confusion, and disposed for both, is small. In the Southern States, he knew there were people well-informed; he disclaimed all design of invidious comparison; the members from the South would be more capable of doing justice to their constituents, but in the Eastern States he was more particularly conversant, and knew the people in them could generally read and write, and were well-informed as to public affairs. In such a country, liberty is likely to be permanent. They are enlightened enough to be free. It is possible to plant it in such a soil, and reasonable to hope that it will take root and flourish long, as we see it does. But can liberty, such as we understand and enjoy, exist in societies where the few only have property, and the many are both ignorant and licentious? Mr. CHRISTIE wished to make an amendment to the paragraph, which he thought would answer the end equally as well as striking it out; if agreeable to the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. PARKER,) he would move to put the word "among" after the word "freest," which would read "the freest and _among_ the most enlightened." He could not say we were the most enlightened, but he did think us the most free; not that he was afraid of offending any nation, but he thought this a more consistent declaration. Mr. SWANWICK said, nobody doubted but we were free and enlightened, but he thought their declaration was no evidence of the truth of it. He thought the last amendment very good, but it would be still better if the gentleman would put the word "among" a little further back, so as to read "among the freest and most enlightened." A pacific disposition could not be proved by any thing so well as treating others with respect as well as ourselves; we may not be exclusively free or enlightened. He hoped it would be thus altered. Mr. CHRISTIE thought we were the freest people in the world; he, therefore, could not agree to the amendment last proposed. Mr. COIT could not say with the gentleman last up, that we were the freest, but he was very willing to agree with the amendment of a gentleman, that we were among the freest and most enlightened; he thought the first amendment much improved by this; he said it removed great part of the difficulty from the minds of many gentlemen; however, he hoped no unnecessary time would be taken up with such trifles. Mr. DAYTON (the Speaker) said, that some of the observations which had been brought into the present debate, were of too delicate a nature to be commented upon or even repeated; he should not, therefore, follow the gentleman who spoke last, in his inquiry, how far this country was exposed to be annoyed by France in the possible, though happily not probable, event of a rupture with France?