The postumous and other writings of Benjamin Franklin ..
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
Beware <^ little expenses ; A small leak wiU siak a great ship^ as Poor Richard says ; and again. Who dainties love^ shall beggars prove ; and moieaver, Fools make feasts^ and wise men eat them. • *' Here you are all got together at this sale <tf fineries and nick-nacks. You call them goods; but, if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may for less than they cost ; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard says, Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shall sell thy necessaries. And again, At a great pennyworth pause a while. He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real ; or the bargain, by straitening thee in iSttg business, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he says. Many have been ruimi by buying good pennyworths. Again, It is fooSsk to lay out money in a purchase of repentance; and yet this folly is practised every day at auctions, for want of minding the Almanack. Many a one, for the sake of finery on the back, have gone with a hungry bdly and half-starved their families : SUks PART It. MIflCELLANISi. 117 amd sadnSj scarlet mid velvety put mit the kitchen fa% as Poor Richard says. These are not the necessaries of life ; they can scarcely be called the eourenienoes ; and yet, only because they look ppetky, how many want to have ihem ! By these, and other extravagancies, the genteel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing ; in which case it appears plainly, that, A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees^ $B Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have had a small estate left them, which they knew not the getting of; they think It is dajf^ and will never be night; that a little to be spent out of so much is not worth minding ; but Always ttddng out of the meidrtuby and never putting iif, soon comes to the hattam^ as Poor Richard says ; and then. Fond pride of ire$s i$ tun a terjf curm ; En fancy ym consult, eanndt your pwrte, AMdagim^Pridcis^londa bsggtitM Wmt^and 118 WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. a great deal ware saucy. When you have bonglit one fine thing, you must buy ten moie, that yonr appearance may be all of a piece ; but Poor Didt, says, It is easier to suppress the Jirst destrertkwn t» satisfy all that follow U. And it is as tmly foUy for the poor to ape the rich, as for the firog to swell in order to equal the ox. .. < • ■ Feisels large wunf venture more. But little boats ehmld keep near shore. It is, however, a folly soon punished ; for, as Potnr Richard says, Pride that dines on vanity^ sups, on contempt ; Pride breakfasted with Plenty^ dined with Poverty y and supped with Infamy. And, after all, of what use is this pride of appearance, fw which so much is risked, so much is snflfered ? . It cannot promote health, nor ease pain ; . it makes no increase of merit in the person;, it creates envy ; it hastens misfortune. '' But what madness must it be to run in ikU for these superfluities ? We are offered by the terms of this sale, six months' credit ; and that, perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it But, ah ! think what you da when you run in debt ; you give to another power over your liberty. If you cannot pay at the time, you vdll .be . ashamed to see your creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him ; you will make poor pittful sneaking excuses, and, by^ de- PART I. MISCELLANIES. 119 grees, come to lose your veracity, and sink into base downright lying ; for, The second vice is lyings tke Jirit is running in debU as Poor Richard says ; and again, to the same purpose, Lying rides upon Debfs back: whereas a free-bom Englishman ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to see or speak to any man living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. // is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. What would you think of that prince, or of that government, who should issue an edict forbidding you to dress like a gentleman or gentlewoman, on pain of imprison- ment or servitude ? Would you not say that you were free, have a right to dress as you please, and iliat such an edict would be a breach of your privileges, and such a government tyrannical? And yet you are about to put yourself under such tyranny, when you run in debt for such dress ! Your creditor has authority, at his pleasure, to de- prive you of your liberty, by confining you in gaol tOl you shall be able to pay him. When you have giot your baigain, you may, perhaps, think little of '^yment; but, as Pooi* Richard says. Creditors 'have better memories than debtors ; creditors are a superstitious sect^ great observers of set days and times. The day comes round before you are aware, and the demand, is made before you are prepared to satisfy it ; or, if you bear your debt in mmdy the term, which at first seemed so long, will, as it lessens, appear extremely short : time will 120 WRITINGS OF B£NMBCIN FRAMKUlf. seem to have added wings to his heels as well his shoulders. Those have a short Lent^ who money to he paid at Easter. At present, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving circum- stances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury ; but Far age and watU tave whiU you may 9 Na morning smn lasts a whole day. Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but evar, while you live, expense is constant and certain ; and, It is easier to build two chimnies^ than to keep one injuelf as Poor RicJiard says : so, rather go to bed supperless, than rise in debt. Ost what yon can, and what yon get hM: "Hs the stone that will turn aU yonr lead mio gold. And, when you have got the philosopher's stone, sure you will no longer complain of bad times, or the difficulty of paying taxes. ^^ IV. This doctrine, my friends, is reason and wisdom : but, after all, do not depend too mudi upon your own industry, and fingality, and pru- dence, though excellent things ; for they may aU be blasted, without the blessing of Heaven ; and, therefore, ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them. Remember, Job suffered, and was afterwards prosperous. : '' And now, to conclude. Experience keeps a dear school^ but foob mil learn in no other, as Poor Ri- FABT I. MliCBLLAMIBt. 121 €hwrd says, and scarce in that; fw, it is true, Wc ma^ give adunce^ but we cannot give conduct. How- era:, remember this. They that will not be caunsettedy cannot be helped; and further, that If you will not hear Reason^ she will surely rap your knuckles^ as Poor Richard says.* Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it and approved the doctrine ; and immediately practised the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon ; for the auction opened, and they began to buy extravagantly. I found the good man had thoroughly studied my almanacks, and digested all I had dropt on these topics during the course of twenty-five years. Tlie frequent mention he made of me must have tired any one else ; but my vanity was wonderfully d^ lighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom vras my own which he ascribed to me, but rather the gleanings that I had made of the sense of all ages and nations. How- ever, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it ; and, though 1 had at first determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went away resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine. I am, as ever, thine to serve fliee, Richard Saunhbrs. 122 WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. A THOUGHT CONCERNING THE MEDALS THAT ARE TO BE STRUCK BY ORDER OF CON- GRESS. The forming dies in steely to strike medals or money, is generally with the intention of maldng a great number of the same form. The engraving of those dies in steel is, from the hardness of the substance, very difficult and ex- pensive ; but once engraved, the great number to .be easily produced afterwards by stamping justifies the expense, it being but small when divided among a number. Where only one medal of a kind is wanted» it seems an unthrifty way to form dies for it in steel, to strike the two sides of it, the whole expense of file dies resting on that medal. . It was by this means that the medal voted by congress for M. Fleury cost one hundred guineas. When an engraving of the same figures and in- scriptions might have been beautifiilly done on a plate of silver of the same size for two guineas.. The ancients, when they ordained a medal to record the memory of any laudable action, and do honor to the performer of that action, struck a vast number, and used them as money. By this means the honor was extended through their ovm and neighboring nations : every man who received or paid a piece of such money was reminded of the virtuous action, the person who peifonned it, and PART I. MISCELLANIES. l%$ the reward attending it : and the number gave such security to this kind of monuments, against perishing or being forgotten, that some of each of them exist to this day, though more than two thousand years old, and being now .copied into books by the art of engraving and printing, are not only exceedingly multiplied, but likely to re- main some thousands of years longer. I therefore wish the medals of congress were ordered to be. money, and so contrived as to be convenient money, by beii^ ui value aliquot parts of a dollar. Copper coins are wanting in America for small change. We have none but those of the king of England. After one silver or gold medal is struck £rom the dies, for the person to be honored, they may be usefully employed in striking copper moiiey, or in some cases small silver. . The nominsd value of the pieces might be a little more than the real, to prevent their being melted down, but not so much more as to be an encou- n^ment to counterfeiting. B. F. PRECAUTIONS TO BE USED BY THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO UNDERTAKE A SEA VOYAGE. When you intend to take a long voyage, nothing is better than to keep it a secret till the moment of •your departure. Without this, you. will be conti- nually intermpted and tonnented by: visits, from 1S4 WRITINGS OP BEKiAMIM FRANKLIll. fnends aad acquaiBtanceB, who not only make yoo lo0e your yakiable time, but make you foiget a thousand things which yon wish to remember; so that when you are embarked, and fairly at sea, you recollect, with much uneasiness, affairs which you have not terminated, accounts that you hate not settled, and a number of things whidi you pro- posed to carry with you, and which you find the want of every moment. Would it not be attended with the best consequences to reform such a cus- tom, and to suffer a traveller, without deranging him, to make his preparations in quietness, to set iq[»rt a few days when these are finished, to take leave of his firiends, and to receive their good wishes for his happy return ? It is not always in one's powar to choose a cap- tain; though great part of the pleasure and ha|^ pess of the passage depends upon this choice, and though one must for a time be confined to his com- IWBiy, and be in some measure under his command. If he is a social sensible man, obliging, and of a good disposition, you wUl be so much the happier. One sometimes meets with people of this descrip- tion, but they are not common ; howeva*, if yours be not of this number, if he be a good seaman, at- tentive, careful, and active in the management of his vessel, you must dispense with the rest, for these are essential qualities. Whatever lig^t you may have^ by your agree- ment with him, to the provisions he haa taken on PAIT h miflCBLLAMIBS. lU botvd fi>r1fae use of the passeogeni^ it m alwajiv prof^ to have «Mmie private Btoie, which you may Itiake use of occaaonally. You ought, th»efoi^ to proTide good water, that of the ship being often bad; but you moftt put it into bottles, without which you caimot expect to preserve it sweet You o«gbt also to cany with you good tea, ground coflfee^ chocolate, wine o( that sort which you like best, cyder, dried raisins, almonds, sugar, capil- laire, citrons, rum, eggs dipped in oil, portaUe soup» bread twice baked^ With regard to poultry, it iff almost usdess to carry any with you, unless you resolve to undertake the office of feeding and fottening them yourself. Witii the little care which is taken of them on board ship, they are almost all sickly, and th€»r flesh is as tough as leather. All saflon entertain an opinion, which has un* doubtedly or^inated formerly Ifrom a want ci wa* ter, and when it has been found necessary to be qiaiing of it, that poultry never know when they have drunk ^ioi:^h ; and that when water is given them at discretion, they generally kill themselves by drinking bqrond measure. In consequence of this opinion, they give them water only once in two days, and even then in small quantiities : but as they pour this water into troughs inclining on one side, which occanons it to run to the lower part, it thence happens that they are oMiged to mount one upon the back of another in order to leachit; and there are some which cannot even 126 WRITINGS OP BENJAMIN' FRANKLIN. • dip their beaks in it. Thus continiiaUy tantalned and tormented by thirst, they are unable to digest their food, which is very dry, and they soon fall sick and die. Some of them are found thus every morning, and are thrown into the sea ; whilst tiiose which are killed for the table are scarcely fit to be esAen. To remedy this inconvenience, it will be necessary to divide their troughs into small comr partments, in such a maimer that each of th^n may be capable of containing water; but this is seldom or never done. On this account sheep and hogs are to be considered as the best fi:esh provision that one can have at sea ; mutton there beii^ in general very good, and pork excellent. ' It may happen that some of the provisions and stores which I have recommended may become alifiost useless, by the care which the captain has taken to lay in a proper stock : but in such a case you may dispose of it to relieve the poor passen- gers, who, paying less for their passage, are stowed among the common sailors, and have no right to the captain's provisions, except such part of them as is used for feeding the crew. These passengers are sometimes sick, melancholy, and dejected ; and ' there are often women and children aniong ihem, neither of whom have any opportunity of procuring those things which I have mentioned, and of which, perhaps, they have the greatest need. By distributing amongst them a part of your super- fluity, you may be of the greatest assistance to PABT I. MISCELLANIES. 127 them/ You may restore their health, save their lives, and in short render them happy; which always affords the liveliest sensation to a feeling mind. The most disagreeable thing at sea is the cook- ery ; for there is not, properly speaking, any pro- fi^sed cook on board. The worst sailor is gene- rally chosen for that purpose, who for the most part is equally dirty. Hence comes the proverb used among the English sailors, that God sends meat and the devil sends cooks. Those, however, who have a better opinion of Providence, will think otherwise. Knowing that sea air, and the exer- cise or motion which they receive from the rolling of the ship, have a wonderful eflect in whetting the appetite, they will say that Providence has given sailors bad cooks to prevent them from eating too much ; or that, knowing they would have bad cooks, he has given them a good appetite to pre- vent them from dying with hunger. However, if you have no confidence in these succors of Provi- dence, you may yourself, with a lamp and a boiler, by the help of a little spirits of wine, prepare some food, such as soup, hash, &c. A small oven made of tin plate is not a bad piece of furniture : your servant may roast in it a piece of mutton or poik. If you are ever tempted to eat salt beef, which is often very good, you will find that cyder is the best liquor to quench the thirst generally caused by salt meat or salt fish. Sea biscuit, which is too 128 WRITINGS OF BBKJAMIN PRANKLIH. r :.'';^l hftrd for the teeth of some people, may be softi by steeping it ; but bread double baked is the best; jfor being made of good loaf-bread cut into slices, and baked a second time, it readily imbibes water,, becomes soft, and is easily digested: it conse- quently forms excellent nourishment, much supe- iKNT to that of biscuit, which has not been fer- mented. I must here obsenre, that this double-baked bread was originally the real biscuit prepared to keep at sea ; for the word bucuitf in Freicb, signir fies twice baked.' Pease often boil badly, and do not become soft ; in such case, by pnttmg a two- pound shot into the ketde, the rolling of the vessd, by means of this bullet, will convert the pease into a kind of porridge, like mustard* Having ofl^n seen soup, when put upon &e table at sea in broad flat dishes, thrown out on every side by the rolling of the vessel, I have wished that our tinmen would make our soup^basons with divi* iicms or compartments, forming small plates, pro- per for containing soup for one person only. By this disposition, the soup, in an extraordinary toU, would not be thrown out of the plate, and would not iGEdl into the breasts of those who are at table, and scald them. Having entertained you with these things of little importance^ permit me now to ' It is deri?ed from Kt agsin, wad £mii Iwkvd. PART I. BlMCfiLLANieS. 120 condade with some general reflections upon navi- gitton. When navigation is employed only for trans- parting necessary provisions from one country, where they abound » to another where they are wanting ; when by this it prevents fiunines, which were so frequent and so fatal before it was invent- ed and became so common ; we cannot help con- odering it as one of those arts which contribute ttKMt to the happiness of mankind. But when it is employed to transport things of no utility, or arti- cles merely of Inxury, it is then uncertain whether lite advantages resulting from it toe sufficient to jDOuiitertMdance the misftNrtunes it occasions by ex- posing the lives of so many individuals upon the raat ocean. And when it is used to plunder ves-^ lels and transport slaves, it is evidently only the dreadful means of increasing those calamities which iflict human nature. One is astonished to think on the number of ves- idi and men who are daily exposedtn going to bring IM fimn China, coflee from Arabia, and sugar and Mbocco from America ; all commodities which our MUMtora lived very well without Hie sugar- Imde employs nearly a.thowmid vessels ; and that If tdbaoeo almost the same number. With r^ard to Ae utility of (ebaeco^ VMt een be said ; and, vridi r^ard to sugar, how much more meritorious would it be to sacrifice the momentary pleasure vriiich we receive from drinking it once or twicer VOL. I. I 130 WltlTINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. day in our tea, than to encourage ,the numberless cruelties that are continually exercised in order to procure it us ! A celebrated French moralist said, that, when he considered the wars which we foment in Africa to get negroes, the great number who of course per rish in these wars ; the multitude of those wretches who die in their passage, by disease, bad air, adfd bad provisions ; and lastly, how many perish \fj the cruel treatment they meet with in a state of slavery ; when he saw a bit of sugar, he could not help imagining it to be covered with spots of human blood. But, had he added to these cQnsideratipns the wars which we carry on against One anoth^ to take and retake the islands that produce this commodity, he would not have seen the sugar simply spotted with blood, he would have beheld it entirely tinged with it. ^ These wars make the maritime powers of £iir rope, and the inhabitants of Paris and London pay much dearer for their sugar than those of Yiemfaf. fliougli they are almost three hundred leagues dift* tant from* the sea* A pound of sugar, indeedt costs the foilner not only the price which they gifft for it, but also what they pay in taxes, necessary 19. support the fleets and armies which serve to deliandt) and protect the countries that produce it. 1 . M • • - [ .a.»« PART I. MISCELLANIES. 131 INFORMATION TO THOSE WHO WOULD REMOVE TO AMERICA. [Referred U in Private Correspondence, part L Letter to B. Vaughau, Esq. July 26, 1784.] Many persons in Europe having directly or by letters expressed to the writer of this, who is well acquainted with North America, their desire of transporting and establishing themselves in that country ; but who appear to him to have formed, through ignorance, mistaken ideas and expecta- tions of what is to be obtained there ; he thinks it may be useful, and prevent inconvenient, expen- sive, and jfruitless removals and voyages of impro- per persons, if he gives some clearer and truer no- tions of that part of the world than appear to have hitherto prevailed. He finds it is imagined by numbers, that the in- lutbitants of North America are rich, capable of re- winding, and disposed to reward all sorts of inge- nuity ; that they are at the same time ignorant of Ul the sciences ; and consequently that strangers possessing talents in the belles lettres, fine arts, &c. bust be highly esteemed, and so well paid as to become easily rich themselves ; that there are also abundance of profitable offices to be disposed of. Which the natives are not qualified to fill ; and that having few persons of family among them, strangers of birtfi must be greatly respected, and of course easily obtain the best of those offices which will 13^ WRITINGS or BfVMMIN FRANKLIN. make all their fortunes : that the gOTemmeiitB too, to encourage emigrations from Europe, not only pay the expense of personal transportation, but gire lands gratis to strangers with negroes to work fbr them, utensils of husbandry, and stocks of cattle. These are all wild imaginations ; and those wbQ go to America with expectations founded upon Hbtfrn, will surely find themselves disappointed. The truth is, that though there are in that (onii' try few people so miserable as the poor of Ewop^ there are sjso very few that in Europe wodd be called rich : it is rather a genera} happy medioqity that prevails. There are few great proprbtors ^ the soil, and few tenants ; most people cultivate their own lands, or follow some handicraft or me^ chandise ; very few rich ^ough to live idly upoR their rents or incomes, or to pay the hi^ prices given in Europe for paintings, statues, wd the otiier works of art that are mmr^ curious than use^ fill. Qence the natural geniusi^ tfa^t have arisen in America with such talents hxn umversally quitted tiiat country for Europe, whei? tibey cun be more suitably rewarded. It ia tnw that letters wA mathematical knowledge are m ^stsam (h^re, but they are at the same tim^ move qommon than is apprehended; there being abvad^ eidstnig nin^ coU^es or uniTeraitiflB, via, <bmr in New Igpglandf and one in each of the princes of New Yorkt New Jersey, Penpqrlvama» If arybwd. W^ Vipfgi- nia, all fiirniabed witb leaine^ piofessois ; besides r r. micsLLANrEs. 133 nber of maSIa academies. Then educate f of ^ their youth m the languages and thoae ices that qualify men for the professions of ity, hnir, or physic. Strangers are indeed by leans exduded from exercising those profes* \f and the quick increase of inhabitants eferj- ■e gires tliem chance of employ, which they in common with the natives. Of civil offices nployments there are few; no superfluous as in Europe ; and it is a rule established in I of the states, that no office should be so pro- le as to make it desirable. The 36di article B constitution of Pennsyhania runs expressly Bse words : ** As every freeman, to preserve idq)endence, (if he has not a sufficient estate) t to have some profession, calling, trade, or ^ whereby he may honestly subsist, there can !> necessity for, nor use in establidiing, offices ofit; the usual effects ofwhich are dependence servility unbecoming freemen, in the posses- and ^cpectants ; fruition, contention, corrup- and disorder, among the people. military offices, they are at an' end with tUe war, the amiies being disbanded. Much less is it ad- visable for a person to go thither, who has no other quality to recommend him but liis birth. . In Eu- rope indeed it has its value, but it is a commodity that cannot be carried to a worse market than to that of America, where people do not inquire con- cerning a stranger, tVliai is he? but. What canie i>o ? If he has any useful art he is welcome, and if he exercises it and behaves well, he will be re- spected by all that know him ; but a mere man of quality, who on that account wants to live upon the public by some office or salary, will be despised and disregarded. The husbandman is in honor there, and even the mechanic, because their em- ployments are Useful. The people have a saying, that ^^ God Almighty is himself a mechanic, the greatest in the universe, and he is respected and admired more for the variety, ingenuity, and use- fulness of his handyworks, than for the antiquky of his family." They are pleased with the observa- tion of a negro, and frequently mention it, that ** Bpccarorra" (meaning the white men) '^ make de black man workee, make de horse workee, make de ox workee, make ebery ting workee, only de hog. He, de hog, no workee ; he eat, he drink, he walk about about, he go. to sleep when: he please, he libb like a gentleman.'' According to these opinions of the Americans, one of them would think himself.more obliged to a genealc^t PART I. MISCELLANIES. 135 who coald prove for him, that his ancestors and itdations for ten generations had been ploughmen, smiths, carpenters, tmners, weavers, tanners, or even shoemakers, and consequently that they were useful members of society ; than if he could only prove that they were gentlemen, doing nothing of value, but living idly on the labor of others, mere fntges consumere nati/ and otherwise good for wo- thingy till by their death, their estates, like the car- case of the negro's gentleman-hog, come to be cut up. With regard to encouragements for strangers, they are really only what are derived from good laws and liberty. Strangers are welcome because there is room enough for them all, and therefore the oM inhabitants are not jealous of them ; the' laws protect them sufficiently, so that they have no need of the patronage of great men ; and every one will enjoy securely the profits of hisjindustry. But if he does not bring a fortune with him, he must work and be industrious to live. One or two years* residence gives him all the rights of a citizen : but the government does not at present, whatever it may have done in former times, hire people to be- come settlers, by paying their passages, giving lands, negroes, utensils, stock, or any other kind of emolument whatsoever. In short, America is. ' There are a number of us bom. Merely to eat up the com. Watts^ 136 WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. the land of labor, luid by no means what die Eng- lish call Lubberlandf and the French Pn^ de C(h Ofgnef where Hie streets are said to be paved with hitlf-peck loaves^ the houses tiled with pancakes, and wha:^ the fowls fly about ready roasted, cry- mg, come eat me / Who, then, ore the kind of persons to whom an eipigration to America may be advantageous ? and what ar^ the advantages they may reasonably ex- pect? Land being cheap in that country, from the vast Quests ftill void of inhabitoats, and not likely to be occupied in an age to come, insomuch that die prcq^riety of an hundred acres of fertile soil full of woqd may be obtained near the frontiers in mmy plfces £Gar ei^ or ten guineas, hearty yoongiabor- UigpieAf who uiiderstand husbandry of com and cattle, which is nearly the same in that country as in flurope, may easily establish themselves there. A little money s^ved of the good wages they le* eeive there while they work for others, enables tbem to buy the land mid begin their plantation, m which they aie assisted by the good-will of their neighbors and some credit ]M[ultitudes of poor people from England, Ireland* Scotland^ and Ger« nwny, have by thip means in a few years becosie wealthy fermers^ who in their own countries, wheie all the lands ai^ fiilly occupied, and the wages of labor low, could never ha^e emeiged from the mean condition wherein they were horn. PABT I. MI8C£Lt«ANIE8. 1S7 From the salabrity of the air, the henlthniwi of the .climate, the plenty of good prorisions, and die encoaragement to early marriages, by the certainty crfaabaistaice in cultivating the earth, the increase of inhabitants by natural generation is very rapid in America, and becomes more so by the accession pf strangers ; hence there is a continual demand for more artisans of all the necessary and useAd kinds to supply those cultivators of the earth vridi houses and with furniture, and utensils of tiie grosser sorts, vrhich cannot so well be brought firom Europe. Tolerably good workmen in any of those mechanic arts are sure to ftid employ, and to be well paid for their work, there being no ra* Abraints preveating strangers from exerciBing any art fhey understand, nor any permission necessary. If they are poor, they begin first as servants, or joomeymen ; and if they are sober, industrious^ and frugal, they soon become masten, estaUish ttemselves in business, marry, raise fiBaniKes, and become respectable citizens. Lastly, persons of moderate fortunes and ca|ii- tals, who having a nnmbar of children to provide foff are desirous of bringing them up to indortiy, a«d to secure esteles for their posterity, have op- postttiuties of doing it in Amaica, which Em^ope does not afford. There they may be taught md peactise profitably mechanic aits, vrithout incunng dispaqe on that account ; but on the contrary, ae* qpjimf Kespect by siKh abilitiia. Theis small V 138 WRITINGS OF BENJAMlf>f FRANKLIN. capitals laid out in lands, which daily become more valuable by the increase of people, affords a solid prospect of ample fortunes thereafter for those children. The writer of this has known' several large tracts of land bought on what was then the frontier of Pennsylvania, for ten pounds per hundred acres, which, after 20 years, when the settlement had been extended far beyond them, sold readily, without any improvement made upon them, for three pounds per acre. The acre in America is the same with the English acre or the acre of Normandy. Those who desire to understand the state of government in America, would do well to read the Constitutions of the several states, and the Articles of Confederation that bind the whole together for general purposes, under the direction of one assem- bly called the Congress. These Constitutions have been printed by order of Congress in Ame- rica ; two editions of them have also been printed in London, and a good translation of them into French has lately been published at Paris. Several of the princes of Europe having of late years, from an opinion of advantage to arise by producing all commodities and manufactures with- in their own dominions, so as to diminish or render useless their importations, have endeavored to entice workmen from other countries by high sala- ries, privileges^ &c. Many persons pretending to be skilled in various manufactures, imagining that PART U MISCELLiCNIES. 1S9 America must be in want of them, and that Con- gress would probably be disposed to imitate the princes above mentioned, have proposed to go over on condition of having their passages paid, lands given, salaries appointed, exclusive privileges for terms of years, &c. &c. Such persons,^ on reading the Articles of Confederation, will find that the Congress have no power committed to them, or money put into their hands for such puiv poses; and that if any such encouragement is given, it must be- by the government of some sepa- rate state. This however has rarely been done in Ataefica ; and when it has been done it has rarely succeeded, so as to establish a manufacture which the country was not yet so ripe for as to encourage private persons to set it up, labor being generally too dear there and hands difficult to be kept to* gather, every one desiring to be a master, and the cheapness of lands inclining many to leave trades for agriculture. Some indeed have met vrith suc- cess and are carried on with advantage ; but they are generally such as require only a few hands, or wherein great part of the work is performed by machines. ■■ Things that are bulky and of so small value as not well to bear the expense of fireigfat, may often be made cheaper in the country than they can be imported ; and the manufecture of such tilings will be profitable wherever there is a si^cient demand. The farmers in America pro- duce mdeed a- good deal of wool and fiax ; and 140 WRITINGS OP BeNJAMIll FRAHKLIN* none is exported ; it is all worked np ; but it is in Ae way of domestie manu&ctiire far tfie wm of the &mil J. The buying up quontitiei of wool and flax wi^ die design to onploy spinncvs, wearmv kc. And when tiie governments hove been soMcitedte soppoft such schemes by encoun^ements is money, or by imposing duties on importation of anch goods, it has been generally refused, on this principle, that if the country is ripe for the momi- fecture, it may be carried on by private penons to advantage ; and if not, it is a foUy te think of forcing nature. Great establishments of manfiu^ tan laqmre great numbers of poor to do Ae woik far small wages; tiiese poor are to be found in JEhnrope, but will not be found in America, till the bndfei ave all taken up and cultivated, and the SKcero of peojrie who cannot get land want em^ I^oyment The manufacture of silk, tibey say^ is natural in France, aa that of doth in England^ hecauae each conntry produces in jdenty the first matsrial: but if England will have a manufectuie of sBk as well as that of clotii, and France one of dotfi aa well as that of silk, tiieas unnataral opesa^ tkms must be supported by mutual prdiflbikiona^ or U|^ dutiea on the impwtatioft of aadi othai^* FAIT V. MISCXLLANIES. 141 goods, by which mans the workmen are enabled to tax the home consumer by greater prices, while the higher wages they recave makes them neither hiippier nor richer, since they only drink more, and work less. Therefore the govemments in America do nothing to encourage such projects. The people by this means are not imposed on eStfaer by the merchant or mechanic : if the mer- chant demands too much profit on imported shoes, they buy of the shoemaker ; and if he asks too hi^ a price, they take them of the merchant Thus the two profisssions are checks on eadi other. The shoemak», however, has on the whole a considerable profit upon his labor in America^ beyond what he had in Europe, as he can add to Us price a sum nearly equal to all the expense of freight and commission, risk or insurance^ &c necessarily charged by the merchant And the ease is the same with the workmen in every other mechanic art. Hence it is that artisans generally five better and more easily in America than in Europe, and such as are good economists make & comfortable provision for age and for their chilf dren : such may therrfore remove with advantage to America. In the old long settled countries of Europe all arts, trades, profesaons, fiurms, &g. are so fiill, that it is difficult for a poor man who has chSdren, to flaoe th^n where ttiey may gain, or leam to gam % decent livelihood. The artisans who fear crei^ 142 WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. ing future rivals in business, refuse to take appren- ticesy but upon conditions of money, maintenance, and the like, which the parents are miable to com- ply with. Hence the youth are brought up in ignorance of every gainful art, and obliged to be- come soldiers, or servants, or thieves, for a sub- sistence. In America the rapid increase of inha- bitants takes away that fear of rivalship, and ard- sans willingly receive apprentices from the hope of profit by their labor during the remainder of the time stipulated after they shall be instructed. Hence it is easy for poor families to get their children instructed ; for the artisans are' so de- sirous of apprentices, that many of them will even give money to the parents to have boyp from ten to fifteen years of s^e bound apprentices to them till the age of twenty-one ; and many poor parentB have, by that means, on their arrival in the country, raised money enough to buy land sufficient to establish themselves, and to subsist the rest of their family bv aCTiculture. These contracts for apprentices are made before a magistrate, who regulates the agreement according to reason and justice, and having in view the formation of a future usefiil citizen, obliges the master to engagie by a written indenture, not only that during' the time of service stipulated the apprentice shall be duly provided with meat, drink, apparel, washing, and lodging, and at its expiration with a complete new suit of clodies, but also that be shall'be taught PART I. MISCELLANIES. 143 to read, write, and cast accounts, and that he shall be well instructed in the art or profession of his master, or some other, by which he may afterwards gain a livelihood, and be able in his turn to raise a femily. A copy of this indenture is given to the apprentice or his fidends, and the magistrate Iceeps a record of it, to which recourse may be had in case of failure by the master in any' point of per- formance. This desire among the masters to have more hands employed in working for them, in- duces them to pay the passages of young persons, of both sexes, who on their arrival sjgvee to serve them, one, two, three, or four years ; those who have already learnt a trade agreeing for a shorter time, in proportion to their skill and the conse- quent immediate value of their service ; and those who have none, agreeing for a longer term, in con- sideration of being taught an art their poverty would not permit them to acquire in their own country. The almost general mediocrity of fortune that' prevails in America obliging its people to follow some business for subsistence, those vices (hat arise usually from idleness, are in a great measure pre- vented. Industry and constant employment are great preservatives of the morals and virtue of a nation.- Hence bad examples to youth are more rare in -America, which must foe a comfortable consideration to parents. To this may be truly added» that serious religion under its various deno- 144 WEITIVGS or BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. minatioiis, is not only tolerated, bnt respected and practised. Atheism is unknown there, infidelity rare and secret, so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety diocked by meeting with either an atheist, or an infidel. And the Divine Being seems to have ■anifiested his approbation of the mutual forbear- ance and kindness with which the dilferent sedi treat each other, by the remarkable prosperitf with which he has been [leased to fiatvor the wbcle coiurtry. THE INTERNAL STATE OF AMERICA, 1784 ; lOmy^ini t^ hard iimn — and moHvufor beUig tkaml^.] Tbbre is a tradition, that, in the {^anting of New England, the first settiere met with many dttficnlties and hardships ; as is generally the case when a civilised people attempt estaUishing them- sdves in a wilderness country. Being piously disposed, they sought relief firom heaven, by laying dieir wante and distresses before the Lord, in fi^uoit aet days of fitsting and praya*. Constant meditation and discourse on these subjects kept their minds gloomy and discontented ; and, like the chUdren of Israel, there were many disposed to return to that Egypt, which penecotion had induced them to abandon. At kngth, when it was proposed in the assendbly to {Hroclaim another fitft, a fiumer of plain sense rose, and r^nariced. PART I. , MISCELLANIES. 145 that tbe inconTeniencies they sufiered, and con^ caning which they had so often wearied heav^i with their complaints, were not so great as they might' have expected, and were diminishing every day as the colony strengthened; that the earth began to reward their labor, and to furnish liberally for their subsistence.; that the seas and rivers were found full offish, the air sweet, the climate healthy ;' aiMl, above all, that they were there in the full enj^oyment of liberty, civil and religious ; he there- fore thought, that reflecting and conversing on fliese subjects would be more comfortable, as tend- mg more to make them contented with their situa- tion; and that it would be more becoming the gratitude they owed to the Divine Being, if, instead ^afastj thejf should proclaim a thanksgiving. His advice was taken ; and from that day to this they have, in every year, observed circumstances of public felicity sufficient to furnish employment for a Ihanksgiving day ; which is therefore constantly ordered and religiously observed. ' I see in the public newspapers of different states, fiequent complaints of hard times, deadness oftradty seercity of money, ^x. It is not my intention to assert or maintain, that these complaints are entirely without foundation. There can be no country or BOtion existing, in which there will not be some people so circumstanced as to find it hard to gain a livelihood ; people who are not in the way of any phoiilaUe trade, and with whom money is VOL. I. K 146 WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 