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OnSERVATuiN'S ON' A l'.> M I'll I. !■: F L'.n.i.V /•^U R [. 1 S H ED jB V l") R , Slii'. i ■ li t:'. .\ 1 V 1 •' . ilu) IJe-v vV •■ mv li X a,F* 1 "■-Ki -'■ « \% E E R T O Dr. SAMUEL JOHNSON: OCCASIONED BY HIS LATE POLITICAL PUBLICATIONS, W I T H A N APPENDIX, CONTAINING SOME OBSERVATIONS ON A PAMPHLET LATELY PUBLISHED BY Dr. SHEBBEARE. "-■»/- " Here let thofe reign ^ whom pensions can incite « To 'vote a PATRIOT blacky a courtier ^hitei ^'-Explain their country's dear-bought rights away, *' And plead for pirates in the face of day i *• With SLAVISH tenets taint our poifon'd youth, . **Andlendai.YKtheconfdenceefTKVTH»''* ' JOHVSOW. LONDON: " Printed for J. TOWERS, in Fore-Striet. M,DCC,LXXV. [P»IC1 ONE IHILIING AND UX-PINci.J > ) ,- t »\ 4T p • * ' ♦ I ■oxnnnvaMHP^ ( E E R T O Dr. SAMUEL JOHNSON, S I R, ?''^c^'*lHEN a man, who has rcLdered -yy- ^ himfelf eminent by his pro- ^ dudtions in morals, and in poi k.^ <S^^ lite literature, engages in poli«* tical contentions, and in thofe which are apprehended to be of great national impor- tance, it may reafonably be expected of fuch a writer, that he fhould dillinguifh himfelf not by party violence and rancour, but by pioderation and by wifdom : and that at leaft he (hould not; wholly lofe fight of that libe- rality of fentiment, which fiiould charadc- rize the fcholar ; nor of that decency and politenefs, which fhould adorn the gentle- man. But unhappily your political pro- ductions have been chiefly remarkable for t B bitter- »"t> J ■*■.., .^f^/ l-**.*.-:!..^., ^.'/-.^J.-^^, I » 1 bittcrnefs of invcdlve, unjuftand uncandid reprefcntations, the moll: bigotted preju- dices againd them whom you oppofc, and the higbefl flrains of coPitcmptuous infolchce. You have written in a manner which mud; degrade you in the judgment^ of the impartial public, in a manner utterly unworthy of a great, or liberal, or philofophic mind, and for which even your being a royal p^inlioner cannot apo* Jogize. M * When I firll: heard that a penfion had been conferred upon you by thofe in power, I hoped that it niight have been given a^ the reward of merit. I ktiew that your literary labours, your elaborate Didionary, and other works, in which you had difplayed great force of genius, cxtenfive knowledge, and uncommon pow- ers of lan^ruage, had given you a juft claim to public fupport and encouragement. I thought it not impoiTible, that thofe by whom your penfion was procured, might have been fatisfied with rewarding your ingenuity, without impoiing any fervices on you unworthy of your charadler. But the ufe that has been fmce made of you, renders .■•? [ 3 ] K f renders it fuflicicntly ppparent, that a pen- fion was conferred on you with other views. It now Teems probable, that your known Jacobitical principles, which, how- ever flrange it may be thought, appear now to be in high clUination at court, were among your chief recommendations ; and that it was thefe, added to the hope of employing you in the fervice of your new mafters, which really occafioned your being placed in the lift of royal penfioners. ; J> •i.^ Kit./' C It has been faid, that few men arc capable of bearing profperity well; and if receiving a penfion may be confidercd as a fpecies of profperity, it appears fufficiently evident, that this has not had a favourable ciFedl cither upon your head, or upon your heart. Not one truly valuable piece has iflued from your pen, fincc you received the royal bounty. From that time, your native pride and arrogance appear to have been augmented j and your latter pieces are far from breathing that virtuous fpirit, by which your former writings were gene- rally diftinguifhed. Inftead of employing your talents in the fervice of the republic of letters, and in benefitting mankind, B 2 you !»' •if 4L [ 4 1 you are now dwiadled into the rancbrous writer of a party; and produce only fuch performances as the Falfi* yllarm, the thoughts on the tranfadlions refpeBing Falk" land's IJlands^ and the Patriot, During the laft reign, you were gene- rally confidered as one of the moft bigottcd Jacobites in the kingdom. It is commonly faid, tha: you fcarccly ever fpoke of the family on the throne with any degree of temper or decency; and you not unfre- quently exhibited in your writings your iiveriion to the government. It was then a fubjed of your moft pathetic com- plaints, that England was opprrffed with ixcife (a)y that it was a cheated and a groaning nation^ and a beggar d land (bj. We were then curfed with a penfaned band^ and with hireling fenators ', and it was a thought lefs age luWd to servitude (c). You ■ II I ■ III ■ m ill *»■ I I » I i II (a) Vid. London, a Poem, in imitation of the third fatire cf Juvenai, publUbed in Dodfley'3 Mifcellanies, vol. I. p. 188. {b) London^ ut fupra^ p. 189, 19 19 196. (c) London^ ut fufra^ p. 189, 296, X97. I s ] You then wiflied for thofc happy days of old, whea jufticc was uprightly and impartially adminiftered. You fighcd for the age of Alfred, bccaufe, as you in- form us, Fair Ju/Jice then^ without eonjiraint ador\l^ Held high tiyeji tody fealty but dccp'd thr /word \ No /pits were pnid^ no SPFC I AL jVRlf.s i/iaivn, * Bie/f Jge ! but ah ! how diff'rtnt from our own ! (d) But whatever evils the nation fufFcred from in iniquitous government in the laft reign, they are, it feems, happily removed in the prcfenti fo that you can now difcover no- thing to complain of, but the (urbulence and wickcdnefs of the popular party. As this country was fo much opprefTed, and laboured under fuch a variety of evils, in the reign of George the Second, it may amufe a fpeculative man to enquire, by what means fo happy a revolution in public affairs has been effectuated in the Reigu of George the Third. Are our taxes lef- fened ? No, Is the nation freed from excife ? No. Are the rights of the fubjecfl .' more religioufly prefcrved? No. Is Juf- tice (d) London f uifupra. ..[61 ticc more impartially adminiftered in our courts of law ? No. Are fpecial juries lefs frequent ? No. Has the commerce of the nation been encreafed, and its interefts better attended to ? No. Are our Parlia- ments more incorrupt, and lefs under the influence of the court ? No. What is it then that has fo wonderfully changed the face of public affairs, as entirely to reconcile the author of the Rambler to the go- vernment ? The whole may be anfwered in one fhort fentence. The grievances of the kingdom are removed ; the nation is no more in a groaning or a finking (late; for Dr. Samuel Johnson has a pension. It follows, as a neceffary confequence, that wifdom prefides over our council?, that all complaints againfl: the adminiflrarion muft be unjuft and unreafonable, and that we have the happinefs to poffefs *• a govern- «* ment approaching nearer to perfedion, •* than any that experience has known, or *' hiitory related fej 1 " :S5- I You have obferved, fFalfe Alarm, p. 28.) that ** the acceptance of a place contami- ** nates (i) Faifc Alarm, p. 45. [7 ] " nates no charader;" and you have pro- bably the fame ideas of the acceptance of a penfion. But furely the characTters of thofe men are contaminated, who are in- duced by a place, to facrificc thfe rights of their country; or by a penfion to write in defence of meafures that are oppreflive and iniquitous. As to your engaging in vinw dication of an arbitrary iadtoiniftrationi fome allowance ought, perhaps, to be made, for that attachment to defpotic principles which you early imbibed, and by which you have fo often diftinguiflied your- fclf. That bigotry which could lead you to celebrate in the higheft ftrains of pane- gyric, that moft eminent high-church faint, archbifliop Laud, and that zeal iii favour of tyranny which could induce you to deplore the death of the Earl of Straf- ford f/J, may perhaps be pleaded in ex- tenuation of your condud. And as you appear to have been always difpofed to juftify the tyranny of the Stuarts, you were (f) X'ld, the Vanity of human wiOies, a Poem, by ISamuel Johnfon, printed in the 3d volume of Dodiley't Colle^^ion of Pocnis« and alfo in the 2d volume of Mif- cellanies and fugitive pieces, publiihed by Davies. [ M were already half prepared to defend dc- fpotic proceedings under a prince of another family. Though your Jacobite prejudices gave you a prediledion in favour of the Stuarts, yet it might fomewhat reconcile you to the government of the Houfe of Hanover, if you had reafon to believe that principles were now adopted at court, fimilar to thofe of that family, whofe attempts to enflave the nation had been the caufe of their expulfion from the throne. But whatever allowances may be made to you on this account, you arc Ail! extremely cenfurable for thofe notorious fallacies and mifreprefentations, and that grofs fcurrillity, with which your late, political produdions fo much abound. As a fpecimen of the moderation and. civility with which you have exprefled yourfelf concerning the party whom you oppofe, I fhall colledt a few of the rheto- rical flowers, and polite phrafes, which are fcattered throughout your political pieces in fuch bountiful profufion. Of Junius you fay, that be burji into notice with a blaze of impudence ; and of Mr. Wilkes, that he was a varlet driven out [ 9 1 bf the Tloufe ivith public infamy. The po- pular party are ftiled by you a dcfpicable faoiion, bellowers of/edition, ruffians who would gain power by mi/chief and confufiont and thiffe who having Jixed their hopes on public calamities^ Jit like vultures waiting for a day of carnage. You alfo fay, " Of this " fadion what evil may not be credited? *' They have hitherto fhewn no virtue^ *' and very little wit, beyond that mif- " chievous cunning, for which it is held /* by Hale that children may be hanged"--^ You have alfo difcovered, that they arc more wicked than the Devil. — " As they " have not the wit of Satan, they have ** not his virtue.*' — " Their hope is male- *i volence, and their good is evil." fgj — And you likewife complain of the howl of Plebeian patriot ifm^ and the howling violence of patriotic rage, I Is this the language of a man whofe ^updcrftanding has been refined by litera- ture? Is this the language of a fcholar, a gentleman, or a pbilofopher? In the C heat (g) Thoughts on the tranfa^ions rtfpeP/mg Falkland^$ IJlands, p. 41* 70, -J I J &c. f^iii, alfo the Fal/t Alarin»^ [ xo ] heat of a political controverfy, fuch fcur^ rillity might not have been wondered at in low and vulgar minds ; but furely fomething better might have been juftly expeifled from a teacher of morals, and a profefTed im- prover of our language. Nor do the terms in which you have expreffed yourfelf of them whom you oppofe, convey a very favourable idea of your heart. The ut- mofl ftretch of candour cannot lead any man to fuppofe, that you believe one half of the evil that you have faid of the popular party. You muft be the moft prejudiced man in the kingdom if you do : and if you do not, have you any right to be confidered as a man of principle, or probity? Such is your rancour againft all who have engaged in any oppofition to the court, that you cannot exprefs yourfelf with decency even of the Earl of Chat- ham. The eloquence of that illuflrious nobleman, who is unqueilionably one of the greateft ornaments of his age and country, is defcribed by you under the con^ temptuous [ " ) tcmptuous ^pptlhtion of feu.'ia/ gM/e (h)\ and you obferve that it will be happy for him, ** if the nation fliall at laft difmifs ** him to namelefs obfcurity." But how- ever highly you may eftimate your own talents, be aflured, that you will he ex- tremely fortunate in this refpedt, if your fame fhouid be as lafting as that of the Earl of Chatham, whofc name will be mentioned with didinguifhed honour in the annals of this country, fo long as any records of it fhall be preferved. The people are frequently honoured by you with the polite appellation of the rabble \ and the citizens of London, and the freeholders of Middlefex, are alfo fpoken of by you with fimilar contempt. They have been both adlivc in the oppo- fition to the court, and muft therefore experience the effecfls of your loyal indig- nation. The inhabitants of London, have, indeed, long been under obligations to you, for the genteel terms in which you C 2 have (g) Thoughts on the Tranfaftions icfpcdling Falk- land's IHands, p. 37* [ " 3 have fpokcn of their city. It was thus dc- fcribed by you many years fince : London, the needy villain's general home^ '" '''^^ The common Jewer of Paris and of Rome » The freeholders of Middlefex h^ve alfq the honour to be thus diftinguifhed by you: *• Mr. Wilkes, and the freeholders «• of Middlefex, might all fmk into non- ^' exigence, without any other effe(f^, ** than that there would be room made ** for a 7:c'w rabble, and ri new retailer of •* fedition and obfcenity (i j.'' It is need- Icfs to make any remarks en this pafTage, It is equally characterized by politenefs and humanity. In your lafl: political publication, the Patriot, fpeaking of the opponents of government, you fay, •* The greater, far ** the greater number of thofe who rave, *' and rail, and enquire, and accufe, ** neither fufpedl, nor fear, nor care for " the public J but hope to force their Way ** to riches by virulence and invedivc, " and are vehement and clamorous, only " that ^i) Falfe Jlarm^ p, 35. [ '3 1 *' thftt they may be fooner hired to bo *• filent ("kj.** That this aflertion is noto- rioufly untrue, mud be evident to every man who will confider it. A great majo-* rity of thofe who are diflatisficd with the meafures of government, and who teilify their difcontent, cannot poflibly have any hope of acquiring riches by their oppo* fition, or cheri(h any hope of being bribed to filencc. But you have, with an equal difregard to truth, alfo pafled a fimilaf unjufl and undiftinguifliing cenfure of the popular party, in the Fa/Je Alarm, You there commend the King for having neg- levfled or forgotten the many petitions fent to him from different parts of the king- dom; becaufe you fay, ** he might eafily '* know, that what was prefented as the ** fenfe of the people, was the fenfe ** only of the profligate and dijfolute fl)" That this is a grofs falfhood muft be evident to every candid perfon in the king- dom,^ of whatever party. Among thofe who approved of the petitions to the throne], and who joined in their complaints of thofe grievances of which the petitions con-* •r*" (k) Patriot, p. 5, 6. (I) Falft Alarm^ 48. I 14 1 contained an enumeration^ were many of the worthicft perfons in this country ; and not a few who were diftinguiihed both by abilities and learning, at well as by integrity. Surely then neither party vio- lence, nor the influence of a penfion, can be pleaded even by your friends as a jufti- fication of what you have written. Nor can you poflibly vindicate yourfelf, unlcfs you think it ri^ it to fupport the caufe of your patrons, not only by a total difregard of candour, but by the mofl grofs devia* tions from truth and juftice. You obfervc in the Patriot ^ p. i, that " at the end of every fcven years comes ^ the Saturnalian feafotii when the people >• of Great Britain may pleafe themfehes *^ with the choice of their reprcfentativcs. ** This happy day has now arrived, fome- «* what fooner than it could be claimed.'* Your romparifon here of the period of cledlion with a Roman feftival, wherein the Jla*\ies were put on a level with their maJierSf appears to convey in it a compli- ment to your countrymen not of the moft flelicate kind. And as to your remark, that this bafpy day bas arrived fomewhat fooner t J5 1 Jooner than it could be claimed, for which you fccm to fuppofc that the people arc under fomc obh'gation to ad ininift ration, it is, I believe, far from being generally apprehended, that the unexpected diflb- lution of the parliament arofe from any dcfire to gratify, or to ferve the people. And if it was done with the views that are fuppofed, little gratitude can be due from them on that account* ,, , \ . . • In the courfe of thofc obfervations, wherein you profefs to point out the marks which diftinguifh true patriots from thofe who falfely aflumc that charadler, you fay, ** Some claim a place in the lift of ** Patriots by an acrimonious and unremit-, " ting oppo](ition to the court. This mark ** is by no means infallible. Patriotjfm *' is not necefTarily included in rebel- ** lion fmJJ* Was it your defign here, to infinuate, that oppojition to the court and e fynonimous terms ? Something appears to have, been intended. I to adminiftration i rebelli >ppoiiti jrely for the fake of opppfition, or when en- gaged ii .j » i.i i J " ■■ ■ 111 "■ . ■■ (m) Patriot^ p. 4. gaged in from private views, Is not Patriot tifm, may readily be granted. But if the prevailing meafures of government are un-^ juft, pernicious, and dcfpotic, the purclt public virtue would didtatt an oppofitioni to fuch an adminiflration : and it is natural and rcafonablc for the people to conlidcr thofe as their friends, who diftinguiih themfelves by their oppofition to mcafurei of this kind. With whatever caution the people may eledl their rcprefcntatives, they are often liable to be deceived. But they always a6l rightly in electing fuch men for members of the Houfe of Commons, whom they believe to be friends of free<» dom, and difpofed to join in a vigorous oppofition to all fchcmes for aggrandizing the power of the crown, or depriving the people of their rights. You fay. Patriot y p. 4. that ^' a maa ** may hate his king, yet not love hi* ** country.'* I (liall not difputc this affer- tion, becaufe I confider yourfelf as an evi- dence of its truth. In the laft reign, no man fufpedled yon of any affe<5l:ion for the King : and yet there were rcafons to be- lieve that you had not nuich more for your country. lit ■4 [ '7 1 country. When the red of the nation were rejoicing at the advantage which they had gained over their enciiiics by the conqueft of Louiibourgh, you fccmed to view it with difgull; and therefore wrote an Eflay in the JJLt, calculated to depre- ciate the merit of the EnglKh in that capture, and to leiTcn the gancral joy on the occaficn, under the pretence of iliew- ingthe partiality of national hillorians (^nj. You remark in that cllay, that ** there is •* no crime more infamous than the vio- " lation of truth." It would have been much for your reputi'tion as a moral man, if you had attended more to this confidc- ration in your late political produdions. However, that you are not tindured witli many prejudices in favour of your country, is fufficiently apparent to thofe who are converiant in your writings f^oj. And let D il (n) rU. the Idler ^ N* 20. -•' . (o) Vid. Dr. Johnfon's attempts to juftity the pro- ceedings of the Spaniards, in his Thoughts on the traofa^ftions refpeding Falkland's lilands j and his argu- ments in favour of the conduct of the French \i\ America, in " Obfervations on the State of Affaires- in 1756," reprinted in the third volume U Mircellaucous and Fugitive Pieces. [ »8 ] it alfo be remembered, that no man can with propriety be faid to love his country, who will be induced by a pcnfion to defend violations of the rights of his fellow fub- jedls. As to that ^ablic liberty, by which England has long been fo honourably di- Ainguifhcd from other nations, the very idea of it appears to be offenfive to you : and the acrimpny with which you have criticifed Dr. Blackwell's •* Memoirs of •* the Court of Auguftus," (p) fcems to have arifen from no other fource, than your diflikc of that ingenious writer; on account of the zeal which he had difco- vcrcd in fupport of liberty, and the com- mon rights of mankind. You obferve, Patriot ^ p. i6. that "a true «* patriot is no laviCh promifer: he under- " takes not to fliorten parliaments: to re- ** peal laws ; or to change the mode of '* repr'^fentation, tranfmitted by our an- << certors." If you mean by this, that no true patriot will undertake to efFcduate thcfe things himfelf, becaufe every indi- ' vidual (p) Vid. thjs third volume of Mifcellancous and TugUivc Pieces. C '9 ] Vidual knows that they arc not within hI"S power, you fay what may be true, but what is nothing to the purpofc; for no man, wlicthcr Patriot or otherwifc, has undertaken any thing fo abfurd. But if you mean, that no man, confiilcntly with the charadlcr of a true patriot, can promifc to ufc his endeavours, and to vote for fliortening the duration of parliaments, for repealing bad laws, or changing the mode of parliamentary reprefentation, your affertions arc without proofs and, as I apprehend, totally repugnant to realbn. Uld That long parliaments are a very con- fiderable national evil, is the opinion of many of the bed and moft intelligent friends to the free conflitution of this country. And with refpc(5t to any man who is of thcfe fcntiments, what can there be inconfiftent with true patriotifm, in his declaring to thofe whom he offers to ferve as their rep'-efcntative, that hfi will ufe his endeavours to procure a law for fliortening j the duration of parliaments ? There can be nothing in this repugnant to the pureft prniciples of patriotifm; and your affertioa mud, therefore, be wholly groundlefs. D 2 ' Ir ;.av. w - [ 20 ] . • It is the lame with rcfpcdl to a promife made by a candidate, to ufe his endeavour* 10 procure a repeal of any other laws that are apprehended to be detrimental to the nation. The people have a right to J^pply for a repeal of fuch laws^ and there can be nothing inconfiilcnt with public fpirit, that thofe who offer themfelves to be truftccs for the people, fhould make de- clarations of their readinefs to comply with the requifitions of their conftituents. As to changing the made of reprefe: tation ^ tranfmitted by our ancejlors^ all who have conlidercd this fubjedt with any degree of attention, muft be convinced of the mequa- ' lity of the prefent mode of parliamentary • reprefentation, and that it is produdive of great evils to the conltitution (q). In what refpedt then can it poffibly be incon- flent with true Patriotifm, that a candi- date for the office of member of parliaftient, ' (liould promife that he will ufe his endea- vours Pi (q) See this matter accurately dated, and placed in a very ilrong and juft light, in a valuable work lately publilhcd, iniitlcd, Pelitical Difquifitions^ vol. 1. >' 39— 72- i [ 21 ] vours to procure a rcdrefs of this grievance? You fay, that the true Patriot knows, that " futurity is not in his power." Every man knows this, and nothing more has been required of any candidate, but that he fhould ufe his endeavours to efFedtuate what was required of him by his confti- tuents, when it {hould be in his power. As to your other obfervation, that the true patriot knows, that ** all timed arc ** not alike favourable to change;" this is nothing but the common cant of thofe men who are defirous of preventing improve- ment of any kind, when it interferes with their private views ; and who, when they are a(hamed of objefting to amcafure cvidertiy good, content themfelves with faying, thut the prefent is not a proper time. And indeed to people of this clafs, no time ever arrives, which they fuppofe proper for the difchargc of their duty. To do it is not their aim ; they arc only folicitous for fome new excufe, or plau- fible evafion* " M\JCH lefs," you fay, " does the trud " patriot make a vague and indefinite pro- *• mile of obeying the mandates of hii <c QOli' ^w t 22 ] *' conftituents. He knows the prejudices ^ «* of fadlion, and the inconftancy of the '« multitude." But upon this it may be obferved, that the notion that members; of parliament arc not under an obligation to obey the inftrudtions of their conditu- entSy is a novel dodrine. It was not un- frequent formerly for members of the Houfe of Commons, and fometimes the whole body of them, to refufe to vote, till they had confulted thofe who fent them. And both Houfe s of Parliament have often been adjourned to give them time to do this. Lord Coke fays, " It is the cuftom *' of parliament when any new device is ♦* moved for in parliament, on the King's " behalf, for his aid, or ths like, that <* the Commons may anfwer. They dare <* not agree to it without conference with " their countries (r)** And furely no- thing can be more juft, than that thofe who adt as the deputies of others, fliould conform to the inftrudtions of tliofe from whom they receive thetr delegated power. As to the apprehenfion, that Injudicious inftrudtions might be fent to the members, let ' ' '" ' ■ ■ I !■■ !■ ^.1 II I I , I ir) Vid. Political Difqiiifitions, vol. I. p. 19J, ■'h 200. 'I !i I let it be remembered, that this woul4 hardly be the cafe with many places in the kingdom at once; and therefore, if it (hould happen in a few places, could not be fuppofed materially to affedt the final determination of the Houfe. When inflrudlions have been fent to members from many parts of the kingdom at once, they will, I believe, always be found to be in favour of fomc objed: of great and evident national utility j and when thcfe inftrudions have been difre- garded, it has been to the public detri- ment. The prejudices of faSlion^ and the inconjiancy of the multitude^ which you fo doloroufly bewail^ would not be in any de- gree fo prejudicial to the nation, not even the prejudices of the Jacobite fadlion, as the having a Houfe of Commons regard- lefs of the fenfe of their conftituents, and ready to vote as any minifter fhou. 1 diredt them. As in the laft parliament, the dependance of the Houfe of Commons on their confti- tuents feemed often to be forgotten, or difregarded; and the connexion evidently was, in genera), not between the members and II f 24 ] . * and their conftituents, but between the members and the mL^Ifler, it was high time that the people fhould propofe fome tejist in order to fecure the fidelity of their rcprefentatives. And the particulars to which they were required to declare their affent, were of great national concernment, and of evident utility ; and not matters of difficult difcuffion, or which depended on times and circumftances. It would have been well if tefls of this kind had generally been propofed to candidates throughout the kingdom; it had been much talked of; and to prevent this, by taking the people unprepared, was pro- bably a principal caufe of the fuddcrt dif- folution of the laft parliament. You have alfo laboured in sSt, Patriot to vindicate the ^ebec AB ; and in fup- port of it you urge, p. 1 1 . that " Perfe- « cution is not more virtuous in a Protef- ^* tant than a Papifl; and that while we «« blame Lewis the Fourteenth, ' for his «* dragoons and his gallies, we ought, f* when power comes into our han^s, to V ufe it with greater equity/* This is only confounding the ilate of the queilion, by [ *s 3 by an attempt to refute principles that were not advanced by the opponents of the A^, It was never pretended, that it would have been jufl: to perfecutc the Papifls in Canada, or to have deprived them of the exercife of their religion. But there was furely no necefTity for giving Popery fuch a legal eftablifliment there, under a British government, as that their priefts (houlJ have the fame right to claim their ecclefiaftical revenues, as the clergy of the eftablifhcd church in England. It has, indeed, been faid by another apologill for the Quebec Adl, that " when the free " exercife of the national religion was ** given to the Canadian nation, it could ** never be underftood that they were to •* be deprived of their clergy ; and if not, ** a national provifion for that clergy fol- " lows of coui'fe /^j^.*- But why fo? Arc the Proteftant Difl'cnters in England de- prived of their clergy ? And yet it is well known, that no legal provifion is made for their maintenance. They are fupported only by the voluntary contributions of the !i ,«f ' E diflent- (s) Letter to the Earl of Chatham on the Qiiebcc Billj attributed to Sir VVillian^ Meredith, p. 24, 25.- ; t «6 ] dillenting laity. Would it not have been fufficient, if the Popifh clergy had been put upon the fame footing ? They would hardly have complained of ill treatment in this cafe. Indeed of whom could they have complained? Not of the Englifli govern- ment, who allowed them the free exercife of their religion, and left the laity to fup- port them as liberally as they plcafed. And furely the Popifh laity could not have complained, when they were allowed li- berty of confcience, and permitted to fup- port their clergy in that way which they thought beft. Neither clergy nor laity, therefore, could, with any (liadow of rea- fon, have complained of the Englifli go- vernment; for if the clergy had not thought themfelves fufficiently fupported, they would have had no blame to throw on any but their own people. And let it be fup- pofed, that in confequence of the laity not being compelled to pay the clergy, Popery had decreafed in Canada. Would this have been thought an evil, by a truly Pro- teftant King, or a truly Proteftant Parlia- ment ? It is impoffible. It [ 27 1 It may be faid, * that Popery was tlic religion of the inhabitants of Qaebec, when it was taken by the Enghfli; or, as you exprefs it, that " the inhabitants, ** being French, were always Papifts." Be it fo : but is that a rcafon why French Papifts, in a country conquered by the Englifh, (hould be put on a better footing than Proteftant DifTenters in England ? Is it juft, or reafonable, or decent, that in any part of the Britifh dominions public provifion fhould be made for a PopKh clergy, whilft: a legal toleration is refufed in England to Proteftant Diflenting mi- nifters ? \m You fay, that " when Canada with its ^* inhabitants was yielded, the free enjoy- ** ment of their religion was ftipulated; a ♦* condition of which King William, who ** was no propagator of Popery, gave an ♦* example nearer home, at the furrender ** of Limeric" ft J, It was certainly rea- fonable, that when Canada was con- quered, a ftipulation ftiould be made to the inhabitants of the free exercife of their E 2 religion; Q- (t) Patriot^ p. 12, u [ 2i ] religion; and it would have been extreme injnftice and inhumanity to have violated that ftipulation. But there was no ncccf- fity, in conlcquence of the capitulation made with the Canadians, that an ai5t of Parliament fliould afterwards be pafled to compel them to pay their own priefls. The cafe of the furrender of Limeric, therefore, is not a limilar one, nor can with any propriety be urged in fupport of the Quebec Acft; for it is tliat which is now jullly the fubje^Il of complaint, and not the articles of capitulation, or the adherence to thofe artickif. You obferve. Patriot y p. 13. that if liberty of confcience ** be an indulgence, it may *' be allowed to Papifts, while it is not «* denied to other fedsj" and that " thofe ** at leaft, v;ho enjoy a toleration, ought ** not to deny it to cur new fubjedts,'* I am far from confidering liberty of con- fcience as an indulgence of government. It is a right of nature, which no govern- ment can deprive men of, without being guilty of inhumanity and injulHce. - If the penal laws againft Papifts, were ever fiefcnfibJe, it muft have been from politica} ^onr t> t 29 ] confiderations, and a regard to the fafety of the ftate. How far they were juftifiable on that ground, I Ihall not now enquire. But it may be remarked, that the confi- dering Proteftant Diirenters and Papifts as equally entitled to favour under the pre- fent government, is a kind of novel doc- trine. However, if it were juft, the Dif- fentcrs would dill have reafon to complain. At a time when a legal eflablidmient, and public maintenance for the clergy, have been granted to the Papifts in Canada, the Diflenters in England have been refufed a legal toleration ! f rt y.f,t li i itn J i!' The DifTenters are not only obliged to contribute their full fhare towards the fupport of the eftabliflicd clergy, and the national worfliip, and to maintain their own clergy feparately ; but the mod un- juft and oppreflive laws are ftill continued againft them, by which their moft learned and moft refpedtable minifters are fubjeded to pains and penalties, to heavy fines, and to imprifonment. Thefe laws, it is true, are not at prefent put in force j but the Diffenting clergy are conftantly liable to profecutions, and yet have been repeatedly refufed I* ::: ^>» :,v i^ [ 30 ] refufcd any legal fccurity. And this at the very period when Papifts arc placed on fuch a footing by a Britifh Parliament, that they have the freeft exercife of their religion, are not required to pay to the fupport of any clergy but 'their own, who have a legal maintenance afforded them, and who are not (hackled with any fuch fubfcriptions, as are required by law of Diffenting minifters in England. Are the Proteftant DifTenters in this country lefs entitled to liberty of confcicnce, than the Papifls in Canada? If they have only an. equal claim to it, why is it granted to the latter, and the legal enjoyment of it re- fufed to the former? I do not, indeed, remember to have met with any ProtefVant writer, except yourfelf, who ever thought that the Proteftant DifTenters and the Pa- pifts were to be confidered as on an equal footing under this government; and I be- lieve no man, pretending to be a Proteftant, has ever in this view given the Papifts the preference, at leaft iince the Revolution, excepting your colleague Dr. Shebbcarc. But your dedre of conlldering the Pro- teftant Diflenters as on a level with the i Papifts,. it it I 3t 1 Papifts, probably arifcs from that averfion to them which you fometimes difcover, and of which wc have a curious fpecimeti in the Faife Alarms p. 52. Speaking of the oppofition, you fay, *« None can indeed wonder that it has been fupportcd by ' the fe^ariest the conjiant fomcnters of fedition, and never-failing confederates of ** the rabble^ of whofe religion little now ** remains but hatred of ertablifliments." Of this malevolent and injurious account of the Diflenters, I (hall fay but little ; it is unnecefTary; as its manifeft want of juftice, and of truth, muft be evident to every equitable and impartial member of the eftablifhed church, I fhall, however, obfervc, that it may be coniidered as fome tolerable kind of evidence, that the reli- gion of the Diffenters is not very near being extinguished in this country, that there arc now upwards of eleven hundred Diffcnting congregations in EnglancJ* fup- ported by voluntary contributions among themfclves, without including either Me- thodifts or Quakers. 1 f But it is not only that part of the Quebec Adt which relates to the Romi(h religion [ 32 3 religion that is cenfurablc; what is Aill more alarming is, that fo conlldcrablc a part of the BritiOi dominions ihould have a dcfpotic government eftablidjcd in it. The inhabitants arc not only deprived of trial by jury in civil cafes, but the govern- ment of the province, and the power of making laws, arc inverted in perfons ap- pointed folely by the king and privy coun- cil. No alTembly of the peopL*, as in other 13riti(h colonics, is to be allowed; it being at prcjent inexpedient fuj-, and wc have no reafon to expedt that thofe in power will hereafter difcover its expedi- ency. The management of the colony, therefore, is entirely entrufted to the King, and the creatures of the crown; and- the perfons who arc nominated for this purpofe by his majcfty, and who are honoured with the title of a legijlative council, have alfo power given them to make ordinances touch^ ing religion, which may diredt fines, to any amount, orimprifonracntfor three months, as they {Ball think proper ; and they may enad fevercr laws relative to religion, if they are fuch as his majefty fhall be gracioufly (u) Fid. the Aa. [ 33 1 ■ gfacioiiily pTcafed to approve. The King may alio crcdt futh courts of criminal, civil, and ecclcfiaftical jurifdidion, as he J}mII think necejfhry and proper. And the boundaries of the province of Quebec arc extended by the htX^ that the advantages pf this blefTed fyltcin of government may be the more widely difFufed. • For what purpofe was Quebec retained by England at the laft peace? Was it that it Oiould be made an Englifh colony, in which EngliHi fubjedts might have the; liberty of fettling? If this was any part of the defign, it appears to be almofl: en* tirely defeated by the Adl. What maa deferving the name of Engli(hman, who has ever enjoyed the bleffings of freedom, or formed any juft notions of its value, would ever chufe to retire to the province of Quebec, where no religion but the Romiih is countenanced by gbvernment, and where French laws, and-an arbitrary government, are eftablidied? Of what ufe then is Que- .bee to this Kingdom, or what purpofe does our poflcflion of it anfwer, under fuch circumftances, excepting merely the aggrandizement of the power of the crown ? F All i" jf [ 34 ] All the future Englifh fettlcrs in Canada, as well as thofe who are now there, are, while this adt continues in force, to be deprived of their freedom and their laws ; though it has been acknowledged by an advocate for the Quebec A6t (ivj^ that the EnglKh who are now fettled in the province, *\ fervently defired to be governed ** by the laws of England." Was not . fome regar'l dac to Englifh Proteftarts, as well as to French Papifts? Or,, was Canada conquered by Britifh arms» that Briti(h fubieds might be compelled to fub- jnit to Gallic laws ? You obferve, that " Quebec is on the ** other fide the Atlantic, at too great a ** diftance to do much good or harm to « ' the European world." It appears, how- ever, that your worthy colleague and brother-penfioner, Dr. Shebbeare, is of opinion, that Quebec may be made very ufeful in promoting the purpofes of admi- niftration. The Quebec Adt, he fays, '* has eflabliihed an ample and siUFPi- " CIENT FoacE to qucll thc democratic " ipirirs (w) Letter Xq the £arl of QhatLam, p. iS, •■'Si? C 35 1 ** fpirits of the Americains (x)'* What thanks Jire not due to thofc refined politi- cians, who have formed a fcheme of em- ploying an army of French Papifts, to keep the New England heretics in order, or to exterminate them if they Ihonld prove refradoryl It is an admirable projedt; and fimilar to that attributed to Charles I. of endeavouring to crufh his rebellious Englifh fubje(T:s by an army of Irifh Catho- lics. The politics of Charles were alfo very refined; but it may not be amifs to remember, th«Jt they at length brought him to the fcaffold. V' III % tc t* You obfervc, Patriot ^p, 22, that '* that man is no Patriot, who juflifies the ri- diculous claims of Ameriran ufurpation; ** who endeavours to deprive the nation of " its natural and lawful authority over its «* own colonies." But it may very juftljr be queftioned, whether the authority now cliiimcd over die Americans be either na- F 2 tural (x) Vid. Dr. Shebbeare^s Pamphlet, p. 30. This Writer alfo fays in another place, that by the laft peace the nation acquired ** a number of loyal fuhjeSfs ''to oppofe the rebellious intentions of the demtcratlc ^^ fe£lari(s in America," p. 69. [ 36 ] tural or lawful. There are, perhaps, other claims, at Icaft as ridiculous, as thofe to ^hich you huve given that appellation. Nor do I apprehend, that it is a jufl impeach- ment of any man's patriotifm, that he difap- proves of the late proceedings refpedling the Americans, or that he thinks more may be alledged in vindication of the colonies^ than will be admitted at St. James's. Yov fay. Patriot, p. 23. ** He that *' accepts protedticn, ftipulatcs obedience. *< We have always proteded the Ameri- . **cansi we may therefore fubjedl them *' to government." This argument is not good. We protedled the Portuguefe in the liift war, but no man fuppofed that on that account v/c had a right to their obedience, or to fubje5i them to government . And however differently ths Americans may be circumftanced, from their more intima<^c connexion with Great Britain, it is cer- tain, that our having protected them, even though we had not done it from a regard to our own intereft, can give us no right \Q reduce them to flavery. You »)-^". ■**■.• iH^ [ 57 ] You obferve, that the " power which ♦* can take away life, may feize upon *' property. The parliament may enadt ^* for America a law of capital punifh-* ^« mentj it may therefore eftabliih a mode ^* and proportion of taxation." Perhaps the beft n^ethod of refuting this argument, is to fhew the confequences to which it w®uld lead. If it be admitted, the King and parliament mufl be the abfolute and uncontroulable lords of the Americans. If the Britifh parliament, in which the Americans have no reprefentatives, can enadt any laws of capital punifliment re- fpeding them, can take away life^ feize upon property^ and tax them at pleafure, are the Americans, in a political view, tnore free than the inhabitants of the em- pire of Morocco ? Are not their lives, pro- perties, and privileges, wholly at the difpofal of others ? If it fliould be fuppofed, contrary to fa£t and late experience, that ^hey would not meet with rigorous treat- ment from a Britifh parliament, this makes no alteration in the argument. The Negro who has a kind niaifler is as much a flavc, as he who has a fcvcre one. When all this is confidered, perhaps it may cafily be o ». difccrned. ^4 \i \\ W difcerned, to whom ridiculous claims ought moft juftly to be attributed. The prefcnt conteft with America ap- pears to be one of the moft uahappy, in which this country ever was engaged. It is a conteft in which we have almoft every thing to lofe, and in which nothing can be gained. What may be the event of it, or how fatal its confequences, either to Great Britain or the colonies, no man can forefee. Whtf i we crufli them by force, or they are fuccc^sful in reiifting our pre- tenfions, in either caie this nation muft greatly fufFer. And ftiould our enemies on the continent take this opportunity of attacking us, how perilous would be our lituation ? Can thofe then, whatever offices they may hold, be confidered as real friends to this country, who arc precipi- tating fuch meafures againft the Americans, at may, in the event, bring the Britifli empire to the brink of deftruflion? Is it more probable, that this condu(ft is die* tated by wifdom and by juftice, or by the mere luft of power, without any regard to the moft important interefts either of Great Britain, or the colonies ? You [ 39 ] You aflert in the Patriot^ p. 27, that fhofe can lay no claim to the illuftrious ap- pellation of patriots, " who impute want «' of public fpirit to the late parliament." I confefs, that had it not been for your information, I Hiould never have fufpcdled, that faith in the public fpirit of the laftt. parliament, was an efTential mark of pa* triotifm. But you are an uncommon genius, and have therefore a right to make uncommon difcoveries. You ground your argument in fupport of the public fpirit of the laft parliament, on their having pafled Mr. Grenville*s bill for determining contefled eledions, and another for abridging the privileges of members of parliament. It (hould feem» that the good works of the laft parliament were not very numerous, becaufe different advocates in its favour fix on the fame two adts as evidences of its virtue. A fellow labourer with yourfelf in the rpyal vine- yard, the Rev. Mr. John Wcfley, did alfo, near four years ago, though at fecond hand^ allege thefe adts in juflification of the „>. .ax ^i I! \iS i f 'I ! i n ii i 4? 1 the King's laft parliament (y). But I fliould. rather be pf opinion, that /wa good afts, in the courfc of abo«t kv^vi years, could hardty bo a proof th« a par- lianoent had no deficiency of public fpicit. Some perfons may pofSbly thiak, that the merit of thefe two a<fts w^smuch more than over-balanced, by; the iniquity of the new Game and Dog A^s, thq Royal mar- riage ad, the Eaft-India compsipya^i the Bofton Port Ad, the Aft forjOhaoging the government of the province of Maffachu- fct*s Bay, and the Quebec A€i;; x\sxX to fpeak of tb^ violation of the righto^ ledion.by the laft parliament, and the U :ility with which they voted half a million of tl^o public money to pay ciyilj Jift debf $, >yifh- out examination or accoHfl^. . ., . , '"I^ there an impartial nian ifi this coun- try, who underftands its conftltiitidni wl^o will affert, that the laft HoUife of Con^- mons adted like the real reprefentatives of the people? In how many inftances, du^ ring the feveit years wherein they were aflembled, did they vDtc in conformity to {y) Vid. Wcfley*s Free Thoughts on the pref«nt State 9f public Affairs, Svo. 1770, p. a6, 27, I'r [ 4r ] • '' the Wiflics anii intereft of their cohdituents^ when they were contrary to the will and pleafure of the minifter, or of his maftcr? Or can it be conceived poiTible, that thd Prime Minifter would have dared fo openly to diredt the determinations and proceed-* ings of the laft Houfe of Commons, if they had pofleffed any proper fenfe of their own dutyi or their own dignity ? If under the itiofl folemn obligations to adt on behalf of thofe by whom they were elected* the laft Houfe of Commons aimed invariably fupported every meafure df the minifter for the time being; if inftead of confidering what was the fenfe of their conftitucnts^ they attended only to the nod of the prime minifler; if in- ilead of being the guardians of the people's rights, they were the mere creatures of the crown, on the proceedings of which they ought to have been a check ; if they were induced by places, penfions, con- tracts, lottery -tickets, and other douceurs, to facrificc the intcr^fts of thofe from whom they received their delegated power* and for whom they (hould have adled a$ faithful truAees ; if this w^ the charafter G of it' tM\ [ 42 1 of the majority of the laft Houfe of Com- mons, and I believe few impartial men entc-taiij many doubts upon the fubje<St, I kn«, no words in our language, that can convey too fevere a cenfurc of their bafenefs, fervility, and treachery to their conftituents, » It In the 3 2d page of the Patriot y you fay, " That the next Houfe of Commons ** may adt upon the principles of the ** laft, with more conftancy, and higher ** fpirit, muft be the wifh of all, who " wi{h well to the public." But this is merely your affcrtion, :and appears to be un- fupported by reafdn or by truth. I believe, on the contrary, that it is the (incerc wifli of all who are friends to the free cohfli- tution of this country, that the new Hbiift of Commons may a£i on principles exceed^ ingly different from the laft; that tbcy may attend more to the real interests of the nation, and lefs to their own private emolument 3 that they may be more tender of the rights of the people, and Icfs ready to comply with the requifitions of tJie miniflry; and that if they do difcovcr more fpirit than the lad, it may not be exerted in trampling on the privileges ©f thofe If [ 43 ] thofe whom they reprefent, and whom they are bound by the mod facred obliga- tions to defend i but in treating with the contempt and indignation they deferve, any efforts of a firft Lord of the Treafury, to direct their dehberations, or to controul their parhamentarydecifions; anil in bring- ing knavish miniders to judice, and to that exemplary punilhment which they de- ferve, though they (hould take fhelter behind the chrone. It is fomewhat curious to obferve, how much your Jacobitifm is apt to break forth, not withf landing your pre fen t zeal in fupport of the government of a Prince of the Houfe of Hanover. All your new- ly acquired loyalty to George III. cannot make you forget your much- favoured Houfe of Stuart, nor wholly remove your attachment to it. It was too deeply rooted, and become too natural to you, to be to-> tally eradicated : Naturam ixpilUs furca^ tamen ufqui recurnU In the Falfe Alarm, p. 51. you fay, that " the ftruggle in the reign of Anne, G 2 <* was ( 44 ] »* was to exclude or rcftore an exiled Ksfig/^ This exiled King was the Pretender. And notwithftanding the many rcfplendent vir- tues which you have difcovered in his pre- fent majefty, you are far from paying any compliments to his predcccffors fince the pxpulfion of the Honfe of Stuart. For you inform us, that the prince from whom you received your pcnfion, and in whole reign of confcquence your loyalty com- menced, is *' the only king, who, for " a/mo/i a century, has much appeared to f defire, or much endeavoured to deicrve*' the aiiHEdions of the people f^zj. The ca'ution> and attention to chronology, with which you exprefs yourfelf here, is truly admirable; you compliment his prefent majefty, but take <jare to exclude from your lift of thofe Kings, who defcrved the affedions of the people, William III. Ceorge I. and George II. At the fame lime, leaving room for your readers to draw all honourable conclufions in favour of their predeceiTors, the Stuarts; whom you have entirely excepted from your cenfure ; and, indeed, it ought to be remembered, that • - . ■ if. , .(5iJ Falfc Alarm, p. 50, [ 45 1 if, peradventure, they had a few faults^ they were amply atoned for by that divine and hereditary right, which refidcd in thttir facred perfons ! ♦ Yo u obferve of Falkland's IJland, Patriot, p. 20. ^* that it is a bleak and barren fpot ^* in the Magellanic ocean, of which no ** ufe could be made, unlcf^ it were a place ** of exile for the hypocrites of Patriotifm." But, perhaps, a better ufe might be made of it. It would at lead be as well adapted for the reception of men, who, though born under a free conflitution of govern- ment, have no fenfe of its value, or con- cern for its prefervation ^ who are ready to proditute their talents in the fervice of every minifter who will employ them ; or who have fo much attachment to defpotlc principles, as to be for ever incapable of becoming real friends to that public liberty, by which this country has been (b long, and io honourably diftinguifhed. Men of flavifh principles mufl ever be unworthy members of a free Aate. And as to yourfelf. how- ever unwilling you may now be, when you can bafk in the beams of royal favour, fo remove to a fpot lik» this^ there was a time '1^ m 111 r 46 ] time when you feemecl to languish for fuch a retreat: when you pathetically exclaimed^ Has Htav'n riferv'd^ in pity tn the poor, Ko pathUfi wajie, %r undlfcov«r*d /Jjore ? Kofeeret ijland in the bound left main ? Nt peaceful dtfart^ yet unclaim'd by Spain? ^ick let ut r'tfr^ the happy J cr . explore. And hear Oppression's Insolence no more (a). .1. It is a misfortune which has attended your political y'ltings, that they have de- graded your own c'haradler, without ren- dering much fcrvice to thofe by whom you were employed. I believe no writer of your abilities ever engaged in politics, whofe produdions were of fo little efFcdt, and fo unprofitable to his patrons. And you may in many refpedls be confidered as a memorable inftance of human weaknefs* For though you havs given evidences of great force of genius, you have at the fame time difcoyered fuch little prejudices^ and fuch bigotted attachments, as would have difgraced a common underilanding. You ' I (a) Johnfon^s London, utfupra* [ 47 1 if You will probably, with that haugfaCw nefs which is natural to you, but whic^ even your bci^ friends mud acknowl^e^g^ to be a confide rable flaw in your chara^^^r* affedl to difregard whatever can be offered againft your condudt, or your writings. But fhould you ever again really be influ- enced by thofe principles of virtue, which you have fo forcibly inculcated on others, you will regret that your time has been mifemployed in the vindication of meafures, which ihotilii have excited the indignation of every honed man. I would, however, wifh you to remember, (hould you again addrefs the public under the charadter of a political writer, that luxuriance of ima- gination, or energy of language, will ill coinpenfate for the want of candour, of juftice, and of truth. And I (hall only add, that fhould I hereafter be difpofed to read, as I heretofore have done, the moft excellent of all your performances, the Rambler, the pleafure which I have been accuflomed to find in it will be much di- minifhed by the reflexion, that the writer • of fo moral, fo elegant, and fo valuable a work, was capable of proftitutrng his tale'^ts 1 1 itl! [ 48 ] talents in fuch produdlonB, as iht Pdlfe Alarm^ the thoughts on the TranfaSiions reJpeBing Falkland*s I/lands, and the Pa^ triot. I am> Sir» » V • V* • ' «• Your very humble Servant. I M ^li IP— .. n- APPENDIX, f' mi. m h #»a(r«.l|l!«<iWbMI|«**!lllWliSfc;- .f .W*«*trlf*<^l>sisr >Mtil.'< •• ', •• <•«»-« V'^WftTiti-.^lW*:- SSBBBiBiaii I SI ] APPENDIX. IT is fomewhat worthy of obfervation, that at the prefent period, the pen- fioned-advocates for the court fhould be of opinion, as it appears they are by their writings, that the bed method they can take of gratifying their, patrons, is to de- grade the charadters of King William and Queen Mary, to traduce the revolution, and the mofl illuArious patriots of the lad age, and to pour out the mod fcurrilous abufe on the Protedant DifTenters. Of this we have an extraordinary fpecimen in a piece lately publidied I ^ Dr. Shebbeare, intitledy " An Anfwer to the Queries con- ** tained in a letter to Dr. ohebbeare ** printed in the Public Ledger, Aug. lo. ** together with animadverfions on two «« fpeeches," Sec. in which he has aJfo made a comparifon between the public and privaf.e virtues of their prefent m - jcdies, aad tljofe of King William and , H 2 Queen t 58 1 Queen Mary ; and likewifc, as the Dodlor himielf fays, fairly Jiated the merits of Roman Catholics, and of Diflenters from ^hc Church of England, refpeding allegi-* ance and liberty, and their claims to nati- onal protection . It is not my defign to enter into a par- ticular examination, or refutations of Dr. Shebbeare's voluminous pamphlet. It is the 4efs neceffary, as the Dodtor's perfor- mance is fo full of grofs fcurrility, and evident malignity, and fo totally deflitute of ferty appearance of ju (lice, or of candour^ that it carries in a great degree its own antidote with it. I ihall, however^ make a few obfcrvations on this cwrious pro* dudlion. Im the preceding letter, I have given fomc inftances of the politenefs with which Dr. Johftfon has treated the popular party, and thofe againft whom hp has thought prdpcr to engage. In like manner, I fhall**hcre' fckdt a few fpet:imens of a (imr- lar ftile from Dr. Shebbeare 5 as both ht and his brother-peniioner have much dif- tinguidied theacvfelvefi in this wav^ though if ( 53 1 it may be prefumcd, that neither of theft courtly gentlemen acquired this kind of language in the drawing voo-tx. Dr. Shebbeare ftiles the popular party, f&e remor/e/e/s crew of ft cjent patriots fa), and alfo fayS;, they '* are thefpaivn of thofo «* who were uniformly rebels to the fb) «* beft of Kings (cj,'* The Americans, he ftiles gracelefs fubjeSfs^ trans- Atlantic fecf taries^ and rebellious iuj^rates fdj. He alfq fays, they were cor^cious of their internal rottennefs of foul (e)\ and that from their hearts ♦^ H would be exceflively more dif* *^ ficvlt TO eradicate ingratitu4e, than to ^* diveft arfenic of the power of poifon- ** ing (f)*' The Diffcnters he compli- ments with the title of feblarian crews, and alfo fpeal(s of the infernal altar of Prefbyteriau perfidy, iff whofe religion re- gicides ALONE are faints (g). The pifliop of St, A — ^ph, he fays, is a fpeecb* printing, (a) P. 132. . .. ^ (b) The poi^or, it i$ prefumed, means thQi)lci]ed Martyr. (c) Shebbtare^s Pamphlet, p. 92. (d) P. m, , .(/; P. lu, (f) -P. iiOs lu. (g) P. 173, 174. k [ 54 ] printing Ifcariot fhj ; and he is of opinion, that Bifliop Burnet was ** as greut a villain, *' and merited death as much as Garnet," the Jefuit, who was executed for being concerned in the powder-plot fij. This is a mod admirable hiilorical flyle! and from which the public may be enabled to form fome judgment, of what is to be expeded from the Doctor's projeded Hif- tory of England. For though Dr. Sheb- be^re's late piece be not properly an Hiftory, y^t it contains fo many hiftorical fadts, or at lca(l what he has thought proper to give a3 fuch, that it may reafonably be fuppofed he intended it as a fpecimen of bis biAorical talent^. ,5'. ifV The Dodor fays of the truly illuftrious Algernon Sydnev, not only that he was 2i fanatic vijionary fkj, but that ** no ** hiitory has yet produced a more fan" •* guinary and ungrateful traitor (l)f And he has quoted a pafTage from one of Syd- ney's letters to Henry Savile, in order to confirm the charge of corruption, which has been lately brought againft Sydney, grounded {h} P. 124. (/; P. 145. W P- 55* V) Pf Jtf [ 55 ] grounded on Barillon's letters, as published by Sir John Dairy mple (m). But this pretended new evidence againft Sydney, appears to be founded on nothing but a wilful perverfion of the meaning of his letter. For it muft be manifeft to any man, who will read the letter referred to by Dr. Shebbeare (n)^ that Sydney, who wrote from London to Savile then in France, and who was giving him an ac- count of the ftate of public affairs in Eng- land, when he faid, ** You know Monf. ** Barillon governs us, if he be not mif- ** taken," meant only, that Barillon thought he managed the councils of the Englifli court; and not that he governed Sydney and Savile as individuals. It is well known to be common for private perfons, when converfing on political fubjedts, to ufe the phrafe our affairs^ when fpeaking of the public affairs of the kingdom; or ^; to to Ih (m) Vid, fome obfervations on tWs fubje£l in "An <' Examination into the Nature and Evidence of the •« Charges brought againft Lord William Ruflel and *• Algernon Sydney,^ by Sir John Dalrymple, Bart, in ** his Memoirs of Great Britain/* 8vo. 1773. . (n) Tii. Letters of Sydney to^ Savile, edit. 8yo. [ S6 1 to fay the French have defeated, or out^ witted us, when the perfons fpeaking have not the Icaft reference to themfelves a« individuate, but only fpeak of themfelves as members of the community at large« It is evidently in this manner that Sydney ufcs the phrafc governs us, in the letter referred to. So that Dr. Shebbeare, whca he quoted this pa-ffage as a proof, that *^' Sydney and Savile were fecretly in- *« triguing with the French court," is un- qucftionably guiky of a grofs and fliamc- ful miffeprefentation. As to the Dodlor*8 ri&flexions againil SvDNEy, on the fuppofition of his being a republican, it may be fufficient to ob- ferve. that if this juftly celebrated man, in confequence of the abufe which he bad fecn of regal power, was of opinion^ that a republican form of government would be moft advantageous to the people of this country, there are few men of fenfe who will form a very unfavourable opinion of him on that account. The great defign for which civil government is eftablifl^ed, is the promotion of the intereft and happi- nefs of the peoples and modes of govern- ment ^57 ] meftt are of little confequence, but fo far as the/ are more or lefs adapted to that end. The private intereft of a particular' prince, or family, is of trifling confidera- tion, when compared with the welfare of a whole nation. 'As Dr. Shebbeare fcems to take a pecu- liar pleafure in blackening fome of the moft excellent charafters, and cfpecially if they have been friends to public liberty, he has introduced Lord Somers, as one of thofe, ** who had violated the c^nfti- " tution, and plundered their country.** Btit as it is no part of my defign to enter here intd a minute examination of the c6ni}iidt of Lord Somcrs, I (hall content fn ftsn' with infer ting a part of what has ^eh faid of this Cf'-sbratcd nobleman, by Mi*. Addifonand Mr. Horace Walpolej -ae it is poflible that^ the public may pay mearfy as much regard to their opinion upon -Aii fufejedt, as to that of Dr.-Shefebeare. " 'Mr; Adoi'^on obferves, thftt-l-ord SoNtEHs" <* hdd worn himfelf qui ^n his ' " &p|)lication to - iuc-h ^ftudies as o^ade -him ;A< ,>j^l ^r omamei>tal to the Wdrld, in «< con- i 5» 1 '* concerting fchcmcs for the wdfare of bU " country, and in profecuting fuch mca- •• fures as were ncccffary for making thofc •• fchemes efFedual : bnt all this was done ** with a view to the public good that <« fhould rife out of thefe endeavours, and " not to the fame that fhould accrue to V himfclf. Let the reputation of the f * adtion fall where it would ; To his •• country reaped the benefit of it, he was " Aitisficd. As his turn of mind threw off ^' in a great meafure the oppofitions of •* envy and competition ; it enabled him ** to gain the mod vain and impradli- *' cable into his deigns, and to bring ** about feveral great events for the fafety *• and advantage of the public, which *' mufl have died in the birth, had he been *' as defirous of appearing beneficial to *' mankind, as of being fo. As he was *' admitted into the fecret and mofl retired " thoughts and counfels of bis royal mafler •* King William, a great fhare in the plan ^* of the Protef^ant fucceffion is univcrfally " afcribed to him. And if he did not cn- <* tirely project the union of the two king- V domSy and the bill of regency, which y fcem to have been the only methods in " • *« human r 59 ] •« human policy, for fccuring to us fo in- *' edimable a blcfling, there is none who " will deny him to have been the chief •* condudlor in both thefe glorious works.'* *• His life was, in every part of it, fet •* off with that graceful modefty and re^ ** fe* ve, which made his virtues more '*' beautiful, the more they were cafl in ♦' fuch agreeable fliades. His religion was ** fincere, not oftentatious; and fuch as *^ infpired him with an univerfal benevo- '* lencc toward all his fellow fubjeds, not " with bitterncfs again ft any part of them. ** He (hewed his firm adherence to it as ** modelled by our national conftitution, ' * and was conftant to its offices of devotion, ** both in public and in his family. He «* appeared a champion for it with great reputation in the cafe of the fevcn bifhops, at a time when the church was really in danger. To which we may " add, that he held a ftridl friendship and correfpondence with the great Arch- bifhop Tillotfon, being afted by the' fame fpirit of candour and moderation j *' and moved rather with pity than indig- ^* nation towards the perfons of thofe, who I z *« differed «< <« <« €t 4t €* I •^ ilfftrcd from hirti in the uncflcntial parts •' of Chriftlanity, His great humanity ap- •* peared in the minuted circumftanccs of '* his convcrfation. You found it in the ** benevolence of his afpedl, the compla- <• ccncy of his behaviour, and the tone of -** his voice. His great application to the *• fevercr ftudies of the law, had not in«* •* feded his temper with any thing poiitive ♦* or litigious. He did not know what it •* was to wrangle on indifferent points, to ♦• triumph in the fuperiority of his under- *' {landing, or to be fupercilious on the ^* fide of truth. He joined the grcateft •* delicacy of good breeding to the great^ f« ftrength of reafon." Mr. Addifon alfo obferves, that as Lord Somcrs gic::*ly contributed in his political capacity " to the cHablifliment of th^ " Proteftant interefl, and the good of his ** native country, he was always true to ** thofc great ends. His charadter was " uniform, and confiilent with itfelf, and f* his whole condudt of a piece. His «* principles were founded in reafon, and ** fupported by virtue foj," Mr. j; ' .Ml ' ■ ' . (cj Freeholder, No. ^9. .[ 6i ) Mr. Horace Walpole fays of Lord SoMERS, that " he was one of thofe «* divine nxeni who, like a chapel in a ^* palace, remain unprofaned, while all ^' the reft is tyranny, corruption, and ^* folly. All the traditional accounts of ** him, the hiftorians of the laft age, and ^' its beft authors, reprefcnt him as the «* moft incorrupt lawyer, and the honeft- •* eft ftatefman, as a maftcr orator, a gc- ♦• nius of the fineft tafte, and a patriot of '* the nobleft and moft extenfive views j '* as a man who difpenfed bleflings by his f* life, and planned them for pofterity," ** The momentous times in which he ^* lived, gave Lord Somcrs opportunities of f* difplaying the extent of his capacity, ** and the patriot! fm of his heart; oppor- ** tunities as little fought for the former, f* as they were honeftly courted and pur- f* fued for the latter. The excellent ba- ^* lance of our conftitution never appeared <* in a clearer light than with relation to ** this Lord» who, though impeached by •• a mi%uided Houle of Commons with ^* all the intemperate folly that at times f« di%raced the free flates of Greece, yet ♦'had [ 62 ] '^ had full liberty to vindicate his innocence, '* and manifeft an integrity, which could ^' never have fhone fo bright, unlefs it *' had been juridically afperfed." " It was no inglorious part o^ this great ** Chancellor's life, that when removed '* from the adminiflration, his labours ** were ftill dedicated to the fervice of the ** government, and of his country. In *« this fituation, above all the little pre- ** judices of a profeflion, for he had no ** profeflion but that of Solon and Lycur- <* gus, he fet himfelf to corredt the grie- ** varices of the law, and to amend the *f vocation he ^ id adorned /^^Z* Such was the man, who, becaufc he was a Whig, and a friend to liberty, hath been reprefcnted by Dr. Shebbeare, as a plunderer of his country, and a violator of its conflitution ! In the 94th page of his pamphlet. Dr. Shebbeare has given a quotation from Dr. Price's (p) Catalogue of Royal and Noble Arthors, fccond edition, vol. !!■ p. 107, in, 112. i H 1 Ffice*s ** Appeal to the Public on the fub- "jedl of the national Debt;" but in fo difhoncft and difingenuous a manner, as few writers, befides himfelf, would have ventured to be guilty of. The Dodor ob- ferves, that * even Dr. Price, in his ap- * peal to the public, p. 39. in enume- * rating the caufes of our prefent evils, * introduces that of " giving fecurity to ** the Hanover fucceffion. This, fays he, " is in truth the fundamental grievance of *' the kingdom; and that patriotifm, the ** firft objedl of which is not the removal *< of it, tan be nothing but an impofture." It is evident, that Dr. Shcbbeare here meant to impofe upon the public, by re- prefenting Dr. Price as having fpoken of the Hanover fucceffion as the fundamental grievance of the kingdom. But this is a moft fhameful mifreprefentation ; for the grievance alluded to by Dr. Price was, the pernicious influence which has been obtained in the Houfe of Commons. After ipeaking of the Sinking Fund not being appropriated to its proper purpofc, and fuppofing that this partly arofe from a view to the dependance created by the national debt,* \ir debt, and the fecurity that gave to tM Hanoverian fucceHion and the adminiftra-i ' tion, Dr. Price proceeds ais follows : " For «* like reafohs and with like views, a pcr- '* nicious influence was maintained and ** promoted in the Houfe of Commons,^ ** which has fapped the conftitution ; and' *« which may in time eftablifh among us •* a tyranny of the moft intolerable kindi " a tyranny attended with the mockery of ** all the forms of liberty; a tyranny ** created, fupported and fandified by a •'Parliament. —This is, in truths *' the fundamental grievance of the king- ** dom ; and that Patriotifm, the firft ob- '« jcdt of which, is not the removal of it^ ** can be nothing but an impofture. Td ••this grievance we owe, among other «* evils, the lofs of the finking fund. Had ^' the guardians of the flate been under no *• undue influence, they would have been *• more faithful; and could not have given «* up this great fecurity of the king- •«dom/^^A" Those who compare this paflkge a,t length with the mutilated and unfair quo- tation (^J Dr. Price*8 Appeal, p. 38, J9, tation made by Dr. Shebbcare, will at once fee the flagrancy of his mifreprefentation, and be convinced how little credit can be due to fuch a writer. Indeed, he hath been guilty of this mifreprefentation for no other purpofe, than to give an inju- jurious opinion to the public of a moil refpedtable man, who is much and defer- vcdly eftcemed for his learning and abili- ties, and ftill more for the worthinefs and integrity of his charader. ..: - . But the greateft demerit of Dr. Price is, his being a DilTenter; and this charge lies equally againft Dr. PRiESTLEY,whofe free and rnanly fpirit has alfo given offence to Dr. Shebbeare. And, therefore, he hath taken occafion to introduce an ini- perfedl quotation from his " EiTay on thp *' firft principles of government," partly for the purpofe of making Dr. Prieftley ap- pear to write bad Englifli. But Dr. Sheb- beare ftiould have remembered, that what Dr.. Prieftley has faid in defence of the ex- ecution of Charles the Firft, was on the fuppofition of that prince's being a con- vidied tyrant ; fo that Dr. Shebbeare has paid but a very auk ward compliment tolii^^ , I ::»• I _: 5 •• r t 6^ i prefent Majcfty, in fuppofing th«, on Dr. Prieftley's principles, he was in any danger of being brought into the fame fituation/r A ft- f f Dr. Shebbear£ is very much difplcafccf with Mr. Lee, for having faid, with refe- rence to Sir John Dalrymple, ** Not that" " i blanie an hiftorian for laying hAs ** before his readers, but I blame him' ** for prejudging a caufe by prclimi** nary remarks of his own ; yet this is the cafe of the compiler of the book ** in queftion ; he prefaces his anecdotes *' with a prejudication of charaders." In all this, Dr, Shebbeare fays, there is not one fy liable ©f truth. For " thefe pre- •* liminary were pofterior remarks, and *' were not printed in a preface to the "Memoirs; and therefore could be no " prejudication of the charadters, unlefs ** that which follows precedes the thing " Whiqh it fucceeds. They w«rc printed ** in a preface to the fecond volume, con** ** taining a coUcdtion of ftate-papcr$, iii*. . •* eluding indubitable fads, two years after ' ** the Memoirs had been publifhed. And «€ t( mi^ liimm " thus 4 (r) Vid. Shcbbeare's pamphlet, p. 93, 94, com- fa;fd with Dr. Frieftlcy't Effay, p. 40. ^,v ,*■ [ 67 ] *' thus it happens, that the cafs which '** Mr. Lee blames has no exigence |^j-^**. But notwithftanding the conficlcnce with which this is aflerted, it is evident, that ^his attack on Mr. Lee, and vindication of Dalrymple, is founded on nothing but fophiftry and mifreprefentation. The char- ges againft Ruflel and Sydney, which have fo ipuch excited the attention of the pub- lic, were not contained in the firfl: volume of Sir John Dalrym pie's Memoirs ; but in the papers publifhed in the fecond -, and it was the preface to this volume, that contained the paflTage for which Sir John Dalrymple has been cenfured. So that what Mr. Lee faid was ftridly true, that Sir John Dalrymple had prejudged the caufe " by preliminary remarks of his ** own i" and *' prefaced his anecdotes *' with a prejudication of charadlers." Nor is the mere unfupported alTertion of Ba- /illon, admitting the papers in queftion to bo genuine, by any means fuiiicient to f rove, that the charges againft Ruflel and JSydney are " indubitable fads {^fj*'* K2 Amongst (s) Shebbeare, p. 63* 64. (t) Vid. thfs fubje^t further confiderod, in the EtCMmmatkn^ Uq, before referred to« ' r 1) ,'^' [ 68 ] Amo^^gst others, againfl whom Dr. Shebbcarc hath poured forth his abufe, arc thofe clergymen of the cftablifhed church, who have lately alTcmbled occa- fionally at the Feathers tavern, in order to confult about the proper means of procu- ring fome relief in the cafe of ecclefiafti- cal fubfcription. Of thefe gentlemen, he fays, that ** their principles are the fame ** with republicans and regicides (ii),' and therefore intimates, that it is neceHary •* to be watchful of their adlions." But can there be a more egregious abfurdity^ than to take it for granted, that a man muft be a republican and a regicide, or of the fame principles, becaufe he thinks there are fome errors in the thirty-nine articles of the church of England ? • Dr. Shebbeare fometimes pretends, that he is not an enemy to the Revolution. Of this every man may judge for himfelf, when he reads the account which the Do6tor has given of the manner in which it was efFe(5led. ** On King James's abdi- •* cation," he fays, *' a few men, un- " eledcd jf»J Shebbeare, p. 55, -.'4 I 69 ] •* cle^Sted by the people, and at the exclu- ** fion of all others, were called together « by the Prince of Orange. Thefe tranf- ** ferred the adminiftration of public af- *' fairs into his hands, advifed him to call ^* a convention, though not yet a King ; ^* and this convention deprived King James f« of all future right to re-afcend the throne ] *« of the three kingdoms f^xj" In another place he fays, " One hundred and fixty " men, with the mayor, aldermen, and " deputies of London, were confidered as f « a majority of the people of England ; ^* and the adminiftration of the nation ** was imparted to him without the lead *« application for the confent of the reft *« of the nation. A convention was called f* by the Prince of Orange, the members <* of it were eledted, and they placed the ** crown en the heads of him and the *» princefs Mary, and excluded King James, »* without confulting the people on that ** moft momentous tranfadlion (yj.** The man who wrote this muft unqueftionably be ill Ml ^ (x) Shcbbcare, p. 72. 0) ^•99* . r « -'■■k-.: :.r t 70 ] be a very zealous friend to the Rcvolu^ tion f • It is evident, that Dr. Shebheare's ac- count of the charader and adminidration of King William, is full of the groffeft mifreprefentations j but if it were jofl, it would only prove, that too much confi* dence ought not to be placed in princes ^ and. that, by whomfoever the throne may be filled, the people ought to guard with the utmoft vigilance and caution aga^nft . regal encroachments. Perhaps few prince« ^ liave exercifcd their authority with! >morc upright views than King WiUiam : but the -hiftory of mankind affibrd^ too many in- dances of princes and otheriS, who have derived their pawer fakly frocn the frct^ .choice of the people, aad who yet, with .the utmofl wickednefs and ingratitude, have betrayed the trufl: repofed in them, and-, totally diiiegarded the intereds of thofe to whom they owed their elevation. , ^^ •^ i't-i i As to the Dodor's parallel between King William and his prcfent MaJ&%, i ihaU only obferve, that it ia in. general very 4^fe to libel dead Kings, and it may bi^pwofi- table .•^ C 7t ) table to flatter thofe who are living. Bat if any man were to draw a character of the nrefent King, in the fame flile and manner as Dr. Shcbbeare ha$ done that of King William, it might poflibly involve him in fome inconveniencies. The Doc- tor fights on the higheft and the fafcft ground 5 and his character of the prefcnt King is a fufHcient proof, that his pen-^ fion has not been given him for nothing. * ' After fuch fpecimens of Dr. Sheb-» bearc*s talent at mifreprefenting fadts and characters, at he hath exhibited in his pamphlet, the public will certainly have Kttle caufe to regret their lofs, if he (hould never finifh his intended Hiftory of Eng- land. They may pofTibly, however, con- fidcr themfelvcs as fomewhat obliged to him, for having already given them fa compleat a demonflration^ of his total un«*. fitnefs for any work of that kind. '^' Dr. Shebbe are's character of the Que- bec A*^, and the compliments he pays the* Biihops on the part they took m promo- ting it, are truly admirable, and need no comments. He obferves, p. 124, that in this § H Hi t 7« ] this a6t •* no circumftancc fcems to be 6- •' mitted, which humanity and the Chri- ** ftian faith can didlatc: nothing cnjoincdi «* but what gocd polity hath fuggefted, •' and reafon c;in fupport. And in no «* reign, fince this kingdom hath cxiflcd, «* is there to be found one inftancc, in •* which the v ifdom of the inftitution is ** fo perfcdily united with the precepts of ** Chrift, and the virtues that dignify the " beft of men." He adds, that ** to the <* immortal honour of the prelacy oj thit ** realm, they have, in the enading of this " law, afforded the mod un^^niable proof, '* that, by the dodlrines which are taught <* in the evangelical writings, their adtion*. •* have been truly directed" This inimitable defender of the go^ fernment acknowledges the corruption of the parliament, but defends it on the principle of necejjity^ " It appears/* fays he, " to be as eafy to aboliih the exift- •* ence of parliaments, as to eradicate the •* corruption of them (^)»* The corrup- tioi» of parliament is no more neceiTary to «■ f »; p- 39- k t 73 1 to the community, than any other fpecics of iniquity ; but there is no kind of vvick- cdnefs, of which fome men may not dif- covcr the convenience or expediency. And by whomfoevcr fuch an undue parliamen- tary influence may have b-'en introduced, it fliould be the bufinefs of all honeft men to oppofe it to the utmoft, and to endea- vour to render contemptible and dcteftable, all who employ, promote, or participate of this corruption, which, of all our national evils, is the moft formidable, and the moft likely to be the deftrudtion of this coun- try. * f e 'S e That Dr. Shebbeare is not very ill inclined towards the Romi(h religion, may reafonably be inferred from the very fa- vourable manner in which he fpeaks of Popery and the Jefuits. But the Diffen- ters, being generally friends to liberty, are honoured with a great fliare of that ran- corous abufe, with which his performance fo much abounds. Even the penal laws againft tlie Papifts, {le attributes to the Prefbyterians j they arc anfwcraWe, it feeros, ' I m- I 74 1 for the moft rigorous proceedings of the reign of Queen Elizabeth j for, ** L eicc- '«* fter, Walfinghanif and Cecil," he fays^ " were Puritans." But the Dodor has not very clearly informed us, who the flatcf- mcn were, by whofe influence the feverc laws againft Nonconformifts in that reign were procured. It is probable they were not Puritans, However, the Dodbor's in- genuity in fuggefting, that the Powder- plot in James the Firft's reign, was pro* bably formed by Cecil, who, he fays, was •* a Pre/by ter inn at kis foul,'* is truly admi- rable ! faj With refped to many things that arc ailedged by Dr. Shcbbeare againft the con- dudl of the Nonconformifts during the tivil war, and under the republican form of government which was for a fliorl time cftabliflied, it may be fuflicient to obferve, that the Diflenters of the prefent age, think themfelves no more anfwerable for tl;c condud of the Prefbyterians or Inde- pendents of the laft century, than the E- pif- !■■ ' ^ ■» ■■■■ Oi)J*. 144, 145. I '>• 'C r 75 J pifcopalians of the prefcnt age arc for tht cruelties excrcifed by Archbifl)op Laud and his colleagues, in the Star-chamber and High CommifTion courts. As to the execution of Charles the Firft, the Dif- fenters are by no means agreed in their fentiments refpeifling that tranfadion. There are, however, many of them, who arc far from thinking it any di (honour to their anceftors, that they affidcd in bring- ing a tyrant to the block. They are of opinion, that Charles the Firft demon- ftrably was a tyrant, and a betrayer of the rights of the people, and that he well de- fcrvcd the fate he met with. le 3r J** As to the ordinance of 1648, againil: hcrefy and blafphemy, referred to by Dr. Sh,cbbearc, it is juftly entitled to the fe- vereft cenfure j but it (hould be obferved, that it was by non-conformifts to the church of England that it was prevented being put in execution. It may alfo be remarked, that the real principles of tole- ration were then very little underftood by any party amongft us. Mr. Locke was L 2 - jjjg \:a I- f i: '■^ the firft writer who appears to have had clear ideas upon the fubjedt. And if can hardly be confidered as any very peculiar reproach to the Prefbyterians in the time of Cromwell, that they did not under- fland the principles of toleration, when it is remembered, that no other body of men 4n that age did; and that even in the prefent age, when thefe principles have heen Co much propagated, and fo ably de- fended, the prefent Bench of Bifliops could not difcover that Proteftant Diffenters in England had a right to a Zf^j/ toleration ; though linre their rHed-ion of the D^iTen- ters bill, their lordfhips jndginents have been fo much enlightened, either hy the ailiO.ance of Lord North, or by fome o- ther meanr, that they have not only fu'p- ported the claim of right of the Papifts in Canada to the free exercife of tb.eir reli- j:1on, but have voted them a legal efta- biidiment of it, under the authority of a BritiO) Parliament, ' ii' ^i,^. « .i .# > \ >■-* J With refpedt to the Proiedant Diffen- ters, they, like the members of the efta- bliflied chii.ch, differ in their fentimcnts of / f / > r I 77 1 of feme public mcafures, and on political fubje<5ts. As a body of men, however, they have generally and juftly been confi- dered a& firm friends to the Hanover fuc- ceflian, as judging it friendly to the Pro- te(}ant religion^ and to civil liberty. And this attachment, of which they have given many proofs, will undoubtedly continue, fo long as the princes of the prefent reigning family fhall regulate their con- duct by the principles cf law, and of the conftitution. However, it cannot be worth while for any body of men to enter into a formal conteft with a writer, who chufes chiefly to diftinguifh himfelf by grofs fcur- rility, and wijful mifcfcpr^fertfation. But the Diffenters are not aihamed of their principles as fuch, for they are fatished that they will bear the fevereft fcrutiny; and they are, therefore, ready to meet the ableft of their opponents on the fair ground of rcafon and of argument. And if it be a reproach to be warmly attached to the interefts of civil, as well as reli- gious liberty, and to deteft tyranny, under whatever form it may appear, it is a re- proach that many of them arc well con- tent f Jt 1 i 1 r 7« i tent to bear. The friendi of freedom* «nd of public virtue, art naturally objedls of diflike to the fervile and the venal ; and it can be no difhonour to be reviled by the avowed tools of a minifter» by ftatc- hirelings, and penfloned-parafites. il -d'Ji ^^k:) Q'S ^mm l\'y.-.Ai\! mt !»' "fi 'fi JV2\ C-). < » t ( p,t m^' •^ih i^biiv t\ r 1 .11 " 1-4 i'v -i t '.'/, F I N I S, '.» ' v/ r ••!*♦ ! .11 ; M ■i^. \ cj-:- f 'l:i .''</■. frrM* S i »; \r- »■ ■,-V:<^' ' •* . , 'I- ;{i'L', '^. f <-. "'>'.»• / I » . ' % :1'>V f fP". ■ t 1 i'rif l-r % f\ .♦».-•**. V.'mc* -'--'I <; fij;:^e Ti^ > t n^Tj. s. iii\>iU y)^-r:u^f 4* t n A „ . -.,v» "% li