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diffipation of manners is the fruit of indolence and luxury, which are the fruits of the African slavery.

Conftitution, Courts and Laws.] The executive powers are lodged in the hands of a governor, chofen annually, and incapable of acting more than three years in feven. He is affifted by a council of eight members. The judiciary power are divided among feveral courts, as will be hereafter explained. Legiflation is exercised by two houses of affembly, the one called the house of Delegates, compofed of two members from each county, chofen annually by the citizens poffeffing an estate for life in 100 acres of uninhabited land, or 25 acres with a house on it, or in a house or lot in fome town: the other called the Senate, confifting of 24 members, chofen quadrennially by the fame electors, who for this purpofe are distributed into 24 diftricts. The concurrence of both houfes is necessary to the paffage of a law. They have the appointment of the governor and council, the judges of the fuperior courts, auditors, attorney-general, treasurer, register of the land office, and delegates to Congrefs. As the dismemberment of the state had never had its confirmation, but, on the contrary, had always been the subject of proteftation and complaint, that it might never be in our own power to raise fcruples on that fubject, or to disturb the harmony of our new confederacy, the grants to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the two Carolinas, were ratified.

This constitution was formed when we were new and unexperienced in the science of government, It was the firft, too, which was formed in the whole United States. No wonder then that time and trial have difcovered very capital defects in it.

1. The majority of the men in the ftate, who pay and fight for its fupport, are unrepresented in the legislature, the roll of freeholders intitled to vote, not including generally the half of those on the roll of the militia, or of the tax-gatherers.

2.

Among those who share the representation, the shares are very unequal. Thus the county of Warwick, with only 100 fighting men, has an equal representation with the county of Loudon, which has 1746. So that every man in Warwick has as much influence in the government as 17 men in Loudon. But left it should be thought that an equal intersperfion of fmall among large counties, through the whole state, may prevent any danger of injury to particular parts of it, we will divide it into dif tricts, and fhew the proportions of land, of fighting men, and of reprefentation in each.

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Between the Allegany and Ohio

An inspection of this table will supply the place of commentaries on it. It will appear at once that nineteen thousand men, living below the falls of the rivers, poffefs half the fenate, and want four members only of poffeffing a majority of the house of delegates; a want more than fupplied by the vicinity of their fituation to the feat of government, and of courfe the greater degree of convenience and punctuality with which their members may and will attend in the legislature. These nineteen thousand, therefore, living in one part of the country, give law to upwards of thirty thoufand, living in another, and appoint all their chief officers, executive and judiciary. From the difference of their fituation and circumstances, their interefts will often be very different.

There are three fuperior courts,' to which appeals lie from the courts below, to wit, the high court of chancery, the general court, and court of admiralty. The firft and fecond of thefe receive appeals from the county courts, and also have original jurifdiction where the fubject of controverfy is of the value of ten pounds fterling, or where it concerns the title or bounds of land. The jurifdiction of the admirality is original altogether. The high court of chancery is compofed of three judges, the general court of five, and the court of admiralty of three. The two first hold their feffions at Richmond at ftated times, the chancery twice in the year and the general court twice for business civil and criminal, and twice more for criminal only. The court of admiralty fits at Williamsburg whenever a controverfy arifes.

There is one fupreme court, called the Court of Appeals, composed of the judges of the three fuperior courts, affembling twice a year at stated times at Richmond. This court receives appeals in all civil cafes from each of the fuperior courts, and determines them finally. But it has no original jurifdiction.

If a controverfy arife between two foreigners of a nation in alliance with the United States, it is decided by the conful for their state, or, if both parties chufe it, by the ordinary courts of juftice. If one of the parties only be fuch a foreigner, it is triable before the courts of justice of the country. But if it shall have been inftituted in a county court, the foreigner may remove it into the general court, or court of chancery, who are to determine it at their firft feffions, as they muft alfo do if it be originally commenced before them. In cafes of life and death, fuch foreigners have a right to be tried by a jury, the one half foreigners, the other

natives.

All public accounts are fettled with a board of auditors, confifting of three members, appointed by the general affembly, any two of whom may act. But an individual, diflatisfied with the determination of that board, may carry his cafe into the proper fuperior court.'

In 1661, the laws of England were exprefsly adopted by an act of the affembly of Virginia, except fo far as a difference of condition' rendered them inapplicable. To thefe were added a number of acts of affembly. paffed during the monarchy, and ordinances of convention, and acts of affembly fince the establishment of the republic. The following variations from the British model are worthy of notice.

Debtors unable to pay their debts, and making faithful delivery of their whole effects, are released from their confinement, and their perfons

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for ever discharged from reftraint for fuch previous debts: But any property they may afterwards acquire will be fubject to their creditors.

The poor unable to support themselves, are maintained by an affeffment on the titheable perfons in their parish.

A foreigner of any nation, not in open war with us, becomes naturalized by removing to the ftate to refide, and taking an oath of fidelity; and thereupon acquires every right of a native citizen.

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Slaves pafs by defcent and dower as lands do.

Slaves, as well as lands, were entailable during the monarchy: But, by an act of the firft republican affembly, all donees in tail, prefent and further, were vefted with the absolute dominion of the entailed fubje&t. Gaming debts are made void, and monies actually paid to discharge fuch debts (if they exceeded 40 fhillings) may be recovered by the payer within three months, or by any other perfon afterwards.

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Tobacco, flour, beef, pork, tar, pitch and turpentine, must be inspected by persons publicly appointed, before they can be exported.'

In 1785, the affembly enacted, that no man should be compelled to fupport any religious worship, place or minifter whatsoever, nor be enforced, reftrained molefted or burdened in his body or goods, nor otherwise fuffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men fhould be free to profefs, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion; and that the fame fhould in no wife diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.

In October 1786, an act was paffed by the affembly, prohibiting the importation of flaves into the commonwealth, upon penalty of the forfeiture of the sum of £.1000 for every flave. And every flave imported contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, becomes free.

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Manufactures and Commerce.] We never had an interior trade of importance. Our exterior commerce has fuffered very much from the beginning of the prefent conteft. During this time we have manufactured within our families the most neceffary articles of cloathing. Those of cotton will bear fome comparison with the fame kinds of manufacture in Europe; but those of wool, flax and hemp are very courfe, unfightly and unpleafant: And fuch is our attachment to agriculture, and fuch our preference for foreign manufactures, that be it wife or unwife, our people will certainly return as soon as they can to the raifing raw materials, and exchanging them for finer manufactures than they are able to execute themselves.

Before

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the best information I can get, nearly as follows:

• Before the prefent war we exported, communibus annis, according to

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Shipping

Mafts, planks, fkantling, fhingles, ftaves

Tar, pitch, turpentine

Peltry, viz. fkins of deer, beavers, otters,

mufkrats, raccoons, foxes

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This Sum is equal to £850,000 Virginia money, 607,142 guineas.

< In the year 1758, we exported feventy thousand hogfheads of tobacco, which was the greateft quantity ever produced in this country in one year. But its culture was faft declining at the commencement of this war, and that of wheat taking its place: "And it muft continue to decline on the return of peace. I fufpect that the change in the temperature of our climate has become fenfible to that plant, which, to be good, requires an extraordinary degree of heat. But it requires ftill more indifpenfably an uncommon fertility of foil: And the price which it commands at market will not enable the planter to produce this manure. Was the fupply still to depend on Virginia and Maryland alone, as its culture be comes more difficult, the price would rife, fo as to enable the planter to furmount thofe difficulties and to live. But the western country on the Miffifippi, and the midlands of Georgia, having fresh and fertile lands in abundance, and a hotter fun, will be able to underfell these two states, and will oblige them to abandon the raifing tobacco altogether. And a happy obligation for them it will be. It is a culture productive of infinite wretchedness, Those employed in it are in a continual ftate of exertion beyond the powers of nature to fupport. Little food of any kind is raised by them; fo that the men and animals on these farms are badly fed, and the earth is rapidly impoverished. The cultivation of wheat is the reverse in every circumftance. Befides cloathing the earth with herbage, and preferving its fertility, it feeds the laborious plentifully, requires from them only a moderate toil, except in the season of harveft, raises great numbers of animals for food and fervice, and diffufes plenty and happiness among the whole. We find it eafier to make an hundred bushels of wheat, than a thousand weight of tobacco, and they are worth more when made. The weavil indeed is a formidable obftacle to the cultivation of this grain with us. But principles are already known which must lead to a remedy. Thus a certain degree of heat, to wit, that of the common air in fummer, is neceffary to hatch the egg. If fubterranean granaries, or others, therefore, can be contrived below that temperature, the evil will be cured by cold. A degree of heat beyond that which hatches the egg, we know will kill it. But in aiming at this we eafily run into that which produces putrefaction. To produce putrefaction, however, three agents are requifite, heat, moisture, and the external air, If the absence of any one of these be secured, the other two may fafely be admitted. Heat is the one we rant. Moisture then, or external air, must be excluded. The former has been done by expofing the grain in kilns to the action of fire, which produces heat, and extracts moisture at the fame time: The latter, by putting the grain into hogfheads, covering it with a coat of lime, and heading it up. In this fituation its bulk produces a heat fufficient to kill the egg; the moisture is fufficient to remain indeed, but the external air is excluded. A nicer operation yet has been attempted; that is, to produce an intermediate temperature of heat between that which kills the egg, and that which produces putrefaction. The threshing the grain as foon as it is cut, and laying it in its chaff in large heaps, has been found very nearly to hit this temperature, though not perfectly, nor always. The heap generates heat fufficient to kill most of the eggs, whilft the chaff commonly reftrains it from rifing into putrefaction. But all thofe methods abridge too much the quantity

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