Phıladelphıa 1785-1790
PHILADELPHIA 1785-1790
by Benjamin Franklin
_A Petition of the Left Hand_
TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE SUPERINTENDENCY OF EDUCATION
I address myself to all the friends of youth, and conjure them
to direct their compassionate regards to my unhappy fate, in order to
remove the prejudices of which I am the victim. There are twin
sisters of us; and the two eyes of man do not more resemble, nor are
capable of being upon better terms with each other, than my sister
and myself, were it not for the partiality of our parents, who make
the most injurious distinctions between us. From my infancy, I have
been led to consider my sister as a being of a more elevated rank. I
was suffered to grow up without the least instruction, while nothing
was spared in her education. She had masters to teach her writing,
drawing, music, and other accomplishments; but if by chance I touched
a pencil, a pen, or a needle, I was bitterly rebuked; and more than
once I have been beaten for being awkward, and wanting a graceful
manner. It is true, my sister associated me with her upon some
occasions; but she always made a point of taking the lead, calling
upon me only from necessity, or to figure by her side.
But conceive not, Sirs, that my complaints are instigated
merely by vanity. No; my uneasiness is occasioned by an object much
more serious. It is the practice in our family, that the whole
business of providing for its subsistence falls upon my sister and
myself. If any indisposition should attack my sister, — and I
mention it in confidence upon this occasion, that she is subject to
the gout, the rheumatism, and cramp, without making mention of other
accidents, — what would be the fate of our poor family? Must not
the regret of our parents be excessive, at having placed so great a
difference between sisters who are so perfectly equal? Alas! we must
perish from distress; for it would not be in my power even to scrawl
a suppliant petition for relief, having been obliged to employ the
hand of another in transcribing the request which I have now the
honour to prefer to you.
Condescend, Sirs, to make my parents sensible of the injustice
of an exclusive tenderness, and of the necessity of distributing
their care and affection among all their children equally. I am,
with a profound respect, Sirs, your obedient servant,
THE LEFT HAND.
1785
_Description of an Instrument for Taking Down Books from High
Shelves_
January, 1786.
Old men find it inconvenient to mount a ladder or steps for
that purpose, their heads being sometimes subject to giddinesses, and
their activity, with the steadiness of their joints, being abated by
age; besides the trouble of removing the steps every time a book is
wanted from a different part of their library.
For a remedy, I have lately made the following simple machine,
which I call the _Long Arm._
_A B_, the _Arm_, is a stick of pine, an inch square and 8 feet
long. _C, D_, the _Thumb_ and _Finger_, are two pieces of ash lath,
an inch and half wide, and a quarter of an inch thick. These are
fixed by wood screws on opposite sides of the end _A_ of the arm _A
B_; the finger _D_ being longer and standing out an inch and half
farther than the thumb _C._ The outside of the ends of these laths
are pared off sloping and thin, that they may more easily enter
between books that stand together on a shelf. Two small holes are
bored through them at _i, k._ _E F_, the sinew, is a cord of the size
of a small goosequill, with a loop at one end. When applied to the
machine it passes through the two laths, and is stopped by a knot in
its other end behind the longest at _k._ The hole at _i_ is nearer
the end of the arm than that at _k_, about an inch. A number of
knots are also on the cord, distant three or four inches from each
other.
To use this instrument; put one hand into the loop, and draw
the sinew straight down the side of the arm; then enter the end of
the finger between the book you would take down and that which is
next to it. The laths being flexible, you may easily by a slight
pressure sideways open them wider if the book is thick, or close them
if it is thin by pulling the string, so as to enter the shorter lath
or thumb between your book (Illustrations omitted) and that which is
next to its other side, then push till the back of your book comes to
touch the string. Then draw the string or sinew tight, which will
cause the thumb and finger to pinch the book strongly, so that you
may draw it out. As it leaves the other books, turn the instrument a
_quarter_ round, so that the book may lie flat and rest on its side
upon the under lath or finger. The knots on the sinew will help you
to keep it tight and close to the side of the arm as you take it down
hand over hand, till the book comes to you; which would drop from
between the thumb and finger if the sinew was let loose.
All new tools require some practice before we can become expert
in the use of them. This requires very little.
Made in the proportions above given, it serves well for books
in duodecimo or octavo. Quartos and folios are too heavy for it; but
those are usually placed on the lower shelves within reach of hand.
The book taken down, may, when done with, be put up again into
its place by the same machine.
The Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams
INSCRIBED TO MISS SHIPLEY, BEING WRITTEN AT HER REQUEST
As a great part of our life is spent in sleep during which we
have sometimes pleasant and sometimes painful dreams, it becomes of
some consequence to obtain the one kind and avoid the other; for
whether real or imaginary, pain is pain and pleasure is pleasure. If
we can sleep without dreaming, it is well that painful dreams are
avoided. If while we sleep we can have any pleasing dream, it is, as
the French say, _autant de gagne_, so much added to the pleasure of
life.
To this end it is, in the first place, necessary to be careful
in preserving health, by due exercise and great temperance; for, in
sickness, the imagination is disturbed, and disagreeable, sometimes
terrible, ideas are apt to present themselves. Exercise should
precede meals, not immediately follow them; the first promotes, the
latter, unless moderate, obstructs digestion. If, after exercise, we
feed sparingly, the digestion will be easy and good, the body
lightsome, the temper cheerful, and all the animal functions
performed agreeably. Sleep, when it follows, will be natural and
undisturbed; while indolence, with full feeding, occasions nightmares
and horrors inexpressible; we fall from precipices, are assaulted by
wild beasts, murderers, and demons, and experience every variety of
distress. Observe, however, that the quantities of food and exercise
are relative things; those who move much may, and indeed ought to eat
more; those who use little exercise should eat little. In general,
mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eat about twice as much as
nature requires. Suppers are not bad, if we have not dined; but
restless nights naturally follow hearty suppers after full dinners.
Indeed, as there is a difference in constitutions, some rest well
after these meals; it costs them only a frightful dream and an
apoplexy, after which they sleep till doomsday. Nothing is more
common in the newspapers, than instances of people who, after eating
a hearty supper, are found dead abed in the morning.
Another means of preserving health, to be attended to, is the
having a constant supply of fresh air in your bed-chamber. It has
been a great mistake, the sleeping in rooms exactly closed, and in
beds surrounded by curtains. No outward air that may come in to you
is so unwholesome as the unchanged air, often breathed, of a close
chamber. As boiling water does not grow hotter by longer boiling, if
the particles that receive greater heat can escape; so living bodies
do not putrefy, if the particles, so fast as they become putrid, can
be thrown off. Nature expels them by the pores of the skin and the
lungs, and in a free, open air they are carried off; but in a close
room we receive them again and again, though they become more and
more corrupt. A number of persons crowded into a small room thus
spoil the air in a few minutes, and even render it mortal, as in the
Black Hole at Calcutta. A single person is said to spoil only a
gallon of air per minute, and therefore requires a longer time to
spoil a chamber-full; but it is done, however, in proportion, and
many putrid disorders hence have their origin. It is recorded of
Methusalem, who, being the longest liver, may be supposed to have
best preserved his health, that he slept always in the open air; for,
when he had lived five hundred years, an angel said to him; "Arise,
Methusalem, and build thee an house, for thou shalt live yet five
hundred years longer." But Methusalem answered, and said, "If I am to
live but five hundred years longer, it is not worth while to build me
an house; I will sleep in the air, as I have been used to do."
Physicians, after having for ages contended that the sick should not
be indulged with fresh air, have at length discovered that it may do
them good. It is therefore to be hoped, that they may in time
discover likewise, that it is not hurtful to those who are in health,
and that we may be then cured of the _aerophobia_, that at present
distresses weak minds, and makes them choose to be stifled and
poisoned, rather than leave open the window of a bed-chamber, or put
down the glass of a coach.
Confined air, when saturated with perspirable matter, will not
receive more; and that matter must remain in our bodies, and occasion
diseases; but it gives some previous notice of its being about to be
hurtful, by producing certain uneasiness, slight indeed at first,
which as with regard to the lungs is a trifling sensation, and to the
pores of the skin a kind of restlessness, which is difficult to
describe, and few that feel it know the cause of it. But we may
recollect, that sometimes on waking in the night, we have, if warmly
covered, found it difficult to get asleep again. We turn often
without finding repose in any position. This fidgettiness (to use a
vulgar expression for want of a better) is occasioned wholly by an
uneasiness in the skin, owing to the retention of the perspirable
matter — the bed-clothes having received their quantity, and, being
saturated, refusing to take any more. To become sensible of this by
an experiment, let a person keep his position in the bed, but throw
off the bed-clothes, and suffer fresh air to approach the part
uncovered of his body; he will then feel that part suddenly
refreshed; for the air will immediately relieve the skin, by
receiving, licking up, and carrying off, the load of perspirable
matter that incommoded it. For every portion of cool air that
approaches the warm skin, in receiving its part of that vapour,
receives therewith a degree of heat that rarefies and renders it
lighter, when it will be pushed away with its burthen, by cooler and
therefore heavier fresh air, which for a moment supplies its place,
and then, being likewise changed and warmed, gives way to a
succeeding quantity. This is the order of nature, to prevent animals
being infected by their own perspiration. He will now be sensible of
the difference between the part exposed to the air and that which,
remaining sunk in the bed, denies the air access: for this part now
manifests its uneasiness more distinctly by the comparison, and the
seat of the uneasiness is more plainly perceived than when the whole
surface of the body was affected by it.
Here, then, is one great and general cause of unpleasing
dreams. For when the body is uneasy, the mind will be disturbed by
it, and disagreeable ideas of various kinds will in sleep be the
natural consequences. The remedies, preventive and curative, follow:
1. By eating moderately (as before advised for health’s sake)
less perspirable matter is produced in a given time; hence the
bed-clothes receive it longer before they are saturated, and we may
therefore sleep longer before we are made uneasy by their refusing to
receive any more.
2. By using thinner and more porous bed-clothes, which will
suffer the perspirable matter more easily to pass through them, we
are less incommoded, such being longer tolerable.
3. When you are awakened by this uneasiness, and find you
cannot easily sleep again, get out of bed, beat up and turn your
pillow, shake the bed-clothes well, with at least twenty shakes, then
throw the bed open and leave it to cool; in the meanwhile, continuing
undrest, walk about your chamber till your skin has had time to
discharge its load, which it will do sooner as the air may be dried
and colder. When you begin to feel the cold air unpleasant, then
return to your bed, and you will soon fall asleep, and your sleep
will be sweet and pleasant. All the scenes presented to your fancy
will be too of the pleasing kind. I am often as agreeably
entertained with them, as by the scenery of an opera. If you happen
to be too indolent to get out of bed, you may, instead of it, lift up
your bed-clothes with one arm and leg, so as to draw in a good deal
of fresh air, and by letting them fall force it out again. This,
repeated twenty times, will so clear them of the perspirable matter
they have imbibed, as to permit your sleeping well for some time
afterwards. But this latter method is not equal to the former.
Those who do not love trouble, and can afford to have two beds,
will find great luxury in rising, when they wake in a hot bed, and
going into the cool one. Such shifting of beds would also be of
great service to persons ill of a fever, as it refreshes and
frequently procures sleep. A very large bed, that will admit a
removal so distant from the first situation as to be cool and sweet,
may in a degree answer the same end.
One or two observations more will conclude this little piece.
Care must be taken, when you lie down, to dispose your pillow so as
to suit your manner of placing your head, and to be perfectly easy;
then place your limbs so as not to bear inconveniently hard upon one
another, as, for instance, the joints of your ankles; for, though a
bad position may at first give but little pain and be hardly noticed,
yet a continuance will render it less tolerable, and the uneasiness
may come on while you are asleep, and disturb your imagination.
These are the rules of the art. But, though they will generally
prove effectual in producing the end intended, there is a case in
which the most punctual observance of them will be totally fruitless.
I need not mention the case to you, my dear friend, but my account of
the art would be imperfect without it. The case is, when the person
who desires to have pleasant dreams has not taken care to preserve,
what is necessary above all things,
A GOOD CONSCIENCE.
May 2, 1786
_The Retort Courteous_
"John Oxly, Pawnbroker of Bethnal Green, was indicted for
assaulting Jonathan Boldsworth on the Highway, putting him in fear,
and taking from him one Silver Watch, value 5_l._ 5_s._ The Prisoner
pleaded, that, having sold the Watch to the Prosecutor, and being
immediately after informed by a Person who knew him, that he was not
likely to pay for the same, he had only followed him and taken the
Watch back again. But it appearing on the Trial, that, presuming he
had not been known when he committed the Robbery, he had afterwards
sued the Prosecutor for the Debt, on his Note of Hand, he was found
Guilty, DEATH." — _Old Bailey Sessions Paper_, 1747.
I chose the above Extract from the Proceedings at the Old
Bailey in the Trial of Criminals, as a Motto or Text, on which to
amplify in my ensuing Discourse. But on second Thoughts, having
given it forth, I shall, after the Example of some other Preachers,
quit it for the present, and leave to my Readers, if I should happen
to have any, the Task of discovering what Relation there may possibly
be between my Text and my Sermon.
During some Years past, the British Newspapers have been filled
with Reflections on the Inhabitants of America, for _not paying their
old Debts to English Merchants._ And from these Papers the same
Reflections have been translated into Foreign Prints, and circulated
throughout Europe; whereby the American Character, respecting Honour,
Probity, and Justice in commercial Transactions, is made to suffer in
the Opinion of Strangers, which may be attended with pernicious
Consequences.
At length we are told that the British Court has taken up the
Complaint, and seriously offer’d it as a reason for refusing to
evacuate the Frontier Posts according to Treaty. This gives a kind
of Authenticity to the Charge, and makes it now more necessary to
examine the matter thoro’ly; to inquire impartially into the Conduct
of both Nations; take Blame to ourselves where we have merited it;
and, where it may be fairly done, mitigate the Severity of the
Censures that are so liberally bestow’d upon us.
We may begin by observing, that before the War our mercantile
Character was good. In Proof of this (and a stronger Proof can
hardly be desired), the Votes of the House of Commons in 1774-5 have
recorded a Petition signed by the Body of the Merchants of London
trading to North America, in which they expressly set forth, not only
that the Trade was profitable to the Kingdom, but that the
Remittances and Payments were as punctually and faithfully made, as
in any other Branch of Commerce whatever. These Gentlemen were
certainly competent Judges, and as to that Point could have no
Interest in deceiving the Government.
The making of these punctual Remittances was however a
Difficulty. Britain, acting on the selfish and perhaps mistaken
Principle of receiving nothing from abroad that could be produced at
home, would take no Articles of our Produce that interfered with any
of her own; and what did not interfere, she loaded with heavy Duties.
We had no Mines of Gold or Silver. We were therefore oblig’d to run
the World over, in search of something that would be receiv’d in
England. We sent our Provisions and Lumber to the West Indies, where
Exchange was made for Sugars, Cotton, &c. to remit. We brought
Mollasses from thence, distill’d it into Rum, with which we traded in
Africa, and remitted the Gold Dust to England. We employ’d ourselves
in the Fisheries, and sent the Fish we caught, together with
Quantities of Wheat Flour, and Rice, to Spain and Portugal, from
whence the Amount was remitted to England in Cash or Bills of
Exchange. Great Quantities of our Rice, too, went to Holland,
Hamburgh &c., and the Value of that was also sent to Britain. Add to
this, that contenting ourselves with Paper, all the hard Money we
could possibly pick up among the Foreign West India Islands, was
continually sent off to Britain, not a Ship going thither from
America without some Chests of those precious Metals.
Imagine this great Machine of mutually advantageous Commerce,
going roundly on, in full Train; our Ports all busy, receiving and
selling British Manufactures, and equipping Ships for the circuitous
Trade, that was finally to procure the necessary Remittances; the
Seas covered with those Ships, and with several hundred Sail of our
Fishermen, all working for Britain; and then let us consider what
Effect the Conduct of Britain, in 1774 and 1775 and the following
Years, must naturally have on the future Ability of our Merchants to
make the Payments in question.
We will not here enter into the Motives of that Conduct; they
are well enough known, and not to her Honour. The first Step was
shutting up the Port of Boston by an Act of Parliament; the next, to
prohibit by another the New England Fishery. An Army and a Fleet
were sent to enforce these Acts. Here was a Stop put at once to all
the mercantile Operations of one of the greatest trading Cities of
America; the Fishing Vessels all laid up, and the usual Remittances,
by way of Spain, Portugal, and the Straits, render’d impossible. Yet
the Cry was now begun against us, _These New England People do not
pay their Debts!_
The Ships of the Fleet employ’d themselves in cruising
separately all along the Coast. The marine Gentry are seldom so well
contented with their Pay, as not to like a little Plunder. They
stopp’d and seiz’d, under slight Pretences, the American Vessels they
met with, belonging to whatever Colony. This checked the Commerce of
them all. Ships loaded with Cargoes destin’d either directly or
indirectly to make Remittance in England, were not spared. If the
Difference between the two Countries had been then accommodated,
these unauthoriz’d Plunderers would have been called to account, and
many of their Exploits must have been found Piracy. But what cur’d
all this, set their Minds at ease, made short Work, and gave full
Scope to their Piratical Disposition, was another Act of Parliament,
forbidding any Inquisition into those _past_ Facts, declaring them
all Lawful, and all American Property to be forfeited, whether on Sea
or Land, and authorizing the King’s British Subjects to take, seize,
sink, burn, or destroy, whatever they could find of it. The Property
suddenly, and by surprise taken from our Merchants by the Operation
of this Act, is incomputable. And yet the Cry did not diminish,
_These Americans don’t pay their Debts!_
Had the several States of America, on the Publication of this
Act seiz’d all British Property in their Power, whether consisting of
Lands in their Country, Ships in their Harbours, or Debts in the
Hands of their Merchants, by way of Retaliation, it is probable a
great Part of the World would have deem’d such Conduct justifiable.
They, it seems, thought otherwise, and it was done only in one or two
States, and that under particular Circumstances of Provocation. And
not having thus abolish’d all Demands, the Cry subsists, that _the
Americans should pay their Debts!_
General Gage, being with his Army (before the declaration of
open War) in peaceable Possession of Boston, shut its Gates, and
plac’d Guards all around to prevent its Communication with the
Country. The Inhabitants were on the Point of Starving. The
general, though they were evidently at his Mercy, fearing that, while
they had any Arms in their Hands, frantic Desperation might possibly
do him some Mischief, propos’d to them a Capitulation, in which he
stipulated, that if they would deliver up their Arms, they might
leave the Town with their Families and _Goods._ In faith of this
Agreement, they deliver’d their Arms. But when they began to pack up
for their Departure, they were inform’d, that by the word _Goods_,
the General understood only Houshold Goods, that is, their Beds,
Chairs, and Tables, not _Merchant Goods_; those he was inform’d they
were indebted for to the Merchants of England, and he must secure
them for the Creditors. They were accordingly all seized, to an
immense Value, _what had been paid for not excepted._ It is to be
supposed, tho’ we have never heard of it, that this very honourable
General, when he returned home, made a just Dividend of those Goods,
or their Value, among the said Creditors. But the Cry nevertheless
continued, _These Boston People do not pay their Debts!_
The Army, having thus ruin’d Boston, proceeded to different
Parts of the Continent. They got possession of all the capital
trading Towns. The Troops gorg’d themselves with Plunder. They
stopp’d all the Trade of Philadelphia for near a year, of Rhode
Island longer, of New York near eight Years, of Charlestown in South
Carolina and Savanah in Georgia, I forget how long. This continu’d
Interruption of their Commerce ruin’d many Merchants. The Army also
burnt to the Ground the fine Towns of Falmouth and Charlestown near
Boston, New London, Fairfield, Norwalk, Esopus, Norfolk, the chief
trading City in Virginia, besides innumerable Country Seats and
private Farm-Houses. This wanton Destruction of Property operated
doubly to the Disabling of our Merchants, who were importers from
Britain, in making their Payments, by the immoderate Loss they
sustain’d themselves, and also the Loss suffered by their Country
Debtors, who had bought of them the British Goods, and who were now
render’d unable to pay. The Debts to Britain of course remained
undischarg’d, and the Clamour continu’d, _These knavish Americans
will not pay us!_
Many of the British Debts, particularly in Virginia and the
Carolinas, arose from the Sales made of Negroes in those Provinces by
the British Guinea merchants. These, with all before in the country,
were employed when the war came on, in raising tobacco and rice for
remittance in payment of British debts. An order arrives from
England, advised by one of their most celebrated _moralists_, Dr.
Johnson, in his _Taxation no Tyranny_, to excite these slaves to
rise, cut the throats of their purchasers, and resort to the British
army, where they should be rewarded with freedom. This was done, and
the planters were thus deprived of near thirty thousand of their
working people. Yet the demand for those sold and unpaid still
exists; and the cry continues against the Virginians and Carolinians,
that _they do not pay their debts!_
Virginia suffered great loss in this kind of property by
another ingenious and humane British invention. Having the small-pox
in their army while in that country, they inoculated some of the
negroes they took as prisoners belonging to a number of plantations,
and then let them escape, or sent them, covered with the pock, to mix
with and spread the distemper among the others of their colour, as
well as among the white country people; which occasioned a great
mortality of both, and certainly did not contribute to the enabling
debtors in making payment. The war too having put a stop to the
exportation of tobacco, there was a great accumulation of several
years’ produce in all the public inspecting warehouses and private
stores of the planters. Arnold, Phillips, and Cornwallis, with
British troops, then entered and overran the country, burnt all the
inspecting and other stores of tobacco, to the amount of some hundred
ship-loads; all which might, on the return of peace, if it had not
been thus wantonly destroyed, have been remitted to British
creditors. But _these d — d Virginians, why don’t they pay their
debts?_
Paper money was in those times our universal currency. But, it
being the instrument with which we combated our enemies, they
resolved to deprive us of its use by depreciating it; and the most
effectual means they could contrive was to counterfeit it. The
artists they employed performed so well, that immense quantities of
these counterfeits, which issued from the British government in New
York, were circulated among the inhabitants of all the States, before
the fraud was detected. This operated considerably in depreciating
the whole mass, first, by the vast additional quantity, and next by
the uncertainty in distinguishing the true from the false; and the
depreciation was a loss to all and the ruin of many. It is true our
enemies gained a vast deal of our property by the operation; but it
did not go into the hands of our particular creditors; so their
demands still subsisted, and we were still abused _for not paying our
debts!_
By the seventh article of the treaty of peace, it was solemnly
stipulated, that the King’s troops, in evacuating their posts in the
United States, should not carry away with them any negroes. In
direct violation of this article, General Carleton, in evacuating New
York, carried off all the negroes that were with his army, to the
amount of several hundreds. It is not doubted that he must have had
secret orders to justify him in this transaction; but the reason
given out was, that, as they had quitted their masters and joined the
King’s troops on the faith of proclamations promising them their
liberty, the national honour forbade returning them into slavery.
The national honour was, it seemed, pledged to both parts of a
contradiction, and its wisdom, since it could not do it with both,
chose to keep faith rather with its old black, than its new white
friends; a circumstance demonstrating clear as daylight, that, in
making a present peace, they meditated a future war, and hoped, that,
though the promised manumission of slaves had not been effectual in
the _last_, in the _next_ it might be more successful; and that, had
the negroes been forsaken, no aid could be hereafter expected from
those of the colour in a future invasion. The treaty however with us
was thus broken almost as soon as made, and this by the people who
charge us with breaking it by not paying perhaps for some of the very
negroes carried off in defiance of it. Why should England observe
treaties, _when these Americans do not pay their debts?_
Unreasonable, however, as this clamour appears in general, I do
not pretend, by exposing it, to justify those debtors who are still
able to pay, and refuse it on pretence of injuries suffered by the
war. Public injuries can never discharge private obligations.
Contracts between merchant and merchant should be sacredly observed,
where the ability remains, whatever may be the madness of ministers.
It is therefore to be hoped the fourth article of the treaty of peace
which stipulates, _that no legal obstruction shall be given to the
payment of debts contracted before the war_, will be punctually
carried into execution, and that every law in every State which
impedes it, may be immediately repealed. Those laws were indeed made
with honest intentions, that the half-ruined debtor, not being too
suddenly pressed by _some_, might have time to arrange and recover
his affairs so as to do justice to _all_ his creditors. But, since
the intention in making those acts has been misapprehended, and the
acts wilfully misconstrued into a design of defrauding them, and now
made a matter of reproach to us, I think it will be right to repeal
them all. Individual Americans may be ruined, but the country will
save by the operation; since these unthinking, merciless creditors
must be contented with all that is to be had, instead of all that may
be due to them, and the accounts will be settled by insolvency. When
all have paid that can pay, I think the remaining British creditors,
who suffered by the inability of their ruined debtors, have some
right to call upon their own government (which by its bad projects
has ruined those debtors) for a compensation. A sum given by
Parliament for this purpose would be more properly disposed, than in
rewarding pretended loyalists, who fomented the war. And, the
heavier the sum, the more tendency it might have to discourage such
destructive projects hereafter.
Among the merchants of Britain, trading formerly to America,
there are to my knowledge many considerate and generous men, who
never joined in this clamour, and who, on the return of peace, though
by the treaty entitled to an immediate suit for their debts, were
kindly disposed to give their debtors reasonable time for restoring
their circumstances, so as to be able to make payment conveniently.
These deserve the most grateful acknowledgments. And indeed it was
in their favour, and perhaps for their sakes in favour of all other
British creditors, that the law of Pennsylvania, though since much
exclaimed against, was made, restraining the recovery of old debts
during a certain time. For this restraint was general, respecting
domestic as well as British debts, it being thought unfair, in cases
where there was not sufficient for all, that the inhabitants, taking
advantage of their nearer situation, should swallow the whole,
excluding foreign creditors from any share. And in cases where the
favourable part of the foreign creditors were disposed to give time,
with the views abovementioned, if others less humane and considerate
were allowed to bring immediate suits and ruin the debtor, those
views would be defeated. When this law expired in September, 1784, a
new one was made, continuing for some time longer the restraint with
respect to domestic debts, but expressly taking it away where the
debt was due from citizens of the State to any of the subjects of
Great Britain; which shows clearly the disposition of the Assembly,
and that the fair intentions above ascribed to them in making the
former act, are not merely the imagination of the writer.
Indeed, the clamour has been much augmented by numbers joining
it, who really had no claim on our country. Every debtor in Britain,
engaged in whatever trade, when he had no better excuse to give for
delay of payment, accused the want of returns from America. And the
indignation, thus excited against us, now appears so general among
the English, that one would imagine their nation, which is so exact
in expecting punctual payment from all the rest of the world, must be
at home the model of justice, the very pattern of punctuality. Yet,
if one were disposed to recriminate, it would not be difficult to
find sufficient Matter in several Parts of their Conduct. But this I
forbear. The two separate Nations are now at Peace, and there can be
no use in mutual Provocations to fresh Enmity. If I have shown
clearly that the present Inability of many American Merchants to
discharge their Debts, contracted before the War, is not so much
their Fault, as the Fault of the crediting Nation, who, by making an
unjust War on them, obstructing their Commerce, plundering and
devastating their Country, were the Cause of that Inability, I have
answered the Purpose of writing this Paper. How far the Refusal of
the British Court to execute the Treaty in delivering up the Frontier
Posts may on account of this Deficiency of Payment, be justifiable,
is chearfully submitted to the World’s impartial Judgment.
1786
_Exception in Favour of British Creditors._
"Sect. 7. And provided also, and be it further enacted by the
authority aforesaid, that this Act, nor any thing therein contained,
shall not extend, or be construed to extend, to any debt or debts
which were due before the fourth day of July, one thousand seven
hundred and seventy-six, by any of the citizens of the State, to any
of the subjects of Great Britain."
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
_Speech in the Convention on the Subject of Salaries_
SIR,
It is with Reluctance that I rise to express a Disapprobation
of any one Article of the Plan, for which we are so much obliged to
the honourable Gentleman who laid it before us. From its first
Reading, I have borne a good Will to it, and, in general, wish’d it
Success. In this Particular of Salaries to the Executive Branch, I
happen to differ; and, as my Opinion may appear new and chimerical,
it is only from a Persuasion that it is right, and from a Sense of
Duty, that I hazard it. The Committee will judge of my Reasons when
they have heard them, and their judgment may possibly change mine. I
think I see Inconveniences in the Appointment of Salaries; I see none
in refusing them, but on the contrary great Advantages.
Sir, there are two Passions which have a powerful Influence in
the Affairs of Men. These are _Ambition_ and _Avarice_; the Love of
Power and the Love of Money. Separately, each of these has great
Force in prompting Men to Action; but when united in View of the same
Object, they have in many Minds the most violent Effects. Place
before the Eyes of such Men a Post of _Honour_, that shall at the
same time be a Place of _Profit_, and they will move Heaven and Earth
to obtain it. The vast Number of such Places it is that renders the
British Government so tempestuous. The Struggles for them are the
true Source of all those Factions which are perpetually dividing the
Nation, distracting its Councils, hurrying it sometimes into
fruitless and mischievous Wars, and often compelling a Submission to
dishonourable Terms of Peace.
And of what kind are the men that will strive for this
profitable Preeminence, thro’ all the Bustle of Cabal, the Heat of
Contention, the infinite mutual Abuse of Parties, tearing to Pieces
the best of Characters? It will not be the wise and moderate, the
Lovers of Peace and good Order, the men fittest for the Trust. It
will be the Bold and the Violent, the men of strong Passions and
indefatigable Activity in their selfish Pursuits. These will thrust
themselves into your Government, and be your Rulers. And these, too,
will be mistaken in the expected Happiness of their Situation; for
their vanquish’d competitors, of the same Spirit, and from the same
Motives, will perpetually be endeavouring to distress their
Administration, thwart their Measures, and render them odious to the
People.
Besides these Evils, Sir, tho’ we may set out in the Beginning
with moderate Salaries, we shall find, that such will not be of long
Continuance. Reasons will never be wanting for propos’d
Augmentations; and there will always be a Party for giving more to
the Rulers, that the Rulers may be able in Return to give more to
them. Hence, as all History informs us, there has been in every
State and Kingdom a constant kind of Warfare between the Governing
and the Governed; the one striving to obtain more for its Support,
and the other to pay less. And this has alone occasion’d great
Convulsions, actual civil Wars, ending either in dethroning of the
Princes or enslaving of the People. Generally, indeed, the Ruling
Power carries its Point, and we see the Revenues of Princes
constantly increasing, and we see that they are never satisfied, but
always in want of more. The more the People are discontented with
the Oppression of Taxes, the greater Need the Prince has of Money to
distribute among his Partisans, and pay the Troops that are to
suppress all Resistance, and enable him to plunder at Pleasure.
There is scarce a King in a hundred, who would not, if he could,
follow the Example of Pharaoh, — get first all the People’s Money,
then all their Lands, and then make them and their Children Servants
for ever. It will be said, that we do not propose to establish
Kings. I know it. But there is a natural Inclination in Mankind to
kingly Government. It sometimes relieves them from Aristocratic
Domination. They had rather have one Tyrant than 500. It gives more
of the Appearance of Equality among Citizens; and that they like. I
am apprehensive, therefore, — perhaps too apprehensive, — that the
Government of these States may in future times end in a Monarchy.
But this Catastrophe, I think, may be long delay’d, if in our
propos’d System we do not sow the Seeds of Contention, Faction, and
Tumult, by making our Posts of Honour Places of Profit. If we do, I
fear, that, tho’ we employ at first a Number and not a single Person,
the Number will in time be set aside; it will only nourish the
F;oetus of a King (as the honourable Gentleman from Virg’a very aptly
express’d it), and a King will the sooner be set over us.
It may be imagined by some, that this is an Utopian Idea, and
that we can never find Men to serve us in the Executive Department,
without paying them well for their Services. I conceive this to be a
Mistake. Some existing Facts present themselves to me, which incline
me to a contrary Opinion. The High Sheriff of a County in England is
an honourable Office, but it is not a profitable one. It is rather
expensive, and therefore not sought for. But yet it is executed, and
well executed, and usually by some of the principal Gentlemen of the
County. In France, the Office of Counsellor, or Member of their
judiciary Parliaments, is more honourable. It is therefore purchas’d
at a high Price; there are indeed Fees on the Law Proceedings, which
are divided among them, but these Fees do not amount to more than
three per cent on the Sum paid for the Place. Therefore, as legal
Interest is there at five per cent, they in fact pay two per cent for
being allow’d to do the Judiciary Business of the Nation, which is at
the same time entirely exempt from the Burthen of paying them any
Salaries for their Services. I do not, however, mean to recommend
this as an eligible Mode for our judiciary Department. I only bring
the Instance to show, that the Pleasure of doing Good and serving
their Country, and the Respect such Conduct entitles them to, are
sufficient Motives with some Minds, to give up a great Portion of
their Time to the Public, without the mean Inducement of pecuniary
Satisfaction.
Another Instance is that of a respectable Society, who have
made the Experiment, and practis’d it with Success, now more than a
hundred years. I mean the Quakers. It is an establish’d Rule with
them that they are not to go to law, but in their Controversies they
must apply to their Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly Meetings.
Committees of these sit with Patience to hear the Parties, and spend
much time in composing their Differences. In doing this, they are
supported by a Sense of Duty, and the Respect paid to Usefulness. It
is honourable to be so employ’d, but it was never made profitable by
Salaries, Fees, or Perquisites. And indeed, in all Cases of public
Service, the less the Profit the greater the Honour.
To bring the Matter nearer home, have we not seen the greatest
and most important of our Offices, that of General of our Armies,
executed for Eight Years together, without the smallest Salary, by a
patriot whom I will not now offend by any other Praise; and this,
thro’ Fatigues and Distresses, in common with the other brave Men,
his military Friends and Companions, and the constant Anxieties
peculiar to his Station? And shall we doubt finding three or four
Men in all the United States, with public Spirit enough to bear
sitting in peaceful Council, for perhaps an equal Term, merely to
preside over our civil Concerns, and see that our Laws are duly
executed? Sir, I have a better opinion of our Country. I think we
shall never be without a sufficient Number of wise and good Men to
undertake, and execute well and faithfully, the Office in question.
Sir, the Saving of the Salaries, that may at first be propos’d,
is not an object with me. The subsequent Mischiefs of proposing them
are what I apprehend. And therefore it is that I move the Amendment.
If it is not seconded or accepted, I must be contented with the
Satisfaction of having delivered my Opinion frankly, and done my
Duty.
June 2, 1787
_Speech in a Committee of the Convention on the Proportion of
Representation and Votes_
MR. CHAIRMAN,
It has given me great Pleasure to observe, that, till this
Point, _the Proportion of Representation_, came before us, our
Debates were carry’d on with great Coolness and Temper. If any thing
of a contrary kind has, on this Occasion, appeared, I hope it will
not be repeated; for we are sent hither to _consult_, not to
_contend_, with each other; and Declaration of a fix’d Opinion, and
of determined Resolutions never to change it, neither enlighten nor
convince us. Positiveness and Warmth on one side naturally beget
their like on the other; and tend to create and augment Discord and
Division in a great Concern, wherein Harmony and Union are extremely
necessary, to give Weight to our Counsels, and render them effectual
in promoting and securing the common Good.
I must own, that I was originally of Opinion it would be better
if every Member of Congress, or our national Council, were to
consider himself rather as a Representative of the whole, than as an
Agent for the Interests of a particular State; in which Case the
Proportion of Members for each State would be of less Consequence,
and it would not be very material whether they voted by States or
individually. But as I find this is not to be expected, I now think
the Number of Representatives should bear some Proportion to the
Number of the Represented, and that the Decisions should be by the
Majority of Members, not by the Majority of States. This is objected
to, from an Apprehension that the greater States would then swallow
up the Smaller. I do not at present clearly see what Advantage the
greater States could propose to themselves by swallowing the smaller,
and therefore do not apprehend they would attempt it. I recollect,
that in the Beginning of this Century, when the Union was propos’d of
the two Kingdoms, England and Scotland, the Scotch patriots were full
of Fears, that, unless they had an equal Number of Representatives in
Parliament, they should be ruined by the Superiority of the English.
They finally agreed, however, that the different Proportions of
Importance in the Union of the two Nations should be attended to;
whereby they were to have only Forty Members in the House of Commons,
and only Sixteen of their Peers were to sit in the House of Lords; a
very great Inferiority of Numbers! And yet, to this Day, I do not
recollect that any thing has been done in the Parliament of Great
Britain to the Prejudice of Scotland; and whoever looks over the
Lists of publick Officers, Civil and Military, of that Nation, will
find, I believe, that the North Britons enjoy at least their full
proportion of Emolument.
But, Sir, in the present Mode of Voting by States, it is
equally in the Power of the lesser States to swallow up the greater;
and this is mathematically demonstrable. Suppose, for example, that
7 smaller States had each 3 members in the House, and the Six larger
to have, one with another, 6 Members; and that, upon a Question, two
Members of each smaller State should be in the Affirmative, and one
in the Negative; they will make
Affirmatives, 14 Negatives 7
And that all the large States should
be unanimously in the negative;
they would make Negatives 36
–
In all 43
It is then apparent, that the 14 carry the question against the
43, and the Minority overpowers the Majority, contrary to the common
Practice of Assemblies in all Countries and Ages.
The greater States, Sir, are naturally as unwilling to have
their Property left in the Disposition of the smaller, as the smaller
are to leave theirs in the Disposition of the greater. An honourable
Gentleman has, to avoid this difficulty, hinted a Proposition of
equalizing the States. It appears to me an equitable one; and I
should, for my own Part, not be against such a Measure, if it might
be found practicable. Formerly, indeed, when almost every Province
had a different Constitution, some with greater, others with fewer
Privileges, it was of Importance to the Borderers, when their
Boundaries were contested, whether, by running the Division Lines,
they were placed on one Side or the other. At present, when such
Differences are done away, it is less material. The Interest of a
State is made up of the Interests of its individual Members. If they
are not injured, the State is not injured. Small States are more
easily, well, and happily governed, than large ones. If, therefore,
in such an equal Division, it should be found necessary to diminish
Pennsylvania, I should not be averse to the giving a part of it to N.
Jersey, and another to Delaware: But as there would probably be
considerable Difficulties in adjusting such a Division; and, however
equally made at first, it would be continually varying by the
Augmentation of Inhabitants in some States, and their more fixed
proportion in others, and thence frequent Occasion for new Divisions;
I beg leave to propose for the Consideration of the Committee another
Mode, which appears to me to be as equitable, more easily carry’d
into Practice, and more permanent in its Nature.
Let the weakest State say what Proportion of Money or Force it
is able and willing to furnish for the general Purposes of the Union.
Let all the others oblige themselves to furnish each an equal
Proportion.
The whole of these joint Supplies to be absolutely in the
Disposition of Congress.
The Congress in this Case to be compos’d of an equal Number of
Delegates from each State;
And their Decisions to be by the Majority of individual Members
voting.
If these joint and equal Supplies should, on particular
Occasions, not be sufficient, let Congress make Requisitions on the
richer and more powerful States for further Aids, to be voluntarily
afforded; so leaving each State the Right of considering the
Necessity and Utility of the Aid desired, and of giving more or less,
as it should be found proper.
This Mode is not new; it was formerly practic’d with Success by
the British Government, with respect to Ireland and the Colonies. We
sometimes gave even more than they expected, or thought just to
accept; and in the last War, carried on while we were united, they
gave us back in 5 Years a Million Sterling. We should probably have
continu’d such voluntary Contributions, whenever the Occasions
appear’d to require them for the common Good of the Empire. It was
not till they chose to force us, and to deprive us of the Merit and
Pleasure of voluntary Contributions, that we refus’d and resisted.
Those Contributions, however, were to be dispos’d of at the Pleasure
of a Government in which we had no Representative. I am therefore
persuaded, that they will not be refus’d to one in which the
Representation shall be equal.
My learned Colleague has already mentioned that the present
method of voting by States, was submitted to originally by Congress,
under a Conviction of its Impropriety, Inequality, and Injustice.
This appears in the Words of their Resolution. It is of Sept. 6,
1774. The words are,
"Resolved, That, in determining Questions in this Congress,
each Colony or Province shall have one vote; the Congress not being
possessed of, or at present able to procure, Materials for
ascertaining the Importance of each Colony."
June 11, 1787
_Motion for Prayers in the Convention_
MR. PRESIDENT,
The small Progress we have made, after 4 or 5 Weeks’ close
Attendance and continual Reasonings with each other, our different
Sentiments on almost every Question, several of the last producing as
many _Noes_ as _Ayes_, is, methinks, a melancholy Proof of the
Imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to _feel_
our own want of political Wisdom, since we have been running all
about in Search of it. We have gone back to ancient History for
Models of Government, and examin’d the different Forms of those
Republics, which, having been originally form’d with the Seeds of
their own Dissolution, now no longer exist; and we have view’d modern
States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions
suitable to our Circumstances.
In this Situation of this Assembly, groping, as it were, in the
dark to find Political Truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when
presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto
once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate
our Understandings? In the Beginning of the Contest with Britain,
when we were sensible of Danger, we had daily Prayers in this Room
for the Divine Protection. Our Prayers, Sir, were heard; — and they
were graciously answered. All of us, who were engag’d in the
Struggle, must have observed frequent Instances of a superintending
Providence in our Favour. To that kind Providence we owe this happy
Opportunity of Consulting in Peace on the Means of establishing our
future national Felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful
Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need its assistance? I have
lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing
proofs I see of this Truth, _that_ GOD _governs in the Affairs of
Men._ And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice,
is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been
assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the
House, they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and
I also believe, that, without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in
this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel; we
shall be divided by our little, partial, local Interests, our
Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach
and a Bye-word down to future Ages. And, what is worse, Mankind may
hereafter, from this unfortunate Instance, despair of establishing
Government by human Wisdom, and leave it to Chance, War, and
Conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move,
That henceforth Prayers, imploring the Assistance of Heaven and
its Blessing on our Deliberations, be held in this Assembly every
morning before we proceed to Business; and that one or more of the
Clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that Service. (*)
(*) The convention, except three or four persons, thought
prayers unnecessary!
June 28, 1787
_Speech in the Convention at the Conclusion of its
Deliberations_
MR. PRESIDENT,
I confess, that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution
at present; but, Sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it; for,
having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being
obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change my
opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but
found to be otherwise. It is therefore that, the older I grow, the
more apt I am to doubt my own judgment of others. Most men, indeed,
as well as most sects in religion, think themselves in possession of
all truth, and that wherever others differ from them, it is so far
error. Steele, a Protestant, in a dedication, tells the Pope, that
the only difference between our two churches in their opinions of the
certainty of their doctrine, is, the Romish Church is _infallible_,
and the Church of England is _never in the wrong._ But, though many
private Persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as
of that of their Sect, few express it so naturally as a certain
French Lady, who, in a little dispute with her sister, said, "But I
meet with nobody but myself that is _always_ in the right." _"Je ne
trouve que moi qui aie toujours raison."_
In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with
all its faults, — if they are such; because I think a general
Government necessary for us, and there is no _form_ of government but
what may be a blessing to the people, if well administered; and I
believe, farther, that this is likely to be well administered for a
course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have
done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need
despotic government, being incapable of any other. I doubt, too,
whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a
better constitution; for, when you assemble a number of men, to have
the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with
those men all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of
opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such
an assembly can a _perfect_ production be expected? It therefore
astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to
perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who
are waiting with confidence to hear, that our councils are confounded
like those of the builders of Babel, and that our States are on the
point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of
cutting one another’s throats. Thus I consent, Sir, to this
Constitution, because I expect no better, and because I am not sure
that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its _errors_ I
sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of
them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall
die. If every one of us, in returning to our Constituents, were to
report the objections he has had to it, and endeavour to gain
Partisans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally
received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects and great
advantages resulting naturally in our favour among foreign nations,
as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity.
Much of the strength and efficiency of any government, in procuring
and securing happiness to the people, depends on _opinion_, on the
general opinion of the goodness of that government, as well as of the
wisdom and integrity of its governors. I hope, therefore, for our
own sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake of our
posterity, that we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending
this Constitution, wherever our Influence may extend, and turn our
future thoughts and endeavours to the means of having it _well
administered._
On the whole, Sir, I cannot help expressing a wish, that every
member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would
with me on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility,
and, to make _manifest_ our _unanimity_, put his name to this
Instrument.
September 17, 1787
_On Sending Felons to America_
FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE
SIR,
We may all remember the Time when our Mother Country, as a Mark
of her parental Tenderness, emptied her Jails into our Habitations,
_"for the_ BETTER _Peopling,"_ as she express’d it, _"of the
Colonies."_ It is certain that no due Returns have yet been made for
these valuable Consignments. We are therefore much in her Debt on
that Account; and, as she is of late clamorous for the Payment of all
we owe her, and some of our Debts are of a kind not so easily
discharg’d, I am for doing however what is in our Power. It will
show our good-will as to the rest. The Felons she planted among us
have produc’d such an amazing Increase, that we are now enabled to
make ample Remittance in the same Commodity. And since the
Wheelbarrow Law is not found effectually to reform them, and many of
our Vessels are idle through her Restraints on our Trade, why should
we not employ those Vessels in transporting the Felons to Britain?
I was led into this Thought by perusing the Copy of a Petition
to Parliament, which fell lately by Accident into my Hands. It has
no Date, but I conjecture from some Circumstances, that it must have
been about the year 1767 or 68. (It seems, if presented, it had no
Effect, since the Act passed.) I imagine it may not be unacceptable
to your Readers, and therefore transcribe it for your paper; viz.
To the Honourable th
