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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 28936. (Evans-TCP ; no. N21960) Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 28936) Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 28936) The spirit of despotism. [Eight lines of quotations] Knox, Vicesimus, 1752-1821. [ix], [1], 342, [2] p. ; 18 cm. (12mo) London: printed in the year 1795. Philadelphia: re-printed by Lang and Ustick, for selves and Mathew Carey., [Philadelphia] : Nov. 28, MDCCXCV. [1795] Attributed to Knox in the Dictionary of national biography. Error in paging: p. 265 misnumbered 165.

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eng Despotism. 2009-03 Assigned for keying and markup 2009-03 Keyed and coded from Readex/Newsbank page images 2010-04 Sampled and proofread 2010-04 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2011-06 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

THE SPIRIT OF DESPOTISM.

DIVITIAS COMITATUR LUXUS, et LUXUS exit in TYRANNIDEM.—Riches are attended with Luxury, and Luxury ends in Deſpotiſm.

ERASMUS.

Ex regum immoderatâ libidine unjuſta bella temerè plerumquè ſuſcipiuntur, ſceleratè geruntur, turpitèr deponuntur.—In conſequence of the Spirit of Deſpotiſm among Kings and Grandees, unjuſt wars are, for the moſt part, raſhly undertaken, wickedly conducted, and, after all, abandoned with defeat and diſgrace.

BUCHANAN.

LONDON: PRINTED IN THE YEAR 1795. PHILADELPHIA: RE-PRINTED BY LANG AND USTICK, FOR SELVES AND MATHEW CAREY. NOV. 28, MDCCXCV.

PREFACE.

THE heart is deceitful above all things; who can know it? As far as I know my own, it feels an anxious deſire to ſerve my fellow-creatures, during the ſhort period of my continuance among them, by ſtopping the effuſion of human blood, by diminiſhing or ſoftening the miſeries which man creates for himſelf, by promoting peace and by endeavoring to ſecure and extend civil liberty.

I attribute war, and moſt of the artificial evils of life, to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm, a rank poiſonous weed, which grows and flouriſhes even in the ſoil of liberty, when over-run with corruption. I have attempted to eradicate it, that the ſalutary and pleaſant plants may have room to ſtrike root and expand their foliage.

There is one circumſtance which induces me to think that, in this inſtance, my heart does not deceive me. I am certain, that in attempting to promote the general happineſs of man, without ſerving any party, or paying court to any individual, I am not ſtudying my own intereſt. On the contrary, I am well aware that my very ſubject muſt give offence to thoſe who are poſſeſſed of power and patronage. I have no perſonal enmities, and therefore am truly concerned that I could not treat the Spirit of Deſpotiſm, without advancing opinions that muſt diſpleaſe the nominal great. I certainly ſacrifice all view of perſonal advantage to what appears to me the public good; and flatter myſelf that this alone evinces the purity of my motive.

Men of feeling and good minds, whoſe hearts, as the phraſe is, lie in the right place, will, I think, agree with me in moſt points; eſpecially when a little time, and the events, now taking place, ſhall have diſſipated the miſt of paſſion and prejudice. Hard-hearted, proud worldlings, who love themſelves only, and know no good but money and pageantry, will ſcarcely agree with me in any. They will be angry; but, conſiſtently with their general haughtineſs, affect contempt to hide their choler.

I pretend not to aſpire at the honor of martyrdom: yet ſome inconveniences I am ready to bear patiently, in promoting a cauſe which deeply concerns the whole of the preſent race, and ages yet unborn. I am ready to bear patiently the proud man's contumely, the inſult of rude ignorance, the ſarcaſm of malice, the hired cenſure of the ſycophantic critic, (whoſe preferment depends on the proſtitution both of knowledge and conſcience,) and the virulence of the venal newſpaper. It would be a diſgrace to an honeſt man not to incur the abuſe of thoſe who have ſold their integrity and abilities to the enemies of their country and the human race. Strike, but hear, ſaid a noble ancient. Truth will ultimately prevail, even though he who uttered i ſhould be deſtroyed. Columbus was deſpiſed, rejected, perſecuted; but America was diſcovered. Men very inconſiderable in the eye of pride, have had the honor to diſcover, divulge, and diſſeminate doctrines that have promoted the liberty and happineſs of the human race. All that was rich and great, in the common acceptation of that epithet, combined againſt Luther; yet when pontiffs, kings, and lords had diſplayed an impotent rage, and ſunk into that oblivion which their perſonal inſignificance naturally led to, Luther prevailed, and his glory is immortal. He broke the chain of ſuperſtition, and weakened the bonds of deſpotiſm.

I have frequently, and from the firſt commencement of our preſent unfortunate and diſgraceful hoſtilities, lifted up my voice—a feeble one indeed—againſt war, that great promoter of deſpotiſm; and while I have liberty to write, I will write for liberty. I plead weakly, indeed, but ſincerely, the cauſe of mankind; and on them, under GOD, I rely for protection againſt that mercileſs SPIRIT which I attempt to explode.

CONTENTS. Sect. I. INTRODUCTORY. Page 1 Sect. II. Oriental Manners, and the Ideas imbibed in Youth, both in the Weſt and Eaſt Indies, favorable to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 13 Sect. III. Certain Circumſtances in Education which promote the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 21 Sect. IV. Corruption of Manners has a natural Tendency to promote the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 28 Sect. V. An Abhorrence of Deſpotiſm, and an ardent love of Liberty, perfectly conſiſtent with Order and Tranquillity; and the natural conſequence of well-informed Underſtandings and benevolent Diſpoſitions. Page 34 Sect. VI. On the Venality of the Preſs under the Influence of the deſpotic Spirit, and its Effects in diffuſing that Spirit. Page 41 Sect. VII. The faſhionable Invectives againſt Philoſophy and Reaſon, a Proof of the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 48 Sect. VIII. Of Loyalty, and certain miſtaken Ideas of it. Page 55 Sect. IX. On taking Advantage of popular Commotions, accidental Exceſſes, and foreign Revolutions, to extend Prerogative and Power, and encroach on the Liberties of the People. Page 62 Sect. X. When Human Life is held cheap, it is a ſymptom of a prevailing Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 72 Sect. XI. Indifference of the Middle and Lower Claſſes of the People to public Affairs, highly favorable to the Encroachments of the Tory Principle, and therefore to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page 79 Sect. XII. The deſpotic Spirit is inclined to diſcourage Commerce, as unfavorable to its Purpoſes. Page 88 Sect. XIII. The Spirit of Deſpotiſm diſplaying itſelf in private Life, and proceeding thence to avail itſelf of the Church and the Military. Page 96 Sect. XIV. The Deſpotic Spirit inclined to avail itſelf of Spies, Informers, falſe Witneſſes, pretended Conſpiracies, and ſelf-intereſted Aſſociations affecting Patriotiſm. Page. 111 Sect. XV. The Manners of Tory Courtiers, and of thoſe who ape them, as People of Faſhion, inconſiſtent with Manlineſs, Truth, and Honeſty; and their Prevalence injurious to a Free Conſtitution, and the Happineſs of Human Nature. Page. 119 Sect. XVI. The Spirit of Truth, Liberty, and Virtue, public as well as private, chiefly to be found in the middle Ranks of the People. Page. 131 Sect. XVII. On debauching the Minds of the riſing Generation and a whole People, by giving them military Notions in a free and commercial Country. Page. 139 Sect. XVIII. Levity, Effeminacy, Ignorance, and Want of Principle in private Life, inimical to all public Virtue, and favorable to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm. Page. 146 Sect. XIX. Certain Paſſages in Dr. Brown's "Eſtimate," which deſerve the ſerious Conſideration of all who oppoſe the Subverſion of a free Conſtitution by Corruption of Manners and Principles, and by undue influence. Page. 154 Sect. XX. On ſeveral Subjects ſuggeſted by Lord Melcombe's "Diary;" particularly the practice of bartering the Cure of Souls for the Corruption of Parliament. Page. 162 Sect. XXI. On chooſing rich Men, with Parts, Spirit, or Liberality, as Repreſentatives in the National Council. Page. 170 Sect. XXII. Of the Deſpotic Influence of great Merchants over their Subalterns, of Cuſtomers over their Tradeſmen, and rich trading Companies over their various Dependents, in compelling them to vote for court Candidates for Seats in Parliament, merely to ſerve private intereſt, without the ſmalleſt Regard for public Liberty and Happineſs, or the Fitneſs or Unfitneſs of the Candidate. Page. 177 Sect. XXIII. Of the Pageantry of Life; that it originates in the Spirit of Deſpotiſm; and contributes to it, without advancing private any more than public Felicity. Page. 185 Sect. XXIV. Inſolence of the higher Orders to the middle Ranks and the Poor; with their affected Condeſcenſion, in certain Circumſtances, to the loweſt of the People. Page. 193 Sect. XXV. Of a Natural Ariſtocracy. Page. 201 Sect. XXVI. The exceſſive Love of Diſtinction and Power which prevails wherever the Spirit of Deſpotiſm exiſts, deadens ſome of the fineſt Feelings of the Heart, and counteracts the Laws of Nature. Page. 209 Sect. XXVII. On the Opinion that the People are annihilated or abſorbed in Parliament; that the Voice of the People is no where to be heard but in Parliament; and on ſimilar Doctrines, tending to depreciate the People. Page. 216 Sect. XXVIII. The Faſhionable Contempt thrown on Mr. Locke, and his Writings in Favor of Liberty; and on other Authors and Books eſpouſing the ſame Cauſe. Page. 224 Sect. XXIX. Of the Deſpotiſm of Influence; while the Forms of a free Conſtitution are preſerved. Page. 232 Sect. XXX. The Spirit of Deſpotiſm delights in War or ſyſtematic Murder. Page. 240 Sect. XXXI. On the Idea that we have arrived at Perfection in Politics, though all other Sciences are in a progreſſive State. Page. 249 Sect. XXXII. On Political Ethics; their chief Object is to throw Power into the Hands of the worſt Part of Mankind, and to render Government an Inſtitution calculated to enrich and aggrandize a few, at the Expence of the Liberty, Property, and Lives of the many. Page. 256 Sect. XXXIII. On trafficking with the Cure of Souls (Cura Animarum) for the Purpoſes of political, i. e. moral Corruption. Page. 263 Sect. XXXIV. Of Mr. Hume's Idea, That abſolute Menarchy is the eaſieſt Death, the true Euthanaſia of the Britiſh Conſtitution. Page. 271 Sect. XXXV. The Permiſſion of Lawyers by Profeſſion, aſpiring at Honors in the Gift of the Crown, to have the greateſt Influence in the Legiſlature, a Circumſtance unſavorable to Liberty. Page. 278 Sect. XXXVI. Poverty, when not entreme, favorable to all Virtue, public and private, and conſequently to the Happineſs of Human Nature; and enormous Riches, without Virtue, the general Bane. Page. 285 Sect. XXXVII. On the natural Tendency of making Judges and Crown Lawyers, Peers; of tranſlating Biſhops, and annexing Preferments to Biſhopricks, in, what is called, commendam. Page. 292 Sect. XXXVIII. That all Oppoſition to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm ſhould be conducted with the moſt ſerupulous Regard to the exiſting Laws, and to the Preſervation of public Peace and good Order. Page. 304 Sect. XXXIX. The Chriſtian Religion favorable to Civil Liberty, and likewiſe to Equality, rightly underſtood. Page. 311 Sect. XL. The Pride which produces the Spirit of Deſpotiſm conſpicuous even on the Tombſtone. It might be treated with total Neglect, if it did not tend to the Oppreſſion of the Poor, and to Bloodſhed and Plunder. Page. 319 Sect. XLI. CONCLUSION.
THE Spirit of Deſpotiſm.
SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY.

MAN, in a ſtate of ſimplicity, uncorrupted by the influence of bad education, bad examples, and bad government, poſſeſſes a taſte for all that is good and beautiful. He is capable of a degree of moral and intellectual improvement, which advances his nature to a participation with the divine. The world, in all its magnificence, appears to him one vaſt theatre, richly adorned and illuminated, into which he is freely admitted, to enjoy the glorious ſpectacle. Acknowledging no natural ſuperior but the great architect of the whole fabric, he partakes the delight with conſcious dignity, and glows with gratitude. Pleaſed with himſelf and all around him, his heart dilates with benevolence, as well as piety; and he finds his joys augmented by communication. His countenance cheerful, his mien erect, he rejoices in exiſtence. Life is a continual feaſt to him, highly ſeaſoned by virtue, by liberty, by mutual affection. God formed him to be happy, and he becomes ſo, thus fortunately unmoleſted by falſe policy and oppreſſion. Religion, reaſon, nature, are his guides through the whole of his exiſtence, and the whole is happy. VIRTUOUS INDEPENDENCE, the ſun, which irradiates the morning of his day, and warms its noon, tinges the ſerene evening with every beautiful variety of color, and, on the pillow of religious hope, he ſinks to repoſe in the boſom of Providence.

But where is man to be found, thus noble, thus innocent, thus happy? Not, indeed, in ſo many parts of the terraqueous globe as he ought to be; but ſtill he is to be found wherever the rights of nature and the virtues of ſimplicity are not violated or baniſhed by the falſe refinements, the baſe artifices of corrupted government.

Unhappily for man, ſociety has been almoſt univerſally corrupted, even by the arts intended for its improvement; and human nature is gradually depraved in its very progreſs to civilization. Metamorphoſed by the tampering of unſkilful or diſhoneſt politicians, and the craft of intereſted prieſts, co-operating with politicians, MAN at preſent appears, in many countries, a diminutive and diſtorted animal, compared with what he was in his primaeval ſtate. He is become the dwarf and the cripple of courts and cities inſtead of the well-formed, beautiful, creature, who once bounded, in the glory of health and ſtrength, over the foreſt and the mountain, glowing with the warmth of virtue, and breathing the ſpirit of independence.

Various are the cauſes which contribute to the factitious depravity of man. Defective and erroneous education corrupts him; the prevalent examples of a degenerate community corrupt him; but bad government corrupts him more than all other cauſes combined. The grand adverſary of human virtue and happineſs is DESPOTISM. Look over the ſurface of the whole earth, and behold man, the glory and deputed lord of the creation, withering under the influence of deſpotiſm, like the plant of temperate climes ſcorched by the ſun of a torrid zone. The leaf is ſickly, the bloſſom dares not expand its beauty, and no fruit arrives at its juſt ſize and maturity.

Turkey, Italy, Aegypt! how changed from what ye were when inhabited by antient Greeks, Romans, Aegyptians! Nature, indeed, ſtill ſmiles upon them with unaltered favor. The blue mantle of the ſkies is ſtill ſpread over them in all its luminous magnificence. There is no reaſon to ſuppoſe the earth leſs fertile. The corn laughs in the vallies. The tree aſpires to Heaven with all its original verdure and majeſty. But MAN decays; withered, ſhrunk, enervated; a form without ſpirit, an animal leſs happy than the beaſts of the field, and more ignoble, inaſmuch as degeneracy is baſer than native, original, created inferiority. Fallen with the columnar ruins of better times, over which, in theſe countries, he often tramples, MAN himſelf appears little better than a ruin, diſplaying all the deformity of the mouldering pile, with ſcarcely any veſtige of its former magnificence. It would equally contradict philoſophy and experience to attribute this moral degeneracy to the decay of nature's vigor. There is no reaſon to conclude that the natural faculties of men who inhabit countries once free, but now enſlaved, are produced in a ſtate of leſs perfection at this hour, than in the days of their illuſtrious forefathers. Anatomy diſcovers no defect in the fibres of the heart or the brain; yet the degeneracy remains unconteſted. In truth, government has counteracted the beneficence of nature. The MEN are fallen; while the human figures, with their internal and external organization, continue ſimilar, or the ſame. They are inactive and pufillanimous. They aſpire at no extraordinary excellence or achievements; but crouch beneath their deſpot, glad of the poor privilege allowed them by a fellow-creature, as weak and more wicked than themſelves, to eat, drink, ſleep and die. Any pre-eminent degree of merit among them would render the diſtinguiſhed poſſeſſor of it fatally illuſtrious, the certain object of a tyrant's vengeance; and they find their beſt ſecurity in their want of virtue. By a voluntary ſubmiſſion to contempt, they retain and tranſmit the privilege of breathing, and build the bulwark of their ſafety on their perſonal inſignificance.

FEAR muſt, of neceſſity, become the predominant paſſion in all countries ſubject to the uncontrolled dominion of an individual and his miniſters: but fear chills the blood, and freezes the faculties. Under its icy influence there can ariſe no generous emulation, no daring ſpirit of adventure. Enterprize is conſidered as dangerous, not merely from the general caſuality of all human affairs, but becauſe it excites notice, and alarms the jealouſy of felfiſh power. Under a deſpotic government, to ſteal through life unobſerved, to creep, with timid caution, through the vale of obſcurity, is the firſt wiſdom; and to be ſuffered to die in old age, without the priſon, the chain, the dagger, or the poiſoned bowl, the higheſt pitch of human felicity.

IGNORANCE of the groſſeſt kind, ignorance of man's nature and rights, ignorance of all that tends to make and keep us happy, diſgraces and renders wretched more tha half the earth, at this moment, in conſequence of its ſubjugation to deſpotic power. Ignorance, robed in imperial purple, with Pride and Crucity by her ſide, ſways an iron ſcepter over more than one hemiſphere. In the fineſt and largeſt regions of this planet which we inhabit, are no liberal purſuits and profeſſions, no contemplative delights, nothing of that pure, intellectual employment which raiſes man from the mire of ſenſuality and fordid care, to a degree of excellence and dignity, which we conceive to be angelic and celeſtial. Without knowledge or the means of obtaining it, without exerciſe or excitements, the mind falls into a ſtate of infantine imbecility and dotage; or acquires a low cunning, intent only on ſelfiſh and mean purſuits, ſuch as is viſible in the more ignoble of the irrational creatures, in foxes, apes, and monkies. Among nations ſo corrupted, the utmoſt effort of genius is a court intrigue or a miniſterial cabal.

A degradation of the underſtanding, like this, is uſually accompanied with depravity of heart. From an inability to find pleaſure and honorable employment in the energies of thought, in noble and virtuous action, in refined converſation, in arts, in commerce in learning, ariſes a miſchievous activity in trifles, a perverſion of nature, a wantonneſs of wickedneſs, productive of flagitious habits, which render the partaker of reaſon the moſt deſpicable and deteſtable animal in the whole circle of exiſtence. Thus ſunk under the preſſure of deſpotiſm, who can recognize, notwithſtanding the human ſhape they bear, the lineal deſcendants of Aegyptian, Grecian, Roman worthies, the glory of their times, the luminaries of their own country and the world, the inſtructors and benefactors of human nature? Thus the image of the Deity, ſtamped on man at his creation, is defiled or utterly effaced by government, inſtituted and exerciſed by man over his fellow-man; and his kindred to Heaven is known no more by the divine reſemblance. A bad government is therefore the curſe of the earth, the ſcourge of man, the grand obſtacle to the divine will, the moſt copious ſource of all moral evil, and for that reaſon, of all miſery; but of bad governments, none are comparable, in their miſchievous effects, to the deſpotic.

But if deſpotiſm in its extreme produces conſequences thus malignant, reaſon will infer, and experience will juſtify the inference, that all the ſubordinate degrees of deſpotiſm are proportionally deſtructive. However it may be diſguiſed by forms, it is ever ſeeking its own encreaſe and aggrandizement, by openly cruſhing, or ſecretly undermining, the fabric of liberty: it is ever encroaching on the privileges and enjoyments of thoſe who are ſubjected to it; greedily, though fooliſhly, wiſhing to engroſs every good of every kind in this ſublunary ſtate, except the good of virtue.

POWER, though limited by written laws, in the hands of mortal men, poorly educated, and ſurrounded by ſycophants and flatterers, who wiſh, by partaking the power, to partake alſo of its profits and diſtinctions, and thus gratify at once their pride and avarice, is always endeavoring to extend itſelf beyond the limitations; and requires to be watched with the moſt jealous eye, by all who are ſubject to it, and to be reſtrained within its bounds, by the manlieſt efforts, and the moſt determined reſolution of virtue. Every engine of artifice and terror will be uſed to ſuppreſs ſuch virtue: but the friend of man and of his country will defy perſecution, fines, impriſonment, and death, in attempting, by every lawful and rational means, to puſh back the gigantic ſtrides of encroaching deſpotiſm, more deſtructive of happineſs than an earthquake or a peſtilence. A country deſerves no love, when it ceaſes to be a country of liberty. Human beings conſtitute a country, not a ſoil in a certain latitude; and an attachment to liberty is the trueſt loyalty.

It is therefore highly expedient, whenever a people, free by law and conſtitution, appear in the ſmalleſt degree to remit their attention to the preſervation of freedom, to urge them, by the moſt ſerious admonition, to an immediate reſumption of their vigilance. While they ſlumber and ſleep, lulled by the Circèan cup of corruption, the enemy is awake, and buſily making his inſidious approaches to the citadel. Every inch of ground, they careleſsly relinquiſh, is eagerly ſeized by the covetous poſſeſſor of dominion; the love of which, like the love of money, increaſes by acceſſion. Nor are there ever wanting numbers of artful men who ſtimulate a weak or a wicked prince in his encroachments; ſenſible as they are, that their own power and privileges will be augmented with thoſe of the prince, whoſe excluſive favor they have gained by ſycophantic arts and by co-operation in the fallacious ſervice of enlarging his prerogative. The more the power of the prince is augmented, the greater will be the emoluments, the more brilliant the diſtinctions of the courtier. A ſtar ſhines with higher luſtre, a ribband diſplays a brighter hue, a title ſoothes the ear with ſweeter muſic, when conferred by a mighty potentate far exalted above vulgar control, and who holds his crown in contempt of his people. If kings can be once elevated to the rank of Heaven's vicegerents, how muſt admiring plebeians idolize their choice favors and their prime favorites? There is always, therefore, a ſet of men (to whom pomp and vanity are the chief good) who are continually endeavoring to add glory and greatneſs to the orb from which they derive their own luſtre. Moons and ſatellites would ſhine faintly indeed, unleſs the ſun of the ſyſtem glittered with intolerable effulgence. If the ſun were ſhorn of its beams, their native opaqueneſs would paſs without notice.

So many advantages do the profeſſors of power enjoy for its extenſion, in all countries where courts have influence, that the people, however great their numbers, are ſcarcely a match for its ſubtle contrivances, its falſe alarms, its bribes, its ſpies, its informers, its conſtructive treaſons, its military force, its ſuperſtitious terrors, invented and diffuſed by a policy, which often laughs in ſecret at the religion which it enforces with ſolemn hypocriſy. A court has an opportunity of gratifying, in a thouſand different ways, both ſecretly and openly, the moſt prevalent and violent paſſions of human nature. When the maſs of the people are artfully ſeduced to throw their weight into the ſame ſcale with the court, liberty in the other muſt kick the beam. When the ariſtocracy of rank and riches unite hand in hand, to ſeduce the people, the deluſion may for a time be ſucceſsful, and advantages may be taken, during the temporary delirium, to rifle the caſtle of liberty, to weaken its foundations, to break down its battlements, or to lull its watchmen aſleep with a powerful opiate.

It has indeed been ſaid in antient times, and often repeated, that if the people will be deceived, let them be deceived; but they have no choice, no chance to eſcape deception, unleſs the truth be fairly and publicly exhibited to them, and their minds duly enlightened. When duſt is thrown into their eyes, more eſpecially gold duſt, the political opthalmiſt muſt honeſtly endeavor to clear away the obſtruction. It becomes every lover of his country, eſpecially a country like England, where even the throne itſelf is fixed on liberty as on a corner ſtone, to warn his countrymen of the danger, wherever he obſerves the ſmalleſt encroachment on their rights, and the ſpirit of the times tending but remotely to deſpotiſm.

If there be a time, in which the ſenate of a free country has declared that the influence of the crown has increaſed, is increaſing, and ought to be diminiſhed; and if, inſtead of a conſequent diminution, there be an evident increaſe of that influence; if acts, like the habeas corpus, highly favourable to liberty, be ſuſpended without neceſſity; if unconſtitutional benevolences be encouraged; if places and penſions be multiplied; if juries be cenſured by great men for honeſt verdicts in favor of freedom; if endeavours be made reſtrain the preſs by ſycophantic aſſociations; if ſpies and informers be kept in pay for the purpoſe of proſecuting innocent men who eſpouſe the cauſe of their country; if the preſs be hired to calumniate both liberty and the people; if wars, neither juſt nor neceſſary, be undertaken to divert the public mind from domeſtic reformation; if a party prevail by artifice, who hate the name of liberty, who are continually employed in aggrandizing monarchy, ariſtocracy, and in depreciating the people; in ſuch a time, and in ſuch a conjuncture, it becomes every honeſt man, not yet drawn into the whirlpool of political corruption, to warn his fellow-citizens againſt an encroaching ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

In the following pages, I offer ſome ſuggeſtions on the ſubject. I have indeed few qualifications for the taſk beſides ſincerity, an earneſt deſire to promote public and private happineſs, and an independence of ſpirit; but theſe I certainly have, and profeſs to maintain. I wiſh the riſing generation may be awakened, and learn to place a due value on the liberty handed down to them by their anceſtors. I would inſpire them with a generoſity of mind, which ſhould ſcorn diſſimulation; which ſhould neither practice the arts of corruption, nor become their dupe. I am deſirous of diſcrediting the whole ſyſtem of corruption, and of rendering all civil government fair, juſt, open, and honorable. All government, founded on inſincerity and injuſtice, debaſes the morals and injures the happineſs, while it infringes on the civil rights of the people. I wiſh to revive in the people a due ſenſe of their native and conſtitutional importance. I endeavour, in this book, to plead the cauſe of man; firmly convinced that the cauſe of man is the cauſe of GOD.

SECTION II. Oriental Manners, and the Ideas imbibed in Youth, both in the Weſt and Eaſt Indies, favorable to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

THE foundations of the fair fabric of liberty in Europe were laid in ages when there was but little intercourſe, commercial or political, with the remote countries of Aſia and America. A hardy race, in ungenial climates, with nerves •• rung by the northern 〈◊〉 though little refined by knowledge, felt in an early age, the ſentiments of manly virtue, and ſpurned the baſeneſs of ſlavery. Luxury had not emaſculated their minds; and they threw off, with native elaſticity, the burden of unjuſt dominion. While they ſubmitted with graceful acquieſcence, to all lawful authority, eſtabliſhed by their own conſent, for the general good; they preſerved a noble conſciouſneſs of native dignity, and maintained a perſonal grandeur, a proud independence, a greatneſs unindebted to the morbid tumor of rank and riches.

In later times the facility of navigation and the improvements of ſcience have brought into cloſe connexion the extremes of the habitable globe. The aſperity of manners which ſometimes diſgraced the virtues of our forefathers, has indeed been ſoftened by various and conſtant intercourſe; the manly ſpirit has exchanged ferocity for gentleneſs, and rendered the energetic character conſiſtent with the amiable. It was a happy change; for why ſhould manly virtue aſſume a forbidding aſpect, and loſe the recommendation of engaging manners, the happineſs of loving and being loved, while it commands, by deſerving, cordial reverence?

But from the intercourſe of England with the Eaſt and Weſt Indies, it is to be feared that ſomething of a more ſervile ſpirit has been derived, than was known among thoſe who eſtabliſhed the free conſtitutions of Europe, and tha would have been adopted, or patiently borne, in ages of virtuous ſimplicity.

A very numerous part of our countrymen ſpend their moſt ſuſceptible age, in thoſe countries, where deſpotic manners remarkably prevail. They are themſelves, when ••• eſted with office, treated by the natives with an idolatrous degree of reverence, which teaches them to expect a ſimilar ſubmiſſion to their will, on their return to their own country. They have been accuſtomed to look up to perſonages greatly their ſuperiors in rank and riches, with awe; and to look down on their inferiors in property, with ſupreme contempt, as ſlaves of their will, and miniſters of their luxury. Equal laws, and equal liberty at home, appear to them ſaucy claims of the poor and vulgar, which tend to diveſt riches of one of the greateſt charms, overbearing dominion.

We do indeed import gorgeous ſilks and luſcious ſweets from the Indies, but we import, at the ſame time, the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, which adds deformity to the purple robe, and bitterneſs to the honied beverage.

The vaſſals of the feudal times, it is true, were abject ſlaves; but their ſlavery was freedom compared to the ſlavery of the negro. They were not driven by the whip to work in a torrid zone. They were not wanted to adminiſter to perſonal luxury; for perſonal luxury did not exiſt. But the negro is rendered a two-legged beaſt of burden; and looks up to the infant ſon of his lord, as to a ſuperior being, whom he is bound to obey, however vicious, whimſical, or cruel the command. Cradled in deſpotiſm, the young planter comes to England for education, and brings with him the early impreſſions, which a few years reſidence in the land of freedom can ſeldom obliterate. He returns; grows rich by the labor of ſlaves, over whom, for the ſake of perſonal ſafety, the moſt arbitrary government is exerciſed, and then perhaps retires to England to ſpend his age and acquirements in the capital, the ſeat of pleaſure, the theatre of commercial ſplendor and courtly magnificence. He mixes much in ſociety, and inevitably communicates his ideas, which have now taken deep root, on the neceſſity of keeping the vulgar in a ſtate of depreſſion, and ſtrengthening the hands of the rich and the powerful. In the virtuous ſtruggles of the lower and middle ranks for conſtitutional liberty, is it likely that he ſhould join the conteſt, on the ſide of the people? Is it not moſt probable, that he will throw all his weight, which, conſidering the weight of money, is often great, in oppoſition to the popul •• ſide? A long ſucceſſion of ſuch men, perſonally reſpectable, but, from peculiar circumſtances, favoring the extenſion of power, and diſpoſed by habits and principles ſucked in with the mother's milk, to repel the claims of their inferiors, muſt contribute greatly to diffuſe, in a free country, the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

That oriental manners are unfavorable to liberty, is, I believe, univerſally conceded. The natives of the Eaſt Indies •• ertain not the idea of independence. They treat the Europeans, who go among them to 〈◊〉 their riches, with a reſpect ſimilar to the abject ſubmiſſion which they pay to their native deſpots. Young men, who in England ſcarcely poſſeſſed the rank of the gentry, are waited upon in India, with more attentive ſervility than is paid or required in many courts of Europe. Kings of England ſeldom aſſume the ſtate enjoyed by an Eaſt India governor, or even by ſubordinate officers.

Enriched at an early age, the adventurer returns to England. His property admits him to the higher circles of faſhionable life. He aims at rivalling or exceeding all the old nobility in the ſplendor of his manſions, the finery of his carriages, the number of his liveried train, the profuſion of his table, in every unmanly indulgence, which an empty vanity can covet, and a full purſe, procure. Such a man, when he looks from the window of his ſuperb manſion, and ſees the people paſs, cannot endure the idea, that they are of as much conſequence as himſelf, in the eye of the law; and that he dares not inſult or oppreſs the unfortunate being who rakes his kennel, or ſweeps his chimney. He muſt wiſh to increaſe the power of the rich and great, that the ſaucy vulgar may be kept at a due diſtance, that they may know their ſtation, and ſubmit their necks to the foot of pride.

The property of ſuch a man will give him great weight in parliamentary elections. He probably purchaſes a borough. He ſides with the court party on all queſtions; and is a great ſtickler for the extenſion of prerogative. In his neighbourhood, and as a voter for repreſentatives, he uſes all his intereſt in ſupporting ſuch men as are likely to promote his views of aggrandizing the great, among whom he hopes to be aſſociated, and in depreſſing the little, whom he deſpiſes and ſhuns. Having money ſufficient, his preſent object is a title. This he knows can only come from the poſſeſſors of power, to whom, therefore, he pays ſuch a ſubmiſſion as he has ſeen paid to himſelf in India by oriental ſlaves. His whole conduct tends to increaſe the influence of riches, from which alone, he is conſcious, he derives his own importance. What is his eloquence? What his learning? What his beneficence to mankind? Little; perhaps none. But his eſtate is large, his houſe large, his park large, his manors many, his equipage, on a birth-day, the moſt ſplendid in St. James's-ſtreet. Long-Acre gives him a paſſport to court favor. With a feat in the houſe, and an unrivalled equipage and manſion, he deems himſelf juſtly entitled to be made, in due time, a baronet at leaſt, if not an hereditary law-giver of his country.

By a conſtantly ſucceſſive influx of ſuch men from the eaſtern climes, furniſhed with the means of corruption, and inclined to promote arbitrary principles of government, it cannot be doubted, that much is contributed to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. Who among them would not add to the maſs of that power and ſplendor, to poſſeſs a large ſhare of which has been the firſt object of a life ſpent in unceaſing cares, at the riſque of health, and in a torrid zone?

And what is left to oppoſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm thus animated in its progreſs by enormous opulence? Is it the virtue of the honeſt country gentleman, who lives on his eſtate, poſſeſſing nothing and hoping nothing from the favor of courts? Is it the independence of the middle and lower ranks, too numerous to be bribed either by gifts or expectations? Both, it is to be feared, will be too ſlow in their oppoſition to the gigantic monſter, if not too feeble. They will not often riſque their repoſe in a dangerous conteſt with opulence and power. They ſtand in awe of the ſword and the law; which, in bad times, have been equally uſed as inſtruments of injuſtice. Contented with the enjoyment of plenty, or the amuſements of rural ſports, they ſink into a ſtate of indifference to public affairs, and thus leave the field open to thoſe who have no right to occupy it at all, much leſs excluſively.

Thus the community becomes divided into two deſcriptions of men; the corruptors and the indifferent; thoſe who ſeek wealth and honors without virtue, and thoſe who ſeek only their own eaſe regardleſs of the public.

This indifference is ſcarcely leſs culpable than corruption. It muſt be laid aſide. The independent country gentleman, ſeconded by the people, is the character, on whom liberty muſt rely, as on her firmeſt ſupporter, againſt the incurſion of oriental pride. Let him preſerve his independence by frugality. Let him beware of emulating either the oriental or occidental upſtart, in expences which he cannot equal, without diminiſhing his patrimony and loſing his independence. Let him cultivate every ſocial virtue, reſide on his eſtate, and become popular by exhibiting ſuperior excellence both of heart and underſtanding. He will then do right to offer himſelf a candidate in his vicinity for a ſeat in the ſenate; becauſe, as a ſenator, he will gain a power to act with effect againſt the increaſing weight of corrupt influence. The truly WHIG PARTY, the lovers of liberty and the people, is not only the moſt favorable to human happineſs, but certainly moſt congenial to the conſtitution of England, and ought to be ſtrengthened by the junction of all independent men, lovers of peace, liberty, and human nature.

The TORY AND JACOBITE SPIRIT, under other more plauſible names, is ſtill alive, and has encreaſed of late. All who have a juſt idea of the Britiſh conſtitution, and of the value of liberty, will oppoſe it, by cultivating manlineſs of ſpirit, by illuminating the minds of the people, and by inſpiring them with a regard to truth, juſtice, and independence, together with a love of order and of peace, both internal and external.

SECTION III. Certain Circumſtances in Education which promote the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

MANY who have ariſen to high elevation of rank or fortune, ſeem to think that their nature has undergone a real metamorphoſis; that they are refined by a kind of chemical proceſs, ſublimed by the ſunſhine of royal favor, and ſeparated from the faeces, the droſs and the dregs of ordinary humanity; that humanity, of which the maſs of mankind partake, and which, imperfect as it is, God created. They ſeem to themſelves raiſed to a pinnacle; from which they behold, with ſentiments of indifference or contempt, all two-legged and unfeathered beings of inferior order, placed in the vale, as miniſters of their pride, and ſlaves of their luxury, or elſe burdens of the earth, and ſuperfluous ſharers of exiſtence.

The great endeavor of their lives, never employed in the eſſential ſervice of ſociety, is to keep the vulgar at a diſtance, leſt their own purer nature ſhould be contaminated by the foul contagion. Their offspring muſt be taught, in the firſt inſtance, to know and revere, not God, not man, but their own rank in life. The infants are ſcarcely ſuffered to breath the common air, to feel the common ſun, or to walk upon the common earth. Immured in nurſeries till the time for inſtruction arrives, they are then ſurrounded by a variety of domeſtic tutors. And what is the firſt object in their education? Is it the improvement of their minds, the acquiſition of manly ſentiment, uſeful knowledge, expanded ideas, piety, philanthropy? No; it is the embelliſhment of their perſons, an accurate attention to dreſs, to their teeth, to grace in dancing, attitude in ſtanding, uprightneſs, not the uprightneſs of the heart, but the formal and unnatural perpendicularity of a ſoldier drilled on the parade. If a maſter of learned languages and philoſophy be admitted at all, he feels himſelf in leſs eſtimation with the family than the dancing-maſter; and if poſſeſſed of the ſpirit, which the nature of his ſtudies has a tendency to inſpire, he will ſoon depart from a houſe, where he is conſidered in the light of an upper ſervant, paid leſs wages, and ſubjected to the caprice of the child, whom he ought to control with the natural authority of ſuperior wiſdom. To aſſume over his pupil the rights of that natural ſuperiority, would be to oppoſe the favorite ideas of the family, that all real pre-eminence is founded on birth, fortune, and court favor. The firſt object with the pupil, and the laſt, the leſſon to be got by heart, and to be repeated by night and by day, is an adequate conception of his own native conſequence, a diſpoſition to extend the influence of rank and riches, and to depreſs and diſcourage the natural tendency of perſonal merit to riſe to diſtinction by its own elaſtic force.

If the boy be allowed to go to any ſchool at all, which is not always deemed prudent, becauſe ſchools in general have a few plebeians who raiſe themſelves there, to ſome degree of ſuperiority, by merit only, it is only to ſchools which faſhion recommends, which abound with titled perſons, and where the expences are ſo great, as to keep ingenious poverty, or even mediocrity of fortune, at a reſpectful diſtance. Here he is inſtructed to form connexions with his ſuperiors. The principle point is to acquire the haughty air of nobility. Learning and virtue may be added, if peradventure they come eaſily; but the formation of connexions, and the aſſumption of inſolence, is indiſpenſable. To promote this purpoſe, pocket-money is beſtowed on the pupil with a laviſh hand by his parents, and all his couſins who court his favor. He muſt ſhew his conſequence, and be outdone by no lord of them all, in the profuſion of his expences, in the variety of his pleaſures, and, if his great companions ſhould happen to be vicious, in the enormity of his vice. Inſults and injuries may be ſhown to poor people who attend the ſchool, or live near it, as marks of preſent ſpirit and future heroiſm. A little money makes a full compenſation, and the glorious actions, on one ſide, and the puſillanimous acquieſcence under it, on the other, evinces the great doctrine, that the poor are by nature creatures of other mold, earth-born perhaps, and made for the paſtime of thoſe who have had the good fortune to be born to opulence or title. The maſters themſelves are to be kept in due order by the illuſtrious pupils, or a rebellion may enſue. Such an event indeed is ſometimes devoutly wiſhed, as it affords opportunities for embryo heroes to ſhew their proweſs and their noble pride. Every ebullition of ſpirits, as it is candidly called, diſplaying itſelf in inſolence or ill-uſage of the inferior ranks, defenceleſs old men or women, and the poor in general, is remembered and cheriſhed with care, as a flattering prognoſtic of future eminence in the cabinet, the ſenate, at the bar, or in the field. Juſtice, generoſity, humility, are words indeed in the dictionary, and may adorn a declamation; but inſolence, extravagance, and pride, muſt mark the conduct of thoſe who are ſent, rather to ſupport the dignity of native grandeur by the ſpirit of arrogance, than to ſeek wiſdom and virtue with the docility of modeſt and ingenuous diſciples. Practical oppreſſion of inferiors is one of the firſt elements of ariſtocratical education; and the order of Faggs (as they are called) contributes much to familiarize the exerciſe of future deſpotiſm. Mean ſubmiſſions prepare the mind, in its turn, to tyrannize.

Let us now ſuppoſe the ſtripling grown too tall for ſchool, and entered at an univerſity. The Engliſh univerſities are admirably well adapted to flatter the pride of wealth and title. There is a dreſs for the diſtinction of the higher orders extremely pleaſing to ariſtocratical vanity. In the world at large the dreſs of all gentlemen is ſo ſimilar, that nothing is left to point out thoſe who think themſelves of a ſuperior order; unleſs indeed they ride in their coaches, and exhibit their ſplendid liveries behind, and armorial enſigns on the ſides; but at Oxford, they never walk the ſtreets, on the commoneſt occaſions, without diſplaying their proud pre-eminence by gowns of ſilk and tufts of gold.

As noblemen, or gentlemen commoners, they not only enjoy the privilege of ſplendid veſtments, but of neglecting, if they pleaſe, both learning and religion. They are not required, like vulgar ſcholars, to attend regularly to the inſtruction, or to the diſcipline of the colleges; and they are allowed a frequent abſence from daily prayer. They are thus taught to believe, that a ſilken gown and a velvet cap are ſubſtitutes for knowledge; and that the rank of gentlemen commoners diſpenſes with the neceſſity of that devotion which others are compelled to profeſs in the college chapels. High privileges theſe! and they uſually fill thoſe who enjoy them with that attachment to rank, which leads directly to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. They are flattered in the ſeats of wiſdom, where ſcience and liberality are ſuppoſed to dwell, with an idea of ſome inherent virtue in mere rank, independently of merit; and after having learned a leſſon ſo pleaſing to ſelf-love and idleneſs, they go out into the world with confidence, fully reſolved to practice the proud theories they have imbibed, and to demand reſpect without endeavoring to deſerve it.

Without public or private virtue, and without even the deſire of it; without knowledge, and without even a thirſt for it; many of them, on leaving college, enliſt under the banners of the miniſter for the time being, or in a ſelf-intereſted oppoſition to him, and boldly ſtand forth candidates to repreſent boroughs and counties, on the ſtrength of ariſtocratical influence. Though they appear to aſk favors of the people, they pay no reſpect to the people, but rely on rank, riches, and powerful connections. Ever inclined to favor and promote the old principles of jacobitiſm, toryiſm, and unlimited prerogative, they hope to be rewarded by places, penſions, titles; and then to trample on the wretches by whoſe venal votes they roſe to eminence.

The ideas acquired and cheriſhed at ſchool and at the univerſity, are confirmed in the world by aſſociation with perſons of a ſimilar turn, with Oriental adventurers, with periſioners and courtiers, with all who, ſunk in the frivolity of a diſſipated, vain, and uſeleſs life, are glad to find a ſuccedaneum for every real virtue, in the privileges of titular honor, in ſplendid equipage, in luxurious tables, in magnificent houſes, in all that gives diſtinction without merit, and notoriety without excellence. Their number and their influence increaſe by an union of ſimilar views and principles; and a formidable phalanx is formed againſt thoſe liberties, for which the moſt virtuous part of mankind have lived and died. Under the auſpices of multitudes, thus corrupted and united, it is not to be wondered, that the ſpirit of deſpotiſm ſhould increaſe. Deſpotiſm is indeed an Aſiatic plant; but brought over by thoſe who have long lived in Aſia, and nurſed in a hot-houſe with indefatigable care, it is found to vegetate, bloom, and bear fruit, even in our cold, ungenial climate.

It might then be worthy a wiſe legiſlator to reform the modes of education, to explode the effeminacy of private and ſuperſicial nurture, to promote an equality of rank in ſchools and univerſities, and to ſuffer, in the immature age, no other diſtinctions than thoſe, which may be adjudged by grave and virtuous inſtructors, to diſtinguiſhed improvement, exemplary conduct, goodneſs of heart, and a regard to the happineſs of inferiors.

The conſtitution of England is founded on liberty, and the people are warmly attached to liberty; then why is it ever in danger, and why is a conſtant ſtruggle neceſſary to preſerve it uninfringed? Many cauſes combine, and perhaps none is more operative than a corrupt education, in which pride is nouriſhed at the tendereſt period, and the poſſeſſion or expectation of wealth and civil honors is tacitly repreſented, even in the ſchools of virtue, as ſuperſeding the neceſſity of perſonal excellence.

SECTION IV. Corruption of Manners has a natural Tendency to promote the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

WHEN man ceaſes to venerate virtue in himſelf, he ſoon loſes all ſenſe of moral beauty in the human ſpecies. His taſte becomes groſs; and he learns to conſider all that is good and great, as the illuſion of ſimple minds, the unſubſtantial phantom of a young imagination. Extreme ſelfiſhneſs is his ruling principle, and he is far from ſcrupulous in following its dictates. Luxury, vanity, avarice, are his characteriſtics. Ambition indeed takes its turn; yet, not that noble ambition, which ſeeks praiſe and honors by deſerving them, but the low ſpirit of intrigue and cunning, which teaches to ſecure high appointments, titular diſtinctions, or whatever elſe can flatter avarice and pride, by petty ſtratagem, unmanly compliance, the violation of truth and conſiſtency, and at laſt the ſacrifice of a country's intereſt and ſafety.

In nations enriched by commerce, and among families loaded with opulence by the avarice of their forefarthers, the mere wantonneſs of unbounded plenty will occaſion a corruption of manners, dangerous to all that renders ſociety happy, but favorable to the deſpotic principle. Pleaſure of the meaneſt kind will be the firſt and the laſt purſuit. Splendor, external ſhow, the oſtentation of riches, will be deemed objects of prime conſequence. A COURT will be the place of exhibition; not of great merits, but of fine garments, graceful attitudes, and guady equipages, every frivolous diſtinction, which boldly claims the notice due to virtue, and aſſumes the dignity which public ſervices ought ſolely to appropriate.

The mind of man, ſtill wanting in the midſt of external abundance, an object in futurity; and ſatiated, even to lothing, with the continual banquet of plenty, longs to add titular honors, or official importance, to the poſſeſſion of ſuperfluous property. But theſe, if they mean any thing, are naturally the rewards of virtuous and uſeful exertion; and ſuch exertion is incompatible with the habitual indolence, the ignorance, the diſſipation, the vice of exorbitant wealth, gained only by mean avarice, and expended in enjoyments that degrade, while they enervate. Men, diſtinguiſhed by riches only, poſſeſs not, amidſt all their acquirements, the proper price that ſhould purchaſe civil diſtinctions, if they were diſpoſed of only to merit. There they are bankrupts. They have no claims on ſociety; for their purpoſes have been ſelfiſh, and their conduct injurious: yet the diſtinctions muſt be obtained, or they ſicken in the midſt of health, and ſtarve, though ſurrounded with plenty. How then ſhall they be obtained? They muſt be bought with money; but how bought? Not directly, not in the market-place, not at public ſale. But is there a borough hitherto anti-miniſterial, and to convert which from the error of its ways, a very expenſive election muſt be engaged in? The ambitious aſpirant at honors is ready with his purſe. By money he triumphs over oppoſition, and adds the weight of his wealth to miniſterial preponderance. He aſſiſts others in the ſame noble and generous ſervices of his country. Though covetous, he perſeveres, regardleſs of expence, and at laſt richly merits, from his patron, the glittering bauble which hung on high, and led him patiently through thoſe dark and dirty paths which terminate in the temple of proſtituted honor. His brilliant ſucceſs excites others to tread in his ſteps with eager emulation; and though many fail of the glorious prize, yet all contribute, in the ſelfiſh purſuit, to increaſe and to diffuſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

Men deſtitute of perſonal merit, and unrecommended by the plea of public ſervices, can never obtain illuſtrious honors, where the people poſſeſs a due ſhare of power, where liberty flouriſhes, unblighted by corruption; and therefore ſuch men will ever be oppoſed to the people, and determined enemies to liberty. The atmoſphere of liberty is too pure and defecated for their lungs to inhale. Gentles and other vermin can exiſt only in filth and putrefaction. Such animals, if they poſſeſſed reaſon, would therefore endeavor to contaminate every healthy climate, to deſtroy the vital ſalubrity of the liberal air, and diffuſe corruption with ſyſtematic induſtry. Are there not political phaenomena, which would almoſt juſtify a belief in the exiſtence of ſuch animals in the human form; and is not mankind intereſted, as they value their health, in impeding the progreſs of infectious pollution?

Corruption does not operate, in the increaſe of the deſpotic ſpirit, on the higheſt orders only, and the aſpirants at political diſtinction and conſequence, but alſo on the crouded ranks of commercial life. In a great and rich nation, an immenſe quantity and variety of articles is ever wanted to ſupply the army and the navy. No cuſtomers are ſo valuable as the public. The pay is ſure and liberal, the demand enormous, and a very ſcrupulous vigilance againſt fraud and extortion ſeldom maintained with rigid uniformity. Happy the mercantile men who can procure a contract! The hope of it will cauſe an obſequious acquieſcence in the meaſures of the ruling miniſter. But it happens that ſuch acquieſcence, in ſuch men, is peculiarly dangerous, in a commercial country, to the cauſe of freedom. The mercantile orders conſtitute corporate bodies, rich, powerful, influential; they therefore have great weight in elections. Juries are chiefly choſen from mercantile life. 〈◊〉 ſtate trials, miniſters are anxious to obtain verdicts favorable to their retention of emolument and place. If the hope of contracts and other doncours ſhould ever overcome the ſanctity of oaths, in an age when religion has loſt much of its influence, then will the firmeſt pillar of freedom be undermined, and courts of juſtice become mere regiſters of miniſterial edicts. Th •• both ſenatorial and judicial proceedings will be vitiated by the ſame means: and LIBERTY left to deplore a declining cauſe, while CORRUPTION laughs from a Lord Mayor's coach, as ſhe rides in triumph to Court, to preſent, on her knees, the addreſs of ſycophancy.

When the public mind is ſo debauched as to conſider titles and money as the chief good of man, weighed with which honeſty and conſcience are but as duſt in the balance, can it be ſuppoſed that a due reverence will be paid to the obſolete parclaments of a magna char a, to bills of rights, or to revolutions which baniſhed the principles of the Stuarts, together with their families, which broke their deſpotiſm in pieces together with their ſceptres, and trampled their pride under foot with their crowns and robes of purple? The prevalence of corruption can call back to life the race of jacobites and ories, and place on the throne of liberty, an imaginatory Stuart. It was not the perſon, but the principles which rendered the old family deteſtable to a people who deſerved liberty, becauſe they dared to claim it. The revival of thoſe principles might render a ſucceſſor, •• ough crowned by Liberty herſelf, equally deteſtable.

To avoid ſuch principles, the corruption that infallibly leads to them muſt be repelle . The people ſhould be tinctured with philoſophy and religion; and learn, under their divine inſtruction, not to conſider titular diſtinction and enormous riches as the chief good, and indiſpenſably requiſite to the happineſs of life. A noble ſpirit of perſonal virtue ſhould be encouraged in the riſing race. They ſhould be taught to ſeek and find reſources in themſelves, in an honeſt independence, in the poſſeſſion of knowledge, in conſcious integrity, in manlineſs of ſentiment, in contemplation and ſtudy, in every thing which adds vigor to the nerves of the mind, and teaches it to deem all honors diſgraceful, and all profits vile, which accrue, as the reward of baſe compliance, and of a daſtardly deſertion from the upright ſtandard of truth, the unſpotted banner of juſtice.

SECTION V. An Abhorrence of Deſpotiſm and an ardent Love of Liberty perfectly conſiſtent with Order and Tranquillity; and the natural Conſequence of well-informed Underſtandings and benevolent Diſpoſitions.

THOSE who are poſſeſſed of exorbitant power, who pant for its extenſion, and tremble at the apprehenſion of loſing it, are always ſufficiently artful to dwell with emphaſis, on the evils of licentiouſneſs; under which opprobrious name, they wiſh to ſtigmatize liberty. They deſcribe the horrors of anarchy and confuſion, in the blackeſt colors; and boldly affirm, that they are the neceſſary conſequences of entruſting the people with power. Indeed, they hardly condeſcend to recognize the idea of a PEOPLE; but whenever they ſpeak of the maſs of the community, denominate them the mob, the rabble, or the ſwiniſh multitude. Language is at a loſs for appellatives, ſignificant of their contempt for thoſe, who are undiſtinguiſhed by wealth or titles, and is obliged to content itſelf with ſuch words as reptiles, ſcum, dregs, or the many-headed monſter.

Man, that noble animal, formed with powers capable of the ſublimeſt virtues, poſſeſſed of reaſon, and tremulouſly alive to every finer feeling, is degraded by his fellow man, when dreſt in a little brief authority, to a rank below that of the beaſts of the field; for the beaſts of the field are not treated with epithets of contumely, but regarded with a degree of eſteem. The proud grandee views the horſes in his ſtable and the dogs in his kennel with affection, pampers them with food, lodges them in habitations, not only commodious, but luxurious; and, at the ſame time, deſpiſes his fellow-creatures, ſcarcely fed, wretchedly cloathed, and barely ſheltered in the neighboring cottage. And if this fellow-creature dares to remonſtrate, his complaint is contumacy and ſedition, and his endeavor to meliorate his own ſtate and that of his peers, by the moſt lawful means, downright treaſon and rebellion.

Villainous oppreſſion on one hand, and on the other, contemptible ſubmiſſion! If ſuch acquieſcence, under the moſt iniquitous inequality; ſuch wretchedneſs, without the privilege of complaint, is the peace, the order, and the tranquillity of deſpotiſm; then peace, order, and tranquillity change their nature, and become the curſe and bane of human nature. Welcome, in compariſon, all the feuds, animoſities, and revolutions attributed to a ſtate of freedom; for they are ſymptoms of life and robuſt health, while the repoſe of deſpotiſm is the deadneſs of a palſy. Life, active, enterpriſing life, with all its tumult, diſaſter, and diſappointment, is to be preferred to the ſilence of death, the ſtillneſs of deſolation.

But I deny that a love of liberty, or a ſtate of liberty, is of neceſſity productive of injurious or fatal diſorder. I preſuppoſe that the minds of the people, even the loweſt of the people, are duly enlightened; that the ſavageneſs of groſs ignorance is mitigated by culture; by that culture, which all well-regulated ſtates are ſolicitous to beſtow on every partaker of the rational faculty.

In a ſtate of liberty, every man learns to value himſelf as man; to conſider himſelf as of importance in the ſyſtem which himſelf has approved and contributed to eſtabliſh; and therefore reſolves to regulate his own behaviour conſiſtently with its ſafety and preſervation. He feels as a proprietor, not as a tenant. He loves the ſtate becauſe he participates in it. His obedience is not the cold reluctant reſult of terror; but the lively, cheerful, and ſpontaneous effect of love. The violation of laws, formed on the pure principle of general beneficence, and to which he has given his full aſſent, by a juſt and perfect repreſentation, he conſiders as a crime of the deepeſt die. He will think freely, and ſpeak freely, of the conſtitution. He will inceſſantly endeavor to improve it; and enter ſeriouſly into all political debate. In the colliſion of agitated minds, ſparks will ſometimes be emitted; but they will only give a favorable light and a genial warmth. They will never produce an injurious conflagration.

What employment, in the buſy ſcene in which man engages from the cradle to the tomb, is more worthy of him than political diſcuſſion? It affords a field for intellectual energy, and all the fineſt feelings of benevolence. It exerciſes and ſtrengthens every faculty. It calls forth latent virtues, which elſe had ſlept in the boſom, like the diamond in the mine. And is this employment, thus uſeful and honorable, to be confined to a few among the race of mortals? Is there to be a monopoly of political action and ſpeculation? Why then did Heaven beſtow reaſon and ſpeech, powers of activity, and a ſpirit of enterprize, in as great perfection on the loweſt among the people, as on thoſe who, by no merit of their own, inherit wealth and high ſtation? Heaven has declared its will by its acts. Man contravenes it; but time, and the progreſſive improvement of the underſtanding, will reduce the anomaly to its natural rectitude. And if a few irregularities ſhould ſometimes ariſe in the proceſs, they are of no importance when weighed with the happy reſult; the return of diſtorted ſyſtems to truth, to reaſon, and the will of God. Occaſional ferments, with all their inconveniences, are infinitely preferable to the putreſcence of ſtagnation. They are ſymptoms of health and vigor; and though they may be attended with tranſient pain, yet while they continue to appear at intervals, there is no danger of mortification. Good hearts, accompanied with good underſtandings, ſeldom produce, even where miſtaken, laſting evil. They repair and compenſate.

But I repent that the people ſhould be enlightened, in every rank, the higheſt as well as the loweſt, to render them capable of perfect liberty, without danger of thoſe evils which its enemies are always aſſerting to be its unavoidable conſequences. The vulgar muſt be inſtructed not merely in the arts which tend to the acquiſition, increaſe and preſervation of money, but in a generous philoſophy. They muſt be liberalized. They muſt early learn to view human life and ſociety in their juſt light; to conſider themſelves as eſſential parts of a whole, the integrity of which is deſirable to every component member. Their taſte will improve with their underſtanding; and they will ſee the beauty of order, while they are convinced of its utility. Thus principled by virtue, and illuminated with knowledge, they will eagerly return, after every deviation, which even a warmth of virtue may cauſe, to regular obedience, and to all the functions of citizens; valuing the public peace and proſperity, becauſe they underſtand clearly that the public happineſs is intimately combined with their own. They may infringe laws, from the imperfection of their nature; but they will return to their obedience without force; having been convinced that no laws are made, but ſuch as are neceſſary to their well-being in ſociety. They will conſider laws, not as chains and fetters, but as helmets and ſhields for their protection. The light of the underſtanding will correct the eccentricities of the heart; and all deviations, however rapid at their commencement, will be ſhort in extent and tranſitory in duration.

Such would be the effect of enlightening the people with political knowledge, and enlarging their minds by pure philoſophy. But what ſay the deſpots? Like the tyrannical ſon of Philip, when he reprimanded Ariſtotle for publiſhing his Diſcoveries, they whiſper to their myrmidons, "Let us diffuſe darkneſs round the land 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , darken your doctrines, ſaid the deſpot Alexander, to the great philoſopher.. Let the people be kept in a brutal ſtate. Let their conduct, when aſſembled, be riotous and irrational as ignorance and our SPIES can make it, that they may be brought into diſcredit, and deemed unfit for the management of their own affairs. Let power be rendered dangerous in their hands, that it may continue unmoleſted in our own. Let them not taſte the fruit of the tree of knowledge, leſt they become as we are, and learn to know good and evil."

That ſuch are the ſentiments of the men who wiſh for the extenſion of royaliſm and the depreſſion of the people, is evident from the uneaſineſs they have ſhewn at all benevolent attempts to diffuſe knowledge among the poor. They have expreſſed, in terms of anger and mortification, their diſlike of Sunday ſchools. The very newſpapers which they have engaged in the ſervice of falſehood and toryiſm, have endeavored to diſcountenance, by malignant paragraphs, the progreſs of thoſe patriotic inſtitutions. Scribblers of books and pamphlets, in the ſame vile cauſe, have intimated their apprehenſions that the poor may learn to read political books in learning to read their Bible; and that the reading of political books muſt unavoidably produce diſcontent. A wretched compliment to the cauſe which they mean to defend! It is impoſſible not to infer from their apprehenſions, that as men increaſe in underſtanding and knowledge, they muſt ſee reaſon to diſapprove the ſyſtems eſtabliſhed. Theſe men breathe the very ſpirit of deſpotiſm, and wiſh to communicate it. But their conduct, in this inſtance, is an argument againſt the ſpirit which they endeavor to diffuſe. Their conduct ſeems to ſay, The ſpirit of deſpotiſm is ſo unreaſonable, that it can never be approved by the maſs of the people, when their reaſon is ſuffered to receive its proper cultivation. Their conduct ſeems to ſay, Let there be light, and the deformity of deſpotiſm will create abhorrence.

Be the conſequence what it may, let the light of knowledge be diffuſed among all who partake of reaſon; and let us remember that it was THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY who firſt ſaid: LET THERE BE LIGHT.

SECTION VI. On the Venality of the Preſs under the Influence of the deſpotic Spirit, and its Effects in diffuſing that Spirit.

THE moſt ſucceſsful, as well as the moſt inſidious mode of aboliſhing an inſtitution which favors liberty, and, for that reaſon, alarms the jealouſy of encroaching power, is to leave the form untouched, and gradually to annihilate the eſſence. The voracious worm eats out the kernel completely, while the huſk continues fair to the eye, and apparently entire. The gardener would cruſh the inſect, if it commenced the attack on the external tegument; but it carries on the work of deſtruction with efficacy and ſafety, while it corrodes the unſeen fruit, and ſpares the outſide ſhell.

The liberty of the preſs in England is not openly infringed. It is our happineſs and our glory. No man or ſet of men, whatever be their power or their wiſhes, dares to violate this ſacred privilege. But in the heathen mythology we learn, that when Jupiter himſelf could not force certain obſtacles by his thunder-bolt he found an eaſy admiſſion, in the ſhape of a golden ſhower.

In times when the jacobitical, tory, ſelfiſh, and deſpotic principles rear their heads, and think opportunities favor their efforts for revival, the preſs is bought up as a powerful engine of oppreſſion. The people muſt be deceived, or the deſpots have no chance to prevail in the diſſemination of doctrines, unnatural, nonſenſical, and injurious to the rights human nature. The only channel, through which the knowledge of what it moſt imports them to know, next to morality and religion, devolves upon the maſs of the community, is a newſpaper. This channel muſt therefore be ſecured. The people's money muſt be employed to pollute the waters of truth, to divert their courſe, and, if occaſion requires, to ſtop them with dams, looks, and floodgates. The preſs, that grand battery, erected by the people to defend the citadel of liberty, muſt be turned againſt it. Pamphlets are tranſient, and confined in their operation. Nothing will ſatisfy the zeal of the aſſailant, but the diurnal papers of intelligence. They keep up a daily attack, and reach every part of the aſſaulted edifice.

Newſpapers, thus bought with the people's money, for the purpoſe of deceiving the people, are, in the next place, circulated with all the induſtry of zealous partizans, and all the ſucceſs, that muſt attend the full exertion of miniſterial influence. Public houſes in great towns, are frequently the property of overgrown traders, who ſupply them with the commodities they vend; and who dictate the choice of the papers, which they ſhall purchaſe for the peruſal of their cuſtomers. Whoever frequents ſuch houſes, ruled as they are by petty deſpots, muſt ſwallow the falſe politics, together with the adulterated beverage, of the lordly manufacturer. A diſtreſs for rent, or an arreſt for debt, might follow the raſh choice of a paper favorable to truth, juſtice, and humanity. If any converſation ſhould ariſe among the cuſtomers, friendly to liberty, in conſequence of peruſing an interdicted print of this kind, the licence of the houſe might be in danger, and an honeſt tradeſman with his family turned out of doors to ſtarve. Spies are ſent to his houſe to mix with the gueſts, that in the moment of convivial exhilaration, when prudence ſleeps, ſome incautious comment on the newſpaper may be ſeized and carried to the agent of deſpotiſm, who, like the tiger, thirſting for human blood, lies watching for his prey in the covert of obſcurity. The hoſt, therefore, for the ſake of ſafety, gladly rejects all papers of intelligence, which are free to ſpeak the truth, and becomes a uſeful inſtrument, in the hands of ſelfiſh placemen, in the diſſemination of doctrines ſubverſive of liberty, and therefore of the conſtitution which is founded upon it as a corner ſtone.

So far as ſuch venal papers are diffuſed, under influence thus arbitrary, the liberty of the preſs is, in effect, deſtroyed. It is made to ſerve the purpoſes of ſlavery, by propagating principles unfavorable to the people's rights, by palliating public abuſes, varniſhing miniſterial miſconduct, and concealing facts in which the people are moſt deeply intereſted. Perhaps there is nothing which contributes ſo much to diffuſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm as venal newſpapers, hired by the poſſeſſors of power, for the purpoſe of defending and prolonging their poſſeſſion. The more ignorant claſſes have a wonderful propenſity to be credulous in all that they ſee in print, and will obſtinately continue to believe a newſpaper, to which they have been accuſtomed, even when notorious facts give it the lie. They know little of hiſtory, nothing of philoſophy, and adopt their political ideas from the daily lectures of a paper eſtabliſhed ſolely to gain their favor to one party, the party poſſeſſed of preſent power; zealous for its extenſion and prolongation, and naturally deſirous of preventing all ſcrupulous enquiry into its abuſe. Such means, ſo uſed, certainly ſerve the cauſe of perſons in office, and gratify avarice and pride; but it is a ſervice which, while it promotes the fordid views of a few individuals, militates againſt the ſpirit of conſtitutional freedom. It is a vile cauſe, which cannot be maintained to the ſecurity and ſatisfaction of thoſe who wiſh to maintain it, without recourſe to daily falſehood, and the cowardly concealment of conſcious malverſation. Honeſt purpoſes love the light of truth, and court ſcrutiny; becauſe the more they are known, the more they muſt be honored. The friends of liberty and man are juſtly alarmed, whenever they ſee the preſs pre-occupied by power, and every artifice uſed to poiſon the ſources of public intelligence.

In every free country, the people, who pay all expences, claim a right to know the true ſtate of public affairs. The only means of acquiring that knowledge, within reach of the multitude, is the preſs; and it ought to ſupply them with all important information, which may be divulged without betraying intended meaſures, the accompliſhment of which would be fruſtrated by communication to a public enemy. The very papers themſelves, which communicate intelligence, pay a tax above the intrinſic value of the work and materials, to the ſupport of the government: and the ſtamp, which vouches for the payment, ought, at the ſame time, if any regard were paid to juſtice and honor, to be an authentic teſtimony that government uſes no arts of deception in the intelligence afforded.

But let any one review, if it be not too nauſeous an employment, the prints which of late years have been notoriouſly in the pay of miniſterial agency. There he will ſee the groſſeſt attempts to impoſe on the public credulity. He will ſee the exiſtence of known facts, when they militate againſt the credit of a miniſtry, doubted or denied; doubtful victories extolled beyond all reſemblance to truth; and defeats, in the higheſt degree diſgraceful and injurious, artfully extenuated. All who have had apportunities of receiving true intelligence, after ſome great and unfortunate action, have been aſtoniſhed at the effrontery which has diminiſhed the number of lives loſt to a ſum ſo ſmall, as contradicts the evident concluſions of common ſenſe, and betrays the features of falſehood at the firſt appearance. All who have been able to judge of the privileges of Engliſhmen, and the rights of human nature, have ſeen with abhorrence, doctrines boldly broached and ſophiſtically defended, which ſtrike at once at the Engliſh conſtitution, and the happineſs of man in ſociety. They have ſeen this done by thoſe who pretended an almoſt excluſive regard to law, order, and religion; themſelves groſsly violating all of them, while they are reviling others for the ſuppoſed violation, in the bittereſt language which rancour, ſtimulated by pride and avarice, can utter.

When great miniſters, poſſeſſed of a thouſand means of patronizing and rewarding obſequious inſtruments of their ambition, are willing to corrupt, there will never be wanting needy, unprincipled, and aſpiring perſons to receive the infection. But can men be really great, really honorable—can they be patriots and philanthropiſts—can they be zealous and ſincere friends to law, order, and religion, who thus beſitate not to break down all the fences of honor, truth, and integrity; and render their adminiſtration of affairs more ſimilar to the juggling tricks of confederate ſharpers, than to the grave, ingenuous conduct of ſtateſmen, renowned for their wiſdom and revered for their virtue? Do men thus exalted, whoſe conduct is a model, and whoſe opinion is oracular, mean to teach a great nation that conſcience is but a name, and honor a phantom? No books of thoſe innovators, whom they perſecute, contribute to diſcredit the ſyſtem, which theſe men ſupport, ſo much as their own ſiniſter meaſures of ſelf-defence.

There is little hope of preventing the corruption of the diurnal papers by any remonſtrance addreſſed to men, who, entrenched behind wealth and power, ſcorn to yield at the ſummons of reaſon. There may be more hope in appealing to the readers and encouragers of ſuch papers. Do they wiſh to be deceived? is it pleaſant to be miſled by partial, mutilated, and diſtorted narratives? Is it manly to become voluntary dupes? Or is it honorable, is it honeſt, to co-operate with any men, for any purpoſes, in duping others? No; let the preſs, however it may be perverted by private perſons, to the injury of ſociety, be preſerved by the public, by men high in office, the guardians of every valuable inſtitution, as an inſtrument of good to the community, as the ſupport of truth, as the lamp of knowledge.

Though the liberty of the preſs ſhould be preſerved, yet let it be remembered, that the corruption of the preſs, by high and overbearing influence, will be almoſt as pernicious to a free country as its deſtruction. An imprimatur on the preſs would ſpread an alarm which would immediately remove the reſtraint; but the corruption of the preſs may inſinuate itſelf unperceived, till the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, promoted by it, ſhall at laſt connive at, or even conſent to, its total abolition.

SECTION VII. The faſhionable Invectives againſt Philoſophy and Reaſon, a Proof of the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

PERSONS who owe all their preeminence to the merit of their forefathers, or caſual events, which conſtitute good fortune, are uſually deſirous of fixing a ſtandard of dignity, very different from real worth, and ſpare no pains to depreciate perſonal excellence; all ſuch excellence as is, in fact, the moſt honorable, becauſe it cannot exiſt without talents or virtues. Birth and riches, faſhion and rank, are in their eſtimation infinitely more honorable and valauble, than all the penetrating ſagacity and wonderful ſcience of a Newton. Such perſons value Newton more as a knight than as a philoſopher; more for the title beſtowed upon him by Queen Anne, than the endowment given him by God, and improved by his own meritorious exertion.

Upon this principle, many men in our times, who wiſh to extend and aggrandize that POWER, from whoſe arbitrary bounty they derive all the honor they are capable of acquiring, endeavor to throw contempt on PHILOSOPHY. It may indeed be doubted whether they all know the meaning of the word; but they know it implies a merit not derived from princes, and therefore they wiſh to degrade it. Their fountain of honor, they conceive, has no reſemblance, in its nature or efficacy, to the famed fountains of Parnaſſus: it conveys no inſpiration, except that which diſplays itſelf in the 〈◊〉 of ide.

The preſe t age has heard upſtart noblemen give to philoſoph ••• (whoſe genius and diſcoveries entitle them to rank, 〈◊〉 Reaſon's table of precedency, above every •• bleman in the red book) the opprobrious appeilation of wretches and miſcreants. Philoſophy and philoſophers have been mentioned by men, whoſe attainments would only qualify them for diſtinction in a ball-room, with expreſſions of hatred and contempt due only to thieves, murderers, the very outcaſts and refuſe of human nature.

The mind is naturally led to inveſtigate the cauſe of ſuch virulence, and to aſk how has Philoſophy merited this uſage from the tongue of factitious grandeur. The reſentment expreſſed againſt Philoſophy is expreſſed with a peeviſhneſs and acrimony that proves it to proceed from the ſenſe of a ſore place. How has pride been ſo ſeverely hurt by philoſophy? It has been expoſed, laid open to the eye of mankind in all its nakedneſs. Philoſophy has held the ſcales, and rejected the coin that wanted weight. Philoſophy has applied the touchſtone, and thrown away the counterfeit. Hence the ſpirit of deſpotiſm is incenſed againſt Philoſophy; and if proclamations or cannonballs could deſtroy her, her perdition would be inevitable and eternal. Folly exclaims aloud, "Let there be no light to detect my paint and tinſel." But happily, the command of Folly, however imperial her tone, is not the fiat of Omnipotence. Philoſophy therefore will ſurvive the anathema; and, ſtanding on the rock of truth, laugh at the artillery of confederated deſpots.

When ſhe deſerts truth, ſhe no longer deſerves to be called Philoſophy: and it muſt be owned, that when ſhe has attacked religion, ſhe has juſtly loſt her reputation. But here it is well worthy of remark, that thoſe who now moſt bitterly revile her, gave themſelves little concern about her, till ſhe deſcended to polities. She might have continued to argue againſt religion; and many of her preſent oppoſers would have joined in her cry with alacrity: but the moment ſhe entered on the holy ground of polities, the ignorant grandees ſhuddered at the profanation, and 'Avaunt, Philoſophy,' was the word of alarm.

Philoſophy, ſo far from deſerving contempt, is the glory of human nature. Man approaches by contemplation to what we conceive of celeſtial purity and excellence. Without the aid of philoſophy, the maſs of mankind, all over the erraqueous globe, would have ſunk in ſlavery and ſuperſtition, the natural conſequences of groſs ignorance. Men at the very bottom of ſociety, have been enabled by the natural talents they poſſeſſed, ſeconded by favorable opportunities, to reach the higheſt improvements in philoſophy; and have thus lifted up a torch in the valley, which has expoſed the weakneſs and deformity of the caſtle on the mountain, from which the oppreſſors ſallied, in the night of darkneſs, and ſpread deſolation with impunity. Deſpots, the meaneſt, the baſeſt, the moſt brutal and ignorant of the human race, would have trampled on the rights and the happineſs of men unreſiſted, if philoſophy had not opened the eyes of the ſufferers, ſhewn them their own power and dignity, and taught them to deſpiſe thoſe giants of power, as they appeared through the miſts of ignorance, who ruled a vaſſal world with a mace of iron. Liberty is the daughter of Philoſophy; and they who deteſt the offspring, do all that they can to vilify and diſcountenance the mother.

But let us calmly conſider what is the object of this philoſophy, ſo formidable in the eyes of thoſe who are bigotted to antient abuſes, who hate every improvement, and who wiſh to ſubject the many to the control of an arbitrary few. Philoſophy is ever employed in finding out whatever is GOOD, and whatever TRUE. She darts her eagle eye over all the buſy world, detects error and miſchief, and points out modes of improvement. In the multiform ſtate of human affairs, ever obnoxious to decay and abuſe, it is her's to meditate on the means of melioration. She wiſhes to demoliſh nothing but what is a nuiſance. To build, to repair, to ſtrengthen, and to poliſh, theſe are the works which ſhe delights to plan; and, in concerting the beſt methods of directing their accompliſhment, ſhe conſumes the midnight oil. How can ſhe diſturb human affairs, ſince ſhe dwells in contemplation, and deſcends not to action? neither does ſhe impel others to action by the arts of deluſive eloquence. She applies to reaſon alone; and if reaſon is not convinced, all that ſhe has done, is ſwept away, like the web of Arach •• .

But it is modern philoſophy, and French philoſophy, which gives ſuch umbrage to the lovers of old errors, and the favorers of abſolute power; juſt as if philoſophy were mutable by time or place. Philoſophy, by which I mean the inveſtigation of the good and true, on all ſubjects, is the ſame, like the ſun, whether it ſhines in China or Peru. Truth and good are eternal and immutable; and therefore philoſophy, which is ſolely attached to theſe, is ſtill one and the ſame, whether antient or modern, in England or in France.

It is ſophiſtry, and not philoſophy, which is juſtly reprobated; and there has at all times been more ſophiſtry diſplayed by the ſycophant defenders of deſpotiſm, than by the friends to liberty. England has ever abounded with ſophiſts, wh •• the high prerogative notions, Toryiſm, and •• cobitiſm, and the ſervile principles which flow from them, have required the ſupport of eloquence; either written or oral. Beſides our modern Filmers, we have had an army of ten thouſand mercenary ſpeakers and writers, whoſe names are as little remembered as their venal productions. Such men, contending againſt the light of nature, and common ſenſe, have been obliged to ſeek ſuccour of ſophiſtry. Theirs is the philoſophy, falſely ſo called, which deſerves reprobation. They have had recourſe to VERBOSITY, to puzzle and perplex the plaineſt points; they have ſeduced the reader from the direct road of common ſenſe, to delude his imagination in the fairy land of metaphor; they have fine-ſpun their arguments to a degree of tenuity neither tangible nor viſible, that they might excite the awe which is always felt for the incomprehenſible by the ignorant; and, at the ſame time, elude the refutation of the learned and the wiſe: they have acquired a lubricity, which, like the eel, enables them to ſlip from the graſp of the captor, whom they could not have eſcaped, by the fair exertion of muſcular vigor. Animated with the hope of reward from that POWER which they labor to extend, they have, like good ſervants to their maſters, beſtowed art and labor in proportion to the weakneſs of their cauſe: they have aſſumed an air of wiſdom to impoſe on the multitude, and uttered the language of knavery and folly with the grave confidence of an oracle. It is not neceſſary to croſs the Channel in order to find Sophiſtry, decking herſelf, like the aſs in the ſkin of the lion, with the venerable name of Philoſophy.

As we value a free preſs, or wiſh to preſerve a due eſteem for genius and ſcience, let us ever be on our guard, when we hear GREAT MEN, poſſeſſing neither genius nor ſcience, rail againſt philoſophy. Let us remember, that it was a Roman tyrant, in the decline of all human excellence, (when Providence permitted ſuch monſters to ſhew the world the deformity of deſpotiſm), who wiſhed to extinguiſh the light of learning by aboliſhing the fineſt productions of genius. There are men, in recent times, who diſplay all the propenſities of a Caligula; be it the PEOPLE's care, that they never poſſeſs his power.

SECTION VIII. Of Loyalty, and certain miſtaken Ideas of it.

THE maſs of the community, on whom the arts of deluſion are chiefly practiſed by politicians, are ſeldom accurate in the uſe of words: and among others which they miſunderſtand, and are led, by the ſatellites of deſpotiſm, to miſapply, is the term, Loyalty.

Loyalty means, in its true ſenſe, a firm and faithful adherence to the law and conſtitution, of the community of which we are members. If monarchy be a part of that conſtitution, it certainly means a firm and faithful attachment to the perſon of the monarch, as well as to the monarchical form, and all the other branches of the ſyſtem. It is nearly ſynonymous with fidelity; but as fidelity may be actuated ſolely by principles of duty, loyalty ſeems, in its common acceptation, to include in it alſo a ſentiment of affection. It is the obedience of love, and anticipates compulſion. It is a ſentiment, which all good men will feel, when they live under a good government honeſtly adminiſtered.

But mark the diſingenuity of men impelled by high-church, high tory, or jacobitical principles. They would limit this liberal comprehenſive principle, which takes in the whole of the conſtitution, and therefore tends to the conſervation of it all, in its full integrity; they would limit it to the perſon of the monarch, to that part of the whole, which favors, in their opinion, their own purpoſes, and the extenſion of power and prerogative, the largeſſes of which they hope to ſhare in reward for their ſycophantic zeal, their ſlaviſh, ſelfiſh, perfidious adulation.

They repreſent this confined loyalty as a religious duty, partaking the nature of divine worſhip. They ſet up an idol, and command all men, upon their duty, to adore it. The people are not entitled even to attention by the propagators of this inhuman, anti-chriſtian idolatry.

Let us conſider a moment the miſchief this artifice has in former times occaſioned to our country. It attached great numbers to the family of the Stuarts, after they had forfeited all right to the crown; to the perſons of the Stuarts, and for a long period, haraſſed the lawful king and the people of this nation with wars, alarms, ſeditions, and treaſons. Tory zealots ſhed their blood freely, on the impulſe of this unreaſonable loyalty, which diſregarded the ruling powers of their country eſtabliſhed by law; and, in promoting the intereſt of a diſpoſſeſſed individual, conſidered a whole people, either as a non-entity, or as worthy to be ſacrificed for ONE MAN. Such men, acting in conſiſtency with their principles of falſe loyalty, would have drenched their country in blood to reſtore an exiled Nero, of the true-bred, royal family.

Narrow loyalty, like this, which is but another name for bigotry, muſt ever be inimical to a monarch limited by laws, wiſhing to govern by them, and owing his ſeat on his throne to a revolution, to the expulſion of a pre-occupant, and the refuſal of a pretender's claim. It muſt ever keep alive a doubt of his title. If it aſſumes the appearance of affection for him, it may be ſuſpected as the kiſs of Judas. If it ſhould ſeduce him to extend his power beyond the conſtitutional limits, it would lead him to deſtruction; and involve a people in all the miſery of revolutionary diſorder. Is then ſuch loyalty a public virtue? In cunning men it is but mean ſervility endeavoring to ingratiate itſelf with the prince, for honors and emoluments. In the ſimple ones, it is ſilly ſuperſtition. In both, it is injurious to the king of a free country and to the conſtitution. It confines that attention to one branch, which ought duly to be diſtributed among ALL, and to comprehend, in its attachment, that main root and ſtock, from which all the branches grow, the PEOPLE AT LARGE.

Nevertheleſs, ſuch is the ſubtle policy of thoſe who are actuated by the principles of Tories, Jacobites, royaliſts, deſpots, (call them by which name you pleaſe,) that they continue to repreſent every ſpirited effort in favor of the people's rights, as originating in diſloyalty. The beſt friends to the conſtitution in its purity, and therefore the beſt friends to the limited monarch, are held out, both to public and to royal deteſtation, as diſaffected to the perſon of the prince. Every ſtratagem is uſed to delude the common and unthinking part of the people into a belief, that their only way of diſplaying loyalty is, to diſplay a moſt ſervile obſequiouſneſs to the throne, and to oppoſe every popular meaſure. The procurers of addreſſes, couch them in the moſt unmanly language of ſubmiſſion, and approach with a degree of proſtration of ſentiment, worthier to be received by the great mogul or the Chineſe emperor, than the chief magiſtrate of a free people. The compoſers and preſenters of ſuch teſtimonies of loyalty, hoping for knighthood at leaſt, if not ſome more ſplendid or ſubſtantial effect of royal gratitude, exhauſt the language of all its ſynonymous terms, to expreſs their abject ſervility. Yet, after all, of ſuch a nature is their loyalty, that, if a Stuart or a Robeſpierre were the poſſeſſor of power, their mean and hollow profeſſions of attachment would be equally ardent and importunate. The powers that be are the powers which they worſhip. The proffer of their lives and fortunes is the common ſacrifice. But to diſtinguiſh their loyalty, they would go farther than the addreſſers of the fooliſh and unfortunate James, and preſent their ſouls to be diſpoſed of by their earthly Deity; knowing it to be a ſafe oblation.

As great reſpect is due to the office of the ſupreme magiſtrate, ſo alſo is great affection due to his perſon, while he conducts himſelf with propriety, and conſults the happineſs of the people. The moſt decorous language ſhould be uſed to him, the moſt reſpectful behaviour preſerved towards him; every mode adopted of ſhewing him proofs of love and honor, on this ſide idolatry. Arduous is his taſk, though honorable. It ſhould be ſweetened by every mode which true and ſincere loyalty can deviſe. I would rather exceed, than fall ſhort of the deference due to the office and the man. But I will not pay a limited monarch, at the head of a free people, ſo ill a compliment, as to treat him as if he were a deſpot, ruling over a land of ſlaves. I cannot adopt the ſpirit of deſpotiſm in a land of liberty; and I muſt reprobate that falſe, ſelfiſh, adulatory loyalty, which, ſeeking nothing but its own baſe ends of avarice or ambition, and feeling no real attachment either to the perſon or the office of the king, contributes nevertheleſs to diffuſe by its example, a ſervile, abject temper, highly promotive of the deſpotic ſpirit.

But the miniſters of ſtate have ſometimes preſumed ſo far on preſent poſſeſſion of power, as to attempt to make the people believe, that a loyalty is due to them; that an oppoſition to their will is a proof of defective loyalty; a remonſtrance againſt their meaſures, a mark of diſaffection. They have not been unſucceſsful. The ſervile herds who come forward into public life, ſolely to be bought up, when marketable, are, for the moſt part, more inclined to worſhip the miniſter than the monarch. While it is the prieſt who divides among the ſacrificers the fleſh of the victim, many attend with devotion at the ſacrifice; who are more deſirous of propitiating the prieſt than the Deity. There are many who, if they had it in their power, would make it conſtructive treaſon to cenſure any miniſter, whoſe continuance in place is neceſſary to realize their proſpects of riches and titular diſtinction. Such men wander up and down ſociety as ſpies, and mark thoſe who blame the miniſter, as perſons to be ſuſpected of diſloyalty. They uſually ſix on them ſome nickname, in order to depreciate their characters in the eyes of the people, and prevent them from ever riſing to ſuch a degree of public eſteem, as might render them competitors for miniſterial douceurs. Aſſociations are formed by ſuch men, under pretence of patriotiſm and loyalty, but with no other real deſign, than that of keeping the miniſter in place, whom they hope to find a bountiful pay-maſter of their ſervices, at the public expence.

True loyalty has no connection with all this meanneſs and ſelfiſhneſs. True loyalty is manly, while obedient, and reſpects itſelf, while it pays a voluntary and cheerful deference to authority and the perſons inveſted with it. It throws ſordid conſiderations aſide, and having nothing in view but the general good, bears an affection, and ſhews that affection, to the whole of a ſyſtem eſtabliſhed for the preſervation of order and liberty. It is not miſguided by pompous names, nor blinded by the glitter of external parade; but values offices and officers in the ſtate, for the good they actually promote, for the important functions they perform, for the efficient place they fill, in the finely conſtituted machine of a well-regulated community.

Such loyalty, I believe, does abound in England, notwithſtanding the calumnies of intereſted men, who would miſrepreſent and cry down all real patriotiſm, that their own counterfeit may obtain currency. Men who poſſeſs ſuch loyalty, will be found the beſt friends to kings; if ever thoſe times ſhould return, which are ſaid to afford the trueſt teſt of friendſhip, the times of adverſity.

May thoſe times never come! but yet let us cheriſh the true loyalty and explode the falſe; becauſe the true is the beſt ſecurity to limited monarchy and conſtitutional liberty: while the falſe, by diffuſing a ſpirit of deſpotiſm, equally inimical to the conſtitution and to human happineſs, is deſtroying the legal limitations, undermining the eſtabliſhed ſyſtems, and introducing manners and principles at once degrading to human nature, and pregnant with miſery to nations.

SECTION IX. On taking Advantage of popular Commotions, accidental Exceſſes, and foreign Revolutions, to extend Prerogative and Power, and encroach on the Liberties of the People.

THE riots in London, which, to the diſgrace of magiſtracy, and the boaſted vigilance of miniſters, (richly paid as they are, to guard the public ſafety), arrived from contemptible beginnings to a formidable magnitude in the year 1780, have been conſidered by courtiers, and thoſe who are continually laboring to exalt prerogative at the expence of liberty, as extremely favorable to their purpoſe. They cauſed an univerſal panic. The cowardice, folly, and perhaps wickedneſs of certain public functionaries, were the true cauſe of the extenſive miſchief; but the exceſſes of a few moſt wretched rioters, who ſcarcely knew what they were doing; children, women, and drunken perſons, were attributed to the PEOPLE. Argumente were drawn from the event againſt popular characters, popular books, popular aſſemblies, and in favor of military coercion. Military aſſociations in the capital were encouraged, and the bank of England became a 〈◊〉 . Liberty has few votaries in compariſon with Property. The alarm was artfully increaſed, and the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. grew under its operation. The Tory and Jacobite party exulted over the ruins, and would have rejoiced in building a Baſtille with the dilapidations. "See," ſaid they, as they triumphed over the ſcene, "the effects of power in the hands of the PEOPLE!"

But the truth is, the people, the grand maſs of the community, were not at all concerned in effecting the miſchief; for I cannot call a fortuitous aſſemblage of boys, beggars, women, and drunkards, the people. The firſt irregularities might have been ſuppreſſed by the ſlighteſt exertions of manly ſpirit. But thoſe who were poſſeſſed of efficient places and their emoluments, enjoying the ſweets of office without ſuffering a ſenſe of its duties to embitter them, diſplayed no ſpirit, and left it to be fairly inferred that they had it not. The people at large were not to be blamed for theſe unfortunate events; the whole of the culpability belonged to the appointed miniſters of the law, in whom the people truſted and were deceived. The blame, however, was laid on the people; and thoſe who, from their arbitrary principles, wiſhed to diſcre •• all popular i terference in government, •• joiced at the calamity, as an auſpicious event, confirming all their theories, and juſtifying their practice.

The artful encroachers on liberty were not deceived in calculating the effects reſulting from this total dereliction of duty on the part of the civil magiſtrate. Almoſt immediately a a damp was caſt on the generous ardor, which, under a Wyvil, a Richmond, a Portland, and a Pitt, was ſeeking the ſalvation of the country, in a well-timed and deliberate reform of the houſe of commons. A ſew, indeed, remained equally zealous in the vir •• ous cauſe; but the minds of the many were palſied by the panic, and ſeemed ready to acquie ce under every corruption attended with tranquillity, rather than riſk a reform, which, they were taught to believe, could not be effected without popular commotion. Toryiſm ſaw the change with delight, and employed all its influence in augmenting and continuing the political torpor.

In a few years the public mind ſeemed to have relinquiſhed its intentions of effecting a ſpeedy reform. It ſeemed to adopt the phyſician's maxim, Malum bene Though this evil is malum male poſitum. poſitum ne moveto; and heſitated to undertake the removal of a local pain, left it ſhould throw the morbid matter over the whole habit. The fear of exciting a general inflammation prevented men from probing and cleaning the inveterate ulcer. In the mean time, the ſore is growing worſe, and if not ſtopped in its progreſs, muſt terminate in a mortification.

Thus important and extenſive were the conſequences of a popular tumult, dangerous indeed and terrible in itſelf, but artfully exaggerated and abuſed by intereſted courtiers, for the prevention of parliamentary reform, and the diſcredit of all popular proceedings. When any appeal to the people was in agitation, on any buſineſs whatever, it was ſufficient to ſay, "Remember the riots," and the intended meaſure was immediately relinquiſhed. A glorious opportunity for the growth of deſpotic opinions! The high-church, and highgovernment bigots rejoiced as if they had gained a complete victory. They already ſang Te Deum.

But in the midſt of their triumphs, as human affairs are ſeldom long ſtationary, the French revolution commenced. Every honeſt and enlightened mind exulred at it; but the news was like a death-bell to the ears of the ſycophants. So large, ſo powerful a part of Europe emancipated from the fangs of deſpotiſm, blaſted all the budding hopes of thoſe who are rather meditating the eſtabliſhment than the demolition of abſolute rule. Ariſtocratical pride was mortified. Every ſullen ſentiment, every angry paſſion, roſe in the diſappointed boſom of that ambition, which ſeeks its own elevation on the depreſſion of the people. But liberty and humanity ſympathized in the joy of millions, reſtored to the rights which God and Nature gave them; and which had been gradually ſtolen from them by the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, acting, for mutual aid, in alliance with ſuperſtition.

But the morning which roſe ſo beautifully in the political horizon of France was ſoon overclouded. The paſſions of leaders, jealous of each other, menaced from within and from without, hunted by ſurrounding enemies till they were driven to phrenzy, burſt forth in tremendous fury. Cruelties, which even deſpots might ſhudder to perpetrate, were the effects of a ſituation rendered dangerous in the extreme, and almoſt deſperate, by the general attack of all neighboring nations. The friends of liberty and humanity wept; but the factors of deſpotiſm triumphed once more. "Here," ſaid they, "we have another inſtance of the unfitneſs of the people for the poſſeſſion of power, and the miſchievous effects of exceſſive liberty." Every art which ingenuity can practiſe, and influence aſſiſt in its operation, was exerted to abuſe and villify the French revolution. Aſſociations were formed to diſſeminate childiſh books, favoring the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, addreſſed to the meaneſt of the people, who yet had too much ſenſe to be ſeduced by ſentiments, doctrines, and language calculated only for the meridian of the nurſery. Proſecutions and perſecutions abounded; and it become ſedition to hint the propriety of parliamentary reformation. The alarmiſts, as they were called, were ſo ſucceſsful in prop gating the old tory tenets, under the favorable influence of the panic of real danger, and the deteſtation which French executions had juſtly occaſioned, that ſome of the ſtauncheſt friends of the people, men brought into the country at the revolution, owing all their honours and emoluments to it, and hitherto profeſſed and zealous whigs, deſerted the ſtandard of liberty, and took diſtinguiſhed poſts under the banners of the enemy.

The ſpirit of deſpotiſm now went forth with greater confidence than it had ever aſſumed ſince the expulſion of the Stuarts. Its advocates no longer ſculked; no longer walked in maſquerade. They boaſted of their principles, and pretended that they alone were friends to law, order, and religion They talked of the laws of England not being ſevere enoug for the puniſhment of ſedition, and boldly expreſſed a wiſh that the laws of Scotland might be adopted in their place. Active promoters of parliamentary reform were now accuſed of treaſonable intentions by the very perſons who were once loudeſt in their invectives againſt the corruption of the houſe of commons. Newſpapers were hired to calumniate the beſt friends of freedom. Writers appeared in various modes, commending the old government of France; and pouring the moſt virulent abuſe on all who promoted or defended its abolition. Prieſts who panted for preferment preached deſpotiſm in their pulpits, and garretteers who hungered after places or penſions, racked their invention to propagate its ſpirit by their pamphlets. Fear in the wellmeaning, ſelf-intereſt in the knaviſh, and ſyſtematic ſubtilty in the great party of tories, cauſed a general uproar in favor of principles and practices hoſtile to conſtitutional liberty.

It is, however, the nature of all violent paroxyſms to be of tranſient duration. The friends of man may therefore hope that panic fears, ſervile ſycophantiſm, and artful bigotry, will not long prevail over cool reaſon and liberal philanthropy. The drunken delirium will paſs off; and ſober ſenſe will ſoon ſee and acknowledge, that the accidental evils which have ariſen in a neighboring nation, during a ſingular ſtruggle for liberty, can be no arguments in favor of deſpotiſm, which is a conſtant evil of the moſt deſtructive nature. The body in high and robuſt health is moſt ſubject to the heat of an inflammatory fever; but no man in his ſenſes will therefore ceaſe to wiſh for high and robuſt health.

Senſible men, and true friends to the conſtitution, and therefore to the king, who forms ſo conſiderable a part of it, will be on their guard againſt falſe alarms excited by courtiers; leſt in the fear of ſome future evil, from popular commotion, they lay aſide that everwaking vigilance which is neceſſary to guard the good in poſſeſſion, their conſtitutional liberty, from the ſecret depredation of the artful ſpoiler, who is always on the watch to encroach on popular rights and privileges.

Riots, tumults, and popular commotions, are indeed truly dreadful, and to be avoided with the utmoſt care by the lovers of liberty. Peace, good order, and ſecurity to all ranks, are the natural fruits of a free conſtitution. True patriots will be careful to diſcourage every thing which tends to deſtroy them; not only becauſe whatever tends to deſtroy them tends to deſtroy all human happineſs, but alſo becauſe even an accidental outrage in popular aſſemblies and proceedings, is uſed by the artful to diſcredit the cauſe of liberty. By the utmoſt attention to preſerving the public peace, true patriots will defeat the malicious deſigns of ſervile courtiers; but, whatever may happen, they will not deſert the cauſe of human nature. Through a dread of licentiouſneſs, they will not forſake the ſtandard of liberty. It is the part of fools to fall upon Scylla in ſtriving to avoid Charybdis. Who but a fool would wiſh to reſtore the perpetual deſpotiſm of the old French government, through a dread of the tranſient outrages of a Pariſian tumult? Both are deſpotic while they laſt. But the former is a torrent that flows for ever; the latter only a land flood, that covers the meadows to-day, and diſappears on the morrow.

Dr. Price has a paſſage ſo applicable to the preſent ſubject, that I ſhall beg leave to cloſe this ſection by the citation of it: and on the mention of his name, I muſt pay a trifling tribute to his memory, which is the more neceſſary, as his character has been ſcandalouſly aſperſed by thoſe who are ever buſy in diſcrediting the people and their friends, and who, pretending a love of goodneſs and religion, blacken with their fouleſt calumny thoſe who are ſingularly remarkable for both, for no other reaſon than that, under the influence of goodneſs and religion, ſuch perſons eſpouſe the cauſe of freedom, and prefer the happineſs of millions to the pomp and pride of a few aſpirants at unlimited dominion. Meek, gentle, and humane; acute, eloquent, and profoundly ſkilled in politics and philoſophy; take him for all and all, the qualities of his heart, with the abilities of his head, and you may rank PRICE among the firſt ornaments of his age. Let his enemies produce from all their boaſted deſpots and deſpotical Satraps, any one of his contemporaries whom, in the manner of Plutarch, they may place by his ſide as a parallel. Poſterity will do him the juſtice of which the proud have robbed him, and ſnatch him from the calumniators, to place him in the temple of perſonal honor, high among the benefactors to the human race.

But I return from the digreſſion, into which I was led by an honeſt indignation againſt the vileſt of calumnies againſt the beſt of men. Theſe are the words of Dr. Price:

Licentiouſneſs and deſpotiſm are more nearly allied than is commonly imagined. They are both alike inconſiſtent with liberty, and the true end of government; nor is there any other difference between them, than that one is the licentiouſneſs of GREAT MEN, and the other the licentiouſneſs of little men; or that by one, the perſons and property of a people are ſubject to outrage and invaſion from a king, or a lawleſs body of grandees; and that by the other, they are ſubject to the like outrage from a lawleſs mob. In avoiding one of theſe evils, mankind have often run into the other. But all well-conſtituted governments guard equally againſt both. Indeed, of the two, the laſt is, on ſeveral accounts, the leaſt to be dreaded, and has done the leaſt miſchief. It may truly be ſaid, if licentiouſneſs has deſtroyed its thouſands, deſpotiſm has deſtroyed its millions. The former having little power, AND NO SYSTEM TO SUPPORT IT, neceſſarily finds its own remedy; and a people ſoon get out of the tumult and anarchy attending it. But a deſpotiſm, wearing a form of government, and being armed with its force, is an evil not to be conquered without dreadful ſtruggles. It goes on from age to age, debaſing the human faculties, levelling all diſtinctions, and preying on the rights and bleſſings of ſociety. It deſerves to be added, that in a ſtate diſturbed by licentiouſneſs, there is an ANIMATION which is favourable to the human mind, and puts it upon exerting its powers; but in a ſtate habituated to deſpotiſm, all is ſtill and torpid. A dark and ſavage tyranny ſtifles every effort of genius, and the mind loſes all its ſpirit and dignity.

Heaven grant, that in guarding againſt a fever, we fall not into a palſy!

SECTION X. When Human Life is held cheap, it is a Symptom of a prevailing Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

THERE is nothing which I can ſo relactantly pardon in the GREAT ONES of this world, as the little value they entertain for the life of a man. Property, if ſeized or loſt, may be reſtored; and without property, man may enjoy a thouſand delightful pleaſures of exiſtence. The ſun ſhines as warmly on the poor as on the rich; and the gale of health breathes its balſam into the cottage caſement on the heath, no leſs ſweetly and ſalubriouſly than into the portals of the palace. But can the lords of this world, who are ſo laviſh of the lives of their inferiors, with all their boaſted power, give the cold heart to beat again, or relume the light of the eye once dimmed by the ſhades of death? Accurſed deſpots, ſhew me your authority for taking away that which ye never gave, and cannot give; for undoing the work of God, and extinguiſhing the lamp of life which was illuminated with a ray from heaven. Where is your charter to privilege murder? You do the work of Satan, who was a deſtroyer; and your right, if you poſſeſs any, muſt have originated from the father of miſchief and miſery.

There is nothing ſo precious as the life of a man. A philoſopher of antiquity, who poſſeſſed not the religion of philanthropy, who knew not that man came from heaven, and is to return thither; who never heard the doctrine authenticated, that man is favored with a communication of the divine nature by the Holy Spirit of God; yet, under all theſe diſadvantages, maintained that HOMO EST RES SACRA, that every HUMAN CREATURE is CONSECRATED to God, and therefore inviolable by his fellow man, without profanation. All the gold of Ophir, all the geins of Golconda, cannot buy a ſingle life, nor pay for its loſs. It is above all price.

Yet take a vie •• of the world, and you will immediately be led to conclude, that ſcarcely any thing is viler than human life. Crimes which have very little moral evil, if any, and which therefore cannot incur the vengeance of a juſt and merciful Deity, are puniſhed with death at a human tribunal. I mean ſtate crimes; ſuch actions, conduct, ſpeeches, as are made crimes by deſpots, but are not recogniſed as ſuch in the decalogue; ſuch as may proceed from the pureſt and moſt virtuous principle, from the moſt enlarged benevolence, from wiſdom and unaffected patriotiſm; ſuch as may proceed from mere warmth of temper, neither intending nor accompliſhing any miſchief; the mere effects of error, as innocent too in its conſequences as its origin. But the deſpot is offended or frightened; for guilt trembles at the leaſt alarm, and nothing but the blood of the accuſed can expiate the offence.

Yet numerous as are the innocent victims of the tribunal, where to offend the ſtate is the greateſt abomination that man can commit, they are loſt and diſappear when compared to the myriads ſacrificed to the demon of wa Deſpotiſm delights in war. It is its element. As the bull knows, by inſtinct, that his ſtrength is in his horns, and the eagle truſts in his talons; ſo the deſpot feels his puiſſance moſt, when ſurrounded by his ſoldiery arrayed for battle. With the ſword in his hand, and his artillery around him, he rejoices in his might, and glories in his greatneſs. Blood muſt mark his path; and his triumph is incomplete, till death and deſtruction ſtalk over the land, the harbingers of his triumphant cavalcade.

We hear much of neceſſary wars; but it is certainly true, that a real, abſolute, unavoidable neceſſity for war, ſuch as alone can render it juſt, has ſeldom occurred in the hiſtory of man. The pride, the wanton cruelty of abſolute princes, caring nothing for human life, have in all ages, without the leaſt neceſſity, involved the world in war; and therefore it is the common cauſe of all mankind to aboliſh abſolute power; and to diſcourage, by every lawful means, the ſpirit that leads to any degree of it. No individual, however good, is fit to be truſted with ſo dangerous a depoſit. His goodneſs may be corrupted by the magnitude of the truſt; and it is the nature of power, uncontrolled by fear or law, to vitiate the beſt diſpoſitions. He who would have ſhuddered to ſpill a drop of blood, in a hoſtile conteſt, as a private man, ſhall deluge whole provinces, as an abſolute prince, and laugh over the ſubjugated plains which he has fertilized with human gore.

What are the chief conſiderations with ſuch men, previouſly to going to war, and at its concluſion? Evidently the expence of MONEY. Little is ſaid or thought of the lives loſt, or devoted to be loſt, except as matters of pecuniary value. Humanity, indeed, weeps in ſilence and ſolitude, in the ſequeſtered ſhade of private life; but is a ſingle tear ſhed in courts, and camps, and cabinets? When men high in command, men of fortune and family, fall, their deeds are blazoned, and they figure in hiſtory; but who, ſave the poor widow and the orphan, enquire after the very names of the rank and file? There they lie, a maſs of human fleſh, not ſo much regretted by the deſpots as the horſes they rode, or the arms they bore. While ſhips often go down to the bottom, ſtruck by the iron thunderbolts of war, and not a life is ſaved; the national loſs is eſtimated by the deſpot, according to the weight of metal waſted, and the magnitude and expence of the wooden caſtle.

Ploratur lachtymis amiſſa pecunia veris!

God, we read, made man in his own image; and our Saviour taught us that he was the heir of immortality. God made no diſtinction of perſons; but behold a being, born to a ſceptre, though a poor, puny, ſhivering mortal like the reſt, preſumes to fell, and let out for hire, theſe images of God, to do the work of butchers, in any cauſe, and for any paymaſter, on any number of unoffending fellow-creatures, who are ſtanding up in defence of their hearths, their altars, their wives, their children, and their liberty. Great numbers of men, trained to the trade of human butchery, are conſtantly ready to be let to hire, to carry on the work of deſpotiſm, and to ſupport, by the money they earn in this helliſh employment, the luxurious vices of the wretch who calls them his property. Can that ſtate of human affairs be right and proper, which permits a miſcreant, ſcarcely worthy the name of a man, ſunk in effeminacy, the ſlave of vice, often the moſt abominable kind of vice, ignorant and illiterate, debilitated with diſeaſe, weak in body as in mind, to have ſuch dominion of hundreds of thouſands, his ſuperiors by nature, as to let them out for pay, to murder the mnocent ſtranger in cold blood?

Though, in free countries and limited mo •• rch es, ſuch attrocious villainy is never permitted, yet it becomes the friends of liberty and humanity to be on their guard againſt the prevalence of any opinions and practices which depreciate man, as man, and vilify human life. None can tell to what enormous depravity ſmall conceſſions may lead; when the horror of crimes is gradually ſoftened by the wicked arts of proud intriguers, idolizing grandeur and trampling on poverty.

What ſhall we think of the practice of what is called CRIMPING? Is it to be allowed in a free country? Are not men bought, inveigled, or forced by it, as if they were cattle, beaſts of the field or the foreſt, and capable of becoming the property of the purchaſer or the captor? If a nation ſhould behold with patience ſuch a practice increaſing and encouraged by the great, would there not be reaſon to ſuſpect, that it had loſt the ſpirit of freedom, and was preparing to ſubmit its neck to the yoke of deſpotiſm? Is not an impreſſed ſailor or a kidnapped ſoldier one of the images of God? Is he not entitled to all the rights of nature, and the ſociety of which he is a member? Does poverty disfranchize a man, rob him of his rights, and render his life a commodity to be bought and ſold, or thrown away, at the will of a rich man, who is enabled to take advantage of his want, and add to the misfortune of indigence the curſe of ſlavery? Are a few pieces of ſilver to be allowed, by connivance, if not by legal permiſſion, as the price of blood, when poverty, but not the will, conſents to the ſale?

Even if BOXING were ever to become a ſpectacle patronized by princes, and encouraged by a people, there would be reaſon to fear leſt MAN, AS MAN, had loſt his value; leſt life were eſtimated of little price: and leſt the ſpirit of deſpotiſm were gradually inſinuating itſelf into the community. There would be reaſon to fear leſt times, like thoſe of the latter Roman emperors, were returning, and that men might be kept like wild beaſts, to be brought on the ſtage and fight for public diverſion, and to be murdered for the evening's amuſement of faſhionable lords and ladies, at an opera-houſe.

The dignity of human nature, in deſpotical countries, is treated as a burleſque. A man is leſs dignified than a pampered horſe, and his life infinitely leſs valued. But in a land of liberty, like ours, every man ſhould learn to venerate himſelf and his neighbor, as a noble creature, dependent only on God, on reaſon, on law. Life, under ſuch circumſtances, is a pearl of great price. Every human being, under ſuch circumſtances, is of equal value in the ſight of God. They, therefore, who, in conſequence of civil elevation, hold any man's life cheap and vile, unleſs he has forfeited his rights by enormous crimes, are guilty of rebellion againſt God, and ought to be hunted out of ſociety; as the wolf, once the native of England's foreſts, was exterminated from the iſland.

SECTION XI. Indifference of the middle and lower Claſſes of the People to public Affairs, highly favorable to the encroachments of the Tory Principle, and therefore to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

THE opinion, that the majority of the PEOPLE have no concern in political diſquiſitions, is at once inſulting and injurious. They who maintain it, evidently mean to make a ſeparation in the minds of men, between the government and the nation. It is inſulting to the nation, as it inſinuates that they are either incapable or unworthy of interfering; and it is injurious to the government and the whole community, as it renders that power, which ought to be an object of love, an object of terror and jealouſy.

Such an opinion is fit only for a country ſubject to abſolute power, and in which the people, conſidered only as conquered ſlaves, hold their lives and all their enjoyments at the will of the conqueror. As it originates in deſpotic principles, ſo it tends to produce and diffuſe them.

As to the intellectual abilities of the people, it is certain that ſome of the ableſt ſtateſmen, law-givers, and men of buſineſs, have riginated from that order which is called plebeian. There is a ſingular vigor of mind, as well as of body, in men who have been placed out of the reach of luxury and corruption by their poor or obſcure condition; and when this vigor of mind has been improved by a competent education, and ſubſequent opportunities of experience and obſervation, it has led to very high degrees of mental excellence. Plebeians have arrived at the very firſt rank in all arts and ſciences; and there is nothing in politics ſo peculiarly abſtruſe or recondite, as to be incomprehenſible by intellects that have penetrated into the profoundeſt depths of philoſophy.

As to the right of the people to think, let him who denies it, deny, at the ſame time, their right to breathe. They can no more avoid thinking than breathing. God formed them to do both; and though ſtateſmen often act as if they wiſhed to oppoſe the will of the Deity, yet happily they want the power. And ſince men muſt think, is it poſſible to prevent them from thinking of the government? upon the right conduct of which depend their liberty, their property, and their lives. It is their duty to watch over the poſſeſſors of power, leſt they ſhould be prevented, by the encroaching nature of power, from leaving to their poſterity that freedom which they inherited; a natural right, preſerved from the oppreſſor's infringement by the blood of their virtuous anceſtors.

But ſuch is the effect of political artifice, under the management of court ſycophants, that the middle ranks of people are taught to believe, that they ought not to trouble themſelves with affairs of ſtate. They are taught to think that a certain ſet of men come into the world like demigods, poſſeſſed of right, power, and intellectual abilities, to rule the earth, as God rules the univerſe, without control. They are taught to believe, that free inquiry and manly remonſtrance are the ſin of ſedition. They are taught to believe, that they are to labor by the ſweat of their brow to get money for the taxes; and when they have paid them, to go to work again for more, to pay the next demand without a murmur. Their children may ſtarve: they may be obliged to ſhut out the light of heaven, and the common air which the beaſts on the waſte enjoy; they may be diſabled from procuring a draught of wholeſome and refreſhing beverege after the day's labor which has raiſed the money to pay the tax; they may not be able to buy the materials for cleanlineſs of their perſons, when defiled by the ſame labor; yet they muſt acquieſce in total ſilence. They muſt read no obnoxious papers or pamphlets, and they muſt not utter a complaint, at the houſe where they are compelled to go for refreſhment, which the tax prevents them from enjoying at home with their little ones. Yet they have nothing to do with public affairs; and if they ſhew the leaſt tendency to inquiry or oppoſition, they ſuffer a double puniſhment, firſt, from their lordly landlord and employer, and ſecondly, from proſecution for turbulence and ſedition.

The legal puniſhments attending the expreſſion of diſcontent, by any overt-act, are ſo ſevere, and the ill-grounded terrors of them ſo artfully diſſeminated, that rather than incur the leaſt danger, they ſubmit in ſilence to the hardeſt oppreſſion.

Even the middle ranks are terrified into a ame and ſilent acquieſcence. They learn to conſider politics as a dangerous ſubject, not to be touched without hazard of liberty or life. They ſhrink therefore from the ſubject. They will neither read nor converſe upon it. They pay their contribution to a war, and take a miniſter's word that it is juſt and neceſſary. Better part with a little money patiently, ſince part with it we muſt, ſay they, than by daring to inveſtigate the cauſes or conduct of public meafures, riſk a priſon or a gibbet.

Great and opulent landholders often exerciſe a deſporiſm in their petty dominions, which ſti es the voice of truth, and blinds the eye of inquiry. If tenants utter a ſentiment in public, adverſe to the courtly opinions of the great man, who is looking up to a miniſter for a douceur for himſelf, his ſons, his natural ſons, or his nephews, or conſins, the beneficial leaſe will not be renewed at its expiration. What has ſuch a fellow to do with politics? Fine times, indeed, when ruſtics dare to have an opinion on the poſſibility of avoiding a war, which a miniſter has declared unavoidable! A thouſand modes of harraſſing and embarraſſing the ſubordinate neighbor, who dares think for himſelf, are practiſed by the ſlaviſh rich man, who, poſſeſſing enough to maintain a thouſand poor families, is yet greedily graſping at a place or a penſion; or, if he be too opulent to think of ſuch addition, which is ſeldom the caſe, ſtill views with eager eye and panting heart, at leaſt a baronetage, and perhaps a coronet, glittering on high with irreſiſtible brilliancy.

Groſs ignorance, unmanly fear of puniſhment, and obſequiouſneſs to overgrown ariſtocrats, at once ſervile and tyrannic, operate in conjunction to prevent the middle and lower ranks from attending to the concerns of the community, of which they are very important members; contributing to its ſupport by their perſonal exertions, their conſumption of taxed commodities, and the payment of impoſts.

There is alſo an habitual indolence which prevents many from concerning themſelves with any thing but that which immediately affects their pec •••• ary intereſt. Such perſons would be content to live under the Grand Seignor, ſo long as they might eat, drink, and ſleep in peace. But ſuch muſt never be the prevailing ſentiment of a people, whoſe anceſtors have left them the inheritance of liberty, as an eſtate unalienable, and of more value than the mines of Peru. Such indolence is treachery to poſterity; it is a baſe and cowardly dereliction of a truſt, which they who conſided it are prevented by death from guarding or withdrawing.

The middle and lower ranks, too numerous to be bribed by a miniſter, and almoſt out of the reach of court corruption, conſtitute the beſt bulwarks of liberty. They are a natural and moſt efficacious check on the ſtrides of power. They ought therefore to know their conſequence, and to preſerve it with unwinking vigilance. They have a ſtake, as it is called, a moſt important ſtake, in the country. Let not the overgrown rich only pretend to have a ſtake in the country, and claim from it an excluſive privilege to regard its concerns. The middle ranks have their native freedom to preſerve; their birth-right to protect from the dangerous attacks of enormous and overbearing affluence. Inaſmuch as liberty and ſecurity are more conducive to happineſs than exceſſive riches, it muſt be allowed, that the poor man's ſtake in the country is as great as the rich man's. If he ſhould loſe this ſtake, his poverty, which was conſoled by the conſciouſneſs of his liberty and ſecurity, becomes an evil infinitely aggravated. He has nothing left to defend him from the oppreſſor's wrong and the proud man's contumely. He may ſoon degenerate to a beaſt of burden; for the mind ſinks with the ſlavery of the condition. But while a man feels that he is free, and fills a reſpectable rank, as a freeman, in the community, he walks with upright port, conſcious, even in rags, of comparative dignity.

While the middle and lower ranks acquaint themſelves with their rights, they ſhould alſo impreſs on their minds a ſenſe of their duties, and return obedience and allegiance for protection.

To perform the part of good members of the community, their underſtandings muſt be duly enlightened, and they muſt be encouraged, rather than forbidden, to give a cloſe attention to all public tranſactions. Diſagreements in private life are often juſtly called miſunderſtandings. It is through want of clear conceptions that feuds and animoſities frequently happen in public. The many are not ſo mad as they are repreſented. They act honeſtly and zealouſly according to their knowledge. Give them fair and full information, and they will do the thing that is right, in conſequence of it. But nothing more generally and juſtly offends them, than an attempt to conceal or diſtort facts which concern them; an attempt to render them the dupes of intereſted ambition, planning its own elevation on the ruins of their independence.

I wiſh, as a friend to peace, and an enemy to all tumultuary and riotous proceedings, that the maſs of the people ſhould underſtand the conſtitution, and know, that redreſs of grievances is to be ſought and obtained by appeals to the law; by appeals to reaſon; without appealing, except in caſes of the very laſt neceſſity, which ſeldom occur, to the arm of violence. I adviſe them patiently to bear, while there is but a hope of melioration, even flagrant abuſes, if no other mode of redreſs appears, for the preſent, but convulſion. I would exhort them, not to fly from the deſpotiſm of an adminiſtration, to the deſpotiſm of an enraged populace. I would have them value the life, the tranquillity, the property, of the rich and great, as well as thoſe of the poor and obſcure. I would wiſh them to labor at promoting human happineſs in all ranks, and be aſſured, that happineſs, like health, is not to be enjoyed in a fever.

To accompliſh theſe ends, I think too much pains cannot be beſtowed in teaching them to underſtand the true nature of civil liberty; and in demonſtrating to them, that it is injured by all exceſſes, whether the exceſſes originate in courts or cottages.

And ſurely thoſe men are neither friends to their country nor to human nature, who, for the ſake of keeping down the lower orders, would object to teaching the people the value of a pure repreſentation, free ſuffrage, a free preſs, and trial by jury. Theſe are the things that are moſt likely to endear the conſtitution to them, to render them truly loyal, chearfully obedient, and zealouſly peaceable.

It is not the deluſive publications of intereſted and ſycophantic aſſociators which can produce this valuable purpoſe. Writings ſo evidently partial, perſuade none but thoſe that are already perſuaded; and deceive none but thoſe that are willing to be decived. Truth only, will have weight with the great body of the people, who have nothing to hope from miniſterial favor, or to fear, while the conſtitution is unimpaired, from miniſterial diſpleaſure.

Let the people, then, be at liberty, uninterrupted by perſons actuated by tory and high prerogative principles, to ſtudy politics, to read pamphlets, and to debate, if they chooſe it, in ſocieties. The more they know of a good conſtitution and a good adminiſtration, the better they will behave. Miniſtry need not hire newſpapers, or employ ſpies. Let them build their conſidence in truth and juſtice, and the enlightened people will conſtitute its firmeſt buttreſs. Let it never be ſaid, that the people have nothing to do with politics, leſt it ſhould be inferred, that ſuch politics have no regard to the people.

SECTION XII. The deſpotic Spirit is inclined to diſcourage Commerce, as unfavorable to its Purpoſes.

IS man a reaſonable creature? Is he then moſt perfect and happy, when his conduct is regulated by reaſon? If ſo, then the boaſted age of CHIVALRY was an age of folly, madneſs, and miſery. It was an age in which a romantic imagination triumphed by force over the plaineſt and ſtrongeſt deciſions of common ſenſe. It was an age in which pride and wanton inſolence trampled on the rights and happineſs of human nature. To expreſs my idea of it in a word, it was an age of QUIXOTISM, in which Europe appeared as one vaſt country of bedlamites. Yet, wonderful to relate, men have lately ariſen, pretending to extraordinary degrees of the diſtinctive faculty of man, profeſſing the moſt unbounded philanthropy, but at the ſame time regretting that the age of chivalry is no more.

The truth is, the ſpirit of chivalry was highly favorable to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, Every feudal baron was a petty tyrant, little differing from the chieftain of a banditti. They were abſolute ſoevereigns over their vaſſals. Their caſtles were fortified palaces, from which they iſſued, regardleſs of government or law, like lions or tigers from their d ••• , to deform the land with blood and devaſtation. What was the ſituation of the PEOPLE, the million, in thoſe days of miſchievous folly? It was ſcarcely better than that of the negroes in the iſlands of America. And are theſe times to be regretted in the preſent day? Yes, certainly, by thoſe who pine at ſeeing the condition of the multitude meliorated, and who conſider the unfortunate part of their fellow-creatures as a herd of ſwine.

At this period of Engliſh hiſtory, ſlaves, natives of England, were bought and ſold on Engliſh ground, juſt in the ſame manner as the negroes in Africa. One of the chief articles of export from England, in the time of the Anglo-Saxons, was the SLAVE. Slaves were always appendant to manors, like the ſtock of cattle on a farm. They were attached to the ſoil, and were conveyed or deſcended with the eſtate, under the name of villains regardant, gleboe adſcriptitii. They were never conſidered as citizens; they had no vote, no rights; and were in every reſpect, in the eye of the great men who poſſeſſed them, like goods, chattels, and beaſts of burden.

As honeſt labor was conſidered as SLAVISH, ſo alſo was every kind of TRADE. The only claſs eſteemed, was that which we ſhould now call GENTLEMEN or ESQUIRES. And what was their employment? Deſtruction of their fellow creatures. They neither toiled nor ſpun; but they wielded the ſword, and ſhed blood under the banners of their chief, whenever he thought proper to wage war with an unoffending neighbor. They were, however, honorable men; all, all honorable men. But honor will not fill the belly, nor cloathe the back; and pride was obliged to ſtoop for food, raiment, dwellings, and all the comforts and accommodations of life, to the villain and vaſſal; who were exactly in the rank occupied by modern tradeſmen, mechanics, and artiſans. The gentleman of thoſe days availed himſelf of their labor and ingenuity, and then deſpiſed them. The GENTLEMEN of modern days, who admire the age of chivalry, and who adopt tory and arbitrary principles, would be glad to conſider this uſeful and ingenious claſs of citizens in the ſame light. Periſh our commerce, live our conſtitution. Periſh the loom, the plough, the hammer, the axe; but flouriſh the ſword. Sink the merchant ſhip, but let the man of war ride on the waves in all her glory.

Such ſentiments reſemble thoſe of the feudal barons, the moſt deſpotic GENTLEMEN that ever diſgraced human nature. The old feudal barons, owever, could not always find employment for the ſword at home; and Peter the monk told them they would be rewarded in heaven by waging war on Paleſtine. They embarked with the bleſſings of the pope on their banners. It was a fortunate event for the deſpiſed vaſſals who were left at home. Both commerce and liberty are greatly indebted to the cruſades for their ſubſequent flouriſhing ſtate. In the abſence of the tyrants, the tradeſmen and artiſans exerciſed their art and induſtry on their own account, and gradually acquired a degree of independence. Many of the barons never returned to oppreſs them. Many returned, greatly injured in ſtrength, ſpirit, and property. Conſequently they loſt their power. Charters were now ſold or granted, and Commerce lifted up her front in defiance of Pride, that, looking down from her caſtle on the ſhip and manufacturer, deſpiſed her lowly occupation, while ſhe envied her opulence. The country was enriched by arts which the nobles deemed vile. The maſs of the people acquired property, and with it, power and independence. The tyranny of the feudal ſyſtem, and the nonſenſe of chivalry, which endeavored to create a fantaſtic merit, independent of virtue and utility, ſoon vaniſhed when the human mind was at liberty to think for itſelf; and men were emboldened to act freely by a conſciouſneſs of poſſeſſing ſkill and property.

But while the human heart is ſubject to pride, and fond of power, the ſpirit of tyranny, which actuated the old barons in feudal times, will manifeſt itſelf, in ſome mode or degree, whenever opportunities occur. Commerce was deſpiſed under the late monarchy in France; and commerce, we have reaſon to think, is looked upon with a jealous eye in England, by thoſe who are violently attached to ſenſeleſs grandeur.

Men of this deſcription are averſe to commerce, not only from pride, but from policy. They ſee commerce enriching and exalting plebeians to a rank in ſociety equal to their own; and often furniſhing the means of luxurious enjoyment and ſplendor, which they themſelves, with all the pride of birth and the preſumption of office, cannot ſupport. Though a war may injure trade, and ruin manufacturing towns, yet it is eagerly engaged in, if it gratifies the revenge of courts, and the pride of nobles. Its ill effects on commerce may be a recommendation of it to thoſe who exclaim, "Periſh commerce, live our conſtitution." It reduces that aſpiring greatneſs of the merchant, which treads on the heels of the grandee, and overtops him. It bleeds the body which appears in the eyes of the great to ſhew ſymptoms of plethora. It clips the wings which ſeem ready to emulate the flight of the eagle. It lops the tree which gives umbrage by its ſhadow. The favorers of abſolute power would have a nation of gentlemen ſoldiers, of courtiers, and of titled noblemen; and they view with pain, a nation of gentlemen merchants, of men independent both in ſpirit and fortune, enlightened by education, improved by experience, enriched by virtues and uſeful exertion, poſſeſſing principles of honor founded on honeſty, and therefore quite as ſcrupulous and nice as if they had been bred in idleneſs, bloated with the pride of anceſtry, tyrannically imperious over the active claſſes, and at the ſame time abject ſlaves to courtly faſhion.

But, as in a commercial nation, it is impoſſible to prevent men of this deſcription from ſometimes acquiring princely fortunes, it becomes a very deſirable object, among the politicians attached to arbitrary power, to corrupt the principal commercial houſes, by raiſing in them the ſpirit of vanity and ambition. They have already acquired money more than ſufficient for all the purpoſes of aggrandizement. The next object is honor; that is, a title. A baronetage is a charming lure to the whole family. Any favor indeed from the court is a feather. A title is now and then judiciouſly beſtowed. This operates on the riſing race, and teaches them to undervalue their independence in competition with the ſmile of a miniſter. The miniſter, indeed, has means of gratifying the avarice as well as the vanity of the commercial order. Contracts are delicious douceurs to the aſpiring trader: they not only enrich, but lead to a connection with the powers that be, and pave with gold the road of ambition.

But the ſun of tory favor which irradiates the tops of the mountain, ſeldom reaches the vale. The millions of humbler adventurers in commerce and manufacture, who are enriching their country, and accommodating human life, in ten thouſand modes that require both virtue and ſkill, are viewed by the promoters of arbitrary power with ſovereign contempt. The truth is, that moſt of theſe, notwithſtanding the diſdain with which they are treated, are ſome of the moſt independent members of the community. They conſtitute a very large portion of the middle rank. They are a firm phalanx, and commonly enliſted on the ſide of liberty. They can ſcarcely be otherwiſe; for they have little to hope or fear from thoſe who call themſelves their ſuperiors. They perform a work, or vend a commodity, equivalent to the compenſation they receive; and owe no obligation beyond that which civility or benevolence, towards thoſe with whom they negociate, impoſes. The cuſtomer applies to them for his own convenience. If they be fair traders, they vend their wares at the market price; and if one will not accede to it, they wait patiently for another offer. They do not think themſelves bound to make any unmanly ſubmiſſions to thoſe who deal with them for their own advantage.

A numerous body of men like theſe, poſſeſſing, in the aggregate, a vaſt property, and conſequently, if they could act in concert, a vaſt power alſo, cannot but be an object of uneaſineſs to the co-partners in a proud ariſtocracy, wiſhing to engroſs to themſelves the whole world, with all its pleaſures, honors, emoluments, and rights. As they cannot deſtroy this body, their next endeavor is to vilify it, to render it inſignificant, to diſcourage its attention to public affairs, to leſſen its profits, and to embarraſs its operations by taxes on its moſt vendible productions. They would gladly render a tradeſman as contemptible in England, as it was in France before the revolution. In France, we all know, under its deſpotic kings, no virtue, no merit, no ſervices to the public or mankind, could wipe off the filthy ſtain fixed on the character by merchandize. The pooreſt, moſt villainous and vicious idiot, who partook of nobleſſe, would have been eſteemed, in that unhappy period, infinitely ſuperior to a Greſham, a Barnard, or a Skinner.

My purpoſe in theſe remarks is to exhort the mercantile order to preſerve their independence, by preſerving a juſt ſenſe of their own dignity. I ſee with pain and alarm the firſt men in a great city, the metropolis of the world, whoſe merchants are princes, crouding with ſlaviſh ſubmiſſion to the miniſter of the day, ſeconding all his artful purpoſes in a corporation, calling out the military on the ſlighteſt occaſion, at once to overawe the multitude, and at the ſame time to annihilate their own civil and conſtitutional authority. If they would but preſerve their independence, and retain a due attachment to the people, and the rights of their fellow-citizens, their power and conſequence would be infinitely augmented, and the very miniſter who buys or cajoles them, would hold them in high eſtimation. Ultimately, perhaps, their preſent ſordid views might be accompliſhed with greater ſucceſs; as they certainly would be, if accompliſhed at all, with more honor and ſatisfaction.

Inſtead of ſeparating their intereſts, I would ſay, let our commerce and our conſtitution ever flouriſh together. Certain I am, that a flouriſhing commerce, by giving power and conſequence to the middle and lower ranks of the people, tends more than all the military aſſociations to preſerve the genuine ſpirit of the conſtitution.

SECTION XII. The Spirit of Deſpotiſm diſplaying itſelf in private Life, and proceeding thence to avail itſelf of the Church and the Military.

MANY who enjoy the great advantages of diſtinguiſhed rank and enormous wealth, either hereditary or acquired, not contented with thoſe advantages, ſeem, by their behaviour, to envy the leſs fortunate of their ſpecies the little happineſs they retain in their humble ſphere. Unſatisfied with the elevation which their birth or fortune has given them, they wiſh to trample on their inferiors, and to force them ſtill lower in ſociety. Baſe pride! fordid greedineſs of wretches, who, notwithſtanding they are gratified with all external ſplendor, and pampered even to loathing with plenty of all good things, yet inſult thoſe who miniſter to their luxuries, and who (however deſerving by virtue all that the others poſſeſs by chance) ſit down with a bare competence, and often in want of real neceſſaries, food, raiment, and habitation.

The inſolence of many among the great, who poſſeſs neither knowledge nor virtue, nor any quality uſeful to mankind, and the contempt with which they look down upon men, whom, though both virtuous and uſeful, they call their inferiors, excites the honeſt indignation of all who can think and feel, and who are remote from the ſphere of corrupting influence. The natural ſenſations of an honeſt heart revolt againſt it. It is not only moſt highly culpable in a moral view, but extremely dangerous in a political. It ariſes from the genuine ſpirit of deſpotiſm, and if not checked by the people, muſt lead to its univerſal prevalence. Such a ſpirit would allow no rights to the poor, but thoſe which cannot be taken away, ſuch as the ſwine poſſeſs; the rights of mere animal nature. Such a ſpirit hates the people, and would gladly annihilate all of them, but thoſe who adminiſter to pride and luxury, either as menial ſervants, dependent tradeſmen or mechanics, or common ſoldiers, ready to ſhed their own and others blood for a morſel of bread.

Even the beaſts are held in higher honor by many ariſtocrats, than the poor people in their vicinage. Dogs and horſes are fed, lodged, nay, the horſes ſometimes clothed ſumptuouſly; while the poor laborers in the cot on the ſide of the common, are ſtarved, ſcarcely ſheltered by their roofs, and almoſt naked. As you ride by the ſplendid palace and extenſive park of ſome inheritor of overgrown opulence, ſome fortunate adventurer, ſome favored contractor, penſioner, or placeman, you behold ſtables and dog-kennels erected in a ſtile of magnificence; externally grand and internally commodious. The dogs and horſes are waited on by MEN appointed for the purpoſe, and more amply paid than the laborer, who riſes early, and late takes reſt in the work of agriculture or manufacture. After viewing the magnificent ſtables, proceed a little farther, and you ſee, on the road-ſide, and in the village, wretched houſes, without glaſs in the windows; the poor laborer, his wife, and children in rags; ſcarcely able to procure the ſmalleſt fire in the coldeſt weather, threatened with proſecution if they pick up ſticks in the park; and, if they refuſe to endure extreme cold and hunger, in danger of being hanged, and certain of impriſonment. The great man, who ſpends much of his time in the ſtable and kennel, and who careſſes the horſes and dogs, condeſcends not to enter the cottages. He receives the lowly obeiſance of the inhabitants without returning it. Look at yonder corner of his park, and you ſee a board with an inſcription, threatening all who enter with MAN traps and ſpring guns. If, tempted by hunger, the poor man ſhould venture to catch a hare or patridge, the horſe-whip is threatened, and perhaps inflicted in the firſt inſtance: and on a repetition of the atrocious crime, he and his whole family are turned out of their cottage; happy if himſelf be not impriſoned, though the bread of the helpleſs depends on his liberty and labor.

This petty tyrant of a village domain ſhall nevertheleſs think himſelf entitled to repreſent the next borough in Parliament. What can be expected from ſuch a wretch, but that he ſhould be as ſervilely mean and obſequious to a miniſter, as he is cruel and unfeeling in his behaviour to the poor of his vicinity? He has ſhewn already the diſpoſitions of a Nero and Domitian in miniature; and if he could obtain a throne, his ſceptre would be a rod of iron. He would be inclined to conſider all the people as a tribe of POACHERS.

If no conſiderable diſtrict of a country be without ſuch overbearing deſpots; if they are viewed without abhorrence, and conſidered as aſſuming only the common privileges of country gentlemen; if ſuch men, availing themſelves of a corrupt ſtate of repreſentation, often procure a ſhare in the legiſlature; is not that country, if there be ſuch an one, in danger of being over-run with the ſpirit of deſpotiſm? Are not the YEOMANRY, who are uſually tenants of theſe lordly Nimrods, likely to be influenced by them, through fear of loſing their farms, in their votes, and in all their ſentiments and conduct? And will not Liberty loſe ſome of her ableſt, as they were probably among her ſincereſt and manlieſt, defenders, when the yeomanry deſert her banners?

Among all that deſcription of perſons who have been lately called ARISTOCRATS, proud and ſelfiſh in their nature, Tories and Jacobites in their political principles, it is obvious to remark the moſt haughty, overbearing manners in the tranſactions of common life, in their domeſtic arrangements, in their pleaſurable excurſions, their viſits, their converſation, and general intercourſe. In all theſe, their grand object is to keep the vulgar, under which appellation they comprehend many truly, though not nominally, NOBLE, at a diſtance. They form a little world of their own, and entitle it, the circles of faſhion. Folly and vanity govern this little world with deſpotic rule; and virtue, learning, uſefulneſs have no claim to admiſſion into it. Pride, ſervility to courts, and a mutual, though tacit, agreement to treat the PEOPLE with contempt, are among the principal recommendations to it. The grand ſecret of its conſtitution is to claim dignity, diſtinction, power, and place, excluſively, without the painful labor of deſerving either by perſonal merit, or by ſervices to the commonwealth.

Theſe people puſh themſelves forward to notice at all public places. Though they contribute no more than others to the ſupport of ſuch places, (for they are ſordidly parſimonious) yet they claim a right to dictate every regulation. Countenanced by each other, they aſſume at theatres a bold behaviour, ſuch as argues a ſovereign contempt of the canaille. They talk loud, they laugh loud, they applaud each other's wit, they ſtrut with airs of perfect ſelf-complacency; but would not be ſuppoſed to caſt an eye at the inferior crowd, whoſe admiration they are at the ſame time courting, by every ſilly effort of pragmatical vanity. They cannot live long at home. No; they muſt have the eyes of the very people whom they affect to deſpiſe, conſtantly upon their perſons, their coaches, their livery ſervants; or elſe wealth loſes its power to gratify, and grandeur is no better than inſignificance.

Nothing flatters ſuch perſons more, than to have a number of their fellow-creatures engaged as ſervants about their perſons, with nothing to do, or with ſuch employments as MAN, properly ſo called, could not endure to have done by another. It adds greatly to their happineſs, if they can clothe theſe ſuperfluous menials in very fine and coſtly dreſs, far exceeding any thing which the middle, yet independent, ranks of the people can either afford or would chooſe to diſplay. They alſo chooſe that their footmen ſhould be handſome in their perſons, as well as ſumptuouſly clad; the intention being to lead the ſpectator to exclaim, when even the ſervants are ſuch reſpectable perſonages, "how ſtupenduouſly great muſt be the lordly maſter!"

A court, with all its forms and finery, is the very element of ſuch perſons. They flutter about it like butterflies in the ſunſhine; and happy he, who, in his way to it, excites the moſt admiration of his gaudy coach and coat in the crowd of St. James's-ſtreet; that crowd, which nevertheleſs they ſcorn, through fear of pollution, to look at, with eyes deſtined in a few minutes to enjoy the beatific viſion of royalty. But as a court is their delight; no wonder that their ſentiments on political matters are perfectly courtier-like. They are for extending the powers and prerogatives of royalty, from a ſelfiſh idea that they can recommend themſelves to the notice and patronage of courts by ſervile compliance, by riches and pomp; whereas the people would require perſonal merit as the paſſport to their favor. They think the people have little to beſtow but bare eſteem, or ſuch offices as are honorable only in proportion as they are well or ill diſcharged; ſuch as require virtues and abilities: whereas, a court can beſtow on its favorites, without requiring painful virtues, ribbands, garters, ſtars, and titles, all which gratify ſuperficial minds by their ••• ernal finery and diſtinction, independently of any idea that they are, or ſhould be, the public rewards of long and faithful ſervices, in promoting the welfare of the community, and the happineſs of the human race.

To form an adequate idea of the proud and frivolous minds of thoſe who are intent on nothing but aggrandizing themſelves by augmenting the power of courts and miniſters, whoſe favor they ſeek with the moſt deſpicable meanneſs, it will be neceſſary to entertain right notions of the court of France, and the manners of the nobleſſe, previouſly to the revolution. 'The two great aims' (ſays an obſerving French writer) of the modern courtiers of France, like ſome of another nation, where diſſipation and the means of repairing the ruinous conſequences of that diſſipation to their private fortunes. To obtain the former end, they purſued her through all the fantaſtical labyrinth or verſatile folly; and to accompliſh the latter, they ſtartled at no depravity or corruption which preſented itſelf. Thus, the greateſt perſonages in the nation were moſt diſtinguiſhable for vice and meanneſs; the ſole object was to indulge in every vain and every ſenſual gratification, and then to procure places and appointments, the profits of which were to pay the expences of pride and debauchery. The financier robbed the people. The great (as they are abuſively called) received the ſtolen goods; and the people, in return for their property thus extorted from them, were at once oppreſſed, plundered and deſpiſed. If a nobleman, impoveriſhed by his enormous vices and ſilly vanity, married into a rich but plebeian family, they called this degrading conduct, the taking DUNG to fertilize their eſtates. At the ſame time, pollution as it was to marry the honeſt daughter of an honeſt merchant, they prided themſelves in chooſing for miſtreſſes not only the loweſt, but the moſt vicious perſons, opera-dancers, and actreſſes, notorious for proſtitution. Such were many of the courtiers, the nobleſſe, and ſticklers for arbitrary power, in France; and have there not appeared in other nations, inſtances of ſimilar conduct in perſons of ſimilar rank, and ſimilar political principles?

In France, biſhopries were uſually conſidered as genteel proviſions for the ſons of noble families. Religions conſiderations had little influence in the appointment of them. Learning was not a ſufficient recommendation. BLOOD was the prime requiſite. If by chance a man, with every kind of merit proper for that ſtation, roſe to a biſhopric, without the recommendation of blood, he was deſpiſed by the fraternity, and called a BISHOP OF FORTUNE. I have heard in England ſuch men as Dr. Watſon, and Dr. Porteus, and Dr. Secker, with all their learning, ſpoken of as men that muſt not think themſelves of any political conſequence; as men who ſhould be ſatsfied with their good fortune, and not pretend to vie with the NORTHS, and Cornwalliſes, and Kepples. How would ſuch men have deſpiſed JESUS CHRIST and the poor fiſhermen! yet they love biſhopries, ſo far as they contribute to ſecular pomp and parade.

A ſimilar ſpirit muſt produce ſimilar conduct. Therefore thoſe who would not wiſh the manners of the French, as they exiſted before the revolution, to prevail in their own country, will check the ſpirit that gives riſe to ſuch manners, by every rational means of oppoſition to it. That ſpirit and thoſe manners at once ſupported the French monarchy, and cauſed its abolition.

Indeed, the overbearing manners of the TORIES, or friends of arbitrary power, are ſo diſguſting in private life to every man of ſenſe and independence, that they muſt be exploded, wherever ſenſe and independence can prevail over the arts of ſycophantiſm. They are no leſs offenſive to humanity, and injurious to all-the ſweet equality of ſocial intercourſe, than they are to public liberty. Obſerve one of theſe perſons, who ſwells to an unnatural ſize of ſelf-conſequence, from the emptineſs of his head and the pride of his heart, entering a coffee-houſe or public room at a watering place. To ſhew his contempt of all around him, he begins whiſtling, or beating a tune with his fingers or with a ſtick on the table. He ſtands with his back to the fire, holding up the ſkirts of his coat, protruding his lips, picking his teeth, adjuſting his cravat, ſurveying his buckles, and turning out his knees or toes; ſhewing, by every ſign he can think of, his own opinion of his own importance, and his ſovereign contempt for the company. Preſently he calls the waiter with a loud voice and imperious one. Damn you, Sir, why don't you bring me a paper? Then after ſtrutting up and down two or three times, iewing himſelf in the glaſs, bowing through the window to a coach with coronets on the ſides, he haſtily ruſhes out, ſhutting the door with a ſound that diſturbs the whole room. He ſteps back a moment, and having hallooed to the waiter—"Has Sir John been here?" ſhuts the door ſtill louder, and departs to the other rooms, to diſplay the ſame airs of ſelf importance.

Liſten to him while he gives orders to his ſervants or workmen. His tone is ſo imperious, you might imagine them negroes, and himſelf a negro-driver. And happy, he thinks, would he be, if the laws of this country would allow him to uſe the whip at once, inſtead of wearing out his precious lungs on ſuch low-born wretches. But as he dares not uſe the whip, (and indeed, he is generally a coward as well as bully), he makes up for it as well as he can, by threatening to uſe it on all occaſions, whenever his will is not minutely and inſtantaneouſly executed. He urges the propriety of keeping theſe people at a diſtance, making them know their ſtation, and preſerving his own dignity. Porters, hackney-coachmen, chairmen, whoever is ſo unfortunate as to be obliged, through poverty and a low ſtation, to miniſter to his luxury, are ſure, at the ſame time to be inſulted by his inſolence. He pays no more than others; often leſs; but he ſwears and calls names. In truth, he conſiders this order of uſeful people, certainly reſpectable when honeſt, ſober, and induſtrious, as not of the ſame fleſh and blood with himſelf, but to be ranked with the aſs and the ſwine.

— Animos ſervorum et corpora noſtrâ Materia conſtare putat, paribuſque elementis? "O Demens! ita ſervus HOMO eſt Have ſervants ſouls?—and are their bodies then Of the ſame fleſh and blood as gentlemen? Have ſervants RIGHTS OF MEN to plead? O ſure 'Tis madneſs thus to patronize the poor. ? JUV.

This proud pretender to ſuperiority, his ſneaking ſlave of courts, and tyrant of his houſehold, would monopolize not only all the luxuries of habitation, food, raiment, vehicles, attendants, but all notice, all reſpect, all conſideration. The world was made for him, and ſuch as he, to take their paſtime in it. His family, his children, his houſe muſt all be kept from plebeian contamination. It is worth while to obſerve the fences of his premiſes, his high rails, gates, the walls before his houſe, the grim porter at his door, and the ſurly maſtiff, taught to hunt down the poor man and the ſtranger that ſojourns near the magnificent palace of ſelfiſh grandeur. The well-barred portals, however, fly open at the approach of lords and dukes; and he himſelf would lick the ſhoes of a king or prime miniſter, if ſuch ſhould, for the ſake of ſecuring the influence of his wealth in parliament, condeſcend to enter his manſion.

The ariſtocratical inſolence is viſible where one would leaſt expect it; where all the partakers of this frail and mortal ſtate ſhould appear in a ſtate of equality; even at church, in the immediate preſence of Him who made high and low, rich and poor; and where the gilded and painted ornaments on the walls ſeem to mock the folly of all human pride. The pew of the great man is raiſed above the others, though its elevation is an obſtacle both to the eyes and ears of thoſe who are placed in its vicinity. It is furniſhed with curtains, adorned with linings, and accommodated with cuſhions. Servants walk in his train, open the door of his luxurious ſeat, and carry the burden of the prayer-book. The firſt reverence is paid to perſons of condition around. Thoſe who do not bow at the name of Jeſus Chriſt, bend with all lowlineſs to the lord in the gallery. The whole behaviour leads a thinking man to conclude, that the ſelf-important being would ſcarcely deign to enter Heaven, any more than he does the church, if he muſt be reduced to an equality with the ruſtic vulgar.

Such perſons, conſiſtently with their arbitrary principles, are always high-churchmen. Though they may be indifferent to religion, they are zealous for the church. They conſider the church as uſeful, not only in providing genteelly for relations and dependents, but as an engine to keep down the people. Upon the head of their deſpot, they would but a triple covering, the crown, the mitre, and the helmet. The Devil offered our Saviour all the kingdoms of this world and their glory, if he would fall down and worſhip him; and there is reaſon to fear, that ſuch idolaters of the kingdoms of this world and their glory, would apoſtatize from him who ſaid his kingdom was not of this world, if the ſame evil being were to make them the ſame offer. The temporalities and ſplendors of the church triumphant endear it to them; but, if it continued in its primitive ſtate, or in the condition in which it was when poor fiſhermen were its biſhops, they would ſoon ſide, in religious matters, with the miſcreant philoſophers of France. But while mitres and ſtalls may be made highly ſubſervient to the views of a miniſter, and the promoters of arbitrary power and principles, they honor the church, though they know nothing of Chriſt; they ſtickle for the bench, though they abandon the creed. An ally, like the church, poſſeſſed of great power, muſt be cheriſhed; though the very perſons who wiſh to avail themſelves of that power, would be the firſt, if that power were in real danger, to queſtion its rights, and to accelerate its ſubverſion.

There is one circumſtance in the conduct of the Tory friends to abſolute ſway truly alarming to the champions of liberty. They are always inclined, on the ſmalleſt tumult, to call in the military. They would depreciate the civil powers, and break the conſtable's ſtaff to introduce the bayonet. In their opinion, the beſt executive powers of government are a party of dragoons. They are therefore conſtantly ſounding alarms, and aggravating every petty diſturbance into a riot or rebellion. They are not for parleying with the many-headed monſter; they ſcorn lenient meaſures; and while their own perſons are in perfect ſafety, boldly command the military to fire. What is the life or the limb of a poor man, in their opinion? Not ſo much as the life or limb of a favorite pointer or race-horſe. They are always eager to augment the army. They would build barracks in every part of the country, and be glad to ſee a free country over-run, like ſome of the enſlaved nations of the continent, from eaſt to weſt, from north to ſouth, with men armed to overawe the ſaucy advocates of charters, privileges, rights, and reformations.

Againſt principles ſo dangerous in public life, and odious in private, every friend to his king and country, every lover of his fellow creatures, every competent judge of thoſe manners, which ſweeten the intercourſe of man with man, will ſhew a determined oppoſition. But how ſhall he ſhew it with effect? By RIDICULE. Nothing lowers the pride from which ſuch principles proceed, ſo much as general contempt and deriſion. The inſolence of petty deſpots in private life ſhould be laughed at by an Ariſtophanes, while it is rebuked by a Cato.

SECTION XIV. The deſpotic Spirit inclined to avail itſelf of Spies, Informers, falſe Witneſſes, pretended Conſpiracies, and ſelf-intereſted Aſſociations affecting Patriotiſm

Sub Tiberio Caeſare fuit accuſandi frequens et paene publica rabies, quae omni civili bello graviùs togatam civitatem confecit. Excipiebatur EBRIORUM ſermo, ſimplicitas JOCANTIUM.

SENECA de Benef.

Under Tiberius Caeſar, the rage of accuſing or informing was ſo common, as to haraſs the peaceful citizens more than a civil war. The words of drunken men and the unguarded joke of the thoughtleſs, were taken down, and unguarded to the Emperor.

.

IT is not unfair to infer the exiſtence of ſimilar principles from ſimilarity of conduct. In that black page of hiſtory which diſgraces human nature; I mean the records of the Roman emperors, in the decline of Roman virtue; we read, that ſpies and informers were conſidered as neceſſary functionaries of government; that they became favorites at court, and were encouraged by rewards due only to exemplary patriotiſm and public ſervice. There have been periods alſo in the hiſtory of England, when ſpies, informers, falſe witneſſes, and pretended plots, were deemed lawful and uſeful expedients by the rulers of the ſtate. In teſtimony of this aſſertion, we need only call to mind the pretended Popiſh plot, with all its villainous circumſtances, in the reign of Charles the Second; a reign in many parts of it reſembling the times of the Roman Tiberius. But at whatever period ſpies, informers, falſe witneſſes, and pretended plots are adopted by men in power, to ſtrengthen themſelves in office, and deſtroy virtuous oppoſition, there is reaſon to fear, in ſpite of all profeſſions of the contrary, that the tyrannic ſpirit of the degenerate Caeſars waits but for opportunities to diſplay itſelf in acts of Neronian atrocity. Power is deficient; but inclination is equally hoſtile to the maſs of mankind, denominated the People, whom ſome politicians ſcarcely condeſcend to acknowledge as poſſeſſed of any political exiſtence.

The employment of ſpies and informers is a virtual declaration of hoſtilities againſt the people. It argues a want of confidence in them. It argues a fear and jealouſy of them. It argues a deſire to deſtroy them by ambuſcade. It is, in civil government, what ſtratagems are in a ſtate of war. It tends alſo to excite retaliation.

A miniſtry muſt be ſadly corrupt, and unworthy the confidence either of king on people, which can ſo far degrade itſelf as to require the aſſiſtance of the vileſt of the human race. Such are the whole race of ſpies, ſycophants, (I uſe the word in its proper ſenſe), informers, and falſe witneſſes. So great is the unfortunate corruption of human nature, that men I e been always found to execute the m •• infamous offices, when a government has thought proper to ſeek their co-operation. Extreme poverty, united with extreme profligacy of conduct, and a total deſtitution of moral and religious principle, prepare men for the moſt nefarious deeds which tyrants can meditate. For tyrants only, the robbers and murderers of men, be ſuch miſcreants reſerved. Tacitus has called them INSTRUMENTA REGNI, the implements of government, when government falls into hands which are ſkilled in the uſe of no better; into the hands of Neros and Caligulas. May the miniſter of a free country, who has recourſe to ſuch tools, be himſelf the firſt to feel their deſtroying edge!

Seneca, in the quotation at the head of this ſection, has handed down a circumſtance, in the reign of Tiberius, which muſt cauſe every man, who has a juſt regard for the comforts of free intercourſe and converſation, to ſhudder at the proſpect of being governed by a ſyſtem ſupported by ſpies and informers. He tells us, that the convivial merriment of friends aſſembled over a glaſs, the innocent raillery and banter of jocular converſation, were, through the encouragement given to informers by the government, made the grounds of a ſerious charge of ſedition and treaſon. The words of the drunken, and the unguarded openneſs of the joker, were taken hold of by perſons who mixed with the gueſts, in order to recommend themſelves to government, by reporting the free language that might eſcape in the hour of unreſerved confidence; when the heart is opened by friendſhip, and the tongue looſened by wine.

He who dippeth with me in the diſh, the ſame ſhall betray me, ſaid our Saviour. But be it remembered, that the ſame perſons who hired and paid Judas Iſcariot, crucified JESUS CHRIST.

But what ſhall we ſay? Have there been no Judas Iſcariots in modern days? Have our coffee-houſes, taverns, and places of public amuſement, been quite free from hired wretches, who, while they dipped in the ſame diſh with us, were ſeeking to betray us, if poſſible, to priſons and to death? Did they this wickedneſs of themſelves, or were they hired and paid by perſons influenced by tory principles or high in office? Have not certain ſpies confeſſed, at a ſolemn trial, that they were hired and paid by men in office? Have not the ſame ſpies led to thoſe extravagant ſpeeches, or thoſe offenſive meaſures, which they afterwards informed againſt for hire; hoping to deprive the perſons they betrayed either of liberty or life? If ſuch things have been, is it not time to be alarmed, to guard againſt ſpies, informers, and falſe witneſſes? And is it not right to expreſs, and increaſe, if poſſible, the public indignation againſt both them and their employers?

When men high in office, of reputed abilities, and certainly poſſeſſing extenſive knowledge, patronize ſuch miſcreants as ſpies and informers, they certainly corrupt the public morals, by leading the people, over whom their examples muſt always have great influence, to believe, that treachery, perjury, and murder are crimes of a venial nature. They teach men to carry the profligacy of public characters and conduct into the requeſtered walks of private life. They teach one of the moſt corrupting maxims; for they teach, That when ends eagerly deſired by knaves in power are to be accompliſhed, the means muſt be purſued, however baſe and diſhoneſt. They deſtroy at once the confidential comforts and the moſt valuable virtues of private life.

But ſtate-neceſſity is urged in defence of that policy which employs ſpies and informers. I deny the exiſtence of ſuch neceſſity. There are excellent laws, and there are magiſtrates and officers diſperſed all over the kingdom, who are bound to take cognizance of any illegal and injurious practices, and to prevent them by a timely interference. If ſuch magiſtrates and officers neglect their duty, it is incumbent on thoſe who appointed them, and who are amply paid for their vigilance, to inſtitute proſecutions, to puniſh and to remove them. The law knows nothing of ſpies and informers. The only watchmen it recognizes are magiſtrates, regularly appointed. The whole body of a people, well governed, and conſequently contented with their governors, are the natural and voluntary guardians againſt ſeditions, treaſons, and conſpiracies to ſubvert the ſtate. When ſpies and informers are called in, it argues a diſtruſt of the magiſtrates, and of the whole body of the people. It argues an endeavor to govern in a manner unauthorized by that conſtitution which the employers of ſpies and informers pretend to protect, by inſtruments ſo dangerous and unjuſtifiable.

I have a better opinion of men in power, in our times, corrupting as the poſſeſſion of power is allowed to be, than to believe that any of them would hire a falſe witneſs. But let them be aſſured, that a hired ſpy and informer will, by an eaſy tranſition, become a falſe witneſs, even in trials where liberty and life are at ſtake. In trials of leſs conſequence, there is no doubt but that his conſcience will ſtretch with the occaſion. His object is not truth or juſtice; but filthy lucre; and when he aſpires at great rewards, great muſt be his venture. Having once broken down, as a treacherous ſpy, the fences of honor and conſcience, nothing but fear will reſtrain him, as a witneſs, from overleaping the bounds of truth, juſtice, and mercy. He will rob and murder under the forms of law; and add to the atrocity of blood-guiltineſs, the crime of perjury. No man is ſafe, where ſuch men are countenanced by officers of ſtate. They themſelves may periſh by his falſe tongue; ſuffering the vengeance due to their baſe encouragement of a traitor to the public, by falling unpitied victims to his diſappointed treachery. The peſtilential breath of ſpies and informers is not to be endured in the pure healthy atmoſphere of a free ſtate. It brings with it the ſickly deſpotiſm of oriental climes.

But how ominous to liberty, if large aſſociations of rich men, either poſſeſſing or expecting places, penſions, and titles for themſelves or their relations, ſhould ever take upon them the office of ſpying and informing! by their numbers braving the ſhame, and evading the perſonal reſponſibility, that would fall on an individual or unconnected ſpy or informer! Such an aſſociation would be a moſt dangerous conſpiracy of ſycophants againſt a free conſtitution. If the public ſhould ever behold the venal tribe thus undermining the fair fabric of liberty, and behold them without indignation, would it not give reaſon to ſuſpect, that the Tory and Jacobite principles, or the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, had pervaded the body of the people?

The honeſt, independent, and thinking part of the community will be juſtly alarmed, when they ſee either individuals or bodies of men encouraged by miniſterial favors, in calumniating the people, and falſely accuſing the advocates of conſtitutional freedom. They will think it time to ſtem the torrent of corruption, which, rolling down its foul but impetuous tide from the hills, threatens devaſtation to the cottages in the valley. But how ſhall they ſtop an evil, promoted and encouraged, for private and ſelfiſh motives, by the whole influence of grandeur and opulence acting in combination? By bearing their teſtimony in favor of truth and juſtice; by giving their ſuffrages to honeſt men; by rejecting the ſervile adulator of courts, and the mean ſycophant of miniſters: and by ſhunning as peſtilences every deſcription of ſpies and informers, whether poor or rich, mercenary or volunteer

I ſubjoin a curious paſſage from the 14th book of Ammianus Marcellinus, on the manner in which ſpies executed their office, under the imperial authority of Conſtantius Gallus.

Excogitatum eſt ſuper his, ut homines quidam ignoti, VILITATE IPSA par m cavendi, ad colligendo rumores per Antiochiae latera cuncta deſtinarentur, relaturi qu audirent. Hi peragranter et diſſimulanter honoratorum circulis aſſiſtendo, pervadendoque divitum domus egentium habitu, quicquid noſcere p terant vel audire, laten •• intromiſſi per POSTICAS in regiam, nuntiabant: id obſerv •••• conſpiratione concordi, ut fingerent quaedam, et cog •• ta duplicare t in pejus: LAUDES VERO SUPPRIMERENT CAESARIS, quos INVITIS QUAMPLURIMIS, formido malorum impendentium exprimebat.

Another expedient was, to place at every corner of the city certain obſcure perſons, not likely to excite ſuſpicion or caution, becauſe of their apparent inſignificancy, who were to repeat whatever they heard. Theſe perſons, by ſtanding near gentlemen, or getting entrance into the houſes of the rich, in the diſguiſe of poverty, reported whatever they ſaw or heard, at court, being privately admitted into the palace by the BACK STAIRS: having concerted it between themſelves to add a great deal, from their own invention, to whatever they really ſaw or heard, and to make the matter ten times worſe. They agreed alſo to ſuppreſs the mention of thoſe LOYAL SONGS OR TOASTS, or) ſpeeches, in favor of the emperor, which the dread of impending evil ſqueezed out of many againſt their will and better judgment.

The decline of the Roman empire was diſtinguiſhed by ſpies and informers: it is to be hoped that the uſe of ſpies and informers does not portend the decline of the Britiſh empire.

. If they fail, they will feel the comfort of having diſcharged their duty.

SECTION XV. The Manners of Tory Courtiers, and of thoſe who ape them, as People of Faſhion, inconſiſtent with Manlineſs, Truth, and Honeſty; and their Prevalence injurious to a free Conſtitution, and the Happineſs of Human Nature.

AMONG a thouſand anecdotes of the frivolity of the governing part of a deſpotic country, I ſelect the following, merely as a ſlight ſpecimen of the trifling diſpoſition of thoſe who, as they pretend, claim their elevated ſituations for the GOOD OF MANKIND.

In the ſummer of the year 1775, the queen of France, being dreſſed in a light-brown ſilk, the king good-naturedly obſerved, it was couleur de puce, the color of fleas; and inſtantly every lady in the land was uneaſy till ſhe had dreſſed herſelf in a ſilk gown of a flea color. The rage was caught by the men; and the dyers worked night and day, without being able to ſupply the demand for flea-color. They nicely diſtinguiſhed between an old and a young flea, and ſubdivided even the ſhades of its body. The belly, the back, the thigh, the head, were all marked by varying tints. This prevailing color promiſed to be the faſhion of the winter. The ſilk-mercers found it would hurt their trade. They therefore preſented her majeſty with patterns of new ſattins; who having choſen one, MONSIEUR exclaimed, it was the color of her majeſty's HAIR!

Immediately the fleas ceaſed to be favorites at court, and all were eager to be dreſſed in the color of her majeſty's hair. Servants were ſent off at the moment from Fontainbleu to Paris, to purchaſe velvets, ratteens, and cloths of this color. The current price of an ell in the morning had been forty livres, and it roſe in the evening to eighty and ninety. The demand was ſo great, and the anxiety ſo eager, that ſome of her majeſty's hair was actually obtained by bribery, and ſent to the Gobelins, to Lyons, and other manufactories, that the exact ſhade might be caught and religiouſly preſerved.

Such was the little, mean, adulatory ſpirit of the court of France, and of the people who at that time imitated the court with more than apiſh mimicry. To ſhew how little there is of truth and honeſty in ſuch ſervility, be it remembered, that the nation ſo eager to catch the very color of the queen's hair, ſoon afterwards cut off the head on which it grew. Nothing ſilly, nothing overſtrained, can be laſting, becauſe it wants a ſolid foundation. Let kings be careful how they confide in court compliments and the addreſſes of corruption. Maſtiffs guard their maſter and his houſe better than ſpaniels.

While ſuch a ſpirit prevails among the great, it is impoſſible that the happineſs of man can be duly regarded by thoſe who claim a right to govern him. Where frivolity and meanneſs are general, it is impoſſible that the people can be wiſe or happy. Gaiety founded on levity or affectation, is not happineſs. It laughs and talks, while the heart is either unmoved or dejected. Happineſs is ſerious. The noiſe of folly is intended to diſſipate thought; but no man would wiſh his thoughts to be diſſipated, who finds any thing within him to think of with complacency.

Princes have always ſomething important to think of, which, it might be ſuppoſed, would preclude the neceſſity of trifling amuſements to kill time. Yet courts have always been remarkable for frivolity. This frivolity is not only contemptible in itſelf, unworthy of rational beings, eſpecially when executing a moſt momentous truſt, but productive of meanneſs, weakneſs, and corruption. Long experience has aſſociated with the idea of a courtier in deſpotic courts, duplicity, inſincerity, violation of promiſes, adulation, all the baſe and mean qualities, rendered ſtill baſer and meaner, by aſſuming, on public occaſions, the varniſh of hypocriſy.

Eraſmus gives directions to a young man, in the manner of Swift, how to conduct himſelf at court. I believe they never have been preſented to the Engliſh reader, and therefore I ſhall take the liberty of tranſlating them, not only for the ſake of affording amuſement, but that it may be duly confidered, whether or not perſons who form their manners and principles after ſuch models, are likely to be the friends of man, the aſſertors of the guardians of liberty: whether the ſlaves of faſhion, who ſeem to ſeparate themſelves from others, as if they were a choſen tribe among the ſons of men; as if they were made of ſuch clay as forms the porcelain, while others are merely earthen ware; whether, I ſay, the ſlaves of faſhion, which always apes a court in all its extravag ncies, are likely to conſult the happineſs of the majority of mankind, the middle, loweſt, and moſt uſeful claſſes, whom they deſpiſe, as an inferior ſpecies of beings; as the whites in the Weſt Indies formerly looked down upon the negroes with diſdain.

"As you are now going to live at court," ſays Eraſmus, "I adviſe you, in the firſt place, never to repoſe the ſmalleſt degree of conſidence in any man there who profeſſes himſelf your friend, though he may ſmile upon you, and embrace you, and promiſe you; aye, and confirm his promiſe with an oath. Believe no man there a ſincere friend to you; and do you take care to be a ſincere friend to no man— Nevertheleſs, you muſt pretend to love all you ſee, and ſhew the utmoſt ſuavity of manners and attentions to every individual. Theſe attentions coſt you not a farthing; therefore you may be as laviſh of them as you pleaſe. Pay your ſalutations with the ſofteſt ſmiles on your countenance, ſhake hands with the appearance of moſt ardent cordiality, bow and give way to all, ſtand cap in hand, addreſs every body by their titles of honor, praiſe without bounds, and promiſe moſt liberally.

"I would have you every morning, before you go to the levee, practiſe in making up your face for the day at your looking-glaſs at home, that it may be ready to aſſume any part in the farce, and that no glimpſe of your real thoughts and feelings may appear. You muſt ſtudy your geſtures carefully at home, that in the acting of the day your countenance, perſon, and converſation may all correſpond, and aſſiſt each other in keeping up your character at the court maſquerade.

"Theſe are the elements of the courtier's philoſophy, in learning which, no man can be an apt ſcholar, unleſs he firſt of all diveſts himſelf of all ſenſe of ſhame; and leaving his natural face at home, puts on a vizor, and wears it conſtantly too. In the next place, get ſcent of the various cabals and parties of the court; but be not in a hurry to attach yourſelf to any of them, till you have duly reconnoitred. When you have found out who is the king's favorite, you have your cue; mind to keep on the ſafe ſide of the veſſel. If the king's favorite be a downright fool, you muſt not ſcruple to ſlatter him, ſo long as he is in favor with the god of your idolatry.

"The god himſelf, to be ſure, will require the main efforts of your ſkill. As often as you happen to be IN THE PRESENCE, you muſt exhibit a face of apparently honeſt delight, as if you were tranſported with the privilege of being ſo near the royal perſon. When once you have obſerved what he likes and diſlikes, your buſineſs is done."

He proceeds to adviſe his pupil to purſue his own intereſt, regardleſs of all honor and honeſty, whenever they may be violated without detection. He tells him, in conſulting his intereſt, to pay more court to enemies than friends, that he may turn their hearts, and bring them over to his ſide. I cannot, in this place, give the whole of the letter; but the curious reader may find it under number fifty-ſeven, in the twenty-eighth book of the London edition.

Eraſmus drew from the life. Though a moſt profound ſcholar, yet he was not merely a ſcholar. He read the book of the world with as much accuracy as the volumes of his library. I have brought forward this letter, becauſe I find it exemplified in the Precepts of Lord Cheſterfield, and the Diary of Lord Melcombe. It appears, under the teſtimony of their own hands, that theſe men actually were the characters which Eraſmus, in a vein of irony and ſarcaſm, adviſes his court-pupil to become. It appears from them, that many of the perſons, with whom they acted, were ſimilar. It follows that, if ſuch men were great, wiſe, and good men, truth, honor, ſincerity, friendſhip, and patriotiſm are but empty names, deviſed by politicians to amuſe and delude a ſubject and an abject people.

But the people (I mean not a venal mob, employed by a miniſter or by a faction) are not ſo corrupted. They value truth, honor, ſincerity, and patriotiſm; and in their conduct often diſplay them in their utmoſt purity. Shall courtiers, then, be liſtened to, when they repreſent the people as the ſwiniſh multitude, or as venal wretches? Shall courtiers, ſuch as Lord Melcombe, claim an excluſive right to direct human affairs? influencing ſenates to make and unmake laws at pleaſure; and to cry havoc, when they pleaſe, and let ſlip the dogs of war on the poor, either at home or abroad? Shall a whole nation be proud to mimic a court, not only in dreſs, amuſements, and all the vanity of faſhion, but in ſentiments, in morals, in politics, in religion, in no religion, in hypocriſy, in CRUELTY?

Lord Melcombe and Lord Cheſterfield were leading men, able men, eloquent men, conſidered in their day as ornaments of the court and of the nation. But if even they exhibit both precepts and examples of extreme ſelfiſhneſs, of deceit, and of a total diſregard to human happineſs, what may we think of their numerous dependents, under-agents, perſons attached to them by places, penſions, ribbands, titles, expecting favors for themſelves, or their natural children, or their couſins? Can we ſuppoſe theſe men to retain any regard for the PUBLIC? Would they make any ſacrifice to the general happineſs of human nature? Would they aſſert liberty, or undergo trouble, loſs, perſecution, in defence of a conſtitution? They themſelves would laugh at you, if you ſhould ſuppoſe it poſſible. They can be conſidered in no other light than as vermin, ſucking the blood of the people whom they deſpiſe.

Yet theſe, and ſuch as theſe, are the men who are indefatigable in declaiming againſt the people, talking of the miſchiefs of popular government, and the danger of admitting the rights of man. Theſe, and ſuch as theſe, are the ſtrenuous oppoſers of all reform in the repreſentation. Theſe, and ſuch as theſe, call all attempts at innovations, though evidently improvements, ſeditious. Theſe are the alarmiſts, who cry out, the church or the ſtate is in danger, in order to perſecute honeſt men, or to introduce the military. The military is their delight, their fortreſs; and to compaſs their own baſe ends, they will not heſitate to bathe their arms in human blood, even up to their very ſhoulders. Their whole object is to aggrandize a POWER, of which they pant to participate, and from which alone, deſtitute as they are of merit and goodneſs, they can hope for lucre and the diſtinctions of vanity.

"Where the ruling miſchief," ſays the author of the Eſtimate, "prevails among the great, then even the palliative remedies cannot eaſily be applied. The reaſon is manifeſt: a coercive power is wanting. They who ſhould cure the evil, are the very delinquents; and moral and political phyſic no diſtempered mind will ever adminiſter to itſelf.

"Neceſſity therefore, and neceſſity alone, muſt in ſuch a caſe be the parent of reformation. So long as degenerate and unprincipled manners can ſupport themſelves, they will be deaf to reaſon, blind to conſequences, and obſtinate in the long-eſtabliſhed purſuit of GAIN and PLEASURE. IN SUCH MINDS, THE IDEA OF A PUBLIC HAS NO PLACE. Nor can ſuch minds be ever awakened from their fatal dream, till either the VOICE of an ABUSED people rouſe them INTO FEAR, or the ſtate itſelf totter, through the general incapacity, cowardice, and diſunion of thoſe who ſupport it.

"Whenever, this compelling power, Neceſſity, ſhall appear, then, and not till then, may we hope that our deliverance is at hand. Effeminacy, rapacity, and faction, will then be ready to reſign the reins they would now uſurp. One common danger, would create one common intereſt. Virtue may riſe on the ruins of corruption.

"One kind of NECESSITY, and which I call an internal NECESSITY, would ariſe, when the voice of an abuſed people ſhould rouſe the GREAT into FEAR.

"I am not ignorant, that it hath been a point of debate, whether, in POLITICAL MATTERS, THE GENERAL VOICE OF A PEOPLE OUGHT to be held worth much regard? Right ſorry I am to obſerve, that this doubt is the growth of later times; of times, too, which boaſt their love of freedom; but ought, ſurely, to bluſh, when they look back on the generous ſentiments of ancient days, which days we ſtigmatize with the name of ſlaviſh.

"Thus runs the writ of ſummons to the parliament of the 23d of Edward the Firſt:— The King, to the venerable father in Chriſt R. Archbiſhop of Canterbury, greeting: As the moſt juſt law, eſtabliſhed by the provident wiſdom of princes, doth appoint, that what concerns ALL, ſhould be approved by ALL; ſo it evidently implies, that dangers common to all, ſhould be obviated by remedies provided by all. Ut quod OMNES tangit, ab OMNIBUS approbetur;—ſic et innuit evidenter, ut COMMUNIBUS periculis per remedia proviſa COMMUNITER obvietur. A noble acknowledgement from an Engliſh king, which ought never, ſure, to be forgotten, or trodden under foot, by Engliſh ſubjects.

"There are two manifeſt reaſons why, in a degenerate ſtate, and a declining period, the united voice of a people is, in general, the ſureſt teſt of truth in all eſſential matters on which their own welfare depends, ſo far as the ends of political meaſures are concerned.

"Firſt, Becauſe in ſuch a period, and ſuch a ſtate, the body of a people are naturally the leaſt corrupt part of ſuch a people: for all general corruptions, of whatever kind, begin among the leaders, and deſcend from theſe to the lower ranks. Take ſuch a ſtate, therefore, in what period of degeneracy you pleaſe, the higher ranks will, in the natural courſe of things, be farther gone in the ruling evils than the lower; and therefore THE LESS TO BE RELIED ON.

"Secondly, A ſtill more cogent reaſon is, that the general body of the people have not ſuch a bias hung upon their judgment by the prevalence of perſonal and particular intereſt, as the GREAT, in all things which relate to ſtate matters. It is of no particulr and perſonal conſequence to the general body of a people, what men are employed, provided the general welfare be accompliſhed; becauſe nothing but the general welfare can be an object of deſire to the general body. But it is of much particular and perſonal conſequence to the GREAT, what men are employed; becauſe, through their connections and alliances, they muſt generally find either their friends or enemies in power. Their own private intereſts, therefore, naturally throw a bias on their judgments, and deſtroy that impartiality which the general body of an uncorrupt people doth naturally poſſeſs.

"Hence, then, it appears, that the united voice of an uncorrupt PEOPLE is, in general, the ſafeſt teſt of POLITICAL GOOD AND EVIL."

Is it not then time to be alarmed for the public good, when great pains are taken to depreciate the people; when the names of Jacobin, democrat, leveller, traitor, and mover of ſedition, are artfully thrown, by courtiers and their adherents, on every man who has ſenſe and virtue enough to maintain the cauſe of liberty; that cauſe, which eſtabliſhed the revolution on the ruins of deſpotiſm, and placed the preſent family on the throne, as the guardians of a free conſtitution? I cannot think ſuch courtiers, however they may fawn, for their own intereſt, on the perſon of the monarch, friends, in their hearts, to a limited monarchy. If they could and dared, they would reſtore a Stuart. But as that is impracticable, they would transfuſe the principles of the Stuarts into the boſom of a Brunſwick. To expoſe their ſelfiſh meanneſs, and fruſtrate their baſe deſign, is equally the duty and intereſt of the king and the people.

SECTION XVI. The Spirit of Truth, Liberty, and Virtue, public as well as private, chiefly to be found in the middle ranks of the people.

Nemo altero nobilior, niſi cui rectius ingenium et artibu bonis aptius. Qui imagines in atrio expenunt et nomi ••• familiae ſuae..... NOTI magis quam nobiles ſu •• .... •• icenda haec fuerunt ad contundendam inſolentiam hominum ex fortunâ pendentium. "No man is nobler born than another, unleſs he is born with better abilities and a more amiable diſpoſition. They who make ſuch a parade with their family pictures and pedigrees, are, properly ſpeaking, •• ther to be called NOTED or NOTORIOUS than NOBLE perſons. I thought is right to ſay thus much, in order to repel the inſolence of men who depend entirely upon chance and accidental circumſtances for diſtinction, and not at all on public ſervices and perſonal merit.

SENECA de Benef.

THE people of this land are uſually divided into nobility, gentry, and commonalty. The nobility and gentry ſeem to be eſtimated as officers in an army; the commonalty, or the whole body of the people, as the rank and file.

There might be no original impropriety in theſe appellations; but that of commonalty has been often uſed, by ariſtocratical upſtarts, with inſolence. The commonalty comprize the grand maſs of the nation; form the great fabric of the political building; while the GENTRY, after all, are but the carving and gilding, or the capitals of the pillars, that add to the ſupport of the roof, but conſtitute neither the walls nor the foundation. The commonalty, therefore, being the main fabric, are worthy, in the eye of reaſon, of the higheſt eſteem, and the firſt degree of a patriot's ſolicitude. There can be no rational end in our government but the happineſs of the whole PEOPLE, King, Lords, and COMMONS.

The commonalty are, beyond all compariſon, the moſt numerous order: and as every individual of them is entitled to comfort and ſecurity in a well regulated nation, the whole together-muſt demand the greateſt attention of the philoſopher, the divine, the philanthropiſt, of every man of ſenſe, goodneſs of heart, and liberality. The pomp and parade, the ſuperfluous luxury, the vain diſtinctions of the FEW, ſink to nothing, compared, in the mind of reaſonable and humane men, with the happineſs of the million.

It is certainly true, that the greateſt inſtances of virtue and excellence of every kind have originated in the middle order. 'Give me neither poverty nor riches,' was a prayer founded on a knowledge of human nature, and fully juſtified by experience. The middle ſtation affords the beſt opportunities for improvement of mind, is the leaſt expoſed to temptation, and the moſt capable of happineſs and virtue.

This opinion has long been received and acknowledged. I could cite, from the ſermont of our beſt divines on Agair's Prayer, many paſſage; in confirmation of it. I dwell upon it now, for no other reaſon, but becauſe it has lately been the faſhion, among thoſe who are alarmed for their privileges by the French revolution, to run down the people, and to cry up that ſilly ſpirit of chivalry which eſtabliſhed the ſyſtems of falſe honor, claiming rank and reſpect from ſociety, without rendering it any ſervice, without poſſeſſing any juſt claim to eſteem, much leſs to public honor, excluſive privileges, and titular diſtinction. The terms ſans culottes, canaille, bourgeoiſe, ſcum of the earth, venal wretches, and the never to be forgotten ſwiniſh multitude, have been reſerved for the people, eſpecially thoſe among them who have had ſenſe and ſpirit enough perſonally to oppoſe the progreſs of deſpotic principles and practices. Every thing that malice, urged by the fear of loſing the ribands, the titles, and the ſolid pence which a corrupt and corrupting miniſter can beſtow, has been thrown out, in newſpapers hited by the people's money for the purpoſe of vilifying the people.

It is time, therefore, that the people ſhould vindicate their honor. What are theſe inſolent co tiers, what theſe placemen and penſioners, who live on the public bounty, that they ſhould thus inſult thoſe whoſe bread they eat? For the moſt part, they are perſons who, if they were ſtripped of the falſe ſplendor of great manſions, numerous retinues, painted carriages, would appear among the meaneſt and moſt deſpicable members of ſociety. They indeed are to be pitied and borne with, while they abſtain from iuſulting the people; but when their filly pride preſumes to trample on the maſs of the community, they become deſerving of contempt as well as commiſeration.

Theſe are the perſons whom a patriotic Lord deſcribes "as giving themſelves up to the purſuit of honors and dignities, as LOVING THE SPLENDOR OF A COURT, and attaching themſelves to the cauſe of monarchy, (not from any conviction that monarchy is the moſt favorable to human happineſs, not even from perſonal attachment to the monarch,) but becauſe they ſee in the increaſed power of the monarch the ſource of additional weight and SPLENDOR to thoſe (that is, themſelves) who ſurround the throne, and an increaſe of value to the favors which the ſovereign can confer; ſuch as ſtars, garters, ribands, and titles."

But is a paſſion, childiſh from its vanity, and diabolical in its unfeeling greedineſs, to be borne with any longer, when, not content with engroſſing the profits of office and the pageantry of ſtate, it dares to ſpeak of the middle and lower claſſes, as beings ſcarcely deſerving notice, as mere nuiſances when not employed in the ſervile office of adminiſtering to ariſtocratic pride.

Virtue is nobility. Perſonal merit, uſeful, generous, benevolent exertion, the only honorable diſtinction. The trappings which every taylor can make to clothe a poor puny mortal, add no real dignity. In ages of ignorance, they might ſtrike with awe. Thoſe ages are no more. Nor will they ever return, notwithſtanding the efforts of petty deſpots, (fearing the loſs of thoſe diſtinctions which they know they never earned), to keep the people in the groſſeſt ignorance.

God Almighty, who gives his ſun to ſhine with as much warmth and radiance on the cottage as on the palace, has diſpenſed the glorious privilege of genius and virtue to the poor and middle claſſes, with a bounty perhaps ſeldom experienced in any of the proud pretenders to hereditary or official grandeur. Let us call to mind a few among the worthies who have adorned the ages that have elapſed: Socrates; was he noble in the ſenſe of a king at arms? Would he have condeſcended to be bedizened with ribands, and ſtars, and garters? Cicero; was he not a novus homo? a man unconnected with patricians, and deriving his glory from the pureſt fountain of honor, his own genius and virtue? Demoſthenes would have ſcorned to owe his eſtimation to a pedigree.

Who were the great reformers, to whom we of England and all Europe are indebted for emancipation from the chains of ſuperſtition? ERASMUS and LUTHER; Eraſmus, as the monks of his day objected to him, laid the egg, and Luther hatched it. But was it Archbiſhop Eraſmus? Lord Luther, Marquis Luther, Sir Martin Luther? Did they, either of them, ſeek the favor of courts? Were they not among the ſwiniſh multitude?

Thomas Paine contributed much, by his Common Senſe, to the happy revolution in America. I need not obſerve, that he had nothing of the luſtre of courts or nobility to recommend him. The virulent malice of courtiers and venal ſcribblers has blackened him as they once blackened Luther, when they aſſerted of him, that he was actually a devil incarnate, diſguiſed in the ſhape of a monk with a cowl. I do not advert to any of his ſubſequent publications. I only ſay, if they are ſo contemptible as they are ſaid by courtiers and riſtocrats to be, why not undertake the eaſy taſk of refuting him? Bloody wars and proſecutions are no refutation.

"Who is this Luther?" (ſaid Margaret, governeſs of the Netherlands.) The courtiers around her replied, "He is an ILLITERATE MONK." "Is he ſo? (ſaid ſhe.) I am glad to hear it. Then do you, gentlemen, who are not illiterate, who are both learned and numerous, do you, I charge you, write againſt this illiterate monk. That is all you have to do. The buſineſs is eaſy; for the world will ſurely pay more regard to a great many ſcholars, and great men, as you are, than to one poor illiterate monk."

Many did write againſt him, and poured forth the virulence of a malice unchecked by truth, and encouraged by crowned heads, But Luther prevailed, and we Engliſhmen have reaſon to celebrate the victory of truth and virtue over corrupt influence and cruel perſecution.

The greateſt ſcholars, poets, orators, philoſophers, warriors, ſtateſmen, inventors and improvers of the arts, aroſe from the loweſt of the people. If we had waited till courtiers had invented the art of printing, clock-making, navigation, and a thouſand others, we ſhould probably have continued in darkneſs to this hour. They had ſomething elſe to do, than to add to the comforts and conveniencies of ordinary life. They had to worſhip an idol, with the incenſe of flattery, who was often much more ſtupid than themſelves, and who ſometimes had no more care or knowledge of the people under him, or their wants, than he had of arts or literature.

The education of the middle claſſes is infinitely better than the education of thoſe who are called great people. Their time is leſs conſumed by that vanity and diſſipation which enfeebles the mind, while it precludes opportunity for reading and reflection. They uſually have a regard to character, which contributes much to the preſervation of virtue. Their honor and integrity are valued by them, as pearls of great price. Theſe are their ſtars, and theſe their coronets. They are for the moſt part attached to their religion. They are temperate, frugal, and induſtrious. In one particular, and that one adds a value above all that courts can give, they greatly excel the GREAT, and that particular is SINCERITY. They are in earneſt in their words and deeds. They have little occaſion for ſimulation and diſſimulation. Courtiers are too often varniſhed, factitious perſons, whom God and nature never made; while the people preſerve the image uneſſaced, which the Supreme Being impreſſed when he cerated MAN.

SECTION XVII. On debauching the Minds of the riſing Generation and a whole People, by giving them Military Notions in a free and commercial Country.

IN proportion as great men refuſe to ſubmit to reaſon, they are inclined to govern by violence. They who have the ſword in their hands, are unwilling to wait for the ſlow operation of argument. The ſword cuts away all oppoſition. No troubleſome contradiction, no unwelcome truth, will impede the progreſs of him who uſes the ratio ultima regum, and mows down all obſtacles with the ſcythed car.

Hence the abettors of high prerogative, of abſolute monarchy, and ariſtocratical pride, always delight in war. Not ſatisfied with attacking foreign nations, and keeping up a ſtanding army even in time of peace, they wiſh, after they have once corrupted the maſs of the people by univerſal influence, to render a whole nation military. The aggregate of military force, however great, being under their entire direction, they feel their power infinitely augmented, and bid defiance to the unarmed philoſopher and politician, who brings into the field truth without a ſpear, and argument unbacked with artillery.

But ſuch a ſyſtem tends to gothicize a nation, to extinguiſh the light of learning and philoſophy, and once more to raiſe thick fogs from the putrid pools of ignorance and ſuperſtition, the bane of all happineſs, but the very element of deſpotiſm.

The diffuſion of a military taſte among all ranks, even the loweſt of the people, tends to a general corruption of morals, by teaching habits of idleneſs, or trifling activity, and the vanity of guady dreſs and empty parade.

The ſtrict diſcipline which is found neceſſary to render an army a machine in the hands of its directors, requiring, under the ſevereſt penalties, the moſt implicit ſubmiſſion to abſolute command, has a direct tendency to familiarize the mind to civil deſpotiſm. Men, rational, thinking animals, equal to their commanders by nature, and often ſuperior, are bound to obey the impulſe of a conſtituted authority, and to perform their functions as mechanically as the trigger which they pull to diſcharge their muſkets. They cannot, indeed help having a will of their own: but they muſt ſuppreſs it, or die. They muſt conſider their official ſuperiors as ſuperiors in wiſdom and in virtue, even though they know them to be weak and vicious. They muſt ſee, if they ſee at all, with the eyes of others; their duty is not to have an opinion of their own, but to follow blindly the beheſt of him who has had intereſt enough to obtain the appointment of a leader. They become living automatons, and ſelf-acting tools of deſpotiſm.

While a few only are in this condition, the danger may not be great to conſtitutional liberty; but when a majority of the people are made ſoldiers, it is evident that the ſame obſequiouſneſs will become habitual to the majority of the people. Their minds will be broken down to the yoke, the energy of independence weakened, the manly ſpirit tamed; like animals that once ranged in the foreſt, delighting in their liberty, and fearleſs of man, caught in ſnares, confined in cages, and taught to ſtand upon their hind legs, and play tricks for the entertainment of the idle. They obey the word of command given by the keeper of the menagerie, becauſe they have been taught obedience by hunger, by the laſh of the whip, by every mode of diſcipline conſiſtent with their lives, which are ſaleable property. But they are degenerate, contemptible animals. Compare a bird or a beaſt, thus broken down, with one of the ſame ſpecies flying in clear expanſe of air, or roaming in the foreſt. Their very looks ſpeak their degradation. The diſcipline of Mr. Aſtley cauſes the fiery ſteed to bend his knees in apparent ſupplication. But how are the mighty fallen! when the animal has broken from his obedience to nature, to fall down proſtrate before Mr. Aſtley.

Suppoſe a whole nation, thus tamed, and taught ſubmiſſion to the command of one of their own ſpecies. Be it remembered, the horſe, in learning unnatural tricks, ſubmits to one of another ſpecies, who is naturally his ſuperior. But ſuppoſe a whole nation, or at leaſt the maſs of the common people thus broken in by a ſkilful rider. Will they not loſe all energy? Will they dare, I do not ſay to ſpeak, but to think of liberty? No; they will ſink to the rank of German mercencries let out for hire, claiming no rights, enjoying no privileges above the SWINE; a ſtate of degradation at which the ſpirit of man, unſpoiled by deſpotic government, revolts; and rather than fall into which, every true Engliſhman, from the palace to the hovel of the itinerant beggar, will be ready to exclaim, in the language of the ſcriptures, "Why died I not from the womb?"

Is it not time, then, for the virtuous guardians of Heaven's beſt gift, LIBERTY, to be alarmed, when they ſee a propenſity in miniſters, who have gained enormous power and corrupt influence, to render a whole people military? The gold chain of corruption is thus let down and ramified, in a million of directions, among thoſe who never thought of courts or courtiers; but enjoying a noble independence, the independence of honeſt induſtry, chaunted their carols at the plough and the loom, glorying in the name of Engliſhmen, becauſe England is free; and delighting in peace, becauſe peace is the parent of plenty.

But, under the auſpices of ſuch a miniſtry, many an emulous eſquire, hoping to be diſtinguiſhed and rewarded, in ſome mode or other, by court favors, fond of the dreſs and name of a CAPTAIN, and the privilege of commanding with abſolute ſway, bribes volunteers from behind the counter and the plough. He clothes them in the fineſt frippery that his own or his lady's imagination can invent. He himſelf parades at their head; a very pretty ſight on a ſummer's day. And now HE is diſtinguiſhed as a SOLDIER, who before only figured as a hunter of hares or foxes, and a proſecutor of poachers. Ambition, as well as vanity, begins to fire his ſoul. The raiſing of ſo many men in his neighborhood muſt pleaſe the miniſter; eſpecially if the eſquire uſes the influence he gains over the vicinity, in a proper manner, at a general election. If the eſquire wants not money, he may want honor. Then let the miniſter make him a baronet. If he has no ſons of his own in the army, navy, law, or church, he may have nephews or couſins. If not theſe, he muſt have nominal friends, to direct on whom the favors of miniſters, though it proceed not from benevolence, muſt flatter pride, and add to rural conſequence.

The whole of the military ſyſtem is much indebted for its ſupport, to that prevailing paſſion of human nature, Pride. Politicians know it, and flatter pride even in the loweſt of the people. Hence recruiting-officers invite gentlemen only, who are above ſervile labor. "The vanity of the poor men (ſays a ſagacious author) is to be worked upon at the cheapeſt rate poſſible. Things we are accuſtomed to we do not mind, or elſe what mortal, that never had ſeen a ſoldier, could look, without laughing, upon a man accoutred with ſo much paltry gaudineſs and affected finery? The coarſeſt manufac 〈◊〉 that can be made of wool, dyed of a bri •• -duſt color, goes down with him, becauſe it is in imitation of ſcarlet or crimſon cloth; and to make him think himſelf as like his officer 〈◊〉 it is poſſible, with little or no coſt, inſtead of ſilver or gold lace, his hat is trimmed with white or yellow worſted, which in others would deſerve bedlam; yet theſe fine allurements, and the noiſe made upon a calfſkin, have drawn in and been the deſtruction of more men in reality, than all the killing eyes and bewitching voices of women ever ſlew in jeſt. To-day the ſwineherd puts on his red coat, and believes every body in earneſt that calls him gentleman; and two days after, Serjeant Kite gives him a ſwinging rap with his cain, for holding his muſket an inch higher than he ſhould do.... When a man reflects on all this, and the uſage they generally receive—their pay—and the care that is taken of them when they are not wanted, muſt he not wonder how wretches can be ſo ſilly, as to be proud of being called gentlemen ſoldiers? Yet if they were not ſo called, no art, diſcipline, or money, would be capable of making them ſo brave as thouſands of them are.

When all the baſe arts which cuſtom is ſaid to have rendered neceſſary, are practiſed only to raiſe and ſupport a regular army, perhaps they might, however reluctantly, be connived at by the watchful friend of freedom. But when the major part of the laboring poor, and all the yeomanry, are made gentlemen ſoldiers, merely to ſupport a MINISTER, it is time for every virtuous and independent mind to expreſs, as well as feel, ALARM.

It appears from the above-cited paſſage of an author who had anatomized human nature, to find out its moſt latent energies, that the ſpirit of pride is rendered, by artful ſtateſmen, the chief means of ſupplying an army. But the ſpirit of pride is in fact the ſpirit of deſpotiſm; eſpecially when it is that ſort of pride which plumes itſelf on COMMAND, on external decoration, and the idle vanity of military parade.

When this pride takes place univerſally in a nation, there will remain little induſtry, and leſs independence. The grand object will be to riſe above our neighbors in ſhow and authority. All will bow to the man in power, in the hope of diſtinction. Men will no longer rely on their own laborious exertions; but the poor man will court, by the moſt obſequious ſubmiſſion, the favor of the eſquire; the eſquire cringe to the next baronet, lord, or duke, eſpecially if he be a lord-lieutenant of the county; and the baronet, lord, or duke, or lieutenant of the county, will fall proſtrate before the firſt lord of the treaſury; and the firſt lord of the treaſury will idolize PREROGATIVE. Thus the military rage will trample on liberty; and DESPOTISM triumphant march through the land, with drums beating and colors flying.

SECTION XVIII. Levity, Effeminacy, Ignorance, and Want of Principle in private Life, inimical to all public Virtue, and avorable to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm.

"THE conſtitution of the Britiſh government (ſays Bolingbroke) ſuppoſes our KINGS may abuſe their power, and our REPRESENTATIVES betray their truſt, and provides againſt both theſe contingencies. Here let us obſerve, that the ſame conſtitution is very far from ſuppoſing the PEOPLE will ever betray themſelves; and yet this caſe is poſſible.

"A wiſe and brave PEOPLE will neither be cozened nor bullied out of their liberty; but a wiſe and brave people may ceaſe to be ſuch; they may degenerate; they may ſink into ſloth and luxury; they may reſign themſelves to a treacherous conduct; or ABET THE ENEMIES OF THE CONSTITUTION, under a notion of ſupporting the PRIFNDS OF GOVERNMENT; they may want the ſenſe to diſcern their danger in time, or the courage to reſiſt when it ſtares them in the face.

"The Tarquins were expelled, and Rome reſumed her liberty; Caeſar was murdered, and all his race extinct; but Rome remained in bondage. Whence this difference? In the days of Tarquin, the people of Rome were not yet corrupted; in the days of Caeſar, they were moſt corrupt.

"A free people may be ſometimes betrayed; but no people will betray themſelves, and ſacrifice their liberty, unleſs they fall into a ſtate of UNNIVE SAL CORRUPTION.

"As all government began, ſo all government muſt END by the people; tyrannical government, by their virtue and courage; and even free governments, by their VICE and BASENESS. Our conſtitution indeed makes it impoſſible to deſtroy liberty by any ſudden blaſt of popular fury, or by the TREACHERY OF THE FEW; but if the MANY will concur with the FEW; if they will adviſedly and deliberately ſuffer their liberty to be taken away, by thoſe on whom they DELEGATE POWER TO PRESERVE IT, this no conſtitution can prevent. God would not ſupport his own theocracy againſt the concurrent deſire of the children of Iſrael; but gave them a king in his anger.

"How then ſhould our human conſtitution of government ſupport itſelf againſt ſo univerſal a CHANGE, as we here ſuppoſe, in the TEMPER and CHARACTER of the PEOPLE. It cannot be. We may give ourſelves a tyrant, if we pleaſe. But this can never happen, till the whole nation falls into a ſtate of political reprobation. Then, and not till then, political damnation will be our lot."

So far a political writer, who ſtrenuouſly ſupports the cauſe of liberty, and who has been, for that reaſon, lately depreciated. The words juſt now cited are worthy the ſerious conſideration of every man who wiſhes to leave the inheritance of liberty, which he received from his forefathers, unimpaired to his poſterity. We are jealous of charters, privileges, and laws, but not ſufficiently aware of 〈◊◊〉 which liberty 〈◊〉 from degeneracy of manners. But what avail laws preventing conſtructive treaſon, and bills of rights aſcertaining our liberties, without virtuous diſpoſitions in the people?

— Quid leges ſine moribus Vanae proficient? HOR.

A charter, as an advocate at the Engliſh bar expreſſed it, it is but a piece of parchment with a bit of wax dangling to it, if men have loſt that energy of mind which is neceſſary to preſerve the rights it was intended to confer or ſecure. The trial by jury, the bulwark of liberty, as we have lately experienced it in very remarkable inſtances, will be but a tottering wall, when oaths have loſt their ſanctity, and when truth and juſtice are conſidered only as phant •• s. What will avail a conſtitution, when every one is immerſed in private concerns, private pleaſures, and private intereſt, acknowledging no PUBLIC CARE, no general concern, nothing out of the ſphere of domeſtic or perſonal affairs, worthy of anxious regard?

I lately heard a ſenſible man affirm, in a tone of apparent deſpondency, that in England there was, at the time he ſpoke, NO PUBLIC. I thought the expreſſion ſtrong, and pauſed to conſider it. I hope it was the ebullition of ſudden vexation at circumſtances, which, when it was ſpoken, ſeemed to argue a general inſenſibility in the PEOPLE to the bleſſings of a free country. It was uttered at a time when a 〈◊〉 , real o pretended for the uniſters of government, ſeemed totall to overlook, in its miſtaken ard •• , the PUBLIC WARFARE.

"There is NO PUBLIC," ſaid the ſagacious obſerver. I underſtood im to mean, that from an ambitious attachment to party, in ſome of the higher ranks; to ſelf-intereſt, in ſome of the lower; to general diſſipation, in all, the number of independent, liberally minded, and well-informed men who zealouſly wiſhed and ſought the public good and the happineſs of man, was too inconſiderable to effect any great and important purpoſe. Public virtue muſt ariſe from private. Great pretenſions to it may be made by the profligate, but they will be found to originate in ſelfiſhneſs, in rancour, in envy, or ſome corrupt principle inconſiſtent with a virtuous character and benevolent conduct.

If there be ſuch a defection from private and public virtue, what is to preſerve a regard for the conſtitution, whenever miniſterial influence ſhall ſo far prevail as to render it the perſonal intereſt of great majorities of POWERFUL, becauſe RICH, men, to neglect it, or even to connive at infringements upon it? If the people fall into univerſal corruption, the words liberty and conſtitution will be conſidered by them as fit only to adorn a ſchool-boy's declamation. In ſuch a ſtate there will be no more ſecurity for the tenant of a throne than of a cottage. A junto, that has no regard for either, and is ſolely actuated by the love of power, its diſtinctions and emoluments may, by diſtributing diſtinctions and emoluments on many, and by raiſing the hopes and expectations of more, make the maſs of the people themſelves (thus corrupted at the very fountain-head) become the inſtruments of annihilating the beſt part of the conſtitution. A limited monarch, whoſe throne is founded on the baſis of a people's affection, and a judicious preference both of his perſon and form of government, will be as reaſonably anxious as any among the people can be, to guard againſt the prevalence of ſuch corruption, and the ſucceſs of ſuch corruptors. It is the cauſe of courts, if they mean to conſult their ſtability, as much as it is of popular conventions, to preſerve public virtue, and prevent the people from loſing all ſenſibility to the value of a free conſtitution, the liberty of the preſent age, and of ages to come.

I firmly maintain, that the prevention of this popular degeneracy is to be effected, not by political artifices, not by proſecutions, not by ſycophantic aſſociations of placemen, penſioners, and expectants of titles and emoluments, but by reforming the manners of the people. Principles of religion, honor, and public ſpirit muſt be cheriſhed. The clergy muſt be independent, and the PULPIT FREE. Books written without party views, intending to promote no intereſts but thoſe of truth and philanthropy, muſt not only not be checked by crown lawyers, but induſtriouſly diſſeminated among the people. Religion muſt be conſidered by the GREAT, not merely as a ſtate engine, but as what it is, the ſource of comfort and the guide of conſcience. Its profeſſional teachers muſt be advanced from conſiderations of real merit and ſervices, and not from borough intereſt, and the proſtitution of the pulpit to the unchriſtian purpoſes of miniſterial deſpotiſm.

No writings of ſceptical or infidel philoſophers do ſo much harm to chriſtian faith and practice, to religion and morality, as the uſing of CHURCH revenues and CHURCH inſtruction as inſtruments of court corruption. The very means appointed by God and the laws, for checking the depravity of the people, contribute to it, when they appear to be conſidered by the GREAT as little more than artifices of politicians, deſigned to keep the vulgar (as they are often unjuſtly called) in ſubjection to wicked upſtarts, poſſeſſed of temporary and official power, by intrigue and unconſtitutional influence.

It is certainly in the power of a well regulated government, by rendering the CHURCH effective, and by good examples and ſincere attachment to virtuous men and virtuous principles, to correct the levity, effeminacy, and want of principle in private life, which leads to the loſs of liberty. The church will be effective, as ſoon as the people are convinced that all preferments in it are beſtowed on thoſe who have preached the goſpel faithfully; and not on time-ſervers, and the friends and relarelations of paraſites, who have no other view in ſeeking ſeats in the ſenate, but to ſerve a miniſter for their own advantage. Till the people are convinced that an adminiſtration is ſincere in religion, they will be too apt to conſider not only religion, but common honeſty, as an empty name.

The religious principle being thus deſtroyed by the greedy aſpirants at worldly grandeur, no wonder the people lapſe into that diſſolute co •• luct, which ſeeks nothing ſeriouſly but ſelfiſh pleaſure and private profit. Levity of manners both proceeds from, and produces, defect of moral principle. Erſeminacy, the na ural conſequence of vice and lu ury cauſed by defect of mora principle, precludes courage, ſpirit, and all manly, virtuous exertion. Ignorance muſt follow; for to obtain knowledge requires a degree of labor and laudable application, which thoſe who are ſunk in indolence and ſenſuality will never beſtow. When ignorance is become general, and vice reigns triumphant, what remains to oppoſe the giant Deſpotiſm, who, like a Coluſſus, ſtrides over the •• g y and inſignificant ſlaves of oriental climes, from trampling on MEN in countries once free?

Farewell, then, all that truly ennobles human nature. Pride, pomp, and CRUELTY domineer without control. The very name of liberty becomes odious; and man, degenerated, contents himſelf with the licence to eat, drink, ſleep, and die at the will of an ignorant, baſe, libidinous ſuperior. The ſword rules abſolutely. Reaſon, law, philoſophy, learning, repoſe in the tomb with departed liberty. The ſun of the moral world is extinguiſhed; and the earth is overſhadowed with darkneſs and with death. Better had it been for a man not to have been born, than born in a country rendered by the wickedneſs of government, corrupting and enſlaving a whole people, a HELL anticipated.

SECTION XIX. Certain Paſſages in Dr. Brown's "Eſtimate" which deſerve the ſerious Conſideration of all who would oppoſe the Subverſion of a free Conſtitution by Corruption of Manners and Principles, and by undue Influence.

FEW books have been more popular than BROWN's Eſtimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times. He wrote with ſincerity and ability; but his unfortunate end, occaſioned by mental diſeaſe, had a very unfavorable influence on the circulation of his book, and his poſthumous fame. Nothing can, however, be more unreaſonable, than to depreciate a book, allowed by all, at its firſt appearance, to contain indiſputable and important truth, becauſe of the misfortune, or even miſconduct, of its author ſubſequent to its publication. I confidently recommend the following paſſages to the conſideration of every true lover of that free conſtitution, which renders our country conſpicuouſly happy and honorable among the nations which ſurround it.

"The reſtraints laid on the royal prerogative at the revolution, and the acceſſion of liberty thus gained by the PEOPLE, produced two effects with reſpect to parliaments. One was, that inſtead of being occaſionally, they were thenceforward annually aſſembled; the other was, that whereas on any trifling offence given they had uſually been intimidated or diſſolved, they now found themſelves poſſeſſed of new dignity and power; their conſent being neceſſary for raiſing annual ſupplies.

"No body of men, except in the ſimpleſt and moſt virtuous times, ever found themſelves poſſeſſed of power, but many of them would attempt to turn it to their OWN PRIVATE ADVANTAGE. Thus the parliament, finding themſelves of weight, and finding, at the ſame time, that the diſpoſal of all lucrative employments was veſted in the crown, ſoon bethought themſelves, that in exchange for their concurrence in granting ſupplies, and forwarding the meaſures of government, it was but equitable that the crown ſhould concur in veſting them or their dependents with the lucrative employments of ſtate.

"If this was done, the wheels of government ran ſmooth and quiet; but if any large body of claimants was diſpoſſeſſed, the public uproar began, and public meaſures were obſtructed or overturned.

"William the Third found this to be the natural turn, and •• t himſelf like a politician, to oppoſe it; he therefore ſilenced all he could by place and penſions, and hence the origin of MAKING OF PARLIAMENTS."

This making of parliaments, I contend, is fundi noſt calamitas, the origin of all our preſent political evil; it defeated the good purpoſes of the revolution, and tended to introduce the deſpotiſm of the Stuarts, under the maſk of liberty. It aroſe from the corruption of the people; and has gone on augmenting it to this very day.

"Vanity, luxury and effeminacy (proceeds Dr. Brown) increaſed beyond all belief within theſe thirty years; as they are of a ſelfiſh, ſo are they of a craving and unſatisfied nature. The preſent rage of pleaſure and UNMANLY DISSIPATION hath created a train of new neceſſities, which 〈◊〉 their demands outſtrip every ſupply.

"And if the great principles of religion, honor, and public ſpirit are weak or loſt among us, what effectual check can there be upon the GREAT, to control their unwarranted purſuit of LUCRATIVE EMPLOYMENTS, for the gratification of theſe unmanly paſſions?

"In a nation ſo circumſtanced, it is natural to imagine that, next to GAMING and RIOT, the chief attention of the GREAT WORLD muſt be turned on the buſineſs of ELECTION JOBBING, of SECURING COUNTIES, controling, bribing or BUYING BOROUGHS; in a word, on the poſſeſſion of a great parliamentary intereſt.

"But what an aggravation of this evil would ariſe, ſhould ever thoſe of the higheſt rank, though PROHIBITED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT, inſult the laws, by interfering in elections, by ſoliciting votes, or procuring others to ſolicit them, by influencing elections in an avowed defiance of their country, and even ſelling vacant ſeats in parliament to the BEST BIDDER."

Would not this be TREASON againſt the conſtitution? a more dangerous and heinous political crime than any that have been proſecuted by attornies-general? Does not this directly deſtroy the democratical part of the ſyſtem, and eſtabliſh a power, independent both of the monarch and the people? Are not both, therefore, intereſted in putting a ſtop to ſuch groſs violations of law and equity?

"What (continues Dr. Brown) can we ſuppoſe would be the real drift of this illegitimate waſte (among the GREAT) of time, honors, wealth, and labor? Might not the very reaſon publicly aſſigned for it be this: 'that they may ſtrengthen themſelves and families, and thus gain a laſting intereſt (as they call it) for their dependents, ſons, and poſterity?'—Now, what would this imply but a ſuppoſed right or privilege of DEMANDING LUCRATIVE EMPLOYS, as the chief object of their views?—We ſee then, how the political ſyſtem of ſelf-intereſt is at length completed.

"Thus faction is eſtabliſhed, not on ambition, but on AVARICE: on AVAIRCE and RAPACITY, for the ends of DISSIPATION.

"The great contention among thoſe of family and fortune, will be in the affair of ELECTION INTEREST: next to effeminate pleaſure and gaming; this (for the ſame end as gaming) will of courſe be the capital purſuit; this intereſt will naturally be regarded as a kind of family fund, for the proviſion of the younger branches.

"In a nation ſo circumſtanced, many high and important poſts, in every public and important profeſſion, muſt of courſe be filled by men, who, inſtead of ability and virtue, plead this intereſt (in elections) for their BEST TITLE.

"Thus, in a time when ſcience, capacity, courage, honor, religion, public ſpirit are rare, the remaining FEW who poſſeſs theſe virtues, will often be ſhut out from theſe ſtations, which they would fill with honor; while every public and important employ will abound with men, whoſe manners and principles are of the neweſt faſhion.

"Is not the parliamentary intereſt of every powerful family continually rung in the ears of its branches and dependents? And does not this inevitably tend to relax and weaken the application of the young men of quality and fortune, and render every man, who has reliance on this principle, leſs qualified for thoſe very ſtations, which by this very principle he obtains. For why ſhould a youth of family or faſhion, (thus he argues with himſelf), why ſhould he ſubmit to the drudgery of ſchools, colleges, academies, voyages, campaigns, fatigues, and dangers, when he can riſe to the higheſt ſtations by the ſmooth and eaſy path of parliamentary intereſt?

"Where effeminacy and ſelfiſh vanity form the ruling character of a people, then thoſe of high rank will be of all others moſt vain, moſt ſelfiſh, moſt incapable, moſt effeminate.

"Such are the effects of the prevailing principle of ſelf-intereſt in high life. But if we take into the account all that deſpicable train of political managers, agents, and boroughjobbers, which hang like leeches upon the GREAT, nor ever quit their hold till they are full gorged, we ſhall then ſee this reigning evil in its laſt perfection. For here, to incapacity and demerit, is generally added INSOLENCE. Every low fellow of this kind looks upon the man of genius, capacity, and virtue, as his natural enemy. He regards him with an evil eye; and hence undermines or defames him; as one who thwarts his views, queſtions his title, and endangers his expectations."

In another place, the fame author very plainly deduces the corruption of the youth of the nation, the young nobility and gentry in particular, from parliamentary corruption.

"Notwithſtanding the privilege veſted in the commons of commanding the purſes of their conſtituents, it is not difficult to point out a ſituation, where this privilege would be nothing but a name. And as in the laſt century the regal and democratic branches by turns bore down the conſtitution, ſo, in ſuch a ſituation as is here ſuppoſed, the real danger, though hidden, would lurk in the ariſtocratic branch, which would be ſecretly bearing down the power both of the king and the people.

"The matter may be explained in a ſmall compaſs. Cannot we put a caſe, 〈◊〉 which the parliamentary intereſt of the great nobility might ſwallow up the houſe of commons? Members might be elected, indeed; and elected in form too. But by whom might they be really elected? By the free voice of the people? No impartial man would ſay it. It were eaſy to ſuppoſe thirty or forty men, who, if wanted, might go nigh to command a majority in the lower houſe. The members might ſeem to be the repreſentatives of the people; but would be, in truth, a great part of them, no more than the commiſſioned deputies of their reſpective chiefs, whoſe ſentiments they would give, and whoſe intereſts they would purſue.

"Thus, while power would, in appearance, be centering in the lower houſe, it would in reality be lurking in the higher.

"This ſtate of things might not perhaps reſult from any deſign in the ariſtocratic branch to deſtroy the conſtitution. They might have no farther views than thoſe of gain, vanity, or pleaſure. Notwithſtanding this their conduct might have thoſe effects which their intentions never aſpired to. Let us conſider the moſt probable effects.

"The firſt fatal effect which offers itſelf to obſervation is, that the conſciouſneſs of ſuch an increaſing and exorbitant power, which the lords might acquire in the houſe of commons, would deſtroy all honeſt ambition in the younger gentry. They would know, that the utmoſt point they could hope to arrive at would only be to become the deputy of ſome great lord, in a county or borough. All the intentions of ſuch a poſt can be anſwered by ignorance and ſervility, better than by genius and public ſpirit. People of the latter ſtamp, therefore, would not naturally be appointed to the taſk; and this, once known, would check the growth of genius and public ſpirit throughout the nation. The few men of ability and ſpirit that might be left, ſeeing this to be the caſe, would naturally betake themſelves to ſuch private amuſements as a free mind can honeſtly enjoy. All hope, and therefore, by degrees, all deſire of ſerving their country, would be extinguiſhed.

"Thus HONEST ambition would naturally and generally be quenched. But even where ambition continued, it would be perverted. Not uſeful, but ſervile talents would be applauded; and the ruling pride would be, not that of freemen, but of ſlaves."

The above remarks were made long before American independence was eſtabliſhed, the French revolution thought of, or the diſcuſſions on the ſubject of parliamentary reform became general. The author wrote the pure reſult of impartial obſervation; and what he wrote deſerves the ſerious attention of all HONEST men, all good members of the community. I will make no comments upon it, but leave it to operate on the mind with its own force.

SECTION XX. On ſeveral Subjects ſuggeſted by Lord Melcombe's "Diary," particularly the Practice of bartering the Cure of Souls for the Corruption of Parliament.

IT is very deſirable, that country gentlemen, who are often inclined to ſhew a blind attachment to miniſters, as if LOYALTY were due to the ſervants of a court as well as to the maſter, would peruſe, with attention, the Diary of Lord Malcombe. There they are admitted behind the curtain, and even under the ſtage, to ſee the machinery. There they behold filthy workmen, dirty wheels within wheels, every thing offenſive to the eye, and all buſy for hire to produce a ſpecious, outſide ſhew on the ſtage, for the amuſement of the ſpectators, while the ſhew-men pocket the pence. It would have been worth the while of courtiers to have paid the price of a campaign in Flanders, and the ſubſidy of a German prince, to have ſuppreſſed the publication of Lord Malcombe's Diary. The ſecrets of the miniſterial conclave are there laid open; and the light and ſtench are no leſs diſguſtful man thoſe which ſtrike the ſenſes on the opening of a jakes or a common ſewer. Nothing but the moſt ſelfiſh coverouſneſs, the weakeſt vanity, the meaneſt, di •• ieſt, moſt villainous of the paſſions! No regard for the happineſs of the nation, much leſs for the happineſs of mankind; one general ſtruggle, by artifice and intrigue, not by honorable and uſeful exertions, for power, profit, and titles! It might be ſuppoſed, that the parties concerned were banditti, contending in a cave about the diviſion of plunder. How are the words lord and duke diſgraced and proſtituted, when prefixed to miſcreants warmly engaged in ſuch tranſactions! Such men are truly levellers, the enemies of the peerage, the involuntary promoters of equality! In a greedy rapaciouſneſs for themſelves, they forget not only the good of their country and mankind, but the intereſt of their own privileged order.

When little and baſe minds, like the heroes of Bubb Doddington's Diary, be a rule, every thing, even religion itſelf, becomes an inſtrument of corruption. It is well underſtood by every body, that church preferments, even with cur of ſouls, have long been uſed to ſecure the intereſt of courts in venal boroughs; but the following paſſage contains a curious proof of it, under the hand of Lord Malcombe, and under the authority of the then prime miniſter, the Duke of Newcaſtle.

"December the 11th, 1753," ſays Lord Melcombe, "I ſaw the Duke of Newcaſtle. I told him, that in the election matters (of Bridgwater and Weymouth) thoſe who would take money I would pay, and not bring him a bill; thoſe that would not take, he muſt pay; and I recommended my two parſons of Bridgwater and Weymouth, Burroughs and Franklin:—he entered into it very cordially, and aſſured me they ſhould have the firſt crown livings that ſhould be vacan in thoſe parts, if we would look out and ſe d him the firſt intelligence.—I ſaid, I muſt think, that ſo much offered, and ſo little aſked, in ſuch hands as theirs, and at a time when boroughs were particularly marketable, could not fail of removing, at leaſt, reſentments, and of obtaining pardon..... His Grace was very hearty and cordial.

"29th. Went to the Duke of Newcaſtle, and got the living of Broadworthy for Mr. Burroughs.

"March 21. Went to the Duke of Newcaſtle—told him I was come to aſſure him of my moſt dutiful affection and ſincere attachment to him, having no engagements to make me look to the right or the left.... I engaged to chooſe two members for Weymouth, which he deſired might be a ſon of the Duke of Devonſhire, and Mr. Ellis of the admiralty. I ſuppoſed he would confirm that nomination— but that was nothing to me. Tuus, O dux magne, quid optes Explorare labor; MIHI juſſa capeſſere fas eſt. VIRG. He might name whom he pleaſed.—Mr. Pelham told me the KING aſked him if I ſeriouſly deſigned to endeavor to keep Lord Egmont out of Bridgwater. Mr. Pelham told his Majeſty that he thought I would; that I deſired him to lay me at the king's feet, and tell him, that as I found it would be agreeable to his majeſty, I would ſpare neither pains nor expence to exclude him. The Duke of Newcaſtle ſaid he had feet, how handſome my proceedings had been; that this was the moſt noble that could be imagined! ... I ſaid, What if I came into the place Sir Thomas Robinſon left? He conſidered a little, and ſaid, Very well, pray go on. I ſaid I would particularly ſupport him in the houſe where he would chiefly want it. He ſaid he knew I would. I ſaid, There is my old place—Treaſurer of the Navy; I ſhould like that better than any thing. But I added, Why ſhould I enter into theſe things; I leave it wholly to your grace. He ſaid the direction of the houſe of commons was fallen upon him—therefore he could not chuſe by affection, but muſt comply with thoſe who could ſupport him there. I ſaid I underſtood ſo; and that I thought I might pretend to ſome abilities that way; that in the oppoſition, I was thought of ſome uſe there; that in court, indeed, I never undertook much, becauſe he knew I never was ſupported: but now, when I ſhould be ſupported, I hoped I might pretend to be as uſeful there as my neighbors. He ſaid it was inconteſtably ſo. I ſaid, that conſidering that I choſe ſix members for them at my own great expence, I thought the world in general, and even the gentlemen themſelves, could not expect that their pretenſions ſhould give me the excluſion. He ſaid, that what I did was very great! that he often thought with ſurpriſe at the eaſe and cheapneſs of the election at Weymouth! that they had nothing like it! I ſaid, I believed there were few who could give his majeſty ſix members for nothing. He ſaid he reckoned five, and had put down five to my account .... I ſaid I muſt be excuſed from talking any more about myſelf; that I left it entirely to him and to the King; that I was fully determined to make this ſacrifice to his Majeſty; that I knew I had given no juſt cauſe of offence, but that I would not juſtify 〈◊〉 with his Majeſty; that it was enough that he was diſpleaſed, to make me think that I was in the wrong, and to beg him to forget it: I would not even be in the right againſt him; and I was very ſure I would never again be in the wrong againſt him, for which I hoped his Grace would be my caution. He ſaid he would with all his heart. He took me up in his arms, and kiſſed me twice, with ſtrong aſſurances of affection and ſervice."

A few days after, this honeſt man went to Bridgwater to manage the election, and thus proceeds his Diary.

"April 14, 〈◊〉 , 16. Spent in the infamous and diſagreeable compliance with the low habits of venal wretches," the electors of Bridgwater.

If the men of Bridgwater, urged perhaps by want, were venal wretches, what muſt we think of the Duke of Newcaſtle and Lord Melcombe? I hope my reader will pauſe, and ponder the words of the preceding paſſage. They furniſh a great deal of matter for very ſerious reflection to thoſe who regard the true intereſts either of church or ſtate.

Lord Melcombe's Diary was much read when it firſt came out; but it has ſince fallen into neglect. Events, however, have happened in the political world, which render it extremely intereſting at the preſent period. In conſequence of the French revolution, much pains have been taken to decry the people, and extol the ariſtocratical part of ſociety. The tide has run wonderfully, in conſequence of falſe alarms and miniſterial artifices, in favor of courts and courtiers. The people have been called, not only venal wretches, but the ſwiniſh multitude. Long and tireſome books have been written to run down the people, as deſtitute of virtue, principle, of every thing honeſt and honorable, and that can give them any right to interfere with the grand myſteries of a cabinet. But he who reads and conſiders duly the very ſtriking anecdotes and converſations in Lord Melcombe's Diary, will ſee, that, in order to find venality in its full growth, and ſurvey ſordidneſs in its complete ſtate of abomination, it will be neceſſary to turn from low to high life.

The people are often turbulent and indiſcreet in their tranſactions, but they are always honeſt and always generous. They feel ſtrongly for the cauſe of humanity and juſtice. They have a noble ſpirit, which leads them to view meanneſs and ſiniſter conduct with deteſtation. But is there any of this manly independence, this honeſt openneſs, this regard for the rights and happineſs of man, among thoſe whom Lord Melcombe, ſo unfortunately for the great vulgar, has introduced to public notice? There is all the deceit in his own character, which would denominate a man a ſwindler in the commercial walks of life. All the tranſactions of the junto are conducted with the timidity, ſecrecy, duplicity of a neſt of thieves, mutually fearing and fawning, while they hate and deſpiſe each other from their heart's core.

On the practice of purchaſing votes in boroughs, by bartering the cure of ſouls, the moſt ſacred charge, if there be any thing ſacred in human affairs, I ſhall expatiate more at large in a future Section.

This Bubb Doddington, after ſelling himſelf, betraying the prince, and offering his ſix members to the beſt bidder, was made a lord. He was created Baron of Melcombe Regis, as a reward for ſuch proſtitution of principles as ought to have cauſed him to be branded in the forehead with a mark of indelible infamy.

But can we ſuppoſe that there has been but one Bubb Doddington in this country? one Newcaſtle? I wiſh the ſuppoſition were founded in probability. It would be the ſimplicity of idiotiſm to ſuppoſe, that Bubb Doddington has not exhibited in his Diary a picture of paraſitical courtiers, in all times and countries, where corruption is the main principle of adminiſtration.

If ſuch men ſhould, in any country of Europe, influence the councils of princes, and manage the popular aſſemblies, would there not be reaſon to be alarmed for the beſt conſtitution ever deviſed by human wiſdom? Such men hate the people. They love nothing but themſelves, the emoluments of places, the diſtinction of titles, and the pomp and vanity of the courts in which they flatter and are flattered. They will ever wiſh for a MILITARY government, to awe the ſaucy crowd, and keep them from intruding on their own ſacred privileges and perſons. The Herculean hand of a virtuous people can alone cleanſe the Augean ſtable of a corrupted court formed of miſcreant toad-eaters like Lord Melcombe.

SECTION XXI. On chooſing rich Men, without Parts, Spirit, or Liberality, as Repreſentatives in the National Council.

IT has been long obſerved, that none are more deſirous of increaſing their property than they who have abundance. The greateſt miſers are thoſe who poſſeſs the greateſt riches. None are fonder of the world than they who have engroſſed a large ſhare of it. If they ſhould acknowledge that they have enough money, yet they cannot but confeſs, at the ſame time, that they think themſelves entitled, in conſequence of their property, to civil honors, power, and diſtinction. They have a kind of claim, in their own opinion, to court favor; eſpecially as they are ready to uſe the influence, which their riches give them, in ſupport of any miniſter for the time being, and in the general extenſion of royal prerogative. Are ſuch men likely to be independent members of a ſenate, honeſtly following the dictates of their judgment or conſcience, and conſulting no intereſt but that of MAN in general, and the people in particular, by whom they are deputed? There are no men greedier of gain than ſuch men, and none more attached to thoſe vain honors, which a miniſter beſtows in order to facilitate the movements of his political machine. None will rake ſo deeply in the dirt to pick up a penny as a rich miſer; none will contend more eagerly for a feather in the cap, than thoſe whoſe minds are weak, empty, and attached to the world by the conſciouſneſs of being, in great meaſure, its proprietors.

But what is it to me, as an elector, that the man who ſolicits my vote has, by great cunning, ſordid arts, and inſatiable avarice, accumulated great riches? Has wiſdom, has virtue, has knowledge, has philanthropy increaſed with his increaſing fortune? Uncommon ſucceſs, enormous wealth, acquired in the ſhort ſpace of half a human life, is a preſumptive evidence of little principle in the means of acquiring, and as little generoſity in the modes of giving or expending it. Perhaps he inherits his unbounded riches. What then? His anceſtors were probably knaves or muck-worms. In this caſe, he has not to plead the merit of induſtry. His anceſtors have left him vaſt ſums of money; when perhaps his own talents would ſcarcely have earned him a penny, or kept him out of the pariſh poor-houſe.

Nevertheleſs, becauſe he is rich, though totally deſtitute of parts and virtue, he ſtands forward boldly as a candidate to repreſent a city or a county. He finds thouſands ready to clamour on his ſide, and to give him their vote. He can treat bountifully, open houſes, and give away ribands plentifully. Therefore he is conſtituted a ſenator, a national counſellor, commiſſioned to vote away the people's money, and to decide on the moſt important queſtions of conſtitutional liberty.

What can he do but put himſelf into harneſs, and be driven his daily ſtage, by the political coachman, the prime miniſter? He cannot go alone. He has not ſenſe enough to judge for himſelf in the ſmalleſt difficulty. He has not ſpirit enough to preſerve his independence; therefore he will conſider himſelf merely as a puppet, to be moved by the higher powers, at their will; a ſtop-gap, to fill up a place which might be occupied by an abler member, whoſe virtues and talents might ſerve the public indeed, but would render him troubleſome to thoſe who gladly diſpenſe with all virtuous interference.

Let us ſuppoſe, for argument ſake, four ſuch poor creatures (ſuch I call them, though rich in gold) choſen to repreſent the city of London, the grand emporium of the world, and, from the number of its inhabitants, claiming a fuller repreſentation than any part of the nation. I own the ſuppoſition is moſt diſgraceful; for it can never happen, one would think, that ſuch a city ſhould not ſupply men of the firſt abilities, for a truſt ſo important and ſo honorable. But let us ſuppoſe the CITY, from a ſyſtem of manners favored by, and favorable to, miniſterial corruption, ſo far degraded as to chooſe four men of very moderate abilities and characters, merely becauſe they happen to be rich contractors, and of ſycophantic diſpoſitions, likely to purſue their own intereſt by ſervilely obeying the beck of a miniſter.

Suppoſe them once in for ſeven years. The taverns are now ſhut up, the advertiſements, the canvaſſing all forgotten, and they commence as arrant courtiers as the meaneſt tool of power, put, by a paltry lord, into a rotten borough of Suſſex, Wiltſhire, or Cornwall.

But mark the miſchief. As they nominally repreſent the firſt city in the world, the meaſures which they vote for, (becauſe they are bidden, and hope for contracts and baronetages), are ſuppoſed, by foreigners at leaſt, to have the concurrence of the moſt important part of the Britiſh empire. Though the miniſter may deſpiſe them from his heart, perſonally, yet he avails himſelf of that weight which the place they repreſent gives them in the eyes of ſtrangers. "The GREAT city is with him," (in the only place he pretends to know it, the houſe of repreſentatives).

Their ignorance, their meanneſs, and their ſycophancy, have another effect, highly injurious to all plans of conſtitutional reformation. "Here (ſays the courtier) are four men ſent by the firſt city in the world. Are they better ſenators, or more reſpectable men, than thoſe who are ſent from Old Sarum, or any of the boroughs inhabited by beggars, and purchaſed by lords, as a lucrative ſpeculation?" The probability is, (he will ſay of them), that, with more greedineſs after gain, from the ſordid habits of their youth, they have leſs of the accompliſhments and liberality of gentlemen. Their eagerneſs to raiſe their families, renders them more tractable tools in the hands of a ſkilful miniſter, than thoſe whoſe families are already raiſed, and who, however they may place themſelves under the guidance of the peerage, have had an education which ought to have given them enlarged minds and ſentiments of honor.

Thus the friend to deſpotic principles, and the oppoſer of parliamentary reform, draws an argument from the meanneſs of rich men, (ſent by great cities to parliament merely becauſe they are rich), againſt all improvement of the repreſentation. The boroughs, he alleges, ſend at leaſt gentlemen, and well-informed men, though in circumſtances comparatively indigent; whereas theſe great commercial bodies, placing all excellence in the poſſeſſion of ſuperior wealth, depute men as ſenators, who are unqualified for any department beyond the warehouſe or the counting-houſe, whoſe views are confined, and purpoſes habitually ſordid and felfiſh. He urges, that, from the ſpecimens afforded by great cities, there is no reaſon to conclude, that the extenſion of the right of ſuffrage would render the repreſentative body more virtuous or enlightened. He doubts whether it would be favorable to liberty. If great bodies depute men only for their property, ſince they who have moſt uſually want moſt, none will be readier to ſell themſelves and their conſtituents to a miniſter, for a feather or ſugar-plumb, than the repreſentatives of great bodies, delegated to parliament merely becauſe they have inherited or acquired exceſſive riches, with ſcarcely any ideas beyond the multiplication-table.

Men deputed to parliament, ſhould certainly be far above want; but I contend that riches, independent of perſonal merit, can never be a ſufficient recommendation. It is the moſt important truſt that can be repoſed in man. It requires a moſt comprehenſive education, ſtrong natural abilities, and, what is greater than all, a juſt, honeſt, upright heart, with a manly firmneſs, and an enlarged philanthropy.

Can there be any difficulty in finding, at any time, four men of ſuch character in the city of London, or two ſuch in any county of England? Certainly not; eſpecially when the corrupting idea ſhall be exploded, that PROPERTY is the beſt qualification of a national counſellor and law-giver. Able and honeſt men are not the moſt inclined to thruſt themſelves forward, and to obtrude themſelves, much leſs to enter into competition, when all the influence of riches and miniſterial favor will be exerted to traduce their character, to fruſtrate their endeavors, and ſend them back to private liſe with their fortunes injured, and their tranquillity diſturbed. The electors muſt ſearch for ſuch men, and draw them from their virtuous obſcurity. Thus honored, they will go into the ſenate with the pure motives of ſerving their country and mankind, and return with clean hands, ſufficiently rewarded by the bleſſings of the people.

The city of London, and all great cities, as well as counties, are to be moſt ſeriouſly exhorted to conſider the importance of the truſt they delegate at an election, and to chooſe men of known abilities, and experienced attachment to the cauſe of the people. They ſhould beware of men, however opulent and reſpectable in private life, who can have no other motive for obtruding on public life, for which they are unqualified, but to raiſe themſelves, and families to fortune and diſtinction, by ſelling their truſt to a miniſter. Such men can never be friends to liberty and the people. They contribute, by means of their property, to the general ſyſtem of corruption, and, perhaps without knowing it, (for they know but little), promote, moſt effectually, the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

SECTION XXII. Of the deſpotic influence of great Merchants over their Subalterns, of Cuſtomers over their Tradeſmen, and rich trading Companies over their various Dependents, in compelling them to vote for Court Candidates for Seats in Parliament, merely to ſerve PRIVATE INTEREST, without the ſmalleſt Regard for public Liberty and Happineſs, or the Fitneſs or Unfitneſs of the Candidate.

THE rottenneſs of corruption, originating from miniſters, intoxicated with the love of power, and greedy after the emoluments of office, is ſometimes found (eſpecially under the influence of falſe alarms) to pervade the whole maſs of the people, and to infect the very heart of the body politic. The vitals of liberty become tainted, and, without great efforts, a mortification may be juſtly apprehended.

In this corrupt ſtate, little deſpots, aſpiring at court favor, hoping to draw the notice of the miniſter on their faithful endeavors to ſerve him, ariſe in almoſt every town and village of the country, and in every ſtreet of a great city. They claim and exerciſe a juriſdiction over certain VASSALS, as they think them, their tradeſmen, their tenants, and all others, who derive emoluments from them in the way of their buſineſs, or expect their cuſtom and countenance. If the VASSALS preſume to act for themſelves as MEN and freemen, they loſe their buſineſs, their dwelling places, their farms, and all chance of acquiring a competency. The vengeance of the little deſpots purſues them; and frequently quits not the chace, till it has hunted them down to deſtruction.

Even in the CITY OF LONDON, opulent as it is, and independent as it might be, a city which uſed to be the firſt to ſtand up in defence of liberty, an overbearing influence can find its way to the obſcureſt diſtrict, and inſinuate itſelf into the blindeſt alley. The Great Merchant or Manufacturer, who is neceſſarily connected with many ſubordinate traders or workmen, conſiders the influence he gains from extenſive connections in buſineſs, as a very valuable and vendible commodity at the market of a miniſter. Naturally wiſhing to make the moſt of his trade, he reſolves to treat this connection as a part of his ſtock, and cauſe it to bring him an ample return. At leaſt he will adventure. It may be a prize to him, as it has been to many. Much depends on his own prudential management of the commodity. It may lead to a valuable contract, eſpecially if kind fortune ſhould kindle the flames of war; it may open the path to court favors of various kinds; it may ultimately confer a ſeat in the houſe, and perhaps a baronettage. This laſt honor is highly deſirable, as it removes at once the FILTH that naturally attaches to the very name of citizen, dealer and chapman.

In the city of London, the majority of electors, who ſend the few members of parliament allotted to it, are of the middle, and indeed of the inferior rank of ſhopkeepers, rarely riſing to the dignity of MERCHANTS, who reſide at the houſes with great gates, or rather in the new ſquares, two or three miles north-weſt of the polluted and polluting city: for ſuch is the inſolence of little city DESPOTS who are in a very great way, that they commonly deſpiſe the freedom of the city where their counting-houſe ſtands, and where they gain their plumbs. They do not condeſcend to be FREE of the city. They would conſider it as a degradation from their gentility to be LIVERYMEN and members of a city company. Liverymen, indeed! What! great men, as all BANKERS are, Eaſt India Directors, uſurious money-lenders, living magnificently in Portland-place or Portmanſquare, or the grand avenues to them, to be LIVERYMEN! Horrid degradation! The very idea is ſhocking to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. It is time enough to take up their FREEDOM of the city, when it is neceſſary, as candidates, to poſſeſs that qualification. There are too many votes to make it worth while to be a voter. Theſe great men, therefore, view the electors as ſubordinate perſons, whom they may ſend on an errand to Guildhall to VOTE for the miniſter's candidate, juſt as they would diſpatch a clerk or porter to the Cuſtom-houſe to take a Cuſtom-houſe-oath, or to do any JOB connected with the low trade or manufacture which enables them to aſſociate with the fine folk of St. James's.

The elector who goes to the huſtings muſt, indeed, vote upon his oath, that he has received and will receive no BRIBE. He does not conſider the lucrative employments and the emoluments ariſing from the great man's cuſtom, which would be loſt on diſobedience, as a bribe, and therefore votes againſt his judgment, conſcience, and inclination, without a murmur; eſpecially as his daily bread may perhaps depend on his obſequiouſneſs, and very likely the comfort and ſecurity of a wife and large family.

This conduct of the GREAT MEN is not only unconſtitutional and affronting to the city, but as truly DESPOTIC in principle as any thing done by the Grand Seignior. It is mean alſo and baſe to the laſt degree; for the great men uſually exert not their influence from friendſhip to the miniſter, or to a candidate, or from any regard to a cauſe which they think connected with the public good; but ſolely to ſerve themſelves, to provide for poor relations, to enrich or to aggrandize an upſtart family, already rendered contemptible by fungous pride.

The glorious rights and privileges of Engliſhmen, of which we read and hear ſo much, are then to be all ſacrificed to ſerve a man, who perhaps went out as a writer to the Eaſt Indies, and returned in five or ſix years, laden with riches; the injured widow and orphan in vain lifting up their heads, and uttering their lamentations over the deaf ocean, while the ſpoiler is haſtening to Europe with that treaſure which, as it was gained by extortion, is to be expended in corruption.

Male parta male dilabuntur.

A prodigious recommendation this, as a repreſentative in parliament of induſtrious citizens, who have toiled all their lives at the counter, or in the manufactory, for a bare competence!

When NABOBS, as they are called, perfect ALIENS, recommended only by riches and court influence, can ſeat themſelves for great cities and counties as eaſily as they uſed for Corniſh BOROUGHS, there certainly is reaſon to fear that the ſpirit of deſpotiſm has rapidly increaſed, and is proceeding to deſtroy all remains of public virtue among the PEOPLE. The queſtion naturally ariſes, if a NABOB, a perfect alien, ſhould ever be elected for the city of London; whether, in ſo large a body as the free-born citizens, and among the livery of London, a man is not to be found who has ſerved a regular apprenticeſhip, gone through all the gradations of ſucceſsful trade, and become a member of the corporation, worthy to repreſent the firſt COMMERCIAL body in the univerſe? Is it neceſſary to IMPORT members, as we do tea and •• ſlins, from China and Bengal? Honeſty, virtue, independence, and abilities, muſt indeed be rare qualities, from Templebar to Whitechapel, if not enough of them can be found to conſtitute a repreſentative in parliament. Muſt the Engliſh oak be neglected, for EXOTICS raiſed rapidly in warm climates; and from the haſty growth of which, very little is to be depended upon, when the wind and weather aſſail them? A ſad encouragement this to the young merchants, trade •• , and manufacturers who enter regularly on buſineſs, and become freemen and liverymen, to find that the moſt induſtrious and ſucceſsful trader, and the beſt character, cannot ſecure the honorable appointments and important truſts, in the gift of their fellow-citizens! to find, that perſons, who never ſerved apprenticeſhips, never carried on trade, never became free, never were connected in the city companies, perfect ſtrangers to the corporation, and vewed deſpiſers of them ALL, ſhall be made, by the influence of a miniſter, and the overbearing weight of oriental riches, LEGISLATORS for the emporium of Europe! If ſuch an event were ever to happen, it would diſcourage all virtue in the riſing generation of merchants, traders, and manufacturers; and teach them, that every thing bows to ALMIGHTY MONEY, however obtained, and to COURT INFLUENCE, always ready to favor overbearing and overgrown property. It would be a m •• ancholy ſymptom of degeneracy among the people. It would ſhew that the manly ſpirit begin to fade and wither, as it has long done in Turkey and Aegypt, under the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

It is truly alarming to all true Engliſhmen, to ſee great trading companies uſing the influence which riches beſtow, in ſeconding the views of a miniſter, without the leaſt attention to the public good, the preſervation of liberty, and the happineſs of the human race. It is certain, that men united in corporate bodies, will act in a manner which they would be aſhamed of in their private capacities; becauſe, when ſo united, the reſponſibility appears to be thrown from individuals on the AGGREGATE, and ſo attaching to every one, can be fixed on none. Such bodies may be truly dangerous, when, from the hope of titles and other favors, the members who compoſe them, are ſervilely devoted to the miniſter; not indeed to the man, but to the favorite at court, who, from his office, has in his hands the means of corruption, contracts, loans, lottery-tickets, appointments in all the profeſſions, and, above all, TITLES.

Such monopolizing fraternities attack liberty with the club of Hercules. They riſe with gigantic force. Reaſon, argument, the law and the conſtitution yield to them, as the chaſt before the wind. If they ſhould not receive a powerful check from the people at large, who have not yet fallen down worſhippers of GOLD, they muſt go on to eſtabliſh, on the banks of the Thames, oriental deſpotiſm: and it would not be wonderful to ſee the two ſheriffs riding up Cheapſide on elephants, with the Lord Mayor borne in a palanquin, on the necks of liverymen, haſtening to proſtrate themſelves at the feet of a prime miniſter, now become as great as the Emperor of China: it would not be wonderful to ſee BANKERS erecting an oligarchy; the great houſe in Leadenhall-ſtreet, a temple, and a golden calf the GOD.

SECTION XXIII. Of the Pageantry of Life; that it originates in the Spirit of Deſpotiſm; and contributes to it, without advancing private any more than public Felicity.

THE proud deſpiſe the people, repreſent them as little ſuperior to the brutes, laugh at the idea of their rights, and ſeem to think that the world was made for themſelves only; yet the proud are never ſatisfied but when they attract the notice of this very people, by ſplendor, by oſtentation, by the exerciſe of authority over them, and by inſolent airs of ſelf-importance. The people, it muſt be owned, in the ſimplicity of their hearts, gape with admiration at the paſſing ſpectacle which inſults them with its glare, and feel themſelves awe-ſtruck with the grandeur of the cavalcade, which would trample them in the dirt if they did not ſtruggle to eſcape.

Politicians, obſerving this effect of finery and parade on the minds of the unthinking, take care to dreſs up the idol, which they themſelves pretend to worſhip, and which they wiſh the people really to adore, in all the taudry glitter of the lady of Loretto. They find this kind of vulgar ſuperſtition extremely favorable to their intereſted views. Accordingly, in all deſpotic countries, great pains are taken to amuſe and delude the people with the trappings of royalty. Popery prevailed more by the gaudineſs of its prieſts and altars, and the pomp of its proceſſions, than from the progreſs of conviction. The people, in ſuch circumſtances, have indeed the pleaſure of fine ſights; but they uſually pay much more dearly for them than for exhibitions at the theatre; and have this mortifying reflection, as a drawback from their pleaſure, that the payment is involuntary, and the ſight a political deluſion. It inſults their underſtandings, while it beguiles them of their rights; and takes from them the earnings of their induſtry, while it teaches them to feel their own inſignificance.

But not only deſpots, courtiers, and public functionaries, think it proper to ſtrike the vulgar with awe, by purchaſing finery of the builder, the taylor, and the coach-painter; but the titled and the overgrown rich men, through every part of every community, where family aggrandizement is procurable without public ſervices, or private or perſonal virtue. Riches, in ſuch ſocieties, confer not only the means of luxurious enjoyment, but of civil ſuperiority. They aſſume a value not naturally their own, and become the ſuccedanea of wiſdom, patriotiſm, valor, learning, and beneficence. The great object is therefore to make an oſtentation of riches, and to keep the people at a diſtance, by dazzling their eyes with the blaze of equipage and magnificence. As all the minuter luminaries gravitate to the ſun in our ſolar ſyſtem, ſo all theſe aſpirants at diſtinction and ſuperior importance gravitate to royalty. The crown is the glittering orb round which they ambitiouſly revolve. They would all therefore contribute, if they were able, to add new brilliancy, new heat, new influence and powers of attraction to their fountain of glory. They turn to it as the ſun-flower to the ſun; and feel their colors brighter, and their leaves invigorated, when a ray of favor falls upon them in a peculiar direction. They cannot turn a moment to the people. The popular climate chills them. The gales from this quarter are as the icy breezes from the frozen regions of the north, where the genial beams of ſolar influence can ſcarcely penetrate.

It may then be fairly preſumed, that where all orders of the rich are vying with each other to make a ſplendid appearance, even above their rank and means of ſupport, the ſpirit of the times, among theſe orders at leaſt, is favorable to the increaſe of court influence, and therefore to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

This rivalry in ſplendor is, in courſe, attended with great expence; an expence, which, by reducing independent fortunes, diminiſhes independence of ſpirit. They who are ruined in ſeconding the purpoſes of a court, naturally think themſelves entitle to indemnity from court favor. They become then, merely tools of the miniſter, and dare not ſpeak or act, in any inſtance, againſt him, leſt they renounce all hope of the glittering prize, the ſecret douceur, the ſhare of the loan, the lottery-tickets, the contract, the place, the proviſion for a ſon, a nephew, a couſin, or the clerical tutor of the family, who has perhaps grown grey in hungry hope, fed only by the meagre diet of a miniſterial promiſe.

Thus the rage for outſhining others in externals, contributes to ruin both fortune and principle. Add to this, that the prevalence of pageantry erects, in ſociety, a falſe ſtandard of human excellence. Money becomes the deity. Money is to give conſequence, conſideration, power. Money engroſſes honor, which is due, and has often been paid, to poverty, when adorned with art, virtue, knowledge, or any other kind of perſonal merit. The man becomes nothing, and money all. How muſt the human mind ſink in ſuch a conjuncture! Its nobleſt energies cannot give it that eſtimation with mankind, which money, inherited by a fool, or acquired by a knave, boldly claims and obtains. Then what encouragement to young men to purſue improvement with any ſingular ardor? Common attainments are perhaps the beſt adapted to facilitate the acquiſition of money. Common attainments and ſuperſ •• ial ornaments will form the whole of education. In the mean time, MIND is neglected, and human nature degenerates. Then ſteps in the deſpot. For the conſequence, take the map, and look over the countries which formed ancient Greece.

The pageantry of life, conſidered in a political view, as deſigned by the grandees to awe the people, and keep them out of the PARK of ſelfiſh happineſs, which the grandees have fenced with high pales, and guarded with ſpring-guns and man-traps, certainly may lay claim to the praiſe of deep cunning or worldly wiſdom. The pageantry of life may anſwer the purpoſe of the ſcenery of the play-houſe, and keep the vulgar from beholding the grandees of the world, before they are dreſſed and made up for public exhibition. The galleries would certainly loſe much of their veneration for the theatrical kings, queens, and nobles, if they were to ſee them behind the ſcenes, unbedize •• d. The pageantry of life is therefore highly efficacious in deluding the vulgar. When not carried too far, and abuſed for the purpoſes of oppreſſion, it may ſometimes have its uſe. But is it, i general, conducive to the happineſs of man; either of thoſe who are the actors in the pageant, and gratify their pride by attracting the eyes of beholders; or of thoſe who are led by it to a fooliſh admiration and a tame acquieſcence? Chains of gold and ſilver are no leſs galling than fetters of iron.

Pageantry has contributed perhaps more than any other cauſe to the prevalence of war, the bane of happineſs, the diſgrace of human nature. The grand operations of war, the ſplendor of arms, the finery of military dreſs, have been the amuſements which deſpots have chiefly delighted in, whenever they could behold them in perfect conſiſtence with their own perſonal ſafety. The pageantry of war dazzles young minds, and ſupplies both armies and navies with willing victims. The uglineſs of ſlaughter, the deſolation of fertile plains, the burning of peaceful villages, have all been unnoticed, amid the pride, pomp, and circumſtance of glorious war. The taſte for falſe glare and deceitful appearances of happineſs and glory, has then been one of the moſt prolific parents of human calamity. It has palliated robbery, and covered foul murder with a glittering veil of tinſel.

All impoſture is ultimately productive of evil. Pageantry, in a wretched world like this, aſſumed by infirm mortals doomed ſhortly to die, cannot but be deceitful. Its object is to put off falſe and counterfeit goods for true, There is nothing in human affairs that will juſtify or ſupport that glare of happineſs which the pageantry of the rich and great ſeek to diſplay. The maſk is too ſmall and too tranſparent to conceal the face of woe, the wrinkles of decay and imperfection. In times of great ignorance, when ſcarcely any could read, and very little communication was preſerved among the different orders of ſociety, the mummery of courts and courtiers taught the vulgar to believe that the internal organization of beings, ſo decorated externally, muſt be of a ſuperior nature. Princes and prieſts dreſſed themſelves in groteſque garbs, in a kind of maſquerade habit, to carry on the deluſion. But the reign of great wigs, fur gowns, hoods, and cloaks, is nearly at its cloſe. Gilded coaches, horſes richly capariſoned, gaudy hammer-cloths, fine footmen, endeavor to ſupply their place; but they have loſt much of their influence; and at laſt it will be found, that to obtain the reſpect of the people, it will be neceſſary to deſerve it. No longer will the public admire the poor creature who rides within the coach, for a ſplendor which he owes entirely to the manufacturer of carriages, the painter, the carver, the gilder, the harneſs-maker, the horſe-dealer, and the groom. No longer will men unjuſtly transfer the praiſe due to the taylor and hair-dreſſer, to the proud beau, who ſtruts as if the earth were not good enough to tread upon, nor the people whom he meets, to look at as he paſſes them

The pageantry diſplayed by contractors, by placemen, by penſioners, by commiſſaries, by all who fatten on the public ſpoils, may juſtly be conſidered as an inſult on the people. In times of great proſperity it might be winked at; but in times of diſtreſs and adverſity, it is offenſive. It anſwers no good end. It merely gratifies the vanitiy of thoſe who make the oſtentation. How can they find in their hearts to throw away ſums that would maintain thouſands, in ſetting off themſelves, and making a figure, during an hour or two every day, in Bond-ſtreet and Pall-Mall, while they paſs hundreds who are ready to periſh with cold and hunger, and cannot but know that the world abounds with inſtances of extreme want and miſery? The pageantry of the unfeeling great in France aggravated the ſenſe of ſuffering under its deſpotiſm; but, on the other hand, in provoking the people by the inſult, it accelerated and completed the glorious revolution.

It is probable that every little wretch who decorates himſelf, and all that belongs to him, with finery to the utmoſt of his power, would be a deſpot, if he could, and dared. He ſhews all the diſpoſitions to aſſume ſuperiority without merit. He certainly has a narrow and vain mind. He cannot be a philoſopher or philanthropiſt. With all his ſtyle and ſplendor in eating, drinking, dwelling, dreſſing, and riding, we cannot admire him; then let us pity, or deride.

Mere folly might be laughed at and neglected; but the folly I deſcribe is miſchievous. It delights in oppreſſion and war; and is one of the principal promoters of the deſpotic ſpirit.

SECTION XXIV. Inſolence of the higher Orders to the Middle Ranks and the Poor; with their affected Condeſcenſion, in certain Circumſtances, to the loweſt of the People.

PUBLIC corruption muſt produce private. When PRIDE is a ruling principle in the conduct of ſtate affairs, it muſt diſplay itſelf in every part of domeſtic life, accompanying its lordly poſſeſſor from the palace at St. James's and the levee in Downing-ſtreet, to the rural manſion in the diſtant province, to the convivial table, to the fire-ſide, to the ſtable, and to the dog-kennel.

A due degree of ſelf-reſpect, a dignified behaviour, a demand of what is due to oneſelf, attended with a cheerful payment of what is due to others, are highly laudable, and have no connection with that ſenſeleſs, ſullen, cruel pride, which marks the ſpirit of deſpotiſm.

This latter fort of pride is totally deſtitute of feeling for others. It ſcarcely acknowledges the common tie of humanity. It ſtands alone, completely inſulated from all human beings below it, and connected only by a narrow iſthmus with thoſe above it. It ſeems to think the world, and all that it contains, created for its own excluſive gratification. The men and women in it are merely inſtruments ſubſervient to the will and pleaſure of ariſtocratic inſolence.

With this idea of its own privileges and claims, it is no wonder that it ſhews ſymptoms of extreme ſoreneſs and exceſſive irritation on the leaſt oppoſition to its will and pleaſure. Accordingly, thoſe of the human race, whoſe unhappy lot it is to be domeſtic or menial ſervants to perſons of either ſex who ſwell with the ſelfiſh pride of ariſtocracy, are kept in a ſtate of abject ſervility, compelled to watch the looks and motions of the demigod or demigoddeſs, and ſpoken to with a ſeverity of language ſeldom uſed to the horſes in the ſtable, or the dogs in the kennel. No attendance, by night or by day, can be ſufficient. Such ſuperior beings cannot perform the moſt ordinary operations of nature without aſſiſtance, which degrades both the giver and receiver. They cannot put on their own clothes; but like eaſtern tyrants, ſurrounded by ſlaves, ſtretch themſelves on the couch of indolence, while their fellow-creatures, equals by nature, with trembling ſolicitude faſten a button, or tie a ſhoe-ſtring. The ſlighteſt error, delay, or accident, draws down imprecations on the head of the offender, more terrible than the anathemas of a pope.

If the little Mogul affect ſpirit, then he talks, in his ire, of horſewhips, kicking down ſtairs, breaking every bone in the ſkin of the wretched operator, who, as human nature is prone to error, may have deviated, in adjuſting a curl, from the ſtandard of court propriety. When he has occaſion to ſpeak of one of his ſervants, he commonly ſays, "one of my raſcals did this or that;" and when he ſpeaks to them, eſpecially on the ſlighteſt neglect or miſtake, his choler breaks out into oaths, curſes, and epithets, expreſſive of bitterneſs and venom, for which language has not yet found adequate terms. The genius of Homer, which deſcribed the wrath of Achilles, can alone paint in color black enough, the atrocity of the great man's ire. If it were not for that vulgar thing law, which, on ſome occaſions, makes no diſtinctions, the great man would trample the little man who has buckled his ſhoe awry, out of exiſtence.

To maintain that accuracy of dreſs and ſplendor of appearance, which ſo ſuperior a being thinks abſolutely neceſſary, certain vulgar people, called tradeſmen, muſt inevitably be employed; and in this country of plebeian liberty, they will no more work for a nabob, or a rich contractor, or a peer of the realm, without payment, than for a French ſans culottes. But woe betide them, if they have the inſufferable inſolence to preſent their bills uncalled, though their families are ſtarving, and their landlords are ejecting them from their habitations. "The inſolence of the raſcals! (exclaims the great man), let them wait, let them call again, and think themſelves well off if I do not chaſtiſe them with a horſewhip, or kick them down ſtairs, for knocking at my door, and bringing bills without order. But, d'ye hear: pay the ſcoundrels this time, and mind, I never deal with them any more!" Then follows a volley of oaths and curſes on the heads of all ſuch blackguards, low-lived wretches, ſcum of the earth, thieves, and pickpockets, that do not know how to keep their diſtance, and treat a gentleman with due reſpect. "Aye, (he adds), there we ſee the ſpirit of the times, the effect of theſe curſed doctrines, which thoſe miſcreants Lord Auckland's expreſſion, when ſpeaking of modern philoſophers., the philoſophers, have broached, to the deſtruction of all law, order, and religion, throughout Europe."

The middle rank of people, who reſide in his vicinity, he takes no more notice of, than if they lived at the arctic or antarctic pole. He keeps them at a diſtance, becauſe, though not ſo rich as himſelf, yet claiming and ſupporting the rank of gentlemen, they would be likely to approach too near, and perhaps preſume upon ſomething of an equality, not only by nature, but by ſelf-eſteem and inſtitution. He paſſes his next-door neighbors in his carriage or on horſeback, in his daily rides, without condeſcending to turn his eyes upon them. He does not recollect even their names. They may be very good ſort of people, for any thing he knows to the contrary; but really he has not the honor of knowing them. A deſpot will not bear a rival near his throne; and therefore he cannot bear any who, with inferior fortunes, might happen to equal him in ſpirit, in ſenſe, in behaviour, and in education. But if there is any body in the neighborhood very low indeed; ſo low, as to be removed from all poſſibility of claſhing with his importance, ſuch an one he will make a companion, and ſhew him moſt marvellous marks of humility and condeſcenſion. Indeed, for the ſake of obtaining a little popularity, he will notice cottagers and poor children at play, and make extremely free with clowns, jockies, grooms, huntſmen, and all who have any thing to do with dog and horſe fleſh. But keep your diſtance, ye little ſquires, parſons, and profeſſional men, who make ſaucy pretenſions to knowledge or ingenuity. However, he can never be at a loſs for company, while he and his equals drive phaetons and four, to dine with each other at fifteen miles diſtance, and while officers are quartered in the vicinity. He is abjectly ſervile to his ſuperiors, inſolent and neglectful to the middle ranks, and free and eaſy to the humble ſons of poverty, who will bear a volley of oaths whenever he thinks proper to diſcharge them, and who, if ſpit upon, will not ſpit again, becauſe they are his workmen or tenants.

He who can eradicate ſuch inſolence from a neighbourhood, by treating it with the contempt and ridicule which it deſerves, certainly contributes to the happineſs of ſociety. It is confined in its ſphere of action; but it is the ſame ſort of deſpotiſm which ravages Poland, and deluges the earth with human gore. In a free country like this, where law and liberty flouriſh, it is a vulture in a cage, but ſtill it is a vulture; and the little birds, to whom nature has given the free air to range in, ought to unite in endeavoring to deſtroy it.

Does any ſenſible man believe that ſuch perſons, if their power were equal to their will, would ſuffer freeholders of forty ſhillings ayear, to vote for members of parliament; or juries of twelve honeſt plebeians to decide in ſtate trials, where miniſters are anxious (as they value their places) for a verdict favorable to their adminiſtration? They would not permit, if they could help it, the middle ranks to breathe the common air, or feel the genial ſun, which God has given to ſhine indiſcriminately on the palace and the cottage. They are as much enemies to kings as to the people, becauſe they would, if poſſible, be kings themſelves; but as that is impoſſible, they crouch, like fawning ſpaniels, to the hand which has it in its power to throw them a bone.

This deſcription of perſons is peculiarly formidable to liberty, becauſe they are inſatiably greedy of power. From their order chiefly ariſe the purchaſers of boroughs, in which they traffic on ſpeculation, like dealers in hops, determined to re-ſell their commodity, as ſoon as they can, to the beſt bidder. They are alſo of that hardened effrontery which puſhes its way to public employment, ſtands forward at court, and, on all occaſions, aſſumes that importance, which, from the general diffidence of the better part of mankind, is but too eaſily conceded to the moſt impudent pretenſions. In conſequence of this unbluſhing aſſurance, this arrogant, audacious preſumption, this hardened temper, which can bear repulſe without being abaſhed or diſpirited, they ofteneſt riſe to the higheſt poſts; and ſuch as would be poſts of honor, if they were not filled by men who have not one quality of a beneficent nature, or which deſerves the eſteem of their fellow creatures. But though they have no inclination to do good; they acquire the power, which they fail not to exerciſe, of doing much evil. They encourage arbitrary principles. They depreciate the people on all occaſions; and add weight and confidence to the ariſtocratical confederacy. They may ſometimes be men of parts. They are ſeldom deficient in the graces of Lord Cheſterfield. But they are hard-hearted, ſelfiſh wretches, attached to the childiſh vanity of the world, and preferring a title or a riband to the peace, the lives, the property, and the liberty of their fellow-mortals; all which they are ready to ſacrifice, even for the chance of pleaſing a prime miniſter, and obtaining ſome bauble, which reaſon ever deſpiſes, when it is not the badge of experienced virtue. "One of theſe (ſays an old writer Samuel Johnſon; not the Lexicographer, whoſe religion was often Popiſh ſuperſtition, and whoſe loyalty the moſt irrational Toryiſm. I venerate his abilities; but deteſt his politics. He would have diſplaced the Brunſwick family for the Stuarts, if his power had kept pace with his inclinations.) values being called His Grace, or Noble Marquis," (unideal names as they are), "more than a million of lives, provided that in ſuch a general deſtruction he can ſave ONE; and to confirm themſelves in their ill-gotten honors, they generally hatch plots, ſuborn rebellions, or any thing that they think can create buſineſs, keep themſelves from being queſtioned, and THIN mankind, whereby they loſe ſo many of their enemies."

SECTION XXV. Of a Natural Ariſtocracy.

NOBILITY, according to the idea of the vulgar, both in high and low life, is nothing more than RICHES that have been a long time in one family: but it often happens that riches have been originally gained and preſerved in one family by ſordid avarice, by mean and diſhoneſt arts; ſuch arts as are utterly incompatible with true nobility, with ſuperiority of intellects, united with generoſity of diſpoſition.

Moſt of the titles of nobility, and other civil diſtinctions, were taken from WAR: as a marquis, a duke, a count, a baron, a landgrave, a knight, an eſquire. The inventors of arts, the improvers of life, thoſe who have mitigated evil and augmented the good allotted to men in this world, were not thought worthy of any titular diſtinctions. The reaſon is indeed ſufficiently obvious: titles were originally beſtowed by deſpotic kings, who required and rewarded no other merit but that which ſupported them by violence in their arbitrary rule. In ſome countries they are now given, for the ſame reaſons, to thoſe who effect the ſame purpoſes, not by war only, but by CORRUPTION.

Perſons thus raiſed to civil honors, thus enriched by the long-continued favor of courts, would willingly depreciate all dignity which is derived from GOD and virtue only, unindebted to patents royal. They would create an artificial preference to a diſtinguiſhed few among the human race, which nature is for ever counteracting, by giving ſuperior abilities to thoſe who are puſhed down among the deſpiſed and neglected many. This conduct is both unjuſt and unnatural. It cannot be favorable to human happineſs, becauſe it is adverſe to truth, and does violence to the will of God manifeſted in the operations of nature. In France it was carried to that extreme which brought it to its termination. There is a tendency to carry it to extremes in all countries where courts predominate. The friend of reaſon and of man will therefore endeavor to convince the people, that an ariſtocracy, founded on caprice or accident only, without any regard to ſuperior abilities and virtues, is a fertile cauſe of war, and all thoſe evils which infeſt a great part of civil ſociety.

That the BEST and ableſt men ſhould govern the worſt and weakeſt, is reaſonable: and this is the ariſt eracy appointed by God and nature. But what do we mean when we ſay the beſt and ableſt men? Do we mean men of the BEST families; that is, men in whoſe families riches and titles have long been conſpicuous? By the ABLEST men, do we mean men who poſſeſs the greate power, by undue influence, in borough and county elections, though the ex •• tion of that power be ſtrictly forbidden by the law and conſtitution? Or do we mean men of honeſt, upright, and benevolent HEARTS; of vigorous, well-informed, well-exerciſed underſtandings? Certainly the latter ſort, which forms the ariſtocracy eſtabliſhed by God and nature. This is gold; the king's head ſtamped upon it may make it a guinea. The other is only copper; and though the ſame impreſſion may be made upon it at the mint, it is ſtill intrinſically worth no more than a halfpenny.

But Mr. Burke has favored mankind with a deſcription of what he calls a true natural ariſtocracy.

The firſt requiſite See Appeal from the new to the old Whigs, page 128., according to him, is "To be bred in a PLACE of eſtimation." Mr. Burke is a good claſſical ſcholar, and often writes Latin in Engliſh Thus he uſes the word VAS , which the common reader underſtands VERY GREAT, in its claſſical ſenſe, for deſolate. Many other inſtances might e given.. PLACE here is the Latin LOCUS, which every polite ſcholar has obſerved to ſignify FAMILY. If I were to tranſlate this little ſentence into Latin, I might venture to render it in this manner: honeſto opor •• t oriundus ſit loco—you muſt, as the common people would expreſs it, be a gentleman born. The accident of birth therefore is placed at the head of the qualifications neceſſary to give a man pre-eminence in ſociety. This doctrine is certainly conſiſtent with the whole tenor of the book; but wh •• ner it contributes to the general happineſs of mankind, or tends to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, let impartial obſervers determine. Mr. Burke had ſaid a few lines before, ſatis eſt equitem mihi plauder —"It is enough for me that gentlemen or nobles approve my doctrine;" and there is therefore little doubt but that he is ſatisfied; for their approbation muſt be ſecured by opinions ſo favorable to their importance in ſociety, independently of laborious, virtuous, and uſeful exertion.

The next requiſite is, "to SEE nothing low or ſordid from one's infancy;" that is, to be kept at a diſtance from the ſwiniſh multitude, ſo as not to know thoſe wants which it is the bu •• neſs of ſuperiors, or of a natural ariſtocracy, to ſupply or alleviate.

The third requiſite is, "to be taught to reſpect oneſelf." This ſeldom requires any great teaching among perſons who have the two preceding requiſites. Pride and ſelfiſhneſs are the very principles of deſpotiſm.

The fourth requiſite to natural ariſtocracy, "is to be habituated to the cenſorial inſpection of the public eye." Yes; ſo habituared as to be hardened by effrontery, and to ſay that a king holds his crown Mr. Burke's doctrine. in contempt of the people; and, ſatis eſt equitem mihi plaudere, which may be rendered, paraphraſtically, "I care nothing for the people's cenſorial eye or tongue, if the GREAT honor me with their applauſe, for defending their excluſive privileges from being trodden under the hoof of the ſwiniſh multitude."

I paſs over ſome very proper requiſites, to proceed to the laſt. The laſt is, "to be among RICH traders, who, from their SUCCESS, are preſumed to have ſharp and vigorous underſtandings, and to poſſeſs the virtues of diligence, order, conſtancy, and regularity, and to have cultivated an habitual regard to commutative juſtice.—Theſe are the circumſtances of men who form what I ſhould call a natural ariſtocracy, without which there is O NATION. Without this," (the writer intimates in a few ſubſequent lines), "HE cannot recognize the exiſtence of the PEOPLE."

Reſpecting Mr. Burke greatly, as I do, and ag •••• g with him in many particulars in this very paſſage, I cannot help thinking that he has laid too much ſtreſs on riches and BIRTH, in pointing out the men intended by NATURE to take the lead in all human affairs, and to form what he calls a true natural ariſtocracy. Nam genus et proavos et quae non ſecimus ipſi Vix ea noſtra voco. I think it injurious to ſociety and mankind at large, to laviſh honors and confer power on accidental qualities, which may exiſt in their greateſt degree and perfection without the leaſt particle of perſonal merit, without wiſdom or benevolence. It diſcourages induſtry. It ſtiſ es all virtuous emulation. It makes RICHES the grand object of purſuit; not for their own intrinſic value, not for their power of ſupplying neceſſaries, and even luxuries, but for the political conſequence they beſtow, independently of the mode of acquiſition or expenditure. I would have no IDOLATRY. God has ſhewn his peculiar indignation againſt it. I would not worſhip a calf, though a golden one. KINGS LOG, and Gods made of ſtocks and ſtones, can only command reverence from men really ſunk to a ſtate below the ſwine.

I know Lord Bolingbroke's doctrines of liberty are diſliked, by thoſe who ſee their own conſequence increaſing in the increaſing ſpirit of deſpotiſm. But I will cite a paſſage from him, which may counterbalance the ſervile ideas which ſome men entertain of the ariſtocracy conſtituted by NATURE.

"It ſeems to me, (ſays he), that in ordes to maintain the moral ſyſtem of the world at a certain point, far below that of ideal perfection; but however ſufficient upon the whole to conſtitute a ſtate eaſy and happy, or, at the v ••• ſt, tolerable; I ſay, it ſeems to me, that the Author of Nature has thought fit to mingle, from time to time, among the ſocieties of men, a few, and but a few, of thoſe, on whom he is graciouſly pleaſed to beſtow a larger portion of the aetherial ſpirit, than is given, in the ordinary courſe of his providence, to the ſons of men.***

"You will find that there are ſuperior ſpirits, men who ſhew, even from their infancy, though it be not always perceived by others, perhaps not felt by themſelves, that they were born for ſomething more and better. Theſe are the men to whom the part I mentioned is aſſigned. Their talents denote their general deſignation.

"I have ſometimes repreſented to myſelf the VULGAR, who are accidentally diſtinguiſhed by the titles of KING and SUBJECT, of LORD and VASSAL, of nobleman and peaſant; and the FEW who are diſtinguiſhed by nature ſo eſſentially from the herd of mankind, that (figure apart) they ſeem to be of another ſpecies. The former loiter or trifle away their whole time; and their preſence or their abſence would be equally unperceived, if caprice or accident did not raiſe them often to ſtations, wherein their ſtupidity, and their vices, make them a PUBLIC MISFORTUNE. The latter come into the world, or at leaſt continue in it, after the effects of ſurpriſe and inexperience are over, like men who are ſent on more important errands. They may indulge themſelves in pleaſure; but as their induſtry is not employed about trifles, ſo their amuſements are not made the buſineſs of their lives. Such men cannot paſs unperceived through a country. If they retire from the world, their ſplendor accompanies them, and enlightens even the obſcurity of their retreat. If they take a part in public life, the effect is never indifferent. They either appear like miniſters of divine vengeance; and their courſe through the world is marked by deſolation and oppreſſion, by poverty and ſervitude; or they are the guardian angels of the country they inhabit, BUSY to avert even the moſt diſtant evil, and to maintain or procure PEACE, plenty, and the greateſt of human bleſſings, LIBERTY."

Such men, when they take the latter courſe, and become the guardian angels of the country they inhabit, are the ariſtocracy appointed by God and nature. Such men, therefore, ſhould be ſelected by kings for civil honors, and public functions of high importance. If kings were republicans in the proper ſenſe, all the people would be royaliſts. But when brilliant honors and miniſterial employments are beſtowed on fools and knaves, becauſe they were begotten by anceſtors whom they diſgrace, or poſſeſs riches which they abuſe, government becomes a nuiſance, and the people feel an ariſtocracy to be little better than an automaton machine, for promoting the purpoſes of royal or MINISTERIAL deſpotiſm.

SECTION XXVI. The exceſſixe Love of Diſtinction and Power which prevails wherever the Spirit of Deſpotiſm exiſts, deadens ſome of the fineſt Feelings of the Heart, and counteracts the Laws of Nature.

IN a ſyſtem of manners, which renders the poſſeſſion of riches more honorable than the poſſeſſion of virtue, which attaches a degree of merit to hereditary rank and nominal diſtinctions, above all that perſonal exertions can poſſibly acquire, the natural ideas of right and wrong are confounded; and man, become a depraved, artificial animal, purſues pre-eminence in ſociety, by counteracting nature, as well as by violating juſtice.

That he counteracts nature, under ſuch a ſyſtem, will be evident, on conſidering the preſent ſtate of conjugal union among thoſe who appear to place the chief good of man in riches, ſplendor, title, power, and courtly diſtinctions. LOVE is every day ſacrificed, by the lovelieſt of the ſpecies, on the altar of PRIDE.

The fine ſenſibilities of the heart, if ſuffered to influence the choice of a companion for life, might lead to family degradation. "Nature, then, avaunt (exclaims Ariſtocracy). Love is a vulgar paſſion. The ſimpleſt damſel, that ſlumbers under the roof of ſtraw, feels it in all its ardor. Daughter, you have nobler objects than mere nature preſents. Remember your birth. You muſt make an alliance which may aggrandize the family, which may add title to our riches, or new brilliancy to our title."

In vain have the Loves and the Graces moulded her ſhape and face with the niceſt ſymmetry. In vain has art added her fineſt poliſh to the work of nature. Poor IPHIGENI muſt be ſacrificed. Her heart, peradventure, has choſen its mate, and happy would ſhe be, if ſhe could renounce all the embarraſſments of high fortune, and emulate the turtle-dove of the vale. But no; ſhe muſt not tell her love. Perhaps the object of it is only a commoner; perhaps he is only a younger brother; perhaps he has little to recommend him but youth, beauty, honor, and virtue. He cannot keep her an equipage. He has no manſion-houſe. Yet, her heart inclines to him, and both God and nature approve her choice; but neither her heart, nor God, nor nature, will be heard, when pride and ariſtocratical inſolence lift up their imperious voice, and command her to remember her rank, and keep up the family dignity.

Lord ***** is introduced as a ſuitor, under the father's authority. Lord ***** influences five or ſix boroughs, and the junction of ſuch an intereſt with that of the family muſt, in all human probability, ſecure a riband, and perhaps a marquiſate.

His lordſhip is ten years older than poor Iphigenia. His life has been ſpent, from infancy, in the midſt of luxuries and pleaſures, to ſpeak of it in the ſofteſt terms. He has a lively juvenile pertneſs about him; but his face is that of of an old man—pale, or rather yellow except his noſe, which is decorated with a ſettled redneſs, and his forehead, which is var egated with carbuncles. Several of his front teeth are gone, having been ſacrificed to Venus by the god Mercury. His breath—ye poets, bring your roſes, your honeyſuckles, your jaſmines—not for compariſon—but, if poſſible, to drown the ſtench which, while he ſolicits Iphigenia's hand, is like that which iſſues from a putrid carcaſe, or the apertures of a boghouſe. Nothing offenſive, however, oozes from his neck, the deep holes of the king's evil having lately been completely cicatrized by a ſkilful quac doctor, as a meaſure preparatory to his approaching nuptials.

Behold, then, the ſuitor, alighting from a high phaeton, beautifully adorned with coats of arms, not only on the ſides and back, but on the lining, drawn by four cream-coloured ponies, and followed by two fine figures of men in white liveries, with horſes richly capariſoned, and diſplaying, in every part, where it is poſſible, coronets of ſilver.

Iphigenia appears delighted at the honor of his propoſal, though her heart, when ſhe reclines on her pillow, feels a pang of regret which no language can deſcribe. The ſtruggle between love and pride is violent; but it paſſes in ſecret. She hears of nothing among her companions, but of the great alliance ſhe is going to make with an ancient and illuſtrious family. Splendid manſions, glittering carriages, birth day dreſſes, flit before her imagination. Above all, the delightful idea that ſhe ſhall take precedence of thoſe who now think themſelves her equals and ſuperiors, diſpels every thought of LOVE. As to the MAN, the huſband, he is ſcarcely conſidered at all, or he muſt be conſidered with diſguſt. But his title, his houſe in town, his manſions and parks in the country, his parliamentary intereſt, the favor in which he ſtands at court, the brilliant appearance he makes in the realms of faſhion; theſe, added to a father's influence, determine Iphigenia at once to forget the object of her love, and give her hand to deformity, diſeaſe, putre •• ence, and folly. She marries: the family eſtates and •• fluence are united, and the battered, worn-out bridegroom becomes, in time, a MARQUIS.

The puny offspring of ſuch connubial alliances are trained in the ſame idolat ons veneration of rank, title, and grandeur; and WOMAN, formed to love and be loved, ſacrifices her happineſs to family pride, and lives and dies a legal proſtitute, without once taſting the exquiſite and natural delight of virtuous, equal, and ſincere affection.—Taught from the cradle to believe herſelf a ſuperior being, ſhe is cheated of the happineſs which falls to the lot of thoſe who view their fellow-creatures as one great family, and are nor too proud to partake of the common banquet of life, and to chooſe a partner like the turtle of the vale.

Now mark the conſequence. In no rank of ſociety is conjugal happineſs more rarely found than among thoſe who have imbibed moſt copiouſly the ariſtocratical principles of ſelfiſh pride. The preſent age abounds with public and notorious inſtances of infelicity of this ſort in the higheſt ranks of ſociety. It would be painful to dwell upon them. I drop a tear of pity on the lovely victims to deſpotiſm, and let the curtain fall.

But ſurely that degree of PRIDE, nurſed by ill-conſtructed ſyſtems of ſociety, which leads to the violation of the firſt law of nature, and produces miſery of the ſevereſt kind ought to be diſgraced and reprobated by all who have hearts ſufficiently tender to ſympathize with the ſufferings of their fellow-mortals. Love, and the natural affections between human creatures, are the ſweet ingredients which Providence has thrown into the cup of life, to ſweeten the bitter beverage. And that ſtate of ſociety, which diveſts man of his nature, which renders him a factitious creature, which hardens his heart with ſelfiſhneſs, and ſwells him with the morbid tumors of vanity, deſerves execration. It increaſes all the natural miſery of man, and withholds the anodyne.

Something may be ſaid in excuſe for the more amiable part of the ſpecies, when they diſcard love from their boſoms to indulge pride. Their haughty fathers too often inculcate the leſſon of pride from the earlieſt infancy; and teach them to think nothing really beautiful and lovely, which is not marked by faſhion, or varniſhed by titles, riches, and heraldic honors. The men in general ſet them the example. They laviſh their love on the courtezan, and follow prudence in the choice of a wife; that is, they ſeek not a heart that beats in uniſon with their own, but a legal connection which increaſes their fortune, or aggrandizes their ſituation. A marriage of love, at an age when the heart is moſt prone to it, is conſidered as a folly and a misfortune, unleſs it advances the man in ſociety. The women learn to retaliate, and to give their hands without their hearts; gratifying pride at the expence of love.

When truth, juſtice, reaſon, and nature are little regarded, in competition with the DESIRE of diſtinction, which is the caſe wherever the ſpirit of deſpotiſm has inſinuated itſelf, all true and ſolid happineſs will be ſacrificed for the appearance of ſuperiority in birth, in poſſeſſions, in houſes and carriages, and above all, in court favor. The tendereſt ties of conſanguinity, affinity, and friendſhip, ſnap aſunder when oppoſed to the force of any thing which is likely to contribute to perſonal ſplender or family pride, political conſequence, influence at elections, and finally, to the honors conferred by royalty. The little aſpirants at ſubordinte degrees of deſpotiſm, are continually crawling up the hill, ever looking at the brilliant object on the ſummit, and leaving below, all that love and nature teach them to embrace.

From this principle, unnatural as it is, ariſes the anxious deſire of ariſtocratical bigots to make, as they expreſs it, an ELDEST SON; to ſtarve, or at leaſt to diſtreſs, a dozen ſons and daughters, in order to leave behind them one great repreſentative, who may continue to toil in the purſuit of civil pre-eminence, for the gratification of family pride. The privileges of primogeniture eſtabliſh petty deſpots all over the land, who are intereſted, and ſufficiently inclined, from pride as well as intereſt, to promote the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. They would have no objection to the feudal ſyſtem, in which the only diſtinction was that of lords and vaſſals. Not contented with engroſſing the property which ought to be ſhared among their brothers and ſiſters, they claim privileges in conſequence of their property, and would appropriate the birds of the air and the beaſts of the foreſt for their recreation in the field, and their luxury at the table.

When the laws of nature, and eternal truth and juſtice, are violated, no wonder that deſpotiſm advances, and man is degraded.

SECTION XXVII. On the Opinion that the People are annihilated or abſorbed in Parliament; that the Voice of the People is no where to be heard but in Parliament; and on ſimilar Doctrines, tending to depreciate the People.

THERE is no doctrine ſo abſurd but pride and ſelfiſhneſs will adopt and maintain it with obſtinacy, if it be conducive to their gratification. Alexander, it is ſaid, really believed himſelf a god. The vileſt of the Caeſars demanded divine honors. Many inſtances are on record of wretched beings, with hardly any thing worthy of man about them, forgetting, in conſequence of a little elevation above others, that they were mortals; behaving with the wickedneſs and cruelty of devils, and at the ſame time arrogating the power and dignity of the celeſtial nature. It is related of Hanno, the Carthaginian, that he taught ſtarlings to ſay "Deus Hanno Hanno is a God.;" and that when a very large number had learned their leſſon, he turned them looſe into the woods, hoping that they would teach the wild beaſts on the trees to repeat the ſame words, and that thus the divinity of Hanno might be wafted into the remoteſt regions, and become the worſhip of the univerſe. Such conduct appears to reſemble the the ravings of the poor lunatic, who crowns himſelf, as he ſits in his deſolate cell, with a crown of ſtraw, and imagines, while he ſways a ſceptre of the ſame materials, that he is an emperor. But in truth, the pride of deſpots, I mean thoſe who have all the diſpoſitions of deſpots, though they may not have the diadems, diſplays many of the ſymptoms of downright lunacy. Pride is allowed by the phyſicians to have a powerful effect in turning the brain; and though it may not always fit the unhappy ſufferer for Bedlam, yet commonly renders him unfit for the offices of ſocial life.

Shocking as madneſs is, it ſometimes behaves in a manner which turns pity into laughter. Can any thing be more ridiculous, than the inſolence of ſome perſons, who, having adopted high ariſtocratical notions, to correſpond with their high birth, high titles, and high rank, declare that they know not what is meant by the people out of parliament; that they do not acknowledge the political exiſtence of the people, but on the benches of St. Stephen's chapel? Individuals of low degree they may know, and employ in their ſervice, but they know nothing of the people, as millions of MEN, poſſeſſing rights or power. "The conſtitution (ſay they) knows nothing of the people conſidered as individuals." King, lords, and commons conſtitute the nation; but what is meant by the people they cannot divine. A mob they know, and would always have them diſperſed by the military, as ſoon as two or three are gathered together; but the people, as a part of the conſtitution, they never could diſcover.

Mr. Burke, the great Goryphaeus of ariſtocracy, ſays, "As a people can have no right to a corporate capacity without univerſal conſent, ſo neither have they a right to hold excluſively any lands in the name and title of a corporation. On the ſcheme of the preſent rulers in our neighboring country, regenerated as they are, they have no more right to the territory called France than I (Edmund Burke) have. Who are theſe inſolent men, calling themſelves the French nation, that would monopolize this fair domain of nature? Is it becauſe they ſpeak a certain jargon? Is it their mode of chattering? The crowd of men on the other ſide of the Channel, who have the impudence to call themſelves a PEOPLE, can never be the lawful excluſive poſſeſſors of the ſoil." How truly laughable to hear an individual, Mr. Edmund Burke, taxing twenty-ſix millions of human creatures with IMPUDENCE, for preſuming to call themſelves a PEOPLE! I muſt ſmile at ſuch abſurdity, while I ſincerely lament that this ingenious man has miſſed the opportunity of raiſing his family to the peerage, the grand object of ſo many years indefatigable labor, by a loſs never to be repaired, and in which every feeling heart muſt ſympathize. Ambition, what art thou to the feelings of a father, exclaiming, like David, "O Abſalom, my ſon, my ſon!" The great teacher Death ſhews the vanity of all human aſpirations at ſublunary glory. He who loſes a ſon in the prime of life and the career of honor, may learn to weep over the thouſands, whoſe deareſt relatives have been cut off by the ſword of war, in conſequence of doctrines which he maintained by a gaudy diſplay of his eloquence, without fore-ſeeing or regarding the calamities they had a tendency to produce.

The ſubtle writer goes on and obſerves, that "When the multitude (from the context he means a MAJORITY of the people) are not under the habitual ſocial diſcipline of the wiſer, mo •• expert, and more opulent, they can ſcarcely be ſaid to BE in civil ſociety .... When you ſeparate the common ſort of men from their proper chieftains, ſo as to form them into an adverſe army, I no longer know that venerable object called the PEOPLE, in ſuch a diſbanded race of deſerters and vagabonds. For awhile they may be terrible indeed; but in ſuch a manner as wild beaſts are terrible. The mind owes to them no ſort of ſubmiſſion. They are, as they have always been reputed, rebels. They may lawfully be FOUGHT WITH and brought under, whenever an advantage offers."

What gave riſe to theſe elucidations he has told us a few pages before. "The factions now ſo buſy amongſt us, in order to diveſt men of all love of their country and to remove from their minds all duty with regard to the ſtate, endeavor to propagate an opinion that the PEOPLE, in forming their commonwealth, have by no means parted with their power over it!" Horrendum dictu!

"Diſcuſs any of their ſchemes—their anſwer is—it is the act of the PEOPLE, and that is ſufficient!—The people are maſters of the commonwealth; becauſe in ſubſtance they are the commonwealth! The French revolution, ſay they, was the act of the majority of the people; and if the majority of any other people, the people of England for inſtance, wiſh to make the ſame change, they have the ſame right.— Juſt the ſame, undoubtedly. That is, NONE AT ALL."

Such is the doctrine of this warm partiſan to ariſtocratical diſtinction. But what ſay ſeven or eight millions of good people, who wiſh nothing, in their interference in politics, but to ſecure and extend their own happineſs, and to make all others happy within the ſpheres of their influence? Let them ſay what they pleaſe, their remonſtrance muſt not be heard. They are political non-entities; they are, as pride commonly calls inferiors in private life, NOBODY, or people whom nobody knows.

But now comes the tax-gatherer. Theſe non-entities muſt find real tangible money to pay for the ſalaries of places, to pay penſions, and the intereſt of money advanced for the waging of wars, ſaid to be in defence of law, order, and religion. It will not do to plead that they have no political exiſtence. A very conſiderable part of their property, the produce of their labor, muſt be annually paid for the ſupport of thoſe who have the effrontery to ſay they are not viſible, as a majority of individuals, in the eye of the conſtitution.

At a general election, would any candidate for a conſiderable city or county dare to advance ſuch opinions reſpecting the inſignificance, or rather non-exiſtence, of the people, as have been advanced by borough members, in their zeal for power and prerogative? The People would deny the doctrine with a voice loud enough to ſilence the moſt obſtreperous declaimer.

Mr. Burke will make no new converts to this opinion. The Tory party had adopted it, previouſly to the inſtruction of their ſanguine advocate. It was always one of their principles. The people themſelves will certainly reprobate ideas which lead to their political annihilation, in every reſpect, but in the privilege of contributing to the public revenue. But one cannot be ſurpriſed at any wild aſſertions of a man who writes under the impulſe of paſſion. Anger, inflamed by mortified pride, ſeems to animate almoſt every ſentence of his late invective. And what are we to think of the WHIGISM of one, who, in the commencement of the alarm concerning French principles, is ſaid to have propoſed to Mr. Fox to join together (theſe are the very words of the propoſal) in "FROWNING DOWN THE DOCTRINES OF LIBERTY See Mr. Wyvill's Letter to Mr. Pitt, page 108.." The propoſer muſt have no ſmall opinion of himſelf, when he imagined that, aſſiſted by one more, he could frown down the doctrines of liberty. Jupiter ſhook Olympus with a nod; and Burke was to diſcountenance liberty, and annihilate the political exiſtence of a people, with a FROWN.

Diviſum imperium cum Jove, Burkus habet.

I revere the private virtues of the man. I feel and admire his excellence as a writer. I deplore the miſtake which has led him to gratify the few in power, at the expence of millions of his fellow-creatures, who would have rejoiced in ſuch an advocate againſt the influence of the deſpotic ſpirit. Imperial power has means enough to maintain itſelf. Genius ſhould ever eſpouſe the cauſe of liberty, and of thoſe who have no ſtanding armies, no treaſury, no tribe of dependents, nothing to ſtand their friend, but a good cauſe, which, in a corrupt ſtate of ſociety, is too often defeated by a bad one.

May the people, in all climates which the ſun views in his daily progreſs, prove their political exiſtence by their public virtue! May deſpots learn to fear the power of thoſe whoſe happineſs they have dared to deſtroy. In our own country, we have a king who rules in the hearts of his people, and who would therefore be the firſt to reject the doctrines of Mr. Burke, which tend to ſink the people, as a majority of individuals, into a ſtate of inſignificance. May the people claim and preſerve their rights, in defiance of all overruling influence, and all ſophiſtical declamation. But let them purſue their philanthropic ends with ſteady coolneſs. Let them reſpect themſelves, and act conſiſtently with their dignity. Let not a ſingle drop of blood be ſhed, nor a ſingle mite of property unjuſtly ſeized, in correcting abuſes, and recovering rights. Let them paſs a glorious act of amneſty, and generouſly forgive the Pitts, the Burkes, the Loughboroughs, the Aucklands, the Mansfields, the Wyndhams; proving to an admiring world, that a great PEOPLE can be gentle and merciful to frail, erring individuals, while it explodes their errors, and calmly evinces, by virtuous energies, its own political exiſtence and ſupreme authority.

SECTION XXVIII. The faſhionable Contempt thrown on Mr. Locke, and his Writings in Favor of Liberty; and on other Authors and Books eſpouſing the ſame Cauſe.

IT is an infallible proof of great abilities in a writer who eſpouſes the cauſe of the people, when he is cavilled at, written againſt, and condemned by the perſons whoſe deſpotic principles he has endeavored to expoſe and refute. It is a ſign that he has touched them to the quick, and left a fore place, the ſmart of which is continually urging them to murmur. Their affected deriſion and contempt of him are but tranſparent veils to hide the writhings of their tortured minds; an awkward maſque to cover the ugly features of impotent revenge, ſtruggling, through pride, to conceal the painful emotions of rage.

It is amuſing to obſerve what mean and little arts are uſed by theſe angry perſons, to lower the character of any writer, whoſe arguments they cannot refute. They hire a venal tool to write his life and crowd it with every falſehood and calumny which party malice can invent, and popular credulity diſſeminate. They relate, without examination into a ſingle fact, and decide, without the ſmalleſt attention to candor or juſtice. The man is to be hunted down. The miniſter and his creatures cry havoc, and let ſlip the vermin of corruption. The newſpapers, in daily paragraphs, diſcharge the venom of abuſe on his name. Venal critiques pour their acrimonious cenſure, in general terms, on his compoſitions, which they could not equal, and dare not examine with impartiality. Nicknames are faſtened on him; and whenever he is ſpoken of, all additions of reſpect are omitted, and, in their place, ſome familiar and vulgar abbreviation of his chriſtian name is uſed to vilify his ſurname. Poor artifices indeed! for while they expoſe the malice and weakneſs of thoſe who uſe them, they leave the arguments and doctrines of the writer rather confirmed than ſhaken by an attack ſo feeble.

It is not ſurpriſing, indeed, that cotemporary writers in favor of the people, whatever their abilities, and however convincing their arguments, are treated with affected contempt, as often as they excite real admiration. Envy always ſtrikes at living merit. The policy of the aſpirants at arbitrary power unites with envy, to depreſs all who are riſing to public eſteem by perſonal exertion, by their own virtue, independently of court patronage and hereditary diſtinction. But it might be ſuppoſed that departed genius, elevated, by the conſpiring voice of nations, to the higheſt rank, would be ſurrounded with a ſanctity which would defend it from profanation. It is not ſo. The love of power, in the hearts of mean and ſelfiſh men, acknowledges no reverence for genius. It has no reverential feelings beyond the purlieus of a court. The falſe brilliancy of what is called high and faſhionable life, is preferred by it to the permanent luſtre of all ſolid perſonal virtue.

Mr. Locke, therefore, one of the chief glories of Engliſh literature, is to be depreciated, for he wrote on the ſide of liberty. Poſſeſſing reaſon in greater perfection than moſt men, e naturally inclined to eſpouſe the cauſe of MAN, without confining his regard to thoſe who boaſted adventitious honors, the fantaſtic diſtinctions of birth, or the fortuitous advantages of fortune. Theſe are few, compared with the millions who conſtitute the maſs of a commonwealth. His underſtanding, greatly elevated above the ordinary ſtandard, clearly ſaw, that the purpoſes of real philanthropy can be accompliſhed ſolely by improving the condition of the MANY. They muſt be taught to know and value their rights. They muſt learn to reverence themſelves, by feeling their importance in ſociety. Such an improvement of their minds will lead them to act conſiſtently with their dignity as rational creatures, and as members of a community which they love, and the welfare of which they find to depend on their own virtue.

Mr. Locke was certainly ſtimulated to write his book on government by theſe philoſophical and philanthropic ideas. In purſuance of thoſe ideas, he wiſhed to ſupport, by doctrines favorable to general liberty, the REVOLUTION. Let us attend to his own words in his Preface.

"Theſe papers, (ſays he), I hope, are ſufficient to eſtabliſh the throne of our great Reſtorer, our preſent King William; to make good his title, in the CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE, which, BEING THE ONLY ONE OF ALL LAWFUL GOVERNMENTS, he has more fully and clearly than any prince in Chriſtendom; and to juſtify to the world the people of England, whoſe love of their juſt and natural rights, with their reſolution to preſerve them, ſaved the nation when it was on the very brink of ſlavery and ruin."

Mr. Locke's book then tends directly to ſtrengthen the foundation of the throne on which the preſent royal family is ſeated. It is equally favorable to the king and the people. Yet becauſe it is at all favorable to the people and the general cauſe of liberty, it is the faſhion, in the ariſtocratical circles, to revile it. It is ſaid to contain the elements of thoſe doctrines which the philoſophers of France have dilated, which gave independence to America, and rendered France a republic. It is ſaid, very unjuſtly, to contain the ſeminal principles of Mr. Paine's matured and expanded tree. Mr. Locke, therefore, the great defender of the Revolution and of King William, is reprobated by Tory courtiers, and numbered, by the aſpirants at enormous power and privileges, to which they have no juſt and natural claim, among Lord Auckland's "miſcreants called philoſophers."

Men who undertake to defend any thing contrary to the common ſenſe and common intereſt of mankind, uſually hurt the ſide they intend to defend, by promoting a diſcuſſion, and calling forth common ſenſe, excited by the common intereſt, to defend its own cauſe. Thus Sir Robert Filmer's book gave riſe both to Sydney's and Locke's defence of liberty. Thus Mr. Burke's Reflections on France drew forth Mr. Paine's Rights of Man, in which is much excellent matter, mingled with a blameable cenſure of limited monarchy. Thus Salmaſius's mercenary invective againſt the republicans of England in the laſt century, provoked the great Milton, ſcarcely leſs eloquent in proſe than in poetry, to defend the right of the people of England to manage, in their own country their own concerns, according to their own judgment and inclination.

Milton and Locke are great names on the ſide of liberty. But Milton has been treated coutemptuouſly; and ſome have ſhewn a ſpirit illiberal enough to detract from his poetry in revenge for his politics. His laſt biographer, Dr. Johnſon, who had many early prejudices which his moſt vigorous reaſon could not to the laſt ſubdue, was, by early prejudice, a violent Tory and Jacobite. I think there is reaſon to believe, that he would have been eaſily made a convert to popery. I venerate his abilities and virtues; but I cannot help remarking, that his high-church and high-prerogative principles led him to ſpeak leſs honorably of Milton than he muſt have done if he had viewed him through a medium undiſcolored. Milton was a greater man than Johnſon; and though I think he went too far in his hatred to monarchy and epiſcopacy, yet, in extenuation, let it be conſidered how much monarchy and epiſcopacy had been abuſed in his time, and how much more friendly to freedom they both are in our happier age. Milton diſcovered a noble ſpirit of independence, and his writings contain ſome of the fineſt paſſages that ever were written in vindication of civil liberty. They contributed to raiſe that ſpirit which afterwards produced our happy revolution; and I have no doubt but that Milton would have rejoiced under a limited monarchy. It is to writings and to a ſpirit like his mankind are indebted for the limitation. If honeſt and able minds like Milton's had not appeared on the part of the people, it is probable that no ſuch thing as a limited monarch would have been found on the face of the earth; and the family now on the Britiſh throne, would have been known only in the petty dynaſties of the German empire.

Free ſpirits are therefore to be pardoned in ſome errors, which the propenſity of human nature to err muſt ever render venial; and the general tendency of their writings to make the maſs of mankind free and happy, ought to ſecure attention to their doctrines, and honor to their names. The enemies to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm have ſeen, with pain, the attempts to leſſen theſe great men in the eyes of the world extended to writers of leſs renown, but of more recent date. They have ſeen men, good men in private life, and philoſophers, whoſe diſcourſes and letters have gained the notice and eſteem of every enlightened country, reproached, vilified, perſecuted, and almoſt deſtroyed, becauſe, in conſequence of that fine underſtanding which had done ſo much in philoſophy, they made ſome diſcoveries in polities which muſt for ever militate powerfully againſt the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. Voltaire, Rouſſeau, Raynal, Price, Prieſtley, Paine, however different their characters, attainments, and abilities, are all vilified together, (becauſe they have written admirably on the ſide of liberty), all involved in one indiſcriminate torrent of obloquy. The partiſans of unlimited power would perſuade us, not only that they were knaves, but fools. Some of them have very exceptionable paſſages in their works; but where they treat of civil liberty, they plead the cauſe of human nature. They have not pleaded it unſucceſsfully. Political artifices cannot 〈◊〉 truth and common ſenſe.

The independent part of mankind, who deteſt parties and action, and mean nothing but the happineſs of their fellow-creatures, will do well to be upon their guard againſt the miſrepreſentations of thoſe who would vilify a Locke, a Milton, a Sydney. Let them read and judge for themſelves. The men who are anxious to withhold or extinguiſh the light, may fairly be ſuſpected of intending to do evil.

SECTION XXIX. Of the Deſpotiſm of INFLUFNCE; while the Forms of a free Conſtitution are preſerved.

THE words of a great lawyer, inſtructing he youth of a nation at a celebrated univerſity, muſt be ſuppoſed to be well conſidered. Blackſtone, the grave commentator, after expatiating on the advantages derived from the Revolution, proceeds to remark, that "though theſe proviſions have nominally and in appearance, reduced the ſtrength of the executive power to a much lower ebb than in the preceding period; yet if, on the other hand, we throw into the oppoſite ſcale the vaſt acquiſition of force ariſing from the RIOT ACT, and the annual expedience of a STANDING ARMY; and the vaſt acquiſition of PERSONAL ATTACHMENT, ariſing from the magnitude of the national debt, and the manner of levying thoſe yearly millions that are appropriated to pay the intereſt; we ſhall find that the CROWN has gradually and imperceptibly gained almoſt as much INFLUENCE as it has apparently loſt in prerogative."

Blackſtone, conſiſtently with the habits of his profeſſion, expreſſed himſelf cautiouſly. He ſays the Crown has gained almoſt as much influence as it has apparently loſt in prerogative. There are men of great pol tical judgment who think that it has gained more. The Houſe of Commons has, in an auſpicious hour, reſolved, and it can never be too often repeated, that the influence of the crown has increaſed, is increaſing, and ought to be diminiſhed. Influence is more dangerous than pretogative. It is a ſubtle poiſon that acts unſeen. Prerogative can be reſiſted, as a robber; but influence is as an aſſaſſin.

Lord Bolingbroke tells us, that "we have loſt the ſpirit of our conſtitution; and therefore we bear, from little engroſſers of delegated power, what our fathers would not have ſuffered from true proprietors of the royal authority."

Such ſuggeſtions are certainly alarming. They come from high authority, and are abundantly confirmed by recent tranſactions. The magnitude of the national debt, and the ſhare that almoſt every family in the kingdom, directly or indirectly, poſſeſſes in the public funds, contribute, more than all other cauſes, to increaſe the influence of the Crown among the maſs of the people. But the debt is ſtill increaſing, in conſequence of war. Property in the funds is ſtill more widely diffuſed; the influence, in conſequence, more extended. Liberty may be more effectually invaded by the influence of the ſtocks, than it ever was invaded, in the days of the Stuarts, by the abuſe of prerogative.

We are happy in a king, who, making the happineſs of the people his firſt object, certainly would not avail himſelf of any advantages afforded by circumſtances, to intrench upon their liberty. But be it remembered, that miniſters in this country, with their favorites, often conſtitute an OLIGARCHY.

This miniſterial OLIGARCHY may certainly abuſe the influence of the Crown, ſo as to render itſelf virtually ſuperior to the limited and conſtitutional monarchy. Should ſuch ever be the caſe, the oligarchy will be a ſpecies of deſpotiſm, the more formidable as the more inſidious, poſſeſſing the power, but denying the form. By a judicious diſtribution of favors, by alluring all the ric and great to its ſide, either by hope or by fear, it may erect a rampart, which the independent part of the people, acting from no ſyſtem, and diſunited, may vainly ſeek to demoliſh. The monarch and the people may join hand in hand, without effect, againſt a miniſterial oligarchy, thus buttreſſed by a faction compoſed of rank and wealth, artfully combined, in the meaneſt manner, for the baſeſt purpoſes. Falſe alarms may be ſpread on the danger of property from the diffuſion of new principles, ſo as to drive all who poſſeſs an acre of land, or a hundred pounds in the public funds, within the miniſterial pale. Religion may be ſaid to be in danger, in order to bring in the devout and well diſpoſed. Order may be declared in jeopardy, that the weak, the timid, and the quiet may be led, by their fears, to unite with wealth and power. Plots and conſpiracies are common expedients of deluſion. They have been uſed, by profligate miniſters, with ſuch a total diſregard to truth and probability, that they now begin to loſe their effect. But how dreadful, if influence ſhould ever prevail with JURIES, to gratify the inventors of falſe plots, treaſons, a d conſpiracies, by bringing in verdicts favorable to the views of the villainous fabricators! Engliſh juries are indeed ſtill uncorrupted. They are unconnected with courts and miniſters. And the uncorrupt part of our ſyſtem, in caſes of ſtate trials, is able to prevent the miſchief which would be cauſed by the corrupt part of it. The honeſt juries, in the late trials for treaſon, have not only done honor to our country and to human nature, but added great ſtrength to the cauſe of truth, juſtice, and the conſtitution.

But it is truly alarming, to hear the verdicts of juries obliqely impeached by GREAT MEN in the legiſlative aſſemblies. There has appeared no ſtronger ſymptom of the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, than the attempts of courtiers and crown lawyers, in the public ſenate, to vilify juries and their verdicts, given after a more ſolemn and longer inveſtigation than ever took place on ſimilar trials. Perſons acquitted after ſuch an ordeal, have been ſaid to be no more innocent than acquitted felons. That the people have borne ſuch an inſult on their moſt valuable privilege, with patience, is a proof that a tame acquieſcence has been produced among them, unknown to their virtuous anceſtors. It is to be hoped the inſult will ſtimulate future juries to preſerve their rights with jealous vigilance, and render them impregnable by miniſterial influence, directly or indirectly applied. If the men who diſapprove the verdicts of the virtuous juries, on the late occaſions, had themſelves been the jurors, they would have given different verdicts, pronounced the priſoners guilty, and aſſigned them over to the reſentment of irritated, ariſtocratic pride. So mighty is the deſpotiſm of influence, that neither juſtice nor mercy can check it in the breaſt of a proud paraſite.

There is every reaſon to believe, (and the belief is highly conſolatory), that juries will long continue to preſerve their integrity; becauſe they are indiſcriminately ſelected from the middle rank and the maſs of the people. Influence cannot reach every individual in the millions that conſtitute a great nation. But we muſt remember that influence is increaſing; and that its nature is to diffuſe deadly poiſon, without giving alarm. Like the air loaded with infection, it ſilently and ſecretly wafts diſeaſe into the ſtrongeſt abodes of health, and penetrates the caſtle, which is impregnable to the ſword of the open invader. Therefore, as influence increaſes, the jealouſy and vigilance of the uninfected part of the community ſhould increaſe in proportion. Though undue influence may never operate on juries, yet is there no danger leſt it ſhould, at ſome diſtant period, contaminate the minds of judges and crown lawyers, for whoſe obſequious interpretations of law may be held up prizes moſt glittering in the eyes of imagination, and moſt alluring to avarice and vanity?

But granting that the foul ſtain of corruption ſhould never ſpot the white robe of juſtice; that the religion of an oath ſhould ſtill be revered, and conſcience hold the balance with an even hand; yet is there no danger leſt the deſpotiſm of influence ſhould deſtroy the vitals of a free conſtitution, and leave nothing behind but the form, the exuviae, the name? There was a ſenate under the vileſt of the Roman emperors. The Britiſh houſe of commons might become, under a miniſterial oligarchy, the mere levee of a prime miniſter. They might meet merely to "bow and bow," receive their orders and douceurs, and then depart in peace.

The preſent ſtate of the houſe of commons cannot be too generally known; and I therefore tranſcibe the following paſſage from the Proceedings of the Society of the Friends of the People.

"The condition of the Houſe of Commons is practically as follows:

"Seventy-one peers and the Treaſury NO INATE ninety members, and procure the return of ſeventy-ſeven, which amount to one hundred and ſixty-ſeven. Ninety-one commoners nominate eighty-two members, and procure the return of fifty-ſeven, which amount to one hundred and thirty-nine."

So that the peers, the Treaſury, and rich commoners with influence equal to peers, return three hundred and ſix members out of five hundred and thirteen, which is the whole number of Engliſh repreſentatives in the Houſe of Commons. The Scotch members are not conſidered in this part of the Report.

The Society give the names of the different patrons at full length, to authenticate their ſtatement; and I believe its accuracy and authenticity have never been controverted.

After obſerving that ſeventy-one PEERS and the Treaſury nominate or procure the return of one hundred and ſixty-ſeven members of parliament, who may vote away the people's money, and make laws, with the other branches, to bind many millions, let us remember, that at the commencement of every ſeſſion, the following reſolutions are entered on the Journals:

"Reſolved, that no peer of this realm hath any right to give his vote in the election of any member to ſerve in parliament. Reſolved, that it is a high infringement upon the liberties and privileges of the Commons of Great-Britain, for any lord of parliament, or any lord-lieutenant of any county, to concern themſelves in the elections of members to ſerve for the Commons in Parliament."

The committee of the Friends of the People ſay, "they have been the more diſpoſed to take notice of thoſe reſolutions, becauſe the power of the Houſe of Lords, in matters of election, has been prodigiouſly increaſed, within the laſt ten years, by the creation of nine peers, who return, by nomination and influence, no leſs than TWENTY-FOUR members to the Houſe of Commons. If, therefore, the interference of the Lords in the election of the Commons be, as the latter uniformly declare, a high infringement of their liberties and privileges, the Committee muſt report thoſe liberties to have been of late ſubject to the moſt alarming and frequent attacks."

After producing facts that defy denial, I confidently leave every honeſt and ſenſible man in the kingdom, unblinded by prejudice, unwarped by intereſt, to determine whether the cauſe of liberty is not on the decline, and the ſpirit of deſpotiſm likely to avail itſelf of the general corruption of the ariſtocracy, and the tame acquieſcence of the people.

I leave the queſtion to be determined by ſuch men, whether it is not poſſible that INFLUENCE may create a complete deſpotiſm in a country, even while the forms of a free conſtitution are preſerved inviolate?

SECTION XXX. The Spirit of Deſpotiſm delights in War or ſyſtematic Murder.

"THE people of England are induſtrious, they are peaceful, they wiſh to enjoy the fruits of their induſtry without a war, and to recover their loſt weight in our mixed frame of government, without the hazards of a revolution.

"It is from the prevalence of Mr. Burke's politics alone, among the upper claſſes of ſociety, that the riſe of any dangerous diſaffection in this country is to be apprehended. To the plain ſenſe of Engliſhmen, a war commenced with France, on his principles, muſt appear to be a war on French liberty, to beat down the equitable claims of reformation here, and eventually to deſtroy every valuable right of the people.

"Such will be the ſuſpected motives for plunging this country in a war, in which our fleets may be victorious, but in which even our ſucceſſes muſt be ruinous. For views thus wild and chimerical, the nation, whoſe wounds received in the late war with America are hardly yet cloſed up, muſt prepare to bleed afreſh. For objects thus odious and deſtable, the induſtrious claſſes of the people muſt forego their comforts; the ſhoulders, already galled with taxes, the pernicious conſequence of former INJUSTICE and FOLLY, muſt ſubmit again to new and heavier impoſitions.

"They will be cheerfully voted, no doubt, by the faithful Commons; but the Commons will no longer enjoy the confidence of the public. Every vote of credit or ſupply will then increaſe the general diſguſt; and ſhould no greater diſaſter befal us, the mere protraction of the war muſt exhauſt the patience of a diſabuſed people.

"But what may be the contagious effect of French opinions on a nation ſick of the war of kings, groaning under an intolerable load of taxes, and hopeleſs of redreſs from men, whom they will ceaſe to conſider as repreſentatives, it is needleſs to ſtate. To foreſee it, is eaſy; to prevent it, may be impoſſible."

Thus far the excellent WYVILL, in a letter to Mr. Pitt, in which he wiſely diſſuaded him from the unfortunate and diſgraceful war, of which that miniſter muſt ſoon repent, though power and repentance do not uſually unite. No diſſuation could cool Mr. Pitt's heroic ardor, or check his juvenile impetuoſity. War was haſtily commenced. The conſequences were foretold, and the prediction is fulfilled.

But to an accurate obſerver it is an alarming proof of the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, when the GREAT are eager to ruſh into war; when they liſten to no terms of accommodation, and ſcorn to negociate, in any mode or degree, previouſly to unſheathing the dreadful inſtrument of ſlaughter. If war, inſtead of being what it has been called, the ratio ultima, becomes the ratio prima regum, it is a proof that reaſon has loſt her empire, and force uſurped her throne.

FEAR is the principle of all deſpotic government, and therefore deſpots make war their firſt ſtudy and delight. No arts and ſciences, nothing that contributes to the comfort or the embelliſhment of human ſociety, is half ſo much attended to, in countries where the ſpirit of deſpotiſm is eſtabliſhed, as the means of deſtroying human life. Tigers, wolves, earthquakes, inundations, are all innocuous to man, when compared with the fierceſt of monſters, the GORY DESPOTS. Fiends, furies, demons of deſtruction! may the day be near, when, as wolves have been utterly extirminated from England, deſpots may be cut off from the face of the whole earth; and the bloody memory of them loaded with the execration of every human being, to whom God has given a heart to feel, and a tongue to utter!

Wherever a particle of their accurſed ſpirit is found, there alſo will be found a propenſity to war. In times of peace, the grandees find themſelves ſhrunk to the ſize of common mortals. A finer houſe, a finer coach, a finer coat, a finer livery than others can afford, is all that they can diſplay to the eye of the multitude, in proof of their aſſumed ſuperiority. Their POWER is inconſiderable. But no ſooner do you blow the blaſt of war, and put armies under their command, than they feel themſelves indeed great and powerful. A hundred thouſand men, in battle array, with all the inſtruments of deſtruction, under the command of a few grandees, inferior, perhaps, in bodily ſtrength, to every one of the ſubject train, and but little ſuperior in intellect or courage, yet, holding ALL, on pain of death, in abſolute ſubjection; how muſt it elevate the little deſpots in their own opinion! "This it is to live," (they exclaim, ſhaking hands with each other), "this is to be great indeed. Now we feel our power. Glory be to us on high; eſpecially as all our fame and greatneſs is perfectly compatible with our perſonal ſafety; for we will not riſque our precious perſons in the ſcene of danger, but be content with our extended patronage, with the delight of commanding the movements of this human machine, and with reading of the blood, ſlaughter, and burnt villages, in the Gazette, at our fire-ſide."

All the expence of war is paid by the people, and moſt of the perſonal danger incurred by thoſe, who, according to ſome, have no political exiſtence; I mean the multitude, told by the head, like ſheep in Smithfield. Many of theſe troubleſome beings, in human form, are happily got rid of in the field of battle, and more by ſickneſs and hardſhip previous or ſubſequent to the glorious day of butchery. Thus all makes for the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. There are, in conſequence of a great carnage, fewer wretches left to provide for, or to oppoſe its will; and all the honor, all the profit, all the amuſement, falls to the ſhare of the grandees, thus raiſed from the inſignificance and inglorious indolence of peace, to have their names blown over the world by the trumpet of Fame, and recorded in the page of hiſtory.

But a ſtate of war not only gives a degree of perſonal importance to ſome among the great, which they could never obtain by the arts of peace, but greatly helps the cauſe of deſpotiſm. In times of peace, the people are apt to be impertinently clamorous for reform. But in war, they muſt ſay no more on the ſubject, becauſe of the public danger. It would be ill-timed. Freedom of ſpeech alſo muſt be checked. A thouſand little reſtraints on liberty are admitted without a murmur, in a time of war, that would not be borne one moment during the halcyon days of peace. Peace, in ſhort, is productive of plenty, and plenty makes the people ſaucy. Peace, therefore, muſt not continue long, after a nation has arrived at a certain degree of proſperity. This is a maxim of Deſpotiſm. Political phlebotomy is neceſſary in a political plethora. "Bleed them uſque ad deliquium," (ſays the arbitrary doctor), "and I will undertake that in ſuture the patient ſhall be more tractable."

Eraſmus, the friend of man, the reſtorer of civil and religious liberty, has the following paſſage in a Diſſertation on War, lately tranſlated into Engliſh under the title of Antipolemus:

"There are kings who go to war for no other reaſon than that they may with greater caſe eſtabliſh deſpotic authority over their own ſubjects at home. For in time of peace, the power of parliaments, the dignity of magiſtrates, the vigor of the laws, are great impediments to a prince who wiſhes to exerciſe arbitrary power. But when once a war is undertaken, the chief management of affairs devolves on a few, the miniſters of executive government, who, for the general ſafety, aſſume the privilege of conducting every thing according to their own humor, demanding unlimited confidence. The prince's favorites are all exalted to places of honor and profit. Thoſe whom he diſlikes are turned out and neglected. Now —(the time of war) is the time for raiſing as much money upon the people as the deſpot's heart can wiſh.—In ſhort—now—the time of war, is the time that they feel themſelves deſpots in very deed and truth, not in name only, but deſpots with a vengeance. In the mean while, the grandees play into one another's hands, till they have eaten up the wretched PEOPLE, root and branch. Do you think that men of ſuch diſpoſitions would be backward to ſeize any, the ſlighteſt occaſions for war, ſo lucrative, ſo flattering to avarice and vanity?"

"Sunt qui non aliam ob cauſam bellum movent, niſi ut hac via facilius in SUOS TYRANNIDEM exerceant. Nam pacis temporibus, ſenatus auct ritas, magiſtratum dignitas, legum vigor, nonnihil obſtant, quo minus liceat principi, quicquid libet. At, bello ſuſcepto, jam omnis rerum ſumma ad paucorum libidinem devoluta eſt. Ev huntur quibus bene vult princeps; dejici ntur quibus inſenſus eſt. Exigitur pecuniae quantum libet. Quid multis? TUM DEMUM ENTIUNT E VERE MONARCHAS eſſe. Colludunt interim duces, donec infelicem populum uſque ad radicem arroſerint. Hoc animo •• i ſint, an os putas gravatim arreptur s, oblatam quam unque belli occaſionem?"

ERASMUS.

Language has found no name ſufficiently expreſſive of the diabolical villany of wretches in high life, who without perſonal provocation, in the mere wantonneſs of power, and for the ſake of increaſing what they already poſſeſs in too great abundance, ruſh into murder! Murder of the innocent! Murder of myriads! Murder of the ſtranger! neither knowing nor caring how many of their fellow-creatures, with rights to life and happineſs equal to their own, are urged by poverty to ſhed their laſt drops of blood in a foreign land, far from the endearments of kindred, to gratify the pride of a FEW at home, whoſe deſpotic ſpirit inſults the wretchedneſs it firſt created. There is no greater proof of human folly and weakneſs than that a whole people ſhould ſuffer a few worthleſs grandees, who evidently deſpiſe and hate them, to make the world one vaſt ſlaughterhouſe, that the grandees may have the more room to take their inſolent paſtime in unmoleſted ſtate. A man, a reaſonable being, a chriſtian, plunging the bayonet, without paſſion, into the bowels of a man, for hire! The poor creatures who actually do this (in deſpotic countries) are but mechanical inſtruments of knaves in power. Their poverty, and not their will, conſents. May Heaven's ſweet mercy, then, waſh off the blood-ſtains from their hands, and reſerve its wrath for thoſe whoſe thirſt of power, which they never had a wiſh to uſe for the good of man, leads them to wade to it through ſeas of human gore!

Let any diſpaſſionate man, uninfluenced by placemen, penſioners, contractors, and expectants of court favor, impartially conſider, from the earlieſt ages to the preſent, the hiſtory of war. He muſt obſerve that ſcarcely any wars have been juſt and neceſſary; though they almoſt all have claimed theſe epithets, with a perſevering formality which would excite ridicule, if ridicule were not loſt in abhorrence. He will find that folly, extreme folly, wearing a crown inſtead of a fool's cap, has in many countries, from the mere wantonneſs of miſchief, cried, "Havoc, and let ſlip the dogs of war." He will find that in moſt countries (our own, of courſe, always excepted) war has been eagerly ſought, from policy, to divert the people's attention from domeſtic abuſe, to aggrandize thoſe who build the fabric of their grandeur on the ruins of human happineſs, and to depreſs, impoveriſh, and humble the people.

There is nothing from which the ſpirit of liberty has ſo much to fear, and conſequently the ſpirit of deſpotiſm ſo much to hope, as from the prevalence of military government, ſupported by vaſt ſtanding armies, and encouraged by alliances with military deſpots on the continent of Europe. The whole energy of the ſound part of our free conſtitution ſhould be exerted in its full force to check a proud miniſter, who raſhly runs into a war, and notwithſtanding accumulated diſaſters, perſeveres in its proſecution. He cannot hope for victory. He muſt have ſome other motive for perſevering againſt all rational hope. Let the PEOPLE inveſtigate the motive; and if it be inimical to LIBERTY, let them ſuccour her in diſtreſs, by calling in her beſt auxiliary, PEACE.

SECTION XXXI. On the 〈◊〉 that we have arrived at Perfection in •• olitics though all other Sciences are in a progreſſive 〈◊〉 .

THOSE who have been fortunate enough to have gained poſſeſſion of honors and profits, under a corrupt ſyſtem, well pleaſed with things as they are, boldly contend that they cannot be better. But theſe, compared with the maſs of the community, are few and ultimately of little conſequence. Their opinion therefore muſt not weigh againſt any improvement which is likely to promote the melioration of human affairs. Let them enjoy unmoleſted the luxuries of the table, the ſplendor of equipages, large houſes, and every other external advantage, which makes little man ſwell into fancied importance. In the mean time let every honeſt, benevolent member of the community, who is ſatisfied with being happy himſelf, without deſiring to entrench on the happineſs of others, endeavor to reform abuſes, and promote every improvement which can render human life (ſhort as it is, and full of calamity) more comfortable, and leſs expoſed to the injuries and con umelies of the proud oppreſſor.

Rewards are offered for the diſcovery of the longitude at ſea. Men are not only allowed but encouraged to proſecute their enquiries into all other arts and ſciences. But the grand art, the art of government, that is, the art of ſecuring the civil happineſs of millions, is to be conſidered as ſacred and inſcrutable. Thoſe very millions whom it more immediately intereſts, dare not, if the deſpots could prevail, to lift up the awful veil. Racks, gibbets, bowſtrings, chains, and priſons, are prepared, in moſt of the kingdoms of the world, to awe the curious, and check the ſpirit of political improvement. OPTIMISM has long been eſtabliſhed in the courts of deſpotic princes. Whatever is, is right, ſay they; for knowing that they ſtand on a rotten foundation, they fear that the very fixing of the ſcaffold for repair would precipitate the downfall of the whole fabric.

Mankind might, at the cloſe of this century, juſtly celebrate a general jubilee; for arbitrary government, in Europe at leaſt, has received its death blow by the revolution in France. And it is devoutly to be wiſhed, for their own ſakes, that in limited monarchies, the voice of truth and virtue, calling for the reform of abuſes, exiſting evidently as the meridian ſun, will never be ſilenced by the terrors of the law in the hands of crown lawyers, or the ſabre of dragoons, under the command of a deſpotic miniſter.

Is it to be believed that governments were brought to perfection in early and dark ages, when the minds of the great as well as the little were enveloped in the miſts of ignorance, and ſhackled by the chains of ſuperſtition? Is it reaſonable to ſuppoſe that they who were narrow-minded, ill-informed, childiſh, and barbarous in all other parts of knowledge and of conduct, were liberal, wiſe, and illuminated in the ſcience and practice of government; ſo liberal, ſo wiſe, ſo illuminated, as to ſtrike out at once a ſyſtem complete in all its parts, and ſuch as could in no ſubſequent age, in no variety of circumſtances, admit of correction, addition, or melioration? Did this wonderful fagacity, approaching to inſpiration, produce any thing elſe, in any other department, which defies all improvement, and challenges the reſpect and veneration of the lateſt poſterity? Reaſoning from analogy, we muſt conclude, that men, capable of eſtabliſhing at once a perfect ſyſtem of government, muſt have produced other inventions for the accommodation and ſecurity of life, worthy to be preſerved inviolate, and handed down unaltered, till time itſelf be abſorbed in the ocean of eternity. But where ſhall we look for it? The very queſtion implies a doubt of its exiſtence; for ſingular excellence, ſuch excellence as approaches to perfection, cannot be concealed, but will ſhine with its own luſtre and force, obſervation and wonder. Is the architecture of theſe paragons of wiſdom ſuperior to the modern, in beauty or convenience? Let us only walk the ſtreets of London, and mark thoſe houſes which were ſpared by the great fire, and which may fairly be ſuppoſed improvements on the more antient fabrics. We ſee them, contrary to every principle of common ſenſe, with ſtories projecting over each other. We ſee them ugly, mean, inconvenient. Let us proceed to the northweſt parts of that great town. Take a view of Portland-place. Contraſt the ſymmetry, the accommodation, the magnificence, with the old edifices of Holborn or Alderſgate, and be perſuaded that modern improvements in government might be as much ſuperior to the work of antient bunglers, as the elegant buildings of an Adams or a Wyat to the old manſions now converted into inns, in the dirtieſt ſtreets, in the moſt decayed diſtricts of the metropolis.

Man is a progreſſive animal, and his advance towards improvement is a pleaſurable ſtate. Hope cheers his path as he toils up the hill that leads him to ſomething better than he has yet experienced, on its gay ſummit gilded with ſuuſhine. The labor of the aſcent is a delight. But if he cannot help conceiving, from a ſenſe of grievances which he feels, ſomething EXCELLENT, to which he is prohibited by coercion from approaching, hope ſickens, and ill-humor ſucceeds to complacency. Hence ariſes a diſagreement between the governed and the governors; and the governors being poſſeſſed of preſent power, uſe force and rigor to ſtifle the murmurs of complaint. Coercion but increaſes the ill humor, which often lies latent, like the fires of a volcano, for a conſiderable time, but at laſt burſts forth with irreſiſtible fury. It is wiſe, therefore, as well as juſt, in all governors, who have a regard for any thing but their preſent and private intereſt, to encourage diſcuſſion, to ſeek improvement of the ſyſtem, and to reject no reform propoſed by great numbers, without a cool, a temperate, and a long deliberation. The reaſons for rejection ſhould be clearly ſtated, with the utmoſt regard to open and ingenuous behaviour; and thoſe who remain unconvinced, after all, ſhould not be treated with aſperity. Every individual, in a free country, has a right to approve or diſapprove the ſyſtem under which he lives, without peril or control, while be preſerves the peace. His peaceable deportment and acquieſcence in the opinion of others, contrary to his own conviction, renders him a very meritorious character. He may be won over by gentleneſs; but force only tends to excite the violence which it would imperiouſly repel.

But to tell a man of ſenſe, reading, and reflection, that he muſt not venture to entertain an opinion on political matters, or the exiſting government, different from that of the miniſter and the herd of courtiers, is an impotent endeavor to exerciſe a deſpotiſm over his mind, againſt which nature revolts, and a manly ſpirit muſt rebel. Such a man can uſually judge of governments, and all the inſtitutions of ſocial life, better than mere men of buſineſs, however high their rank or important their employments; far better than courtiers, occupied in vain ceremonies, and uſually as little able as inclined to enter into deep diſquiſition.

Indeed it is difficult to avoid laughing at the extreme ignorance of crowned heads themſelves, in deſpotic countries, when one contraſts it with the importance they aſſume, and the pomp and ſplendor with which they transfer their royal perſons from place to place. The ſight is truly ludicrous. Are theſe the men, occupied, as they uſually are, in the meaneſt trifles and the moſt degrading pleaſures, who tell us that the government over which they preſide, is a perfect ſyſtem, and that the wifeſt philoſopher knows not how to govern mankind—that is, to conſult their happineſs and ſecurity—ſo well as themſelves, neglected as they have been in youth, and corrupted in manhood by panders to their vices, and flatterers of their foibles, their pride, and their ambition? There is reaſon to believe that many kings, in deſpotic kingdoms, have been leſs well educated, and poſſeſs leſs abilities, than a common charity-boy, trained in a pariſh ſchool to read and write. Yet theſe are the men who, with their upſtart creatures, preſume to call philoſophers wretches, and to condemn the Voltaires, the Rouſſeaus, the Sydneys, the Harringtous, and the Lockes.

There are perſons, even in countries where limited royalty is eſtabliſhed who are for ever extolling the CONSTITUTION, with all the abuſes that have inſinuated themſelves into it, in terms of extravagant and unqualified praiſe. They talk againſt better knowledge, and may therefore be ſuſpected of ſome ſiniſter motive. They can ſee defects as well as others; but they aſſume the worſt of all blindneſs, that which is voluntary.

The truth is, theſe men, for the moſt part, are ſuch as would not like the conſtitution in its purity, becauſe in its purity the conſtitution is really excellent, and highly favorable to the liberty which they hate. The conſtitution, in its purity, renders the people of conſequence, whoſe political exiſtence they are inclined to controvert or deny. But the conſtitution, in its ſtate of corruption, is favorable to prerogative, to ariſtocratical pride and influence, to Tory and jacobi ical principles; therefore it is, in their eyes, criminal to handle it, to hint at its improvement, to remove a grievance, or reform an abuſe. The whole, together, though violated every day by corrupt influence, they affect to conſider as a written charter, dropt down from heaven, like the old Roman Ancilia, and therefore ſcarcely to be viewed by vulgar eyes, and certainly not to be touched by the hand of the profane PEOPLE.

Deſpotiſm is ſo ugly in its form, and ſo hoſtile, in its nature, to human happineſs, that no wonder thoſe who wiſh to diffuſe its ſpirit are inclined to check and diſcourage among the people all political inveſtigation. But let it be a rule among thoſe who really value liberty and the conſtitution, to uſe the more diligence in political diſcuſſions, in proportion as courtiers and miniſters diſplay a wiſh to ſuppreſs political writings and converſations, and diſterninate the doctrine, that things are ſo well conſtituted as neither to require nor admit any improvement.

SECTION XXXII. On POLITICAL ETHICS; their chief Object is to throw Power into the Hands of the worſt Part of Mankind, and to render Government an Inſtitution calculated to enrich and aggrandize a 〈◊〉 at the Expence of the Liberty, Property, and Lives of the many.

IN the ſchools of early diſcipline, where youth is uſually initiated in the ſtudies of humanity, men are taught to believe, that virtue is founded on eternal truth, and that the diſtinctions of right and wrong are as clearly definable as thoſe between the meridian ſunſhine and the midnight ſhade. They are told, from the higheſt authority, that happineſs is to be found in rectitude of conduct; and that under all circumſtances, whatever may be the conſequence, nothing can juſtify the dereliction of integrity. The ſacred ſcriptures, the antient philoſophers, parental authority, the laws of their country, and the PROCLAMATIONS of kings, all combine to convince them, that morality is founded on the rock of truth, and that governments are ſincere in their profeſſions to encourage thoſe who do well, and be a terror only to the EVIL.

Why was a national church inſtituted and ſupported at a great expence, but to enforce among the people the laws of God, as paramount to all human laws, and ſuperceding the wretched devices of ſtate policy? Government, by entering into a ſtrict alliance with the church, certainly engages to ſupport the doctrines of Chriſtian morality: and it is no leſs impious in a king or a miniſter to promote or increaſe any public meaſures repugnant to Chriſtian morality, than it would be in the bench of biſhops.

When we enter our libraries, we find ourſelves ſurrounded with authors, celebrated for ages by the moſt enlightened part of the world, who teach the immutability of truth, enforce the pureſt doctrines of morality, and endeavor to found the dignity and happineſs of human nature on the baſis of virtue.

But let us leave a moment the ſchool, the church, the library, and enter a court and a cabinet. There Machiavelian ethics prevail; and all that has been previouſly inculcated appears like the tales of the nurſery, calculated to amuſe babes, and lull them in the lap of folly. The grand object of counſellors is to ſupport and increaſe the POWER that appoints to ſplendid and profitable offices, with little regard to the improvement of human affairs, the alleviation of the evils of life, and the melioration of human nature. The reſtraints of moral honeſty, or the ſcruples of religon, muſt ſeldom operate on public meaſures ſo as to impede the accompliſhment of this primary and momentous purpoſe. A little varniſh is indeed uſed, to hide the deformity of Machiaveliſm; but it is ſo very thin, and ſo eaſily diſtinguiſhed from the native color, that it contributes, among thinking men, to increaſe the deteſtation which it was intended to extenuate.

Thus, for inſtance, treaties between nations commence with a moſt ſolemn avowal of good faith, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoſt. Great and mighty nations, profeſſing Chriſtianity, maintaining a church, united moſt intimately with the church, enter into agreements, under this awful ſanction, and break them without the leaſt reluctance, whenever a cabinet miniſter finds it in his inclination, or imagines it his intereſt to cauſe a rupture. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoſt are little thought of; but the great object is to ſtrike a blow with advantage, before the adverſe nation is on its guard, and while it is relying on the treaty.

Another inſtance of political religion is conſpicuous in the prevailing practice of rendering the emoluments of the church ſubſervient to the miniſter, in ſecuring him a majority, and facilitating what is called his principal duty, the management of the SENATE.

The Roman pontiffs, while in the rank of inferior clergy, and even of cardinals, have exhibited the appearance of great piety, and a religious regard to truth and juſtice; but when advanced to the triple mitre, and become, in fact, KINGS, they have uſually become perfectly ſecular in their public conduct at home, and in their eonnections with ſurrounding nations, and have pleaded, in excuſe, ſtate neceſſity. But can any neceſſity ariſe to violate the eternal laws of truth and juſtice? Is religion a leaden rule, in the hands ſtrong enough to bend it to their various purpoſes? Pope JULIUS the Second appears to have been one of the very worſt princes that ever reigned. He delighted in WAR, while he profeſſed to be the repreſentative of the Prince of Peace. He was guilty of oppreſſion and injuſtice; and while he pretended to be feeding the ſheep of Chriſt, gave himſelf no other concern but how he might ſecure the fleece. Yet all his conduct was palliated, by the politicans around him, from the plea of ſtate neceſſity. Morality and religion gave way to the ſyſtem of POLITICAL ETHICS; and he, who ought to have bleſſed mankind, and to have preached peace, became their oppreſſor, deſpot, and unrelenting murderer. I mention JULIUS only as a ſtriking inſtance, and hundreds may be adduced, of the depraved ſyſtem which rules cabinets, and which, for the gratification of the FEW, renders the MANY miſerable. No Machiavels can ever juſtify, in the eyes of God, or of men uninfluenced by corruption, any politics, however ſubtle and able, which, for the ſake of aggrandizing a nation, (an abſtract idea), much leſs of gratifying a court, renders all the individuals of the nation ſo to be aggrandized, poor, wretched, inſecure, and ſlaviſh.

Let us ſuppoſe a nation entering moſt eagerly, and without liſtening one moment to terms of accommodation, into a moſt dangerous war, profeſſedly to exterminate the bad principles and morals of a neighboring people, and to defend law, order, and religion. It is impoſſible to imagine but that a nation acting in this manner, and with this profeſſion, muſt regulate all its own public conduct, eſpecially in a war of this kind, according to the ſtricteſt law, order, and religion.

Will that nation oppoſe an armed neutrality, inſtituted to prevent the interruption of neutral commerce? Will ſhe maintain her reputation for juſtice, if ſhe ſhould be the firſt and moſt violent in deſtroying this neutrality? Will ſhe break the law of nations, by inſulting ambaſſadors? Will ſhe take up arms, and actually fight in defence of popery; after profeſſing herſelf at the head of proteſtantiſm, and the oppoſer of all intolerant ſuperſtition? Will ſhe, after declaring herſelf the friend of order, religion, and liberty, enter into alliances with and ſubſidize the plunderers and oppreſſors of Poland? Will ſhe, pluming herſelf upon the love of order and religion, and deteſting the cruelty of the nation with whom ſhe is at war, ſuffer Aſia to be pillaged, and its inhabitants to be ſlaughtered by her own ſons; or encourage the Indians to attack her brethren in North America; or hire mercenaries of German princes to do the work of death, in a conteſt in which they have no immediate concern? Will ſhe endeavor to ſtarve a whole nation, with whom ſhe is at war, not only the rulers and warriors, but infants, women, and old people, by preventing the importation of corn? Will ſhe FORGE aſſignats? Will ſhe continue the ſlave trade?

A conduct like this appears to be not only inconſiſtent with the pretended defence of law, order, and religion, but at once proceeding from the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, and promotive of it. It is certain that a man in private life, acting in this manner, would be thought a bad man, a man deſtitute of principle, and with whom it would be ſcarcely leſs dangerous to be on terms of profeſſed friendſhip than of open enmity. But actions do not alter their nature with the paucity or multiplicity of the actors; and a nation may be guilty of perfidy as atrocious and contemptible in its nature as an individual, and infinitely more miſchievous. Certainly the adviſers and abettors of ſuch conduct do not take the moſt effectual means of recommending to mankind that monarchy which they wage war to re-eſtabliſh. They are hurting the cauſe of KINGS in the minds of independent men and of poſterity, while they blindly appear to themſelves to be promoting it with the greateſt energy.

Whatever may be urged by ſophiſts or politicians, it is certain that the great eternal laws of truth and juſtice cannot be violated with impunity. The violation may anſwer ſome fordid and temporary purpoſe; but in the end, it muſt be injurious, if not fatal. Truth, like the ſun in the heavens, is one. The clouds indeed are variegated; but then they are inſubſtantial, and of momentary exiſtence. So is falſehood. It can aſſume any color. But time cauſes the hues to fade; and truth burſts forth with new effulgence. We ſee deſpotiſm gradually withdrawing from the fineſt countries of Europe. It muſt depart, at laſt, from all, for it is oppoſed by reaſon and nature. They who endeavor to render it permanent, labor in vain; but at the ſame time, they may detain it a while, and cauſe, in the interval, miſery and CARNAGE.

Let us reject all Machiaveliſm, all political ethics, that contradict the acknowledged principles of truth and moral honeſty. There can be no legitimate government which is not founded and ſupported by ſyſtems of conduct favorable to the happineſs of human creatures—the great maſs of the people. Good government cannot be formed on the baſis of falſhood and chicanery. Let the government of England ever ſtand on the ſquare, ſolid, upright pedeſtals of truth and juſtice, and it muſt defy every ſhock, but the convulſion of the world's diſſolution.

SECTION XXXIII. On trafficking with the CURE OF SOULS (Cura Animarum,) for the Purpoſe of political, i. e. moral Corruption.

THE pariſh prieſts of a proteſtant country, when they are, what they ought to be, and what they would uſually be, if it were not for political influence, CHRISTIAN ORATORS and CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHERS, are the moſt uſeful body of men, conſidering their numbers and their power, in the whole community. The good they are able to do is beyond all eſtimate; but unfortunately, it is a ſort of good not always taken into the account of thoſe who are in purſuit of more palpable advantages, SOLID GOLD, high ſtation, and DOMINION OVER THEIR FELLOW CREATURES. The proper buſineſs of the clergy is to mortify this very pride, the indulgence of which is to their courtly patrons, the ſummum bonum, the chief good of exiſtence.

Theſe perſons, not having time or inclination to attend to religion, or any thing but the pomp and vanity of the world, idolizing themſelves, and unwilling to acknowledge any other Deity, conſider religion and the church merely as ſtate engines; powerful engines, in conjunction with military force, to preſs down the claſtic ſpirit of the people. They think, indeed, the emolume ts attending eccleſiaſtical functions too much, if conſ idered as recompences for religious ſervices, which, in their minds, are no ſervices at all, but ſcarcely enough, when converted into douceurs for the buſineſs of corruption, the grand object of modern miniſters.

Ambitions noblemen, therefore, buy boroughs, and, like Lord Melcombe, ſend their myrmidons to the ſenate; and miniſters pay the expenſe of the purchaſe, by conferring the higheſt eccleſiaſtical dignities, with ſtipends of many thouſands a-year, deſigned originally to be ſpent in charity, on the younger brothers, the couſins, the tutors, or the agents of theſe patrician borough-mongers. It is indeed deemed politic, now and then, to raiſe a very ingenious, learned, and pious man to the MITRE; but ſeldom without contriving to promote, at the ſame time, the grand buſineſs of corruption. This ingenious, learned, and pious man, un eveque de la fortune, is highly ſatisfied with the dignity and emolument of his office. What need has he of the patronage appendant to it? In this age, it were a childiſh weakneſs, ſomething ſimilar to the ſimplicity recommended in the goſgel, to give away good things to modeſt merit. But, though he has no need of the patronage, there are thoſe, to whom he is bound, by every tie of gratitude, who want it all. He therefore underſtands that the CURE OF SOULS is to be given to perſons whom the prime miniſter may recommend; as the Duke of Newcaſtle recommended Burroughs and Franklin, whom he had never ſeen or known, to the patronage of the lord chancellor. A tranſlation may be impeded, if ſcruples of conſcience ſhould prevent an obſequious compliance with a miniſter's congé d'elire. "As to fitneſs or nfitneſs," (cries the friend of corruption), "any man that can read is ſufficient, for both prayers and ſermons are ready made; and even if it were ſuppoſable that a man could not read, a pariſh, that pays the rector a thouſand a-year, may be ſupplied with an ingenious curate for forty."

Formerly learning was ſcarce among the laity. The clergy engroſſed what little there was in the world, and made themſelves neceſſary to the ſtate, not only in eccleſiaſtical, but political offices and employments. "Before the Reformation," (ſays a learned writer), "the canon law was in great uſe and eſteem, and of great uſe; and while the laity were in general unlettered, or employed in a military life, the king made uſe of clergymen, ſkilled in this law, in the offices of the chancery, privy ſeal, ſecretary of ſtate, in the courts of juſtice, and in embaſſies. The king rewarded men thus qualified to do him ſervice, with benefices and other eccleſiaſtical preferments; and the LORD CHANCELLOR or Lord Keeper, in particular, was furniſhed with many advowſons, to which, as they became vacant, he might preſent worthy maſters and clerks in Chancery, who were then all clergymen; which advowſons ſtill continue in his gift, though the reaſon thereof hath long ceaſed." But one reaſon having ceaſed, others may have riſen ſtill more weighty. We have already remarked, more than once, how that prime miniſter, the Duke of Newcaſtle, uſed the advowſons in the gift of the Chancellor. We know how preferment is beſtowed in Ireland as well as England. We remember the old manner of appointment to the provoſtſhip of Trinity-college, Dublin.

The excellent divine from whom the laſt quotation was taken, ſpeaking of clergymen honored and enriched with two cures of ſouls, proceeds thus: "I do not deny but there are pluraliſts of great eccleſiaſtical merit; but I do deny that in general pluraliſts have greater merit than unaliſts, or than many in orders who have no living at all; or that pluraliſts in general, become pluraliſts for their eccleſiaſtical merit.

"Read over the liſt of pluraliſts in England, and ſee whether this ſort of merit be univerſally, or generally, or COMMONLY, regarded in the diſpenſations granted them to hold pluralities. See whether the judge of this ſort of merit hath power, if he were ever ſo well inclined, to regard it univerſally, or generally, or commonly: ſee whether the motive of the patron to preſent a clerk to a ſecond living, hath, in one inſtance out of twenty, been his eminent eccleſiaſtical merit; or whether the ſame favor would not have been beſtowed on the ſame perſon, had his merit been inferior; nay, in many caſes, upon the ſame perſon, although inſtead of merit there had been demerit; and very often alſo, if not the more likely, if inſtead of want of a competence, there had been affluence. See whether the MERIT, which hath been ſometimes conſidered in this caſe, hath not, inſtead of eccleſiaſtical merit, been political opinions, ſerviceableneſs in elections, private treaties, domeſtic negociations, and other mean offices, below the conſideration and interpoſition of eccleſiaſtics, and hurtful to the eccleſiaſtical character. With ſome patrons, there is not one of theſe qualifications that is not a ſtronger motive than parts, and learning, and piety, and prudence, and virtue put together." Thus ſaid Dr. Newton, the founder and head of a college in Oxford, at a time when the cure of ſouls was not conſidered as ſo trifling a care as it has been by more recent miniſters, who have ſeemed ready to ſacrifice both ſoul and body to the gaining of a majority in the ſenate. The CHURCH once preſerved her own dignity with a noble independence; but now ſhe muſt bow, like a lacquey, to the vileſt miniſter of ſtate.

But what is this cura animarum, this office of watching over the ſpiritual ſtate of populous diſtricts? Is it not, on the hypotheſis that the Chriſtian religion is true, the moſt important office that can be undertaken by man on this ſide the grave? Is not the power of appointing to that office a truſt moſt ſacred, if there be any thing ſacred here below? What is SACRILEGE? the ſtealing of a cuſhion or ſilver chalice from a church? And is it no ſacrilege to ſteal the church itſelf, and all its emoluments, deſigned to prevent the increaſe of corruption, in order to reward and to promote corruption? Is the cura animarum to be the laſt conſideration in the patron's mind, though the firſt in the eye of reaſon and religion? And is all this injuſtice, ſacrilege, impiety, and blaſphemy to be endured, becauſe the gift of the ſtipend, the endowment, the tithes, the fees, buy an elector, who ſwears, at the time of giving his vote, that he has not received a bribe? Is it to be wondered, if, under ſuch abuſes, religion ſhould be on the decline? Do the writings of infidels, or the venal practices of patrons, contribute moſt to exterminate Chriſtianity? What has a ſimilar ſyſtem in France effected, carried indeed to ſtill greater lengths, but ſtill ſimilar? The greedy rapaciouſneſs of court ſycophants in England is doing the work of ANTICHRIST, and deſtroying civil liberty.

But I am chiefly concerned at preſent to conſider the uſing the church, or the cure of ſouls, for the corruption of the ſtate and the violation of the conſtitution, as a POLITICAL enormity. It certainly contributes to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. It naturally tends to make all the youth in the nation, who enter on this ſacred profeſſion, look up to court favor, and not to depend on their own merit or exertions, for promotion. It prevents them from voting freely at elections. It prevents them from preaching freely from the pulpit. Its natural tendency is to make them what they ought particularly to avoid, adulators, worldly wiſe, paraſitical, and acceptors of men's perſons for the ſake of advantage. They muſt know, under ſuch a ſyſtem, that if they vote according to conſcience, or preach or write according to the truth as it is in Jeſus, they muſt forego all thoſe proſpects of riſing in their profeſſion, which, if merit were rewarded, are a ſtimulus to every thing that can benefit human nature. Clerical men, infirm, like others, often ſink under this temptation. Few can renounce great temporal advantages for the ſake of promoting public good, eſpecially when they are ſure of perſecution as well as neglect. Now, what muſt be the conſequence to liberty, of a whole national clergy rendered expectant on the favor of a court, and a proud ariſtocracy? May we not hear again from the pulpit, the doctrines of divine right and paſſive obedience; the ſame doctrines in effect, under names leſs offenſive to the people? Have we not lately heard them?

There is no mode of promoting the purpoſes of corruption, and the aggrandizement of thoſe who already engroſs the pomp of grandeur, more injurious to liberty, and more villanouſly baſe, than that of ſeizing the appointments and rewards of piety and virtue, to beſtow them on thoſe, whoſe worldly wiſdom is their chief recommendation, and who ſeem ready to worſhip God only in the ſecond place, if they worſhip him at all.

The Tindals, the Collins's, the Bolingbrokes, the Humes, the Gibbons, the Voltaires, the Volneys, the miſcreant philoſophers of France, never did ſo much injury to the cauſe of Chriſtianity, as thoſe Engliſh miniſters of ſtate, who, while they ſhed the blood of thouſands for the ſake of law, order, and religion, proſtitute the church and the CURE OF SOULS to the corruption of the ſenate.

SECTION XXXIV. Of Mr Hume's idea, That abſolute Monarchy is the eaſieſt Death, the Euthanaſia of the Britiſh Conſtitution.

THE very ingenious ſpeculatiſt, Mr. Hume, ſeems to wiſh as well as think, that as death is unavoidable by the political as well as the animal body, the Britiſh conſtitution may die in the arms of deſpotiſm. His words are, "I would much rather wiſh to ſee an abſolute monarch than a republic in this iſland. Abſolute monarchy is the eaſieſt death, the true euthanaſia of the Britiſh conſtitution."

His opinion, that our free government will terminate in deſpotiſm, ſeems founded on the following argument, which he has inſerted in his Eſſay on the Britiſh Government.

"The Britiſh ſpirit and love of liberty, however great, will never be able to ſupport itſelf againſt that immenſe property which is now lodged in the king, and is ſtill increaſing. Upon a moderate computation, there are near three millions annually at the diſpoſal of the crown. The civil liſt amounts to near a million; the collection of all taxes to another million; and the employments in the army and navy, along with eccleſiaſtical preferments, to above a third million. A monſtrous ſum! and what may fairly be computed to be more than a thirtieth part of the whole income and labor of the kingdom. When we add to this immenſe property the increaſing luxury of the nation, our proneneſs to corruption, along with the great power and prerogatives of the crown, and the command of ſuch numerous military forces, there is no one but muſt deſpair without EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS, of being able to ſupport our free government much longer under all theſe diſadvantages."

But why ſhould not 'extraordinary efforts' be made, when the object is extraordinary— no leſs than the preſervation of human happineſs, by the preſervation of civil liberty? No efforts ſhould be declined in ſuch a cauſe; nor ſhould MEN, ſenſible of their bleſſings, and deſirous of handing them down as they received them, ſink, with daſtardly indolence, into a ſtate of deſpair.

Mr. Hume, with all his penetration, could not foreſee the revolution in France; and how much the eſtabliſhment of liberty, in that extenſive and enlightened country, would contribute to defeat the purpoſe of deſpots in all the nations of Europe. It is certain that the minds of the people in all countries are opened to the light of truth, by the emancipation of four or five and twenty millions of men, from the ſlavery of prejudice and arbitrary dominion. There is now very little occaſion for that deſpair of preſerving the freedom of the Britiſh government, if the people will but be true to their own cauſe. Deſpotiſm, in its laſt ſtruggles, may make great eſſorts; but even they will exhauſt its ſtrengh, and accelerate its diſſolution. Firmneſs and perſeverance in the people will ultimately triumph over the unnatural exertions of deſpotiſm, driven to madneſs by deſpair.

The ſpirit of liberty, it has been ſaid, is a ſpirit of jealouſy. It ought to be ever-waking and circumſpect; for the ſpirit of deſpotiſm never ſlumbers, but watches every opportunity to increaſe prerogative, and diminiſh popular authority. During thoſe late alarms which cowardly and ſelfiſh ariſtocracy labored to diffuſe, in its panic fear for its own privileges, many inſtances occurred of men who would willingly have ſacrificed all the boaſted freedom of Engliſhmen, to the ſecurity which they flattered themſelves grandeur, titles, and riches would enjoy under an abſolute government. Their pride was ſtung to the quick, by the idea of equality, while their avarice trembled for their property, and their cowardice for their perſonal ſafety. They ſaw ſpectres in the ſhapes of Truth, Juſtice, and Liberty, triumphing over an enſlaved and deluded world; they knew that they had little intereſt or connection with ſuch perſonages, and ſhuddered at their fancied approach. They ſhrieked with terror; and would gladly have haſtened to the greateſt deſpot on earth for protection. England had no deſpot on the throne to afford them an aſylum; and therefore they placed all their hopes on the military arm. War was the cry; victory was ſure. Baſtiles were already built in imagination, and chains fabricated for the millions that people the provinces of Gaul

Had it been poſſible for theſe men to prevail, in the moment of their conſternation, the ſceptre of England would have been converted by them into an iron rod, and its king into the grand monarque of the old French tyranny. Deſpotiſm, expelled from France, would have croſſed from Calais to Dover, and been received with open arms by devoted vaſſals, the ſlaviſh alarmiſts of an Engliſh ariſtocracy. The free government of England might have found at this period, as Mr. Hume prophecies it will here after do, an eaſy death in abſolute monarchy.

But though the high church and king alarmiſts did not ſucceed at that time, which ſeemed auſpicious to their deſigns, yet ſtill they continue on their poſts, watching opportunities to infringe on liberty, to ſeduce the people from their love of it, and gradually to reconcile them to arbitrary rule.

Strange as it is, as a moral phenomenon, that men ſhould wiſh to be ſlaves, yet it is certain, that the tribe of perſons devoted to the pomp and power of uncontrolled royalty, whom I call Tories or Ariſtocrats, for want of a more appropriate and preciſe appellation, are ſtill extremely zealous to make our KING a far ſuperior pot •• tate than he is allowed to be by that REVOLUTION, which gives him all the royal rights he poſſeſſes, and places him on the throne.

Many circumſtances favor the wiſhes of theſe perſons; and nothing oppoſes them ſo much as the French revolution, and thoſe liberal opinions on the rights and happineſs of man which begin to prevail, wherever courts and miniſters have little influence. Among the circumſtances which flatter them moſt with the extenſion of royal power, the elevation of themſelves, and the depreſſion of the people, is the intereſt which almoſt every man and woman in the nation poſſeſſes in the public funds, and which they are all taught to believe would be depreciated, or even annihilated, if the parliament were reformed, the people reinſtated in their rights, and the influence of the crown diminiſhed. This has communicated the panic of the alarmiſts among multitudes too remote from courts, and too inconſiderable in ſtation, to be influenced by miniſterial bribes; who, otherwiſe, could not but have ſided with the cauſe of juſtice and humanity. The terror of anarchy, occaſioned by the ill-judged, impolitic, as well as cruel conduct of ſome among the firſt leaders of the emancipated French, has increaſed the number of miniſterial partiſans and favorers of extended power and prerogative.

Were it poſſible that a panic could be permanent, or falſhood and artifice ultimately victorious over truth and juſtice, there might be reaſon to fear, from the ſpirit which the alarmiſts diffuſed, that Engliſh liberty might ſoon ſicken, and at laſt die paralytic in the arms of deſpotiſm. But notwithſtanding a temporary lethargy, the maſs of the people, thoſe who are quite out of the reach of courtiers and grandees, ſtill retain the healthy vigor of their fathers' virtue, and would rouſe themſelves effectually to prevent the accompliſhment of Mr. Hume's prediction. They muſt indeed be lulled with the Circèan cup of corruption to ſleep on, and take their reſt, when the giant Deſpotiſm is at their doors, ready to ruſh, with his mace, all that renders life valuable to MEN; to men who have learned to think that mere vegetation is not life. But Circè's cup is not capacious enough to contain opiate for a whole people. All the douceurs of a miniſter, all the patronage in the profeſſions, all the riches of the eaſt and the weſt, are inſufficient to bribe the obſcure millions, who conſtitute the baſe of the political fabric, into complete acquieſcence under the preſſure of deſpotic power, or under the apprehenſion of it. The light of reaſon and of learning is too widely diffuſed to be eaſily extinguiſhed. There is every reaſon to believe, that it will ſhine more and more unto a perfect day.

But as popular commotion is always to be dreaded, becauſe bad men always ariſe to miſlead its efforts, how deſirable is it that it may be prevented, by conciliatory meaſures, by a timely conceſſion of rights, by redreſs of grievances, by reformation of abuſes, by convincing mankind tha governments have no other object than faithfully to promote the comfort and ſecurity of individuals, without ſacrificing the ſolid happineſs of living men to national glory, or royal magnificence. True patriotiſm and true philoſophy, unattached to names of particular men, or even to parties, conſider the happineſs of man as the firſt object of all rational governments; and, convinced that nothing is more injurious to the happineſs of man than the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, endeavor to check its growth, at its firſt and ſlighteſt appearance.

If the free government of England evinces, by its conduct, that the happineſs of the people is its ſole object, ſo far from dreading the late Mr. Hume's prophecy, that it will die in the arms of deſpotiſm, we may venture to predict, that it will never die. My oriſons ſhall be offered for its perpetuity; for I, and all who think with me, on this ſubject, are its true friends; while the borough-mongers, under the cloke of loyalty, are enemies both to the king and the people.

SECTION XXXV. The Permiſſion of Lawyers by Profeſſion, aſpiring at Honors in the Gift of the Crown, to have the greateſt Influence in the Legiſlature, a Circumſtance unfavorable to Liberty.

WHEN advocates addreſs each other at the bar, they always adopt the appellation of learned brother. There certainly is a neceſſity for great learning in the profeſſion of the long robe. But of what kind is the learning required? It is, undoubtedly of a kind very little connected with philoſophy or enlargement of the mind. It is, in its wideſt range, confined to local cuſtoms, and the ſtatutes of a ſingle nation. It pores upon the letter of the law, and ſcarcely dares to contemplate the ſpirit. It is for the moſt part employed in minute diſquiſitions, in finding exceptions, in ſeeking ſubterfuges, and often in making the great eternal rules of equity give way to the literal meaning of a narrow and unjuſt ſtatute, framed by ignorant men in times little removed from barbariſm, and certainly both ſlaviſh and ſuperſtitious.

Is the education of profeſſional and practiſing lawyers particularly calculated to expand the intellect, or to fill the heart with ſentiments of peculiar honor and generoſity; ſuch ſentiments as alone can conſtitute a worthy lawgiver, and an all-accompliſhed ſtateſman? Is it not confined to particular and minute objects, inſtead of taking in the whole horizon of human concernments? A few, and but a few, of thoſe who have riſen to the firſt honors and emoluments, have had a truly liberal education. The reſt have been trained either in the office of an attorney, or in ſtudies and exerciſes that contribute no more to liberalize or improve the heart, than the copying of inſtruments, the peruſal of ſtatutes, the knowledge of forms. Some of the fineſt faculties of the human conſtitution, the imagination and ſentimental affections, have little room for play, where the eye and memory are chiefly concerned; and where the mind is obliged to labor in the trammels of diſmal formalities, like the horſe in harneſs, dragging a heavy vehicle in the wheel-ruts made by thoſe who have gone before, without the liberty of deviation. A hard head, a cold unfeeling heart, with a tenacious memory, are likely to ſucceed beſt in ſuch toil, which requires leſs of ſpeed than of patient plodding perſeverance.

A dull man, trained in this dull manner, may become a very uſeful lawyer, and certainly deſerving of all the fees and emoluments of his profeſſion. But does it follow, that he muſt be a ſtateſman, a ſenator, a cabinet counſellor, ſitted to determine on queſtions of peace and war, and to conſult and promote the happineſs of human nature? A lawyer, by ſingular felicity of genius and diſpoſition, may be fit for the momentous taſk; and I only aſk whether his education, and the ſtudies and employments of his profeſſion, are ſuch as to render him pre-eminently a ſtateſman, and director of the meaſures of government? Becauſe he may, for a fee, plead ſucceſsfully on any ſide, conduct a trial, and aſſiſt a jury in determining a queſtion of meum and tuum or may be able to expound a ſtatute, is he therefore more likely than all others to frame laws of the moſt beneficent kind, having a view, not to particular caſes only, but to the general welfare? All his ſtudies of juriſprudence have been merely for the ſake of lucre, and not free and diſintereſted, like thoſe of the general ſcholar, the philoſopher and philanthropiſt.

The lawyer has, however, better opportunities for diſplaying his knowledge and abilities than the members of other profeſſions. Men have recourſe to him on matters very dear to their hearts; matters of property. With the ſagacity of a very moderate intellect, and a knowledge acquired by dint of mere labor and long practice, he may be able to tranſact their pecuniary buſineſs with ſkill and ſucceſs. He becomes, therefore, a favorite with men of property in the nation, which, whenever corruption prevails, will contribute much to puſh any aſpirant up the ladder of promotion. He ſoon pants for rewards extraneous to his profeſſion. It is not enough to be a judge or chancellor: he muſt be a poor of the realm, a a counſellor of ſtate, a chief director in the upper houſe. It is painful to behold all the old nobility, educated, as they have been, at the greateſt expence, improved by private tutors and by travel, crouching to a man, who has acquired effrontery in the courts below, and whoſe unbluſhing audacity has been the chief cauſe of the elevation, at which himſelf is ſurpriſed.

Men like theſe, emboldened by ſucceſs, and accuſtomed, from their earlieſt entrance into active life, to browbeat and overbear, aſſume a right to guide the opinions of the ſenate and the council in the moſt important meaſures of ſtate. They become, in fact, the rulers of the nation; but owing their elevation to the favor of a court, and placing all their expectations of farther honors on its continuance, they become devoted to its purpoſes. They are, in fact, ſtill ATTORNIES AND SOLICITORS, ready to exert all their powers of ſophiſtry, and to exhauſt all their ſtores of chicanery, to defend the meaſures of the miniſter, by rendering law, as far as they can, a leaden rule. The old peers ſit in ſilent admiration; while men, furniſhed with all the ſubtleties of practiſing lawyers, long hackneyed and hardened in the paltry buſineſs of private individuals, preſume to dictate peace or war, to impede or prevent ſalutary reform, and keep the church, the army, and the navy under their ſupreme control. Such is their habitual volubility and confirmed aſſurance, that men of more liberal minds, but of leſs ſelf-conceit and leſs notoriety, ſtand in awe of them, and ſuffer them, with abject acquieſcence, to domineer. But however they may oppoſe the people's right, and the happineſs of the public, they are ſure to eſpouſe the cauſe of thoſe from whom comes their promotion. They therefore contribute to diffuſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, more than any other profeſſion.

"But" (ſays the miniſter) "we cannot do without them. We muſt have able men in the Houſe of Lords; therefore we muſt have new men; and they muſt be ſelected from a profeſſion accuſtomed to public buſineſs, and which gives thoſe who belong to it opportunities of making an open diſplay of their abilities." This is a ſad compliment to the hereditary nobility; as it ſeems to argue that they are totally unfit to conduct the buſineſs that comes before them, without attornies and ſolicitors from below, who are ennobled merely to ſave the credit of the peerage. But the truth is, the miniſter wiſhes to have ſome ſharp and tractable tools, by which he may do his dirty work, uninterrupted by the interference of thoſe who, poſſeſſing a conſtitutional right to examine it, would perhaps often cenſure it, if they were not overawed and overborne by thoſe who pretend to be initiated in the myſteries of law.

In conſequence of this management, a whole profeſſion, with few exceptions, extremely buſy both with tongue and pen, is conſtantly enliſted in the ſervice of a miniſter. A great number of altor ies and ſolicitors, beſides the gentlemen afficially honored with thoſe names, are conſtantly retained on the ſide of the court, and conſequently lean, for their own ſakes, and with a hope of making their families, to the extenſion of crown influence and prerogative. A ſet of men, ſo ſubtle, ſo active, ſo attentive to intereſt, muſt ſerve any cauſe which they chooſe to eſpouſe; and there is no doubt but that they greatly ſerve (in the hope of ſerving themſelves) the cauſe of deſpotiſm.

Let anyone who is unacquainted with the pains taken by modern miniſters to retain the lawyers on the ſide of prerogative, inſpect the court calendar, and remark how great a portion of the modern peers have owed their coronets entirely to their profeſſion as lawyers, to their qualifications as mere men of buſineſs in detail, with very ſcanty knowledge of any thing elſe, and with ſmall claims to excellence as patriots, philoſophers, or philanthropiſts. Mere men of buſineſs commonly fix their eyes on objects of private lucre or temporal elevation alone. They are apt to laugh at the names of patriotiſm, liberty, and diſintereſted virtue. They have commonly been too long hackneyed among the loweſt of mankind, not perhaps in rank only, but in ſpirit, knowledge, liberality, to retain any very ſcrupulous delicacy in their own boſoms, or to believe its exiſtence in others. They conſider the good things of the world as a ſcramble, where every man is to get what he can by addreſs, and bold pretenſion, ſince the law will not allow the uſe of violence Certainly there can be no hope of reform, or what the French call a regeneration of human affairs, while men ſo verſed in corruption, ſo enriched by it, and ſo well pleaſed with it, bear ſway in ſenates, and direct the councils of princes

Several of the Crown Lawyers concerned in the proſecution of Hardy, &c. in which ſo much pains was taken to ſhed innocent blood, were put into Parliament by PEERS or grandees, as their members or agents, contrary to law and the conſtitution.

The Marquis of Bath nominates Sir JOHN SCOTT, (the Attorney General,) to repreſent his Lordſhip in the Houſe o Commons.

Lord Beverley nominates Sir JOHN MITFORD (the Solicitor General,) to repreſent him.

Earl Fitzwilliam nominates SERJEANT ADAIR.

The Earl of Lonſdale nominates Mr. ANSTRUTHER.

Mr. Buller nominates Mr. BEARCRAFT.

See Petition preſented to the Houſe of Commons, 6th of May, 1793.

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SECTION XXXVI. Poverty, when not extreme, favorable to all Virtue, public and private, and conſequently to the Happineſs of human Nature; and enormous Riches, without Virtue, the general Bane.

SUPERFLUITY of riches, like ſuperfluity of food, cauſes ſickneſs and debility. Poverty, or mediocrity of fortune, is the nurſe of many virtues; of modeſty, induſtry, ſobriety. But, in this age, the very name of poverty is odious. Poverty is a haggard phantom that appals half the world, and drives them over ſeas, into torrid zones, to diſeaſe and death! Life itſelf is thought by many a gift fit to be thrown back again into the face of the Almighty Donor, if it is not accompanied with the means of luxury, the means of making a figure beyond others; in a word, the means of indulging the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. Things are ſo managed, in a ſtate of deep political corruption, that the honors due only to virtue are paid excluſively to MONEY; and thoſe who want not riches for the ſake of indulgence in pleaſure, or from the love of money itſelf, grow complete miſers, in the hope of obtaining together with opulence. civil honors, ſeats in the ſenate-houſe, and OYAL FAVOR. They hope to make themſelves of conſequence enough to be corrupted or rather purchaſed by the ſtate.

What is the conſequence to the people, the laborer, the manufacturer, the retail trader, to poor families with many children, women with ſmall patrimonies, annuitants, dependents, and all the numerous train of perſons who are compelled to live, as the common phraſe expreſſes it, from hand to mouth? Their gains or means are fixed, and by no means riſe with the riſing price of neceſſaries. But, in conſequence of this rage for riches, the neceſſaries of life become not only dearer, but worſe in quality; leſs nouriſhing, leſs commodious, and leſs durable. Landlords raiſe their rents to the utmoſt poſſible extent; each determining to make his rent-roll as reſpectable as ſome opulent neighbors favored by a lord lieutenant for his INFLUENCE. They will not let their farms in little portions, to poor induſtrious tenants; but to ſome overgrown monopolizer, who is in as much haſte to grow rich as the landlord himſelf; ſeeing that as he becomes rich he becomes a man of conſequence in the county, and that not only eſquires, but even lords, take notice of him at the approach of a general election. He is a wholeſale farmer, and will breed but few of the animals of the farm-yard, and thoſe only for his own family conſumption. His children are too proud to carry the productions of the hen-rooſt or dairy to the market. He ſcorns ſuch little gains. He deals only in a great way; and keeps up the price by withholding his ſtores when the market is low. The neighboring ruſtics, who uſed to be reſpectable, though little farmers, are now his day-laborers, begging to be employed by the great man who has engroſſed and conſolidated half a dozen farms. The old farm-houſes are pulled down. One capital manſion is ſufficient for a large territory of meadow and arable land, which uſed to diſplay ſmoking chimnies in every part of a cheerful landſcape, with a healthy progeny of children, and tribes of animals, enlivening the happy ſcene. The tenant now reigns over the uninhabited glebe a ſolitary deſpot; and ſomething of the ancient vaſſalage of the feudal ſyſtem is reſtored, through the neceſſities of the ſurrounding cottagers, who live in hovels with windows ſtopt up, hardly enjoying God's freeſt gifts, light and air. A murmur will exclude them even from the HUT, compared with which the neighboring dog-kennel is a palace.

The little tenants of former times were too numerous and too inconſiderable to become objects of corruption. But the great tenant, the engroſſer of farms, feeling his conſequence, grows as ambitious as his landlord. He may have ſons, couſins, and nephews, whom he wiſhes to provide for by places; and therefore it becomes a part of his prudential plan, to ſide, in all county elections, and at all public meetings, with the court party, the lord lieutenant, and the ariſtocratical toad-eaters of the miniſter.

In like manner, the GREAT manufacturer, finding that riches tend to civil HONORS and political conſequence, as well as to plenty of all good things, cannot be contented with the ſlow progreſs of his grandfathers, but muſt whip and ſpur, in his career from the temple of Plutus to the temple of Honor. His workmen therefore, are paid, not by the day, in which caſe they would endeavor to do their work well, though ſlowly, but by the piece. The public, perhaps, muſt of neceſſity purchaſe his commodity, however bad, and it is probably as good as others fabricate, becauſe all are purſuing the ſame glorious end, by ſimilar means. The materials, as well as the workmanſhip, are of inferior quality. For, the great monopolizers and dealers can force a trade, and get vent among the little retailers, by giving credit, and by various other contrivances, for the moſt ordinary ware. The great man, whoſe forefathers felt little elſe but avarice, now burns with AMBITION; and, as city honors and rural dignities, ſenatorial conſequence and even magiſtracy, are beſtowed by miniſterial favor, he muſt be devoted to a miniſter, and carry all the little traders and artiſans to ſecond the views of a court at the general election, or at public meetings, appointed for the promotion of a miniſter's project to keep himſelf in place.

Theſe, and a thouſand ſimilar cauſes, viſible enough in the various departments of manufacture, commerce, and agriculture, are at this moment urging on the great machine of corruption, and diffuſing the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. The revolution of France will indeed check it, throughout Europe, by the influence of principles, favorable to the freedom and happineſs of man; but at preſent, even that event is uſed by ſhort-ſighted politicians, to i •• reaſe ariſtocratical arrogance, to depreſ popular ſpirit, and to give unnatural influence to the poſſeſſion of MONEY, however acquired and however abuſed.

An indignant writer of ancient Rome exclaims:

Nullum crimen abeſt, facinuſque libidinis ex quo PAUTERTAS ROMANA perit. Since Poverty, our guardian god, is gone, Pride, lazineſs, and all luxurious arts, Pear like a deluge in from FOREIGN PARTS, Viz. The Eaſt Indies at preſent. &c. DRYDEN.

JUVENAL. Prima peregrinos obſcoena PECUNIA mores, Intulit et turpi fregerunt ſecula luxu, Divitiae molles.—

The virtuous ancients, by the light of nature and the evidence of experience, were taught that, when riches obtained a value and eſteem beyond their proper uſe, merely for the ſake of ſplendor, oſtentation, and ariſtocratic opoppreſſion, a fatal blow was given to liberty. The human race, they thought, degenerated under the deſpotiſm of money. In ſuch a corrupt ſyſtem, there was no encouragement given in the ſtate to excel in virtue for its own ſake: even generals and admirals went on expeditions, not even for falſe and vain-glory, far leſs from motives of patriotiſm; but to fill their coffers with plunder, and render war a cloke for pillage.

Cauponantes bellum, non belligerentes.

They made a trade, and a ſordid trade, of legal bloodſhed, not conducting it with the diſintereſted ſpirit of ſoldiers, animated with the love of their country, but with the cunning and avarice of Jew uſurers in Duke's Place.

And have we had no inſtances of generals or admirals making war a trade, in recent times, and in Chriſtian nations; uſing the ſword, to which the idea of honor has been attached, as an implement of lucre, and rendering it far leſs honorable than the knife of the butcher, exerciſing his trade in the market of Leadenhall? If it ſhould ever be true, that ſhips of war are made merchantmen in the vileſt merchandize, the barter of human blood for gold, will it not prove, that the attaching honor to the poſſeſſion of money, is deſtroying, not only the national virtue, but its honor and defence? Have towns in the Eaſt Indies never been given up to plunder, contrary to the law of nations, as well as juſtice and humanity, to make the fortune of European officers?

It is a noble and virtuous ſtruggle, to ſtand up in defence of the rights of nature, true honor, liberty and truth, againſt the overbearing dominion of pecuniary influence. MAN will ſhine forth in his genuine luſtre; when money can no longer gild the baſe metal of folly, knavery, pride, and cruelty. While the corrupt Ganges ſlows into the Thames, it will contaminate its waters, and infect the atmoſphere of freedom. When Britiſh freeholders, yeomen, merchants, manufacturers, generals, admirals, and ſenators, become ſlaves to pelf only, forgetting or deſpiſing the very name of public virtue and diſintereſted exertion, nothing can oppoſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm but the ſpirit of the common people. That ſpirit, indeed, may at once reſcue human nature from miſery, and perpetuate the bleſſings of a pure and free conſtitution. But when they who fatten on the blood of their fellow-creatures, are alſo permitted to domineer by the influence of their ill-gotten MONEY, over free countries, to command majorities at elections, and drive all oppoſition before them, what chance of happineſs can remain to virtuous independence? What, in ſuch circumſtances, can preſerve liberty, but a convulſive ſtruggle, attended, perhaps, with the horrors of the firſt French revolution, which God, in his mercy, avert!

SECTION XXXVII. On the natural Tendency of making Judges and Crown Lawyers, Peers; of tranſlating Biſhops and annexing Preferments to Biſhopricks, in what is called, commendam.

IF there is any part of the conſtitution of England, in the praiſe of which eloquence may employ her moſt glowing colors, without entrenching upon the conſines of truth, it is the JUDICIAL part of it. The purity of public juſtice in England, is unequalled in any country which the ſun illuminates in his diurnal progreſs. The reaſon is obvious. The verdict is given by juries of men uſually beyond the reach of corruption. No miniſterial influence can deſcend to all the individuals, in middle and humble life, who may be called upon to ſit in judgment, and ultimately decide, as jurors, on the property, the fame, and the life, of their fellow-citizens. We have lately had a moſt glorious inſtance of the virtue of private citizens, exerciſing this moſt important office. The verdicts given in the ſtate trials, in one thouſand ſeven hundred and ninety-four, do more honor to the Britiſh character, than all the military exploits in the reign of George the Third. Such verdicts make our conſtitution truly enviable to the nations of Europe. Twelve honeſt men, on each of theſe trials, proved to the world, that no power, no authority, no terror, nor even the factitious rage of ariſtocratical principles, which had been artfully foſtered, could lead them to ſwerve from the right line of juſtice. They feared God, but not man; and poſterity will honor them, when the names of ſubtle politicians, clothed with a brief but lucrative authority, if mentioned at all, ſhall be mentioned with deteſtation. It was well obſerved by a zealous and honeſt advocate on the occaſion, that he could not deſpair of the caſe, when it was brought from the corrupt to the uncorrupt part of the conſtitution. The days of acquittal were the jubilees of truth, the triumphs of virtue; and, in a time of dejection, revived the hopes of patriotiſm and philanthropy.

Official judges, not having the final determination of the cauſe, but feeling the check of the JURIES, commonly conduct themſelves, even in ſtate trials, with ſome degree of candor and moderation. Indeed, we are ſo happy as to ſee men appointed to this office, in our time, whoſe tried integrity gives reaſon to believe, that, if they were not thus wiſely checked, they would, with few exceptions, preſerve impartiality.

Nevertheleſs, though much has been ſaid on the independence of judges, and though great praiſe is due to our king, who placed them in their offices for life, and not removable at his pleaſure, yet it muſt be confeſſed, that there ſtill remain temptations, which might have great influence on men leſs virtuous than our preſent judges are. It is obſerved, that PEERAGES, in modern times, have been beſtowed, with peculiar bounty, on lawyers; and ſome have ventered to ſay, that the expectation of this ſplendid reward may fruſtrate all endeavors to ſecure, eſpecially in ſtate trials, the perfect independence of the judges who preſide. It is not enough that they do not fear removal from their dignified office. Their hopes may influence, more than their fears. They may hope to add to opulence the dignity of family diſtinction, eſcutcheons, coronets, and hereditary ſeats in the legiſlature. If themſelves have ſeen too much of the vanity and folly of worldly pomp to admire it, (which, however, is not often the caſe with men who may be great lawyers, without any philoſophy or religion,) yet they may have ſons, wives, daughters, relatives, and friends, to whom the ſplendor of life, (as they have, poſſibly, little ſolid merit,) is valuable in the higheſt degree. A peerage is therefore, for the moſt part, a very powerful allurement, I will not ſay, to diſguiſe the truth or pervert the law, but obſequiouſly to ſeek miniſterial favor.

When peerages are laviſhed on lawyers high in place, it is a circumſtance viewed with ſome degree of jealouſy by thoſe who are willing to guard conſtitutional liberty with unwinking vigilance. Perhaps it might afford ſatisfaction to ſuch men, if judges were by law excluded from all higher elevation; if they were indeed moſt amply paid and moſt reſpectfully revered; but, for the ſake of preventing the poſſibility of a wrong bias, where the happineſs of the people is moſt intimately concerned, were prevented from viewing a brilliant dazzling coronet, ſuſpended as their reward, over the ſcales of juſtice.

But here an objector will urge, with ſerious ſolicitude, that, as the Houſe of Lords is a court of judicature, in the laſt reſort, a court of appeal from every court in the kingdom, it is neceſſary that it ſhould be well ſupplied with lawyers of eminence.

On this ſubject Mr. PALEY ſays; "There appears to be nothing in the conſtitution of the Houſe of Lords; in the education, habits, character, or profeſſions of the members who compoſe it; in the mode of their appointment, or the right by which they ſucceed to their places in it, that ſhould qualify them for their arduous office; except, perhaps, that the elevation of their rank and fortune affords a ſecurity againſt the offer and influence of SMALL bribes. Officers of the army and navy, courtiers, eccleſiaſtics; young men who have juſt attained the age of twenty-one, and who have paſſed their youth in the diſſipation and purſuits which commonly accompany the poſſeſſion or inheritance of great fortunes; country gentlemen, occupied in the management of their eſtates, or in the care of their domeſtic concerns and family intereſts; the GREATER part of the aſſembly born to their ſtation, that is, placed in it by CHANCE; moſt of the reſt advanced to the peerage for ſervices and from motives utterly unconnected with legal erudition;— theſe men compoſe the tribunal to which the conſtitution entruſts the interpretation of her laws, and the ultimate deciſion of every diſpute between her ſubjects!"

From this very degrading repreſentation of the Houſe of Lords, the Reverend Archdeacon proceeds to juſtify the practice of conſtantly placing in it, ſome of the moſt eminent and experienced lawyers in the kingdom. He would, I think, with more propriety have argued againſt rendering one part of the legiſlature a court of juſtice, deſigned both to make and execute the laws; becauſe every ſolid politician has agreed in the propriety of keeping the legiſlative and judicial powers as ſeparate and as diſtant from each other as it is poſſible.

I leave this point for the diſcuſſion of future political writers, and ſatisfy myſelf with ſuggeſting, that it is neceſſary to the perfect contentment of a people jealous of their liberty and the purity of judicial proceedings, that all temptations whatever ſhould be removed from the ſight of frail human beings, ſitting in the ſeat of judgment, which may lead them to court the favor of ruling powers at the expence of juſtice. It is not MONEY alone which BRIBES. Title and rank have more influence on the univerſal paſſion, vanity; eſpecially when avarice has been already gratified with ample ſalaries and the emoluments of a lucrative profeſſion.

The conſideration of the poſſible rewards which may diminiſh the independence of judges, naturally leads to the conſideration of thoſe which may ſecularize the biſhops, and injure the cauſe of religion, for which alone epiſcopacy itſelf could be eſtabliſhed.

But, as this is a ſubject of ſome delicacy, I ſhall uſe the authority and words of Dr. Watſon, the preſent Biſhop of Llandaff, who, having been in the minority at the time he wrote upon it, ventured to ſpeak the whole truth, with that freedom which becomes an honeſt man in every rank, and is particularly expected from a Chriſtian biſhop.

"I know," ſays Biſhop Watſon, "That many will be ſtartled. I beg them not to be offended, at the ſurmiſe of the biſhops not being independent in the Houſe of Lords; and it would be eaſy enough to weave a logical cobweb, large enough and ſtrong enough to cover and protect the conduct of the Right Reverend Bench from the attacks of thoſe who diſlike epiſcopacy. This, I ſay, would be an eaſy taſk; but it is far above my ability to eradicate from the minds of others (who are, notwithſtanding, as well attached to the church eſtabliſhment as ourſelves,) a SUSPICION THAT THE PROSPECT OF BEING TRANSLATED influences the minds of the BISHOPS too powerfully, and induces them to pay too great an attention to the BECK of a miniſter. The ſuſpicion, whether well or ill founded, is diſreputable to our order; and, what is of worſe conſequence, it hinders us from doing that good which we otherwiſe might do; for the laity, while they entertain ſuch a ſuſpicion concerning us, will accuſe us of avarice and ambition, of making a gain of godlineſs, of bartering the dignity of our office for the chance of a TRANSLATION.

"Inſtead then, (proceeds the Biſhop), of quibbling and diſputing againſt the exiſtence of miniſters influence over us, or recriminating and retorting the petulance of thoſe who accuſe us on that account, let us endeavor to remove the evil; or, if it muſt not be admitted that this evil has any real exiſtence, let us endeavor to emove the appearance of it.

"The diſparity of income and pat onage might be made ſo ſmall, or ſo apportioned to the labors, that few biſhops would be diſpoſed to wiſh for tranſlations; and conſequently the biſhops would, in appearance as well as in reality, be INDEPENDENT.

"But, in rendering the biſhops independent, you will reduce the power of the crown in the Houſe of Lords.—I do not mean to deny this charge; nay, I am willing to admit it in it's full extent.—The influence of the crown, when exerted by the cabinet over the public counſellors of the king, is a circumſtance ſo far from being to be wiſhed by his true friends, that it is as dangerous to the real intereſts and honor of the crown itſelf, as it is odious to the people, and DESTRUCTIVE OF PUBLIC LIBERTY.

"It may contribute to keep a prime miniſter in his place, contrary to the ſenſe of the wiſeſt and beſt part of the community; it may contribute to keep the king himſelf unacquainted with his people's wiſhes, but it cannot do the king or the ſtate any ſervice. To maintain the contrary is to ſatirize his majeſty's government; it is to infinuate, that his views and intereſts are ſo diſjoined from thoſe of his people, that they cannot be effectuated by the uninfluenced concurrence of honeſt men.

"I cannot admit the circumſtance of the biſhops being rendered independent in the Houſe of Lords, as any real objection to the plan propoſed; on the contrary, I think it a very ſtrong argument in its favor; ſo ſtrong an one that, if there was no other, it would be ſufficient to ſanctify the meaſure."

The corruption of the church for the purpoſe of corrupting the legiſlature, is an offence far more injurious to the general happineſs of mankind and the intereſts of a Chriſtian community, than any of thoſe which have baniſhed the offenders to Botany Bay, or confined them for years within the walls of the priſon-houſe. Both the corruptors and the corrupted, in this caſe, are more injurious to Chriſtianity than all the tribe of ſceptics and infidels; than Tindal, Toland, Bolingbroke, Hume, Rouſſeau, Voltaire, and Gibbon. The common people do not read them, and perhaps could ſcarcely underſtand them. But the common people do read the newſpapers daily, and ſee the names and qualities of thoſe who divide in the ſenate-houſe, on queſtions of the laſt importance. They muſt therefore entertain a SUSPICION, as the Biſhop of Llandaff expreſſes it, that religion itſelf, as well as its official, opulent, dignified ſupporters, is but an inſtrument of ſtate, a tool in the hand of a miniſter. They muſt naturally conſider venalty as doubly baſe, when clothed in the ſanctified robes of religion. What has happened in France, in conſequence of the corruptions of the church by the ſtate, ought to afford a ſtriking admonition.

I wiſh to point out, in theſe times, writings of LIVING BISHOPS in favor of Chriſtianity, becauſe they would be oppoſed with the beſt grace againſt the writings of LIVING INFIDELS. But, to the reproach of my want of intelligence, I know not the names of the majority, till I find them in the COURT CALENDAR. The printed works of even this majority I cannot find, either in the ſhops or the libraries: the few I do find, even of the minority, are not adapted to the wants of the people at large. Their occaſional ſermons, after they have ſerved their day become, like almanacks, out of date: a collection of old court calendars would be nearly as edifying and more entertaining to the multitude.

It is indeed certain, that the archiepiſcopal mitres received more luſtre than they gave, from the ſermons of Dr. Tillotſon and Dr. Seeker. It would give me pleaſure to place the ſermons of LIVING ARCHBISHOPS by their ſide; and I would mention them had they come to my knowledge. The ſermons, however, of the few living biſhops who are known at all to the PUBLIC will, I hope, prove to mankind, that ſome among the biſhops, in this happy iſle, do not think it a ſufficient return for princely revenues, to vote always with a miniſter, or to increaſe, with lawn ſleeves, the pageantry of a birth-day. To perform the occaſional duties of ordination, confirmation, and iſitation, cannot ſatisfy the minds of men who receive the honors and emoluments of Durham, WINCHESTER, York, or Canterbury. That it is ſo, is happy; for if ever the prelatical clergy ſhould be SUSPECTED of becoming merely miniſterial inſtruments; if, for inſtance, they ſhould ever be ſuppoſed ſo far ſecularized, as to concede to the miniſter that made them biſhops, the right of nominating to all the moſt valuable preferments in their gift, in order to enable him the better to corrupt that parliament in which themſelves alſo have engaged to give a VENAL VOTE; from that time, they would contribute more to the downfal of the church, than all the writings of all the unbelievers, from Frederic, late King of Pruſſia, to the American Republican, Thomas Paine. The ſin of ſimony in a private man, who pays a fair price for a profitable appointment, with his own money, honeſtly earned by virtuous induſtry, and does the duties of it, is as nothing when compared to the ſimony of him who buys a high and important ſtation, greatly lucrative, with a corrupt VOTE and a baſe dereliction of thoſe rights of pa ronage, which were intended to encourage merit only, and to prevent that very corruption which he feeds and cheriſhes, to gratify his own ſordid avarice and childiſh vanity.

The biſhops, in their charges, are now founding an alarm. They very juſtly affirm, that the exiſtence of Chriſtianity is now in danger. They wiſely urge the INFERIOR clergy to the moſt vigilant activity. Thus far they certainly do honor to the epiſcopal function. But ſtill while the public SUSPECTS the bare poſſibility of the bench being, as Bp. Watſon ſays, at the book of the miniſter, they will conſider all this eal as little better than that of Demetrius, who made ſilver ſhrines for Dian .

When indeed we add to the probable effect of tranſlations from a poorer to a richer biſhop ••• , the holding of rich pluralities with biſhop •• es, under the name of COMMENDAMS, it is difficult not to 〈◊〉 with Biſhop Watſon, that epiſcopal independence is endangered, and that we muſt look rather i cathedrals, than in the Houſe of Lords, for epiſcopal integrity. Conſcientious diſſenters are ſhocked, and libertines and infidels laugh, when they view the bench, as if they were ſpecta ors of a ſolemn mummery, or a mock-heroic farce. All this danger, offence, and reproach, might poſſibly be prevented, if tranſlations and comm ndams were utterly prohibited.

But, ſetting aſide the ffect of tranſlations and commendams on the ſtate of religion, let us ſeriouſly conſider them as they operate on the increaſe of prerogative and the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. Theſe things influence not only thoſe who have attained mitres, but a numerous tribe of expectants; and thoſe expectants POSSESS THE EAR OF THE PEOPLE. Is it reaſonable to ſuppoſe that the doctrines of the pulpit will not, under theſe circumſtances, be faſhioned to the inclinations of the miniſter? What can contribute more to diffuſe the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, than the employment of many thouſand pulpits, at leaſt once in each week, in obliquely preaching doctrines, that favor its prevalence, under the ſanction of DIVINE AUTHORITY?

SECTION XXXVIII. That all Oppoſition to the Spirit of Deſpotiſm ſhould be conducted with the moſt ſcrupulous Regard to the exiſting Laws, and to the Preſervation of public Peace and good Order.

THE frailty of human nature is one of the commoneſt of common-places. The wiſeſt and beſt of men are deſirous of palliating their errors, by claiming a ſhare, as MEN, in human infirmity. One of the infirmities moſt acknowledged and lamented is, a tendency to ruſh from one extreme to another; a proneneſs to fall into a vice, in the deſire of eſcaping an error. Thus the deteſtation of deſpotion and the love of liberty, both of them rational and laudable, have led many to factious and violent conduct, which neither the occaſion juſtified, nor prudence would precipitately adopt, even if the occaſion might appear to juſtify them.

From faction and violence in the cauſe of liberty, which diſgrace the cauſe itſelf, and give advantage to the favorers of arbitrary power, I moſt anxiouſly diſſuade all who love mankind and their country. Faction and violence are deſpotic in the extreme. They bring all evils of tyranny, without any conſolation, but that they are uſually tranſient; whereas tyranny is durable. They deſtroy themſelves, or are deſtroyed by force in the hands of a ſuperior power. In either caſe, much is loſt to the cauſe of liberty; becauſe the perſons who have been betrayed by their paſſions into exceſſes, were probably ſincere; and if they had been alſo diſcreet and moderate would have been effectual as well as zealous promoters of the public good. It is certain, that very honeſt men are very apt to be betrayed into violence by their warmth of temper. They mean good, and do ill. They become the inſtruments of diſpaſſionate knaves; and are often led into extravagances by the very party againſt whom they act, in order that they may be expoſed, and become obnoxious to cenſure.

Wiſdom is gentle, deliberate, cautious. Nothing violent is durable. I hope the lovers of liberty will ſhew the ſincerity of their attachment by the wiſdom of their conduct. Tumultuary proceedings always exhibit ſome appearance of inſanity. A blow ſtruck with blind violence may inſlic a wound or a bruiſe, but it may fall in the wrong place; it may even injure the hand that gives it, by its own ill-directed force.

Man being a reaſonable creature, will always ſubmit to reaſon, if you give time for his paſſions to cool, and wait for the mollia tempora fandi, the proper opportunities of addreſſing him. A FEW, in the great maſs of mankind, may be corrupted by views of intereſt, by expectations of preferment, by bribes, and by titles. But there are not rewards enough of this kind to corrupt the whole body of any people. The great body of the people will follow that which appears to them right, and juſt, and true. Let it be clearly laid before them, and left for their calm conſideration. If it ſhould ſo happen, which is very unlikely, that they ſhould not adopt it, after underſtanding it, and duly weighing its importance, then they muſt be left to the error of their ways. Si populus vult decipi, decipiatur. If the people will be deluded, they muſt be ſo. Force cannot eradicate error, though it may deſtroy life. Riot, tumult, turbulence may do great miſchief, but they carry no conviction.

Inflammatory language at popular meetings is to be avoided; and, indeed, multitudes of the loweſt of the people are not to be wantonly convened. Without in the leaſt impeaching their rights, it muſt be allowed that their paſſions are too violent, when heated by colliſion with each other, and their judgments too weak, when not previouſly informed by reading and education, to act wiſely when met in a large body, without authoriſed guides, and without ſtrict regulation. A man who is a ſincere patriot, and not a mere demagogue for ſiniſter purpoſes, will be cautious of aſſembling crowds of the loweſt of the people. Lord George Gordon's unfortnate conduct has left a laſting leſſon. He, I firmly believe, intended none of that miſchief which enſued; but who can ſay to the waves of a troubled ſea, "thus far ſhall ye go, and no farther?" I know, and have already commented on, the advantage taken from thoſe riots by the friends of high-prerogative docrines, for diſparaging the people at large, notwithſtanding the people certainly had no concern in them.

Though decidedly a friend to the reform of the Houſe of Commons, I cannot agree with the Duke of Richmond in the propriety of univerſal ſuffrage. I think his idea perfectly Utopian. Sir Thomas More never wrote any thing more viſionary in his celebrated fiction; Sir Robert Filmer nothing more adverſe to real liberty. Univerſal ſuffrage, I fear, would cauſe univerſal confuſion; and the friends of mankind would be inclined to fly for temporary refuge even to the throne of a DESPOT. Perſons in a ſtate of ſervitude could never be expected to give a free vote; and vagabonds and paupers would uſe their liberty for a cloke of maliciouſneſs. I wiſh the right of ſuffrage to be extended as far as it poſſibly can, without endangering public order and tranquillity; but extreme ignorance and extreme penury cannot with prudence be truſted with a power which both requires knowledge and commands property.

But whatever politicians may determine upon this point, I think it certain, that debates upon it connot be held in very large aſſemblies, into which, not only the loweſt but the vileſt of mankind are allowed admiſſion, and all the privileges of counſellors, de ſumma rerum, on matters of the higheſt importance, without extreme danger of violating law, and diſturbing that order which is necſſary to comfort and ſecurity.

I wiſh, therefore, that all preliminary conſultation on this point, and all points like this, may be conducted by writing, by appeals to reaſon in the cloſet, and that a conſiderable time may be allowed to cool all intemperate heats; and give ſolidity to the materials of the intended repair. At county meetings or aſſociations, I would have the civil power in full force; but never the military. The ſtaff of the conſtable ſhould be more coercive than the ſabre of the dragoon; for the conſtitution admits the one as its own, but certainly looks at the other with horror. Every tumult, productive of miſchief, gives the friends of arbitrary power an opportunity for introducing the military, of arguing againſt all popular interference in that very government which the people ſupport by their induſtry, and which, according to the law of God, nature, and reaſon, they have a right to control by their ſupreme authority. There may be caſes of the laſt neceſſity, which I ſhudder to think of, in which nothing but the power of the people, acting by force, can maintain or recover their uſurped rights. Such muſt occur but ſeldom. May our country never experience them!

There can be no good reaſon aſſigned why government ſhould not be, like every thing elſe, continually advancing to all the perfection of which it is capable. Indeed, as the happineſs of mankind depends more upon well-regulated and well-adminiſtered government, than on any thing ſubordinate in life or in arts, there is every reaſon for beſtowing all the time which every paſſing generation can beſtow, in bringing government to its utmoſt point of attainable perfection. It is the buſineſs and the duty of thoſe who now live, as they value their own happineſs and the happineſs of their poſterity, to labor in the reform of abuſes, and the farther improvement of every improveable advantage. Would any man be liſtened to with patience who ſhould ſay, that any uſeful art or manufacture ought not to be improved by ingenious projectors, becauſe it does tolerably in its preſent ſtate, ſatisfies thoſe who are ignorant of the excellence of which it is ſuſceptible, and cannot be altered, even for the better, without cauſing ſome trouble, for a time, among thoſe who have been accuſtomed to the preſent imperfect and erroneous methods of conducting it? No; encouragements are held out for improvement in all arts and ſciences, conducive to the comfort and accommodation of human life. What, then, in the firſt art, the art of diffuſing happineſs throughout nations, ſhall he who attempts improvement be ſtigmatized as an innovator, proſecuted as a ſeditious intermeddler, and perſecuted with the reſentment of thoſe who find their advantage in the continuance of error, and the diffuſion of abuſe and corruption? However courtiers may patronize ſilly eſtabliſhments, which claim a preſcriptive right to folly, inutility, and even miſchievous conſequences, the common ſenſe of mankind will revolt againſt them, join in demanding reform, and in ſaying of old cuſtoms, when become nuiſances by alteration of circumſtances, that inſtead of being ſanctified by long duration, they are now more honored in the breach than the obſervance.

But let the reformation be gentle, though firm; wiſe, though bold; len ent to perſons erring, though ſevere againſt error. Let her not alarm the friend of LIBERTY by ſudden violence, but invite all to the cauſe of truth and juſtice, by ſhewing that ſhe is herſelf guarded, not only by truth and juſtice, but by MERCY. Let us ſhew ourſelves, in ſeeking political reformation, what we profeſs to be, a nation of Chriſtians, if not philoſophers; and let not a groan be heard amid the acclamations of triumphant liberty, nor one drop of blood ſadden the glorious victory of philoſophy and Chriſtianity over PRIDE.

SECTION XXXIX. The Chriſtian Religion favorable to Civil Liberty, and likewiſe to EQUALITY rightly underſtood.

YOU ſeldom meet with infidelity in a cottage. You find evil and miſery there, as in palaces; but you do not find infidelity. The poor love the name and religion of Jeſus Chriſt. And they have reaſon to love them, if they only conſidered the obligations they are under to them for worldly comfort, for liberty, for inſtruction, for a due conſideration in civil ſociety.

The rights of man, to mention which is almoſt criminal in the eyes of deſpotical ſycophants, are plainly and irreſiſtibly eſtabliſhed in the goſpel. There is no doubt but that all his creatures are dear to the Creator and Redeemer; but yet, from motives of mercy and compaſſion, there is an evident predilection for the POOR, manifeſted in our Saviour's preaching and miniſtry. Theſe are very ſtriking words: "The blind receive their ſight, and the lame walk; the l pers are cleanſed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raiſed up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." The inſtruction, the conſolation, the enlightening of the POOR, are placed with the greateſt of his miracles, the recuſcitation of extinguiſhed life. Who, indeed, did trouble themſelves to care for the poor, till JESUS CHRIST ſet the glorious example? It was a miraculous thing, in the eye of the world, that a divine teacher ſhould addreſs himſelf particularly to thoſe who could not reward him with a worldly recompence! But he came to deſtroy that INEQUALITY among mankind, which enabled the rich and great to treat the poor as beaſts of burden. He himſelf choſe the condition of poverty, to ſhew the rich and proud of how little eſtimation are the trifles they doat upon, in the eye of him who made them, and who can deſtroy them at his pleaſure.

Let us hear HIM open his divine commiſſion. The words are very comfortable, eſpecially after reading the hiſtories of the tyrants who have br iſed •• ankind with their rods of iron. We find them in the fourth chapter of St. Luke.

"And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Eſaias; and when he had opened the book, he found the place wherein it was written:

"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HATH APPOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HATH SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND; TO SET AT LIBERTY THEM THAT ARE BRUISED;

"TO PREACH THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.

"And he cloſed the book, and he gave it again to the miniſter, and ſat down, and the eyes of all them that were in the ſynagogue were faſtened on him.

"And he began to ſay unto them, This day is the ſcripture fulfilled in your ears.

"And all bare him witneſs, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth: and they ſaid, IS NOT THIS JOSEPH's SON?"

—And ſoon after, "All they in the ſynagogue were filled with wrath, and roſe up, and thruſt him out of •• e city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, (whereon their city was built), that they might caſt him down headlong."

Thus their ariſtocratical prejudices prevailed over the firſt ſtrong feelings of gratitude and grace. The ſpirit of ariſtocracy diſplayed itſelf here its in its genuine colors; in pride, cruelty, and violence. Many of the ſcribes (the lawyers) and phariſees were probably in the ſynagogue, and their influence ſoon prevailed on the people to ſhew their impotent malice againſt their beſt friend and benefactor. In all ages, ſomething of the ſame kind is obſervable. The proud ſupporters of tyranny, in which they hope to partake, have always uſed falſe alarms, falſe plots, cunningly-contrived nicknames and watchwords, to ſet the unthinking people againſt thoſe who were promoting their greateſt good.

When Chriſt began to preach, we read, in the ſeventh chapter of St. Luke, that the multitude and the publicans heard him; but the ſcribes and the phariſees rejected the counſel of God towards them. They, like all perſons of ſimilar temper and rank, flouriſhing by abuſes, could not bear innovation.

The moſt powerful argument they uſed againſt him was this queſtion:—HAVE ANY OF THE RULERS AND THE PHARISEES BELIEVED IN HIM? In modern times the queſtion would have been, Have any perſons of faſhion and diſtinction given countenance to him? Does my lord—or my lady—or Sir Harry go to hear him preach?—Or is he ſomebody whom nobody knows?—Such is the language of the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, in all times and countries.

THREE HUNDRED YEARS elapſed, in conſequence of theſe prejudices, before the goſpel was recognized and received at COURT. And I am ſorry to ſay that the COURT ſoon corrupted its ſimplicity. The pride of life, always prevalent among thoſe who aſſume to themſelves good things enough to ſupport and comfort thouſands of individuals equally deſerving, could never brook the doctrines of Chriſt, which favored liberty and equality. It therefore ſeduced the Chriſtians to a participation of power and grandeur; and the poor, with their rights, were often forgotten, in the moſt ſplendid periods of eccleſiaſtical proſperity. Many nominal Chriſtians have been, and are, as ariſtocratical as Herod and the chief prieſts and phariſees of Judea.

But the authority of Jeſus Chriſt himſelf muſt have more weight with Chriſtians, than all the pomp and parade of the moſt abſolute deſpots in Europe, at the head of the fineſt troops in the univerſe. He taught us, when we pray, to ſay, Our Father. This alone is ſufficient to eſtabliſh, on an immoveable baſis, the equality of human beings. All are bound to call upon and conſider God as their Father, if they are Chriſtians; and, as there are no rights of primogeniture in Heaven, all are equal brothers and ſiſters, coheirs, if they do not forfeit their hopes, of a bleſſed immortality. But theſe are doctrines which the great and proud cannot admit. This world is theirs, and they cannot bear that the beggar, the ſervant, the ſlave, ſhould be their equal. We can hardly ſuppoſe, in imagination, the Empreſs of Ruſſia, the King of Pruſſia, the Emperor of Germany, or any grandee with a riband, a garter, or a ſtar, kneeling down, and from his heart acknowledging, in his prayer, a poor private in a marching regiment, a poor wretch in a workhouſe, or the ſervant that rides behind his carriage, a brother. So void of reaſon and religion is a poor helpleſs mortal, when dreſt in a little brief authority by the folly of thoſe who ſubmit to be trampled under foot by their equal; a man born of a woman, like themſelves, and doomed like themſelves after ſtrutting on the ſtage a few years, to the grave. Our Saviour, with a wiſdom far above all the reſinement of philoſophy, frequently inculcated the vanity of riches and power, and the real pre-eminence of virtue.

And what ſay the apoſtles? Do they favor thoſe who uſurp an unnatural and unreaſonable power over their fellow-mortals, for the ſake of gratifying their own ſelfiſh vanity and avarice? Let us hear them.

St. Paul, in the firſt chapter of the Firſt Epiſtle to the Co ••• thians, ſays, "You ſee your calling, brethren, how that not many wiſe men after the fleſh, (worldly-wiſe men,) not many mighty, not many noble are called."

In the ſecond chapter of ſhe Epiſtle of St. James, we read,

"Has not God choſen the poor of this world to be heirs of his kingdom?" To which is added,

"The RICH MEN blaſpheme that worthy name by which ye are called."

Theſe paſſages afford a very ſtrong argument of the truth and divinity of the Chriſtian religion, for they contain the very doctrines which were foretold ſeveral hundred years before the appearance of Chriſtianity. ISAIAH, in his twenty-ninth chapter, ſpeaking of the goſpel, and its doctrines and effects, expreſsly ſays,

"The meek ſhall increaſe their joy in the Lord; and the POOR AMONG MEN SHALL REJOICE IN THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL."

The inference I would draw from all that has preceded, is, that the middle ranks and the poor, that is, the great majority of mankind, ſhould place a due value on the goſpel, not only for its religious, but alſo its civil and political advantages. It is the GRAND CHARTER OF THEIR FREEDOM, their independence, their equality. All the ſubtilty of lawyers, all the ſophiſtry of miniſterial orators, all the power of all the deſpots and ariſtocrats in the world, cannot annihilate RIGHTS, given, indeed by Nature, but plainly confirmed by the Goſpel. The words already cited, are too clear and explicit to admit of miſconſtruction. JESUS CHRIST came to put an end to unjuſt inequality in this world, while he revealed the proſpect of another, where the wicked ceaſe from troubling, and the weary are at reſt. O ye people, give not the tyrants ſuch an advantage as to part with your goſpel. Preſerve it, watch over it, as the pearl of great price. It is your ſecurity for preſent and future felicity. Other Herods, other Neros may ariſe, who will rejoice to ſee you voluntarily renounce a ſyſtem which militates againſt their diabolical rule; rejoice to ſee you give up that which all the perſecution of the ancient Herods and Neros in vain attempted to aboliſh by ſhedding blood.

I think it may be depended on as indiſputable, that men who endeavor to ſuppreſs all works in favor of truth "That make a man an offender for a WORD." ISAIAH, xxix. 21. , liberty, and the happineſs of the middle and poor claſſes of the people, would, if they had lived about one thouſand ſeven hundred and ninety-five years ago, have joined with the high prieſts and rulers to crucify JESUS CHRIST. They would have proſecuted and perſecuted him for ſedition and high treaſon. They would have deſpiſed and rejected the friend of Lazarus; and taken the part of Dives, even in hell. The ſpirit of pride is of the devil, and thoſe who are actuated by that ſpirit, in all their conduct, would have fallen down and worſhipped him, if he would have put them on the pinnanacle of the temple, and promiſed them the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.

SECTION XL. The Pride which produces the Spirit of Deſpotiſm conſpicuous even on the Tombſtone. It might be treated with total Neglect, if it did not tend to the Oppreſſion of the Poor, and to Bloodſhed and Plunder.

DEATH is the great teacher and cenſor of human vanity; but even death cannot repreſs the pride of ariſtocracy, or the inſolence of riches, endeavoring to make wealth and grandeur triumph over the law of nature, and outſhine others even from the coffin and the grave. If we look into the churches and church-yards, we ſee the moſt inſignificant of mankind honored with the moſt magnificent monuments of marble, the proudeſt trophies, ſculptured urns, a flattering inſcription, and a gilded lie. The walls of the fanctuary are hung with banners, eſcutcheons, helmets, and ſpurs, which diſplay the emptineſs of that preeminence which they are intended to emblazon. The poor body, which all this paint and finery attends, lies mouldering in the vault; and give it but a tongue to ſpeak, would exclaim, at the gaudy ſight, "Vanity of vanities! Mock not my humiliated condition with the contemptible pageantry that miſguided my feet from the path of reaſon and happineſs, during my mortal exiſtence." The only means of being honorably diſtinguiſhed, is to promote moſt effectually the general happineſs of human nature, and to ſeek private good in public beneficence.

The ſpirit of deſpotiſm is remarkably viſible in the mauſolcum. There are families who ſeem to think that their precious bones would be contaminated, even if depoſited in the conſecrated cemeteries of the church, where plebeians ſleep, and therefore they erect proud temples in their private domains, where their fathers may rot in ſtate, unapproached by the vulgar. If they were illuſtrious inventors of arts and benefactors to mankind, the diſtinction might be a juſt compliment to their memory, and a uſeful incentive to emulation. But the perſons thus magnificently interred are uſually the moſt inſignificant of the human race; whoſe very names would not be known a year after their deceaſe if they were not deeply engraven on the marble.

Many an alderman, notorious for the meaneſt avarice, as little diſtinguiſhed for beneficence as abilities, is decorated with the moſt ſumptuous memorials which the ſtone-cutter can raiſe for money; while Milton the glory of the nation, a man elevated above the rank of common humanity, had no monumental marble. But all that the herald's office can effect, all that can be done by painting, gilding, and marble, cannot ennoble the greateſt favorite of a court, the moſt ſucceſsful adventurer in the Faſt Indies, or the moſt opulent contractor and money-lender, like a Paradiſe Loſt. The nabobs find their influence cannot ſecure the eſteem of a few contemporaries, though it may command their votes, much leſs of whole nations, and of late poſterity. Money, the only god which worldlings worſhip, loſes its omnipotence after the death of its poſſeſſor; and even the inheritor often deſpiſes the man who acquired it. The undertaker, the eſcutcheon painter, and the ſculptor, are however employed to keep up the falſe pageantry of inſignificant opulence; and a hearſe, covered over with coats of arms, is uſed for the purpoſe of impreſſing the vulgar with a veneration for rank and riches, while, in the minds of men of ſenſe, it excites ridicule, and converts a funeral into a farce.

Indeed the empty parade of pride, and the ſelf-importance of deſpotiſm itſelf, might furniſh a laughable entertainment, if it were not productive of miſchief, miſery, and bloodſhed. To ſupport the vanity, excluſive privileges, and high pretenſions of thoſe who have little perſonal merit or ſervices to recommend them to ſociety, it is neceſſary to have recourſe to military force and corruption. A ſyſtem of terror and coercion can alone keep down the people, and compel a tame acquieſcence under uſurped power, abuſed for the purpoſes of oppreſſion.

Standing armies are therefore the glory and delight of all who are actuated by the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. They would have no great objection to military government and martial law, while power is in their own hands, or in the hands of their patrons. The implicit ſubmiſſion of an army, the doctrine, which the military ſyſtem favors, that men in ſubaltern ſtations are to act as they are bidden, and never to deliberate on the propriety of the command, is perfectly congenial with the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. The glitter, the pomp, the parade and oſtentation of war are alſo highly pleaſing to minds that prefer ſplendor and pageantry to ſolid and ſubſtantial comfort. The happineſs, which muſt ever depend on the tranquility of the people, is little regarded, when ſet in competition with the gratification of perſonal vanity. Plumes, lace, ſhining arms, and other habiliments of war, ſet off the perſon to great advantage; and as to the wretches who are ſlain or wounded, plunged into captivity and diſeaſe, in order to ſupport this finery, are they not paid for it? Beſides, they are, for the moſt part, in the loweſt claſs, and thoſe whom nobody knows.

Such is the love of ſtanding armies, in ſome countries, that attempts are made to render even the national militia little different from a ſtanding army. This circumſtance alone is a ſymptom of the ſpirit of deſpotiſm. A militia of mercenary ſubſtitutes, under officers entirely devoted to a miniſter, muſt add greatly to a ſtanding army, from which, in fact, it would differ only in name. Should the people be entirely diſarmed, and ſcarcely a muſket and bayonet in the country but under the management of a miniſter, through the agency of ſervile lords lieutenant and venal magiſtrates, what defence would remain, in extremeties, either for the king or the people?

The love of pomp and finery, though ridiculous in itſelf, may thus become injurious to liberty, and therefore to happineſs, by increaſing the military order in the time of peace, and when miniſterial arts have contributed to render that order devoted to purpoſes of ſelfiſh aggrandizement or borough influence. Minds, capable of being captivated with the ſilly parade of war, are of too ſoft a texture to graſp the manly principles of true patriotiſm. They will uſually prefer the favor of a court, which has many ſhining ornaments to beſtow, to the eſteem of the people. A heart deeply infected with the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, deſpiſes the people too much to be in the leaſt ſolicitous to obtain popular applauſe. Praiſe is but breath; and often, like the wind, veers about inconſtantly; and certainly will deſert a man, who has deſerted the virtuous and benevolent conduct which firſt excited it. But ribands, ſtars, garters, places, penſions, uſually laſt for life; and titles deſcend to the lateſt poſterity. Honor, once gained by royal ſmiles, is a part of the family goods and chattels, and goes down, from generation to generation, without requiring to the day of doom, any painful exertion, any meritorious ſervices, but leaving its happy poſſeſſors to the free enjoyment of idleneſs and luxury. No wonder, therefore, that where the ſelfiſh ſpirit of deſpotiſm prevails, a bauble beſtowed by a court ſhall outweigh a whole people's plaudits. A coat of arms makes a figure on the eſcutcheon and the tombſtone; but not a ſcrap of gilded and painted ſilk—not even a bloody hand, can be beſtowed by the moſt cordial eſteem of the low multitude.

Heraldry itſelf, though a childiſh, is a harmleſs vanity; but, but, as conducing very much to the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, it becomes not only ridiculous, but miſchievous. It makes a diſtinction, on which men plume themſelves, without merit and without ſervices. Satiſfied with ſuch a diſtinction, they will be leſs inclined to acquire merit and to render ſervices. They can inherit a coat of arms; or they can buy one; or, which is more compendious ſtill, they can borrow or invent one. It is enough that they are ſeparated from the canaille. The coach, the hall, the church, is crouded with their atchievements; there is no occaſion for arduous exertion. They are now raiſed above the vulgar. The work is done. Their name is up; they may ſlumber in the repoſe of uſeleſs inſignificance, or move in the reſtleſſneſs of miſchievous activity. The coat of arms is at once a ſhield for folly, and a banner in the triumph of pride.

But both pride and folly ſhould be permitted for me to enjoy their baubles unmoleſted, if they did not lead to CRUELTY. But pride and folly are the cauſes of war; therefore I hate them from my ſoul. They glory in deſtruction; and among the moſt frequent ornaments, even of our churches, (the very houſes of peace,) are hung up on high trophies of war. Dead men (themſelves ſubdued by the univerſal conqueror) are repreſented, by their ſurviving friends, as rejoicing, even in their graves, in the implements of man-ſlaughter. Helmets, ſwords, and blood-ſtained flags hang over the grave, together with the eſcutcheons and marble monuments, emblematical of human ferocity; of thoſe actions and paſſions which Chriſtianity repudiates; for as well might oil and vinegar coaleſce, as War and Chriſtianity.

Spirit of Deſpotiſm! I would laugh at all thy extravagances, thy ſolemn mummery, thy baby baubles, thy airs of inſolence, thy finery and frippery, thy impotent inſults over virtue, genius, and all perſonal merit, thy ſtrutting, ſelf-pleaſing mien and language! I would conſider them all with the eye of a Democritus, as affording a conſtant farce, an inexhauſtible fund of merriment, did they not lead to the malevolent paſſions, which, in their effects, forge chains for men born free, plunder the poor of their property, and ſhed the blood of innocence.

SECTION XLI. CONCLUSION.

TO meliorate the condition of human nature, can be the only rational end of government. It cannot be deſigned to favor one deſcription of men, a MINORITY of men, at the expence of all others; who, having received life from him who alone can give it, received at the ſame time a right to enjoy it in liberty and ſecurity. This was the charter of God and nature; which no mortal, however elevated by conqueſt or inheritance, can annul or violate without impiety. All government which makes not the advancement of human happineſs, and the comfort of the individuals who are ſubject to its control, the prime purpoſe of its operations, partakes of deſpotiſm: and I have always thought that, in governments which boaſt of a free conſtitution, the views, even of ſtateſmen and politicians who eſpouſed the cauſe of liberty, have been too circumſcribed. They have been attached to names and families. They ſeem not to have opened either their eyes or hearts to objects truly great, and affections ſincerely catholic and philanthropic. I hate to hear public men, who certainly can have no right to their pre-eminence but for the public good, profeſſing themſelves of the Rockingham Party, the Shelburne Party, the Portland Party, and appearing to forget, in their zeal for a few diſtinguiſhed houſes, the great maſs of the People, the PARTY of human nature. The majority of men are poor and obſcure. To them all party attachments to names and families, little known as public benefactors, muſt appear at once abſurd and injurious. They are the perſons who ſtand in moſt need of protection and aſſiſtance from the powerful. The rich, under all governments, have a thouſand means of procuring either comfort or defence. It is the maſs, the poor and middling ranks, unknown to, and unknowing courts or kings, who require all the alleviation which men enlightened by knowledge, furniſhed with opulence, elevated by rank, can afford to leſſen the natural evils of life, aggravated by the moral and artificial. Government poſſeſſes the power of alleviating, and ſometimes of removing, that moral and phyſical evil which embitters exiſtence. How deplorable, when government becomes ſo perverted, as to increaſe the evil it was deſigned to cure. Yet this has been, and is now the caſe on a great part of the globe; inſomuch that the learned and judicious Dr. Prideaux, whoſe integrity is as well known as his ability, uſed to ſay, "That it was a doubt with him, whether the benefit which the world receives from government, was ſufficient to make amends for the calamities which it ſuffers from the follies, miſtakes, and mal-adminiſtration of thoſe who manage it."

When it is conſidered how little the moſt boaſted governments have been able or inclined to prevent the greateſt calamity of the world, the frequent recurrence of WAR, it is natural to conclude, that there has been ſome radical defect or error in all government, hitherto inſtituted on the face of the earth. Violence may be uſed where there is no government. Governments pretend to direct human affairs by reaſon; but war is a dereliction of reaſon, a renunciation of all that refines and improves human nature, and an appeal to brute force. Man deſcends from the heights to which philoſophers and legiſlators had raiſed him in ſociety; takes the ſword, and ſurpaſſes the beaſts of the foreſt in ferocity. Yet, ſo far from thinking himſelf culpable, he deems his deſtructive employment the moſt honorable of all human occupations, becauſe governments have politically contrived to throw a gloſſy mantle, covered with tinſel and ſpangles, over the horrors of bloodſhed and devaſtation. If governments, with all their riches and power, all their vaunted arts and ſciences, all the myſteerious policy of cabinets, all the wiſdom and eloquence of deliberating ſenates, are unable to preſerve the bleſſing of peace, uninterrupted, during the ſhort ſpace of twenty years together, they muſt be dreadfully faulty, either in their conſtitution or their adminiſtration. In what conſiſts the fault? I think in the ſelfiſh ſpirit of deſpotiſm, purſuing the ſordid or vain-glorious purpoſes of the governors, with little regard to the real, ſubſtantial happineſs of the governed. Deſpotiſm, in ſome mode or degree, has tranſformed the ſhepherds of the flock into wolves; has appropriated the fleeces, ſhed the blood of the innoxious animals, tore down the fences of the ſheepfold, and laid waſte the paſture.

Where is the government that has diſtributed property ſo equitably, as that none to whom exiſtence has been given ſhould want the neceſſaries of exiſtence; and where helpleſs age and infirmity, as well as helpleſs infancy, ſhould find a pillow to repoſe on, and plenty to nouriſh it, without ſupplicating a MAN, equal by nature, for the cold ſcanty relief of eleemoſynary charity? The truth is, power gradually engroſſes property; and the ſelfiſh ſpirit of deſpotiſm is ever ſtriving to appropriate all the good, of every kind, which the earth is able to produce.

The truth is, national glory, the trappings of a court, the parade of armies, the finery of external appearance, have been the ſilly objects of ſtate ſolicitude; while MAN was left to bewail, in the receſſes of want and obſcurity, that his mother had brought him into a world of woe, without means of comfort or ſupport, with little other proſpect than to labor without ceaſing, to fight thoſe who never injured him, and to die prematurely, unknown, and unlamented. All his wretchedneſs has been aggravated by the inſults of unfeeling pride; the neglect of ariſtocratic grandeur, which, under the ſpirit of deſpotiſm, mocked by the falſe pageantry of life, thoſe who were doomed to feel its real miſery. The vain pomp and glory of the world, held out the finger of ſcorn to that wretchedneſs which itſelf contributed to create, and would not relieve.

Three ſcore years and ten, and thoſe often full of labor and ſorrow, conſtitute the ſpace allotted to the life of man in a venerable volume, full of beauty as well as inſtruction, and worthy of great attention independently of the high authority attributed to it by the religion eſtabliſhed by the laws of this country. Few and evil are our days, even when they proceed to their natural extent, and are attended with the common portion of health and proſperity. Yet, as if a ſuper •• uity of years and happineſs were laviſhed on men, the chief buſineſs of the greateſt part of governments on the whole earth has been to abbreviate life, to poiſon and embitter its ſweeteſt pleaſures, and add new pungency to its anguiſh. Yet ſee the falſe glitter of happineſs, the pomp and parade which ſuch governments aſſume; obſerve the gravity and inſolence of ſuperiority which their miniſters, their ſtateſmen, and their warriors, aſſume, and you would imagine them a commiſſioned regency, lord li utenants ſent by Heaven to rule this lower world, and to rectify all diſorders which had eſcaped the vigilance of the Deity. The time has been when they have ctually claimed the title of God's vicegerents, and have been literally worſhipped as gods by the ſervile crew of courtiers; men gradually bowed down by deſpotiſm from the erect port of native dignity, and driven by fear to crouch under the moſt degrading of all ſuperſtition, the political idolatry of a baſe fellow-creature.

After all the language of court adulation, the praiſes of poets and orators, the ſtatues and monuments erected to their fame, the malignant conſequences of their actions prove them to have been no other than conſpirators againſt the improvement and happineſs of the human race. What were their means of conducting their governments, of exerciſing this office of Heaven's vicegerents? Crafty, diſhoneſt arts, oppreſſion, extortion, and above all FIRE and SWORD. They dared to ape the thunder and lightning of Heaven, and, aſſiſted by the machinations of the Grand Adverſary of man, rendered their imitative contrivances for deſtruction more terrible and deadly than the original. Their imperial robe derived its deep crimſon color from human blood; and the gold and diamonds of their diadems were accumulated treaſures wrung from the famiſhed bowels of the poor, born only to toil for others, to be robbed, to be wounded, to be trodden under foot and forgotten in an early grave. How few, in compariſon, have reached the age of three ſcore and ten, and yet, in the midſt of youth and health, their days have been full of labor and ſorrow. Heaven's vicegerents ſeldom beſtowed a thought upon them, except when it was neceſſary either to inveigle or to force them to take the ſword and march to ſlaughter. Where God cauſed the ſun to ſhine gaily, and ſeattered plenty over the land, his vicegerents diffuſed famine and ſolitude. The valley which laughed with ſcorn, they watered with the tear of artificial hunger and diſtreſs, the plain that was bright with verdure, and gay with flowrets, they dyed red with gore. They operated on the world as the blaſt of an eaſt wind, as a peſtilence, as a deluge, as a conflagration. And have they yet ceaſed from the earth? Caſt your eyes over the plains of Ruſſia, Poland, a great part of Europe, the wilds of Africa, and the gardens of A IA, European deſpotiſm has united with oriental, to unparadiſe the provinces of India.

Thus, if God, in his wiſdom, has thought fit to allot us a few evils for the purpoſe of diſcipline, the OREAT ONES of the world have endeavored to make the whole of lire an evil to the deſpiſed and neglected MILLION. The world is now old, and may profit by the leſſons of Experience. SHE has deciſively declared, that deſpotiſm is the grand ſource of human misfortune, the Pandora's box out of which every curſe has iſſued, and ſcarcely left even Hope behind. Deſpotiſm, in its extreme, is ſatal to human happineſs, and, in all its degrees and modifications, injurious. The ſpirit of it ought therefore to be ſuppreſſed on the firſt and ſlighteſt appearance. It ſhould be the endeavor of every good man, pro virili, as ſar as his beſt abilities will extend, to extirpate all arbitrary government from the globe. It ſhould be ſwept from the earth, or trampled under foot, from China to Peru. But no power is capable of cruſhing the Hydra, leſs than the Herculean arm of a whole PEOPLE.

I lay it down as an incontrovertible axiom, that all who are born into the world have a right to be happy in it as the unavoidable evils of nature, and their own diſordered paſſions, will allow. The grand object of all good government, of all government that is not an uſurpation, muſt be to promote this happineſs, to aſſiſt every individual in its attainment and ſecurity. A government chiefly anxious about the emoluments of office, chiefly employed in augmenting its own power and aggrandizing its obſequious inſtruments, while it neglects the comfort and ſafety of individuals in middle or low life, is deſpotic and a nuiſance. It is founded on folly as well as wickedneſs, and, like the freaks of inſanity, deals miſchief and miſery around, without being able to aſcertain or limit its extent and duration. If it ſhould not be puniſhed as criminal, let it be coerced as dangerous. Let the ſtraight waiſtcoat be applied; but let MEN, judging fellow men, always ſpare the axe.

For what ational purpoſe could we enter into life? To vex, torment, and flay each other with the ſword? To be and to make miſerable? No, by the ſweet mercy of Heaven! I firmly believe, that the great King of Kings, intended every ſon and daughter of Adam to be as happy as the eternal laws of Nature, under his control, permit them to be in this ſublunary ſtate. Execrated and exploded be all thoſe politics, with Machiavel, or the Evil Being, their author, which introduce ſyſtems of government and manners among the great, inconſiſtent with the happineſs of the majority. Muſt real tragedies be forever acting on the ſtage of human life? Muſt men go on forever to be tormentors and executioners of men? Is the world never to profit by the experience of ages? Muſt not even attempts be made to improve the happineſs of life, to improve government, though all arts and ſciences are encouraged in their progreſs to perfection? Muſt the grand art, the ſublimeſt ſcience, that of meliorating the condition of human nature, be ſtationary? No; forbid it reaſon, virtue, benevolence, religion! Let the world be made more and more comfortable, to all who are allowed the glorious privilege of ſeeing the ſun and breathing the liberal air. Our forefathers were duped by prieſts and deſpots, and, through the timidity of ſuperſtition and the blindneſs of ignorance, ſubmitted to be made artificially miſerable. Let us explode that folly which we ſee; and let every mortal under the cope of heaven enjoy exiſtence, as long as nature will allow the feaſt to continue, without any reſtraints on liberty but ſuch as the majority of uncorrupted gueſts unite in agreeing to be ſalutary, and therefore conducive to the general feſtivity. Men are too ſerious in purſuing toys, money, titles, ſtars, ribands, triumphs, any thing that gives a momentary diſtinction, and gratifies an unmanly pride. They have embraced a cloud for a goddeſs. Let them diſpel the miſt, raiſed by falſe policy and cruel deſpotiſm. Let them at laſt diſtinguiſh real good, from its deluſive appearance. Let them value duly, and purſue diligently, ſolid comfort, health, cheerfulneſs, contentment, univerſal benevolence, and learn to reliſh the ſweets of nature and ſimplicity. They will then ſee happineſs in ſomething beſides the poſſeſſion of gold; beſides thoſe external marks of ſuperiority which raiſe them to notice, and diſtinguiſh them from their equals without a difference. Strife and wars will ceaſe, when men perceive that their higheſt happineſs is moſt eaſily attainable in a ſtate of contented tranquillity; their guide, nature, and their guard, innocence.

The principal objects of all rational government, ſuch as is intended to promote human happineſs, are two; to preſerve peace, and to diffuſe plenty. Such government will ſeldom tax the neceſſaries of life. It will avoid WARS; and, by ſuch humane and wiſe policy, render taxes on neceſſaries totally ſuperfluous. Taxes on neceſſaries are uſually cauſed by war. The poor, however, are not eaſily excited to inſurrection. It is a baſe calumny which accuſes them. They are naturally quieſcent; inclined to ſubmiſſion by their habits, and willing to reverence all their ſuperiors who behave to them juſtly and kindly. They deſerve to be uſed well. They deſerve confidence. But oppreſſion and perſecution may teach them to lift their gigantic arm, and then vain will be reſiſtance. Let not wars then be wantonly undertaken, which beſides their injuſtice and inhumanity, tend more than any thing elſe, by increaſing taxes, to compel inſurrection. The poor man hears great praiſes beſtowed on the government he lives under, and perpetual panegyrics on the conſtitution. He knows little of general politics. He judges from the effects he FEELS. He knows that malt, I heard a great borough-monger of eleven or twelve thouſand a-year aſſert, while he held a glaſs of Madeira in his hand to waſh down a plentiful dinner, that malt could not be reckoned among the neceſſaries of the poor laborer, becauſe he might drink water, which is very wholeſome. leather, candles, ſoap, ſalt, and windows, without which he cannot exiſt in comfort, are ſo heavily t •• ed as ſometimes to exclude him from obtaining the ſcanty portion he would require. In return for the defalcations from malt, leather, candles, ſoap, ſalt, and windows; he ſees penſions, places, rich contractors, diſgraceful, ruinous, and bloody wars. Yet he riſes up early, and goeth forth to his work and his labor, with cheerfulneſs. Is he not a worthy, reſpectable member of ſociety, and deſerving of every indulgence? Ought he to be inſulted by approbrious appellations, conſidered as of no political conſequence, as poſſeſſing no rights, and little removed from the cattle? Suppoſe millions of ſuch men in a country, ought not their wiſhes to be conſulted, and a regard for their comfort and ſecurity to ſtop the ſword, while emerging from its ſcabbard at the command of a MINISTER?

Great reforms uſually come from the people. They are ſlow to anger, and ſubmit in patience. But grievances may become intolerable; and then their energy diſplays itſelf like a torrent, that has long lain ſtill and placid within the dam, which oppoſed its courſe to a certain point, but could reſiſt no longer.

If ever any people ſhould be rouſed to take their own affairs into their own hands, I hope they will refute the calumnies of the proud, by acting with juſtice and mercy. All human creatures are weak and fallible; kings and miniſters have exhibited remarkable inſtances of this common imbecility. Great allowances ſhould therefore be made for their errors and even crimes, which, probably, originated in error. I wiſh to ſee the Britiſh government made as perfect as human ingenuity and virtue can render it; but I would effect reform in it, without injuring the perſon or deſtroying the life of the moſt obnoxious individual. I would pardon much to human infirmity. Not one drop of blood ſhould be ſhed, nor a ſingle mite of property violated. No injuſtice whatever ſhould diſgrace the wiſdom of the people. Compenſations ſhould be made by the public to all individuals, of all parties and perſuaſions, when compelled to relinquiſh poſſeſſions or privileges lawfully inherited, or honeſtly acquired. The moſt liberal, expanded generoſity ſhould vindicate the honor of human nature, too long inſulted. Miniſters and grandees, who form the ariſtocracy, either of opulence or nobility, however tyrannical and inſolent in the day of their proſperity, ſhould live out the little ſpace allotted to man, in a ſtate of eaſe and affluence adapted to their habits and education. I would ſhew them how truly noble and glorious it is to forgive. And they could not be formidable againſt an united people. For how weak, how tranſitory is man? Death, natural, unprecipitated death, will ſoon tame the haughtieſt ſpirit that ever ſwelled the fancied importance of a crown; and the infirmities attending the approach of death, the gradual decays of age, will uſually teach a leſſon of unfeigned humility.

The people, at preſent, appear to be ſunk in a political lethargy. But let not miniſters confide too much in the ſymptoms. A calm precedes a ſtorm. Long continued abuſes, heavy burdens, and ſevere grievances, without a dream of hope, may awaken the lion. Then, I think, thoſe who have ſhewn an inclination to ſet up a power unknown to conſtitutional freedom, and to render government hoſtile to the people, may juſtly fear.

And who, it may be aſked, are they? I am happy in the opportunity of declaring it my opinion, that the KING is not among them. They are men to whom neither the King nor the people are dear. They are, in a word, the oligarchy of borough-mongers, whoſe power is founded on an uſurpation; and whoſe aſſumed SOVEREIGNTY is no leſs inconſiſtent with the real freedom of a king than of a people. A moſt reſpectable ſociety, not long ago, aſſerted in a petition to the Houſe of Commons, and offered to prove it at the bar, that one hundred and fifty-four men nominate and appoint a majority of the Houſe. Has it not been ſuſpected, that a WAR might have been made and ſupported, to preve t the annihilation of this oligarchy; by turning the attention of the people from a reform of parliament, and endeavoring to give a deadly ſtab to liberty. If the ſuſpicion be well founded, this very circumſtance is the ſtrongeſt argument for reform which has ever been produced. Oceans of blood, and treaſure enough to relieve all the poor in the nation for many years, laviſhed to eſtabliſh a deſpotiſm, inimical to the King, the people, and to human nature! We have now reached the ſource of the evil, a ſource not ſo concealed as the fountain of the Nile. It is the corruption of boroughs, and the interference of miniſters, peers, placemen, penſioners, and expectants, in parliamentary elections, which cauſes the ſpirit of deſpotiſm to increaſe; for nature, reaſon, and ſelf-intereſt too, if they were not counteracted by corrupt influence, would revolt at it. The egg would be inſtantly cruſhed, if it were not conſtantly guarded and foſtered in the warm, well-fortified neſt of borough-influence, directing all meaſures and diſpoſing of all patronage.

But they are all honorable men, who are concerned in this influence. They may no be morally worſe or better than others in their ſituation. Their ſituation renders them politically iniquitous. The world is 〈◊〉 by men, and men by their paſſions, and their ſuppoſed intereſt. But it is the buſineſs of laws to reſtrain them. The people are bound to watch the conduct of all whoſe conduct is iufluential on their welfare. Unlimited confidence ſhould be given to no man, when the happineſs of millions is concerned in the conſequences of his actions or counſels.

"The common people," ſays a ſenſible author, "generally think that great men have great minds, and ſcorn baſe actions; which judgment is ſo falſe, that the baſeſt and worſt of all actions have been done by great men. They have often diſturbed, deceived and pillaged the world; and he who is capable of the higheſt miſchief is capable of the MEANEST. He who plunders a country of a million of money would, in ſuitable circumſtances, ſteal a ſilver ſpoon; and a conqueror, who ſtands and pillages a kingdom, would, in an humbler ſituation, rifle a portmanteau." I ſhould not, therefore, chooſe to expoſe my watch or purſe in a crowd, to thoſe men who have plundered Poland, if, inſtead of poſſeſſing a crown of jewels, and the pocket of ſubmiſſive nations, they had been in the circumſtances of a Barrington. Nor, though men ſhould be called honorable, will it be ſafe to truſt our liberties to their honor, without ſome collateral ſecurity; eſpecially when we ſee them interfering with and controlling elections, contrary to expreſs laws, and contrary not only to the dictates of honor, but of common honeſty. They uſurp a power for the gratification of pride and avarice, which they cannot hold but to the injury of the lawful and right owners. How differs this in a moral view, from robbery? It differs, in a political view indeed, inaſmuch as it is infinitely more injurious to ſociety.

The oppoſers of reform, the invaders of the people's rights, are no leſs blind and ſhortſighted than meanly ſelfiſh. Let them pour their venom on the people, and diſpute popular claims to natural right, as much as they pleaſe; the people muſt at laſt triumph, and liberty will in time flouriſh all over Europe. Court paraſites, and ſelfiſh grandees, will do right to uſe a little foreſight; to conſider what revolutions may be, by viewing what have been; and not to exaſperate mankind too much, leſt the irritation ſhould produce, what God avert, ſanguinary vengeance.

I take my leave on this occaſion, recommending, from the bottom of my heart, to men in power, meaſures of CONCILIATION. Let them come among us with healing in their wings. Let them concede with cheerfulneſs, whatever cannot be denied without injuſtice. Let them ſhew themſelves real friends to liberty and man. The Engliſh nation is remarkable for generoſity and good-nature. All their miſtakes will be forgiven. There will he no leading into captivity, and no complaining in our ſtreets. Mercy and truth ſhall meet together; and righteouſneſs and peace kiſs each other. In a word; let parliament be reformed. This meaſure will remove all grievances, and ſatisfy all demands. It will at once give permanency to the throne, and happineſs to to the people. Kings will be republicans, in the true ſenſe of that term; and the ſpirit of deſpotiſm become the ſpirit of philanthropy.

THE END