weak as the ftrong. Their deep-rooted and inveterate habit of think. ing is, that all men are equal in their rights, that it is impossible to make them otherwife; and this being their undisturbed belief, they have no conception how any man in his senses can entertain any other. This point once fettled, every thing is fettled. Many operations which in Europe have been confidered as incredible tales or dangerous experi ments, are but the infallible confequences of this principle. The firft of these operations is the business of election, which, with the people of New-England, is carried on with as much gravity as their daily labour. There is no jealousy on the occafion, nothing lucra tive in office; any man in fociety may attain to any place in the government, and may exercise its functions. They believe that there is nothing more difficult in the management of the affairs of a nation, than the affairs of a family; that it only requires more hands. They believe that it is the juggle of keeping up impofitions to blind the eyes of the vulgar, that conftitutes the intricacy of ftate. Banish the myfticism of inequality, and you banish almost all the evils attendant on human nature.

The people being habituated to the election of all kinds of officers, the magnitude of the office makes no difficulty in the cafe. Every officer is chofen with as little commotion as a churchwarden. There is a public fervice to be performed, and the people fay who fhall do it. The fervant feels honoured with the confidence repofed in him, and generally expreffes his gratitude by a faithful per. formance.

Another of these operations is making every citizen a foldier, and every foldier a citizen; not only permitting every man to arm, but obliging him to arm. This fact, told in Europe previous to the revolution, would have gained little credit; or at least it would have been regarded as a mark of an uncivilized people, extremely dangerous to a well-ordered fociety. Men who build fystems on an inversion of nature, are obliged to invert every thing that is to make part of that system. It is because the people are civilized, that they are with fafety armed. It is an effect of their confcious dignity, as citizens enjoying equal rights, that they wifh not to invade the rights of others. The danger, where there is any, from armed citizens, is only to the government, not to the society; and as long as they have nothing to revenge in the government (which they cannot have while it is in their own hands) there are many advantages in their being accustomed to the ufe of arms, and no poffible difadvantage..

Power

T

Power, habitually in the hands of a whole community, lofes ail the ordinary affociated ideas of power. The exercise of power is a relative term; it fuppofes an oppofition, fomething to operate upon. We perceive no exertion of power in the motion of the planetary system, but a very strong one in the movement of a whirlwind; it is because we fee obstructions to the latter, but none to the former. Where the government is not in the hands of the people, there you find oppofition, you perceive two contending interests, and get an idea of the exercife of power; and whether this power be in the hands of the government or of the people, or whether it change from fide to fide, it is always to be dreaded. But the word PEOPLE in America has a different meaning from what it has in Europe. It there means the whole community, and comprehends every human creature; hence it is impoffible but the government must protect the people, and the people, as a natural confequence, fupport the govern ment as their own legitimate offspring.

MIDDLE STATES.

YEW-YORK,

NEW-JERSEY,

DELAWARE,

TERRITORY N. W. OF OHIO.

PENNSYLVANIA,

BOUNDED

OUNDED north, by Upper Canada, from which they are fepa rated by the lakes; eaft, by the New-England States; fouth, by the Atlantic ocean, Maryland, Virginia; and the Ohio river, which fe parate them from Kentucky; west, by the Miffiffippi river.

RIVERS AND BAYS.

The principal rivers in this district are, the Hüdfon, the Dela ware, the Susquehannah, the Ohio, the Miffiffippi, and their branches. York, Delaware, and part of Chesapeak bays are in this district.

CLIMATE.

The climate of this grand divifion, lying almost in the fame la titudes, varies but little from that of New-England: there are no two fucceffive years alike; even the fame fucceffive feafons and months differ from each other every year and there is, perhaps, but one steady trait in the character of this climate, and that is, it is uniformly variable: the changes of weather are great, and frequently fudden. The range of the quickfilver in Fahrenheit's thermometer, according to Dr. Mitchell, is between the 24th degree below, and the 105th degree above cypher; and it has been known to vary fifty degrees in the course of twenty-fix hours. Such alterations are much more confiderable along the coast than in the interior and midland parts of the country; and, wherever they prevail, are accompanied with proportionate changes in the air, from calms to winds, and from moisture to drynefs. Storms and hurricanes fometimes happen, which are fo violent as to overfet veffels, demolith fences, uproot trees, and unroof buildings. Droughts, of fix weeks or two months continuance, occur now and then. Rain has been known

known to fall in fuch abundance that the earth, by measurement, has received fix, five inches on a level, in the short fpace of four hours.* The quantity of water which falls in rain and fnow, one year with another, amounts to from twenty-four to thirty-fix inches. † In the northern parts of this district the fnow falls in larger quantities, lies longer, and the cold is more steady and intenfe, by many degrees, than in the fouthern; hence the climate of the former is more agreeable in winter, and that of the latter in fummer. The more weather is generally in the month of July; but intenfely warm days are often felt in May, June, Auguft, and beptember.Dr. Rittenhouse fays, that during his refidence in the country, in the State of Pennsylvania, he never had paffed a fummer without discovering froft in every month in the year, except July. The greatest degree of heat upon record in Philadelphia, in 1789, was 90°. The standard temperature of air in Philadelphia is 52 degrees, which is the temperature of their deepest wells, and the mean heat of their common fpring water. There are feldom more than four months in the year in which the weather is agreeable without a fire; in winter, the winds generally come from the north-weft in fair, and from the north-east in wet weather. The north-weft winds are uncommonly dry as well as cold.

The climate on the west fide of the Allegany mountains differs materially from that on the east fide, in the temperature of the air, and the effects of the wind upon the weather, and in the quantity of rain and snow which fall every year. The fouth-west winds on the weft fide of the mountain are accompanied by cold and rain. The temperature of the air is feldom fo cold or fo hot, by feveral degrees, as on the east fide of the mountain.

On the whole, it appears that the climate of this divifion of the United States is a compound of most of the climates in the world-it has the moisture of Ireland in the spring-the heat of Africa in fummer-the temperature of Italy in June-the sky of Egypt in au tumn-the fnow and cold of Norway, and the ice of Holland in winter the tempefts, in a certain degree, of the Weft-Indies in every season-and the variable winds and weather of Great-Britain in every month of the year.

From this account of the climate of this diftri&t, it is easy to afcertain what degrees of health, and what diseases prevail. As the inha

Dr. Mitchill.

+ Dr. Rufh,

002

bitants

bitants have the climates, fo they have the acute difeafes of all the countries that have been mentioned. Although it might be fuppofed, that with fuch changes and varieties in the weather, there would be connected epidemical difeafes and an unwholfome climate, yet, on the whole, it is found in this diftrict to be as healthy as any part of the United States.*

HISTORY OF ITS SETTLEMENT, &c.

NEW-YORK.

The colony of New-York was fettled by the Dutch, who named it the New-Netherlands. Charles II. refolved upon its conqueft in 1664, and in March granted to his brother the Duke of York, the region extending from the western banks of Connecticut to the eastern flore of the Delaware, together with Long-Ifland, conferring on him the civil and military powers of government. Colonel Nichols was fent with four frigates and three hundred foldiers to effect the business. The Dutch governor being unable to make refiftance, the New-Netherlands fubmitted to the English crown in September, without any other change than of rulers. Few of the Dutch removed: and Nichols inftantly entered upon the exercise of his power, as deputy-governor of the Duke of York, the proprietary.

In July 1673, the Dutch re-poffeffed themselves of the province, by attacking it fuddenly when in a defencelefs ftate. By the peace in February following it was reftored. The validity of the grant, while the Dutch were in quiet poffeffion, having been questioned, the Duke of York thought it prudent to obtain a new one the following June; and Edmund Andros having been appointed governor, the Dutch religned their authority to him in October. Thus was NewYork regained; but the inhabitants were again enflaved to the will of the conqueror; for being admitted to no fhare in the legislature, they were fubject to laws to which they had never affented.

To be relieved from a fervitude that had degraded the colony, and now gave diflatisfaction to every one, the council, the court of asfizes, and the corporation of New-York, concurred in foliciting the Duke "to permit the people to participate in the legislative power.”

The foregoing remarks are grounded on the authorities of Dr. Rufh and Dr. Mitchil, who have published the refult of their inquiries in Mr. Carey's Mufcum, vols. 6th and 7th.

The