They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties, and the great cause we are engaged in.

1779.

It is much to be lamented, that each State, long ere this, has not hunted them down, as pests to society, and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America.

I would to God, that some one of the most atrocious in each State, was hung upon a gallows, five times as high as the one prepared by Haman.

No punishment, in my opinion, is too great for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin.

1778.

Let vigorous measures be adopted; not to limit the prices of articles, for this, I believe, is inconsistent with the very nature of things, and impracticable in itself; but to punish Speculators, Forestallers, and Extortioners, and, above all, to sink the money by heavy taxes, to promote public and private economy, and encourage manufactures.

Measures of this sort, gone heartily into by the several States, would strike at once at the root of all our evils, and give the coup de grace to the British hope of subjugating this continent, either by their arms or their arts. The former, they acknowledge, are unequal to the task; the latter, I am sure, will be so, if we are not lost to every thing that is good and virtuous.

1779.

UNIFORMITY OF CURRENCY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.

Uniformity in the Currency, Weights, and Measures of the United States, is an object of great importance.

1790.

THE MINT.

The disorders in the existing Currency, and especially the scarcity of small change, (a scarcity, so peculiarly distressing to the poorer classes,) strongly recommend the carrying into immediate effect the resolution already entered into, concerning the establishment of a Mint.

1791.

COINAGE.

A coinage of gold, silver, and copper, is a measure which, in my opinion, has become indispensably necessary. Without a coinage, or lest some stop can be put to the cutting and clipping of money, our dollars, pistareens, &c., will be converted, as Teague says, into five quarters; and a man must travel with a pair of scales in his pocket, or run the risk of receiving gold, at one fourth less by weight than it counts.

1785.

The Mint of the United States has entered upon

the coinage of the precious metals, and considerable sums of defective coins and bullion have been lodged with the director, by individuals.

There is a pleasing prospect, that the institution will, at no remote day, realize the expectation which was originally formed of its utility.

6. THE JUDICIARY.

CIVIL MAGISTRATES.

The dispensation of justice belongs to the civil magistrate; and let it ever be our pride and our glory, to leave the sacred deposit there inviolate.

1794.

THE JUDICIARY SYSTEM.

I have always been persuaded, that the stability and success of the National Government, and consequently the happiness of the people of the United States, would depend, in a considerable degree, on the interpretation and execution of its laws.

In my opinion, it is important, that the Judiciary

System should not only be independent in its operations, but as perfect as possible in its formation.

1790.

7. AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, MANUFAC TURES AND THE ARTS.

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

The Agricultural Society lately established in Philadelphia, promises extensive usefulness, if its objects are prosecuted with spirit. I wish, most sincerely, that every State in the Union would institute similar ones; and that these Societies would correspond fully and freely with each other, and communicate to the public all useful discoveries founded on practice, with a due attention to climate, soil, and

seasons.

1785.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE.

It will not be doubted, that, with reference either to individual or national welfare, Agriculture is of primary importance.

In proportion as nations advance in population

and other circumstances of maturity, this truth be comes more apparent, and renders the cultivation of the soil, more and more an object of public patron

age.

1796.

THE HUSBANDMAN.

The life of the Husbandman, of all others, is the most delightful. It is honorable, it is amusing, and, with judicious management, it is profitable.

1789.

PROPER CULTIVATION OF LANDS.

Nothing, in my opinion, would contribute more to the welfare of these States, than the proper management of lands. Nothing, in Virginia particularly, seems to be less understood. The present mode of Cropping, practised among us, is destructive to landed property, and must, if persisted in much longer, ultimately ruin the holders of it.

1786.

Within our territories there are no mines either of gold or silver; and this young nation, just recovering from the waste and desolation of a long war, has not as yet had time to acquire riches by Agriculture and Commerce. But our soil is bountiful, and our people industrious; and we have reason to flatter