way or another, & which, under the direction of a wise
Legislature, may be made to subserve their best interests.
The monies raised by lotteries cannot impoverish the
community--as they are not sent abroad, but only taken out of
one pocket and put into another.

* * * * *

There is also in the same paper, of Feb. 25, 1794, another communication,
in which the writer apparently takes an entirely opposite view, and
quotes a letter of Joel Barlow to the National Convention of France, in
which will be found some rather strong language. When one considers the
place where these views appear to have been adopted, and recollects the
horrible scenes of the French Revolution, which were even then being
enacted, one wonders whether the French authorities valued human life as
much as they did property.

ON PUBLIC LOTTERIES.

MR. CUSHING,

AS our Legislature have lately had under consideration a
bill, for granting a Lottery to Harvard College, I beg you
will publish what our countryman, Mr. BARLOW, said on the
subject of Public Lotteries, in his Letter to the National
Convention of France. It is as follows:

"SINCE I am treating of morals, the great object of all
political instructions, I cannot avoid bestowing some remarks
on the subject of PUBLIC LOTTERIES. It is a shocking disgrace
of modern governments, that they are driven to this pitiful
piece of knavery, to draw money from the people. But no
circumstance of this kind is so extraordinary as that this
policy should be continued in France, since the revolution;
and that a state lottery should still be reckoned among the
permanent sources of revenue. It has its origin in deception;
and depends for its support, on _raising and disappointing
the hopes of individuals_--on perpetually agitating the mind
with _unreasonable desires of gain_--on clouding the
understanding with superstitious ideas of _chance,_ _destiny_
and _fate_--on diverting the attention from regular industry,
and promoting a _universal spirit of gambling,_ which carries
all sorts of vices into all classes of people. Whatever way
we look into human affairs, we shall ever find that the bad
organization of society is the cause of more disorders than
could possibly arise from the natural temper of the heart.
And what shall we say of a gov