lin, or rather the Genius of Liberty, prefides at t; every thing is refolved upon; new laws are enacted, but the principles of them already exift; all the colonifts are citizens; the patriot troops are about to be called forth; they are already formed-all the citizens are foldiers!

The philofopher of humanity, the friend of peace, Franklin, had upwards of ten years before prepared all the plans of the infurgent army. The number and order of the regiments and com-panies, the pay, the inftructions, all the military details, written by his own hand two luftres before the infurrection, and depofited in the archieves of Philadelphia, atteft at once the extent and forefight of his ideas.

Advance, Englifhmen; arm your fleets; pour in the warriors of your three kingdoms; transport the mercenaries of Germany to America, now become free; for Franklin prefides in her councils, and Washington regulates her armies! Wisdom, and at length victory, declare against you.

By means of thofe manoeuvres which difplay at once the fkill and the ferocity of your bands of robbers, you redouble the energy of freemen, add to the horror againft tyrants, and enfure to the United States but greater triumphs. The contralt exhibited by the humanity of the citizens of America in the midst of most of your moft difgraceful defeats, and the fury of your fervile troops in their flight but impious fucceffes, fhall change your glory to opprobrium, and the blood of a few }{ eaceable men, immolated to your rage, fhall furnish the feeds of victory for the combatants of liberty!

I fhall not here enter into the expofition of the

fagacious conduct, the profound combinations, the unexpected refources, the invincible refiftance, the decifive actions, the prodigies of glory, which have immortalized the campaigns of the armies of Independence.

They did not poffefs any metal, but iron; any military knowledge, but courage; any experience in combats, but a genius fitted for victory; any difcipline proceeding from long previous feparation, but a General, who was all of a fudden the creator of an army.

From men who wish to become free, from Franklin who directs, from Washington who commands what is not to be expected?

However, even iron at laft is wanting; it is procured from Europe. Officers are not in fufficient abundance; they are invited from France.

Franklin, now in the feventieth year of his age, had just returned from Canada, where he had been drawn, during the most rigorous feafon of the year, by the interefts of the revolution, and, in the courfe of his journey, had traverfed, in company with Montgomery, the rivers and the lakes, at that time covered with ice. He is new appointed to proceed to France, in order to affiit the efforts of Deane, and invite thofe fuccours which they were to procure from a generous people, who had fubmitted, during a difhonourable peace, to all the haughty pride, and all the intolerable outrages, of the English miniftry.

He departs inftantly, although he did not poffefs a fingle piece of gold; for his country was deftitute of money. He arrives at Paris with a cargo of tobacco, in the fame manner as when Holland détermined to become free, her deputies arrived

at Bruffels with a convoy of herrings, in order to pay their expences.

Admiration preceded, attachment followed him. Every tongue celebrated his name; every look was fixed upon, every heart leaped at the fight of him: He fpoke, he was liftened to, and he fucceeded. The treaty of commerce with the infurgents is proclaimed; ammunition and warlike intruments are fent from our ports-America receives them with gratitude; the free men of the new have now allies in the old world; they are don alfo to have rivals, emulous to imitate, and, f poffible, to excel them.

At the voice of Franklin, at the voice of glory, ppear, young Fayette, or rather difappear in Euope! Shew thyfelf to America, aftonished at hy noble daring; France fhall not learn thy light but with the news of thy first victory in the ountry of liberty.

The furious English every where attacked our effels; but they no longer poffeffed the advanage of thofe perfidious ftratagems which they ad formerly made use of, before a declaration of

var.

Our naval armaments were in readinefs; Orviliers and Eftaing command them. In one quarr of the globe the English fleet experiences an nvincible refiftance, and finds its only refource to confift in flight; in another† it meets with a figal defeat; and the Weft-India Ilands are oliged to receive into their ports thofe troops.

This alludes to the engagement off Ufhant. + At Grenada.

Paul

which were deftined to conquer them. Jones, an American commander, takes feveral prizes upon the very coafts of Great Britain; Rochambeau leads the French legions in the United States; La Fayette + is the hero of the two na tions; Washington is the arbiter of victory.

The independence of America is confummat ed; England, in its turn, is conftrained to fue for peace. The fovereignty of a great people is acknow ledged, and from the banks of the Seine, Frank lin, the harbinger, the director, and the very fou of this fublime novelty in the univerfe, confer ing all the glory upon those who had the heroifm of acquiring it by means of arms, receives with the calmness of a philofopher, the felicitations of America, of France, of the English patriots them felves, and of all thofe men who feel the godlike workings of humanity.

The fovereignty of the nation is eftablished this then is the moment to perfect their laws The ambaffador of America was its legiflator: He had already prepared, and he now tranfmits to his fellow-citizens the conftitution of Pennfylva nia, which connects it with all the establishments of the confederated ftates..

The rights of man are developed, for the firft time, in laws fimple and benificent as thofe of na ture the rights of citizens are elevated on the fundamental bafis of fociety. The organization of the public power is combined with the private * This officer, fo celebrated during the American war died lately in great poverty at Paris.

The fubfequent conduct of this General has converted the eulogiums of the patriot British of Calvados into an themas.

intereft of every man, and the univerfal good of humanky, with the individual advantage of every patriot, and the general profperity of the country.

The inftitutions of Franklin are unanimously bailed as the code of wifdom and beneficence. We have adopted them into the new laws of France, and we ought to regard their author as one of the founders of this facred conftitution, which is about to attain all the elevation of eafon and of juftice, all the perfection of focial and atural order, and which will one day be the Phaos of the human kind.

Here, Gentlemen, the intereft of this difcourfe becomes augmented. It is my intention to comare America become independent, with France how free and to prefage, from these circumflances, he deftinies of the universe.

I have already said, and I repeat it again-The Anglo Americans were the firft great people who offeffed the plenitude of liberty; the fift that repared itself to enjoy the perfection of freedom s the French nation; and in both thefe points of iew Franklin is the fift legiflator of the world. Let the prefent and future generations hear and údge!

In Switzerland a fenatorial aristocracy domieers; in Holland the Stadtholderate tends towards lefpotifm; in England the people poffefs a corrupt, ind but an inadequate, reprefentation: The Miifter regulates the elections; a Houfe of Peers irrefts every thing at its will: the Court, by means of money, obtains money; by money, fuffrages: In fhort, in whatever point of view you are pleafed to confider the public welfare, the