They wall bring with them the principles of the governments they leave, imbibed m their early youth; or, if able to throw them off, it will be in exchange for an un- bounded licentioufnefs, paffing, as is ufual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle were they to flop precifely at the point of temperate liberty. Thefe principles, with their language, they wiU t 167 ] ^ tranfmit to their children. In proportion to their numbers, they will Ihare with us the legillation. They will infufe into it their fpirit, warp and bias its direftions, and render it a heterogeneous, incoherent, diftrafted mafs, I may appeal to expe- rience, during the prefent conteft, for a verification of thefe conjectures. But, if they be not certain in event, are they not poffible, are they not probable? Is it not fa- fer to wait with patience 27 years and three months longer, for the attainment of any degree of population defired or expeded?
May not our government be more homo- geneous, more peaceable, more durable?
Suppofe 20 millions of republican Ameri- cans thrown all of a fudden into France, what would be the condition of that king- dom? If it would be more turbulent, lefs happy, lefs ftrong, we may believe that the addition of half a million of foreigners to our prefent numbers would produce a fimilar effedl here. If they come of them- felves, they are entitled to all the rights of citizenOiip: but I doubt the expediency of inviting them by extraordinary encou- ragemeats. I mean not that thefe doubts fliould be extended to the importation of ufeful artificers. The policy of that mea- fure depends on very different confidera- tions. Spare no expence in obtaining them. They will after a while go to the plough and the hoe; but, in the mean time, they will teach us fomething we do not know. It is not fo in agriculture.
The indifferent ftate of that among us does not proceed from a want of know- ledge merely; it is from our having fuch quantities of land to wade as we pleafe.