56 UNITED STATES.

them; but it was long ago a vulgar amusement in England and Scotland.

In the remote countries, and among the raftsmen and lumberers, drinking, fighting, swearing, and gambling, are common Vices. The brutal operation of gouging is not, at least at present, often known, although some travellers have most falsely stated, that every fifth man in Kentucky was deprived of an eye in consequence.

It is rather surprising that, in a republic like America, duels should be more frequent than in Europe; but such most certainly is the case.

Among the blemishes which blot the constitution, and affect the national character of the Americans, the frequency of elections is the most prominent. Every second year, the whole country is agitated with politics and the intrigues of party. The inde- cent licentiousness of the press, in particular, seems to have no bounds ; and their newspapers are at these periods truly disgusting. A fair representation is a great blessing, and a mighty bulwark to uphold the liberty of a nation ; but the evils of unlimited univer- sal suffrage are pregnant with formidable dangers to the constitution of the United States. Slavery may be considered another evil which may lead to the subversion of the government; but in this case, the only remedy must be gradual emancipation. No measure could be more cruel to the negroes them- selves than granting them immediate liberty. It would, in fact, be depriving them of subsistence, by