Thomas Paine: “Why is it that scarcely any are executed but the poor?”

Whether robbery shall be banished from courts, and wretchedness from countries?

It was become evident, that no constitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be established on anything less than a national ground.

In fine, society performs for itself almost everything which is ascribed to government.

The object is not so much the produce of the tax as the justice of the measure.