I make no doubt but you have carefully compared ye old confederation with ye new constitution and I wish you to review them again. Can there be such a thing as Government without Power? What is advice, recommendation, or requisition? It is not Government.—Congress has a right to raise an army, to make war and Peace, of entering into Treaties and alliances to borrow money and appropriate ye same—to ascertain ye sums necessary to be raised for ye Service of ye United States—to emit bills of credit—to build and equip a navy, and to make requisitions on ye states for their quota of men, to Cloath, arm and equip them. But who will lend Congress Money when they have not Power to raise a Single Shilling to repay them? Who will take their bills of Credit when every Body knows they can never redeem them? Who will enlist into their army when Congress has no money to pay them a Bounty or their wages or find them in Provisions? Who will build and equip a navy for them without money? Who will trouble themselves about Congress' making war or Peace when they can't command a Shilling to support a war? To what Purpose is it to appropriate money when they can't get it?—What end does it answer for other nations to make treaties and alliances with Congress when any one State by its obstinacy, fraud or some Paltry private interest may defeat ye treaty or by main force break through it?

What good end will be answered by ascertaining ye Sums necessary to be raised when thirteen independent Legislatures are to judge whether those sums are necessary or not and whether they will raise them or not and if one State won't raise their quota, ye other states are more than foolish, they are distracted if they raise theirs.—What effect will a requisition on ye states for raising, cloathing, arming, and equipping their quotas of men have, when ye 13 Legislatures are left to judge of ye expediency, or necessity of this equipment, whether they are not charged above their proportion—whether it won't do as well sometime hence? What security is it possible to have under such a Government? A Government without energy, without power. Zeal and enthusiasm carried us thro' ye last war without any Government till March 1781, when ye Confederation was compleated and then we hobbled along 21 months longer under it until peace took place, and since ye Peace, Requisitions from Congress have had no more effect than ye Pope's bulls wou'd have had. The old Confederation is just ye same to ye United States as a people, as a milk and water diet wou'd be to a labouring man, both wou'd grow weaker and weaker till they were not able to crawl. Nothing ever gave us any respectability abroad but ye readiness and chearfulness with which we complied with all ye recommendations of Congress when we had no Government at all. That enabled us to form treaties with other nations, to hire money, and their hatred to Great Britain engaged them to join in ye war against her. The nations in Europe discovered this weakness long before we did. Great Britain for 5 years has refused to make any Treaty of commerce with us, has shut all her Ports against our shipping, while our Ports are filled with their shipping and seamen and are picking up our seamen for their employ—they bring their Produce and manufactures to us to buy but won't let us carry our own to them. They have embarrass'd our commerce with other nations by setting ye Algerines upon our shipping and thereby obliged us to give 5 per Cent. to them for insurance against the Algerines—all this while we have not had ye power to retalliate upon them in one Single Article. The other Powers viz: France, Holland, Spain and Portugal have now taken ye hint and are imposing duties upon our Produce and Manufactures to ye great encouragement of their own and discouragement of ours, and we can't make any Regulations to counterwork them. Massachusetts some years ago took ye lead and made some very advantageous Regulations. New Hampshire followed, and Rhode Island adopted a small part. Soon ye People in New Hampshire grew restive and obliged ye Government to repeal ye same. Rhode Island followed and Massachusetts was obliged to follow them, so that you see what a rope of sand we are. This conduct of ye European nations will in time, if it produces good Government, prove of eminent advantage to us. They drained us of almost all our Cash. This put People upon being industrious and frugal. Industry has occasioned great improvements in agriculture and in manufactures. The first has rendered Provisions plenty and so cheap that we sell them to almost all nations. The latter has supplied us with many necessaries which we used to send cash for, and we remitted to other nations pay for what necessaries we wanted. Frugality has prevented us from sending our Cash abroad for many Superfluities which we can do as well or perhaps better without; so that now it is an undoubted fact that ye exports from America greatly exceed ye imports; consequently Cash may now become as plenty as it wou'd be best it shou'd be.

The old Confederation without Power or Energy destroyed ye Credit of ye United States. The scarcity of Cash, and ye embarrassments of ye Government, for want of some fixed System of finance has destroyed ye credit of ye individual States—different Tender acts in different States, different sorts of paper money in different States, (for almost all ye States have either paper money or tender acts,) have destroyed private Credit; so that we are now as a people and as individuals totally without either public or private Credit. Under these circumstances money never can circulate in plenty, let ye advantages for importing it be what they may—

Is it now possible for a Government, under these disadvantages, whether it be continental or particular, to support itself any length of time? Will not private industry be discouraged? Can such a Government protect ye industrious from ye hands of invaders or ye more savage hands of violence among ourselves? Anarchy will soon rear its head and ye Tyranny of some ambitious Demagogue will soon tread on its heels. Suppose for a moment ye General Court of New Hampshire or Massachusetts were to agree that such a sum of money was necessary to be raised for ye building and maintaining of a colledge for supporting schools in different Parts, for supporting ministers, for encouraging ye Iron manufactory, ye manufactory of cloath, for repairing ye highways, for training and disciplining ye militia, and procuring a stock of guns and ammunition and building forts for ye defence of ye State and then send a recommendation to ye several towns desiring them to raise their quota of that sum, being so much.

Wou'd not this be a laughable way of raising money for ye public exigences? One town wou'd say there was no need of building a Colledge; others wou'd say there is no need of Schools or ministers; let them that work Iron and cloath get their own pay; our highways will do well enough without repairs; ye militia are good gunners already, there is no need of forts, and there is no war at hand, and we can do without Guns and ammunition a little longer; besides all they have rated our town too high. Wou'd not this be ye common language? A precious little money wou'd be raised, I trow. Let me ask, if ye People in our town meetings are competent Judges of ye necessity and advantage of raising money for these purposes? You will instantly answer me, no not one in six. Can they have large and extensive views of ye interest, of ye essential and important interests of ye whole state? No, perhaps, not one, thô many of them when they had met with other persons from all parts of ye state, and had freely conversed with them might be good Judges afterwards. How absurd and impolitic then is it to trust ye great affairs and interests of a continent, 1500 miles long and 1000 miles wide to ye determination of 2600 men deputed from some little spots of 6 miles square ye greatest part of whom never went further than ye next market town perhaps, or at ye outside to ye shire town of ye state and never expects to go again after his year is up, or if he does, it is only to get his 3s. 6d. a day without labour or at ye most to have ye honour of saving a small Tax upon his own town—and these men are not to meet altogether where they might, if disposed, get ye necessary information to form a Judgment by,—but in thirteen different places where they have different interests, different leaders and different information. How much more ridiculous is it then, that all these men are to determine of ye necessity of Peace or War—of ye sums of Money necessary to be raised, of ye best and easiest mode of raising it thro' all ye states, regulating ye value of money thro' all ye states, of defining and punishing Piracies and felonies on ye high seas and of Offences against ye law of nations—when it is necessary and proper to grant Letters of Marque and reprisal—what are ye rights and duties of Ambassadors, Consuls and public ministers, what are proper rules respecting captures where other nations are concerned with us in ye capture or are interested in ye vessel captured, what regulations of Trade may be carried into effect in other nations so as not to injure our own commerce. These and a thousand other matters respecting our intercourse with other nations and other great national concerns, must be determined by some Body of men with decision and be carried into effect too. How preposterous is it then for us to think of going on under ye old Confederation where ye several states or some of them wou'd hiss any Law that might be proposed on those matters out of Doors.

Now let us consider ye new Constitution. Are there any objects, of Legislation in this, which were not left to ye decision of Congress under ye old Articles? Very few, save that of Regulating commerce with foreign nations for want of which we have suffered enough already—also to form a rule for naturalization Laws about Bankruptcies—fix ye standard of weights and measures—to promote ye progress of arts and Sciences—to prevent counterfeiting ye Securities and current coin of ye states, to provide for organizing, arming, disciplining and calling forth ye militia on necessary occasions; to exercise exclusive Jurisdiction over 10 miles square of land where Congress may sit, if so much is ceded to them by any state to their satisfaction and such other places where continental arsenals are kept. Our People are taught ye necessity of this provision for if a man of less penetration and decision had been in ye chair ye year before last—they would have lost their most useful and costly magazine. Is it not reasonable that these matters shou'd be done with uniformity thro' ye states? Can these great objects ever be accomplished without making laws to bind all persons in ye Jurisdiction? Who are to make those Laws but ye Representatives chosen by ye People at large every two years, and where an equal representation is provided for, and a Senate chosen by ye state Legislatures, one third of which are to be chosen every two years. When Laws are made they are nonsensical unless they can be carried into execution; therefore it is necessary somebody shou'd have a Power of determining when they are broken, and to decree ye forfieture in consequence of such breach. This shows ye necessity of ye Judicial Power—and an executive with ye necessary officers are requisite for carrying those decrees into execution—and without all this ye whole parade of making laws wou'd be idle.

That these parts, ye Judicial and executive, shou'd be appointed by congress is necessary in order that ye proceedings may be uniform and to prevent one state from conniving at or disregarding ye laws made for ye benefit of ye whole. If they are to raise money they must have officers to collect it. These must be appointed by Congress or such men will be appointed by particular states as will shew ye most favour—and look thro' ye whole, I believe you will not find a Single Power given but what would maim ye constitution if it was left out. Perhaps it may be said this will be an expensive Government. The Legislative will not be more expensive, if so much, as ye present congress for after they have got matters a going properly, they may be at home half their time. The other officers must be paid it is true, but when we consider ye advantages of a steady uniform Government with proper energy, I believe we shall find ye Benefits purchased at a cheap rate. Perhaps some may say that this annihilates our own state Governments, and our own Legislatures will have nothing to do; but ye Laws respecting criminal offenders in all cases, except Treason, are subjects for Legislation. We may increase, lessen, or change punishments for crimes as we think best, and make any act criminal or pœnal as far as Law can make it so at our pleasure. The regulating Towns, parishes, Providing ministers, schools, looking after Poor persons, punishing Idlers, vagabonds &c. &c. regulating Highways, bridges, fisheries, common fields &c. are also matters pertaining to ye General court—but above all ye great rules for regulating inheritances, descent of estates, Partition of them, last wills and Testaments, executors, Administrators, and Guardians are subjects for our own Legislation—ye appointment of all courts, and ye rules of Proceeding in them and of determining all controversies between our own citizens, Rules of Legitimacy, marriage and divorce and in fine all matters not expressly given to congress are still to be the subjects of our own Legislation to be carried into Effect by our own courts and officers. Over what things does ye constitution give congress a Power only those of great national concern, which require a large comprehensive view and which, Heaven knows, our Houses of R-p-s-t-tives were never capable of comprehending or of judging whether they were acting right or wrong.—I write very freely to you, without any reserve. Ye regard I have for my Children, my Kinsmen, my friends, my Neighbours, Posterity and my country, makes me bless God that those objects are likely for ever to be taken out of such hands, two thirds of whom were never from their fire side before, and never comprehended in their view more than their own farms and their own little private interest. I cou'd write a volume on this subject, but thus much must suffice for ye present. I believe you are tired now as well as your affectionate

Kinsman and sincere friend and Servt

Nath'l Peaslee Sargeant.