ents is to be sacrificed in its infancy, and before it has had a fair trial. But his Excellency will adopt this Constitution, "BECAUSE HE WOULD REGULATE HIMSELF BY THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA." But is his Excellency a prophet as well as a politician-can he foretell future events? How else can he at this time discover what the spirit of America is? But admitting his infallibility for a moment, how far will his principle carry him?—why, that if the dominion of Shays, instead of that of the new Constitution, should be generally accepted, and become the spirit of America, his Excellency, too, would turn Shayite!—and yet this question of the Constitution, is " BORN DEPENDS." It is his Excellency's opinion, as expressed in the aforesaid letter, that the powers which are acknowledged necessary for supporting the Union, cannot safely be entrusted to our Congress as at present constituted; and his vain objection is "that the representation of the states bears no proportion to their importance." This is literally true; but is equally true of the Senate of the proposed Constitution, which is to be an essential part of the legislature; and yet his Excellency will accept the latter, and not agree to invest the necessary powers in the former, although the above objection equally applies to both. Nay, I am inclined to believe that the injurious consequences of this unequal representation will operate more strongly under the new government-for under the present confederation the members of Congress are removable at the pleasure of their constituents;—whereas under the proposed Constitution, the only method of removing a wicked, unskilful or treacherous senator, will be by impeachment before the senate itself, of which he is a member.

ONE ON WHICH THE FATE OF THOUSANDS YET UN

These, Mr. Printer, are some of the inconsistencies which even a slight observation of the above letter will suggest. It is not my purpose to oppose now, or to investigate, the merits of the Constitution. This I leave to abler pens, and to the common sense of my countrymen. The science of government is in itself simple and plain; and if in the history of mankind no perfect government can be found, let it be attributed to the chicane, perfidy and ambition of those who fabricate them; and who are more or less, in common with all mankind, infected with a lust of power. It is,

however, certainly not consistent with sound sense to accept a Constitution, knowing it to be imperfect; and his Excellency acknowledges the proposed one to have radical objections. A Constitution ought to be like Cæsar's wife, not only good, but unsuspected, since it is the highest compact which men are capable of forming, and involves the dearest rights of life, liberty and property. I fear his Excellency has done no service to his favorite scheme of amendments (and he too seems to be of the same opinion) by his very candid declaration at the end of his letter. Subtlety and chicane in politics, are equally odious and dishonorable; but when it is considered that the present is not the golden age-the epoch of virtue, candor and integrity-that the views of ambitious and designing men are continually working to their own aggrandizement and to the overthrow of liberty, and that the discordant interests of thirteen different commonwealths are to be reconciled and promoted by one general government; common reason will teach us that the utmost caution, secrecy, and political sagacity is requisite to secure to each the important blessings of a good government.

I shall now take my leave of his Excellency and the abovementioned letter, declaring my highest veneration for his character and abilities; and it can be no impeachment of the talents of any man who has not served a regular apprenticeship to politics, to say, that his opinions on an intricate political question are erroneous. For if, as the celebrated Dr. Blackstone observes, “in every art, occupation, or science, commercial or mechanical, some method of instruction or apprenticeship is held necessary, how much more requisite will such apprenticeship be found to be, in the science of government, the noblest and most difficult of any!" A PLAIN DEALER.

REMARKS

ON THE

NEW PLAN OF GOVERNMENT,

BY

HUGH WILLIAMSON,

PRINTED IN

THE STATE GAZETTE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

NOTE.

No file of the State Gazette of North Carolina is now known to exist, so the date of publication of this essay is in doubt. It is printed from a clipping from that paper, preserved by Williamson himself, which is in the library of the New York Historical Society. A note states that:

"The following remarks on the new Plan of Government are handed us as the substance of Dr. Williamson's Address to the freemen of Edenton and the County of Chowan when assembled to instruct their representatives.

(395)