expenfive (however flaveholders may reckon) is the labour of flaves, befides the abominable injuftice, the corruption of manners, the danger, and other curfes, which always attend the toleration of flavery! Free labour, therefore, in all new fettlements, ought to be made the ftandard, or medium, whereby to rate the value of all the neceffaries of life, as well as of all articles of commerce in the fettlement: a cow, fheep, or hog, or a bufhel of corn, should each be valued at a proportionable number of days' labour, eftimated at eight hours actual labour per day; and a pig, rabbit or fowl, at fo many hours labour, according to their respective fizes; and for the fractional estimation of smaller articles, the hours may be reduced to minutes, and thereby afford an excellent fubftitute for money as a medium of traffic and exchange, whereon a paper currency may be established, which will

always

always bear an intrinfick value, without diminution, as hereafter explained under the head of Publick Revenue.

The daily commencement of publick labour and of hired labour, and all the neceffary ceffations from labour for reft and refreshment, should be limited to ftated periods of time, rendered uniform and general, throughout the fettlement, by the periodical fummons of a publick bell, as in our dock yards and great manufactories, for the more effectual prevention of impofition by the employer or employed.

By the limitation of labour to eight hours per day, the rateable or legal day's work (inftead of continuing from fix in the morning to fix in the evening, as with us) will end at four in the after+ noon, including two whole hours for neceffary refreshment and reft; unless it

fhould

fhould be thought more convenient in general to begin at five in the morning, and to work three hours till eight, and then, after refting half an hour at breakfaft, to work three hours and an half more till noon, when a moderate and temperate meal, fuitable to the heat of the climate, may be rendered more refreshing and healthful to the labourer by a general feftoo, or fleeping time, during the meridian heat till half past one; which reft of one hour and an half, at one time, will be amply fufficient to recruit them for the remaining burthen of the rateable labour, or legal day's work, viz. one hour and an half more ending at three o'clock in the afternoon, when the evening of the antients commenced, and the appointed hour of even ing facrifice in the patriarchal times. If, therefore, the new fociety would agree to affemble at that hour, in whatever place they shall afterwards appropriate

to

to religious, worship, and there join together in a very short general form of prayer and evening facrifice of thanks (in which, to remove all objections about the value of time, they need not be detained much longer than about five minutes, to express all that may be abfolutely neceffary for every good purpose of prayer and thanksgiving, at leaft as a daily fervice) they will foon be convinced that no human meafure is fo well calculated to add a real dignity to the ordinary labourer, as well with refpect to his own internal improvement, as in the outward esteem and confideration which it will neceffarily infure to him from others by continually reminding the rich and higher ranks of men that the daily labourer is their brother and their equal in the fight of God, and that all men ought to be equally fervants to the fame Lord! I could with that a fhort daily

¡ morning prayer might also be adopted at

nine o'clock, after breakfast, but I propose with diffidence, left publick prayers even only once a day fhould be obtained with difficulty.

As fome of the out lots will be diftant about two miles from the centre of the township, it may perhaps be more expedient to commence the rateable daily labour even half an hour fooner ftill, than I have laft propofed, viz. at half past four in the cool of the morning, whereby all publick labour will end at half paft two in the afternoon, which will allow time for labourers in the diftant lots to repair to the general affembly of the township, at evening prayer. And an officer from every dozen may be ordered to be prepared, by a previous examination, at the publick bank of all the indents in course for each day's labour ; that after being discharged in the publick books, they may be cancelled, and