THE 



MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



No. 151.] 



Jr\NUARY ], l»07. [6 of Vol. 22. 



i long as diofe who write aie amliitious of makiiiE converts, and of givine to their opinions^ maximim of 



• influence and celebrity, the mort extsnf.vely circnlated mifcellany will repay with the greatcft efteft Uie 



• curiolily of thofe who read «ither for amufementor inilruaioii." JOHNSON. 



ORIGl N AL COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



LETTER of GENERAL WASHINGTON tO SIR 



JOHX SINCLAIR, containing a descrip- 

 tion of' the UNITED STATES: — never 

 hej'ore PUBLISHED.* 



SIR, 



THE near view wbich you have of 

 the revolution in Viaucc, and of 

 the political ftate of things in Europe, 

 efpecially thofc of Great Britain, has 

 enabled you to i'orin a judgment with fo 

 much more accuracy than I could do of 

 the probable refult of the perturbated 

 llate of the counti'ies which conipofe that 

 quarter of the globe, and of the prin- 

 cipal attors in that theatre, that it would 

 be prefumptuous in me, at the diftance 

 of 3000 miles, to give an opinion rela- 

 tively to either men or ineafures ; ajid 

 therefore I will proceed to the informa- 

 tion required in your private letter of 

 the 11th of September, which I will give 

 from the bcft kno\Vledge I polfefs, and 

 with the candour you have a right to ex- 

 pect from me. 



The United States, as you well know, 

 are very cxteuilve, mure than 1 JOO miles 

 Letwcen the north-ealtcrn and foutli- 

 wedcrn extremities ; all parts of which, 

 from the Seaboard to the ^\palachlan 

 mountains (which divide the eaftern 

 from the weltern waters), are entirely 

 fettled, tliougli not as compattly as they 

 are fufceptible of; and fettlemeiits are 

 progreifing rapidly -beyond them. 



Witliin fo great a fpace, you are not 

 to be told that there arc a great variety 

 of climates; and you will readily i'up- 

 pofe, too, that there are all forts of 

 land, ditfercntly improved, and of vari- 

 ous prices, according to the quality of 

 the foil ; its contiguity to, or reinotencfs 

 from navigation; the nature of tlie im-. 

 provemcnts, and other local circuni- 

 liances. Thcfc, however, are only fuf- 



* Our readers will perufe with very lively 

 intereft a pifture of the United Scjtes of Afiie- 

 rica, drawn ten ycais ago by the ;ible pen of 

 the Founder and firft Frefident of that great 

 Republic. We are enabled to introduce this 

 highly curious document into our Mifcellany 

 by the liberality of Sir John Sinclair, the ac- 

 tive and patriotic Prehdcnj of tlie Board of 

 Agriculture. 



MoKiuLY iMac. JS^O. 151. 



ficicnt for the fonnation of a general 

 opinion ; for thci-e are material devia- 

 tions, as I ihall mention hereafter. 



In the New England ftate*, and to 

 Pennfylvania incluiively, landed pro^- 

 perty is more divided than it is in the 

 llatesfouth of tliem. 



The farms are fmallcr ; the buildings 

 and other improvements generally bet- 

 ter ; and, of confequence, the popula- 

 tion is greater-: but then, the climate, 

 efpecially to the ealhvard of lludfon's 

 river, is cold ; the winters long, confum- 

 ing a great part of the fuiumer's labour 

 in fupport of their flocks during the 

 winter. Neverthelefs, it is a country, 

 abounding in grafs, and furnilhes much 

 hue beef, belides exporting many horfes 

 to the Welt Indies. 



A mildew or blight (I arn fpeaking 

 now of the New England Hates parti- 

 cularly) prevents them from raihng wjieat 

 adequate to their own confcmption, 

 and of other grains they export little or 

 none; hlh being their Ihiple. They live 

 well notwitliftandiiig, and are a happy 

 people. Their numbers are not aug- 

 mented by foreign emigrants ; yet, from 

 their circuuifcribed limits, compa-'t fitu- 

 ation, and natural population, tlieyare. 

 filling the wcllern parts of the ftate of, 

 New York, and Jic country on the Ohio, 

 with their own furpluiage. 



New Jerfey is a fmall ftate, and all 

 parts of it, except the fouth-weliern, 

 are pleafant, healthy, and productive of 

 ail kinds of grain, Ike. Being furround- 

 ed on two hdes by New York, and on 

 the other two by Delawai'e river and the 

 Atlantic, it has no land of its own to 

 fupply the furplus of its population; of 

 courfe, their enugi'atiuns are principally 

 towards the Ohio. 



Pemlfyi^ania is a large (late; and, 

 from the policy of its founder, and of 

 the government fince, and efpecially 

 from the celebrity of VhJladolphia, has 

 become the general receptacle of fo- 

 reigners from all countries, and of all 

 defcripiions, many of whom loon take 

 an active part in the politics of the 

 ftate; and coming over full of prejudices 

 aL'ainll their own governments, fome 

 againll all governments, you vn\i be en- 

 abled, without any counucui of nnuc, 

 oV to 



