The Rights of Man Thomas Paine (pdf to ebook reader .txt) 📖

then to be supposed, that a few people fleeing on horseback or in post-chaises, in a secret manner, and having the French Customhouse to pass, and the sea to cross, could bring even a sufficiency for their own expenses?

When millions of money are spoken of, it should be recollected, that such sums can only accumulate in a country by slow degrees, and a long procession of time. The most frugal system that England could now adopt, would not recover in a century the balance she has lost in money since the commencement of the Hanover succession. She is seventy millions behind France, and she must be in some considerable proportion behind every country in Europe, because the returns of the English mint do not show an increase of money, while the registers of Lisbon and Cadiz show a European increase of between three and four hundred millions sterling. ↩

In his Appeal, Burke wrote of himself in the third person. —⁠Conway ↩

American colonial history, as explored since Paine’s time, mars this rosy picture. —⁠Conway ↩

But a custom of lynching loyalists (“tories”), rebuked by Paine, arose, and some parts of America have never recovered from that cowardly kind of lawlessness. —⁠Conway ↩

That part of America which is generally called New England, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, is peopled chiefly by English descendants. In the state of New York about half are Dutch, the rest English, Scotch, and Irish. In New Jersey, a mixture of English and Dutch, with some Scotch and Irish. In Pennsylvania about one third are English, another Germans, and the remainder Scotch and Irish, with some Swedes. The States to the southward have a greater proportion of English than the middle States, but in all of them there is a mixture; and besides those enumerated, there are a considerable number of French, and some few of all the European nations, lying on the coast. The most numerous religious denomination are the Presbyterians; but no one sect is established above another, and all men are equally citizens. ↩

In Le Républicain, Paris, July, 1791, Paine wrote a letter in which he declared monarchy and hereditary succession incompatible with the Declaration of Rights in the new French Constitution. The Abbé Sieyès (Moniteur, July 8,) announced his intention of maintaining the principle of monarchical executive against the new party. Paine accepted the challenge, but Sieyès wrote that he had no leisure to enter into controversy with republican polycrats. See my Life of Paine, I, p. 312. —⁠Conway ↩

For a character of aristocracy, the reader is referred to Rights of Man, Part I., starting at line number 1457. ↩

It was not uncommon in England, when the United States government began, to speak of the President as the President of Congress. —⁠Conway ↩

It had not been made known to the world that Washington had receded from this determination, announced at his inauguration. He received payment like other Presidents. —⁠Conway ↩

Not quite correct as to the United States. The old Congress invited the States to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, appointed the day of meeting, and submitted their work to the several States for ratification. —⁠Conway ↩

This and the three preceding paragraphs were omitted by Paine in his cheap edition (Symonds, 1792) with the following statement: “Here follow, on page 52 of the original edition, four paragraphs. As those paragraphs are put into the information, and will publicly appear with the pleadings thereon, when the prosecution shall be brought to an issue, they are not verbally recited here, except the first of them, which is added in the annexed note, for the purpose of showing the spirit of the prosecuting party, and the sort of matter which has been selected from the work for prosecution.” After the note he adds: “Query: Does the prosecuting party mean to deny that instances of tyranny were acted by the Edwards and Henries? Does he mean to deny that the Stuarts endeavoured to pass the limits which the nation had prescribed? Does he mean to prove it libellous in any person to say that they did?”. —⁠Conway ↩

The whole amount of the assessed taxes of France, for the present year, is three hundred millions of francs, which is twelve millions and a half sterling; and the incidental taxes are estimated at three millions, making in the whole fifteen millions and a half; which among twenty-four millions of people, is not quite thirteen shillings per head. France has lessened her taxes since the revolution, nearly nine millions sterling annually. Before the revolution, the city of Paris paid a duty of upwards of thirty percent on all articles brought into the city. This tax was collected at the city gates. It was taken off on the first of last May, and the gates taken down. ↩

What was called the livre rouge, or the red book, in France, was not exactly similar to the court calendar in England; but it sufficiently showed how a great part of the taxes was lavished. ↩

In England the improvements in agriculture, useful arts, manufactures, and commerce, have been made in opposition to the genius of its government, which is that of following precedents. It is from the enterprise and industry of the individuals, and their numerous associations, in which, tritely speaking, government is neither pillow nor bolster, that these improvements have proceeded. No man thought about government, or who was in, or who was out, when he was planning or executing those things; and all he had to hope, with respect to government, was, that it would let him alone. Three or four very silly ministerial newspapers are continually offending against