It seems generally granted, sir, that such drones are the proper objects of an impress.  Let us then suppose that every man who is willing to serve his country, has laid hold of the reward proposed, and entered a volunteer.  The fleets are not yet sufficiently manned, and more sailors must be procured.  Warrants are issued out in the common form.  The negligent, the imprudent, the necessitous, are taken.  The vigilant, the cunning, and those that have more money, find shelter and escape.  Can it be said, that those whose circumstances, or good fortune, enable them to secure themselves from the officers of the impress, deserve any exemption from the publick service, or from the hardships to which their companions are exposed?  Have they discharged their debt of gratitude to the publick so effectually by running away from its service, that no search ought to be made after them?  It seems evident, that if it was right to seize the one, it is likewise right to pursue the other; and if it be right to pursue him, it is likewise right to hinder him from escaping the pursuers.  It is then right to vest some persons with the power of apprehending him, and in whom is that power to be lodged, but in the civil magistrate?

Every man, sir, is obliged by compulsive methods to serve his country, if he can be prevailed upon by no other.  If any man shall refuse to pay his rates or his taxes, will not his goods be seized by force, and sold before his face?  If any particular methods are proposed for obliging seamen to contribute to the publick safety, it is only because their service is necessary upon more pressing occasions than that of others; upon occasions which do not admit of delay, without the hazard of the whole community.

I must confess, sir, there are instances in which the hardships of the seafaring part of the nation are peculiar, and truly calamitous.  A sailor, after the dangers and toils of a long voyage, when he is now in the sight of the port, where he hopes to enjoy that quiet which he has deserved by so long a series of fatigues, to repair the injuries which his health has suffered, by change of climate, and the diet of the ships, and to recover that strength which incessant vigilance has worn away; when he is in expectation of being received by his family with those caresses, which the succours that he brings them naturally produce, and designs to rest awhile from danger and from care; in the midst of these pleasing views, he is, on the sudden, seized by an impress, and forced into a repetition of all his miseries, without any interval of refreshment.

Let no man who can think without compassion on such a scene as this, boast his zeal for freedom, his regard for bravery, or his gratitude to those who contribute to the wealth and power of their country; let every man who declares himself touched with the pity which the slightest reflection upon such a disappointment must naturally produce, sincerely endeavour to obviate the necessity of such oppressive measures, which may, at least in part, be prevented, by assigning to magistrates the power of hunting out of their retreats, those who neglect the business of their callings, and linger at once in laziness and want.