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cularly fuch a commonwealth, is made. At the fame time, I mean to confider its confiftency with itself, and its own principles.

Old establishments are tried by their effects. If the people are happy, united, wealthy, and powerful, we presume the rest. We conclude that to be good from whence good is derived. In old establishments various correctives have been found for their aberrations from theory. Indeed they are the refults of various neceffities and expediences. They are not often constructed after any theory; theories are rather drawn from them. In them we often fee the end beft obtained, where the means feem not perfectly reconcileable to what we may fancy was the original scheme. The means taught by experience may be better fuited to political ends than those contrived in the original project. They again re-act upon the primitive constitution, and fometimes improve the defign itself from which they seem to have departed. I think all this night be curiously exemplified in the British conftitution. At worst, the errors and deviations of every kind in reckoning are found and computed, and the fhip proceeds in her courfe. This is the cafe of old eftablishments; but in a new and merely theoretic fyftem, it is expected that every contrivance fhall appear, on the face of it, to answer its end; efpecially where the projectors are no way embarraffed with an endeavour to accommodate the new building to an old one, either in the walls or on the foundations

The French builders, clearing away as mere rubbish whatever they found, and, like their ornamen

tal

tal gardeners, forming every thing into an exact level, propose to reft the whole local and general legislature on three bafes of three different kinds; one geometrical, one arithmetical, and the third financial; the first of which they call the bafis of territory; the second, the bafis of population; and the third, the bafis of contribution. For the accomplishment of the first of these purposes they divide the area of their country into eighty-one pieces, regularly fquare, of eighteen leagues by eighteen. These large divifions are called Departments. These they portion, proceeding by fquare measurement, into feventeen hundred and twenty districts called Communes. These again they fubdivide, ftill proceeding by fquare measurement, into fmaller districts called Cantons, making in all 6,400.

At first view this geometrical bafis of theirs prefents not much to admire or to blame. It calls for no great legislative talents. Nothing more

than an accurate land furveyor, with his chain, fight, and theodolite, is requifite for fuch a plan as this. In the old divifions of the country various accidents at various times, and the ebb and flow of various properties and jurisdictions, fettled their bounds. These bounds were not made upon any fixed system undoubtedly. They were subject to some inconveniencies; but they were inconveniencies for which ufe had found remedies, and habit had supplied accommodation and patience. In this new pavement of fquare within fquare, and this organisation and femiorganisation made on the system of Empedocles and Buffon, and not upon any politic principle, it is impoffible that

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innumerable

innumerable local inconveniencies, to which men are not habituated, muft not arife. But these I pafs over, because it requires an accurate knowledge of the country, which I do not poffefs, to specify them.

When these ftaté furveyors came to take a view of their work of measurement, they foon found, that in politics, the most fallacious of all things was geometrical demonftration. They had then recourse to another bafis (or rather buttrefs) to fupport the building which tottered on that falfe foundation. It was evident, that the goodness of the foil, the number of the people, their wealth, and the largenefs of their contribution, made fuch infinite variations between fquare and square as to render menfuration a ridiculous standard of power in the commonwealth, and equality in geometry the most unequal of all measures in the distribution of men. However, they could not give it up. But dividing their political and civil reprefentation into three parts, they allotted one of thofe parts to the fquare measurement, without a fingle fact or calculation to ascertain whether this territorial proportion of representation was fairly affigned, and ought upon any principle really to be a third. Having however given to geometry this portion. (of a third for her dower) out of compliment I Juppose to that fublime fcience, they left the other two to be scuffled for between the other parts, of population and contribution.

When they came to provide for population, they were not able to proceed quite fo fmoothly as they had done in the field of their geometry.

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Here their arithmetic came to bear upon their juridical metaphyfics. Had they stuck to their metaphyfic principles, the arithmetical process would be fimple indeed. Men, with them, are strictly equal, and are entitled to equal rights in their own government. Each head, on this system, would have its vote, and every man would vote directly for the person who was to reprefent him in the legiflature. "But foft-by regular degrees, not yet." This metaphyfic principle, to which law, custom, ufage, policy, reason, were to yield, is to yield itself to their pleasure. There must be many degrees, and some stages, before the reprefentative can come in contact with his conftituent. Indeed, as we fhall foon fee, these two perfons are to have no fort of communion with each other. First, the voters in the Canton, who compofe what they call primary affemblies, are to have a qualification. What! a qualification on the indefeasible rights of men? Yes; but it shall be a very small qualification. Our injustice shall be very little oppreffive; only the local valuation of three days labour paid to the public. Why, this is not much, I readily admit, for any thing but the utter fubversion of your equalifing principle. As a qualification it might as well be let alone; for it anfwers no one purpose for which qualifications are established: and, on your ideas, it excludes from a vote, the man of all others whofe natural equality ftands the most in need of protection and defence; I mean the man who has nothing elfe but his natural equality to guard him. You order him to buy the right, which you before told him nature had given to him gratuitoufly

gratuitously at his birth, and of which no autho rity on earth could lawfully deprive him. With regard to the perfon who cannot come up to your market, a tyrannous ariftocracy, as against him, is established at the very outlet, by you who pretend to be its fworn foe.

The gradation proceeds. These primary affemblies of the Canton elect deputies to the Commune; one for every two hundred qualified inhabitants. Here is the first medium put between the primary elector and the reprefentative legislator; and here a new turnpike is fixed for taxing the rights of men with a fecond qualification: for none can be elected into the Commune who does not pay the amount of ten days labour. Nor have we yet done. There is ftill to be another gradation. Thefe Communes, chosen by the Canton, choose to the Department ; and the deputies of the Department choose their deputies to the National Affembly. Here is a third barrier of a fenfelefs qualification. Every deputy to the national affembly must pay, in direct contribion, to the value of a mark of filver. Of all defe qualifying barriers we must think alike; that hey are impotent to fecure independence; strong only to deftroy the rights of men.

In all this procefs, which in its fundamental elements affects to confider only population upon a principle of natural right, there is a manifest attention to property; which, however juft and reasonable on other schemes, is on theirs perfectly unfupportable.

When they come to their third basis, that of Contribution, we find that they have more comS 2 pletely

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