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formation enough to perceive
it, to reason upon it, to know
why they e»joy rt, whence it
flow s, how it was attained,how it
is to be pre/erved, Sc how it ma)
be loft. The people of thtfc
Hates mull be educated for theij
flation as members of the great
community. They receive a
republican education, be taught
the duties and the rights of free
men ; that is of American free
men ; not the freemen that are
so by Harts by fenzy , • in mobs ;
who would fill the forutn nod
of Clodius, or the pry untuen
at of Cleon ; nor the freemen
one day in seven years who
w ould tufli together for sale at
the Hulling? of Bieiitfoid, and
clamor Sc bludgeon for a man
whose principles Sc person were
to them alike unknown Sc unre
garded.
Each American freeman is
an integral member of the fo
vercigoty, he is a co-cflaie of
the emperor, carrying on its
government by his delegates.—
The firli right he poflefles after
that of breathing the vital air,
is the right of bcit g taught the
management of the power to
which he is born. It »s a seri
ous duty of the society towards
hint, an unquellionable right
of the individual from the focie
*/•
In a monarchy, the education
of the prince isjullly deemed a
concern of the nation. Ills
done at their cxpenle, and why
is it so ? It is Iccaule they are
deeply intcrclled in his being
well educated, that he ruav be
able to ailminider the govern*
went veil, to conduct the con
cerns of the nation wileiy on
their own cor.flitulional princi
ples. — My friends, is it not even
more important that our princes
cur millions of princes, ihuulii
be educated for their flation,
than the single prince of a mo
narchy ?’ If a single prince goes
wrong, obllinately and incu
rably wrong, he may be let a
fidc for an other, with Put over,
turning the. Hate. But if ourlo
vereigns, in ilicit multitudinous
cxercifc of power, Ihould he
obllinate Sc incut able to wrong,
you cannot set them a(it|e. But
they will set you a foie ; they
wilt set thcmfelves a tide ; they
willciufh the Hate and convulse
the nation. Hie reiult is mili
tary dclpoiiftn, dilmcmbcrment
of thegteat republick, and if.
ter a fufhcietit coune of devaf.
tation by civil wais, the fettle
mtnt «n a lew ferocious mon
at chi's, picpatcd to act over
again die I .me degtading kene.v
of uit uai eticioschincnt and I
vindictive war which disgrace
modern Eutope; Sc ftotn wbit 1
many writers have told u:., that
mankind are never to be free.
Out habits of thinking and c
ven of rtalonit g, it mull he
confdlcd, ate (till borrowed
from feudal principles Sc mon
erchical cHablifhments. As a
nation we are not up> to our
citct mdances. Our
in the abllract, as wrought into
our Hate and federal conftitu.
duns, ate in general worthy o r ’
the highell pratfc; they dohon
or to the human imellebl. But
the practical tone and tcalion
of t ur minds do not well cor
iel pond with thole principles
We are like a pctlon comer- ]
ling in a foreign language, I
whole rdiotn is not yet famiiai •
tohttn. He thinks in Ins owntia. I
live language, and is obliged to .
tianiLte as he talks; which gives I
a ttiHnefs to hts diicourle a |t. |
betrays a cciuin tmbamifu.cot
which nothing can run-ve I
frequent cxcieifcarrd long piac
lice. We aie accuffomed ti
and realon relative to thj
people’s education prccilclv like
i
ariftccratical fubjefls of a Eu
ropean monarchy.--Some fay
the people have no need of in
fliutlioo ; they already knew
too much; they cannot alt be
legdlators and judges ard gen_
•erals; the great mass muH work
for a living, and tfiey need no
other knowledge, than what is
fufTicient for that purpose. O
thers will tell you it is very well
for the people to git as much
education as they can ; but it
is their own concern, the Hate
has nothing to do with it ; every
parent out of regard to lis off
pring, will give them what he
c?n.and that will be enough.
I would not sny how far ibis
manner of treating the subject is
proper even in Europe, whence
we borrowed it. Hut I will say
that nothing is more preposterous
in America. It is din ctly contra
ry to the vital principles of our
constitutions ; and its inevitable
tendency is 'o destroy them A
universal system of education is so
far from being a matter of indif
ference to the public, under our
social compact, that it is incentesti
bly one ol the first duties of the
government, me of the highest
interests of the mtion, one ot the
most sacred rights of the indivi
dual, the vital fluid of organised
liberty the precious aliment w ith
out which your republic cannot be
supported.
1 do not mean that our legisla
tors should turn pedagogues ; or
send their commissioners forth to
discipline every child iu this na.
tiou. Neither do l mean to be
tray so much temerity aa to speak
of the best nu de ot combining a
system ol puoiiik instruction, but
1 letl it iny duty on this occasion
to übe the freedom to which I am
accustomed, and suggest the pro
priety ol bringing forward sume
system that shall be adequate to
the object. 1«m chtarly of opin
ion that u is already nithin the
power of our legislative bodies,
both federal & provincial; but if it
i* not, the people ought to place it
there, and see that it is exercised.
It is certain that the plan, if pro
peily arranged & wisely conducted
would not be expensive. And there
is no doubt of its absolute, irrtsßt*
able necessity, if we mean to pre
serve either our rtprese D t*t> v *:
principle or our federal union.
It is not intended that every ci
tizen should be a judge or a general
or a legislator: but every citizen
in a voter; it is essential to
your institutions that he should
be a voter, and <f he has not the
inatrurtion necessary to enable him
to discriminate between the char*
ar.tcrs cffcien, to withstand the in
trigues of che wicked and to per
ceive what is right, lie immediate
ly becomes both a;i object and an
instrument of corruption ; his right
ol voting becomes an injury to him
sell and a nuisance to society. It
is in tins sense that the people are
saul to be *• their own wror,i eue-
I mns.” I heir freedom itself is
found to be an insupportable cala.
mity i anil the only consolation
(a dreary consolation indeed) is
that it cannot last long.
Ihe time is fast approaching,
when the United States will be out 1
of debt, if no extraordinaty cad
for money to re |xrl foreign ag
gression should intervene. Our
surplus revenue alicady -dorda
the means of entering upon the
system of puhlick works, and be
ginning to discharge our duty in
tnis respect. The report of che
i Secretary of the l rcasuty on these
t wotks, which is or ought to be in
the hands of every citizen, will
shew their feasibility as to the
fuixls , «X it dev elopes a part of
tnc advantages With which the sys
tem must beat tended. Hut neither
ilwt distinguished statesman uor
I any other huuian being could detail
j * ui forth alt the advantages that
i wouid arise from suen a system j
earned to ns piuper extent. 1 hey !
aie incalculably great and uu- I
i ptaUbly various. They would j
' mud the stales together to a boud !
j of union that every one could per
j ccUt > cvciy one muM cherish
j ..nd nothing could dc>tro\ j
1 hts ol itselt is an advantage so
great, it coostdcied in all its con- ,
.-equences, that it seems almost |
tascie&s to notice any other. It j
wou.d facilitate the cuean» of iu- |
I *
strtictirg ihe pt f J • ro J’^
teach them to cherish the union
a* the retiree of their {jpppinr**,
&to know why it was *o : k this is a
considerable portion of the educa
tion they r» quite. It would great
ly increase the t a'ue of property !
and the weal'h of individuals,
and thereby enable them to aug*
ment, the publick revenue liut
what is more, it would itself aug
ment the revenue in a more direct
manner I>V enhancing the va!ue
of ihe publick lands; which
would thus sell faster and bring a
higher price. In this manner the j
first monies laid out by the goven
ment on roads and canals would
be a reproductive property ; it 1
would be constantly scuding back j
more money into the treasury than
was token from it for this purpeje. 1
So that all the advantages of every
kind, publick and private, present |
and future, commercial and eco. J
oornical, physical, moral and poli
tical, would be so much clear
gain. There would be nothing
destroyed but eri'ors and prejudi
ces, nothing removed but the dan*
gers that now threaten cur invalu
able institutions.
To do equal justice and give
satisfaction 10 the people in eve
• y state in the Union, the sums to
be xptndcd in euch year should
Lc disiributtd in the several states
according to their population.—
This is the general understanding !
among the friends of the system;
and the Secretary has not neglec
ted to keep it in view in his lu
minous report.
Our present legislators ought to
considtr hew much true glory
would redound to them from be.
ing the lirrt io arrange and adopt
such a «ys.tm—hew different
from the sale glory commonly ac
quired by the governments of
other countries. Louis XIV toiled
k tormented himself & all Kurope
ihro’ a long lile to acquire glory.
He made unjust wars, obtained ma
ny \ ictoms k si ffcitci many de
feats* He augmented the stan
ding armies of hrente from 40,000
to 200,000 men ; and thus obliged !
the other power of Europe to aug- !
ment their means of defence in
that proportion; means which
j have drained the publick treasu
! ties and oppressed the peuple of
, Europe ever since. And wbai is
the glory that now retnaius toihe
name of Louis XIV? Only the
: Catoal of Languedoc. This indeed
' is a title to true gloiy, and it is
almost the only subject on which
hig name is now mentioned in
France but with opprobrium and
detestation.
The government of England ex
pended one hundred & thirty-nine
millions sterling in the war under
taken to subjugate the American
coloni. s. ,
This sum, about six hundred mil
lions of doll.irs, laid out on the con
struction of canals, at twenty
thousand dollars a mile, would
have made thirty thousand miles
of c.t iaj ; about the same length of
way as ad the present post roads lit
the U. States and their territories ;
or a line tint could reach once and
a quarter round the globe of this
earth outlie circle of the equator.
Or if the same sum cwuid be distri
buted in a sent* of progressive im
i prove mentis, a part in canals and a
part in roads, bridges k school es
tablishments, beginning with two
million* a year, according to the
proposition of the secretary of the
treasury, and increasing as the sur
\ plus revenue would increase, to
[ 10 or 15 millions a year it would
| make a garden of the (J. S. £ people
it w itli a race ol men worthy to enjoy
it j a garden extending over H cuu
lioent ; g:ving a glorious example
to mankind of the operation ot die
true principles of society, the prin
ciples recognized in your govern
ment. Many persons now in bc_ j
mg might live to see this change
effected ; and most of us might
to enjry it hi anticipation by see
ing it bi gull.
1 he gicatest real embarrassment
j "e labor under at present, arises
I bom our commercial relations, the
j only point of contact between u»fc
! the ui just government* oj Europe,
by ilieir various and violent a**-
gresvmas, they are constantly ois
turb.og our repose, and causing
u$ considerable exp cnees. I„
ease what is to be uone ? ty e ca|| . I
not by compact expect i 0 o^ta]o I
justice nor tne liberty of the SCJW *
itoui thcicg.w.ruuicuu • n „ „ oj
in ff>fi natufe 1 their organ zuion. |
Shall we think of overpowering ,
them in their own wav by a navy
stronger than theirs ; brutal force
against brutal force, like the pon
derous power of Europe among ,
themselves. This at picscnt is im
possible ; and if it were possible,
or whenever it should be possible,
fit would be extremely impolitic ;
it would be dat gemos, it not total- 1
]y destructive to ail our plans of ;
improvement, 6c even to the gov- I
erem-nt itself.
Has then a beneficent providence, j
; the God of order and justice, poin- j
ted out another mode of defence, !
i by which the resources of this na
! tion mat be preserved for works of
‘ fieace and the advancement of hu
j man happiness ? Has the genius of
j science and of art raised up a new
; Archimedes to guide the fire G s
j Heaven against the fleets that may
i annoy ns ? I cannot but hope it
has; not by the ardent mirror;
but by means altogether more cer**
tain, !e>s dependent on external
circumstances, capable of vary
ing & accommodating their mode
of attack and defence to all the va
riety of positions and movements
common to ships of war.
I know not how far I may difl'. rin
opinion from those amoug you w ho
may have turned their attention to
the subject to which I now allude ; I
or whether any person present has
really iavestigaied it. But I I
should not lee I easy to lose the j
present occasion (the only one that I
my retired life renders it probobfe i
1 shall ever have cf addressing you j ;
to express my private opinion
that the means of submarine at-j
tack, invented & im posed by one !
«>f our citizens, carries in itself the
eventual destruction of naval ty
ranny. 1 should hope and believe, j
if it were taken up and adopted by
our government, subjected to a ri '
Kid and regular course of txpt ri- j
ments, open and publick so that its I
powers blight be ascertained and j
its merits known to the world, it I
would save this nation from future j
foreign wars, and deliver it from i
| aU apprehensions of having its corn- 1
; merctal pursuits and its peaceful!
improvements ever after mterrup.
ted. It might rid the seas of all the
buccaneers, both great and small
that now inlest them ; it might free j
mankind horn the scourge of na
val wars, one of the greatest cala
mities t:iey now suffer, and to i
which i can set co other end,
1 hose opinions may be thought
hazardous— -But 1 beg my fellow
citizens to believe that I have ex
am, tied the subject or I shoud not
hazard them, several of the great !
arts that are now grown familiar I
m common life were once thought
v isionury. I his t*ci should render
us cautious of making up our judge
ment against an object like this in
the higher uider of mechanical
combinations, before we have well
considered it. \Vi k h this obam va
non 1 drop the subject; or rather
j * rv' | gu it into abler hands ; the
baud* of those wiio have the pow
er as well as the inclination to pur
sue the best good of our beloved
couutiy.
1 should not have inttoduced -it
ill tills place were it not for its im
j mtdiaie connexion with the means
ol commencing St prosecuting those
* vast interior improvements which!
the state of our nation so imper— j
j iously demands, which the heroes j
of our revolution, the sages of our '
early councils, ifit gmius of ciyili
zation, tiie cause .suffering humani
ty,i<ave placed within our power,
aad connded to our charge.
Foreign Intelligence.
LEYDEN, M ay*.
I ron Jassy, April 2.
Un the pan of kufiia, it hag
been demanded, as the balis oi
j "egociation, that the Tone
Ihould cede Moldavia and Wal.
tachia, besides the dihniiiion of
ihe Knglilh acobaUador from
Canftantmople. 1 hefe propo.
fitions the lurkifn miniflers ;
would by no means admit.
\ IEXX A, April 28.
Fioin Hcrmanlladt ve have
intelligence that hoffilkies had
commenced between the Ruffi.
1 ans and Tut Its. The Servians,
u u laid, will turn out againlt
! the latter with one hundred ihou-1
land men.
May 24. 1
M. C( vallos had received fro-nB
his government, and ccmrm.r, ■
cated to cur rainitters. a oror.B
f.tion made by Bonaparte to Vr.fi
Supreme Junta, offering fi
withdraw his troops from s»
piovided they were
retire with their ilores, 6c(.
out molettation. The Junta
plied in the affirmative, up<,-fi
condition that Bonaparte fhou'B
renounce all pretentions to ;P JM
throne of Spain, and
that he would not hereafter * tojß
troduce an army into that nu.B
try. To thele flipulations S*B
baftiani, who was charged wufi
the overture, declared he
unauthorifed to accede, and ifi
this Uate the matter retied at ihß
date of M. Cevalios’ ciiic»atche>B
BOSTON, July 13. I
By the schooner Ann, caprfi
Kelley, from Halifax, we havfi
received papers to the nth i.ilfjj
containing London dates to theß
25th of May. They furnifh dif.H
agreeable intelligence as to A*B
merican affairs. The Britififi
mimtter has declared, not thatß
he will not fulfil any engageß
ments he has diretted Mr. eJ
fkine to make, but that Mr. fiß
Iw as net author iied bv his inß
Itruftions to make the arrangp.B
! ments he has. The mjlruttionsß
I muff be r A-...j. .atd—when it wilß
j be known, whether we are toB
| impute our di fa p point ment ufl
the bad faith of Mr. Canning]
! or the blunders of Mr. Erskine]
Ihe British government have]
j however, agreed to ref pea th]
! fettiement which has been made]
i its explanations reach Ame]
rica j and we hope the adjuft]
i mc,lt w,iJ be finally ratified, not]
; withUanding preient appearan]
! Ccs.
Bonaparte has advanced to!
! Vienna, without an additional!
4 battle, leaving the large Auftrianl
! army under the Arch dukel
; Charles in Bohemia, and an Au-I
Itrian force in the Tyrol. They!
| might cut off his retreat, if their I
force was lufficient to prornifeß
success. j
i he ir.furreftion in Weftpha-I
lia grows more formidable. I
Hear admiral Harvey has been!
dilintffed from the British lcr-|
vice--for uling “ vehement and I
insulting language" to admiull
Gambter. 1
NEW YORK, July is. j
Captain Defheili, ofthelloopl
Henry, 8 days from Bermuda, I
(arrived here on Sunday) in- 1
forms, that he lefi Martinique!
j on Bie 27th of J une, and on that I
j day advices were received there!
• of the capture of the Touionl
1 fleet, by lord Collingwood, con.l
fitting of 5 fail of the line, 6 or I
7 frigates, 6c 80 transports with I
the French garrison of Barcclo* I
na on board—they were lent in-1
to Gibraltar.
A veffiel had arrived at Mar- 1
tinique, having spoken on her I
paflage, an American (hip from I
Gibraltar, the captain of which I
ttated that lord Collingwood
arrived at Gibraltar previous 40
his failing with the whole French
fleet, his prizes.
A letter received from St.
Croix, by the Richard, of the
3d of July, confirms the above
account of the capture of the
French fleet.
1 of a letter from Hiiirii July 4.
\tsieiday arrived a king’*
! schooner, in 42 days from Ports •
i mouth Png. with dispatches !«*■ >hr
i Admiral. By tier we have pr \
i ed tluee London papers (21st) ,!■
i and 2Jth, May ; the (Coui'itr)
1 he Van guard of the French had
, re ached } tennu, and entered that
«itv, as appears, without much re*
i sistence. This event, however,
doe* not set m to be considered s«
putting an end to the war. Theif