MY DEAR FRIEND,

To THE SAME.

Philadelphia, June 8, 1788.

I received a few days ago your kind letter of the 3rd January. The arrét in favor of the non-catholiques gives pleasure here, not only from its present advantages, but as it is a good step towards general toleration, and to the abolishing in time all party spirit among Christians, and the mischiefs that have so long attended it. Thank God, the world is growing wiser and wiser; and as by degrees men are convinced of the folly of wars for religion, for dominion, or for commerce, they will be happier and happier.

age

Eight states have now agreed to the proposed new constitution; there remain five who have not yet discussed it; their appointed times of meeting not being yet arrived. Two are to meet this month, the rest later. One more agreeing, it will be carried into execution. Probably some will not agree at present, but time may bring them in; so that we have little doubt of its becoming general, perhaps with some corrections. As to your friend's taking a share in the management of it, his and infirmities render him unfit for the business, as the business would be for him. After the expiration of his presidentship, which will now be in a few months, he is determined to engage no more in public affairs, even if required; but his countrymen will be too reasonable to require it. You are not so considerate; you are an hard task-master. You insist on his writing his life, already a long work, and at the same time would have him continually employed in augmenting the subject, while the time shortens, in which the work is to be executed. General Washington is the man that all our eyes are fixed on for president, and what little influence I may have, is devoted to him. B. FRANKLIN.

TO THE DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULT.

Philadelphia, Oct. 22, 1788.

"Our public affairs begin to wear a more quiet aspect. The disputes about the faults of the new constitution are subsided. The first congress will probably mend the principal ones, and future congresses the rest. That which you mentioned did not pass unnoticed in the convention. Many, if I remember right, were for making the president incapable of being chosen after the first four years; but the majority were for leaving the electors free to chuse whom they pleased; and it was alleged that such incapacity might tend to make the presidents less attentive

to the duties of his office, and to the interests of the people, than he would be if a second choice depended on their good opinion of them. We are making experiments in politics; what knowledge we shall gain by them will be more certain, though perhaps we may hazard too much in that mode of acquiring it."

To M. Le Veillard.

Oct. 24, 1788.

"Our affairs mend daily, and are getting into good order very fast. Never was any measure so thoroughly discussed as our proposed new constitution. Many objections were made to it in the public papers, and answers to those objections. Much party heat there was, and some violent personal abuse. I kept out of the dispute, and wrote only one little paper on the occasion, which I enclose.1 You

A Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient JEWS, and of the ANTIFEDERALISTS in the United States of America.

A zealous advocate for the proposed Federal Constitution, in a certain public assembly, said, that "the repugnance of a great part of mankind to good government was such, that he believed, that if an angel from heaven was to bring down a constitution formed there for our use, it would nevertheless meet with violent opposition."—He was reproved for the supposed extravagance of the sentiment; and he did not justify it.—Probably it might not have immediately occurred to him that the experiment had been tried, and that the event was recorded in the most faithful of all histories, the Holy Bible; otherwise he might, as it seems to me, have supported his opinion by that unexceptionable authority.

The Supreme Being had been pleased to nourish up a single family, by continued acts of his attentive providence, till it became a great people: and having rescued them from bondage by many miracles performed by his servant Moses, he personally delivered to that chosen servant, in presence of the whole nation, a constitution and code of laws for their observance; accompanied and sanctioned with promises of great rewards, and threats of severe punishments, as the consequence of their obedience or disobedience.

This constitution, though the Deity himself was to be at its head (and it is therefore called by political writers a Theocracy) could not be carried into execution but by the means of his ministers ; Aaron and his sons were therefore commissioned to be, with Moses, the first established ministry of the new government.

One would have thought, that the appointment of men who had distinguished themselves in procuring the liberty of their nation, and had hazarded their lives in openly opposing the will of a powerful monarch who would have retained that nation in slavery, might have been an appointment acceptable VOL. I. 3 D

seem to be too apprehensive about our president's being perpetual. Neither he nor we have any such intentions: of what danger there may be of such an event we are

to a grateful people; and that a constitution framed for them by the Deity himself, might, on that account, have been secure of a universal welcome reception. Yet there were in every one of the thirteen tribes, some discontented, restless spirits who were continually exciting them to reject the proposed new government, and this from various motives.

Many still retained an affection for Egypt, the land of their nativity; and these, whenever they felt any inconvenience or hardship, though the natural and unavoidable effect of their change of situation, exclaimed against their leaders as the authors of their trouble; and were hot only for returning into Egypt, but for stoning their deliverers. Those inclined to idolatry, were displeased that their golden calf was destroyed. Many of the chiefs thought the new constitution might be injurious to their par ticular interests, that the profitable places would be engrossed by the families and friends of Moses and Aaron, and others equally well-born excluded.2—In Josephus, and the Talmud, we learn some particulars, not so fully narrated in the Scripture. We are there told, "That Corah was ambitious of the priesthood, and offended that it was conferred on Aaron; and this, as he said, by the authority of Moses only, without the consent of the people. He accused Moses of having, by various artifices, fraudulently obtained the government, and deprived the people of their liberties; and of conspiring with Aaron to perpetuate the tyranny in their family. Thus, though Corah's real motive was the supplanting of Aaron, he persuaded the people that he meant only the public good; and they, moved by his insinuations, began to cry out, Let us maintain the common liberty of our respective tribes; we have freed ourselves from the slavery imposed upon us by the Egyptians, and shall we suffer ourselves to be made slaves by Moses? If we must have a master, it were better to return to Pharaoh, who at least fed us with bread and onions, than to serve this new tyrant, who by his operations has brought us into danger of famine.' Then they called in question the reality of his conference with God; and objected to the privacy of the meetings, and the preventing any of the people from being present at the colloquies, or even approaching the place, as grounds of great suspicion. They accused Moses also of peculation; as embezzling part of the golden spoons and the silver chargers that the princes had offered at the dedication of the altar,3 and the offerings of gold by the common people, as well as most of the poll tax; and Aaron they accused of pocketing much of the gold of which he pretended to have made a molten calf. Besides peculation, they charged Moses with ambition; to gratify which passion, he had, they said, deceived the people, by promising to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey; instead of doing which, he had brought them from such a land; and that he thought light of all this mischief, provided he could make himself an absolute prince. That to support the

'Numbers, chap. xiv.

2 Numbers, chap. xvi. ver. 3. "And they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregations are holy, every one of them,—wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation?"

3 Numbers, chap. vii. 4 Exodus, chap. xxxv. ver. 22.

5 Numbers, chap. iii. and Exodus, chap. xxx.

6 Numbers, chap. xvi. ver. 13. "Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in this wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?"

all aware, and shall take care effectually to prevent it. The choice is from four years to five years; the appointments will be small: thus we may change our president if we do not like his conduct, and he will have less inducement to struggle for a new election. As to the two chambers I am of your opinion, that one alone

new dignity with splendor in his family, the partial poll tax already levied and given to Aaron1 was to be followed by a general one, which would probably be augmented from time to time, if he were suffered to go on promulgating new laws, on pretence of new occasional revelations of the divine will, till their whole fortunes were devoured by that aristocracy."

Moses denied the charge of peculation; and his accusers were destitute of proofs to support it; though facts, if real, are in their nature capable of proof. "I have not," said he (with holy confidence in the presence of God,) " I have not taken from this people the value of an ass, nor done them any other injury." But his enemies had made the charge, and with some success among the populace; for no kind of accusation is so readily made, or easily believed, by knaves, as the accusation of knavery.

In fine, no less than two hundred and fifty of the principal men "famous in the congregation, men of renown," heading and exciting the mob, worked them up to such a pitch of phrensy, that they called out, "Stone 'em, stone 'em, and thereby secure our liberties; and let us choose other captains that may lead us back into Egypt, in case we do not succeed in reducing the Canaanites."

On the whole it appears, that the Israelites were a people jealous of their newly-acquired liberty, which jealousy was in itself no fault; but, that when they suffered it to be worked upon by artful men, pretending public good, with nothing really in view but private interest, they were led to oppose the establishment of the new constitution, whereby they brought upon themselves much inconvenience and misfortune. It farther appears from the same inestimable history, that when, after many ages, that constitution was become old and much abused, and an amendment of it was proposed, the populace, as they had accused Moses of the ambition of making himself a prince, and cried out, Stone him, stone him; so, excited by their high priests and scribes, they exclaimed against the Messiah, that he aimed at becoming the king of the Jews, and cried, Crucify him, crucify him. From all which we may gather, that popular opposition to a public measure is no proof of its impropriety, even though the opposition be excited and headed by men of distinction.

To conclude, I beg I may not be understood to infer, that our general convention was divinely inspired when it formed the new federal constitution, merely because that constitution has been unreasonably and vehemently opposed; yet I must own I have so much faith in the general government of the world by Providence, that I can hardly conceive a transaction of such momentous importance to the welfare of millions now existing, and to exist in the posterity of a great nation, should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent, and beneficent Ruler, in whom all inferior spirits live and move and have their being.

B. F.

Numbers, chap. iii.

2 Exodus, chap. xxx.

3 Numbers, chap. xvi.

would be better;' but, my dear friend, nothing in human affairs and schemes is perfect; and perhaps this is the case of our opinions.

TO THE HON. CHARLES CARROL, ESQ.

DEAR FRIEND,

Member of Congress.

New York.

Philadelphia, May 25, 1789.

I am glad to see by the papers that our grand machine has at length begun to work. I pray God to bless and guide its operations. If any form of government is capable of making a nation happy, ours I think bids fair now for producing that effect. But after all, much depends upon the people who are to be governed. We have been guarding against an evil that old states are most liable to, excess of power in the rulers; but our present danger seems to be defect of obedience in the subjects. There is hope, however, from the enlightened state of this age and country, we may guard effectually against that evil as well as the rest.

My grandson, William Temple Franklin, will have the honor of presenting this line; he accompanied me to France, and remained with me during my mission: I beg leave to recommend him to your notice, and that you would believe me, my dear friend, yours most affectionately,

B. Franklin.

Dr. Franklin having served the full period limited by the constitution of the state of Pennsylvania for the continuance in office of its presidents, and his infirmities and desire of repose increasing, in Oct. 1788 he retired wholly from public affairs; and thus noticed the circumstance, in a letter to his friend, the Duke de la Rochefoucault.

Philadelphia, Oct. 22, 1788.

"Having now finished my turn of being president, and promising myself to engage no more in public business, I hope to enjoy the small remains of life that are allowed me, in the repose I have so long wished for. I purpose to employ it

'Some time after the date of this letter, when alterations were meditated in the constitution of Pennsylvania, Dr. Franklin wrote a paper in which this opinion is strongly advocated: and his principles of government are there further elucidated. See APPENDIX, No. 9.