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CHAPTER IX.
Government & money
The people who were denominated Ohioans were settled on both sides of the river Ohio, & along the various branches of the river. The settlements extended a great distance in the time of Lobaska, but how far it is not mentioned. They lived in compact villages or towns. [We might except the cities Tolanga on the river Sciota & Gamba on the river Kentuck. These various villages or towns formed independent Soveranties, & were governed by their respective chiefs.]
Excepting the cities of Tolanga & Gamba, whose Kings claimed jurisdiction over an extent of country about one hundred & fifty miles along the river Ohio & about the same distance back from the river, the remaining part of this extensive country was settled in compact villages or towns. These formed independent sovereignties & were governed by their respective Chiefs. Frequent bickerings, contentions and wars took place among these Chiefs, which were often attended with pernicious consequences. To remedy these evils & to facilitate & accomplish the great & benevolent plan of reforming & civilizing the Ohioans, Lobaska had formed a system of Government, with a design of establishing two great empires, one on each side of the River Ohio. Their [different] constitutions were on the same plan, & were presented by the hand of Lobaska to the respective Kings of Sciota & Kentuck.
The Sciotan Constitution was comprised in the words. The country east of the great river Ohio shall form the Empire of Sciota. At the head of this empire shall be placed with the title of Emperor Labarmock the oldest son of Lobaska. The office shall be hereditary in the eldest male of his family. He and his sons successively shall marry natives of the kingdom of Sciota, & all their daughters shall marry within their own dominions. He shall have four counsellors. He with the advice of his counsellors shall have the exclusive right of making war & peace & of forming treaties with other nations. He shall be commander in chief of all the forces, & the King of Sciota shall be next to him. All controversies between the rulers of chiefs of the different tribes shall be referred to the decision of him & his counsellors, & he is authorized to compel a compliance. He shall hold his settings annually in four different parts of the empire. The King of Sciota & the chiefs of the different tribes shall hold their offices & exercise the same authority in civil matters that they have done. They shall be amenable to the emperor & his counselors, whose duty it shall be to enquire into all complaints against them from their subjects, & to redress grievances & punish for oppression & injustice by fines. He and his counsellors shall have the exclusive privilege of coining money. They may likewise lay taxes for the support of government & for the defence of the nation. They shall coin no more money than what is necessary for the convenience of the people & in such quantity only that the value shall not depreciate. He shall appoint the officers of his army, except where the chiefs chose to command their own subjects, in that case they shall be subject to the command of the Emperor. The people in every city, town or village shall respectively chose one or more censors, whose duty it shall be to enquire into all mal-conduct of rulers, & all vicious & improper conduct of the priests & the people, & they shall pursue such measures to obtain justice & to produce a reformation of morals in the offenders as the laws shall direct.
In order that the priests & instructors of learning may know and perform their duty for the benefit of civilization, morality & religion, Lambon the third son of Lobaska shall preside over them & shall have the title of High Priest, & the office shall be hereditary in the eldest males of his family successively. There shall be associated with him four priests as his assistants, they shall exercise a jurisdiction over all the priests of the empire & shall see that they faithfully perform the duties of their office. They shall attend to the instructors of learning, & shall direct that a suitable number are provided throughout the empire. It shall likewise be their duty at all suitable times & places to instruct rulers & people in the duties of their respective stations, & to labor incessantly to persuade mankind to subject their passions & appetites under the government of reason, that they may secure happiness to themselves in this life & immortal happiness beyond the grave. The people shall make contributions, in proportion to their wealth for the support of their priests. If any refuse, they shall be denied the privilege of their instructions, & shall be subjected to the ridicule & contempt of the people. For the convenience of the people & for the easy support of the government, it is necessary that there should be something which shall represent property, & which is of small weight. It is therefore provided that certain small pieces of iron stamped in a peculiar manner, shall be this circulating medium, to represent property. Each piece according to its particular stamp shall have a certain value fixed upon it. It shall be the peculiar prerogative of the Emperor & his counselors to direct the coining of these pieces, which shall be denominated money. No more money shall be coined than what will be for the benefit of the empire. Nor shall the Emperor or High Counsellors receive any more of it, than an adequate compensation for their services. They shall keep an account of the amount of money coined annually & the manner in which it has been distributed & expended. This amount shall be submitted to the examination of the King of Siota & the chiefs of the empire. The Emperor shall always be ready to receive the petitions & complaints of his subjects. He shall consult the welfare of his people & save them from oppression & tyranny, & by his beneficent acts shall gain their affection & obtain the appellation of a just, a good & gracious Prince.
When Hadoram king of Sciota had received this plan of government, he immediately assembled all the chiefs or princes within his kingdom Lobaska pointed out the defects of the existing government, & the excellencies of that form which he presented for their acceptance. His reasons could not be resisted, they unanimously agreed to establish it as their constitution of Government. Labamack accepted the office of Emperor, & his four Counsellors were appointed. Lambdon was ordained High Priest & his four assistants chosen. The new government was now put in operation. The various tribes living contiguous to the empire seeing its prosperity solicited the privilege of being received as parts of the empire. Their requests were granted. Improvement & prosperity attended them. This induced other contiguous Tribes to request the same privilege, & others still adjoining them came forward with their petitions, all were granted & the same regulations established in every part. Within about three years from the first establishment of the empire Lobaska had the pleasure of seeing his son reign over a territory of more than four hundred miles in length along the river Ohio, & of beholding a nation rapidly progressing from a state of barbarism, ignorance & wretchedness to a state of civilization knowledge & prosperity.
Having now beheld the happy success of his experiment at Sciota, Lobaska made a second visit to Banbo king of Kentuck. His second son whose name was Hamback was present at the city of Gamba. His youngest son Kato attended him. He made known his plan of revolution to Bambo who cordially acquiesced, & calling together his princes. They unanimously agreed to place Hamback on the throne of the empire south of the Ohio river, & to ordain Kato as their high priest. With the exception of names and places, the Constitution of government was the same as that which the Sciotans adopted. The same measures were pursued to ensure its success. A great & flourishing empire arose, & barbarous tribes connecting themselves with the empire & under the fostering care of the government became civilized wealthy & prosperous.
Thus within the term of twelve years from the arrival of Lobaska at Tolanga, he had the satisfaction of beholding the great & benevolent objects which he had in view accomplished. He still continued his useful labors, & was the great Oracle of both empires. His advise & sentiments were taken upon all important subjects, & no one ventured to controvert his opinions -- He lived to behold the successful experiment of his institutions -- & to see them acquire that strength & firmness as not easily to be overthrown. Having acquired that renown & glory which are beyond the reach of envy & which aspiring ambition would despair of attaining. At the age of eighty he bade an affectionate adieu to two empires & left them to lament in tears his exit.
These two empires continued to progress in their improvements & population & to rival each other in prosperity during the reign of ten successive Emperors on the throne of Sciota. Peace & harmony & a friendly intercourse existed between them. No wars took place to disturb their tranquility except what arose from the surrounding savages, who sometimes disturbed the frontiers in a hostile manner for the sake of gaining plunder. But these attacks were generally repelled & defeated without much loss of blood. They were in fact of such trifling consequence as to make no perceptible impediment to prevent the population, improvement or prosperity of both Empires, & happy thrice happy would it have been for them, if they had still continued to have pursued the amiable & benevolent principles which first marked the commencement & progress of their institutions.
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