THE

EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT.

A completely

FTER the Colonies of North America had renounced their allegiance to the Mother-Country, by their folemn Declaration of Independence, in the month of July, 1776, each of the States into which they were then divided, adopted different forms of independent governments, befides entering into a general treaty of confederation and union. Thefe plans of new governments were completed at different times by the different States; a final fanction having been given fooner by fome to that form which they chofe to adopt, and later by others: thus, the constitution of the Colony of Maffachusetts was not finally fettled till the month of March, 1780. The fame difference in point of time also took place in regard to the refpective acceffions of the new American States to the general treaty of confederation; the Colony of Maryland, for inftance, having only acceded to it in the fame month of March, 1780, that is, about four years after the Declaration of Independence. To thefe circumstances it is very probably owing, that no Collection containing the above new Constitutions, together, with the general treaty between the United States of North America, was for a long time published. At last, on the 29th of December, 1780,

1780, that is, about eighteen months ago, an order was iffued by the Congrefs for printing correct copies of the above pieces. Why the Congrefs directed a fmall number to be published, is not faid; only two hundred copies are expreffed in their order, which were diftributed, fome months ago, to the principal men in America, and a few were fent over to Europe. One of these copies having fallen into the Editor's hands, he thinks the reprinting of it will not prove unacceptable to the public, as the Collection here mentioned may be confidered as the Magna Charta of the United American States, as the code of their fundamental laws, and in short, the book which the oppofite parties among them will at all times claim in fome fhape or other, and the knowledge of which is therefore neceflary to fuch perfons as wish to understand the present or future internal American politics.

In framing their respective Constitutions, each Colony has followed its own particular views; from which it has refulted that their Governments are all different from one another. In the Colony of Pennfylvania, for inftance, they have efpecially directed their endeavours, not only towards establishing public frugality, but alfo towards preventing too much power of any kind falling into the hands of any individual; while the Colony of Maffachusetts have fhewn in that refpect much greater confidence, and have allowed the Governor of their Commonwealth a degree of power at least equal to that poffeffed by the Stadtholder, in the Dutch Government: only; he is to be chofen annually. In regard to the

State

State of Rhode-Ifland, as they already formed, before the American Revolution, a kind of independent Republic, through the ceffion that had been made by Charles the Second to their Gover-nor and Company, of all powers legislative, executive, and judicial, they have continued to admit their original Charter as the rule of their Government; and it has accordingly been inferted among the Conftitutions of the other United States.

It may be remarked, in refpect to the American Republican Governments; that they differ in two very effential points from the ancient Grecian and Italian Commonwealths, as well as from the modern European ones, which were all framed on the model of thefe: One, is the circumftance of the People being reprefented, in the new American Republics; and the other, is the divifion of the Legislature into two diftin&t feparate bodies, that takes place in them, and which they have adopted, as well as many other effential regulations, from the British form of Government.

The precedency among the different American States, like that which obtains among the Helvetian Cantons and the Dutch Provinces, has not been fettled from their refpective degrees of power and importance, but from the time of their existence, and the dates of their charter. The Treaty of perpetual Confederation between them, which is inferted in this book, may be confidered as the law, or code, by which the. United States are intended to be confolidated into one common Republic; and as the different par

ticular

ticular Constitutions are to govern the different refpective States, fo the Treaty is the Conftitution, or mode of Government, for the collective North-American Commonwealth. The copy of this Treaty, which is the most interesting part of the Collection, has accordingly been placed at the beginning of this new edition, together with the Declaration of Independence, which may be confidered as the ground-work of the whole prefent American political fyftem. This difpofition, which is that expreffed in the order iffued by the Congrefs, is alfo the moft natural; and it has been rather improperly that the Committee appointed to form the Collection, have inferted these two pieces at the end of the book.

June 15, 1782.