Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/376

 352 SKETCHES OF THE

government was dissolved, the American people be- came indebted to nobody. You either owe every thing or nothing — and every contract and engagement must be done away, if any. In a state of nature you are free and equal. But how are you free, if another has a lien on your body? Where is your freedom, or your equality with that person, who has the right of con- straining you? This right of constraint, imphes a com- plete authority over you, but not however to enslave you. This constraint is always adequate to the right or obligation. Wliere can you find the possibility of this equality which nature gives her sons, if we admit an existing right of constraint? If it be a fact, that on the dissolution of the government we did enter into a state of nature (and that we did, I humbly judge can- not be denied, as at that time no government existed at all) it destroys all claim to one farthing. This will be found to be true as well upon the ground of equity and good conscience, as in law, when it is considered, that when we went into a state of nature, the means of paying debts were taken away from us by them; because so far as they had power over us, they pre- vented us from getting money to pay debts. They in- terdicted us from the pursuit of profitable commerce; from getting gold and silver, the only things they would take — they unjustly drove us to this extremity. By the concession of the worthy gentleman, their attack upon us w as unjust.

" But then, debts are not subject to confiscation, say gentlemen, because there were no inquests, no office found for the common wealtli. Has a debt an ear-mark? Is it tangible or visible? Has it any discriminating quality? Unless tangible or visible, how is it to be ascer- tained or distinguished? What does an inquest mean?

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