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 Conftitution in a certain public affembly, faid, that" the repugnance of a great part of mankind "to good government was fuch, that he believ"ed, that if an angel from heaven was to bring "down a conftitution formed there for our use, it "would nevertheless meet with violent oppofiti"on."-He was reproved for the fuppofed extravagance of the fentiment; 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 hiftories, the Holy Bible; otherwise he might, as it seems to me, have fupported his opinion by that unexceptionable authority. The Supreme Being had been pleased to nourifh up a fingle family, by continued acts of his attentive Providence, 'till it became a great people: and having refcued them from bondage by many miracles performed by his fervant Mofes, he perfonally delivered to that chosen servant, in prefence of the whole nation, a conftitution and code of laws for their obfervance; accompanied and fanctioned with promifes of great rewards, and threats of fevere punishments, as the confequence of their obedience or disobedience. This conftitutión, 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 minifters; Aaron and his fons were therefore commiffioned commiffioned to be, with Mofes, the first esta-: blifhed miniftry of the new government. One would have thought, that the appointment of men who had diftinguished themselves in procuring the liberty of their nation, and had hazarded their lives in. openly oppofing the will of a powerful monarch who would have retained that nation in flavery, might have been an appointment acceptable to a grateful people; and that a conftitution, framed for them by the Deity himself, might on that account have been fecure of an univerfal welcome reception. Yet there were, in every one of the thirteen tribes, fome difcontented, reftlefs fpirits, who were continually exciting them to reject the propofed new government, and this from various motives. Many ftill retained an affection for Egypt, the land of their nativity, and these, whenever they felt any inconvenience or hardfhip, though the natural and unavoidable effect of their change of fituation, exclaimed against their leaders as the authors of their trouble; and were not only for returning into Egypt, but for ftoning their deliverers *. Thofe inclined to idolatry were dif pleased that their golden calf was deftroyed. Many of the chiefs thought the new conftitution might be injurious to their particular interests, that the profitable places would be engrossed by the families and friends of Mofes and Aaron, and others equally well-born excluded t.-In Jofephus, and the Talmud, we learn fome particulars, not fo fully narrated in the fcripture. We are there Numbers, chap. xiv. Numbers, chap. xvi. ver. 3. "And they gathered themselves together against Mofes and against Aaron, and "faid unto them, ye take too much upon you, feeing all the congregations are holy, every one of them,-wherefore then lift ye up yourfelves above the congregation." told, told, "that, Corah was ambitious of the prieft"hood; and offended that it was conferred on "Aaron; and this, as he said, by the authority of "Mofes only, without the confent of the people. He "accufed Mofes of having, by various artifices, "fraudulently obtained the government, and deprived the people of their liberties; and of con 66 ર 66 fpiring with Aaron to perpetuate the tyranny "in their family. Thus, though Corah's real "motive was the fupplanting of Aaron, he per"fuaded the people that he meant only the pub"lic good; and they, moved by his infinuations, "began to cry out, Let us maintain the com"mon liberty of our respective tribes; we have "freed ourselves from the flavery impofed upon "us by the Egyptians, and fhall we fuffer our"felves to be made flaves by Mofes? If we must "have a mafter, it were better to return to Pharaoh, who at leaft fed us with bread and oniέσ ons, than to serve this new tyrant, who has brought us into danger of famine.' Then they "called in queftion the reality of his conference "with God; and objected to the privacy of the meetings, and the preventing any of the peo“ple from being prefent at the colloquies, or even approaching the place, as grounds of great fufpicion. They accufed Mofes alfo of pecula"tion; as embezzling part of the golden fpoons " and the filver chargers, that the princes had "offered at the dedication of the altar *, and the 66 66 66 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. Be"fides peculation, they charged Mofes with amNumbers, chap. vii. + Exodus, chapter xxxv. ver. 22. Numbers, chap. iii. and Exodus, chap. xxx. 66 bition; "bition; to gratify which paffion, he had, they "faid, deeived the people, by promising to bring "them to a land flowing with milk and honey; "instead of doing which, he had brought them "from fuch a land; and that he thought light of "all this mischief, provided he could make him"felf an abfolute prince*. That, to fupport the "new dignity with splendour in his family, the "partial poll tax already levied and given to "Aaron was to be followed by a general one ‡, which would probably be augmented from "time to time, if he were fuffered to go on pro"mulgating new laws, on pretence of new occa"fional revelations of the Divine Will, till their "whole fortunes were devoured by that ariftoἐσ cracy." Mofes denied the charge of peculation; and his accufers were deftitute of proofs to fupport it; though facts, if real, are in their nature capable of proof. "I have not," faid he (with holy confidence in the presence of God), "I have not ta"ken from this people the value of an ass, nor "done them any other injury." But his enemies had made the charge, and with fome fuccefs among the populace; for no kind of accufation is fo readily made, or easily believed, by knaves, as the accufation 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 fuch a pitch of phrenfy, that * Numbers, chap. xvi. ver. 13. " Is it a fmall thing that "thou haft brought us up out of a land flowing with milk " and honey, to kill us in this wilderness, except thou make "thyfelf altogether a prince over us?" + Numbers. chap. iii. Exodus, chap. xxx. they they called out, ftone 'em, ftone 'em, and thereby fecure our liberties; and let us choofe other captains that may lead us back into Egypt, in cafe. we do not fucceed in reducing the Canaanites. On the whole, it appears that the Ifraelites were a people jealous of their newly acquired liberty, which jealousy was in itself no fault; but that, when they fuffered it to be worked upon by artful men, pretending public good, with nothing really in view but private intereft, they were led to oppose the establishment of the new conftitution, whereby they brought upon themselves much inconvenience and misfortune. It farther appears from the fame ineftimable hiftory, that when, after many ages, the conftitution had become old and much abused, and an amendment of it was proposed, the populace as they had accufed Mofes of the ambition of making himself a prince, and cried out, ftone him, ftone him; fo, excited by their high-priests and fcribes, they exclaimed against the Meffiah, that he aimed at becoming 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 oppofition be excited and headed by men of diftinction. To conclude, I beg I may not be understood to infer, that our general convention was divinely infpired when it formed the new federal conftitution, merely because that conftitution has been unreasonably and vehemently oppofed: yet, I muft own, I have fo much faith in the general government of the world by Providence, that I can hardly conceive a tranfaction of fuch momentous importance to the welfare of millions now exifting, and to exift in the pofterity of a great |