and also by the low satellites of power, to whom alone they must look for assistance, to procure for them some of the numerous contracts or jobs, clerkships, or inferior offices, to obtain whose interest they must not hesitate at any means, however vicious,

By the habitual practice of such vices, and being kept in countenance by numbers, the people of every rank, under such governments, gradually lose all regard for virtue, which they find to be, in so many situations, an insurmountable barrier to advancement and gain.

BESIDES, as such rulers support any appearance which they may affect, of regard to the public good, by deceit and misrepresentation, and as they wish to keep their embezzlements secret, a man of strict honesty, however great his abilities, is totally unfit for their service.

THUS, the vilest customs of a court prevail through every rank, from the highest to the

lowest, polluting the whole society; diffusing a general taste for servile manners and ostentatious show; making strict integrity to be viewed with contempt; bankruptcies more and more frequent, and the very name of patriot laughed at.

THESE evils seem to be the necessary consequences of intrusting the rulers with absolute power over the persons and property of the society, and with the disposal of the public offices, as such power exposes them to temptations which are by far too strong for human

nature.

the

As all these constitutions, therefore, gave rulers these powers, though the governments were composed of different numbers of men, it ought to have been expected that they would produce similar effects, though in different ways. The absolute monarch robs the people openly, and disposes of the money as he pleases, without pretending to give any account; and

the representatives pick the pockets of the people by fraud and cunning, under the name of necessary taxes, and divide the spoil among their families and friends, under the names of places, perquisites, pensions, and contracts.

SECTION VIII.

On the Conduct of the French Legislators. THAT the French nation, which had sacrificed much, and risked their all, to abolish absolute power, which had been found to be invariably productive of tyranny and oppression when in the hands of a king, should intrust the same power to a king, and a set of men called representatives, jointly, is very surprising. And it is still more surprising, that the representatives, when forming the constitution, should make themselves dependent upon the king for their share of that power, by giving him the sole command of the military force.

WHEN a landlord agrees with a tenant for a house or land, the terms are generally put into writing, not only to assist the memory, but also to prevent either party from declining to perform what they promised. But the writing cannot be effectual for the latter purpose, un