PUBLIC GOOD, BEING AN EXAMINATION INTO THE CLAIM OF VIRGINIA TO THE VACANT WESTERN TERRITORY, AND OF THE RIGHT OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE SAME: TO WHICH ARE ADDED, PROPOSALS FOR LAYING OFF A NEW STATE, TO BE APPLIED AS A FUND FOR CARRYING ON THE WAR, OR REDEEMING THE NATIONAL DEBT. WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1780

London: Printed by W.T. Sherwin, 1817.. 35pp., including one in-text illustration. Printed on blue-tinted paper. Modern plain blue wrappers, stitched. Light scattered foxing. Near fine. First British edition of Paine's controversial pamphlet, published nearly two decades after the first American edition of 1780. "When Virginia claimed the territory now known as West Virginia for herself, Paine immediately wrote and published [PUBLIC GOOD], in which he argues that the territory, having been won through the joint effort of the thirteen states, should benefit all. Naturally, this did not endear him to Virginia, and later, when the legislature of that state was asked to recompense Paine for his wartime activities, it refused to do so" - Gimbel.

Paine argued that the unsettled west should be "a national fund for the benefit of all," and insisted that his views were not influenced by the fact that he owned 300 shares in the Indiana Company, which stood to profit if Virginia's claims were disallowed. Paine's argument was not solely self- interested, as he continues in PUBLIC GOOD the same arguments for a strong federal union and the warnings against the dangers of state sovereignty that he made in COMMON SENSE. He also calls for the convening of a "Continental convention" to draw up a new federal constitution with a strong central government. He also makes a very early call for a separate West Virginia. Scarce in the trade. GIMBEL 31 (ref). REESE, REVOLUTIONARY HUNDRED 66 (ref).