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same situation. If he will not obey the foreign laws, he will soon feel the consequences, whether he has become a citizen there or not. Nearly all that refers to social and public business is mutual. We in America should forget narrow national differences, established and fostered by despotic governments for their selfish purposes, and dispense with laws and business which tend to disunite society.

21. After Congress and States have been relieved of all business not belonging to their spheres, and the State and Federal constitutions better adapted to the principle of selfgovernment, the question will arise, what business remains for Congress and States?

Let us consider, first, the business of State Governments. According to the annexed plan of a State Constitution, the administration of justice will and ought to be the chief business of states. To administer justice in conformity with the principle of self-government, we require laws and arrangements which lead to self-government. The less the inhabitants of a town are able to govern themselves, the more constables, jailors, sheriffs, policemen, nightwatches, prisons, lawyers, judges, courts, law-makers, governors, and finally, soldiers, and guns, and cannons, will be wanting to govern and rule them. A man can or should only be liable to come within the reach of the law, in consequence of a want of education, incomplete instruc-tion, and lack of industry, leading to bad actions. Both civil and criminal laws ought to supply these wants, and to aim to promote self-government. How little, indeed, our present laws do answer this purpose, we may infer from the generally prevalent opinion, that a person, who once has the misfortune to fall into the hands of the law, is lost for ever. It seems not so much the crime which dishonors a man, as the punishment inflicted upon him. This would be otherwise if mankind could be made to feel that the administration of justice is only intended to restore to the fallen man the power of self-government. An entire change in our laws will be required to accomplish this end. This is no easy task. We add a few suggestions in this regard.

1. Make and alter the laws with great deliberation. Make only a very few and very simple laws, and free them from all Gothic, Latin, French and other obsolete phrases, futile formalities and subtilities, which common sense peo

ple do not comprehend. Merge common law, chancery, equity, admiralty or marine and probate courts in one civil court, so that we may have police, civil and criminal courts, and a single Supreme Court only for all kind of appeals.

2. Banish from our statute books all that belongs to barbarous times, such as the idea of revenging crimes by a certain amount of punishment, the penalty of death, &c. Courts should not revenge and kill like savages. The laws and sentences must be humane, and neither cruel nor unreasonable. Justice-not barbarous physical forcemust step in, to accomplish what education, instruction, and industry have left undone in single instances. To answer those ends of justice we 'ought, therefore, to avoid the crowding together of offenders in huge prisons, so that the labors of education and instruction may the more surely reach them, and they be the more successfully trained by them to useful industry. Small farm-like prison establishments (perhaps one for two counties,) should take the place of our prisons with factory labor. Factory labor is not calculated to promote independence so certainly as agriculture. Let us not forget the families of prisoners, if the head of one should happen to be a convict. They are at present often more severely punished than the malefactors themselves. Place these establishments under the care of the best officers and county committees, composed of members of both sexes, and do not insert into the sentences of criminals a certain amount of punishment, because this is revenge. The convict must remain under strict charge, until he gives satisfactory proofs of being able to guide himself right in the future, when provision may be made for his discharge. Should this proposed reform be adopted, the pardoning power will be found useless, therefore we have omitted it in our plans of constitutions.

3. Forbid reference to European laws in general, and those of Great Britain in particular. These are written in blood, and filled with provisions not in harmony with selfgovernment. The English criminal laws seem to have been made by rogues for the benefit of scoundrels, and the civil laws more for the convenience of lawyers than for the comfort of men in search of justice.

4. Abolish flour, tobacco and other ware inspector offices. An honest dealer must feel offended by seeing his goods inspected, because he must be always ready to stand for his name. The fraudulent dealer knows how to cheat the

inspector, as we daily witness. (We see that the new Constitution of the state of New York has abolished these offices.)

5. Do not lay duties or taxes upon private business, as banking, auctions, &c. Regulations about auctions are best left to the town officers. Duties on auctions are often a tax on the unfortunate and poor. Let towns and courts take care of all such business as changing names, planting oysters, building wharves, dissolving matrimonial contracts, &c.

6. In section 29 of our plan of a State Constitution, we have suggested that the courts may, from time to time, inform the public and the legislatures what judicial reform may be necessary. Some such practice would lead to much good.

7. Let legislatures convene only every second year, to avoid too much law making.

8. Let the justices of the peace be truly peace makers, as we have proposed in sections 37 and 38 of the said plan. What business may and can be done by lower instances or magistrates (justices of the peace,) ought not to belong to higher instances or magistrates, (county or supreme courts.)

9. Abolish the practice of requiring a majority to elect a candidate. Such a requirement produces party combination, superfluous business and expense, and is more aristocratically capricious than just.

10. Let all statistical, geological, geographical and similar researches and investigations be made by private enterprise, or towns, or free associations, and not by states. It will be better and cheaper done than at the state expense.

22. To Congress should chiefly belong,

1. The care of preserving and extending our Federal Union. (See the plan of a Federal Constitution, Appendix, note b., section 3.)

Ours being the only government which is founded upon the true principle of self-government, our Congress may be considered as the most important magistrate on earth. It is endowed with a kind of providential influence on the progress of civilization Therefore we should remove every thing from the sphere of its business activity which is not in strict harmony with its high destination. Both the greatness and goodness of our Union are owing to self-governC*

ment. The magic power of her moral influence and of the moral force of this principle, is felt all over the civilized world. This, and the virgin fertility of our country daily attract large numbers of men; therefore the extension of our Union must be perpetual. Hence the importance and necessity of the annexation of new states.

On this occasion Congress will develop its greatest usefulness. Being elevated above the selfish interests of governments based upon animal physical force, its debates will never be inspired by avarice, by a craving for territorial grandeur, or by a desire to make money by fighting, killing, subjecting men and creating slavery. No, they will be only guided by an earnest wish to promote and extend the empire of humanity, peace, order, and justice, or, in other words, of self-government. If a sufficient number of freemen have established a state, and present their constitution with a request for annexation, Congress will examine the instrument carefully, to ascertain that it strictly harmonizes with the principle of self-government; that liberty of education, instruction, and industry are secured by it to all, and that nothing is admitted, like slavery, for example, which is opposed to self-government. After Congress has approved the Constitution, the right to decide on the fact of admission belongs to the qualified voters. The importance of the question requires such a verdict.

On such occasions Congress will be the defender and advocate of self-government, which will be a delicate task in conflicts with physical force governments. Congress will not acknowledge any rights of ownership to be derived merely from discovery without actual settlement and occupation. The difference between our government and those based on the physical force principle, is as great and wide as that between moral power and physical violence. Brutal violence hates and assails moral power, until subdued by its charm. The physical force governments are well aware that the principle of self-government, with its moral power, will finally terminate their existence. Let us therefore act with firmness and prudence in all conflicts with them.

2. Congress has the care of diplomatic business. We have, as a matter of course, to make use of diplomatic agents only so far as they are needed for business. We think that court ambassadors are superfluous, because we have no courts ourselves, and we have tried in vain to discover a single business object for an American ambassa

dor or minister near the persons of the Turkish, Russian, Prussian or Austrian autocrats, &c., which would not be as well answered by a consul, who, we are aware, is needed. American travellers will protect themselves by prudence, and with the help of consuls. This, we understand to be the meaning of George Washington's advice in his beautiful farewell address, viz., "to have as little connexion as possible with foreign powers." Besides it must be a settled principle of American policy never to treat on domestic affairs abroad.

3. National Defence. Let us never prepare in peace for war, if we will preserve peace. We are satisfied that a strict adherence to the principle of self-government is the surest preserver of eternal peace. Remember that only savages can incur the necessity of fighting and killing. We have, therefore, in our plans of Constitutions committed the care of the general defence only to Congress, and not to state governments.

In regard to other congressional business, we refer to the annexed plan of a Federal Constitution, which is plain enough to be thoroughly understood by every commonsense reader.

23. We have often laid great stress upon the saving of public expenses. Our reason for it is not false economy; no! we say, pay all officers you are really in need of, well. Our reason for recommending the strictest economy is chiefly, because self-governing freemen require much more for education, instruction, industrial pursuits, and the comforts of life, than mere subjects. They wish to maintain equality in civilized society; they apply great sums for useful information; their enterprise is only bounded by the limits of nature; their commerce embraces the whole world. is otherwise in Asia and Europe, where the great mass are kept in subjection by force, and only a few among them attain comparatively a higher standard of civilization. Therefore we should avoid by all means superfluous public business, superfluous offices, and superfluous public expense.

This

24. In regard to the realizing of the necessary reform, we recommend the gradual improving of constitutions and laws.

First, we should establish throughout the Union uniformity in the right of voting, as the natural beginning of all public business; then we should abolish the army and navy,

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