D. Is property an invaluable gift, and is man accountable for the use he makes of it? C. Property is an invaluable gift; it may be made the instrument of happiness or misery to our fellow-creatures-and reason as well as revelation informs us, that man is accountable for every such trust. D. Is it the duty of mankind to form themselves into social communities? C. Man is a social being, and will be such through all eternity; it is therefore the duty of mankind, to form themselves into social communities, that they may give and receive mutual happiness. D. Should they often associate? C. They should associate occasionally, but not too frequently, lest they imbibe a habit of idleness. D. Is not idleness an innocent thing? C. No, it is a great evil-by it the senses are left to wander at will, in a world sowed thick with ensuaring objects-by it, the idle man is sure to be caught to his own destruction-by it, he robs himself and society of the fruits of useful labor; and the next step is to covet his ueighbors goods, and put forth his hand to steal. D. Which are the advantages of labor; and what is a social community? C. It is by labor alone, that social communities can be supported-without it, no fund of wisdom or property can be maintained-by mental labor, the former is acquired; by bodily labor, the latter-and that is a social community, which maintains this twofold fund, and supplies the necessities of every member out of it. FAREWELL FRANCE. If the following account be true, which has been extracted by a Magazine for January, 1804, from the Daily Advertiser and Oracle of October 20th, 1803-the transition of France, from superstition to infidelity, has proved ineffectual to remove the malady of sin, from the body politic. According to the report of the prefect of police at Paris to the grand judge, during the last republican year, ending September the 23rd.-four hundred and ninety men, and one hundred and sixty seven women, have committed suicide at Paris-eighty one men, and sixty nine women, have been murdered, of whom fifty five men and fifty two women, were foreigners, strangers, or have not been owned-six hundred and forty four divorces have taken place-one hundred and fifty five murderers have been executed-one thousand two hundred and ten persons have been condemned to the " gallies, to the pillory, or to chains-one thousand sixhundred and twenty six, to hard labour-to longer or shorter imprisonment-sixty four have been marked with hot irons-Amongst the criminals executed, were seven fathers who had poisoned their children-ten husbands who had murdered their wives-six wives who had poisoned their husbands-and fifteen children, who had poisoned or otherwise destroyed their parentsDuring the same period, twelve thousand and seventy six public women or street-walkers have been registered, and have paid for the protection of the police— one thousand five hundred and fifty two kept mistresses, are noted and known at the prefecture of policeand three hundred and eight public brothels have been privileged and licensed, by the police prefect at Paris!!Since the war with England, of four hundred and seventy priviledged gambling houses, one hundred and twenty have been shut up-and the revenues of the consular government from the republican lotteries are £31,20,000 sterling less the three last six months, than the six months preceding-The account adds, that the two latter deficits, are occasioned by the absence of the English. REMARKS-Christian principles are indisputably the only foundation upon which public safety can be builtWhatever approaches to corrupt these on the one hand, or to destroy them on the other, is an enemy and however disguised-destruction and death, are in its counsels-I have already made observations on-the state of France, both before and since the revolution, in a former contemplation of this work-yet in this place, after the rehearsal of such public and legal immorality (which appears to me a striking proof of my introductory remark, that whatever approaches to destroy or corrupt genuine christianity, is equally an enemy) I think it expedient to superadd a few observations on the state of this country, and the causes of its moral decline. At present France is supposed to be in a flourishing condition, by those who only consider the political character of a nation-and perhaps to do her justice, even in a moral sense, she is a humane enemy-but if we estimate the prosperity of a country, by its progress in morals-France is on the eve of destruction-Pennsylvania is on the road to establishment-and England in point of respectability, stands between them-I hope shall not be accounted an enemy by my countrymen, for giving my true sentiment of the moral progress and decline of these countries respectively-and for endeavouring to preserve my conscience untainted, by any foreign or domestic prejudice The advancement of public and individual rectitude, is the advancement of public and individual happiness-He therefore who labors for the promotion of these ends, is the friend of his country, although he who advanceth its wealth at the expence of its virtue, most usually acquireth that denomination- -The following Allegory may throw some further light on this subject-in which also is included my sentiment of the causes of the present, or late general depravity of France, ALLEGORY. In the early ages of of the christian church-Superstition and Tyranny, two princes of extensive dominion, entered into an alliance, for the purpose of establishing universal empire, on the ruins of human rightsan article of this contract was; to attack genuine christianity, as an enemy to their power-pursuant to this article, Christianity was misrepresented by Policypursued "through every lane of life" by Force, and at length assassinated*-I would say this was the cause of the declension of France, under the reigns of the Lewis's-and the remote cause, why the name of Caput is no longer legible in the Atlas of that country—If I was asked the causes of its present licentiousness; I would continue my Allegory and say they lye remote and are the offspring of the former -Rea son happened to be passing by, when nature in captivity, groaned under the iron reign of Tyranny and Superstition, and being affected with the miseries she saw, blew the trumpet to war, collected her forces, and finally rescued nature from the dominion of her former masters-Reason assumed the reigns of government herself, but soon felt her incompetence "To lay the peevish paths of nature ev'n for nature unaccustomed to liberty, and prone to abuse it, became as rebellious and disorderly under the government of Reason, as she had been base and servile, under that of Tyranny and Superstition-In fine she turned upon her new advocates and destroyed many-At this period, Ambition happened to be passing by, perceived the struggle, and saw a fair opportunity for his own promotion-he proposed a plan of conciliation, which the contending parties accepted * I have in view, with other evil consequences of superstition in power, the assassination, which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantz. |