Europe, to maintain despots in their extravagance and exalt their flatterers-all these circumstances, and many more that the philanthropic heart will exhibit to view, must conspire to impress every patriotic American with tender emotions, and must excite their commiseration as well as contemplation, to see it in our power to teach mankind to be happy; to show them by example as well as precept, that they may be so, if they will, should command our reflection and gratitude. All mankind saw the heroes of America triumph over adversity, and may all nations see her equally virtuous in prosperity. National reputation possesses a charm which commands the respect and veneration of both friends and foes. The circumstances attending the American revolution have contributed more to enlighten mankind and diffuse a spirit of freedom and liberality through all nations, than any political event antecedent or subsequent to it. May heaven forbid then, that a single blot from any quarter whatever, should ever tarnish such a glorious cause; may it ever be beyond the power of calumny to throw the least reflection on our honour as a nation. Character is much easier kept than recovered; and that enemy, foreign or domestic, individual or state, who lends, unseen, his hand to injure it, inflicts a wound he never can heal; he takes a jewel which never can enrich him, but makes the loser poor indeed. As United States we may conquer a world of enemies. As individual states, we may become an easy prey to our foe. It is our interest and should be our pride to be recognised by no other name than citizens of America, and our grand object should be, to guard with jealous care the federal union, that great palladium of our honour, liberty and safety; its intrinsic value and sovereign utility can never be duly appreciated, unless we should unhappily forego this political blessing and be cursed with the loss of it.—The most effectual way to defend it is, by indivi dual states yielding up local privileges, which are in the nature of things injurious to the whole nation. The states are like men in society; something must always be yielded up, in order to make the whole secure; for local relinquishments consolidate public happiness.

In order to conciliate the affections and unite the interests of the citizens, not of the individual states, but the United States, (the title which keeps, and which alone can keep the

world, and particularly the world of enemies in awe) and final. ly draw and keep the mind of the country together, the diabolical principle, which confers such a super-abundance of the paramount rights of suffrage and sovereignty upon a part of the citizens, accordingly as they enslave and murder their fellow men, to the great injury of the virtuous and honourable part of society-this infernal practice (which I again delineate in order to expose it) must be abolished, or the union must be dissolved, that is, if the spirit of '76 is not completely obliterated from the breasts of the citizens of the north; for it is not only an insult to common sense, but degrading them to cowards, to suppose, that they will tamely see their sacred unalienable rights infringed by importations from Guinea.

Twelve amendments have been made to the constitution. Why not amend the principle alluded to? The constitution has provided ways and means to amend its own defects. Why not embrace this constitutional privilege, and eradicate this shameful inequality? Is it not more eligible to accommodate any misunderstanding that may exist between the different states, in this way, than to do it by the force of arms? Surely this would produce anarchy and intestine commotion; and who, in such an event, will be the greatest sufferers? I answer, and I shudder while I answer, Oppressors! For how could they stand with injured innocence behind them, alias, their infuriated slaves; and virtuous patriotism before them, alias, their insulted fellow citizens? who, perhaps, in order to transmit to their children and their children's children that unadulterated freedom and rational liberty for which they fought and bled, are necessitated to wear the sword of virtuous defence, and prove true to themselves, their children, and all mankind, by transmitting, with every mark of honourable conveyance, the inheritance they established for posterity.

These simplified considerations merit the candid attention of all who are really friends to civil liberty and our incomparable constitution, and to the interest and tranquillity of the country at large. At any rate, no injury can arise from an attempt to preclude the introduction of anarchy, in preserving a balance of power among the states founded on justice. No individual, family, or state should have a preponderating influence in government, as it is the property of

the nation, to whom it is responsible, by whom it is supported, and whose interests it is bound to secure. It is not, nor, indeed, in the nature of things can be, the property of an individual family or state; and though in some countries it has been usurped into an inheritance, yet this cannot alter the nature of things; make wrong right, and right wrong. As sovereignty belongs exclusively to the nation, it is certain the community has an inherent, indefeisible right to abolish any political principle; nay, even the government itself, whenever they find it is unjust, and alter or reorganize it, so as to accord with their interests and happiness, modified by local circumstances.

In a free government, when public faith and virtue droop, the republic begins to nod to its fall, and without a speedy reformation will inevitably crumble into ruins. According to my political creed, a virtuous individual is in miniature, what a government of them is in magnitude. The best in. dividual who forsakes the paths of rectitude and virtue, and plunges into wickedness, accelerates his own ruin, and his antecedent comforts foregoes; and thus the best govern. ments on earth, that wilfully forsake the paths of political rectitude, who wink at villany and patronise fraud, either virtually or literally, undermine the foundation on which they are erected, and facilitate their certain downfall. premature fate of the governments of antiquity will prove the validity of this assertion to a demonstration, and we might include several in modern times. St. Domingo and Jamaica should be a sufficient warning to the tyrants of America, to desist speedily from a commerce pregnant with the seeds of inevitable destruction, and they should never forget the old proverb, namely, "that opportunity lost can never be recalled."

The

I will add a short note on the African country and character, and the slave trade.

It is unanimously allowed by travellers, that Africa is as fertile as any other part of the world, producing abundance of rice and roots. Indigo and cotton thrive there without cultivation. The lakes are stored with fish-the fields with flocks and birds, and even the woods abound with spontaneous fruits. For my own part, I will be bold to affirm, that it is the most beautiful and luxuriant country I ever beheld;

although I have visited several kingdoms in Europe, islands in the West Indies, as well as South America. That part of Africa alluded to, called Guinea, from whence the slaves are brought, extends along the coast 4000 miles, from the river Senegal to Cape Sierra Leone; thence it runs eastward 1500 miles, including the grain, ivory, gold, and slave coasts, with the kingdoms of Benin, Congo, Angola, and many others.

The inhabitants of Congo are eminently civil, courteous, and very hospitable to strangers. They believe in one God, the Author of all things; they conceive him to be a munificent being, and that he requires his creatures to be such. They appear, likewise, to have a confused apprehension of a future state. Such is their generosity, that a beggar is not to be seen in the kingdom. Theft is punished by confisca tion, but adultery with death; and the delinquents' bodies are cast to the birds and beasts of prey to be devoured, which is considered as a great disgrace and punishment. They discover a good understanding; are remarkable for the respect children pay to their parents, wives to their hus. bands, &c. Finally, they are the most philanthropic people I ever was among; which I had an opportunity to prove while travelling alone in their woods at a pacular period, depending upon their bounty for my support, and being fully in their power. I have found them, I solemnly declare, more hospitable than many professors of religion in Europe or America.

It was about the year 1551 that the English commenced their trade to Guinea. Some time after this, Sir John Haw. kins equipped a little fleet to trade for slaves. He landed a number of men, armed with swords and lances-lances being at that time generally used in Europe as well as Africato take the inhabitants by force and burn their town; but they met with such resistance, that they lost nearly as many of their own men as they took slaves. Finding this method too dangerous, they contrived a more compendious way, by prevailing on the natives to make war on each other, and sell them their prisoners for trinkets, rum, warlike apparatus, &c. Till this period, the natives seldom had any wars; whereas now they are continually enveloped in all

the horrors of sanguinary warfare, instigated by European speculators.

Complicated and extensive are the miseries attending on the slave trade. The tragical scenes that I have myself witnessed are almost incredible. Then what imagination can conceive, what tongue can express, or what pen can paint, the dreadful scenes recognised by the all-seeing eyes of an omniscient deity? There is nothing more frequent on the African coast than the sacking of towns and the wanton destruction of thousands of human beings. The war is gen. erally commenced in order to procure slaves for the Europeans. When the enslaving party is opposed with vigour, if they prove in the end victorious, their thirst for revenge is paramount to their avarice. Hence there is nothing more common in the conclusion of these sanguinary conflicts, than for every individual of the vanquished to be put to the most cruel death. To demonstrate this assertion, many lamentable instances might be adduced; but for the sake of brevity we will let one suffice, which is taken verbatim from an original manuscript journal belonging to the surgeon of a Guinea-man.

"Sestro, Dec. 29, 1724. No trade to-day, although many traders came on board. They informed us that the people are gone to war inland, and will bring prisoners enough in two or three days, in hopes of which we stay. The 30th.No trade yet; but our traders came on board to-day, and informed us that the people had burnt four towns; so that to-morrow we expect slaves off. The 31st, fair weather, but no trading yet. We see each night towns burning, but we hear many of the Sestro men are killed by the inland negroes so that we fear this war will be unsuccessful. January 2d. Last night we saw a prodigious fire break out about eleven o'clock, and this morning perceived the town of Sestro reduced to ashes. It contained some hundred houses. So that we find their enemies are too hard for them at present, and consequently our trade spoiled here; therefore, about 7 o'clock we weighed anchor and proceeded lower down." This is the way the Christians show their information and the excellence of their religion to the heathens. This is the way they invite them to become prose