rved. No man when he enters into society does it from a view to
promote the good of others, but he does it for his own good. All men
having the same view are bound equally to promote the welfare of the
whole. To recur then to such a principle as that local interests must be
disregarded, is requiring of one man to do more than another, and is
subverting the foundation of a free government. The Philadelphians would
be shocked with a proposition to place the seat of general government and
the unlimited right to regulate trade in the Massachusetts. There can be
no greater reason for our surrendering the preference to them. Such
sacrifices, however we may delude ourselves with the form of words, always
originate in folly, and not in generosity.

Let me now request your attention a little while to the actual state of
publick credit, that we may see whether it has not been as much
misrepresented as the state of our trade.

At the beginning of the present year, the whole continental debt was about
twelve millions of pounds in our money. About one-quarter part of this sum
was due to our foreign creditors. Of these France was the principal, and
called for the arrears of interest. A new loan of one hundred and twenty
thousand pounds was negotiated in Holland, at five per cent., to pay the
arrears due to France. At first sight this has the appearance of bad
economy, and has been used for the villainous purpose of disaffecting the
people. But in the course of this same year, Congress have negotiated the
sale of as much of their western lands on the Ohio and Mississippi, as
amount nearly to the whole sum of the foreign debt; and instead of a dead
loss by borrowing money at five per cent. to the amount of an hundred and
twenty thousand pounds in one sum, they make a saving of the interest at
six per cent. on three millions of their domestick debt, which is an
annual saving of an hundred and eighty thousand pounds. It is easy to see
how such an immense fund as the western territory may be applied to the
payment of the foreign debt. Purchasers of the land would as willingly
procure any kind of the produce of the United States as they would buy
loan office certificates to pay for the land. The produce thus procured
would easily be negotiated for the benefit of our foreign creditors. I do
not mean to insinuate that no other provision should be made for our
creditors, but only to shew that our credit is not so bad in other
countries as has