'£20 on scientific government, Feb. i^ 



go all the lengths this ingenious writer requires. 

 Tiie theory of government, if we are to take expe- 

 rience for our guide, is a subject too complicated for 

 the human mind to grasp, though, from the same ex- 

 perience, we are taught that nothing is more easy in 

 speculation. An infinite number of governments 

 have been establiihed on the globe since the beginning 

 of time, most of which were deemed unexceptionably 

 good, before experience had discovered the evils to 

 which they were to give birth. In all of them innu- 

 merable defects have been discovered by time ; and 

 fhe predictions of immortality, which were lavfflied 

 upon them at their birth, have soon been proved to 

 be fallacious. To a person who seriously reflects 

 on what has already happened, nothing but the test 

 of actual experience, continued for ages, seems to be 

 enough for giving any system of government a just 

 title to applause, — all exultation before hand must 

 be deemed premature. On this principle, those who 

 are friends to the cause of humanity will ardently 

 v.ifti, that every attempt to alter fixed governments 

 may tend to the public weal, though they will not 

 be disposed rafhly to make innovations themselves, 

 till they fliall have seen, that experience fliall have, 

 fully confirmed the justnefs of the reasoning which 

 gave rise to these changes. Till then, a wise man 

 will look upon the whole as hypothetical reasoning, 

 in similar cases. Those who are mere lookers on, 

 may be deemed peculiarly fortunate, as, if they have 

 patience, they will have the benefit of deriving in- 

 struction from the experiment, without running the 

 T iik of the derangements that must be felt by fliose 

 ■ivho try the experiment themselves. 



