NEW-HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE,
GCENERAL ADVERTISER.
{#el. XXVI.]
7o the FR EEMEN of
NEW-HAMPSHIRE,
Bretbren and Fellow-Citizens,
W3O offer Objetions against the
® %X Q) Plan of Government propo
'f{”?fi ‘¢ M:;: fed for chis State, is (at least)
@Afififi@ to hazard being _rankcd_in
Yok one of those classes, which
the Convention preditted,
would use every effort to prevent its being
adopted : Bur, conscious of not falling
within their description, [ shall venture to
submit mhy remarks to your candor. |
- Aa ambition to criticife, or desire to
delay a permanent form of government be
ing eftablithed, have so place in my mind.
1 agree that experience uiges us to change
the present {yfiem 3 but our reason fhouid
at the fame time, teach us to avoid innova
tions obviously {fubverfive of republican
‘principles. :
My firft objeétion Is the qualification of
Senators, and Delegates tor County Con
ventions. The former * are to be seized
of a freehold eltate, in their own rigne, of
the value of four hundred pourds, elear of
debt i The latter, must ¢ have an estate of
‘the value of twa hundred pounds clear 3/
debt one half of which shall be a freehold,
whereof they are f¢ized in their own right.””
No maode is poisted out, and perhaps no
pofiible way can be contrived, to alcertain
whether the eftace of the candidate is clear
of debt, without an examination into all his
debts and credits, previous to his eleétion
the records may indeed dilcover (in some
iftances) how far real estate is incumbred,
but not/1o of peifonal effcéts. This mode
of expression, is therefore without any de
terminate meaning ; or it must imply an
examination into the candidates private cir
~cumftances, prior to his eletion,=-a process
too tedious ever to be artended to. '
.~ My second objc&ion is to the mode of
teprefentacion. - Innovations in govern
ment should never be permitted by a free
people, but from a thiorough conviétion of
their utility ; and that the mode proposed
s altogetker novel, will not be denied :
This alone {Liould induce us to examine into
all its paffible consequences, and to be well
convinced of the necessity and utility of the
saeafure, before we fuffer it to be introduced
as a part of that constitution wpon which
the happineis of ourselves and posterity will -
depend, 4 s
.An ineviiable consequence of adopting
the present plan is, that local attachment
which “is now confincd to the limits of the
refpeétive towns represented, will be so far
“eztended, that an attention to the interest .
of particular towns, which now preveats
members from forming thgmielves into
partics, will be forgotton, and the members
of each county will form an alliance among -
themiclves ; the taterell of one county will
SATURDAY, December 1, 1781.
be eppofed to that of another, and the most
numerous and powerful will command the
fuffrages of the whole. This mifchief can
not take place where each member has the
local attachment confined by the constitu
tion to the particular town he represents 3
in which case he is as biely to at and vote
against the members of towns in his own
county, as any other 3 by this the possibility
of forming combinations in our assemblies
is destroyed : But thould the proposed plan
be adopted, a dangerous avenue will be
opened for introducing powerful parues,
which might finally overturn the political
fabrick. It ought not to be forgotten,that
classing the patricians and leading men of
Rome, so as to make the patricians masters
of the {uffrages, kindled a flame which ne
ver was extinguithed il it buried Romeln
its ashes, But an objeétion ftili more pow:
erful against this irfiovation 13, that 1t de
prives us of a privilege essential to frecmen,
viz. The power of infiruéting our represen
tatives.. This, by the proposed plan, can
only be donre in an 2flembly of all the free
men in a diftriét 3 or by the f{everal towns
giving feperate instructions, The former
would, {rom the expence and travel, be al
most impracticable ; but the wantof law cr
cultom to authorife or regulate such meet
ings, wouid render it still more so. The
latter, would fubje& the representative to
the ‘perplexity of contiadictory inftruétions,
and to the refentrtient of those towns whose
orders were disobeyed for the purpole of
yielding obedience to others.
My third obj=&ion is to the power vest
ed io tae Governor, of erecting and demo
lithing forufications 3 a power, which, in a
free government, never ought to be lodged
bur with the whole legislature, not even in
the time of aQual invasion, if the voice of
legislature can be possibly obtained, and in
case it cannot, the voice of the council
should at least be had ; otherwise a gover
not noe possessed of any military knowledge,
and possibly not of the greatest share of na
tural abilities, may lavith away our money
in the pursuit of every whimsical object
which his inexperience and want of judg
ment may suggest 1o his immagination.
My fourth objection is against limiting
the number of years for which the chief
magifirate can serve ; this has not only
been found highly impolitic by every state
that has inadvertentiy adopted it, but ewi
dently destroys the essence of freedotn, by
preventing our afting according to the dic
tates of our reason and judgment,&compel
ling us to a&t in diret opposition thereto.
‘l'o pronounce a man free, and at the fame,’
tinme to declare that he cannot aét and voref
agrecable to what he conceives most for the)
interest of the common-wealth, 15 a sole:
cifm in politics, and cannot be re’t‘oncilecx
with proper ideas of civil liberty. When|
the experience of a number of years hay
convinced us of the fidelity and capacity
of a governor, in preference to all othars,
and the exigencies of the state even demand
his continuance in office ; how absurd is i¢
to flatter us with the idea of freedom, and
at the fame time infora us that we are pres<
cluded from acting agreeable to our own
withes ? If, by the confederation, a new
commander was to be chosen once in three
years, and the fame could not serve bug
three years in seven, ahd we were now cal
led upon to ele¢t anocher, how thould we
despise the pretended freedom which would
compel us go difizifs a chiet in whom ex
perience has taught us to place the most
unlifnited confiCence., anu to supply his
place with a person of whose abiiiics we
have had no experience, and wholc fidelity,
we hold much lewer in our citimzaom,
‘T wo reasons are assigned for introducing
this mode 3 both of which are, ir my epi=
nion, founded in mistake. Thehi®is “to
prevent the chief magistrate from acquinng
undue ‘iniluence 3’ and the second 1s ** to
ftimulaie others to qualify themicives for
serving the public, in the most ympoitant
offices.’”’ - Influence and populaiity n the
republics of Greece and Rome, where the
body of the people, as weil soldiers es <
Zéas, were judges, in the last refvr were
undoubtedly dangerous ¢ Those rive - 0
confufed affembiies, having no fixce lave
to regulate their determinations, & ¢ couly
moved by fpe@acles, might by the fig;:¢ of
scars received in deferice of the repuo
ic, or even of a peifon to whom chey ag
any time owed their fafety. be wrought
upon to pronounce #n acquittal, Thus to
condemn Manlius, at Rome, it was neces
sary to keep the people from {eding the
capital ; and perhaps the hiding of Cefars
bloody garment, might have rellored the
liberties of that republic. ' Buc this mede of
trial being unknown in modern republicsg
and the manneys cf maukind eficotially-al
tered, -the dapger arising from popularity
and influence; has in all well rcgulated fes
, 7 \ vagsl,
publics, cea?cé to exist: Judges unicflu
enced by the blaze of pcpularity,and guided
by fixed and permanent 'aws, are to try and
pass .fm;tjzhce upon every fubjeét acculed 3
and the people are taught to acquiesce in
their determination. A Lee and an drnold,
we/ré once popular ; but how fcon was tha€
popularity changed, when they deviated
g{om the path of virtue ? If a man rendersg
imfelf popular by his virtves, no danges
/ean arise to the slate while he perseveres int
that line of conduét ; and a departure from.
it, will soon change his popularity inte cons
tempt. The citizens of lome modetn re:
publics, either a&iated by a {pirit of envyy
or ot considering the difference between
the maoneérs of mankind, in ancient and
modern times, have conceived such an aver
sion to popslarity, that they hive effrétu<
ally banished every amiable virtue from
[&Ve. 1309.]