and which have been not a little provoked
by the language and conduct of the opponents of the Constitution. The
charge of a conspiracy against the liberties of the people, which has
been indiscriminately brought against the advocates of the plan,
has something in it too wanton and too malignant, not to excite the
indignation of every man who feels in his own bosom a refutation of the
calumny. The perpetual changes which have been rung upon the wealthy,
the well-born, and the great, have been such as to inspire the
disgust of all sensible men. And the unwarrantable concealments and
misrepresentations which have been in various ways practiced to keep
the truth from the public eye, have been of a nature to demand
the reprobation of all honest men. It is not impossible that these
circumstances may have occasionally betrayed me into intemperances of
expression which I did not intend; it is certain that I have frequently
felt a struggle between sensibility and moderation; and if the former
has in some instances prevailed, it must be my excuse that it has been
neither often nor much.

Let us now pause and ask ourselves whether, in the course of these
papers, the proposed Constitution has not been satisfactorily vindicated
from the aspersions thrown upon it; and whether it has not been shown to
be worthy of the public approbation, and necessary to the public safety
and prosperity. Every man is bound to answer these questions to himself,
according to the best of his conscience and understanding, and to act
agreeably to the genuine and sober dictates of his judgment. This is a
duty from which nothing can give him a dispensation. 'T is one that he
is called upon, nay, constrained by all the obligations that form
the bands of society, to discharge sincerely and honestly. No partial
motive, no particular interest, no pride of opinion, no temporary
passion or prejudice, will justify to himself, to his country, or to his
posterity, an improper election of the part he is to act. Let him beware
of an obstinate adherence to party; let him reflect that the object upon
which he is to decide is not a particular interest of the community, but
the very existence of the nation; and let him remember that a majority
of America has already given its sanction to the plan which he is to
approve or reject.

I shall not dissemble that I feel an entire confidence in the arguments
which recommend the proposed system to your adoption, and that I am
un