filheries iq. the feas. near their coafts, on which they always depended for their fubfiftencc; and large reinforcements of Ihips and troops^ were immediately fcnt over to General Gage." ** Fruitlefs were all the intreatie?, arguments, and eloquence of an il- luftrious band of the moft diflinguiftied peers and commoners, who nobly and ftrenuoufly-'ofterted the juftice of our caufe, to ftay, or even to miti- gate, the heedlelwffcjr, with which thefe accumulated outrages were hurried on. EquallySsH^efs was the interference of the city of London, of Briftol, and many oS^ijjr r&{pe wife to the expedition ; as it doubled the vigilance and aftivity of the inhabitants to prevent any furprife ; and the apj^earancc of common dan- ger united all parties, who, before the arrival of Arnold, were contending moft violently with one another. He was therefore obliged to content bimfelf with blocking up the avenues to the town, in order to diftrefs the garrifon for want of provifiona; and even this he was unable to do cffedually, by reafon of the fmall number of his men. The matter was not much mended by the arrival of General Mont- gomery. The force he had with him, even when united with that of Arnold, was too inftgnificant to attempt the reduftion of a place fo ftrongly fortified, efpecially with the afliftance only of a few mortars and field-pieces. After the fiege had continued through the month of I>ecember, General Montgomery, coiifcious that he could accomplilh his end no other way than by furprife, refolved to make an attempt on the laft day of the year 1775. The method he took at this time was per- haps the beft that human wifdom could devife. He advanced by break of day, in the midft of an heavy fJA of fnow, which covered his men from the fight of the enemy. Two real attacks were made by himfelf and Colonel Arnold, at the fame time that two feigned attacks were made on two ether places, thus to diftraft the garrifon, and make them divide their forces. One of the real attacks was made by the people of New York, and the other by thofe of New England, under Arnold. Their hopes of furprifing the place, however, were defeated by the fignal for the attack being, through fome miftake, given too foon. General Montgomerj' himfelf had the moft dangerous place, being obliged to pafs between the river and fome high rocks on which the Upper Town (lands 'j fo that he was forced to make v.'hat hafte he could to clofe with the enemy. His fate, however, was now decided. Having forced the firft barrier, a violent difcharge of mufketry and grape (hot from the fccond killed him, his principal officers, and the moft of the party he commanded ; on which thofe who remained immediately retreated. Colonel Arnold in the mean time made a defperate attack on the Lower Town, and carried one of the barriers ^fter an an obftinate refiftance of an hour ; but in the aftion he himfelf received a wound, which obliged him to withdraw. The attack, however, was continued by the ofiicers whom he had left, and another barrier forced : but the garrifon, now perceiving that nothing was to be feared except from that quarter, col- le^ed their whole force againft it ; and, after a defperate engagement of three hours, overpowered the Provincials, and obliged them to fur- render, la AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ^gj In this aftion the valour of the provincial troops could not be ex- ceeded. Such a terrible difafter left no hope remaining of the accoin* plifhment of their purpofe, as General Arnold could now fcarce number eight hundred effedive men under his command. He did not, however, abandon the province, or even remove to a greater distance than three miles from Quebec ; and here he ftill found means to annoy the garrifon very confiderably by intercepting their provifions. The Canadians, notwithftanding the bad fuccefs of the American arms, ftill continued friendly ; and thus he was enabled to fuftain the hardfliips of a winter encampment in that moft fevere climate. The Congrefs, far from paf- fing any cenfure on him for his misfortune, created him a brigadier- general. While hoftilities were thus carried on with vigour in the north, the flame of contention was gradually extending itfelf in the fouth. Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, was involved in difputes fimilar to thofe which had taken place in other colonies. Thefe had proceeded fo far that the affembly was diiTolved ; which in this province was at- tended with a confequence unknown to the reft. As Virginia contained 4 great number of flaves, it was neceflary that a militia ftiould be kept conftantly on foot to keep them in awe. During the diflblution of the affembly the militia-laws expired ; and the people, after complaining of the danger they were in from the negroes, formed a convention, which en- afted, that each county ftiould raife a quota for the defence of the pro- vince, Dunmore, on this, removed the powder from Williamftjurg ; which created fuch difcontents, that an immediate quarrel would proba- bly have enfued, had not the merchants of the town undertal^n to ob- tain fatisfaftion for the injury fuppofed to be' done to the community. This tranquillity, however, was foon interrupted ; the people, alarmed by a report that an armed party on their way from the man of war where the powder had been depofited, affembled in arms, and deter- mined to oppofe by force any farther removals. In fome of the confe- rences which pafled at this time, the Governor let fall fome unguarded expreflions, fuch as threatening them with fetting up the royal ftandard, proclaiming liberty to the negroes, deftroying the town of WilliamftDurg, &c. which were afterwards made public, and exaggerated in fuch a man- ner as greatly to increafe the public ferment. The people novv held frequent affemblies. Sorae of them took up arms with a defign to force the governor to reftore the powder, and to take the public money into their own pofleflioh : but on their way to Wil- liamft)urgh for this purpofe, they were met by the receiver-general, who Vol. I. 3 § '" ^ '^ ^"^^^^ 4g8 HISTORY OF THE became fccurlty for the payment- for the gunpowder, and the inhabitant^ promifed to take care of the magazine and public revenue. By this infurreftion the governor was fo much intimidated, that h^ fent his family on board a man of war. He himfelf, however, ilTued a proclamation, in which he declared the behaviour of the perfon who promoted the tumult treafonable, accufed the people of difaffedlion, kc. On their part they were by no means deficient in recriminating ; an^ fome letters of his to Britain being about the fame tinje difcovered, con- fequences enfusd extremely fimilar to thofc which had been occafione^ by thofe of Mr. Hatchinfon at Bofton. In this llate of confufion the Governor thought it neceflary to fortify his palace with artillery, and procure a party of marines to guard it, "J^ord North's conciliatory propofal arriving alfo about the fame time, lie ufed his utmpft endeavours to caufe the people to comply with it. The argpn^ents he ufed were fuch as rauft do him honour ; and had not matters already gone to fuch a pitch, it is highly probable that fome at- tention would have been paid to them. ** The view, he faid, in whiph the colonies ought to behold this conciliatory propofal was no more than an earneft admpnition from Great Britain to relieve her wants : that the utmoft condefcendence had been ufed in the mode of application ; no determinate funj having been fixed, as it was thought moll worthy of Britifh generpfity to take what they thought could be convenient fpared, and likewife to leave the niode of railing it to themfelves," &c. Bu^ the clamour and diflfatisfaftion were now fo univerfal, that nothing elf<5 could be attended tp. The Governor had called an affembly for the purpofs of laying this conciliatory propofal before them ; but i| had been little attended to. The afferably began their feffiou by inquiries into the ftate of the magazine. It had been broken into by fome of the townfinen j for which reafon fpring-guns had been placed there by the Governor, which difchargcd themfelves upon the offenders at their en, trance : thefe circuraftances, with others pf a fimilar kind, raifed fucl^ a violent uproar, that as foon as the preliniinary bufinefs of the feflion •was over, the Governor retired on board a man of war, informing the afr fembly that he durft no longer truft himfelf on fliore. This produced a long courfe of difput^tioni which eqded in a pofitivc refufal of the Governoi; to truft himfelf again in Williamfburg, even to give hiti aflent to the bills, lyhich could npt be paifed without it, and though the aflembly offered to bind theqifelves for his j5erfon?il fafety. In his turn he requefted them to meet him on boar^ the man of war, whera he then was ; but thi^ propofal was rejeded, and all further correfpondence containing the Icaft appearance of friendfhip was difcontinqed^ tor^and aftually fucceeded in his de- fign. On his return he was difpatched to General Gagej from whom he received a colonel's commiffion, and fet cut in order to accomplilh the remainder of his fcheme. The plan in general was, that he fhould return to the Ohio, wherej by the affiftance of the Britifli and Indians ia thefe parts, he was to penetrate through the back fettlements inta. Virginia, and join Lord Dunmore at Alexandria* But by an accident very naturally to be expe^ed, he was difcovered, taken prifoner, and thrown into a dungeon. '^.In the fouthern colonies of Carolina the governors were expelled and obliged to take refuge on board of men of war, as Lord Dunmore had been and Mr. Martin, governor of North Carolina, on a charge of at» tempting to raife the back-fettle rs, confifting; chiefly of Scots High* landers, againft the colony. Having fccured themfelves againft any attempts from thefe enemies, however, they proceeded to regulate their internal concerns in the fame manner as the reft of the colonies ; and by the end of the year 1775, Britain beheld the whole of America united againft her in the moft determined oppofition. Her vaft poffelfions of that trad of land were now r^diTced to the fingle town of Bofton; in which her . ^OO HISTORY OF THE forces were befieged by an enemy with whom they were apparently n(^' able to cope, and by whom they muft of courfe cxj^d in a very Ihort time to be expelled. The Htuation of the inhabitants of Bofton> indeed, was peculiarly unhappy. After having failed in their attempts to leave, the town. General Gage had confentcd to allow them to retire with their dfcfts; but afterwards, for what reafon does not well appear, he refufed to fulfil his promlfc. When he rcfigned his place to General Howe in Odober 1775, the latter, apprehenfive that they might give intelligence of the fituatlon of the Britiih troops, llridly prohibited any perfon from leaving the place under pain of military execution. Thus ipatters con- tinued till the month of March i77(), when the town was evacuated. On the 2d of that month, General Wafhington opened a battery on the weft fide of the town, from Vhence it was bombarded with a heavy fire of cannon at the fame time; and three days after, it was attacked by another battery from the eallcrn fhore. This terrible attack con- tinued for fourteen days without intermiflion ; when General Howe, finding the place no longer tenable, determined if poflible to drive the enemy from their works. Preparations were therefore made for a moft vigorous attack on an hill called Dorchefter Neck, which the Ameri- cans had fortified in fuch a manner as would in all probability have rendered the enterprife next to defperatc. No difficulties, however, were fufticient to daunt the fpiritof«the general ; and every thing was in readinefs, when a llorm prevented this intended exertion of Britifb valour. Next day, upon a more clofc infpection of the works they were to attack, it was thought advifeablc to defift from the enterprife altogether. The fortifications were very ftrong, and extremely well provided with artillery ; and befides other implement* of deftrudion, lipwards of one hundred hogfheads of ftones were provided to roll down upon the cn^my as they eame up ; which, as the afcent was extiemely fteep, muft have done prodigious execution* Nothing therefore now remained but to think of a retreat ; and even this was attended vvith the utmoft difficulty and danger. The Ameri- cans, however, knowing that it was in the power of the Britifh general to reduce the town to a(hes, which could not have been repaired in itiany years, did not think proper to give the leaft moleftation; and for the fpace of a fortnight the trOops were employed in the evacuation of the place, from whence they carried along with them two thoufand of the inhabitants, who durft not ftay on account of their attachment to the Britifli caufe. From Bofton they failed to Halifax ; but all their trgifance could not prevent a number of valuable fliips from falling into the hands of the enemy, A confiderablc quantity of cannon and am- munition AMERICAN REVOLUTION. gOl niunition had alfo been left at Bunker's Hill and Bofton Neck; and ia the town, an immenfe variety of goods, principally woollen and linen, of which the proAancials flood very much in need. Tlie eftates of thofe who fled to Halifax were confifcated ; as alfo thofe who were at- tached to government, and had remained in the town. As an attack was expefted as foon as the Britifh forces fhould arrive, every method was employed to render the fortifications, already very ftrong, impreg- nable. For this purpofe fome foreign engineers were employed, who had before arrived at Bofton ; and fo eager were people of all ranks to accoHipliih this bufiaefs, that every able-bodied man in the place, without diftindion of rank, fet apart two days in the week, to complete it the fooner. - The Americans about this time began to be influenced by new views. The military arrangements of the preceding year — their unexpefted union, and prevailing enthufiafm, expanded the minds of their leaders, and elevated the fentiments of the great body of their people, Decifive meafures which would have been lately reprobated, now met with ap- probation. The favourers of fubordination under the former conftitution, nrged the advantages of afupreme head, to'controul the difputes of interfering colonies, and alfo the benefits which flowed from union ; and that inde- pendence was untried ground, and fhould not be entered upon but in the lafl extremity. . They flattered themfelves that Great Britain was To fully convinced ©f the determined fpirit of America, that if the pcefent controverfjr was compromifed, flie would not at any future period refume an injuri* ous exercife of her fupremacy. They were therefore for proceeding no farther than to defend themfelves in the charadler of fubjeds, trufting that ere long the prefent hoflile meafures would be relinquifhed, and the harmony of the two countries re-eftabliflied. The favourers of this fyftem were embarrafTed, and all their arguments weakened by the per*- feverance of Great Britain in her fchemes of coercion. A|)robable hope of a fpeedy repeal of a few ads of Parliament would have greatly increafed the number of thofe who were advocates for reconciliations But the certainty of intelligence to the contrary gave additional force to the arguments of the oppofite party. Though new weight was daily throwa into the feale, in which the advantages of independence were weighed, yet it did not preponderate till about that time in 1776, when intelli- gence reached the Colonifts of the ad of Parliament paffed in December 1775, for throwing them out of Britifh protedion, and of hiring foreign sroops to afTifl in cfFeding their conquefi, Rcfpeding the firil it was faid, y ^O^ hlStORY OF tut fiid, " that prote^ion and allegiance were' reciprocal, and that the f^«i fufal of the firft was a legal ground of jiiftification for withholding the laft." They conftdtred themfclvts to be thereby difcharged from their allegiance, and that to declare themfelvcs independent was no niorey than to announce to the world the real jx^litical ilate in which Great Britain had placed them. ^1 his ad proved tiiat the Coionifts might conftitutionally declare thepi^^^lves independent, bot the hiring of foreign troops to make war upon them, demonllrated the neccflity of their doing it immediately. They rcaloned that if Great Britain called in the aid of ftrangers to crulh them, they muft feek fimilar xelicf for their own prefen^ation. But they well knew this could not be expcdedy while they were in arms againfl their acknowledged Sovereign. Ihey had therefore only a choic« of difficulties, and mufl either feek foreign aid as independent ftates, or continue in the aukward and hazardous iituation of fubjedls, carrying on war from their own refources, both againft the King, and fuch mercenaries as he chofe to employ for their fubjugation. Neceffity, not choice, forced them on the decilion, Sub- miffion, without obtaining a red refs of their grievances, was advocated by none who poiTefTed the public confidence. Some of the popular leaders may have fecretly wiftied for independence from the beginning of the controverfy, but their number was fmall and their fentiments /ere not generally known. While the public mind was balancing on this eventful fubjed, feveral writers placed the advantages of independence in various points of view. ^ Among thefe Thomas Paine in a pamphlet, under the fignature of r Common Sen/e, held the moft diilinguiflied rank. The ftile, manner, and language of this performance was calculated to intercft the paflions, and to roufe all the adive powers of human nature. With a view of operating on the fcntiments of a religious people, Scripture was preflcd into his fervice, and the powers, and even the name of a king was rendered odious in the eyes of the numerous Colonifts who had read and ftudied the hiftory of the Jews, as recorded in the Old Teftament* The folly of that people in revolting from a government, inftituted by ^ Heaven itfelf, and the oppreflions to which they were fubjefted in con- fcquence of their lulling after kings to rule over them, afforded an ex-^ ccllent handle for pre-poflefling the Colonifts in favour of republican inftitutions, and prejudicing them againft kingly government. Here- ditary fucceffion was turned into ridicule. The abfurdity of fubjcfting a great continent to a fmall ifland on the other fide of the globe, was reprefented In fuch ftriking language, as to intereft the honour and pride of the Colonifts in renouncing the government of Great Britain* .V' s The AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 503 T?ie HecefTity, the advantage, and praftcability of independence were forcibly demonftrated. Nothing could be better timed than this per^ formance ; it w^s addreffed to freemen, who had juft received convinc- ing proof, that Great Britain had thrown them out of her proteAion, had engaged foreign mercenaries to make war upon them, and ferioufly defigned to compel their unconditional fubmiffion to her unlimited jpower, I]C found the Colonifts moft thoroughly alarmed for their liberties, a^d difpofed to do and fuffer any thing that promifcd their eftabliihment. In union with the feelings and fentiments of the people, jc produced furprifing efFe<^s. Many thoufands were convinced, and >vere led to approve and long for a feparation from the Mother Country. Though that meafure, a few months before, was not only foreign from jheir v/ifhes, but the obje^ of U^eir abhorrence, the current fuddenly f)ecame fo ftrong in its favour, that it bore dpwn all oppofition. The multitude was hurried down the ftream, but fome worthy men could not eafdy reconcile themfelves to the idea of an eternal feparation from z. pountry to which they had been long bound by the moft endearing tics. They faw the fvvord drawn, but could not tell when it would be Hieathed ; they feared that the difperfcd individuals of the feveral Colo- ^ijes would not be brought to coalefce under an efficient government, and that after much anarchy, fome future Cjefar would grafp their liberties, and confirm himfelf on a throne of defpotifm. They doubted the perfeverance of their countrymen in efFeding their independence, f nd v.'ere alfo apprehenfivq that in cafe of fuccefs, their future condition would be lefs happy than their paft. Some refpe6\able individuals whofe principles were pure, but whofe fouls were not of that firm tex^ ture which revolutions require, fhrunjc back from the bold meafure* propofed by their more adventurous countrymen. To fubmit without an appeal to Heaven, though fecretly wilhed for by fome, was not the avowed fentiment of any j but to perfevere in petitioning and refift'ing, "lyas the fyftem of fome mifguided honell men. The favourers of this opinion were generally wanting in that decifion which grafps at great objefts, and influenced by that timid policy which does its work by lialves. Moft of them dreaded the power of Britain. A few, on the {core of intereft, or an expectancy of favours from royal government, refufed to concur with the general voice. Some of the natives of the Parent State, who having lately fettled in the Colonies, had not yet ex- changed European for American ideas, together with a few others, con- fbientioufly oppofed the meafures of Congrcfs : but the great bulk 0/ the people, a^d efpepially of the fpirited and independent part of the community. 504 HISTORY OF THE commonitv, came with fnrprifmg unanimity into the projcft of inde- pendence. / The Americans, thus cxafperated to the utmoft by the proceedings of parliament, now formally renounced all connexion with Britain, and declared themfelves independent. This celebrated declaration was publiftied on the 4th of July, 1776, and is as follows : <* Wlien, in the courfe of human events, it becomes necefTary for one people to diflblve the political bands which have conneded them with another, and to affume among the powers of the earth the feparate and • equal ftation to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent refpeft to the opinions of mankind requires that they ihould declare the caufes which impel them to the feparation. ** We hold thefc truths to be felf-evident ; That all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with .certain ijnalienable rights; that among thefc are life, liberty, and the purfuitof happinefs j that to fecure thefe rights governments are inftituted among men, de- riving their jufl powers from the confent of the governed j that when* . ever any form of government becomes deftruftive of thefe ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolilh it, and to inditute a nc\f government, laying its foundation on fuch principles, and organizing its powers in fuch form, as to them fhall feem moft likely to efFeft their fafety and tiappinefs. Prudence, indeed, will di(5tate, that governments long eftabliihed fliould not be changed for light and trinfient caufes j and accordingly all experience hath Ihewn, that mankind are more dift pofed to fuffer while evils arc futferable, than to right themfelves by aboliihing the forms to which they are accuftomed. But when a long train of abufes and ufurpations, purfuing invariably the fame objeft, evinces a defign to reduce them under abfolute defpotifm, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off fuch government, and to provide new guards for their future fecurity. Such has been the patient fuffer- ance of thefe Colonies ; and fuch is now the neceffity which conftrains them to alter their former fyftems of government. The hiftory of the prefent king of Great-Britain is a hiftory of repeated injuries and ufur- pations, all having in diredl objed: the eftabliftiment of an abfolute ty ranny over thefe States. To prove this, let ht\s be fubmitted to a candid v/orld. " He has refufed his aff^nt to laws the moft wholefomc and necelTary for the public good. " He has forbidden his governors to pafs laws of immediate and prcf- fing importance, unlefs fufpended in their operation till his aftent fliould AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ^O^ ^lOuld be obtained j and when fo fufpended, he has utterly negleded to attend to them, ** He has refufed to pafs other laws for the accommodation of large diftrifts of people, unlefs thofe people would relinquilh the right of re- prefentation in the legiHature ; a right ineftimable to thtm, and formi- dable to tyrants only. <* He has called together kgiflative bodies at places unufual, uncom- fortable, and diftant from the depofitory of their public records, for the fole purpofe of fatiguing them into compliance with his meafures. *< He has diflblved reprefentative houfes repeatedly, for oppofing with manly firmnefs his invafions on the rights of the people. <* He has refufed, for a long time after fuch difTolutions, to caufe others to be elefted ; whereby the kgiflative powers, incapable of annihila- tion, have returned to the people at large for their exercife ; the State remaining in the mean time expofed to all the danger of invafion from without, and convulfions within. '* He has endeavoured to prevent the population of thefe States ; for that purpofe obftru<^xng the laws for naturalization of foreigners ; re- fufing to pafs others to encourage their migrations hither; and railing' the conditions of new appropriations of lands. *' He has obftrufted the adminiftrationof juftice, by refufing his affent to laws for eftablilhing judiciary powers, <* He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their falaries. " He has ereded a multitude of new offices, and fent hither fwarms of officers to harrafs our people and eat out their fubftance. « He has kept among us, in limes of peace. Handing armies, without the confent of our legiflatures. <« He has affefted to render the military independent of, and fuperior to, the civil power. *' He has combined with others to fubjeft us to a jurifdiftion foreign to our conftitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his affent to their ads of pretended legillation : •< For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; " For proteding them,' by a mock trial, from puniftiment for any murders which they Ihouid commit on the inhabitants of thefe States : «* For cutting oiF our trade with all parts of the world ; ** For impofing taxes on us without our confent : ** For depriving us, in many cafes, of the benefits of trial by jury : ** For tranfporting us beyond feas to be tried for pretended offences : Vol. I, 3T "For" 5^6 HISTORY OF THE ** For abolithing the free fyftem of Englilh laws in a neighbouring pro- vince, eftablifhing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, fo as to render it at once an example and fit inftrument for introducing the fame abfolute rule into thefe colonies : ** For taking away our charters, abolifliing our mod valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments : For fufpending our own legiflatures, and declaring themfelves invefted with power tolegiflate for us in all cafes whatfoever. ** He has abdicated government here, by aeclaring us out of his pro- tedion, and waging war againft us. « He has plundered our fcas, ravaged our coafts, burnt our towns, and dcflroyed the lives of our people, *' He is, at this time, tranfporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, defolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumllances of cruelty and perfidy fcarcely paralleled in the moft barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. *♦ He has conftrained,our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high feas, to bear arms againft their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themfelves by their hands. He has excited doraeftic infurredions amongft us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the mercilefs Indian favages, whofe known rule of warfare, is an undiftinguifhed deftru<^ion of all ages, fexes, and conditions. " In every ftage of thefe oppreflions we have petitioned for redrefs in the moft humble terms : our repeated petitions have been anfwered only by repeated injury. A prince whofe character is thus marked by every ad which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. *< Nor have we been wanting to our Britilh brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts made by their legiflature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdidiob over us. We have reminded them of the circumftances of our emigration and fettlement here. We have appealed to their native juftice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to difavow thefe ufurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correfpondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of juftice and confanguinity. We muft, therefore, acquiefce in the neceflity which denounces our fepara- tion, and hold them, as we hold the reft of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friepds. " We, therefore, the Reprefentatives of the United States of America, in General Congrefs afiembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 5O7 world for the reftitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the autliority of the good people of thefe colonies, folemnly publiHi and declare. That thefe United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are abfolved from all allegiance to the Britifh crown, and that all political connexion between them and the State of Great-Britain is, and ought to be, totally dif- folved ; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contradl alliances, eftablifh commerce, and to do all other afts and things which Independent States may of right do. And for the fupport of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the proteftion of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each othttr our lives, our fortunes, and our facred honour." Previous to this a circular letter had been fent through each colony, ftating the reafons for it ; and fuch was the animofity now every where prevailing againft Great Britain, that it met with univerfal approbation, except in the province of Maryland alone. It was not long, however, before the people of that colony, finding themfelves left in a very dan- gerous minority, thought proper to accede to the meafures of the refl. The manlfeflo itfelf was much in the ufual ftyle, flating a long lift of grievances, for which redrefs had been often applied for in vain ; and for thefe reafons they determined on a final feparation ; to hold the people of Britain as the reft of mankind, ** enemies in war, in peace friends." After thus publicly throwing off all allegiance and hope of reconcilia- tion, the colonifts fbon found that an exertion of all their ftrength was required in order to fupport their pretenfions. Their arms, indeed, had not, during this feafon, been attended with fuccefs in Canada. Re- inforcements had been promifed to Colonel Arnold, who ftill continued the blockade of Quebec; but they did not arrive in time to fecond his operations. Being fenfible, however, that he muft either defift from the enterprife, or finiih it fuccefefully, he recommenced in form ; at- tempting to burn the Ihipping, and even to ftorm the town itfelf. They were unfuccefsful, however, by reafon of the fmallnefs of their number, though they fucceeded fo far as to burn a number of houfes in the fuburbs ; and the garrifon were obliged to pull down the remainder, in order to prevent the fire from fpreading. As the provincials, though unable to reduce the town, kept the gar- rifon in continual alarms, and in a very difagreeable fituation, fome of the nobility colleded themfelves into a body under the command of one Mr. Beaujeau, in order to relieve their capital ; but they were met on their march by the provincials, and fo entirely defeated, that they were never afterwards able to attempt any thing. The Americans, however, 3X2 had \ 508 HISTORY OF THE had but little reafon to plume themfelves on this fuccefs. Their want of artillery at laft convinced them, that it was imprafticablc in their fitu- ation to reduce a place fo ftrongly fortified ; the fmall-pox at the fame time made its appearance in their camp, and carried off great numbers ; intimidating the reft to fuch a degree, that they deferied in crowds. To add to their misfortunes, the Britifii reinforcements unexpectedly ap- peared, and the (hips made their way through the ice with fuch celerity, that the one part of their army was feparated from the other; and Ge- neral Carleton fallying out as foon as the reinforcement was landed, ob- liged them to fly with the utmoft precipitation, leaving behind them all their cannon and military ftores; at the fame time that their (hipping was entirely captured by velTels fent up the river for that purpofe. On this occafion the provincials fled with fuch precipitation that they could not be overtaken ; fo that none fell into the hands of the Britifli ex- cepting the fick and wounded. General Carleton now gave a fignal in- (lance of his humanity : Being well apprifed that many of the provincials had not been able to accompany the reft in their retreat, and that they were concealed in woods, &c. in a very deplorable fituation, he generoufljr iffued a proclamation, ordering proper perfons to feek them out, and give them relief at the public expence ; at the fame time, left, through fear of being made prifoners, they fliou-ld refufe thefe offers of humanity, he promifed, that, as foon as their fituation enabled them, they fhould be at liberty to depart to their rcfpeftive homes. The Britifh general, now freed from any danger of an attack, was foon enabled to ad ofFenfively againft the provincials, by the arrival of the forces deftined for that purpofe from Britain, By thefe he was put at the head of twelve thoufand regular troops, among whom were thofe of Brunfwick. With this force he inftantly fet out to the Three Rivers, where he cxpefted that Arnold would have made a ftand ; but he had fled to Sorel, a place one hundred and fifty miles diftant from .Quebec, where he was at laft met by the reinforcements ordered by Congrefs. Here, though the preceding events were by no means calcu- lated to infpire much military ardour, a very daring enterprife was un- dertaken ; and this was to furprife the Britifti troops pofted here under Generals Frafer and Nefbit ; of whom the former commanded thofc on land, the latter fuch as were on board of tranfports, and were but a little way diftant. The enterprife was undoubtedly very hazardous, both on account of the ftrength of the parties againft whom they were to aft, and as the main body of the Britifti forces were advanced within fifty miles of the place ; befidcs that a number of armed vcfTels and tranfports with troops lay between them and the Three Rivers. Twa thoufand' AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 509 thoufand chofen men, however, under General Thomfon, engaged in this enterprife. Their fuccefs was by no means anfwerable to their fpirit and valour. Though they paffed the fhipping without being ob- ferved. General Frafer had notice of their landing ; and thus being pre- pared to receive them, they were foon thrown into diforder, at the fame time that General Nelbit, having landed his forces, prepared to attack them in the rear. On this occafion fome field pieces did prodigious exe- cution, and a retreat was found to be unavoidable. General Nefbit, however, had got between them and their boats ; fo that they were obliged to take a circuit through a deep fwamp, while they were clofely purfued by both parties at the fame time, who marched for fome miles on each fide of the fwamp, till at laft the miferable provincials were fliel- tered from further danger by a wood at the end of the fwamp. Their general, however, was taken, with two hundred of his men. By this difafter the provincials loft all hopes of accomplifliing any thing in Canada, They demoliflied their works, and carried off their artillery with the utmoft expedition. They were purfued however, by General Burgoyne; againft whom it was expefted that they would have coUedled all their force, and made a refolute ftand. But they were now too much difpirited by misfortune, to make any further exertions of valour. On the 18th of June the Britiih general arrived at Fort St. John's, which he found abandoned and burnt. Chamblee had fhared khe fame fate, as well as all the veffels that were not capable of being dragged up againft the current of the river. It was thought that they would have made fome refiftance at Nut Ifland, the entrance to Lake Champlain ; but this alfo they had abandoned, and retreated acrofs the lake to Crown Point, whither they could not be immediately followed. Thus was the province of Canada entirely evacuated by the Americans ; whofe lofs in their retreat from Quebec was not calculated at lefs than one thoufand men, of whom four hundred fell at once into the hands of the enemy at a place called the Cedars, about fifty miles above Montreal. General Sullivan, however, who conduced this retreat after the affair of General Thomfon, was acknowledged to have had great merit in what he did, and received the thanks of congrefs accordingly. This bad fuccefs in the north, however, was fomewhat compenfated by what happened in the fouthern colonies. — We have formerly taken notice that Mr. Martin, governor of North Carolina, had been obliged to leave Ms province and take refuge on board a man of war, Notwith- ftanding this, he did not defpair of reducing it again to obedience. F^or this purpofe he applied to the Regulators, a daring fet of banditti» Vfho lived in a kind of independent ftate j and though confidered by government 510 HISTORY OF THE ' government as rebels, yet had never been molefted, on account of thcit numbers and known fkill in the ufe of fire-arms. To the chiefs of thefe people commiffions were fent, in order to raifc fome regiments ; and Colonel Macdonald, a brave and enterprifing officer, was appointed to command them. In the month of February he erefted the king's ftandard, iffued proclamations, &c. and coUefted fome forces, expefting to be foon joined by a body of regular troops, who were known to be (hipped from Britain to ad againft the fouthern colonies. The Ameri- cans, fenfible of their danger, difpatched immediately what forces they had to ad againft the royalifts, at the fame time that they diligently ex- erted themfclves to fupport thefe with fuitablc reinforcements. Their prefent force was commanded by a General Moore, whofe numbers were inferior to Macdonald ; for which reafon the latter furamoned him to join the king's ftandard under pain of being treated as a rebel. But Moore, being well provided with cannon, and confcious that nothing could be attempted againft him, returned the compliment, by acquaint- ing Colonel Macdonald, that if he and his party would lay down their arms, and fubfcribe an oath of fidelity to congrefs, they ftiould be treated as friends ; but if they perfifted in an undertaking for which it was evident they had not fufiicient ftrength, they could not but exped the fevereft treatment. In a few days General Moore found himfelf at the head of eight thoufand men, by reafon of the continual fupplies which daily arrived from all parts. The royal party amounted only to two thoufand, and they were deftitute of artillery, which prevented them from attacking the enemy while they had the advantage of numbers. They were now therefore obliged to have recourfe to a defperate exer- tion of perfonal valour ; by dint of which they effeded a retreat for eighty miles to Moore's Creek, within fixteen miles of Wilmington. Could they have gained this place, they expeded to have been joined by Governor Martin and General Clinton, who had lately arrived with a confiderable detachment. But Moore with his army purfued them {o clofe, that they were obliged to attempt the paflage of the creek itfelf, though a confiderable body of the enemy, under the command of Colonel Cofwell, with fortifications well planted with cannon, was pofted on the other fide. On attempting tHc creek, however, it was found not to be fordable. They were obliged therefore to crofs over a wooden bridge, which the provincials had not time to deftroy entirely. They had, however, by pulling up part of the planks, and greafing the remainder in order to render them llippery, made the paflage fo difficult, that the royalifts could not attempt it. In this fituation they were, on the 27th of February, attacked by Moore, with his fuperior army, and totally AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 5II totally defeated with the lofs of their general and moft of their leaders, as well as the beft and braveft of their men. Thus was the power of the Provincials eftablifliad in North Carolina. Nor were they lefs fuccefsful in the province of Virginia ; where Lord Dunmore, having long continued an ufelefs predatory war, was at laft driven from every creek and road in the province. The people he had on board were diftreffed to the higheft degree by confinement in fmall vefTels. The heat of the feafon, and the numbers crowded together, produced a peftilential fever, which made great havock, efpecially among the blacks. At laft, finding themfelves in the utmoft hazard of perilhing by famine as well as difeafe, they fet fire to the Icaft valuable of their veffels, referving only about fifty for themfelves, in which they bid a final adieu to Virginia, fome failing to Florida, fomc to Bermuda, and the reft to the Weft Indies. In South Carolina the Provincials had a more formidable enemy to deal with. A fquadron, whofe objeft was the reduftion of Charleftown, had been fitted out in December 1775; but by reafon of unfavourable wea- ther did not reach Cape Fear, in North Carolina, till the month of May 1776 : and here it met with further obftacles till the end of the month. Thus the Americans, always noted for their alertnefs in raifing fortifica- tions, had time to ftrengthen thofe of Charleftown in fuch a manner as rendered it extremely diflicult to be attacked. The Britifti fquadron confifted of two fifty gun Ihips, four of thirty guns, two of twenty, an armed fchooner, and bomb-ketch ; all under the command of Sir Peter Parker. The land forces were commanded by Lord Cornwallis, with Generals Clinton and Vaughan. As they had yet no intelligence of the evacuation of Bofton, General Howe difpatched a veffel to Cape Fear, with fome inftruftions ; but it was too late ; and in the beginning of June the fquadron anchored off" Charleftown bar. Here they met with fome difficulty in crofting, being obliged to take out the guns from the two large ftiips, which were, notwithftanding, feveral times in dan- ger of fticking faft. The next obftacle was a ftrong fort on Sullivan's Ifland, fix miles eaft from Charleftown ; which, though not completely finifhed, was very ftrong. However, the Britifti generals refolved with- out hefitation to attack it ; but though an attack was eafy from the fea, it was very difficult to obtain a co-operation of the land forces. This was attempted by landing them on Long Ifland, adjacent to Sullivan's Ifland on the eaft, from which it is feparated by a narrow creek, faid not to be above two feet deep at low water. Oppofite to this ford the Provincials had pofted a ftrong body of troops, with cannon and cn- tienchments ; while General Lee was pofted on the main land, with a i bridge 512 HISTORY OF THE bridge of boats betwixt that and Sullivan's Ifland, fothat he could at plea* fure fend reinforcements to the troops in the fort on Sullivan's Ifland. On the part of the Britifh, fo many delays occurred, that it was the 28th of June before matters were in readinefs for an attack ; and by this time the provincials had abundantly provided for their reception. On the morning of that day the bomb ketch began to throw (hells into Fort Sullivan, and about mid-day the two fifty gun fhips and thirty gun fri- gates came up and began a fevere fire. Three other frigates were otdered to take their ftation between Charleftown and the fort, in order to en- filade the batteries, and cut off the communication with the main land ;* but through the ignorance of the pilots they all ftuck faft j and though two of them were difentangled, they were found to be totally unfit for fervice : the third was burnt, that flie might n«t fall into the hands of the enemy. • The attack was therefore confined to the five armed (hips and bomb- ketch, between whom and the fort a dreadful fire enfued. The Briftol' fuffered exceflively. The fprings on her cable being fhot away, (he v/as for fome time entirely expofed to the enemy's fire. As the enemy poured in great quantities of red-hot balls, Ihe was twice in flames. The captain (Mr. Morris), after receiving five wounds, was obliged to go below deck in order to have his arm amputated. After undergoing; this operation he returned to his place, where he received another wound, but ftill refufed to quit his ftation : at laft he received a red-hot ball in his belly which inftantly put an end to his life. Of all the officers and feamen wlio Itood on the qtiarter-deck of this vefTcl, not one efcaped without a wound excepting Sir Peter Parker alone; whofe intrepidity and prefcnce of mind on this occafion was very remarkable. - The en- gagement lafted till darknefs put an end to it. ' Little damage was done by the Britifh, as the works of the enemy lay fo low that many of the (hot flew over; and the fortifications, being compofed of palm-trees mixed with earth, were extremely well calculated to refill the impreffion of cannon, . During the height of the attack, the provincial batteries remained for fome time filent, fo that it w> concluded that they had been abandoned ; but this was found to proceed only from want of powder; for as foon as a fupplyof this neceffary article was obtained, the [ firing was refumed as brifk as before. During the whole of this def- perate engagement it was found impofTible for the land forces to give the leaft alfiftance to the fleet. The enemy's works were found to be ] much ftrongcr than they had been imagined, and the depth of water cflfedually prevented them from making any attempt. In this unfuccefs- ful attack the killed and wounded on the part of the Briti(h ^mounted to about aiT-^ AMERICAN REVOLUTION. /^ 1 q =N. C/, ' — ' u CI about two hundred. The Briftol and Experiment were fo much damaged, that it was thought they could not have been got over the bar ; however, this was at laft accomplilhed by a very great exertion of naval (kill, to the furprize of the provincials, who had expe(5led to make them both prizes. On the American fide the lofs was judged to have been very confiderable, as moft of their guns were difmounted, and reinforcements had poured into the fort during the whole time of the adion. This year alfo, the Americans, having fo frequently made trial of their valour by land, became defirous of trying it by fea, and of forming a navy that might in fome meafure be able toproted their trade, sand do effential hurt to the enemy. In the beginning of March commo- dore Hopkins was difpatched with five frigates to the Bahama Iflands, where he made himfelf mafter of the ordnance and military (lores ; but the gunpowder, which had been the principal object, v/as removed, ^ On his return he captured feveral velTels ; but was foiled in his attempt on the Glafgow frigate, which found means to efcape notwithftanding the efforts of his whole fquadron. The time, however, was now come when the fortitude and patience of the Americans were to undergo a fevere trial. Hitherto they had been on the whole fuccefsful in their operations : but now they were doomed to experience misfortune, and mifery ; the enemy over- running their country, and their own armies not able to face them in the field. The province of New York, as being the mod central co- lony, and mod acce(rible by fea, was pitched upon for the objed of the main attack. The force fent againft it ccnfifted of fix (hips of the line, thirty frigates, befides other armed ve(rels, and a vaft number of tranf- ports. The fleet was commanded by lord Howe, and the land forces by his brother general Howe, who was now at Halifax, The latter, however, a confiderable time before his brother arrived, had fet fail from Halifax, and ley before New York, but without attempting ,to com- mence hoftilities until he (hould be joined by his brother. The Ame- ricans had, according to cufiom, fortified New York and the adjacent iflands in an extraordinary manner. However, general Howe was fuf- fered to land his troops on Staten Ifland, where he was foon joined by a number of the inhabitants. About the middle of July, Lord Howe ar- rived with the grand armament ; and being one of the commiflionert appointed to receive the fubmiflion of the coloniits, he publiflied a cir- cular letter to this purpofe to the feveral governors who had lately been ^xpelled from their provinces, defiring them to make the extent of his coirimiflion, and the powers he was^ invefled with by pariiampnt, as public a$- po(fible. . Her^, however, congrefs faved him :; e trouble, by ordering his letter and declaration to bt publilhed in ah ihe newf- Vol. 1/ 3 U papers 514 HISTORY OF THE papers, tliat every one might fee the infidiourncrs of the BritlHi mmif. try, and that they had nothing to truft to befides the exertion of their own valour. Lord Howe next fent a letter to General Wafliington ; but as it was direfted '« To George Wafliington, Efq." the general refufed to ac- cept ©f it, as not being direded in the ftyle Aiitable to his ftation. To obviate this obje«5lion, Adjutant-general Patcrfon was fent with another letter, direded " To George Walhington, &c. Sec. Sec,'* But though a very polite reception was given to the bearer, General Wafhington ut- terly refufed the letter ; nor could any explanation of the Adjutant in- duce him to accept of it. The only interefting part of the converfation was, that relating to the powers of the commiflioners, of which Lord Howe was one. The adjutant told him, that thefe powers were very extenfive ; that the commiflioners were determined to exert themfelvcs to the utmoft, in order to bring about a reconciliation j and that he hoped the general would confider this vifit as a ftep towards it. General Wafliington replied, th^t it did not appear that thefe powers confifted In any thing elfe than granting pardons ; and as America had committed no offence, flie alked no forgivenefs, and was only defending her un- queftionable rights. The decifion of every thing being now by confent of both parties left to the fword, no time was loft, but hoftilities commenced as foon as the Britifli troops could be collefted. This, however, was not done be- fore the month of Auguft ; when they landed without any oppofitlon on Long Ifland, oppofite to the fliore of Staten Ifland. General Putnam, with a large body of troops, lay encamped and ftrongly fortified on a peninfula on thp oppofite fliore, with a range of hills between the armies, the principal pafs of which v/as near a place called Flauhujb, Here the centre of the Britifh array, confifting of Hefllans, took poft ; the left wing, under General Grant, lying near the fhore; aod the right, confifting of the greater p;irt of the Britifli forces, lay under Lord Percy, Cornv/nllis, and General Clinton. Putnam had ordered the pafles to be fiecured by large detachment*, which was executed as to thefe at hand ; but one of the utmoft importance, that lay at a diftancc, was entirely negleded. This gave an opportunity to a large body of troops under Lord Percy and Clinton to pafs the mountains and attack the Americans in the rear, while they were engaged with the Heffians in front. Through this piece of negligence their defeat became inevitable. Thofe who were engaged with the Heflians firft perceived their miftakc, and *>egan a retreat towards the camp ; but the paflage was intercepted by the Britifli troops, who drove them back into the woods. Here they ^ were AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 5I5 were met by the Heflians; and thus were they for many hours flatightcr- ed between the two parties, no way of efcape remaining but by breaking through the Britilli troops, and thus regaining their camp. In this at- tempt many periflicd ; and the right wing, engaged with General Grant, Ihared the fame fate. The vidory was complete ; and the Americans loft on this fatal day (Auguft 27th) between three and four thoufand men, of whom two thoufand were killed in the battle or purfuit. Among thefe a regiment, confiding of young gentlemen of fortune and family in Maryland, was almoft entirely cut in pieces> and of the fur- vivors not one efcaped without a woundw The ardour of the Briti(h troops was now fo great, that they could fcarce be reftrained from attacking the lines of the provincials; but for this there was now no oceafion, ais it was certain they could not be de* fended. Of the Britifh only fixty-one were killed in this engagement, and two hundred and fifty-feven wounded. Eleven hundred of the enemy, among whonl were three generals^ were taken prifoners. As none of the American commanders thought it proper to rifle another attack, it was refolved to abandon their camp as foon as poffible* Accordingly on the night of the 29th of Auguft, the whole of the con- tinental troops were fcrritd over with the utmoft fecrecy and filence; fo that in the morning tlie Britifh had nothing to do but take poffeffion of the camp and artillery which they had abandoned. This viAory, though complete, was very far from being fo decifive as was at firft imagined. Lord Howe* fuppofing that it would be fuf- ficient to intimidate the congrefs into fome terms, fent General Suliivah, who had been taken prifoner in the late aftion, to congrefs, with a mef- fage, importing, that though he could not confiftently treat with them as a legal affembly, yet he would be very glad to confer with any of this members in their private capacity ; fetting forth at the fame time the nature and extent of his powers as a commiiflonen But the Congrefs were not to be intimidated to derogate in the leaft from the dignity of chara was quickly reduced, though the gartifon made their efcape* Thus the Jerfeys were laid entirely open to the incurfions of the Britilh troops; and fo fully were thefe provinces taken polTeflion of by the Royal army, that its winter-quarters extended from New Brunfwick to the river Delaware. Had any number of boats been at hand, it is pro- bable that Philadelphia would now have fallen into their hands. All thefe, however, had been carefully removed by the Americans. In lieu of this enterprife, Sir Henry Clinton undertook an expedition to Rhode Ifland, and became mafter of it without lofing a man. His expedition was alfo attended with this further advantage, that the American fleet under Commodoi'e Hopkins was obliged to fail as far as poffible up the liver Providence, and thus remained entirely ufelefs. The fame ill fuccefs continued to attend the Americans in other parts. After their expulfion from Canada, they had crofled the lake Cham- plain, and taken up their quarters at Crown Point, as we have already mentioned. Here they remained for fome time in fafety, as the Biitifh had no veflels on the lake, and confequently General Burgoyne could not purfue them. To remedy this deficiency, there was no poffible me- thod, but either to conftrud veflels on the fpot, or take to pieces fome veffels already conftrufted, and drag them up the river into the lake. This, however, was efFefled in no longer a fpace than three months ; and the Britifli general, after incredible toil and difficulty, faw himfelf in poffeffion of a great number of veffisls, by which means he was en- abled to purfue his enemies, and invade them in his turn. The labour undergone at this time by the fca and land forces muft indeed have been prodigious ; fmce there were conveyed over land, and dragged up the rapids of St. Laurence, no fewer than thirty large long boats, four hun- dred batteux, befides a vaft number of flat bottomed boats, and a gon- dola of thirty tons. The intent of the expedition was to pufti forward before winter to Albany, where the army would take up its winter- quarters, and next fpring efFe^ a jundion with that under General Howe^ when it was not doubted that the united force and Ikill of thefe two commanders would fpecdily put a termination to the war. By reafon of the difficulties with which the equipment of thii fleet had been attended, it was the beginning of Oftober before the expedi- tion could be undertaken. It was now, however, by every judge al» lowed to be completely able to anfwcr the purpofe for which it was in- tended. It confided of one large veflel with three mafts, carrying eightfeen twelve pounders ; two fchconers, the one carrying fourteen^ the other twelve fix-pounders ; a large flat-bottomed radeau with fix twenty- AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 519 twenty-four and fix twelve- pounders; and a gondola with eight nine poun- ders. Befides thefe there were twentjr veflels of a fmaller fize, called gun- boats, carrying each a piece of brafs ordnance from nine to twenty- four pounders or howitzers. Several long-boats were fitted out in the fame manner ; and befides all thefe, there were a vafl number of boats and ten- ders of various fizes, to be ufed as tranfports for the troops and baggage. It was manned by a number of feleft feamen, and the guns were to be ferved by a detachment from the corps of artillery ; the officers and fol- diers appointei for this expedition were alfo chofen out of the whole army. To oppofe this formidable armament the Americans had only a veiy M inconfiderable force, commanded by General Arnold ; who, after en* , gaging part of the Britifh fleet for a whole day, took advantage of the darknefs of the night to fet fail without being perceived, and next morning was out of fight : but hewas fo clofely purfued by the Britifh, that on the fccond day, after he was overtaken, and forced to a fecond engagement. In this he behaved with great gallantry ; but his force being inferior to that of the enemy, he was obliged to run his fhips afliere and fet them on fire. A few only efcaped to Lake George ; and the garrifon of Crown Point having deflroyed or carried off every thing of value, retired to Ticonderago. Thither General Carleton intended to have purfued them ; but the difficulties he had to encounter appeared fo many and (o great, that it was thought proper to march back into Canada, and defift from any further operations till next fpring. Thus the affairs of the Americans feemed every where going to wreck : even thofe who had been mofl fanguine in their caufe began to waver. The time, alfo, for which the foldiers had enlifted themfelves was now expired ; and the bad fuccefs of the preceding campaign had been fo very difcouraging, that no perfon was willing to engage hira- felf during the continuance of a war, of which the event feemed to be fo doubtful. In confequence of this, therefore, General Wafhington found his army decreafing in flrength ; fo that from thirty-thoufand men, of whom it confifled, when General Howe landed on Staten Ifland, fcarce a tenth part could now be muttered. To affifl the chief commander as much as poffible, General Lee had coUefted a body of forces in the north ; but on his way fouthward, having imprudently taken up his lodging -lit fome diftance from his troops, information was given to Colonel Har- court, who happened at that time to be in the neighbourhood, and Lee was made prifoner. The lofs of this general was much regretted; the more f fpecially as he was of fuperior quality to any prifoner in the pofTefTion of . i the ^ 520 HISTORY OF THE the colonics, and could not therefore be exchanged. Six field-officers were ofiered in exchange for him and refufed; and the congrefs was highly- irritated at its being reported that he was to be ^treated as a deferter, having been a half-pay officer in the Britifh fervice at the commence- ment of the war. In confequence of this they ilTued a proclamation, threatening to retaliate on the prifoners in their pofleffion whatever pu- niftiment fhould be inflifted on any of thofe taken by the Britilh, and cfpecially that their conduft fhould be regulated by the treatment of General Lee. In the" mean time they proceeded with the moft^indefatigable diligence .to recruit their array, and bound their foldiers to ferve for a term of three years, or during the continuance of the war. The army defigned for the enfuing campaign was to conlift of eighty-eight battalions ; of ivhich each province was to contribute its quota ; and twenty dollars iwere offered as a bounty to each foldier, befides an allotment of lands at the end of the war. In this allotment was flipulated, that each foldier fhould have one hundred acres ; an eniign one hundred and ^fty ; a lieutenant two hundred ; a captain three hundred ; a major four hundred; a lieutenant-colonel four hundred and fifty; and a colonel five hundred. No lands were promifed to thofe who inlifled only for three years. All oiHcers or foldiers difabled through wounds received in the fervice to enjoy hal^pay during life. To defray the cxpence, congrefs borrowed five millions of dollars at five per cent ; for payment of which the United States became furety. At the fame time in order to animate the people to vigorous exertions, a declaration was piiblifhed, in which they fet forth the neceffity there was for taking proper methods to infure fuccefs in their caufe ; they endeavoured to palliate as much as poffible the misfortunes which had already happened ; and reprefented the true caufe of the prefent diflrefs to be the fhort term of enliflment. This declaration, together with the imminent danger of Philadelphia, determined the Americans to exert themfelves to the utmofl in order to reinforce General Wafhington's army. They foon received farther ^encouragement, however, by an exploit of that general againft the Hcffians. As the Royal army extended in different cantonments for a ^reat way, Gen. Wafhington, perceiving the imminent danger to which Philadelphia was expofed, refolred to make fome attempt on thofe divi- :&ons of the enemy which lay nearcft that city. Thefe happened to be the Heffians, who lay in three divifions, the laft only twenty miles diftant from Philadelphia. On the 25th of December, having collefted ae confiderable a force as he could, he fet out with an intent to furprifc tha^ AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 52I that body of the enemy who lay at Trenton. His army was divided into three bodies; one of which he ordered to crofs the Delaware at Trenton Terry, a little below the town; the fecond at a good diliance below, at a place called Bordento^n, where the fecond divifion of Heffians was placed ; while he himfelf with the third, directing his courfe to a ferry fome miles above Trenton, intended to have pafled it at midnight, and attack the HefTians at break of day. But by reafon of various impediments, it was eight of the morning before he could reach the place of his dcftination. The enemy, however, did not per- ceive his approach till they were fuJdenly attacked. Colonel Ralle, who commanded them, did all that could be expeded from a brave and experienced officer; but every thing was in fuch confufion, that po efforts of valour or (kill could now retrieve matters. The colonel himfelf was mortally wounded, his troops were entirely broken, their artillery feized, and about one thoufand taken prifoners. This ^dion, though feemingly of no very declfive nature, was fufficient at that time to turn the fortune of Vvar in favour of America. It tended greatly to leflen th« fear which the provincials had of the Heffians, at the fame time it equally abated the confidence which the Eritilh had till now put in them. Reinforcements came into General Wafhington's army from all quarters; fo that he was foon in a condition to leave Philadelphia, and take up his quarters at Trenton. Emboldened by his fuccefs, he determined to make an at- tempt on a divifion of the Eritifh forces Rationed at Maidenhead, a town fituated half way between Trenton and Princetown. This con. filled of three regiments under the command of Colonel Mawhood, an officer of great merit. The troops were furprifcd on their march ; but though they were feparately furrounded and attacked by a force fo vaftly fuperior, they charged the enemy (o refolutely with their bayo- nets, that they effefted a retreat. Thefc attempts of the Americans however, with the hoftile difpofition of the people, fliowed the iin- poffibility of maintaining pods fo far advanced in the enemy's country; fo that it wasrefolved to retreat towards Brunfwick, in order to prevent it, with the troops and magazines it contained, from falling into the hands of the provincials. General Waftiington loft no opportunity of recovering what had been loft ; and by dividing his army into fmall parties, which could be reunited on a few hours warning, he in a man- ner entirely covered the country with it, and repoflefted himfelf of all the important places. Thus ended the campaign of 1776, with'fcarce any real advantage other than the acquifition of the city of New- York, and a few for. Vol. I. 3 X treffes 522 HISTORY OF THE treflcs in its neighbourhood ; where the troops were obliged to ail with as much circumfpedion as if they had been befieged by a vifto- ^ous army, inftcad of being themfelves the conquerors. . The army at New- York began in 1777 ^^ exercife a kind of preda- tory war, by fending out parties to deftroy magazines, make incur- iions, and take or deilroy fuch forts as lay on the banks of rivers, to which their great command of fhipping gave them accefs. In this they were generally fuccefsful : the provincial magazines at Pcek's- HiU, a place, of about fifty miles diftant from New- York, were de- ftroyed, the town of Dunbury in Connedicut burnt, and that of Ridgefield in the fame province was taken pofTeirion of. In returning from the laft expedition, however, the Britilh were greatly harrafTed by the enemy under Generals Arnold, Woofter, and Sullivan; bu^ they made good their retreat in, fpite of all oppofition, with the lofs of only one hundred and fevcnty killed and wounded. On the Ame- rican fide the lofs was much greater ; General Woofler was killed, and Arnold in the moft imminent danger. On tlie other hand, the AmeVi- cans deflroyed the flores at Sagg-harbour, in Long-IHand, and made prifoners of all who defended the place. As this method of making war, however, could anfwer but little purpofe, and favoured more of the barbarous incurfions of favages than of a war carried on by a civilized people, it was refolved to make an at- tempt on Philadelphia, At firft it was thought that this could he done through thejerfeys; but General Wafhington had received fuch large reinforcements, and pofted himfclf To ftrongly, that it was found to be irapradicable. Many flratagcms were ufed to draw him from this flrong fituation, but without fuccefs; fo that it was found necedary to make the attempt on Philadelphia by fea. While the preparations ne- cefTary for this expedition were going forward, the Americans found means to make amends for the capture of General Lee by that of General Prefcot, who was feized in his quarters with his aid-de-camp, in much the fame manner as General Lee had been. This was exceed- ingly mortifying to the General himfelf, as he had not long before fet ^ price upon General Arnold, by oifering a fum of money to any one that apprehended him > which tjie latter anfwered by fetting a lowe^ price upon General Prefcot. The month of July was far advanced before the preparations for the. expedition againfl Philadelphia were completed ; and it was the 23d before the fleet was able to fail from Sandy-Hook. The force employed in this expedition confiiled of thirty-fix battalions of Britifli and Hcf- • fians, a regiment of light horfc, and a body of loyalifls raifed at New- '~ ■ ' York, AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 523 York. The remainder of thefe, with feventeen battalions, and another body of light horfe, were Rationed at New York under Sir Henry- Clinton. Seven battalions were ftationed at Rhode-Ifland, After a week's failing they arrived at the mouth of the Delaware ; but there received certain intelligence, that the navigation of the river was {o effedually obftrufted, that no poflibility of forcing a paffage remained. Upon this it was refolved to proceed farther fouthward to Chefapeak Bay in Maryland, from whence the diftance to Philadelphia was noj; very great, and where the provincial army would find lefs advantage from the nature of the country than in the Jerfeys. The navigation from Delaware to Chefapeak took up the beft part of the month of Auguft, and that up the bay itfelf was extremely diffi- cult and tedious. At laft, having failed up the river Elk as far as was pradlicable, the troops were landed without oppofition, and (ct forward on their intended expedition. On the news of their arrival in Chefa- peak, General Wafhington left the Jerfeys, and haftened to the relief of Philadelphia ; and in the beginning of September met the Royal army at Brandy- wine Creek about mid-day, between the head of the Elk and Philadelphia. Here he adhered to his former method of fkirmifhing and haraffing the Royal army on its march ; but as this proved infuffici- ent to flop its progrefs, he retired to that fide of the Creek next to Philadelphia with an intent to difpute the paflage. This brought on a general engagement on the 11th of September, in which the Americans were worfted through the fuperior difcipline of the Britifh troops ; and it was only through the approach of night that they were faved from being entirely deftroyed. On this occafion the provincials loft about one thoufand in killed and wounded, befides four hundred taken prifoners. The lofs of this battle proved alfo the lofs of Philadelphia. General Wafliington retired towards Lancafter, an inland to\yn at a confiderable diftance from Philadelphia. Here, however, the Britifti general took fuch meafures as muft have forced the provincials to a fecond engage- ment ; but a violent rain which lafted a day and a night prevented his defign. General Wafhington, though he could not prevent the lofs of Philadelphia, ft ill adhered to his original plan of diftreffing the Royal party, by laying ambulhes and cutting off detached parties ; but in this he was lefs fuccefsful than formerly ; and one of his own detachments, which lay in ambufli in a wood, were themfelves furprifed and entirely defeated, with the lofs of three hundred killed and wounded, befides a great number taken, and all their arms and baggage. 3X2 General 524 HISTORY OF THE General Howe now perceiving that the Americans would not venture another battle even for the iake of their capital, took peaceable pofleflion of it on the 26th of September. His firft care was then to cut off, by- means of ftrong batteries, the communication between the upper and lower parts of the river ; which was executed notwithftanding the oppo- fition of fome American armed veflels : one of which, carrying thirty- fix guns, was taken. His next talk was to open a communication with it by fea ; and this was a work of no fmall difficulty. A vaft number of batteries and forts had been eredled, and immenfe machines formed like chetaux de frizey from whence they took their name, funk in the river to prevent its navigation. As the fleet was fent round to the mouth of the river in order to co-operate with the army, this work, however difficult, was accomplifhed ; nor did the provincials give much oppofition, as well knowing that all places of this kind were now untenable. General Wa(hington, however, took the advantage of the royal army being divided, to attack the camp of the principal divifion of it that lay at German-town, in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. In this he met with very little fuccefs ; for though he reached the place of deftination by three o'clock in the morning, the patroles had time to call the troops to arms. The Americans, notwithftanding, made a very refo- lute attack : but they were received with fuch bravery, that they were compelled to abandon the attempt, and retreat in great diforder ; with the advantage, however, of carrying off their cannon, though purfiied for a confiderable way, after having three hundred killed, fix hundred wounded, and upwards of four hundred taken prifoners, among whonj were fifty-four officers. On the Britlfh fide, the lofs amounted to four hundred and thirty wounded and prifoners, and feventy killed ; but among the laft were General A^^'iew and Colonel Bird, with fome other excellent officer's. There ftill remained two ftrong forts on the Delaware to be reduced. Thefe were Mud Iftand and Red Bank. The various obftruflions which the Americans had thrown in the way rendered it neceflary to bring up the Augufta, a (hip of the line, and the Merlin frigate, to the attack of Mud Ifland ; but during the heat of the aftion both were ground- ed. Upon this, the Americans fent down four fire-ftiips, and dire^led the whole fire from the.ir galleys againft thenl. The former were ren- dered ineSeftual by the courage and fkill of the Britifti feamen ; but during the engagement both the Augufta and Merlin took fire and were burnt to afties, and the other ftiips obliged to withdraw. The Americans encouraged by this unfuocefsful attempt, proceeded to throw new ob- ftruftions in thr way ; but the Britifti general having found means to 3 (ionvey AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 525 convey a number of cannon, and to ereft battt-ries within gunfhot of the fort by land, and bringing up three fliips of the line which mounted heavy cannon, the garrifon, after making a vigorous defence for one day, perceiving that preparations were making for a general aflaulton the next, abandoned the place in the night. Thofe who defended Red Bank followed their example, and abandoned it on the approach of Lord Cornwallis, A great number of the American fhipping now find- ing themfclvcs entirely deftitute of any prote(flion, failed up the river in the night-time. Seventeen, however, remainded, whofe retreat was in- tercepted by a frigate and fome armed veflels ; on which the Americans ran them alhore and burnt them, to prevent their falling into the enemy's hands. Thus the campaign of 1777 in Penfylvania concluded fucccfsfully on the part of the Britilh. In the north, however, matters wore a different afpedt. The expedition in that quarter had been projefted by the Britilh miniftry as the mod effedual method that could be taken to crufli the colonies at once. The four provinces of New England had originally begun the confederacy againft Britain, and were Hill confider- cd as the moil aftive in the continuation of it ; and it was thought, that any impreflion made upon them would contribute in an efFedual manner to the redudion of all the reft. For this purpofe, an army of four thoufand chofen Britifli troops and three thoufand Germans were put under the command of General Burgoyne ; General Carleton was dire(fled to ufe his intereft with the Indians to perfuade them to join in this expedition ; and the province of Quebeck was to furnilh large parties to join in the fame. The officers who commanded under Gene- ral Burgoyne were General Philips of the artillery. Generals Frafer, Powell, and Hamilton, with the German officers Generals Reidefel and Speecht. The foldiers, as has already been obferved, were all excellent- ly difciplined, and had been kept in their winter-quarters with all imaginable care, in order to prepare them for the expedition on which they were going. To aid the principal expedition, another was projeft- ed on the Mohawk River under Colonel St. Leger, who was to be af- fifted by Sir John Johnfon, fon to the famous Sir William Johnfon, who had fo greatly diftingulftied himfelf in the war of 1755. On the 21ft of June 17771 the army encamped on the weftern fide of the Lake Champlain ; where being joined by a confiderable body of Indians, General Burgoyne made a fpeech, in which he exhorted thefe new allies to lay afide their ferocious and barbarous manner of making war; to kill only fuch as oppofed them in arms; and to fpare prifoners, with fuch women and children as (hould fall into their hand?. After iflaing ^ 526 HISTORY OF TPIE iffuing a proclamation, in which the force of Britain and that which he commanded was fet forth in very oflentatious terms, the campaign open- ed with the fiege of Ticonderoga. The place was very ftrong, and garrifoned by fix thoufand men under General Sinclair ; neverthelefs, the works were fo extenfive that even this number was fcarce fufficient to defend them properly. They had therefore omitted to fortify a rugged eminence called Sugar Hilly the top of which overlooked and ef- fedually commanded the whole works ; vainly imagining that the dif- ficulty of the afcent would be fufficient to prevent the enemy from tak- ing pofTeflion of it. On the approach of the firft divifion of the army, the provincials abandoned and fet fire to their outworks ; and fo expe- ditious were the Britilh troops, that by the 5th of July every poft was Secured which was judged neceffary for invefting it completely. A road was foon after made to the very fummit of that eminence which the Americans had with fuch confidence fuppofed could not be afcended, and fo much were they now difheartened, that they inftantly abandoned the fort entirely, taking the road to Skenefborough, a place to the fouth of Lake George ; while their baggage, with what artillery and military ftores they could carry oft, were fent to the fame place by water. But the Britilh generals were determined not to let- them pafs fo eafily. Both were puifued and both overtaken. Their armed vefiTels confifted only of five galleys ; two of which were taken, and three blown up ; on which they fet fire to their boats and fortifications at Skenefborough, On this occafion the provincials loft two hundred boats, one hundred and thirty pieces of cannon, with all their provifions and baggage. Their land-forces under Colonel Francis made a brave defence againft General Frafer : and being greatly fuperior in number, had almofl Overpowered him, when General Reidefel with a large body of Germans came to his affidance. The Americans were now overpowered in their turn ; and their commander being killed, they fled on all fides with great precipitation. In this a6lion two hundred Americans were killed, as many taken prifo.iers, and above fix hundred wounded, many of whom perilhed in the woods for want of afliftance. During the engagement General Sinclair was at Caftleton, about fix miles from the place ; but inftead of going forward to Fort Anne, the next place of ftrength, he repaired to the woods which lie between that fortrefs and New England. General Burgoyne, however, detached Colonel Hill with the ninth regiment, in order to intercept fuch as fhould attempt to retreat towards fort Anne. On his way he met with a body of the enemy, faid to be fix times as numerous as his own ; but after an engagement of three hours, they were obliged to retire with great AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 527 great lofs. After fo many difaftcrs, defpairing of being able to make any ftand at Fort Anne, they fet fire to it and retired to Fort Edward. In all thefe engagements the lofs of killed and wounded in the royal army, did not exceed two hundred men. . General Burgoyne was now obliged tofufpend his operations for fome time, and wait at Skenelhorough for the arrival of his tents, provifions, &c. but employed this interval in making roads through the country about St. Anne, and in clearing a paffage for his troops to proceed againft the enemy. This was attended with incredible toil ; but all obftacles were furmounted with equal patience and refolution by the army. In Ihort, after undergoing the utmoft difficulty that could be undergone, and making every exertion that man could make, he arrived with his army before Fort Edward about the end of July. Here General Schuyler had been for fome time endeavouring to recruit the fliattered American forces, and had been joined by General Sinclair with the remains of his army ; the garrifon of Fort George alfo, fituated on the lake of that name, had evacuated the place and retired to Fort Edward. But on the approach of the royal army, they retired from thence alfo, and formed their head quarters at Saratoga. Notwithftanding the great fucceffes of the Britifh General, they fhowed not the Icaft difpofi- tion to fubmit, but feemed only to confider how they might make the moft efFedual refinance. For this purpofe, the militia was every where raifcd and draughted to join the army at Saratoga; and fuch numbers of volunteers were daily added, that they foon began to recover from the terror into which they had been thrown. That they might have a commander whofe abilities could be relied on, General Arnold was ap- pointed, who repaired to Saratoga v,-ith a couriderable train of artillery ; but receiving intelligence that Colonel St. Leger was proceeding wltl\ great rapidity in his expedition on the Mohawk River, he removed to Still-water, a place about half-way between Saratoga and the junftion o^ the Mohawk and Hudfon's River. The Colonel, in the mean time, had advanced as far as Fort Stanwix ; the fiege of which he preffed with great vigour. On the 6th of Auguft, underftanding that a fupply of provifions, efcorted by eight or nine hundred men, was on the way to the fort, he difpatched Sir John Johnfon with a ftrong detach- ment to intercept it. This he did fo efFeftually, that, befides inter- cepting the provifions, four hundred of its guards were flain, two hun- dred taken, and the reft efcaped with great difficulty. The garrifon, however, were not to be intimidated by thisdifafter, nor hy the threats or feprcfentations of the Colonel : on the contrary, they made feveral fuccefs- ful 528 HISTORY OF THE fill fallics under Colonel Willet, the Tecond in command; and this gentleman, in company with another, even ventured out of the fort, and, eluding the vigilance of the enemy, pafled through them in order to haften the march of General Arnold to their afliftance. Thus the affairs of Colonel St. Leger feemed to be in no very fcvourable fituation notwithftanding his late fuccefs, and they were foon totally ruined by the defertion of the Indians. They had been alarmed by the report of General Arnold's advancing with two thoufand men to the relief of the fort ; and while the Colonel was attempting to give them encouragement, another report was fpread, that General Burgoync had been defeated with great flaughter, and was now flying before the provincials. On this he was obliged to do as they thought proper; and the retreat could not be effeded without the lofs of the tents and fome of the artillery and military {lores. General Burgoync, in the mean time, notwithflanding all the difRcul- ties he had already fuftaincd, found that he muft ftill encountdr more. Tlic roads he had made with (o much labour and pains were deftroycd cither by the wetnefs of the feafon, or by the enemy ; fo that the pro- vifions he brought from Fort George could not arrive at his camp with- out the moft prodigious toil. On hearing of the ficge of Fort Stanwix, hy Colonel St. Leger, lie determined to move forward in ho}">es of in- clofing the enemy betwixt his own army and that of St. Leger, or of obtaining the command cf all the country botwcen Fort Stanwix and Albany ; or at any rate, a jp-^ion with Colonel St. Leger would be etFeft- ed, which could net but be att;.nded with the moll hapj.y confequences. The only difficulty was the want cf provifjons ; and this it was propofed to remedy by reducing the provincial mjignzines at Bennington. For this purpofe, Colonel Baum, a German officer of great bravery, wa? chofen with a body of five hundred men. The place was about twenty miles from Hudfon's River ; and to fupport Colonel Bauin's party, the whole army marched up the river's bank, and encamped almofl oppofite to Saratoga, with the river betwi*xt it and that place. An advanced party was pofled at Batten Kill, between the camp and Bennington, in order to fupport Colonel Baum. In their way the Britilh feized a large fupply of cattle and provifions, which were immediately fent to the camp; but the badnefs of the roads retarded their march fo much, that intelligence of their defign was fent to Bennington. Underftanding now that the American force was greatly fuperior to his own, the Colo- nel acquainted the General, who immediately difpatched Colonel Brey- man with a party to his affiftance ; but through the fame caufes that ha4 retarded the march of Colonel Buum, this alUftancc could not arrive in time. American revolution. 520 Vin*ie. General Starke, in the mean time, who commanded at Benning-* ton, determined to attack the two parties feparately ; and for this pur- pofe advanced againll Colonel Baum, whom he furrounded on all fides and attacked with the utmoft intrepidity. The troops defended themfelves with great valour, but were to a man either killed or taken. Colonel Breyman, after a dcfperate engagement, had the good luck to effeft a retreat through the darknefs of the night, which otherwife he could not have done, as his men had expended all their ammunition, being forty tounds to each. General Burgoyne, thus dif^ippointed in his attempt on Bennington, applied himfelf with indefatigable diligence to procure provifions from Fort George ; and having at length amafied a fufiicient quantity to laft for a month, he threw a bridge of boats over the river Hudfon, which he croffed about the middle of September, encamping on the hills and plains near Saratoga. As foon as he approached the provincial army, at this time encamped at Stillwater under General Gates, he determined to make an attack ; for which purpofe he put himfelf at the head of the ■central divifion of his army, having General Frafer and Colonel Erey- man on the right, with Generals Reidefel and Philips on the left. In this pofition he advanced- towards the enemy on the 19th of September^ But the Americans did not now wait to be attacked : on the contrary, they attacked the central divifion with the utmoft bravery; and it was liot until General Philips with the artillery came up that they could be repulfed. On this occafion, though the Britifh troops loft only three hundred and thirty in killed and wounded, and the enemy no fewer than fifteen hundred, the former vvere very much alarmed at the obftinate re- folution iliown by the Americans. This did not, however, prevent them from advancing towards the enemy, and porting themfelves the next day within cannon-ftiot of their lines. But their allies the Indians began to defert in great numbers; and at the fame time the general was in the higheft degree mortified by having no intelligence of any affiftance from Sir Henry Clinton, as had been ftipulated. He now received a letter from him, by which he was informed that Sir Henry intended to make a diverfion on the North River in his favour. This afforded but little comfort : however, he returned an anfwer by feveral trufty perfons whom he difpatchcd different ways, ftating his prefent diftreffed fitu- ation, and mentioning that the provifions and other neceffaries he had would only enable him to hold out till the 12th of 0<5lober. In the mean time the Americans, in order to cut off the retreat of the Britilh army in the moft effedual manner, undertook an expedi-iopi Vol. h 3 Y - againft ^30 HISTORY OF THE ■gainft Tlconderoga ; but were obliged to abandon the enterpriCe after having furprifed all the out-pofts, and taken a great number of boats wi h fome armed veflcls, and a number of prifoners. The army under General Burgoyne, however, continued to labour under the greateft diftrefles ; fo that in the beginning of Oftober he had been obliged to diminilh the fc.ldiers allowance. On the 7th of that month he determined to mov« towards the enemy. For this purpofe he fent a body of fifteen hundred men to reconnoitre their left wing; intending, if poflible, to break through it in order to efFed a retreat. The detachment, however, had not proceeded far when a dreadful attack was made upon the left wing of the Britifh army, which was with great difficulty preferved from being entirely broken by a reinforcement brought up by General Frafer, who was killed in the attack. After the troops had with the moft dc- fperate efforts regained their camp, it was moft furioufly affaulted by General Arnold; who, notwithllanding all oppofition, would have forced the entrenchments, had he not received a dangerous wound, which obliged him to retire. Thus the attack failed on the left, but on the right the camp of the German referve was forced. Colonel Brey- man killed, and his countrymen defeated with great flaughter and the lofs of all their artillery and baggage. This was by far the heavieft lofs the Brltifti army had fuftained fince the adion «t Bunker's Hill, The lift of killed and wounded amounted to near twelve hundred, exclufive of the Germans; but the greateft misfortune wa?', that the enemy had now an opening on the right and rear of the Britifti forces, fo that the army was threatened with entire deftruftion. This obliged General Burgoyne once more to (hift his pofition, that the enemy might alfo be obliged to alter theirs. ThLv was accomplithed on the night of the 7th, without any lofs, and all the next day he continued to offer the enemy battle ; but they were now too well aiTured of obtaining a complete vidory, by cutting off all fuppiies from the Britith, to rilk a pitched battle. Wherefore they advanced on the right fide, in order to inclofe him entirely ; which obliged the General to dired a retreat towards Saratoga. But the enemy had now llationed a gr:rat force on the ford at Hudfon's River, fo that the only poffibillty af retreat was by fecuring a paffage to Lake George ; and to cffedl this, a body of workmen were detached, with a ftrong guard, to repair the roads and bridges that led to Fort Edward. As foon as they were gone, however, the enemy feemed to prepare for an attack ; which rendered it neceffary to recal the guard, and the workmen being of •ourfe left cxpofcd could not proceed* la AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 53I In the mean time, the boats which conveyed provifions down Hud- {on's River were expofed to the continual fire of the American markfmen, who took many of them ; fo that it became neceflary to convey the pro- vifions over land. In this extreme danger, it was refolved to march by night to Fort Edward, forcing the paflages at the fords either above or below the place ; and in order to effed this the more eafily, it was re- folved that the foldiers fliould carry their provifions on their backs, leaving behind their baggage and every other incumbrance. But before thi^ could be executed, intelligence was received that the enemy had raifed ftrong entrenchments oppjfite to thcfe fords, well provided with cannon, and that they had likewife taken poffcirion of the rifmg ground between Fort George and Fort Edward, which in like manner was pro- vided with cannon. All this time the American army was increafing by the continual ar- rival of militia and volunteers from all parts. Their parties extended all along the oppofite bank of Hudfon's River, and fome had even paffed it in order to obferve the leaft movement of the Britifli army. The whole force under General Gates was computed at fixteen thoufand men, while the army under General Burgoyne fcarce amounted to fix thoufand; and every part of the camp was reached by the grape and rifle (hot of the enemy, befides a difcharge from their artillery, which was almoft inceffant. In this ftate of extreme diftrefs and danger, the army con- tinued with the greateft conilancy and perfeverance till the evening of the 13th of Odober, when an inventory of provifions being taken, it was found that no more remained that what were fufficient to ferve for three days ; and a council of war being called, it was unanlmoully de- termined that there was no method now remaining but to treat with the enemy. In confequence of this, a negociation was opened next day, which fpeedily terminated in a capitulation of the whole Britifh army ; the principal article of which was, that the troops were to have a free paflage to Britain, on condition of not ferving againft America during the war. On this occafion, General Gates ordered his army to keep within their camp while the Britilh foldiers went to a place appointed for them to lay down their arms, that the latter might not have the ad- ditional mortification of being made fpeflacles of fo melancholy an event. The number of thofe who furrendered at Saratoga amounted to five thoufand feven hundred and fifty, according to the American ac-. counts ; the lift of fick and wounded left in the camp when the army re- treated to Saratoga, to five hundred and twenty-eight ; and the number of thofe loft by other accidents fince the taking of Ticonderoga, to neai three thoufand, Thi*ty-five brafs field-pieces, feven thoufand ftaiid, of 3 Y a arm 532 HISTORY OF THE arms, clothing for an equal number of foldicrs, wirh their tents, niilitaF)^ cheft, &c, conftitutcd the booty on this occafion. ^Sir Henry Clinton, in the mean time, had failed up the North River, and deftroyed the two forts called Montgomery and Clinton, with Fort Conftitution, and another place called Continental Village, where were barracks for two thoufand men. Seventy large cannon were carried ^way, befides a number of fmaller artillery, and a great quantity of ftores and ammunition; a large boom and chain reaching acrofs the river from iFort Montgomery to a point of land called St. Anthony's Nofc, and which coft not lefs than feventy thoufand pounds fterling, were partly deftroyed and partly carried away, as was alfo another boom of little lefs value at Fort Conftitution. The lofs of the Britilh army was but fmall in number, though fome officers of great merit were killed in the dif- ferent attacks. Another attack was made by Sir James Wallace with feme frigates, and a body of land forces under General Vaughan. The place which now fuffcred was named Efopus : the fortifications were deft roved, and the town itfelf was reduced tould Britain by their joint endeavours be difpofleffcd of Newfound- z land 534 HISTORY OF THE land. Cape Breton, and Nova Scotia, thefe territories (hould be divided bctxvixt the two nations, and Great Britain be totally excluded from the fiflicry. The propofaJs to the Spanifh court wcr«, that in cafe they (hould think proper to cfpoufe their quarrel, the American States DiouW affift in reducing Penfacola under the dominion of Spain, provided their fubjedts were allowed the free navigation of the Mifliflippi, and the ufe of the harbour of Penfacola; and they furt'ier offered, that if agreeable to Spain, they would declare war againft Portugal, (hould that power expel the American (hips from its ports. In the mean time, the troops under General Burgoyne were pre- paring to embark for Britain according to the convention at Sara* toga; but in the interim, congrefs pofitively refufed then permiflion fo to do, having difcovered that fome fmiiler dcf^gns were har- boured on the part of Britain, and that they only wanted an opportu- ■ity to join the other troops at Philadelphia or New York. The feafon for aftion was now approaching ; and congrefs was inde- fatigable in its preparations for a new campaign, which it was confi- dently faid would be the laft. Among other methods taken for this porpofe, it was recommended to all the young gentlemen of the colo- nies to form themfelves into bodies of cavalry to ferve at their own ex- pence during the war. General Walhington at the fame time, in order to remove all incumbrances from his army, lightened the baggage fuch was the defolation, that on the American army's leaving the country, not a houfe, not 3 field of corn, nor a fruit-tree, was left upon the ground, nor was an Indian to be feen throughout the whole track. We muft now take a view of the tranfavftions in the fouthern colonics ; to which the war was, in the year 1780, fo eifedually transferred, that the operations there became at laft decifive. The fuccefs of General Prevoft in advancing to the very capital of South Carolina has been already related, together with the obftacles which prevented hira from becoming matter of it at that time. Towards the end of the year 1 779,. however. Sir Henry Clinton fet fail from New York with a confi- derable body of troops, intended for the attack of Charleftown, S'outli Carolina, in a fleet of fiiips of war and tranfports under the command of Vice-admiral Arbuthnot. They had a very tedious voyage ; the weather was uncommonly bad ; feveral of the tranfports were loft, a» were alfo the greateft part of the horfes which they carried with th?m, intended for cavalry or other public ufes; and an ordnance-ftiip likewif(^ foundered at fea. Having arrived at Savannah, where they endea- Toured to repair the damages fuftained on their voyage, they proceeded from thence on the 10th of February 1780 to North Edifto, the place of debarkation which had been previoully appointed. They had » fcyourable and fpeedy pafTage thither; and though it required time ta have AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 547 have the bar explored and the channel marked, the tranfports all entered the harbour the next day; and the army took pofieuion of John's ifland without oppofition. Preparations were then made for pafling the fqna- dron over Charlellown bar, where the lugh- water fpring-tides were only nincteea feet deep: but no opportunity offered of going into the har- bour till the 20th of March, when it was elFefted without any acci- dent, though the American galleys continually attempted to prevent the Englifli boats from founding the channel. The Brltllh troops had pre- vioofly removed from John's to James's Ifland ; and on the 29th of the fame month they effeded their landing on Charleftown Neck. On the ift of April they broke ground within eight hundred yards of the American works; and by the 8th the befiegers guns were mounted in battery. As foon as the army began to ereft their batteries agalnft the town, Admiral Arbuthnot embraced the firft favourable oppoitunity of pafTing Sullivan's Ifland, upon which there was a ftrong fort of batteries, the chief defence of the harbour. He weighed on the 9th, with the Roc- buck, Richmond, and Romulus, Blonde, Virginia, Raleigh, and Sand- wich armed flilp, the Renown bringing up the rear ; and, pafling through a fevere fire, anchored in about two hours under James's Ifland, with the lofs cf twenty-feven feamen killed and wounded. The Richmond's fore-top-maft was fliot away, and the fliips in general fuftained damage in their mafts and rigging, though not materially in their hulls. But the Acetus tranfport, having on board fome naval ilores, grounded within ^un-fliot of Sullivan's Ifland, and received fo much damage that flie was obliged to be abandoned and burnt. On the 10th, Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot fummon^d the town to furrender to his Majefty's arms : but Major-General Lincoln, who commanded in Charleftown, returned them an anfwer, declaring it to be his intention to defend the place. The batteries were now opened againft the town ; and from their effccl the fire of the American ad- vanced works confiderably abated. It appears that the number of troops under the command of Lincoln were by far too few for defending works of fuch extent as thofe of Charleftown ; and that many of thefe were men little accuftomed to military fcrvice, and very ill provided with cloaths and other neceflarles. General Lincoln had been for fome time expelling reinforcements and fupplies from Virginia and other places : but they came in very flowly. Earl Cornwallis and Lieutenant- colonel Tarleton under him, were alfo extremely aftive in intercepting fuch reinforce- ments and fupplies as were fent to the American general. They totally defeated a confiderable body of cavalry and militia which was proceed- 4 A^ ing 548 HISTORY OF THE ing to the relief of the town ; and alfo made tliemfclvcs msftfrs of fom«i pofts, which gave them in a great degree the command of the country, hj which means great fupplics of provifions fell into their hands. Such was the ftatc of things, and Fort Sullivan had alfo been takei^ by the king's troops, when on the 18th of May General Clinton again fummoned the town to furrendcr ; an offer being made, as had beeti done before, that if they furrendered, the lives and property of the in- habitants Ihould be preferved to them. Articles of capitulation were then propofed by General Lincoln ; bi;t the terms were not agreed to by General Clinton. At length, however| the town being clofely in- vefted on all fides, and the preparations to ftorni it in every part being in great forwardnefs, and the Ihips ready to move to the affault, Gene- ral Lincoln, who had been applied to for that purpofc by the inhabitants, furrendered it on fuch articles of capitulation as General Clinton ha4 before agreed to. This was on the 4th of May, which was one month and two days after the town had been firft fummoned to furrender. A large quantity of ordnance, arms, and ammunition, were found ii\ Charledown ; and, according to Sir Henry Clinton's account, the num- ber of prifoners taken in Charleftown amounted to five thoufand fix hun- dred and eighteen men, exclufivc of near a thoufand failors in arms ; but according to General Lincoln's account tranfmitted to the congrefs, the whole number of continental troops taken prifoners amounted to no more than two thoufand four hundred and eighty ftven. The remain- der, therefore, included in General Clinton's account, muft have con- Hfted of n)ilitia and inhabitants of the town. Several American frigates were alfo taken or deftroyed in the harbour of Charleftown. The lofs of Charleftown evidently excited a confiderable alarm in America : and their popular writers, particularly the author of the cele-j brated performance intitled Common SenftB, in fome other pieces made life of it as a powerful argument to lead them to more vigorous exertions againft Great Critain, that they might the mprc cfFei^ually and certainly fecurc their independence. While Sir Henry Clinton was employed in his voyage to Charleftown, and in the fiege of that place, the garrifon at New York feem not to have been wholly free from apprehenfions for their own fafety. An in- tenfe froft, accompanied with great falls of fnow,be^an about the middle of December 17791 and fhut up the navigation of the port of New York from the fea, within a few days after the departure of Admiral Arbuth- not and General Clinton. The feverity of the weather increafed to fo great a degree, that towards the middle of January all communications with New York by water \yerc entirely cut off', and as rnany new ones opened AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 5|g i^pened by the ice. The inhabitants could fcarcely be faid to be in an in- fular ftate, Horfes with heavy carriages could go over the ice into the Jerfeys from one ifland to another. The paffage in the North River, even in the wideft part from New York to Paulus Hook, which was two thoufand yards, was about the 19th of January pradicablc for the heavieft cahnon : an event which had been unknown in the memory of man, Provifions were foon after tranfported upon fledges, and a de- tachment of cavalry marched upon the ice from New York to Staien ' liland, which was a diftance of eleven miles. The city of New York being thus circun'.I>anced, was confidered as jnuch expofed to the attacks from the continental troops : and it was ftrongly reported that General Wafliington was meditating a great ftroke upon New York with his whole force, by different attacks. Some time before this, ]Major-general Pattifon, commandant at New York, having received an addrefs from many of the inhabitants, offering to put themfelves in military array, he thought the prefent a favourable opportunity of trying the fmcerity of their profeiTions, Accordingly he iffued a proclamation, calling upon all the male inhabitants from fixteen to iixty to take up arm.s. The requifition was fo readily complied with, that in a few days, forty companies from the fix wards of the city were |nrolled, officered, and under arms, to the number of two thoufand fix hundred, many fubflantial citizens ferving in the ranks of each company. Other volunteer companies were formed; and the city was put into a yery flrong pofture of defence. No attack, however, was made upon New York, whatever defign jnight originally have been meditated : but an attempt was made upon Staten Ifland, where there were about eighteen hundred men, under the pommand of Brigadierrgeneral Sterling, who were well intrenched. General Wafliington, whofe army was hutted at Morris- Town, fent a detachment of two thoufand feven hundred men, with fix pieces of can- non, two mortars, and fome horfes, commanded by Lord Sterling, who arrived at Staten Ifland early in the morning of the 1 5th of January. The advanced polls of the Britifli troops retired upon the approach of the Americans, who formed the line, and made fome movements in the courfe of the day; but they withdrew in the night, after having burnt one houfe, pillaged fome others, and carried off with them about two hundred head of cattle. Immediately on the arrival of the Americans on Staten Ifland, Lieutenant-general Knyphaufen had embarked fix hundred men to attempt a paflTage, and to fupport General Sterling : but the floating ice compelled them to retuyi. It is, however, imagined* that the appearance of tljpfe tranfports, with tlie Britifli troops on board 550 HISTORY OF THE board, which the Americans coald fee towards the clorc of the day, in. duced the latter to make fo precipitate a retreat. After Charlellown had furrcndered to the king's troops, General Clinton iffucd two proclamations, and alfo circulated a hand-bill amongft the inhabitants of South Carolina, in order to induce them to return to their allegiance, and to be ready to join the king's troops. It was faid, that the helping hand of every man was wanted to re-eftablifh peace and good government : and that as the commander in chief wiflied not to draw the king's friends into danger, while any doubt could remain of their fuccefs; fo now that this was certain, he trufted that one and all would heartily join, and by a general concurrence give eifeft to fuch neceffary meafures for that purpofe as from time to timg might be point- ed out. Thofe who had families were to form a militia to remain at home, and occafionally to aiferpble in their own diftri(5ls, when required, under ofScers of their own choofmg, for the maintenance of peace and good order. Thofe who had no families, and who could conveniently be fpared for a time, it was prefumed, would cheerfully ailift his Majef- ty's troops in driving their oppreflbrs, lifting undey the authority of congrcfs, and all the miferies of war, far from that colony. For this purpofe it was faid to be neceffary that the young men Ihould be ready to aflemble when required, and to ferve with the king's troops for any iix months of the enfuing twelve that might be found requiiitc, under proper regulations. They mioht choofe officers to each company to command them ; and were to be allowed, when on fervice, pay, am- munition, and provifions, in the fame manner as the king's troops. When they joined the army, each man was to be furnillied with a certifi- cate, declaring that he was only engaged to ferve as a militia-man for the time fpecified ; that he was not to be marched beyond North Carolina and Georgia ; and that, when the time was out, he was freed from all claims whatever of military fervice, excepting the common and ufual militia-duty where he lived. He would then, it was faid, have paid his debt to his country, and bt intitled to enjoy undirturbed that peace, liberty, and properfy, at home, which he had contributed to fecure. The proclamations and publications of General Clinton appear to have produced fome effed in South Carolina ; though they probably operated chiefly upon thofe who were before not much inclined to the caufe of American independence. Two hundred and ten of the inhabitants of Charlcftown figned an addrefs to General Clinton and Admiral Arbuth- not, foliciting to be readmitted to the charafter and condition of Britifti fubjefts, the inhabitants of t|)at city having been hitherto confidered as prifoners en parole; declaring their difapprobation of the doftrine • of 2 Americau AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 55I American independence ; and exprefling their regret, that after the re- peal of thofe ftatutes which gave rife to the troables in America, tlw overtures made by his Majefty's commiflioners had not been regarded hy the congrefs. Sir Henry Clinton, in one of the proclamations iffued at? this time, declared, that if any perfons fhould thenceforward appear in arms in order to prevent the ellablifhment of his Majefty's government in that country, or fliouldr under any pretence or authority whatfoever attempt to compel any other perfon or perfons to do fo, or who Ihould hinder or intimidate the king's faithful and loyal fubjefts from joining his forces or othervvife performing thofe duties their allegiance required, fuch perfons (hould be treated with the utmoft feverity, and their eftates be immediately feized in order to be confifcated. Mean time the ravages of war did not prevent the Americans from paying fome attention to the arts of peace. On the 4th of May an aft palfed by the council and houfe of reprefentatives of Maflachufett's Bay for incorporating and eftablilhing a fociety for the cultivation and pror motion of the arts and fciences. Some doubts having arifen in the Congrefs, towards the clofc of the preceding year, about the propriety of their alTembling in the city of Philadelphia, it was now refolved that they {hould continue to meet there : and a committee of three members was appointed, to report a proper place where buildings might be prm'ided for the reception of the congrefs, together with an eftimate of the expence of providing fuch buildings and the necefiary offices for the feveral boards. It was alfb refolved by the congrefsj that a monument (hould be ereded to the me- mory of their late general Richard Montgomery, who fell at Quebec, in teftimony of his fignal and important fervices to the United States of America, with an infcription expreflive of his amiable charafter and heroic atchicvements; and that the continental treafurers Ihould be direfled to advance a fura not exceeding three hundred pounds to Dr. Franklin to defray the expence ; that gentleman being defired to caufc the monument to be executed at Paris, or in fome other part of France. It was likewife refolved by the congrefs, that a court fhould be eftablilh- cd for the trial of all appeals from the court of admiralty of the United States of America, in cafes ©f capture; to confift of three judges, ap- pointed and commiffioned by congrefs, and who were to take an oath of office ; and that the trials in this court iliould be determined by the ufage of nations. , . - The difficulties of the Congrefs and of the people of America had been greatly increafed by the depreciation of their paper- currency. At the 552 HISTORY OF THt the time when the colonies engaged in a war with Great Britain, thcf had no regular civil governments eftabliflied among them of fufficient energy to enforce the colledion of taxes, of to provide funds for the redemption of fuch bills of credit as theif neceflitfes obliged them to iffue. In confcquence of this Hate of things, their bills increafcd 'vti quantity far beyond the fum neceffary for the purpofe of a circulating medium : and as they wanted at the fame time fpecific funds to reft on for their redemption, they faw their paper-currency daily fink in value. The depreciation continued, by a kind of gradual progfeflion, from the year 1777 to 1780 : (o that, at the latter period, the continental dollars were paflcd, by common confent, in moft paints of America, at the rate of at lead -^^ths below their nominal value. The impoflibiiity of keeping up the credit of the currency to any fixed ftandard, occafionecf great and almoft infurmountable embz^rraflmentsin-afccrtaining the value of property, or carrying on trade with any fufficient certainty. Thofe who fold, and thofe who bought,- were left without a rule whereon to form a judgment of their profit or lofs : and every fpecies of commerce or exchange, whether foreign or domeftic, wasexpofed to numberlefs and increafing difficulties. The confequences of the depreciation of the paper-currency were alfo felt with peculiar feverity by fuch of the Americans as were engaged in their military fervices, and greatly aug- mented by their other hardfhips. The requifitions made by the congrefs to the feveral colonies for fupplies, were alfo far from always being re- gularly complied with : and their troops were not unfrequently in want of the moft common necelTaries; which naturally occafioned complaints and difcontent among them. Some of thefe difficulties, refulting from their circumftances and fituation, perhaps no wifdom conid have pre- vented : but they feem to have arifen in part from the congrefs not being fufficiently acquainted with the principles of finance, and from a defeft of fyftem in the departments of their government. The caufe of the Americans appears alfo to have fuffered fomewhaf by their depending too much on temporary enliftmcnts. But the congrefs endeavoured, towards the clofe of the year 1780, to put their army upon a more per- manent footing, and to give all the fatisfadion to their officers and fol- diers which their circumllances would permit. They appointed a com-* mittee for arranging their finances, and made fome new regulation! refpefting their war-office and treafury-board, and other public de- partments. Notwithftanding the difadvantages under which they laboured, the Americans feemed to entertain no doubts but that they Ihould be able to maintain their independency. The 4th of July was celebrated this ytit AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 553 year at Philadelphia with fome pomp, as the anniverfary of American independence. A commencement for conferring degrees in the arts was held the fame day, in the hall of the univerfity there ; at which the prefident and members of the congrefs attended, and other perfoiw in public offices. The Chevalier De la Lucerne, minifter plenipotentiary from the French king, to the United States, was alfo prefent on the oc- cafion. A charge was publicly addreffed by the provoft of the univerfity to the Undents ; in which he faid, that he could not but congratulate them " on that aufpicious day, which, amidft the confufions and defo-i lations of war, beheld learning beginning to revive ; and animated them with the pleafmg profpeft of feeing the facred lamp of fcience burning with a ftill brighter flame, and fcattering its invigorating rays over the unexplored deferts of that extenfive continent, until the whole world Ihould be involved in the united blaze of knowledge, liberty, and re- ligion. When he ftretched his views forward (he faid), and furveyed the riilng glories of America, the enriching confequences of their de- termined llruggle for liberty, the extenfive fields of intelledual improve- ment and ufeful invention, in fcience and arts, in agriculture and com- merce, in religion and government, through which the unfettered mind would range, with increafing delight, ia queft of the undifcovered trea- fure which yet lay concealed in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms of that new world; or in the other fertile fources of knov/- ledge with which it abounded. His heart fwelled with the pleafing profpeftj that the fons of that inftitution would diftinguifh themfelves, in the different walks of life, by their literary contributions to the em- bellifliment and increafe of human happinefs." On the 10th of July, M. Ternay, with a fleet confifl:ing of feven fhips of the line, befldes frigates, and a large body of French troops, commanded by Count de Rochambeau, arrived at Rhode Ifland ; and the following day fix thoufand men were landed there. A committee from the general aflTembly of Rhode Ifland ; was appointed to congra- tulate the French general on his arrival : whereupon he returned an anfwer, in which he informed them, that the king his mafter had fent him to the affiftance of his good and faithful allies the United States of America. At prefent, he faid he only brought over the vanguard of a much greater force deftined for their aid ; and the king had ordered him to aflure them, that his whole power fliould be exerted for their fupport. He added, that the French troops were under the ftriaeft difcipline ; and, afting under the orders of General Wafliington, would live with the Americans as their brethren. Vol, I, 4 B a fcheme 554 HISTORY OF THE A fchemc was foon formed, of making a combined attack with Eng- lilh (hips and troops, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot, againft the French fleet and troops at Rhode Ifland, Accordingly a conliderable part of the troops at New York were cm- barked for that purpofe. General Wafliington having received infor- mation of this, pafled the North River, by a very rapid movment, and, with an army increafed to twelve thoufand men, proceeded with relerity towards King's Bridge, in order to attack New York ; buf learning that the Britilh general had changed his intentions, and dif- cmbarked his troops on the 31ft of the month. General Walhington recroffed the river and returned to his former ftation. Sir Henry Clin- ton and the admiral had agreed to relinquilh their defign of attacking the French and Americans at Rhode Ifland as impradicable for the prefent. An unfuccefsful attempt was alfo made about this time in the Jerfcy* by General Knyphaufen, with feven thoufand Britifli troops under his command, to furprife the advanced pofts of General Wafliington's army. They proceeded very rapidly towards Springfield, meeting with little oppofition till they came to the bridge there, which was very gallantly defended by one hundred and feventy of the continental troops, for fifteen minutes, againft the Britifh army : but they were at length obliged to give up fo unequal a conteft, with the lofs of thirty-feven men. After fecuring this pafs, the Britifh troops marched into the place, and fet fire to moft of the hcufes. They alfo committed fome other depredations in the Jerfeys ; but gained no laurels there, being obliged to return about the beginning of July without effeding any thing material. But in South Carolina the royal arms were attended with more fuc- cefs. Earl Cornwallis, who commanded the Britifti troops there, ob- tained a very fignal viftory over General Gates on the 16th of Auguft. The aftion began at break of day, in a fituation very advantageous for the Britifli troops, but very unfavourable to the Americans. Thclatterwere much more numerous; but the ground on which both armies flood was nar- rowed by fwamps on the right and left, fo that the Americans could not properly avail themfelves of their fuperior numbers. There feems to have been fome want of generalfliip in Gates, in fuflTering himfelf to be furprifed in fo difadvantageous a pofition : but this circumftance was partly the ef- feft of accident ; for both armies fet out with a defign of attacking each other precifely at the fame time, at ten the preceding evening, and met together before day-light at the place where the aftion happened. The attack was made by tlie Britifli troops with great vigour, and in a few 4 minutes AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 555 minutes the adion was general along the whole line. It was at this time a dead calm, with a little hazinefs in the air, which prevent- ing the fmoke from riling, occafioned fo thick a darknefs, that it was difficult to fee the efFeft of a very heavy and welUfupported fire on both fides. The Britifh troops either kept up a conftant fire, or made ufe of bayonets, as opportunities oiFered : and after an obftinate refiftance during three quarters of an hour, threw the Americans into total con- fufion, and forced them to give way in all quarters. The continental troops appear to have behaved well, but the militia were foon broken, and left the former ,to oppofe the whole force of the Britifh troops. General Gates did all in his power to rally the militia, but without cfFeft : the continentals retreated in fome order, but the rout of the militia was fo great, that the Britifh cavalry are faid to have puirfued ' them to the diltance of twenty-two miles from the place where the aftion happened. The lofs of the Americans was very confideraole : about one thoufand prifoners were taken, and more are faid to have been killed and wounded, but the number is not accurately afcertained. Seven pieces of brafs cannon, a number of cojours, and all the ammu- nition-waggons of the Americans, were alfo taken. Of the Britifh troops, the killed and wounded amounted to two hundred and thir- teen. Among the prifoners taken was Major-general Baron de Kalb, a Prufllan officer in the American fervice, who was mortally wounded, having exhibited great gallantry in the courfe of the adion, and re- ceived eleven wounds. The Britifh troops by which this great vidory was atehieved, did not much exceed two thoufand, while the American army is faid to have amounted to fix thoufand j of which, however, the greatefl part were militia. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, who had greatly diflinguifhed him^lf in this adlion, was detached the following day, with fome cavalry and light infantry, amounting to about three hundred and fifty men, to at- tack a corps of Americans under General Sumpter, He executed thi« fervice with great adivity and military addrefs. He procured good information of Sumpter's movements; and by forced ana coacedled marches came up with and furprifed him in the middle of the day on the 18th, near the Catawba fords. He totally deitroyed or difj,erfcd his detachment, which confifled of feven hundred men, kiiiin^ cae hun- dred and fifty on the fpot, and taking two pieces of brafs cannon, three hundred prifoners, and forty-four waggons. Not long after thefe events, means were found to detach Major Ge- neral Arnold, who had engaged fq ardently in the caufe of America, md who had e^Uiibited fo much bravery in the fuppori oi it, from the 4 B ^ inte* 55^ HISTORY OF THE interefts of the congrcfs. Major Andr^, Adjutant General to the BrJ- tifli army, was a principal agent in this tranfaftion ; or, if the overture of joining the King's troops came firft from Arnold, this gentleman was the perfon employed to concert the affair with him. More mull have been originally comprelicnded in the fcheme than the mere defertion of the American caufe by Arnold : but whatever defigns had been formed for promoting the views of the Britifh government, they were fruftrated by the apprehending of Major Andre. He was taken in difguife, after having affumed a falfe name, on the 23d of Septeiuber, by three American foldiers; to whom he offered confiderable rewards if they would have fuffered him to efcape, but without dtc^. Several papers written by Arnold were found upon him ; and when Arnold had learned that Major Andre was feized, he found means to get on board a barge, and to efcape to one of the King's flilps. General Wafhington referred the cafe of Major Andre to the examination and decifion of a board of general officers, confiding of Major General Gre.-n, Major General Lord Sterling, Major General the Marquis de la Fayette, Ma- jor General the Baron de Steuben, two other Major Generals, and eight Brigadier Generals. Major Andre was examined before them, and the particulars of his cafe inquired into ; and they reported to the Ameri- can commander in chief, that Mr. Andre came on Ihore from the Vulture floop of War in the night, on an interview with General Arnold, in a private and fecrct manner; that he changed his drefs within the American lines; and, under a feigned name, and in a difguifed habir, paiTed the American works at Stoney and Verplank's Points, on the evening of the S2d of September; that he was taken on the morning of the 23d at Tarry-town, he being then on his way for New York : and that, when taken, he had in his pofTefTion feveral pa- pers which contained intelligence for the eneqny. They therefore de- termined, that he ought to be confidered as a fpy from the enemy ; and that, agreeable to the law and ufage of nations, he ought to fuffer death. Sir Henry Clinton, Lieutenant General Robertfon, and the late American general Arnold, all wrote prefling letters to General Wafhing- ton on the occafion, in order to prevent the decifion of the board of general officers from being put in force : But their applications were ineffedlual. Major Andre was hanged at Tappan, in the province of New York, on the 2d of Oftober. He met h'u fate with great firmnefs ; but appeared fomev/hat hurt that he was not allowed a more military death, for which he had foliclted. He was a gentleman of verv amiable qualities, had a tafte for literature and the fine arts, and poffeffed many accomplidiments. His death, therefore, was regretted even by his eac- : niies 5 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 5^7 jnies ; and the feverity of the determination concerning him was much exclaimed againft in Great Britain. It was, however, generally ac- knowledged by impartial perfons, that there was nothing in the execu- tion of this unfortunate gentleman but what was perfedly confonant to the rules bf war. * Arnold was made a brigadier general in the King's fervice, and pub- lifhed an addrefs to the inhabitants of America, dated from New York, Odlober 7, in which he endeavoured to juflify his defertion of their caufe. He faid, that when he firft engaged in it, he conceived the rights of his country to be in danger, and duty and honour called him to her defence. A redrefs of grievances was his only aim and objeft; and therefore he acquiefced unwillingly in the declaration of indepen- dence, becaufe he thought it precipitate. But what now induced him to defert their caufe was the difguft he had conceived at the French al- liance, and at the refufal of Congrefs to comply with the laft terms offered by Grcit Britain, which he thought equal to all their expe(5la- tions and to all their wifhes. The Americans, however, accounted for the condudl of Arnold in a different manner. They alledged that he had fo involved himfdf in debts and difficulties by his extravagant manner of living in America, that he had rendered it very inconvenient for him to continue there : that after the evacuation of Philadelphia by the Britifh troops, General -Arnold, being inverted with the command of that city, had made the houfe of Mr. Penn, which was the belt in the city, his head quarters* This he had furniQied in an elegant and expenfive manner, and lived in a ftyle far beyond his income. It was manifeft, they faid, that he could at firft have no great averfion to the French alliance, bccaufe that when M. Gerard, minifter plenipotentiary from the court of France, arrived at Philadelphia in July 1778, General Arnold early and earneftly foli- cited that minifler, with his whole fuite, to take apartments and bed and board at his houfe, until a proper houfe could be provided by order of the Congrefs. This offer M. Gerard, accepted, and continued with him fome weeks. The French minifter refided upwards of four- teen months in Philadelphia ; during which time General Arnold kept up the moft friendly and intimate acquaintance with him, and there was a continued interchange of dinners, balls, routes, and concerts : fo that M. Gerard muft have believed, that in General Arnold he had found and left one of the warmeft friends the court of France had in America. He was alfo one of the firft in congratQiating the Chevalier de ha Luzerne, the fecond FrencI] minifter. About this time complaints ^nd accufations were exhibited againft him by the government of Phi- ladelphia 558 HISTORY OF THE ladelphia for divers mal-praflices ; among which charges were, the appropriation of goods and merchandize to his own ufe, which he had feized as Britilh property in Philadelphia in July 1778. It was deter* mined by a court-martial that his conduct was highly reprehenfible ; but he was indulgently treated, and was therefore only reprimanded by the commander in chief General Waftiington. It w^s in thefe cir- cumftances, the Americans faid, bankrupted in reputation and fortune, loaded with debts, and having a growing and expenfive family, that General Arnold firft turned his thoughts towards joining the royal arms. After the defeat of General Gates by Earl CornwalHs, that nobleman exerted hi mfelf to the utmoft in extending the progrefs of theBritifh arms, and with confiderable efFe(^. Bat one enterprife, which was conduced by Major Fergufon, proved unfuccefsful. That officer had taken abundant pains to difcipline fome of the tory militia, as they were termed; and with a party of thefe and fome Britifh troops, amounting in the whole about one thoufand four hundred men, made incurfions into the country. But on the 7 th of Odober he was attacked by a fuperior body of Americans at a place called King's Mountain, and totally defeated. One hundred and fifty were killed in the aftion, and eight hundred and ten made pri- foners, of which one hundred and fifty were wounded. Fifteen hundred ftands of arms alfo fell into the hands of the Americans, whofe lofs was inconfidcrable. But the following month Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, who continued to exert his ufual adtivity and bravery, with a party of one hundred and feventy,' chiefly cavalry, attacked and defeated General Sumpter, who is faid to have had one thoufand men, at a place called Black Stocks. Sumpter was wounded, and about one hundred and twenty of the Americans killed, wounded, or taken. Of the Britilh troops about fifty were killed and wounded. On the 3d of September the Mercury, a congrefs packet, was taken by the Veftal, Captain Keppel, near Newfoundland. On board this packet was Mr. Laurens, late Prefident of the Congrefs, who was bound on an embafly to Holland. He had thrown his papers overboard, but great part of them were recovered without having received much da- mage. He was brought to London, and examined before the privy council; in confequence of which he was committed clofe prifoner to the Tower, on the 6th of October, on a charge of high treafon. His papers were delivered to the miniftry, and continued to facilitate a rup-f ture with Holland, as among them was found the (ketch of a treaty of amity and commerce between the republic of Hojlft^d an4 the United States of America, At AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 553 At the beginning of the year 1781, an affair happened in America, from which expeftations were formed by Sir Henry Clinton, that fome confiderable advantage might be derived to the royal caufe. The long continuance of the war, and the difficulties under which the Congrcfs laboured, had prevented their troops from being properly fupplied with neceffaries and conveniencies. In confequence of this, on the firft of January, the American troops that were hutted at Morris Town, and who formed what was called the Pennfylvania Line, turned out, being in number about one thoufand three hundred, and declared, that they would ferve no longer, unlefs their grievances were redrefled, as they had not received their pay, or been furnifhed with the neceffary cloath- ing or provifions. It is faid that they were fomewhat inflamed with liquor, in confequence of rum having been diftributed to them more liberally than ufual. New Year's Day being confider^d as a kind of fef- tival. A riot enfued, in which an officer was killed, and four wound- ed ; five or fix of the infurgents were alfo wounded. They then col- lefted the artillery, (lores, provifions, and waggons, and marched out of the camp. They paffed by the quarters of General Wayne, who fent a meffage to them, requefting them to defift, or the confequences would prove fatal. They refufed, and proceeded on their march till the even- ing, when they took poft on an advantageous piece of ground, and elefted officers from among themfelves. On the fecond, they marched to Middlebrook, and on the third to Princetown, where they fixed their quarters. On that day a flag of truce was fent to them from the offi- cers of the American camp, with a meffage, defiring to know what were their intentions. Some of them anfwered, that they had already ferved longer than the time for which they were enlifted, and would ferve no longer ; and others, that they would not return, unlefs their grievances were redreffed. But at the fame time they repeatedly, and in the flrongeft terms, denied being influenced by the leafl: difaffeftion to the American «aufe, or having any intentions of deferting to the enemy. Intelligence of this tranfadion was foon conveyed to New York. A large body of Britifh troops were immediately ordered to hold them- felves in readinefs to move on the fliorteft notice, it being hoped that the American revolters might be induced to join the royal army. Mef- fen^ers were alfo fent to them from General Clinton, acquainting them that they fhould direftly be taken under the proteftion of the Britifli government ; that they Ihould have a free pardon for all former of- fences ; and that the pay due to them from the Congrcfs Ihould be faithfully paid them, without any expeftation of military fervice, un- lefs it Ihould be voluntary, upon condition of their laying dovvTi their arms 560 HISTORY OF THE arms and returning to their allegiance. It was al{ recommended to them to move beyond the South river ; and they were alTured, that a body of Britilh troops fhould be ready to proted them whenever they defired it. Thefe propofitions were rejeded with difdain ; and they even delivered up two of Sir. Henry Clinton's meflengers to the con- grefs, Jofeph Reed, Efq. prefident of the Hate of Pennfylvania, after- wards repaired to them at Prince-town, and an accommodation took place: fuch of them as had ferved out their full terms were permitted to return to their own homes, and others again joined the American army, upon receiving fatisfaftoryaflu ranees that their grievances ihould be re- arefled. Lord Cornwallis now began to make very vigorous exertions, in order to penetrate into North Carolina. On the nth of January his Lordfhip's army was in motion, and advancing towards that province ; but was fome\vh;U delayed by an attempt made by the Americans, under General Morgan, to make themfelves mailers of the valuable diftridl of Ninety-fix. In order to prevent this, Lord Cornwallis de- tached Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, with three hundred cavalry, three hundred light infantry, the feventh regiment, the firft battalion of the feventy-lirft regiment, and two three-pounders, to oppofe the progrefs of Morgan, not doubting but that he would be able to perform this fervice elFedually. The Britifli troops came up with the Americans under General Morgan on the 17th of January. The Americans were drawn up in an open wood, and having been lately joined by fome mi- litia, were more numerous than the Britilh troops under Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton ; but the latter were fo much better difciplined, that they had the utmoft confidence of obtaining a fpeedy vidory. The at- tack was begun by the firft line of infantry, confifting of the feventh re- giment and a corps of light infantry, with a troop of cavalry placed on each flank. The firft battalion of the fevcnty-firft and the remainder of the cavalry formed the refer ve. The American line foon gave way, and their militia quitted the field ; upon which the royal troops, fuppofing the viflory already gained, engaged with ardour in the purfuit, and were thereby thrown into fome diforder. General Morgan's corpsj who were fuppofed to have been routed, then immediately faced about and threw in a heavy fire upon the king's troops, which occafi©ned the utmoft confufion amongft them ; and they were at length totally de- feated by the Americans, Four hundred of the Britifh infantry were either killed, wounded, or taken prifoners : the lofs of the cavalry was much lefs confiderable ; but the two three-pounders fell into the hands of the Americans, together with the colours of the feventh regiment ; and all the detachment of royal artillery were cither killed or wounded in defence AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 561 defence of their colours. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, however, made another effort ; having affembled about fifty of his cavalry, he charged and repulfed Colonel Wafhington'shorfe, retook his baggage, and killed the Americans who were appointed to guard it. He then retreated to Hamilton's ford, near the mouth of Bullock's creek, carrying with him part of his baggjfge, and deftroying the remainder. This defeat of the troops under Tarleton was a fevere (Iroke to Lord Cornwallis, as the lofs of his light infantry was a great disadvantage to him. The day after that event, he employed in colledling the remains of Tarleton's corps, and endeavouring to form a jundion with General Leflie, who had been ordered to march towards him with a body of Britiih troops from Wynnelborough. Confiderable exertions were then made by part of the army, without baggage, to retake the prifoners in the hands of the Americans, and to intercept General Morgan's corps on its retreat to the C.itawba. But that American officer, after his defeat of .Tarleton, had made forced marches up into the country, and croffed the Catawba the evening before a great rain, which fwellcd the river to fuch a degree, as to prevent the royal army from crofling for feveral days J during which time the Britifh prifoners were got over the Yad- kin ; whence they proceeded to Dan River, which they alfo pafTed, and on the 14th of February had reached Court-houfe in the province of Virginia. Lord Cornwallis employed a halt of two days in collefting fome flour, and in deftroying Superfluous baggage and all his waggons excepting thofe laden with hofpital ftores, fait, and ammunition, and four re- ferved empty in readinefs for fick or wounded. Being thus freed from all unnecefTary incumbrances, he marched through North Carolina with great rapidity, and penetrated to the remoteft extremities of that pro- vince on the banks of the Dan. His progrefs was fometimes impeded by parties of the militia, and fome Ikirmifties enfued, but he met with no very confiderable oppoficion. On the ift of February, the king's, troops croflied the Catawba at M'Cowan's Ford, where General David- fon, with a party of American militia, was pofted, in order to oppofc their pafTage ; but he falling by the firft difcharge, the royal troops made good their landing, and the militia retreated. When Lord Corn- wallis arrived at Hillfborough, he erefted the king's ftandard, and invited, by proclamation, all loyal fubje<^s to repair to it, and to (land forth and take an adive part in aflifting his Lordfhip to reftorc order and government. He had been taught to believe that the king's friends were numerous in that part of the country : but the event did not confirm the truth of the reprefentations that had been given. The Vol. I, 4 C royalifts ^62 HISTORY OF THE royalifts were but few in number, and fome of thera too timid to join the king's ftandard. There were, indeed, about two hundred who were proceeding to HilKborough, under Colonel Pyle, in order to avow their attachment to the royal caufc ; but they were met accidentally, and furrounded by a detachment from the American army, by whom a num- ber of them are faid to have been killed when they were begging for quarter, without making the leaft refiftance. Mean while General Greene was marching with great expedition with the troops under his command, in order to form a jundlion with other corps of American troops, that he might thereby be enabled to put an efFedual flop to the progrefs of Lord Cornwallis. In other places fome confiderable advantages were obtained by the royal arms. On the 4th of January, fome (hips of war with a number of tranfports, on board which was a large body of troops under the com- mand of Brigadier-general Arnold, arrived at Weftover, about one hundred and forty miles from the Capes of Virginia, where the troops immediately landed and marched to Richmond ; which they reached without oppofition, the militia that was colleded having retreated on their approach* laeutenant-colonel Simcoe marched from hence with a detachment of Britiih troops to Wefthara, where they deftroyed one of the fineft founderies for cannon in America, and a large quantity of ftores and cannon. General Arnold, on his arrival at Richmond, found there large quantities of fait, rum, fail-cloth, tobacco, and other mer- chandife ; and that part of thefe commodities which was public pio- perty he deftroyed. The Britifli troops afterwards attacked and dif- perfed fome fraall parties of the Americans, took fome ftores and a few pieces of cannon, and the 20th of the fame month marched into Portf- mouth. On the 25th, Captain Barclay, with feveral (hips of war, and a body of troops under the command of Major Craig, arrived in Cape Fear river. The troops landed about nine miles from Wilmington, and ,on the 28th entered that town. It was underftood that their having poftefTion of that town, and being matters of Cape Fear river, would be produdive of very l>eneficial efFeds to Lord Cornwallis's army. General Greene having efteded a junftion about the 10th of March with a continental regiment of what were called eighteen months menf and two large bodies of militia belonging to Virginia and North Carolina, formed a refolution to attack the Britifti troops under the command of Lord Cornwallis. The American army marched from the High Rock Ford on the 12th of the month, and on the 14th arrived at Guildford. Lord Cornwallis, from the information he had received of the motions of the American general, concluded what were his defigns. As they approached AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 563 approached more nearly to each other, a few Ikirmilhes enfued between fome advanced parties, in which the king's troops had the advantage. On the morning of the 1 5th, Lord Cprnwallis marched with his troops at day-break in order to meet the Americans, or to attack them in their encampment. About four miles from Guildford, the advanced guard of the Britiih army, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, fell in with a corps of the Americans, confifting of Lieutenant-colonel Lee's legion, fome Back 'Mountain men and Virginian militia, with whom jhe had a fevere Ikirmilh, but whom he at length obliged to retreat. The greater part of the country in which the adlion happened is a wildernefs, with a few cleared fields interfperfed. The American army/ which was fuperior to the royal in point of numbers, was polled on a. riling ground about a mile and a half from Guildford court- houfe. It was drawn up in three lines : the front line was compofcd of the North Carolinian militia, under the command of the generals Butler and Eaton ; the fesond line of Virginian militia, commanded by the gene- rals Stephens and Lawfon, forming two brigades ; the third line, con- lifting of two brigades, one of Virginia and one of Mar}-land conti- nental troops, commanded by General Huger and Colonel Williams,> Lieutenant-colonel Wafhington, with the dragoons of the firfl and third regiments, a detachment of light infantry comj.X)fed of continental troops, and a regiment of riflemen under Colonel Lynch, formed a corps of obfervation for the fecurity of their right flank. Lieutenant- colonel Lee, with his legion, a detachment of light infantry, and a corps of riflemen under Colonel Campbell, formed a corps of obfervation for the fecurity of their left flank. The attack on the American army was direded to be made by Lord Cornwallis in the following order : On the right, the regiment of Bofe and the feventy-firft regiment, led by Major-general Leflie, and fupported by the firft battalion of guards ; on the left, the twenty-third and thirty-third regiments, led by Lieutenant-colonel Web- ftcr, and fupported by the grenadiers and fecond battalion of guards commanded by Brigadier-general O'Hara; the Yagers and light in- fantry of the guards remained in a wood on the left of the guns, and the cavalry in the road, ready to aft as circumftances might require. About half an hour after one in the afternoon, the aftion commenced by a cannonade, which lafted about twenty minutes ; when the Britifli troops advanced in three columns and attacked the North Carolinian brigades with great vigour, and foon obliged part of thcfe troops, who behaved very ill, to quit the field ; but the Virginian militia gave them a warm reception, and kept up a heavy fire for a long time, till being t^eatcn back, the aftion became general almoft every where. The .^ C 2 American 564 HISTORY OF THE American corps under the lieutenant-colonels Wafhington and Lee were alio warmly engaged, and did confiderable execution. Lieutenant- colonel Tarleton had dlreftions to keep his cavalry compa It was on the 19th of Oftcber that Lord Cornwallis furrendered himfelf and his whole army, by capitulation, prifoners to the Gom- Jjined armies df America and France, under the command of General Wafhington. He made a defence fuitable to the charafler he had be- fore acquired for courage and military fkill ; but was compelled to fiibmit to untoward circumftances and fuperior numbers. It was agreed by the articles of capitulation, that the'Britifh troops were to be pri- foners to the United States of America, and the feamen to the French king, to whofe officers alfo the Britifh veffels found at York Town and Gloucefter were to be delivered up. The Britifh prifoners amounte^l to more than fix thoufand; but many of them, at the time of furren- der, were incapable of duty. A confiderable number of cannon, and a large quantity of militai^' (lores, fell into the hands of tlie Americans on this occafion. As no rational expei^ation now remained of a fubji^^ation of the colonies, the military operations that fucceeded in America were of little confeqnence. Some inconfiderable aftionsi and fkirmifhes did in- deed take place after that event ; in which the refugees chiefly diftin« guifhed themfelves, and difcovered an inveterate ^ninaefity againft the Americans, On the 5th of May 1782, Sir Gay Carle ton arrived at New York, being appointed to the coramjmd of the Britifh troops in 4 D 2 America 57^ .•'^'^HISTOTIY OF THE America in the roorti of Sir Henry Clinton. Two days after his arri* val, he wrote a letter to General Walhington, acquainting him, that Admiral Digby was joined with himfelf in a commiflion to treat for peace with the people of America ; tranfmitting to him, at the fame time, fome papers tending to manifeft the pacific difpofition of the government and people of Britain towards thofe of America. He alfo ^efired a paflport for Mr. Morgan, who was appointed to tranfmit a fimilar letter of compliment to the congrefs. General Walhington de- clined figning any paffport till he had taken the opinion of congrefs upon that meafure ; and by them he was direfted to refufe any paflport for fuch a purpofe. However, another letter was fent to General Wafhington, dated the^zd of Auguft, and figned by Sir Guy Carleton and Rear Admiral Digby, in which they informed him, that they were acquainted by authority that negociations for a general peace had al- ?Kady commenced at Paris ; that Mr. Grenville was invefted with full powers to treat with all the parties at war ; and was then at Paris in the execution of his commiflion. They farther informed him, that his Majefty, in order to remove all obftacles to that peace which he fo ar- dently wiflied to reftore, had commanded his minifters to direct Mr. Grenville, that the independency of the thirteen provinces (hould be propofed by him, in the firfl inflance, inftead of making it the condi- tion of a general treaty. But fome jealoufies were entertained by the Americans, that it was the defign of the Britifli court either to dif- u;iite them, or to bring them to treat of a peace feparately from their ally the king of France : they therefore refolved, that any man, or bodyof njen, who fhould prefume to make any feparate or partial con- vention or agreement with the kin^ of, Great Britain, or with any commifiioner or cqmmiflloners under the crown of Great Britain, ought to be ponfidered and treated as open and avowed enemies of the tJnited State of America ; and alfo that thofe ilates could not with pro. priety hold any conference or treaty with any commiflloners on the part of Great Britain, unlefs they fliould, as a preliminary thereto, either withdra^y , their fleets and armies, of:. eife, in pofltive or exprefs terms, acknowledge the independence of the faid flates. They likcn wife refolved, that any propofuions which might be made by the court of Great Britain, in ar^y manner tending to violate the treaty fubfifting between them and the king of France? ought to be treated with every mark of indignfty and contempt. On the 30th of November, 178?, thp prpyifional articles of peace and reconciliation between Great Britain ^nd the American States, were figned at Paris ; by whifh Gfeat ^^jitain »cknowJed|;ed the in* dependence AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 573 dependence andibvereignty of the United States of America. Thefc articles were ratified by a definitive treaty, September 3d, 1783. This peace was negociated on the part of Great Britain by Mr. Ofwald, and the definitive treaty was fignedby Mr. Hartley; and on the part of the United States by John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin, Efquircs*. \ Thus ended a long and arduous conflid, in which Great Britain exJ pended near an hundred millions of money, with an hundred thoufand lives, and won nothing. America endured every cruelty and diitreft from her enemies ; loft many lives and much.treafure ; but delivered berfelffrom a foreign dominion, and gained a rank among the nations of the earth. Holland acknowledged the independence of the United States on tlie 19th of April, 1782; Sweden, February 5th, 1783 ; Denmark, the 25th c offi^c*?rs, allowed but one year'st pay to the j>fivatcs ; a diftindion which had great infloencc in exciting «ic! continuing the popular ferment, and- one that turned 3 large fhartf of the public rage againft the officers thcmfelves. The moirterit an alarm was raifcd refpeding this ad of Congreffi, th^ enemies of tbctr independence became adjve in blowing tp the flame,* by fpteading reports-unfavourable to the general governnjent, and tend- ing to create public dtffenfions. Newfpapcrs, in fome' parts of th^ country, were filled with inflammatory publications i while falfe tc« ports, and groundlefs infmnations were indui^noufly circulated to th^ ''1/ .. prejudice AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 575 prejudice ofCongrefs, and the officers of the late army. Among a pco^ pie feelingly alive to every thing that^could afFeft the rights for whick they had been contending, theie reports could not fail of having a powerful tffe6l; the clamour foon became general; the officers of the army, it was believed, had attempted tjo raife their fortunes on the diftreffes of their fellow-citizens, and Congrefs become the tyrants of their country . Connedicut was the feat of this oneafiftefs; although other Stateii were much agitated on the occafion. But the inhabitants of that State accuftomed to order, and a due fubordination to the laws, did not pro- ceed to outrages ; they took their ufual mode of colle<^ing the fenfe of the State — affembled in town meetings — appointed committees to meet in convention, and confult what raeafures (hould be adopted to procure a redrefs of their grievances. In this convention, which was held at Middletown, fomc nugatory refolves were paffed, expreffing the difap probation of the half-pay ad, and the fubfequent commutation of the grant for five years whole pay. The fame fpirit alfo difcovcrcd itfelf in the affembly at their Oftober feffion, 1783. A rem«nft ranee againft the ads in favour of the officers was framed in the Houfe of Reprefen- tatives, and notwithftanding the Upper Houfe refufed to concur in the meafure, it was fent to Congrefs. During this fituation of affairs, the public odium againft the officers was augmented by another circumftance. The officers, juft before the difbanding of the army, as has already been noticed, had formed a fo* ciety, called by the name of the Cincinnati, Whatever were the real views of the fraraers of this inftitution its dc- fign was generally underftood to be harmlefs and honourable. The oftenfible views of the focicty could not however fcreen it from popuhi jealoufly. " -* Notwithftanding the difcontents of the people were general^ and ready to burft forth in fedition, yet men of information, viz. the officers of government, the clergy, and perfons of liberal education, were moftly oppofed to the unconftitutional fteps taken by the com- mittees and convention at Middletown. They fupported the propriety of the meafurcs ofCongrefs, both by converfation and writing, proved that fuch grants to the army were neceffary to keep the troops together, and that t-lie expence would not be enormous nor oppreffive. During the clofe of the year 1785, every poffible exertion was made to en- lighten the people, and fuch was the eifeft of the arguments ufed by the minority, that in the beginning of the following year, the oppofi- tion fubfided, the committees were difmiftcd, and tranquillity rellored to 57^ HISTORY or THE to the State. In May, the legiflature were able to carry feveral mci* fures which had before been extremely unpopular. An ad was pafled granting the import of five per cent, to Congrefs ; another giving great encouragement to commerce ; and feveral towns were incorporated with extenfivc privileges, for the purpofe of regulating the exports of the State) and facilitating the colledion of debts. The oppofition to the congrelfional afts in favour of the officers, and to the order of the Cincinnati, 4id not rife to the fame pitch in the other States as in ConneAicut ; yet it produced much difturbance in Maffachufetts, and lome others. Jealoufy of power had been univer- fally fpread among the people of the United States. The deftrudion of the old forms of governments, and the licentioufnefs of war, had# in a great meafure, broken their habits of obedience ; their paflions had been inflamed by the cry of defpotifm ; and like centinels, who have been fuddenly furprifed by the approach of an enemy, the ruftling of a leaf was fufficient to give them an alarm. This fpirit of jealoufy operated with other caufes to relax the energy of federal operations. During the war, vaft fums of paper currency had been emitted by Congrefs, and large quantities of fpecie had been introduced, towards the clofe of the war, by the French army, and the Spanifh trade. This plenty of money enabled the States to comply with the firft re« quifitions of Congrefs; fo that during two or three years, the federal treafury was, in fome meafure, fupplied. But when the danger of war had ceafed, and the vaft importations of foreign goods had leflened the quantity of circulating fpecie, the States began to be very remifs in fumifhing their proportion of monies. The annihilation of the credit of the paper bills had totally Hopped their circulation, and the fpecie was leaving the country in cargoes for remittances to Great Britain ; Hill the luxurious habits of the people, contraAed during the war, called for new fupplies of goods, and private gratification feconded the narrow policy of ftatc intereft in defeating the operations of the gene^ jal government. Thus the revenues of Congrefs were annually diminifhing; fome of the States wholly negleding to make provifion for paying the intereft of the national debt ; others making but a partial provifion, until the fcanty fupplies received from a few of the richeft States, would hardly fatisfy the demands of the civil lift. This weaknefs of the federal government, in conjunftion with the flood of certificates or public fecurities, which Congrefs could neither fund nor pay, occafioned them to depreciate to a very inconfidcrable value. The officers and foldiers of the late army, and thofe who fur* nifhed AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 577 kiliied fupplies for public exigencies, were obliged to receive for wages thefe certificates^ or promifTary notes, which paffed at a fifth, an eighth, or a tenth, of their nominal value ; beisg thus deprived at once of the jgreateft part of the reward due for their fervices. Some indeed profited by fpeculations in thefe evidences of the public debt ; but fuch as were under a neceffity of parting with them* were robbed of tliat fiipport which they had a right to expeft arid demand from their countrymen* Pennfylvania indeed made a provifion far paying the interefi of her debts, bothflate and federal; affuming her fuppofed proportion of the continental debt, and giving the creditors of her own State notes in exchange for thofe of tht United States. The refources of that State are immenfe, but {lie was not able to make pundual payments, even in a depreciated paper currency; Maffachufetts, in her zeal to comply fully with the fequifitions of tongrefs, and fatisfy the demands of her own creditors, laid a heavy- tax upon the people. This was the immediate caufe of the rebellion in that State, in 1786; 1^nt a heavy debt lying on the State, added to burdens of the fame nature, upon almoft every corporation within it ; a decline, or rather an ^xtindion of public credit ; a relaxation and corruption of manners, and a free ufe of foreign luxuries; a decay of trade and manufaftures, with a prevailing fcarcity of money ; and, above all, individuals involved in debt to each otheri Thefe were the real, though more remote caufes of the infurreftion. It was the tax which the people were required to pay, that caufed them to ftel the evils which we have enumerated — this called forth all their other grievances ; and the firft ad of violence committed was the burning or deftroying of the tax-bill. This fedition threw the State into a con- vulfion which lafted aboUt a year; courts of jailice were violently ob- ftru6led ; the colleftioti of debts was fufpended ; and a body of armed troops, under the command of General Lincoln, was employed during the winter of 1786, to difperfe the infurgents* Yet fo numerous were the latter in the counties ofWorceHef, Hampfhire, and Berkfhire, and io obflinately combined to oppofe the (Execution of law by force, that the governor and council of the State thought proper not to intruft Ge- neral Lincoln with milita^ry powers, except to aft on the defenfive, and to repel force with force, in cafe the infurgents fhould attack him. .The leaders of the rebels, however, were not men of talents; they were defperate, but without fortitude ; and even while they were Aid- ported with a fuperior force, they appeared to be impreffed with that confcioufnefs of guilt, which av^^es the mofl daring wretch, and makes, himlhrink frani his purpofe. This appears by the condud of a large VoL.L 4 E party 578 ttlSTORY OF TH£ party of the rebels before the magazine at Springfield, where Gcnefal Shepard, with a fmall guard, was ftationed to prote^ the continental (lores. The infurgents appeared upon the plain, with a vaft fuperiority of numbers, but a few Ihot from the artillery made the multitude ft- treat in difqrder With the lofs of four men. This fpirited condud of General Shepard, witb the induftry, perfeverance, and prudent firm- nefs of General Lincoln, difperfed the rebels— drove the leaders front the State, and reftored tranquillity. An aifl of indemnity was paffed in the legiflature for all the infurgents, except a few of the leaders, on condition they Ihould become peaceable fubjefts, and take the oath of allegiance. The leaders afterwards petitioned for pardon, which, from motives of policy, was granted by the legiflature.* But the lofs of public credit, popular difturbances, and infurreftions, were not the only evils which were generated by the peculiar circura- llances of the times. The emiffions of bills of credit and tender laws were added to the black catalogue of political diforders. The expedient of fupplying the deficiencies of fpecie, by emiffion*- of paper bills, was adopted very early in the colonies. The expedient was obvious and produced gaod efFecfls. In a new country, where population is rapid, and the value of lands increafirtg, the farmer finds an advantage in paying legal interefl for money; for if he can pay the intereft by his profits, the increafing value of his lands will in a few years difcharge the principal. In no colony was this advantage more fenfibly experienced than in Pennfylvania. The emigrations to that province were numerous — th6 fiatural population rapid — and thefe circumftances combined, advanced the value of real property to an aftonifhing degree. As the firft fettlers there, as well as in other provinces, were poor, the purchafe of a few foreign articles drained them of fpeice. Indeed for many years, the balance of trade rpuft have neceffarily been greatly againtt the co- lonies. But bills of credit, emitted by the State, and loaned to the iriduftrious inhabitants, fupplied the want of fpecie, and enabled the farmer to purchafe Hock. Thefe bills were generally a legal tender in all colo- nial or private contrads, and the fums iifued did not generally exceed the quantity reqiiifite for a medium of trade ; they retained their full noniinal value in the purchafe of commodities : but as they were not received by the Britilh merchants, in payment of their goods, there was a great demand for fpecie and bills, which occafioned the latter at ♦ See »n elegant and ipipartial Hiilory of this Rebellion, by George Ricliards Miiiot, &(({, various AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 579 various times to appreciate. Thus was introduced 9 difference be- tween the En^liili fterling money and the currencies of the colonies, which remains to this day. * The advantages the colonies had derived from bills of credit, under the Britifh government, fuggefted to Congrefs, in 1775* the idea of iffuing bills for the purpofe of carrying on the war ; and this was per- Jiaps their only expedient. Money could not be raifed by taxation — it could not be borrowed. The firft emiffions had no other effed upon the medium of commerce, than to drive the fpecie from circulation. But when the paper fubftituted for fpecie had, by repeated emiifions, augmented the fum in circulation, much beyond the ufual fum of fpecie, the bills began to lofe their value. The depreciation continued in proportion to the fums emitted, until feventy, and even one hundred and fifty nominal paper dollars, were hardly an equivalent for one Spanilh milled dollar. Still, from the year 1775 to 17 81, this de- preciating paper currency was almoft the only medium of trade. It fupplied the place of fpecie, and enabled Congrefs to fupport a nume- rous army ; until the fum in circulation amounted to two hmidred millions of dollars. But about the year 1780, fpecie began to be plen- tiful, being introduced by the French army, a private trade with the SpaniOi iflands, and an illicit isitercourfe with the Britifh garrifon at New York, This circumftance accelerated the depreciation of paper bills, until their value had funk almoft to nothing. Jn 1781, the merchants and brokers in the fouthern States, apprehenfive of the approaching fate of the currency, pulhed immenfe quantities of it fud- denly into New England — made vaft purchafes of goods in Bofton — and inftantly the bills vani{he4 from circulation. The whole hiftory of this continental paper is a hiftory of public and private frauds. Old fpecie debts were often paid in a depreciated eur- rency — and even new contracts for a few weeks or days were often difcharged with a fmall part of the value received, Frqm this plenty and fluduating ftate of the medium fprung hofts of fpeculators and itinerant traders, who left their honel^ occupationis for theprofpew York to 8s. in New Jerfey, P-^nnl'ylv^n'a, aad Mary- land to 7s. 6d. in Virginia to 6&. in North Carolina to g(s, in Souui Carolina and Georgia to 4s. 8d. This difference, originating between pap«r and fo-cicj q^ t)ill5, coaiiaus4 afterwards to exiil in the nominal efUmation of gold and filver^ 4 ^ ^ >rti«les^ 580 HISTORY OF THE articles, and reftrain pcrfons from giving or receiving more for any commodit)' than the price ftated by authority, Thefe regulating afts were reprobated by every man acquainted with commerce and finance j its they were intended to prevent an efFeft without removing the caufc, To attempt to fix the value of money, while ftreams of bills were in- peiTantly flowing from t^e treafury of the United States, was as ridi- culous as an attempt to reft rain the rifing of water in rivers amidft Ihowers of rain. Notwithftanding all oppofition, fomc States framed and attempted to enforce thefe regulating ads. The effeft was, a momentary appa-: rent P.and in the price of articles; innumerable afts of collufion and cvafion among the difhoneft; numberlefs injuries done to the honed; and finally a total difregard of all fuch regulations, and the confequen- tial ccntempt of laws and the authority of the magiftrate, D :i'n one legiflative, executive, and judicial power pervades the whole union. This enfures an uniform obfervance of treaties, and gives a 'ftability to the general government, which never could be attained while the afts and requifitionsof Congrefs were fubjeft to the revifion of thirteen legiflatures, 'and while thirteen diftinft and unconnected, judiciaries had a conrtitiitional right to decide on the fame fubje6l. The people of the United States gave no new powers to their rulers, but made a more judicious arrangement of what they had formerly ceded. They enlarged the povvers of the general government, not by taking from the people, but from the State legiflatures. They took from the Izrtter a power of levying duties on the importation of raer- chandife from foreign countries, and transferred it ^to Congrefs for the common benefit of the union. They alfo in veiled the general govern- ment with a power to regulate trade, levy taxes and internal duties on the inhabitants* That thefe enlarged powers might ae ufed only with caution and deliberation, Congrefs, which formerly confifted of only <3ne body, was made to confift of two ; one of which was to be chofen by the people in proportion to their numbers, the other by the State legiflatures* The execution of the afts of this compounded le- Vo^, I, 4 F giflature ^86 ' HiSTOItY OF tHE giflaturc was committed to a Supreme Magiftrate, wit^ the titlu ol Prefident. The conftitution, of which thcfe were the principal fea , tures, was fubmitted to the people for ratification. Animated debates took place on the propriety of eftablifhing or rejefting it. Some States, who from their local fituation were benefited by receiving impoft duties into their treafuries, were averfefrom the giving of them op to the union. Othett/ who were confuming but not importing; States, had an intei'efted inducement of an oppofite kind, to fupport the propofed new conftitution. The profpefts of increafed employ- ment for ihipping, and the enlar'gcment of commerce, weighed with thofe States which abounded in failors and (hips, and alfo with fea* port towns,, to advocate the adoption of the new fyftem ; but thofc States, or parts of States^ which depended chiefly on agriculture, were afraid that zeal for encouraging an American marine, by narrowing the grounds of competition among foreigners for purchafing and car- rying their produce, would leiTen their profits. Some of this defcrip- tion therefore conceived that they had a local intercft in rcfufing the new fyftem. Individuals who had great influence in State legiflatureSf or who held profitable places under them, were "unwilling to adopt a govern- ment which, by diminifhing the power of the States^ wou-ld eventu- ally diminiih their own importance : others, who looked forward to feats in the general government, or for offices under its authority,, had the fame interefted reafon for fupporting its adoption. Some fron* jealoufy of liberty were afraid of giving too much power to their ru"- lers ; others, from an honcft ambition to aggrandize their country^ were for paving the way to national greatnefs by melting down the feparate States into a national mafs^ The former feared the new con- ftitution ; the latter gloried in it.- Almoft every paffion which could agitate the human brcaft, interefted States and individuals for and againft the adoption of the propofed plan of government : fome whole claiTes of people were in its favour. The mafs of public creditors ex- pedled payment of thfeir debts from the eftabliihmcnt of an efficient government, and were therefore decidedly for it adoption. Such as lived on Salaries, and thofe who, being clear of dcbty wifhed for a fixed medium of circulation and the free courfe of law^ were friends of a conftitution which prohibits the ifl'uing of paper money and all in- terference' between debtor and creditor. In addition to thefe, the great body of independent men, who faw the neceffity of an energetic general government, and who, from the jarring inteiefts of the difl^s- jrcnt AMERICAN REVOLUTIOl^T, 587 wnt State, could not forefee any probability of getting a better one ythan was propofed, gave their fupport to what the federal convention had projefted, and their influence effscled its eftabliihment. After a full confideratioB, and thorough difcuflion of its principles, it was ra- tified by the conventions of eleven of the original Thirteen States, and ^he acceffion of the other two was foon expedled.* The ratification of it was celebrated in moft of the ca^tals of the StatejB with elegant pro- ceffions, which far exceeded any thing of the kind ever before exhi- bited in America. Time and experience only can fully difcover the ef- fefts of this new diftribution of the powers of government ; but in the- ory it feems well calculated to unite liberty with fafety, and to lay the /oundation of national greatnefs, while it abridges none of the rights of the States, or of the people.. The new conftitmion having been ratified by eleven of the States, ^nd fenators and reprefentatives having been chofen agreeably to che articles thereof, they met at New York, and commenced proceedings under it. The old Congrefs and confederation, like the continental money, expired without a figh or groan, in April 1789. A new Con- grefs, with more ample powers, and a new conftitution, partly national, ^nd partly federal, fucceeded in their place, to th-e great joy of all who wifhed for the happinefs of the United States. Though great diverfity of opinions had prevailed about the new con- jftitution, there was but one opinion about the perfon who fhould be appointed its fupreme executive officer. The people, as well anti- * The followiag exhibits at one view the order, time. &c. in which the feveral States ratified the Federal Conftitution : Delaware, December 3. i787> Majority, unanimoufly Pennfylvania, December '3. 46 to 2Q 2'i New Jcrfey, . December ig, unanimoufly Georgia, January Sj 178a, unanimoufly Connefticut, January 9' 128 to 40 88 ManTachufctts, February 6, i«7 to 168 19 Maryland, April 2S 63 to 1 2 51 South Carolina, May 23 ^49 to 73 76 New Hampftiirc, June 21 57 to 46 11 Virginia, June ^5 «9 to 7^ 10 New York, July 26 30 ^° 25 5 North Carolina November 27 1789, 193 to 75 118 Rhode inand, May 29 1790, ;» Vermont, January 10 1791? by arrest niaJQrlt^'. Kentucky, - 4F 2 , iederalifls 588 HISTORY OF THE ftderalifls as federalifts, (for by thefe names the parties for and agalnft the new conftitution were called) unanimoufly turned their eyes on the late commander of their armies, as the mod proper perfon to be their firft Prefident, Perhaps there was not a well-informed individual in the United States, (Mr. Wafhingtpn himfelf only excepted) who was not anxious that he (kould be called to the executive adminiftration of the propofed new plan of government. Unambitious of farther ho- nours he had retired to his farm in Virginia, and hoped to be excufed from all farther public fervice ; but his country called him by an unani- mous vote to fill the highelt ftation in its gift. That honeft zeal for the public good, which had uniformly influenced him to devote both his time and talents to the fervice of his country, got the better of his love of retirement, and induced him once more to engage in the great bufmefs of making a nation happy. The intelligence of his eleftion being com- municated to him, while on his farm in Virginia, he fet out foon after for New- York. On his way thither, the road was crowded wirh numbers anxious to fee the Man of the people. Efcorts of militia, and ^f gentlemen of the firfl charader and ftation, attended him from State 10 State, and he was every where received with the higheft' honours which a grateful and admiring people could confer, Addreffes of eon- ^ gratulation were prefented to him by the inhabitants of almoft every place of confequence through which he paffedi to all of which he re- turned fuch modeft, unaffuming anfwers as were in every refped fuit- able to his fituatiph. So great were the honours with which he was loaded, that they could fcarcely have failed to produce haughtinefs in the mind of any ordinary man; but nothing of the kind was ever dif- covered in this extraordinary perfonage. On all occafions he behaved to all men with th-? affability of one citizen to another. He was tru^y great in defferving the plaudits of his country, but much greater in not being elated with them. Gray's- Bridge over the Schuylkill, which Mr. Walhington had to pafs, was highly decorated with laurels and evergreens. At each end of it were ere(fled magnificent arches compofed of laurels, emblema- tical of the ancient Reman triumphal arches ; and on each fide of the bridge was a laurel fhrubbery. As Mr. Walhington palled the bridge, a youth ornamented with fprigs of laurel, affifted by^ machinery, let drop abave his head, though unperceived by him, a civic crown of laurel. Upwards of twenty thoufand citizens lined the fences, fields, and avenues, l^etv/een the Schuylkill and Philadelphia. Through thefe lie was conduiled to the city, by 3, numerous and refpedaWe body of ■' • • I- U .■ the AMERICAN REVOLUTION'. 56^9 tlie citizens, v^ere be partook of an elegant entertainment provided lor him. The pleafares of the day were fucceeded by a handforae dif. play of fireworks in the evening. When Mr. Walhington croffed the Delaware, and landed on theing chofen to the moll dignified office in America, and perhaps in the World| by the unanimous voice of more than thfce millions of enlight- ened AMERICAN REVOLUTION. QQl iiv£.^ freemen^ all Gonfpired to place this among the moft auguft and in- terefting fcenes which have ever been exhibited on this globe. * Hitherto the deliberations of the kgiflature of the Union have bee« marked with wifdoni, and the mcafures they have adopted have been produftive of great national pfofperity. The wile appointments X.9 office, which> in general, have been made — the eftablilhment of a jrc- venue and judiciary fyftem, and of a national bank — ^the aflbmption of debts of the individual States, and the encouragement that has been given to manufadures, commerce, literature^ and to ufeful inventions, open the faireft profpeft of the peacci union, and inereafing refpefta-* bility of the American States, * «' It f(»emed, from the rhimber of witnefles," faid a fpeflator of the fcene, " t© be a folemn appeal to heaven and earth at once. Upon the fubjeft of this great and good man, I may, perhaps, be an enthufiaft ; but, I confefs, I was under an awful «nd religious perfuafion, that the gracious Ruler of the UniverTe was looking down atc fiiat moment with peculiar complacency on an aft, which, to a part of his creatures, was fo very important. Under this impreffion, when the Chancellor pronounced, ia a very feeling manner, "Long live George Washington," my fcnfibilitywaa wound up to fuch a pitch, that I could do no more than wave my hat with the reft, without.the power of joining in the repeated acclamations which rent the air.'» V OF THE UNIVERSITY OF END OF' THE FIRST VOLUMEt > 'V -i :X 'I- 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK EROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. RENEWALS ONLY— TEL. NO. 643-3405 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. MAR 15 1970 RECD LD IV IAR01VU-&PM r.:a CR uffY 2 G 1981 , ^il^ltfo%«.32 Uaiv^£ig'SJr.ia w f ^ ^:%