reformation equally useful is now wanted, to relieve us from the
shameful shackles and the oppressive burthen under which we groan;
this perhaps is impossible; but if mankind would not become too
happy, it were an event most devoutly to be wished.

Here, happily, unoppressed with any civil bondage, this society of
fishermen and merchants live, without any military establishments,
without governors or any masters but the laws; and their civil code
is so light, that it is never felt. A man may pass (as many have
done whom I am acquainted with) through the various scenes of a long
life, may struggle against a variety of adverse fortune, peaceably
enjoy the good when it comes, and never in that long interval, apply
to the law either for redress or assistance. The principal benefit
it confers is the general protection of individuals, and this
protection is purchased by the most moderate taxes, which are
cheerfully paid, and by the trifling duties incident in the course
of their lawful trade (for they despise contraband). Nothing can be
more simple than their municipal regulations, though similar to
those of the other counties of the same province; because they are
more detached from the rest, more distinct in their manners, as well
as in the nature of the business they pursue, and more unconnected
with the populous province to which they belong. The same simplicity
attends the worship they pay to the Divinity; their elders are the
only teachers of their congregations, the instructors of their
youth, and often the example of their flock. They visit and comfort
the sick; after death, the society bury them with their fathers,
without pomp, prayers, or ceremonies; not a stone or monument is
erected, to tell where any person was buried; their memory is
preserved by tradition. The only essential memorial that is left of
them, is their former industry, their kindness, their charity, or