"of" (as it is phrased), towards the American. neutrals, I trust that the facts stated in the above letter will induce all loyal subjects to doubt the truth of the accusations which these seditious prints are continually preferring against his Majesty's civil and military officers..

END OF NO. 111. OF THE RUSH-LIGHT.

THE

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THE

RUSH-LIGHT.

No. IV.

March 31, 1800.

A Peep into a Republican Court of Justice.

"An Englishman loves liberty, but he loves it not for the sake "of the mere name; he must have something substantial that "results from it; something that he can see and feel: this he "has in the freedom of his person, and the security of his property. An Englishman, therefore, thinks more of his civit "than his political liberty.”

66

REEVES'S THOUGHTS, &C. LET. I.

IN the preceding Numbers of the Rush-Light, I

have given a sketch of the parentage, and of the moral and literary character of Rush; I have detailed the insolent absurdities of his general con duct, and the frightful consequences of his system of depletion; and I have, I trust, most satisfac torily justified the words, for the publication of which the oppressive and unprecedented judgment was given against me, in the city of Philadelphia. Here then I should stop, were my design confined to a defence of my own character, and to the blasting of that of my persecutors. But as I observed in the introduction to the subject, my views extend to far greater utility; and therefore, though the injustice towards myself is already universally acknowledged; though it has excited the indignation of

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of every honest man; though it has roused into action, in my favour, every latent sentiment of friendship, and has, with respect to me, in a great measure extinguished the ardent embers of political hatred; though every wish of a private nature is gratified even to satiety, still the public and the world have on me a claim which it would be a dereliction of duty to resist.

The Narrative of the juridical proceedings in the cause of Rush, furnishes, as I observed before, a series of facts, of which justice to the people of America, justice to foreign nations, and particularly to the deceived and infatuated in my native country, demand an ample exposure. This subject is of some importance to every man who has the slightest notion of real liberty, or the least desire to secure its enjoyment. The character and conduct of Rush, the fatal effects of his medical practice, and the decision against me, are, in different degrees, all matters of private or local consideration; but the proceedings of courts of justice, as they stamp the character of a state, and form the truest criterion of its government, are in some measure interesting to all persons, and in all places. Political liberty is a matter of speculation rather than of interest; it is an imaginary something of meaning undefined, and is, at best, a very distant, if not a very questionable, good. But civil liberty, which is, perhaps, better expressed by the single word justice, is clearly defined and understood, and is ardently beloved by us all; it brings us into contact with the government, the excellence of which it makes us feel: it comes to our homes and our fire-sides; it throws a rampart round our property and a shield before our persons; it is our guide and our help through the day, and our guardian when we lie down to sleep. This is the liberty of which our forefathers were so proud: this is the liberty

which their blood so often flowed to preserve to their children. What degree of this liberty is enjoyed in America, the following narrative will

evince.

The malicious suit of Rush against me was brought in the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, and my first object was, to remove the suit from that Court to the circuit of the United States, a removal which my being an alien gave me a right to demand, but which was, by the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, absolutely refused.

The nature of the Courts of which I have spoken, and the extent of their jurisdiction, are understood by some few persons in America; but as I hope the Rush-Light will be read in Great Britain and Ireland, some little explanation respecting these Courts appears to me to be necessary.

The several States composing those dominions which are known to foreign nations by the title of The United States of America, are so many distinct and independent sovereignties, and not, as is generally imagined in Great Britain, so many counties. or provinces. The State of Pennsylvania, for instance, has its own governor, who is the chief executive magistrate, and whose authority is, in many respects, less limited than that of the King of Great Britain. It has besides its two houses of Legislators, who, with the Governor, make laws for the government of the State, and who are uncontrolled by any other power whatever. In like manner it has its own Judges, who are appointed by the Governor, but without the advice or consent of a privy or other counsel, and without the instrumentality of any ministers, on whom responsibility will attach.

In some of the other States, the power of the Governors is more limited; in that of New-York,

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