liberties and privileges; so that, by an union of interests, they quickly became one people. Thus large empires were formed, which, however, did not happen till several centuries after the dispersion, when the eastern parts of the world became very populous. (Gen. xi. 9).—(Guthrie).

326. The noblest treaty of peace ever mentioned in history, is, in my opinion, says Montesquieu, that which Gelon made with the Carthaginians. He insisted upon their abolishing the custom of sacrificing their children. Glorious indeed! After having defeated 300,000 Carthaginians, he required a condition that was advantageous only to themselves, or rather he stipulated in favour of human nature.-(Spirit of Laws.)

327. Over those, says Locke, that joined a conqueror, and over those of the subdued country that opposed him not, and the posterity even of those that did; the conqueror, even in a just war, hath by his conquest no right of dominion. They are free from any subjection to him, and if their former government be dissolved, they are at liberty to begin and erect another to themselves. Let us suppose that all the men of the community, being all members of the same body politic, may be taken to have joined in that unjust war, wherein they are subdued, and so their lives are at the mercy of the conqueror. This concerns not their children who are in their minority, for since a father hath not in himself a power over the life and liberty of his child, no act of his can possibly forfeit it. So that the children, whatever may have happened to the fathers, are freemen; and the absolute power of the conqueror reaches no farther than the persons of the men that were subdued by him, and dies with them; and should he govern them as slaves, he has no right or dominion over their children. He can have no power over them but by their own consent, whatever he may drive them to say or do, and he has no lawful authority whilst force, and not choice, compels them to submission.-(On Govt.)

328. As to the difference between usurpation and foreign subjugation, it may be observed, that on the supposition of a pure democracy being established-in America, for example; it surely can never be contended for by any but madmen, that if the Americans, in such a case, were to conduct themselves like virtuous men, committing no breach of international law; any other nation, suppose the Chinese, have a right to subjugate them, and set up such a form of government over them, as abstracts the political right from a less or greater number; as, if the Chinese have such a right, the Americans have an equal right to go to China and do the same thing:-hence we see its absurdity. If, then, the right of a single American to an equal share of the political right, cannot be abstracted from him by foreign invasion, neither can it be done by domestic usurpation. Precisely the same wrong is done to him by one mode as the

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other. If two Americans were travelling along different roads of America, and one was to be robbed of his watch by a Chinese, and the other by an American, both, it is obvious, would be prejudiced exactly in the same degree. Would, then, the one who was robbed by his own countryman, be at all consoled by being told that the spoliation was thus inflicted? Is there the least imaginable difference as to the loss each sustains? The very word usurpation, is quite enough to carry its own condemnation. Can any intellect, however acute, see any difference between it and robbery? (36.)

329. As to the combination of usurpation and unlawful foreign subjugation permanently affecting the rights of men; either, separately, being a contravention of the divine law, when united, they must be still more unlawful, if any gradations can be imagined in that which is unlawful. In any country or age, therefore, natives that join foreign conquerors for the purpose of abstracting from the rights of any of their countrymen, are the most wretched of traitors. History, however, affords us instances of natives, in the generation in which their country was subjugated, uniting with their conquerors; and the descendants of both the conquerors and conquered also joining, for the unhallowed purpose of abstracting from a part of the natives of a country, their share of the political right.

330. Those who impugn what we affirm on the subject of human governments, must insist that any persons, whether native or foreign, or a combination of these, have a right at any time to take the government of a nation into their hands. If, then, this can be done by any persons to their own nation or a foreign one, it can by any others, and necessarily therefore by all others, to all nations, at all times; there being no line to be drawn between this and pure democracies, for all nations throughout all their ages. Whence we further see that a democracy is the only constitution lawful in the sight of Heaven.

331. Whether men willingly suffer their rights to be abstracted from them by domestic usurpation or foreign invasion, they are condemned in the sight of Heaven; because one equally with the other, takes away the means entrusted to them by God, for the benefit of themselves, and in a less or greater degree the whole world, throughout its generations.(16, and 18.)

332. As all men, then, in any country or age, are bound to do all that lawfully lies in them to resist foreign invaders, so they are equally bound to resist the domestic usurpers of any of their three great rights.

CHAP. VII.

UNLAWFUL CONSTITUTIONS.

1. In the last Chapter we saw that a pure democracy is the only lawful government in the sight of Heaven for any country, throughout all its ages.

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2. Let, then, the following be held in everlasting remembrance, by all by whom this book may be seen, in whatever part of the world they may dwell, and in whatever age those yet to come may arise, until another dispensation arrives from Heaven;-as some of the great truths enduring to all generations, and of unspeakable importance to the temporal and eternal welfare of every individual of the present and all future generations af the whole human race:-that any number of persons, in any nation or age, distinct from a great electoral assembly of all the adult males, uniting for the purpose of forcibly establishing or maintaining a government; is only an unlawful association, all the members of which violate the divine law to all their countrymen not thereto belonging. A government emanating from such association has, therefore, no authority either from God, or those only who can, in accordance with the divine law, constitute one. sequently, such government is appointed of POWER WHOLLY WITHOUT RIGHT. And however it may be formed, and for however many ages it may be maintained, all its acts are not only utterly null and void, to all intents and purposes whatever (as far as the object of righteously governing is concerned;) but each distinct act is a treasonable one, committed against the government of the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the Universe, the Lord God Omnipotent! And not only are those who make and execute the laws in their several generations, condemned in the sight of Heaven,-but, necessarily all the civil functionaries, naval and military persons, and all others belonging to, or actively supporting the association. As it prevents as far as in it lies, every man in the nation from establishing a government lawful before God; -and as it exists in most or all cases through the neglect of those excluded from it, to unite for the purpose of dissolving it;-both its members and all who are not its members, (except any individuals that do all that lawfully lies in them utterly to dissolve it ;)—are to a less or greater extent con

demned before God, each one not only for his own acts, but all the acts of his contemporaries. And not only is each man thus answerable for ail the acts of such contemporaries, but also for the acts of all those that arise in the nation, throughout all the generations during which the unlawful government is maintained. And necessarily, therefore, to a less or greater extent, for the iniquity and suffering arising from the want of a lawful constitution and code. We call men and angels to witness that this declaration has been made, in the face of the whole world, the holy angels in Heaven, and necessarily the Most High himself. And we solemnly warn every man by whom it shall be read, of his accountability in the sight of Heaven, for any violation of duty on his part, as to anything herein written. To God be the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever, Amen.'

3. By the second Canon, (i, 38.) there should be no schism in the body' of a nation; but a political association, composed of part of the nation, obviously cannot exist without an opposition of interests. Hence its unlawfulness.

4. By the ninth Canon, (i. 45.) all associations, whether political, commercial, or of what kind soever, the object of entering into or maintaining which is to prejudice in any manner whatever those who are not members of such associations; are absolutely and utterly unlawful in the sight of Heaven. A political association, composed of part only of a nation, neces sarily, always abstracts one of the rights of men, sometimes two and sometimes all three. Hence also, its utter illegality.

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5. And it can scarcely be too often repeated, that whether a constitution so approaches a democracy, as for one man only to be excluded from his share of the political right, or for a pure despotism to be established, where one only engrosses it all; the divine law in either case is set at nought. Between these extremes no line can be drawn. Where," again to adopt the language of Paine, "are we to stop, or by what principles are we to find out the point to stop at that shall discriminate between men of the same country, part of whom shall be free, and the rest not?"-(vi. 114.) Unless what is here affirmed, is admitted, the whole human race, throughout its generations, is thrown into inextricable confusion about its rights. All righteous law is laid prostrate. In other words, the distinctions of right and wrong are confounded; the government of God over our world is at an end. Men may set up their own accursed abominations, varying in different countries and ages, as the wickedness of oppressors and the supineness of the oppressed differs. And thence all the unutterable evil and misery arising from unlawful governments. 'vi. 44, to 46, and 75.)

6. On a memorable occasion of our Lord's life, he thus ad

dressed his Father, Not as I will, but as thou wilt.' This is quite reversed in reference to all the members of any unlawful political association, who are either regardless of their Heavenly Father, or if they do think of him, practically say-Not 'as thou wilt,' but as we will!

7. That every reader may be fully satisfied of the utter illegality of all governments not purely democratic. He should note his ideas of the divine nature. Then, how he considers the Most High governs our world, and especially what the divine will is in reference to human governments and laws. Next, what the conduct of men ought to be, in accordance with his most holy will. After this, in reference to any nation having an unlawful constitution, if any records are preserved of its establishment, the reader should compare what he has written, withThe conduct of the men who established the constitution. (vi.-130.)

The constitution itself.

The code of laws. (vi.-75, 177.)

The history of the people.

Their present state. (vi.—1.)

asking himself at each step, Has the will of God, as declared in the constitution of human nature (i. 19,) and divine revelation, (i. 20) been attempted to be done.-(Matt. vi, 10.)

8. At the establishment of a constitution, whether in colonizing lands before unpeopled, or when a revolution happens in an old country; if such establishment was not effected by a set of miserable atheists, at least of men that were practically so; it might be expected that they would cause a written document to be deposited among the national archives, evincing what are the rights of men, and what the objects of human governments in accordance with the will of God, and how a lawful constitution should be formed; next, that such a one had been appointed; and, lastly, that certain persons had, conformably with it, been delegated by the nation to form the legislative and executive. The whole history of mankind, as far as we are acquainted with it, affords no instance of these things having been done in accordance with the divine law, either on or subsequent to the establishment of a government.

9. What a deplorable view does this present of mankind.— The whole human race affords no instance of a government, (whose sole office it is to preserve men's rights inviolate,) ever taking suitable measures to determine what these rights are, conformably with the will of God! And how still more apparent is this depravity, when it is remembered that this has never been done by any individual of the whole human race, as far as any thing is extant, to the extent of our researches.

10. Can it be questioned by any man, who is not sunk to the level of the brutes, that it is to the unspeakable and eternal