that an
empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the
sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in
vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that
without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political
building no better than the builders of Babel: we shall be divided by
our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded,
and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future
ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate
instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom, and
leave it to chance, war, and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move,--

That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven and its
blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning
before we proceed to business; and that one or more of the clergy of
this city be requested to officiate in that service.

ON WAR

I agree with you perfectly in your disapprobation of war. Abstracted
from the inhumanity of it, I think it wrong in point of human
prudence; for whatever advantage one nation would obtain from another,
whether it be part of their territory, the liberty of commerce with
them, free passage on their rivers, etc., it would be much cheaper to
purchase such advantage with ready money than to pay the expense of
acquiring it by war. An army is a devouring monster; and when you have
raised it, you have, in order to subsist it, not only the fair charges
of pay, clothing, provisions, arms, and ammunition, with numberless
other contingent and just charges to answer and satisfy, but you have
all the additional knavish charges of the numerous tribe of
contractors to defray, with those of every other dealer who furnishes
the articles wanted for your army, and takes advantage of that want to
demand exorbitant prices. It seems to me that if statesmen had a
little more arithmetic, or were more accustomed to calculation, wars
would be much less frequent. I am confident that Canada might have
been purchased from France for a tenth part of the money England spent
in the conquest of it. And if instead of fighting with us for the
power of taxing us, she had kept us in good humor by allowing us to
dispose of our own money, and now and then giving us a little of hers,
by way of donation to colleges, or hospitals, or for cutting canals,
or fortifying ports, she might have easily drawn fr