which fucceeded, had exhaufted the portion of credulity which belonged to their age; that now nothing was left to a writer but that species of the marvellous, which might still be produced, and with as great an effect as ever, though in another way; that is, the marvellous in life, in manners, in characters, and in extraordinary fituations, giving rife to new and unlooked-for strokes in politics and morals. I believe, that were Rouffeau alive, and in one of his lucid intervals, he would be fhocked at the practical phrenzy of his fcholars, who in their paradoxes are fervile imitators; and even in their incredulity discover an implicit faith.

Men who undertake confiderable things, even in a regular way, ought to give us ground to prefume ability. But the physician of the state, who, not fatisfied with the cure of diftempers, undertakes to regenerate conftitutions, ought to fhew uncommon powers. Some very unusual appearances of wisdom ought to display themselves on the face of the defigns of those who appeal to no practice, and who copy after no model. Has any fuch been manifested? I shall take a view (it fhall for the subject be a very fhort one) of what the affembly has done, with regard, firft, to the conftitution of the legislature; in the next place, to that of the executive power; then to that of the judicature; afterwards to the model of the army; and conclude with the fyftem of finance, to fee whether we can discover in any part of their schemes the portentous ability, which may justify these bold undertakers in the fuperiority which they affume over mankind.....

It

It is in the model of the fovereign and prefiding part of this new republic, that we should expect their grand display. Here they were to prove their title to their proud demands. For the plan itself at large, and for the reafons on which it is grounded, I refer to the journals of the affembly of the 29th of September 1789, and to the fubfequent proceedings which have made any alterations in the plan. So far as in a matter fomewhat confufed I can fee light, the fyftem remains fubftantially as it has been originally framed. My few remarks will be fuch as regard its fpirit, its tendency, and its fitnefs for framing a popular commonwealth, which they profess theirs to be, fuited to the ends for which any commonwealth, and particularly fuch a commonwealth, is made. At the fame time, I mean to confider its confiftency with itself, and its own principles.

Old establishments are tried by their effects. If the people are happy, united, wealthy, and powerful, we prefume the reft. We conclude that to be good from whence good is derived. In old establishments various correctives have been found for "their aberrations from theory. Indeed they are the refults of various neceffities and expediences. They are not often constructed after any theory; theories. are rather drawn from them. In them we often fee the end best obtained, where the means feem not perfectly reconcileable to what we may fancy was the original scheme. The means taught by experience may be better fuited to political ends than thofe contrived in the original project. They again re-act upon the primitive constitution, and fometimes

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fometimes improve the design itself from which they seem to have departed. I think all this might be curiously exemplified in the British conftitution. At worst, the errors and deviations of every kind in reckoning are found and computed, and the ship proceeds in her courfe. This is the cafe of old establishments; but in a new and merely theoretic fyftem, it is expected that every contrivance fhall appear, on the face of it, to answer its end; efpecially where the projectors are no way embarraffed with an endeavour to accommodate the new building to an old one, either in the walls or on the foundations.

The French builders, clearing away as mere rubbifh whatever they found, and, like their ornamental gardeners, forming every thing into an exact level, propofe to reft the whole local and general legislature on three bafes of three different kinds; one geometrical, one arithmetical, and the third financial; the firft of which they call the basis of territory; the fecond, the bafis of population; and the third, the bafis of contribution. For the accomplishment of the first of these purposes they divide the area of their country into eighty-one pieces, regularly fquare, of eighteen leagues by eighteen. These large divifions are called Departments. These they portion, proceeding by fquare measurement, into feventeen hundred and twenty diftricts called Communes. These again they fubdivide, ftill proceeding by fquare measurement, into smaller districts called Cantons, making in all 6,400.

At first view this geometrical bafis of theirs pre fents not much to admire or to blame. It calls

for

for no great legislative talents. Nothing more than an accurate land furveyor, with his chain, fight, and theodolite, is requifite for fuch a plan as this. In the old divifions of the country various accidents at various times, and the ebb and flow of various properties and jurifdictions, fettled their bounds. These bounds were not made upon any fixed fyftem undoubtedly. They were fubject to fome inconveniencies; but they were inconveniencies for which use had found remedies, and habit had fupplied accommodation and patience. In this new pavement of fquare within fquare, and this organisation and femiorganisation made on the system of Empedocles and Buffon, and not upon any politic principle, it is impoffible that innumerable local inconveniencies, to which men are not habituated, muft not arife. But thefe I pafs over, because it requires an accurate knowledge of the country, which I do not poffefs, to Specify them.

When these state furveyors came to take a view of their work of measurement, they foon found, that in politics, the most fallacious of all things was geometrical demonftration. They had then recourfe to another basis (or rather buttress) to fupport the building which tottered on that falfe foundation. It was evident, that the goodness of the foil, the number of the people, their wealth, and the largeness of their contribution, made fuch infinite variations between square and square as to render menfuration a ridiculous ftandard of power in the commonwealth, and equality in geometry the most unequal of all measures in the distribution

of

of men. However, they could not give it up. But dividing their political and civil representation into three parts, they allotted one of those parts to the square measurement, without a single fact or calculation to ascertain whether this territorial proportion of reprefentation was fairly affigned, and ought upon any principle really to be a third. Having however given to geometry this portion (of a third for her dower) out of compliment I fuppofe to that fublime fcience, they left the other two to be scuffled for between the other parts, of population and contribution.

When they came to provide for population, they were not able to proceed quite fo fmoothly as they had done in the field of their geometry. Here their arithmetic came to bear upon their juridical metaphyfics. Had they stuck to their metaphyfic principles, the arithmetical process would be fimple indeed. Men, with them, are strictly equal, and are entitled to equal rights in their own government. Each head, on this fyftem, would have its vote, and every man would vote directly for the person who was to reprefent him in the legiflature. "But foft-by regular degrees, not yet.' This metaphyfic principle, to which law, custom, ufage, policy, reason, were to yield, is to yield itself to their pleasure. There must be many degrees, and some stages, before the reprefentative can come in contact with his conftituent. Indeed, as we shall foon fee, these two perfons are to have no fort of communion with each other. Firft, the voters in the Canton, who compofe what they call primary affemblies, are to have a qualification. What! a qualification