Delaware patriot & American watchman. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1828-1828, 1828-05-23
From the Southron.
HONESTY Is THE BEST POLICY.


There is not. perhaps, among mankind, a maj
i'm held in higher repute, and more venerated for
its antiquity, than Honesty is the best policy"
1t has received homage in every language; and
all classes Of men agree in its excellence The
statesman and the farmer, the mechanic and the
man of letters, bear testimony OF its truth. lnhc
pulpit, and in the counting room, it is alike res
pected and admired The poet and the phlo'o
pher contend which shall laud it most Strange
to tell. though millions believe the maxim to b.
excellent. vet few, very few only, follow it and
act accordingly Isolated facts have been, and
may again be, produced, to prove that the houe'
man will succeed against the Vaccinations CT
knayes. But unfortunately. few instances tan
be recorded nova days. For every victory o.
tanned by honesty over fraud, knayery has succee'
ded in obtaining thousands over honesty, with tHis
difference, that the victories oil the former are o.
ways promulged, while those Of the latter arc
concealed. or so adrotly shaded, as to be keps
out Of view. Caesar covered his holiness WIN
Iaures; the rogue. if he cannot cover, gllds 0l'
thetts with the gold they produce; and 1t answers
the same purpose few men hesitate to bow '0a
splendid equipage, whether fraud has been COM
mtted or not, in its acquisition. None refuse Inc
sumptuous banquet, or the sparkling glass, now
ever wei, they know, that it has been wruns v
viany, from the hard earnings of honest lndus''':
The Poet had no need to limit his license, exceP'
for metre:
-" n i.te cheating neper pds SIN,
HI love or war, pyopied that you WIN >, :,
Mankind have long since adopted, and appHel
to the every day transactions of life, the law naA
i'm, and have no objection TO believe every ma" M
nocent until he is judcaly proved guilty. lust
have no i,ea OF attaching ignonny to an sct VIM"
is not followed by an ignominious punishment.
Hence it is, that he who obtains his ne'ehDor srv
perty by false declarations. or advances MS w.
fortune by decciving friend, is held entirely Pu,s
unless he is whipped at the CARTS tail tor tne Wv
offence, or confined in the penitenlary Tor tneo
err. The ply stefan who sacrifices the liie oi sE
tent to the avarlce of his heir, the merchah'
deals by false weights and measures; or tne ~,
err who vends his talents to the highest pluuc',
changes his politics to keep on the strong s"s and
irreproachable 80 long as he can make no'''' III
there is no conviction recorded against nun.
have heard of judge being held high'y
BILE, for advancing the opinion that an HWY hsl|
would have suffered conviction, if his lawyer H a.
not screened him under technical quloos .ssr,
statesman who. by adroit management, can en'V
transfer from the public purse to ms a.sa an
pockets. establishes his reputation Tor 'aen's
ingenuity. The contractor who waiows ~ "s M
may laugh to scorn the poor soldier i'o" sn
has flc6ed it, in the shape Of small ra,'0;. REP
back rations 1t is the man who ialis VII" :.
rotated and he who complains OF being ossl libe
cd by one in whom he has coniidcc, IS HUI, lc
to be scoiFed for his folly than commlse'ra ss.s al
the wrongs he has suffered. The oia ya a"n mako
vice to his son was of the best: "My sun
money" ,,ho mrpoI
To leave individuals for nations. nc lsss bssd
cal founders of this great republic wep'a ''''