would not have escaped him had it been the invention of another; which is, that accumulation of land can never be prevented by an Agrarian law: a trust-deed is a ready screen for covering accumulation beyond law and dark tranfactions are carried on without end; fimilar to what is practifed, most dishonestly, by those who elect and are elected members of parliament. When fuch comes to be the condition of land-property, an Agrarian law will be ripe for dissolution.

1

In early times, greater variety of character is feen than at prefent; among fovereigns especially, who are not taught to govern their paffions. Perufing the hiftory of Spain in particular, one is ftruck with an amazing variety of character in the Moorish Kings. In fome of them, outrageous cruelty; in others, mildness and affection for their people: in fome, unbounded ambition furmounting every obstacle of justice and humanity; in others, ftrict attention to commerce and to every moral virtue; fome heaping up treasure; fome fquandering all upon voluptuoufnefs; fome cultivating peace; fome fond of war. During the nonage of fociety,

fociety, men exert their natural bias without referve: in the progress of society, they are taught to moderate their turbulent paffions: at last mild and courtly behaviour, produced by education and imitation, give an air to men of figure as if they were all copies from one original; which is peculiarly the cafe in France. The mildness of external behaviour, muft have a confiderable influence on the internal part; for nothing tends more to foften or to fupprefs a paffion, than never to give it vent: for which reason, absolute monarchy in France is far from being fo dreadful as it was formerly: it is at prefent far from being violent or fanguinary; the manners of the people having the fame influence there, that laws have in a free country. The King, delicate with refpect to his conduct and dreading the cenfure of the world, is guilty of few exceffes; and the people, tame and fubmiffive, are eafily kept in order. To be difcharged the court for any mifdemenour, or to be relegated to his country-seat, is to a gentleman of rank more terrible than a capital punishment.

We finish this fhort effay with a compa

rison of different governments as to the execution of laws. Laws relative to property and pecuniary intereft, are every where preserved in vigour, because the violation of them hurts many. Laws respecting the public, are kept alive in a monarchical government because the King, to whom execution of law is intrufted, feldom benefits by their tranf greffion. For a fteady execution of fuch laws, a democracy has nothing to rely on but patriotism; and when that fubfides, fuch laws fall asleep. The reafon is, that the powers both of legislation and execution center in the people; and a multitude, frequently no better than a mob, will never with conftancy direct execution against themselves.

SKETCH

SKETCH IV.

Progrefs of States from fmall to great, and from great to fmall,

WH

Hen tribes, originally fmall, fpread wider and wider by population till they become neighbours, the flightest differences enflame mutual averfion, and inftigate hoftilities that never end. Weak tribes unite for defence against the powerful, and become infenfibly one people: 0ther tribes are fwallow'd up by conqueft. And thus ftates become more and more extenfive, till they be confined by natural boundaries of feas or mountains. Spain originally contained many small states, which were all brought under the Roman yoke. In later times, it was again possessed by many ftates, Christian and Mahometan, continually at war, till by conqueft they were united in one great kingdom. Portugal ftill maintains its independency, a bleffing it owes to the weaknefs of Spain, not to advantage of fituation.

I

tion. The small ftates of Italy were fubdued by the Romans; and those of Greece by Philip of Macedon, and his fon Alexander. Scotland efcaped narrowly the fangs of Edward I. of England; and would at laft have been conquered by its more potent neighbour, had not conqueft been prevented by a federal union.

But at that rate, have we not reafon to dread the union of all nations under one univerfal monarch? There are feveral caufes that for ever will prevent a calamity fo dreadful. The local fituation of some countries, defended by ftrong natural barriers, is one of thefe. Britain is defended by the fea; and fo is Spain, except where divided from France by the Pyrenean mountains. Europe in general, by many barriers of feas, rivers, and mountains, is fitted for ftates of moderate extent: not fo Afia, which being divided by nature into very large portions, is prepared for extenfive monarchies *. Ruffia is the only ex

ception

* En Afic on a toujours vu de grands empires; en Europe ils n'ont jamais pu fubfifter. C'est que P'Afie que nous connoiffons a de plus grandes plaines: elle eft coupée en plus grands morceaux par les VOL. II. K k montagnes