our own fault: few freeholders need ceafe to be fo, unless by influence of pride, indolence, and luxury.

Be jealous of your privileges; but let not your jealoufy grow into ill-natured and groundless fufpicions. Attend not to the complaints and murmurs of factious difcontented perfons; for fome fuch will be found in all communities. Seek the redress of real grievances, if any fuch you have, in a confiitutional way, and not by mobs and riots; by thefe you will lofe more time, and money, and good temper, than can be compenfated by all their influence. Be careful not to anticipate, by an anxious apprehenfive temper, troubles which may never come. Those best consult their own happiness, as well as the good of fociety, who study to be quiet, and to attend to their own proper business. Don't be uneafy at the continuance of public burdens, as if they could be removed in a day or a year: time and patience, with a proper line of conduct, will daily leffen them, till they be all done away.

The fentiments, the confolation, and the line of conduct expreffed above, I have adopted, believing them to be dictated by reafon and the complexion of the times. I am no legislator, hold no office under Government, nor ever fhall. I have realized what many profeffed a willingness to submit to at the beginning of the war-the lofs of near half the small property I had. I confider it as an honourable facrifice to the caufe of liberty and of my country, and bear it patiently, I am, and always expect to be, in private and low life. I feel high fatisfaction in the freedom and independence of America, and doubt not of its growing profperity and welfare, if the conduct which I have flightly fuggefted is gone into by the people in general; which is accordingly recommended with earneftnefs and affection by

AN HONEST CHEERFUL CITIZEN.

On Redress of Grievances *.

By fome refolves of the discontented people of this State (Maffachusetts), it appears that the true caufe of public grievances is miftaken, and confequently the mode of redress will be mistaken. It is laughable enough to hear the people gravely refolving, that the fitting of the General Court at Bofton is a grievance, when every body may recollect that about twelve years ago the removal of the Legislature to Cambridge was a grievance-an unconstitutional ftretch of power, that threw the province into a buftle. A great change fince Hutchinfon's time! Boston then was the only proper feat of the Legif

lature.

Lawyers, too, are fqueezed into the catalogue of grievances. Why, Sir, lawyers are a confequence, not a caufe, of public evils. They grow out of the lazinefs, dilatorinefs in payment of debts, breaches of contract, and other vices of the people-just as mushrooms grow out of dunghills after a fhower-or as diftilleries fpring out of the tafte for New-England rum. The fober, induftrious, frugal Dutch in NewYork, and the Quakers and Germans in Pennfylvania, have no occafion for lawyers-a collector never calls upon them twice-and they feel no grievances. Before the war there was, in Orange county, New-York, but one action of debt tried in eighteen years. O happy people! happy times! no grievances†!

Now,

Published in the State of Maffachusetts, during the time of the conventioneering.

This fact having fallen in my way, I fhall enable the reader to compare it with another fact, contained in the following article, taken from a New-York paper, called the Commercial Advertiser (formerly the Minerva) of the 13th of March, 1798:

"The following statement is given from the beft poffible calcu "lation and regular information which can be obtained, and though "confiderably

Now, in my humble opinion, there are but two effectual methods of redreffing grievances; one depends

"confiderably under-rated, will fhow that an amount of dollars "almost incredible is annually bestowed on the lawyers and she"riffs in the city of New-York.

Average fuits of law commenced in the city of New-York from "the third Tuefday in November, 1797 (a space of four months), "is twelve thousand five hundred, the termination of which is "proportioned as follows:

"Council fees, writ, and service, average fix dols. fifty ❝ cents each

"[Two tenths fettled on fervice of the writ, or withdrawn by the plaintiff.]

·

"Three tenths continued to declaration, and judgment
"confeffed, average coft at twenty-five dols. each
"Two tenths fettled after judgment is obtained and en-
"tered up, ditto forty do.

"Three tenths execution ferved, cofts, and poundage, will
"frequently amount to one hundred dols. average at
"fifty dols. calculated (whilft fome have from ten to
"twenty) for three executions to be lodged again't
"each imprisoned debtor, or fuch who fettle without
"imprisonment

"Annual distribution amongst the lawyers and fheriffs "of New-York

"One hundred and fifty citizens of New-York on the "average are imprisoned for debt in the county jail "and elsewhere. Their fupport for one year, each per day feventy-five cents

"One third have families. Fifty families fupport for
❝do. do. two dols. fifty cents
"The annual lofs of property facrificed to prevent an
"equal distribution, exclufive of the lofs fuftained by
"the debtor's living deprived of attending his affairs,
"cannot be ascertained. For one year the lofs, only
"at about twenty individual insolvents, which actually
"devolves on creditors, is upwards of

Dollars

81,250

118,750

100,000

187,500

477,500

40,959

45,625

500,000

1,541,575

Thus, before the war, Orange county faw but one action of debi tried in eighteen years; and, fince the war, the city and county of New-York (in the fame State) have feen upwards of twelve thou fand actions of debt commenced in four months. The city an countyof New-York are much more populous, and more commerciad

thal,

pends on the people as individuals and the other on the fupreme executive authority.

As to the firft, let every perfon, whether farmer, mechanic, lawyer, or doctor, provide a fmall box (a finall box will be big enough), with a hole in the lid. When he receives a fhilling, let him put fixpence into the box, and ufe the other fixpence in providing for his family-not rum or feathers, but good bread and meat. Let this box remain untouched until the collector fhall call; then let it be opened, the tax paid, and the overplus of cafh may be expended on gauze, ribands, tea, and New-England rum. Let the box then be put into its place again, to receive pence for the next collector. This method will redrefs all grievances, without the trouble, noise, and expenfe of town meetings, conventions, and mobs.

As to the other method, I can only fay, were I at the head of the executive authority, I fhould foon put the queftion to a decifive iffue. It fhould be determined, on the first infurrection, whether our lives and our properties fhall be fecure under the law and the conftitution of the State, or whether they muft depend on the mad refolves of illegal meetings. Honeft men then would know whether they may reft in fafety at home, or whether they muft feek for tranquillity in fome diftant country.

AN INDUSTRIOUS MAN.

The Devil is in You*.

That the political body, like the animal, is liable to violent diseases, which, for a time, baffle the healing

than Orange county; but, at this time, I dare fay there are two thousand actions of debt commenced annually in Orange county, where there was, before the war, only one action of this fort tried in eighteen years.

*Published in Boston fhortly after the preceding letter.

art,

is a truth which we all acknowledge, and which most of us lament. But as most of the diforders incident to the human frame are the confequence of an intemperate indulgence of its appetites, or of neglecting the most obvious means of fafety; fo most of the popular tumults, which disturb Government, arife from an abufe of its bleffings, or an inattention to its principles. A man of a robust conftitution, relying on its ftrength, riots in gratifications which weaken the ftamina vite; the furfeiting pleafures of a few years deftroy the power of enjoyment, and the full-fed voluptuary feels a rapid tranfition to the meagre valetudinarian. Thus people who enjoy an uncommon fhare of political privileges, often carry their freedom to licentioufnefs, and put it out of their power to enjoy fociety by deftroying its fupport.

Too much health is a difeafe which often requires a very ftrict regimen too much liberty is the worst fpecies of tyranny-and wealth may be accumulated to fuch a degree as to impoverish a State. Did all men attempt to become mafters, the most of them would neceffarily become flaves in the attempt; and could every man on earth poffefs millions of joes, every man would be poorer than any man is now, and infinitely more wretched, because they could not procure the neceffaries of life.

My countrymen, it is a common faying now, that the devil is in you. I queftion the influence of the devil, however, in these affairs. Divines and politicians agree in this, to father all evil upon the devil; but the effects afcribed to this prince of evil fpirits, both in the moral and political world, I afcribe to the wickedness and ignorance of the human heart. Taking the word devil in this fenfe, he is in you and mong you in a variety of shapes.

In the first place, the weakness of our Federal Government is the devil. It prevents the adoption of any. meafures that are requifite for us as a nation; it keeps

us