prefent pretenfions, and leave us to the peaceable enjoyment of our rights and privileges, B. FRANKLIN. A COMPARISON OF THE CONDUCT OF THE ANCIENT JEWS, AND OF THE ANTIFEDERALISTS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A ZEALOUS advocate for the propofed Federal Conflitution, in a certain public affembly faid, that "the repugnance of a great part of mankind to good government was fuch, that he believed, that if an angel from heaven was to bring down a conftitution formed there for our use, it would nevertheless meet with violent oppofition."-He was reproved for the fuppofed extravagance of the fentiment; and he did not justify it --Probably it might not have immediately occurred to him that the experiment had been tried, and that the event was recorded in the most faithful of all hiftories, the Holy Bible; otherwife he might, as it feems to me, have fupported his opinion by that unexceptionable authority. The Supreme Being had been pleafed to nourish up a fingle family, by continued acts of his attentive providence, 'till it became a great people: and having rescued them from bondage by many miracles performed by his fervant Mofes, he perfonally delivered to that chofen fervant, in prefence of the whole nation, a conftitution and code of laws for their obfervance; accompanied and fanctioned with promifes of great rewards, and threats of fevere punifhments, as the confequence of their obedience or difobedience. This conflitution, though the Deity himfelf was to be at its head (and it is therefore called by political writers a Theocracy) could not be carried into execution but by means of his minifters; Aaron and his fons were therefore commiffioned to be, with Mofes, the first established miniftry of the new government. One would have thought, that the appointment of men who had dilinguished themselves in procuring the liberty of their nation, and had hazarded their lives in openly op pofing the will of a powerful monarch who would have retained that nation in flavery, might have been an appoint ment acceptable to a grateful people; and that a conftitu tion, framed for them by the Deity himself, might on that account have been fecure of an univerfal welcome reception. Yet there were, in every one of the thirteen tribes, fome difcontented, reftlefs fpirits, who were continually exciting them to reject the propofed new government, and this from various motives. Many till retained an affection for Egypt, the land of their nativity, and thefe, whenever they felt any inconvenience or hardship, though the natural and unavoidable effe&t of their change of fituation, exclaimed against their leaders as the authors of their trouble: and were not only for returning into Egypt, but for ftoning their deliverers.* Thofe inclined to idolatry were displeased that their golden calf was deftroyed. Many of the chiefs thought the new coustitution might be injurious to their particular interests, that the profitable places would be engriffed by the fami ies and friends of Mfes and Aaron, and others equally well-born excludedt-In Jofephus, and the Talmud, we learn fome particulars, not fo fully narrated in the fcripture. We are there told, 6. that Corah was ambitious of the priesthood; and offended that it was conferred on Aaron; and this, as he faid, by the authority of Mofes only, without the confent of the people. He accufed Mofes of having, by various artifices, fraudulently obtained the government, and deprived the people of their liberties; and of confpiring with Aaron to perpetuate the tyranny in their family. Thus, though Corah's real motive was the fupplanting of Aaron, he perfuaded the people he meant only the public good; and they, moved by his infinuations, began to cry out--" Let us maintain the common liberty of our refpe&tive tribes; we have freed ourselves from the flavery impofed upon us by Numbers, chap. xiv. + Numbers, chap. xvi. ver. 3. And they gathered themselves together against Mofes and Aaron, and faid unto then, ye take too much upon you, fecing all the congregations are holy, every one of them-wherefore then lift ye up yourfclves above the congregation ?" the Egyptians, and fhall we fuffer ourselves to be made flaves by Mofes; If we must have a mafter, it were better to return to Pharaoh, who at least fed us with bread and onions, than to ferve this new tyrant, who by his operations has brought us into danger or famine." Then they called in queftion the reality of his conference with God; and objected to the privacy of the meetings, and the preventing any of the people from being prefent at the colloques, or even approaching the place, as grounds of great fufpicion. They accufed Mofes alfo of pecula ion; as embezzling part of the golden fpoons and the filver chargers, that the princes had offered at the dedication of the altar*, and the offerings of the goid of the common people†, as well as most of the poll tax‡; and Aaron they accufed of pocketing much of the gold of which he pretended to have made a molten calf. Befides peculation, they charged Mofes with ambition; to gratify which paffion, he had, they said, deceived the people, by promifing to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey; iuftead of doing which, he had brought them from fuch a land and that he thought light of this mifchief, provided he could make himself an abfolute prince. That, to fupport the new dignity with fplendour in his family, the partial poll tax already levied and given to Aaron was to be followed by a general one¶, which would probably be augmented from time to time, if he were fuffered to go on promulgating new laws on pretence of new occafional revelations of the divine will, till their whole fortunes were devoured by that ariltocracy." Mofes denied the charge of peculation and his accufers were deftitute of proofs to fupport it; though facts if real, are in their nature capable of proof. "I have not," faid he, (With holy confidence in the prefence of God)" I have not taken from this people the value of an afs, nor done them Numbers, chap. vii. + Exodus, chap. xxxv. ver. 22. & Numbers, chap xvi, ver. 13. "Is it a final thing that thou haft brought us up out a of land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in this wildernefs, except thou make thy felt altogether a prince over us?" Numbers, chap. iii. 1 Exodus, chap. xxx. any other injury." But his enemies had made the charge, and with fome fuccess among the populace; for no kind of accufation is fo readily made, or cafily believed, by knaves, as the acculation of knavery. In fine, no less than two hundred and fifty of the principal inen famous in the congregation, men of renown, heading and exciting the mob, worked them up to such a pitch of phrenfy, that they called out, ftone 'em, stone 'em, and thereby fecure our liberties; and let us choose other captains that may lead us back into Egypt, in cafe we do not fucceed in reducing the Canaanites. On the whole, it appears that the Ifraelites were a people jealous of their newly acquired liberty, which jealoufy was in itfelf no fault: but that when they fuffered it to be worked upon by artful men, pretending public good, with nothing really in view but private intereft, they were led to oppof the eftablishment of the new conftitution, whereby they brought upon themfelves much inconvenience and misfortune. It farther appears from the farve meftimable hiftory, that when, after many ages, the conicarion had become old and much abufed, and an amendment of it was propofed, the populace as they bad accufed Moles of the ambition of making himself a prince, and cried out, stone him, ftone him; fo, excited by tich sigh-priefs and fcribes, they exclaimed against the Melliah, that be aimed at becoming king of the Jews, and cried, crucify him, crucify him. From all which we may gather, that popaler oppofition to a public meatie is no proof of its impropriety, even though the oppofition be excited and lead by men of diltinction. To conclude. I beg I may 201 he wor wood to inder, that our general convention was divinely alpir i vihen it formed the new federal conftitution, merly Leceufo than conftitution has been unreasonably and velemently oppofed yet, I muft own, I have fo much faith thing peral government of the world by Providence, that I om udly conceive a tranfa&tion of fuch momentous imper cases the welfare of millions now exifting, and to exift in de rity of a great nation, fhould be fuffered to pafs willows *Numbers, chap. xvi. being in fome degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipotent, omniprefent and beneficent Ruler, in whom all inferior fpirits live, and move, and have their being THE INTERNAL STATE OF AMERICA. BEING A TRUE DISCRIPTION OF THE INTEREST AND POLICY OF THAT VAST CONTINENT. THERE is a tradition, that, in the planting of New-En gland, the first fettlers met with many difficulties and hardfhips; as is generally the cafe when a civilized people attempt establishing themselves in a wilderness country. Being pioufly difpofed, they fought relief from Heaven, by laying their wants and diftreffes before the Lord, in frequent fet days of fating and prayer. Conflant meditation and difcourfe on the fe fubjects kept their minds gloomy and difcontented; and, like the children of Ifreal, there were many difpofed to return to that Egypt which perfecution had induced them to abandon. At length, when it was propofed in the affembly to proclaim another fast, a farmer of plain fenfe rofe, and remarked, that the inconveniencies they fuffered, and concerning which they had so often wearied heaven with their complaints, were not fo great as they might have expected, and were diminishing every day as the colony ftrengthened; that the earth began to reward their labour, and to furnish liberally for their fubfiftence; that the feas and rivers were found full of fish, the air fweet, and the climate healthy; and, above all, that they were there in the full enjoyment of liberty, civil and religious: he therefore thought, that reflecting and converfing on thefe fubjects would be more comfortable, as tending more to make them contented with their fituation; and that it would be more becoming the gratitude they owed to the Divine Being, if, instead of a fait, they should proclaim a thanksgiving. His advice was taken, and from that day to this they have, in every year, obferved circumftances of public felicity fufficient to furnish employment for a thanksgiving day, which is therefore conftantly ordered and religiously obferved. |