534

THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

The expense of their own civil government has always beenvery moderate. It has generally been confined to what wasnecessary for paying competent salaries to the governor, tothe judges, and to some other officers of police, and for main-taining a few of the most useful public works. The expenseof the civil establishment of Massachusetts Bay , before thecommencement of the present disturbances, used to be about18,000/. a year. That of New Hampshire and Rhode Island 3,500/. each. That of Connecticut, 4,000/. That of NewYork and Pennsylvania, 4,500/. each. That of New Jersey 1,200/. That of Virginia and South Carolina 8,000/. each.The civil establishments of Nova Scotia and Georgia arepartly supported by an annual grant of parliament. ButNova Scotia pays, besides, about 7,000/. a year towards thepublic expenses of the colony; and Georgia about 2,500/.a year. All the different civil establishments in North Ame-rica, in short, exclusive of those of Maryland and NorthCarolina , of which no exact account has been got, did not,before the commencement of the present disturbances, costthe inhabitants above 64,700/. a year; an ever-memorableexample at how small an expense three millions of peoplemay not only be governed, but well governed. The mostimportant part of the expense of government, indeed, that ofdefence and protection, has constantly fallen upon the mo-ther country. The ceremonial too of the civil government inthe colonies, upon the reception of a new governor, uponthe opening of a new assembly, &c. though sufficiently de-cent, is not accompanied with any expensive pomp or parade.Their ecclesiastical government is conducted upon a planequally frugal. Tithes are unknown among them; and theirclergy, who are far from being numerous, are maintainedeither by moderate stipends, or by the voluntary contribu-tions of the people. The power of Spain and Portugal , onthe contrary, derives some support from the taxes leviedupon their colonies. France , indeed, has never drawn anyconsiderable revenue from its colonies, the taxes which itlevies upon them being generally spent among them. Butthe colony government ol all these three nations is conductedupon a much more expensive plan, and is accompanied witha much more expensive ceremonial. The sums spent uponthe reception of a new viceroy of Peru , for example, havefrequently been enormous. Such ceremonials are not onlyreal taxes paid by the rich colonists upon those particular