IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 4r 1.0 1.1 S Hi ^ £ m 12.0 11.25 III 1.4 %» .** Hiotogra{iiic Sciences Cdrporalion 23 WIST MAIN STRHT WnSTIR,N.Y. 14StO (71«)«72-4S03 } CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/iCIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Inttituta for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquat Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notos tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha tot Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. 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Tous las autres exemplalres origlnaux sont filmto an commanpant par ia pramlAre paga qui comporte une emprelnte d'impression ou d'illustretion et en termlnant par la darnlAre paga qui comporte une telle emprelnte. Un dee symboles suh/ants apparaltra sur la darnlAre Image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: la symbde — ► signlfie "A 8UIVRE", le symbols ▼ signlfis "FIN". Lss cartes, planches, tableeux, etc.. peuvent Atre fllmto A dee taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cllchi. 11 est f llmA A pertir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de geuche h drolte. et de heut en bes. en prenant la nombra d'images nteesssire. Les diegrammes suivants lllustrent le mMhode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i. i Uniyersite be Montreal biblioth£que \ I VALUABLE MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS BECENTLT FUBLISHED Bl^ LITTLE, BROWN & CO. 112 Wabhutciton Stbket, Bobtox. PROSPECTUS OP A NEW EDITION OF THE ENGLISH POETS, NOW IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION. EDITED BY F. J. CHILD, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard College. The only Collection of the English Poets, at all deserving the name of Complete, is that which was edited by Alexan- der Chalmers about forty years ago. This edition was in twenty-one ponderous octavos, and is now out of print. It was not intended, and for many reasons it is not adapted, for general reading. As a sort of Thesaurus, or Body of Eng- lish Poetry, Chalmers' collection will always be useful to the student, for the very reason that it contains a vast amount of forgotten literature that cannot be found elsewhere. But, if this edition embraces more of the obsolete and worthless poe- try than the common reader desires, it is very scantily sup- plied with those historical and literary illustrations which almost every reader needs, while it omits a considerable amount of really excellent poetry. The same is true, in a still higher degree, of the earlier collections of the English Poets. The edition now proposed will differ from previous collec- tions in several important particulars. It will embrace all that is of general interest and permanent value in English Poetry, from Chaucer to Wordsworth. The whole works of 2 the most distinguished authors irill be given, and selections from the nvritings of the minor poets. Several volumes of fugitive and anonymous poetry will be added, besides what may be taken from the publications of Ritson, Percy, Ellis, Brydges, Park, &c., of the Percy Society, and other Printing Clubs. Particular care will be bestowed on Chaucer, and on the English and Scotch Ballad Poetry. Pains will be taken to secure a correct text ; and each work will be accompanied with biographical, historical, and critical notices, and with glossaries where such assistance is needed. — An edition conducted on these principles will, it is thought, deserve to be called, in all essential respects, a Complete Collection of the English Poets. It is intended that the volumes of this collection shall in- vite perusal, as well by their form and appearance, as by the character of their contents. The size and the style of the volumes will be those of Pickering's Aldine Poets, and such of the works of that edition as fall entirely within the plan of the present collection, will be embodied in it. Each separate work is sold by itself, and the price of each volume is 75 cents. The following volumes are now ready : — Butler 2 Tola. MttTON . . 8 vols GOIXINS . . 1 vol. Parnell . 1 vol. GOWPKK . 8 vols. Pope . 8 vols. Dbyden . . 5 rolg. Prior 2 vols. Goldsmith . 1 vol. Thomson . 2 vols. Obat . . 1 vol. SWIPT . 8 vols. YODNQ 2 vols. Churchill . 8 vols. *' We can only repeat that which we have so often already had occasion to say of the simplicity, beanty, and typographical excellence of this edition. Convenient in size, printed on clear, white paper, with distinct, legible type, these volumes must be a luxury to all who desire a good edition of the British Poets. It is by far the best edition of these poets that has ever been issued in this country ; fully equal to the English, of which they are an exact reprint, and at just one half the cost." — Boston Atlas. " We cannot too warmly commend the series to our readers." — South Lit. Chiz. " The typography of those already published is beautiful. Few English books are more charming to the eye. This enterprise is an honor to the American press We do not know any other edition of the English Poets which combine so many excellences." — Btbliotheca Sacra. All persons whose standard of home-comfort embraces more than one dn- bookshelf must have the British Poets in some form ; and they may be Bore that they will never be able to procure them in a more convenient and economical form than that which these volumes wear." — Christian Exam- iner. " We regard this as the most beautiM and convenient library edition of the British Poets yet published, and the price at which it is sold places it within reach of every reading man." — N. O. Bulletin. " Tliis series of the British Poets is the best edition we have ever seen." — Louisville Journal. " We regard it as the most beantifVil and convenient library edition of the British Poets yet published." — PAt7. Eve. Bulletin " We have before alluded to this excellent publishing enterprise, in terms of hearty commendation, and we sincerely hope that the luxury of beautiM typography, rivalling the best London editions, will not fail of receiving a general appreciation ftom American connoisseurs." — N. Y. Tribune. HUME'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. From the latest London trade edition, reprinted on large type to corre- spond with the London edition of Macaulay's History. 6 vols. 8vo, cloth. $9. " A finer library edition of the great historian of England, we have never wen. It is an honor to American typography." — N. Y. Commercial Adv^r. " These volumes are honorable to the taste, enterprise, and liberality of its publishers, and creditable to the country." — Boston Atlas. MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF FRAN- CIS HORNER, M. P. Edited by his brother, Leonard Horner, Esq., F. R. S. 2 vols. 8vo, cloth. $4.50. " The Memoirs of Francis Homer furnish one of the most entertaining and instructive biographies ever published." — Boston Post. " This work deserves a place by the side of the Life of Mackintosh, in every man's library, and should be the companion of every young man who claims to be an intelligent reader." — Boston Atlas. " The two elegant and beautifully printed volumes before us are chiefly filled with the correspondence of this distinguished man with his parents, and with all the great literary and public characters of the period, such as Lord and Lady Holland, Sydney Smith, Lord Jeffrey, Henry Hallam, Earl Grey, Sir Samuel Romilly, Sir James Mactdntosh, and many others, whose letters testify to the general admiration of the English world for Mr. Uomer's private and public character." — Philadelphia Bulletin. " These noble volumes which have now been a short time before the public, deserve more than a passing notice. They contain the Memoirs and Corre- spondence of a man, who, though not ' unknown to fame ' in his day, has not been world-renowned, and whose name will never, like that of Wellington, Peel, and Webster, be in the mouths of the million. Still, the name of Francis Homer is one which the cultivated and appreciating ' will not willingly let die.' He was a choice spirit, and the choice spirits of this and a future age, will be attracted by these Memoirs. . . *' Nor will the lawyer or intelligent politician be less interested in these vol- umes than the man of letters. In each of those departments. Homer was a model." — Boston Traveller. MACKINTOSH'S LIFE. Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honorable Sir James Mackintosh. Edited by his Son, Robert James Mackintosh. From the second Lon- don edition. Portrait. 2 vols. 8vo, cloth. $4.50. "From whatever point of view we look at this biography, it is interesting and valuablu. We cannot but hope that so bcautiftil an edition of a work of such permanent value will be (>xt(>ni*ively circulated. No library, public or private, can be complete without it." — Boston Transcript. " We cordially commend it an one of the best woriu of the aeason." — Boston Post. " More choice, indeed, than the EnKliHh edition, and quite worthy of a book 00 agreeable and popular." — Dnily Advertiser. " The work is replete with int<»reHtlng information, compririnn copious de- tails with regard to the political and literary liiDtory of the times, as well aa the private life of the author. Sir ilanies Maciiintosh is one of the most im- posing names of the lust half century, although he has left no production whicit does complete justice to his active intellect and rare attainments. . . He will be known to ]H>sterity chiefly by these delightfiil Memoirs, which show him to have been one of the most accomplished of philosophic scholars and statesmen, as well as one of the most lovable of men." — Ntw York Tribune. ENCYCLOPiEDIA BRITANNICA. Eighth edition, re- vised, enlarged, and brought up to the present time. Edited by Thomas Stewart Traill, M. D., F. R, S. E., Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the Univemty of Edinburgh. ' With upwards of five hundred engravings on steel, and many thousands on wood. To be comprised in 21 vols. 4to. Vols. I. II. and III. now ready. Cloth. $5.50 per volume. This edition has undergone careful revision and extensive alterations, so as to accommodate it to the improved taste and advanced intelligence of the times. The editor has se- cured the cooperation of the most eminent living authors, who have contributed treatises in the various departments of Science, Literature, the Arts, Manufactures, Commerce, Sta- tistics, and General Knowledge, to supersede those now ren- dered obsolete by the progress of discovery, improvements in the Arts, or the general advancement. of society. " The publishers of this great work arc doing a most valuable service to American literature. Tlie cost of the English editions of the Cyclopsedia has been so great as to pitt it beyond the possession of many who wanted it, and the result has been that but few libraries, out of public institutions, Iiave it upon their shelves . It is acknowledgedly the very best work of the kind extant, and wherever the language is spoken it is needed for reference. So copious and so reliable are its stores of knowledge, that many a man, passing for a won- derfully erudite scholar, has derived from it all he knows upon the subjects it treats, and p<'rhaps many another, who would scorn '• Cyclopaedia learning,' might resort to it to correct his mis-impressions on questions of fact. It is a repository of all valuable knowledge, upon thousands of subjects, and is the crystallized result of the explorations of centuries, by many savants^ of all na- tions, in the mines of truth. A good student of the Cyclopeedia will often confound the scholastic with his well-arranged, digested, and collated facts, while the latter, cudgelling his brain with futile effort, seeks to disinter from n crude and disorderly knowledge, the truths he knows are there, but which a want of cyclopoediac order renders useless." — Buffalo Daily Courier. URE'S DICTIONARY. A Dictionarj- of Arts, Manufac- tures, and Mines ; containing a clear Exposition of their Principles and Practice. By Andrew Ure, M. D. New rc- edition, with aM the latest improvements ; corrected and greatly enlarged, with sixteen hundred engravings on wood. Many of the articles entirely rewritten, and many new cuts added. 2 vols. 8vo, cloth. $5. *' The value of Dr. Ure's Dictionary of the Arts liaa already been eatabliahed to the satisfaction of the world of science." — Boston Atlas, " That this is the fourth edition of Dr. Ure's Dictionary, Is one of the best proofli of its merit Another is to be found in the fact, that since the first edi- tion appeared it has had no competitor to contest its claims to public fkvor. It has always been so far superior to every thing else of the kind in print, at to discourage rivalry." — N. Y. Evening Post. LYELL'S PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY. New Edi- tion. Principles of Geology : or, the Morio«l in wliirli they HouriMlu'd ; and their worliM cannot he puhiirtied without onilMHlyinK thomt not)!** conci<|itioni«, tlione high |»atriotic HHpirationR, which became the vnry mnil of our national lltN>rty. Bucli n Hpirit prv-enii- nently waa Jolin Adninn — nnionit tliv rcry Krcateiit of tho nohlo band whicli Heaven rained up to do a nilnchty woric, not for n MltiKln country only, but fbr the worid. He imweMUxi a combination of (|ualltl«>H that would liaTc made him n master npirit anywhere ; and never wait there an occaiiion which re- quired Hurh qualitieM nior«% or wan liuttcr fitted to develop tiiem, than our great Revolutionary vtruKK'c- With the hlKlieiit order of intellect — clear, qulclc, compreluMiHive, and fnr-reacliinK, lie united utern inteicrity, and un- yielding flrmneait of purpone, and » devotion to hiH country'M caune, the most inteuMe and heroic. An a vlgorouM and powerf^il writer, we ithould place him at the bend of all IiIh tlluHtrlouH coniiMterH; and IiIh writing!) are warcely more diHtinguiiihed for energy and originality of tliought. tlian as iip«>clnienH of the purest EngllMh. He never tou. 41 once set down before Quebec, it must take it : If Quebec be taken, the capitulation may at least strip Canada of all the regulars, after which the inhabitants might possibly be induced to sur- render But although this attempt on Quebec, by way of the St. Lawrence River, may be the only real, and will be the only effectual attack on Canada ; yet one other, if not two false attacks will be necessary, one by way of Lake Champlain^ the other by vmy of Lake Ontario. That by way of Lake Champlain, may, as far as Crown Pointy be offensive ; and should then change into a defensive measure, by taking strong post there A number of provin- cials will certainly be necessary, and these such as are used to the water, and marine navigation ; for such will be of the most essential service in the passage of the army from the lower end of the Isle of Orleans to Quebec^ where most of the diffi' culty and danger tvill lieJ' " The result of the campaign proved the fore- sight of Governor Pownall. Quebec was taken as soon as the army, by the glorious battle of the Plains, was enabled to sit down before it ; and the operations of General Amherst were limited, during the campaign of 1759, to the capture of Crown Point, which he fortified and made a de- fensive post." On the subsequent publication, in the year 1764, of the letter to Mr. Pitt, from which these 42 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. extracts are taken, Governor Pownall appended to it the following summary of the successful issue of so much of his plan as had been adopted and acted upon, and pointed out the great risk that had been incurred in not adopt* ing the remainder: — " The reader is here desired to refer to the events of the year 1759, in America : " Quebec was taken by General Townshend, the moment that the army was enabled to set down before it, by the greatly hazarded, and glo- riously successful stroke of General Wolfe. " The operations of the army under General Amherst, could npt, by all the skill and deter- mined perseverance of that excellent officer, be pushed further than Crown Point, and there became defensive by fortifying that point. " The operations up the Mohawk River, and on Lake Ontario, were carried just to that effect which opened the way for the next campaign, in 1760, when General Amherst went that way to take possession of Canada. " The whole fleet was taken up the river St. Lawrence ; where, as General Wolfe expressly declares, it was a part of the force least adapted to the object: the sea-line of the colonies was left uncovered and open. If the French had had sense enough to have sent two ships of the line, with a frigate or two, and one or two bomb- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 43 ketches, they might have burnt Halifax, Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, without interruption; or even if such measure had not been carried to that degree of success, they might have raised such an alarm as should have broken up some of our active, offensive operations, in order to come to the defence of this sea line ; and, per- haps, thus the whole of the operations of 1759, have been disconcerted and defeated. To in- quire why this war done, would at this time become a mere criii • for as, by good luck, no such accident happt > ^ , it is right that success should justify every measure." ^ The following extract from a speech of Gov- ernor Pownall, delivered in the House of Com- mons, in March, 1778, in reference to this subject, may not be deemed uninteresting, nor yet mis- placed, although its date is somewhat in antici- pation of the order of events. — " I remember the time, and a very critical one, too, in the last war, in actual time of war, when for several days there was no minister in this country. When, in the year 1756, I came over from America, with the plan and proposal of changing the object of the war, by making a direct attack on Canada, commenced by the siege of Quebec, I was in town for several days, without anybody being able to tell me to whom I was to address Appendix to Admin'n of the Colonies, 4th edition, p. 6Q 44 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. myself. Mr. Fox was just then gone out, and no successor was as yet fixed upon. At last I had the pleasure to find that Mr. Pitt became the minister; and from that happy moment com- menced the era of all the successes and glories of the last war The share I had last war in the plans, as well as execution^ of the measures in America, give me some right to speak with confidence; and I shall speak out without re- serve. Those who never knew, or those who have forgotten my services, may see all that I say, and perhaps more, justified, by referring to the Secretary of State's office, or the Board of Trade." i On recollecting that the plan alluded to origi- nated with Governor Pownall, in 1754, and was modified and took the shape of a " general plan of operations," by order of the Duke of Cumberland, to whom it was presented by its author, in the autumn of 1756,^ that in the fol- lowing May, a fleet, consisting of sixteen sail of the line, and fifty transports, conveying six thou- sand troops, sailed for Halifax, there to meet an equal number of troops from New York, and all, under the command of the Earl of Loudon, destined to undertake the siege of Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, as preliminary to the carrying out of the " general plan of operations " against 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist. xix. 942. ^ Appendix to Adm. of the Colonies, p. 2. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 45 Quebec and Canada, wb^ch had been adopted by the ministry, — and that Governor Pownall was sent out, in the same fleet, with the appoint- I ment of Captain-General and Governor-in-chief I of the province of Massachusetts Bay, — that the great strength of Louisbourg, and the presence of a French fleet, superior in strength to our [own, caused the postponement of the expedition to the following summer, when it was resumed, and resulted in the capitulation (26th July) of Louisbourg, together with the islands of Cape Breton and St. John, — and that towards the close of the year (1758) the " general plan of operations," in a more succinct and definite (form, was again submitted to Mr. Pitt, the [prime minister, (at his own instance it may be [presumed,) and made the basis of the instruc- tions for the subsequent operations in America, re thiqk we are justified in surmising, that the governorship of Massachusetts Bay was con- ferred upon Mr. Pownall with the view of )lacing him in a position of eminence, whence le might see his general plan, in so far as it had )een adopted, properly carried out, and where Recourse to him for explanation, and as being )ossessed of the views of the prime minister on le subject, could at all times be readily had, by le leaders to whom the immediate direction of le enterprise was intrusted. The surrender of Quebec, in September, 1759, 1 1:^ 1 1 B B Wi 46 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. added to the previous loss of Cape Breton and St. John, and other disasters, which, within the same period, in other parts of America, at sea, and on the continent of Europe, befell the French, crippled their strength, and their resources, to such a degree as to render the completion of the conquest of Canada, a matter of comparative ease, and eventual certainty; and the special, though not ostensible object of Governor Pow- nail's mission in America, at the particular pe- riod in question, was accomplished. In Febru- ary, 1760, he received intimation of his appoint- ment to the more lucrative government of South Carolina ; notwithstanding which, he continued in the government of Massachusetts Bay until the third of June, when he sailed from Boston for England.^ That his administration of that government met with the approval of the home cabinet, may be fairly assumed from the follow- 1 As Governor Pownall assumed the title of Governor, but never the reins of the government of South Cardina, it appears probable, that the appointment was conferred upon him in like manner, and for the same reason, as was that of the government of Virginia upon Sir Jeffrey Amherst, namely, — " As a reward and a standing testimonial of the great services he had done in America during the late war ; " {Annual Register for 1769, p. 62.) Or, as Junius, under the signature Lucius, alleged, that Mr. Pitt, the Secretary of State, had, by letter, " assured Sir Jeffrey Am- herst, that the government of Virginia was given him merely as a reward .... was meant only as a mark of his Majesty's favour," .... and that "his residence should never be re- quired." Vol. iu. 108, 110. . ) JUNIUS DISOOVBRED. 47 ing passages in his Memorials to the King, pub- j lished in 1784 : — Writing in the third person, he says — "He does not presume to vaunt of his former services in this American line, al- though he shall always be proud of the approba- tion they received." 1 .... "When the present I Memorialist was Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, knowing the importance of [the post of Penobscot, he took possession of it, land built a fort there, which the people named \Fort Poionall. .... He received the gracious (approbation of his late Majesty, conveyed to (him by Mr. Secretary Pitt; so that the impor- Itance of this post hath not been unknown, and is [not new to government." ^ And, in a note in [another place, alluding to his commissionership pn 1754, and his subsequent governorship, he says )f himself — "He began his course by learning to serve them, (the people of Massachusetts lay,) and he afterwards so commanded as to )btain the approbation of those whom he gov- erned, and the honourable testimony they bore dm." 3 And again, — " This is the opinion, and ras the system of a poor practical Governor, rho did govern his Majesty's provinces ; this is le leaf out of his book, which the late Earl of [alifax directed him to give to his successor, ^ P. 32. 2 p. 40. ' Note to Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, p. 7. 48 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. M r u I, Sir Francis Bernard, that he might govern them as well as they had been governed by the for- gotten servant who writes this."^ We add, from the same Memorial^ an incidental refer- ence, tending to support our position as to Gov- ernor Pownall's knowledge of military matters : — " Your Memorialist having been in the ser- vice of the Crown during the last war in Amer- ica, in characters wherein it was his duty to be informed of, and to study these objects ; wherein it was his duty to give his opinion on military operations; wherein his opinions were formerly adopted; most . . . . "^ And here, having arrived at a marked epoch in the life we are endeavouring to trace, at which it appears almost necessary to pause, we present to the reader an extract, which, while it confirms our view of Governor Pownall's ability in the art of governing, gives the only description we have yet met with, from which any thing like a fair opinion of his character and manners, in social life, antecedent to the appearance of the letters, can be formed; and will therefore afford addi- tional and proper material, for judging whether, even at this early period, there existed in Gover- nor Pownall such a combination of qualities, moral, political, and social, as would be likely, in the course of a few more years, to mature into the 1 MfM' to the ISng, Appendix, p. 54. ^ lb. p. 33. JUNIUS DISCOVEREIK 49 great nominis umbra. The extract is taken from the second volume of a Continuation of Gover- nor Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts Bay, by George Richards Minot, of Boston.* The learned judge thus closes his sketch of Governor Pownall's administration of the government of that province : — " Governor Pownall being appointed to the command of South Carolina, with a more ad- vantageous salary, he prepared to return to Eng- land, with permission, previously to his entering upon the duties of his new commission. His administration had been short, but extremely successful. He saw the prevailing feelings and habits of the people, and realizing that his future advancement might depend much upon the reputation which he might acquire in Massa- chusetts, he accommodated his measures to them with such address, that he was even exempted from exceptions to appearances in his personal conduct, which would have been highly censur- able, according to the strict notions of the times, in a less favourite character. The savings of the ^ The first volume of Judge Minot's work was published in Boston in 1798, and the second in 1803 ; the latter in an incoin> plcte state, death having cut short the life of the learned author. The narrative abruptly terminates with a description of the riots in Boston, in August, 1765, in the course of which the "tri- umphant demonocracy " destroyed the houses of Lieutenant-Gov* emor Hutchinson and others. P! i 50 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. public money, which he made by his exertions rendered him justly popular in a Province, where the want of affluence could be supplied only by industry. He effected this by the greatest at- tention to the dispatch of public business, which shortened the sessions of the General Court, and of course reduced the drafts on the treasury for the pay of the members. He lessened the ad- vances of the Province by uniting with them the allowance of the crown for mileage-money to the soldiers ; and his manner of building the fort at Penobscot was a master-piece of political econ- omy. He associated with an easy condescen- sion, amongst those leaders in the capital, who generally directed the voice of the multitude, whilst he indulged his natural gaiety in the politer ciccles of fashion and pleasure. The im- portance of his connexions, and his supposed influence in England, had great weight with those to whom the public affairs of the Province were particularly intrusted; and indeed in his future parliamentary conduct he showed himself not unmindful of this respect. The concerns of the war kept nearly out of sight the great controversial points respecting rights and prero- gative, on which the General Court and former Governors usually divided ; and when they came up, as once happened in the case of stationing troops on the frontiers, he yielded to a, spirit which it had cost so much to subdue on similar JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 51 occasions, and which he was not ill adapted to manage by apparent concessions. It was the height of his good fortune that the British arms prevailed beyond all rational calculation, which cast a lustre on his exertions in the military de- partment, and gave an exultation to the people, that naturally elevated their immediate rulers in their view. The extent of his influence with the members of the Legislature is evidenced by their respectful addresses, and by a compliment which the majority of the House paid him by oflering him a passage to England in the provincial frigate, which they had assigned for bringing over the reimbursement money granted by Par- liament, although it was the only vessel of force that was left to protect the trade. This proposal however, was shown in a remonstrance of the merchants "to the Council, to be so hostile to commerce, and so extravagant as it respected the freight of the public money, that the project was given up, by the Governor's declining the offer and taking passage in a private ship. When he embarked, both Houses attended him in a body to his barge, and every ceremony was adopted which could leave a favourable impression on his mind." Let it not be said, that in these, the earlier events of Governor Pownall's Ufe, we have en- tered more minutely than is necessary for the ostensible purpose of these pages: — our object 52 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. in BO doing is, to show, that in those very events are to be found precisely that unconscious and gradual preparation of the mind, and that ac- quirement of particular branches of knowledge, which were essential to the after-production of the letters of Junius ; — letters which, " with all their blemishes, will probu ly never fail to find a place in the libraries of the British scholar and British statesman;" and "but for which," says Dr. Good, " the Commons of England might still have been without a knowledge of the transac- tions of the House of Commons, consisting of their parliamentary representatives — have been exposed to the absurd and obnoxious harassment of parliamentary arrests, upon a violation of pri- vileges undefined and incapable of being ap- pealed against — defrauded of their estates upon an arbitrary and interested claim of the crown — and deprived of the constitutional right of a jury to consider the question of law as well as of fact ; " * — and which — we may add, in the lan- guage of Mr. Britton, — "When candidly and honestly viewed, will be found to constitute an important feature, not only in the political, but in the literary, the moral, and the philosophical annals of the nation." * We now take up the first connecting link be- tween Junius and Governor Pownall. 1 Frel. Essaj, vol. L 8. * Junius Elucidated, p. vii. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 53 Shortly after the reduction of Quebec, Briga- dier-General TownBhend fcturned to England; and, in the following summer, there appeared in London an anonymous pamphlet, bearing the title, — " A Letter to an Honourable Brigadier' General, Commander-in-chief of His Majesty's Forces in Canada ; " which so severely reflected on the conduct of General Townshend, that he, or his friends, deemed it necessary to meet it by the publication of "A Refutation of the Letter, etc. : — By an Officer ; " which, though devoid of literary merit, afterward passed through sev- eral editions. Although suspicion was expressed by a writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, in 1817, that the Letter^ and the subsequently pub- lished letters of Junius, were indebted to the same parent for existence, it was never formally ascribed to Junius, until iy41, when Mr. N. W. Simons, of the British Museum, republished both Letter and Refutation, with a short, and well- written Introduction, clearly establishing the genuineness of the former, as a letter of the great political censor ; so clearly indeed, that it is now, almost universally, recognized as the first, in the order of time, of the v/ritings of that extraordinary man. In 1848, the " veteran Author," Mr. Britton, * Our futnre references to these two pamphlets shall be simply to — the Letter, and — the Befutation. 54 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. i il :i whose opinion of the Letter coincided with that of Mr. Simons, published his ^^Junivs Elucidated^^ in which he very ingeniously attempted to iden- tify Junius with the well-known Colonel Isaac Barrd, and adduced such evidence of the gallant Colonel's authorship of the Letter^ as, at first sight, to make any attempt to controvert it appear hopeless ; and, if chance had not led us, several months before we were aware of the ex- istence of Mr. Britton's work, and without giving a thought to the Letter^ to believe, that in Gov- ernor Pownall we had found the true Junius, we should have felt convinced, and have rested satis- fied with Mr. Britton's proofs and arguments. But our conviction of the authorship of the let- ters of Junius had not been lightly attained, nor until after much patient research ; and we could not, therefore, willingly abandon it, until a close investigation of Mr. Britton's theory, in so far as it was based upon the Letter, should have de- cided the question against us. We therefore applied the tests of undoubted facts and dates, and the result was singularly fortunate, inasmuch as the inquiry — somewhat unexpectedly, be- cause, from oversight, we had not previously paid any attention to the Letter — led to the means of testing our own theory, and giving it such additional support as, we have the temerity to believe, will be as convincing to the reader, as it is to ourselves. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 6& Our first endeavour will be, to show that al- though Colonel Barr^ had — and we cordially admit it — the ability to write the Letter^ yet that there exists an improbability, amounting almost to an impossibility, that he could have written it ; — and our next, to exhibit such cir- cumstantial evidence of its having been written by Governor Pownall, as to leave little or no room for doubt on the subject. Mr. Britton, in speaking of the action in which Wolfe fell, says — " Major Barrd was severely wounded in the face in the same action, so as to destroy one eye, and ultimately induce total blindness," — "on the 26th of October, 1759, Monckton .... embarked at Quebec for New York, .... Barr^ and Colonel Carleton, (the latter also being wounded,) had previously gone to that city," and " whilst at New York, Barr^ addressed a letter to Mr. Pitt ; " which letter is given at length, and bears date " New York, April 28th, 1760." i Now, Barry's wounded eye, and the coolness — if not something worse — which existed between him and General Towns- hend, while at Quebec, preclude the probability of his having seen the despatch of the latter, of the 20th of September, 1759, until after it had been published in London, on the 17th of the following October, and had thence re-crossed the Junius Elucidated, pp. 25 and 26. 56 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. iM Atlantic to New York, where — as appears from his own letter to Mr. Pitt — he had been made Adjutant- General to the army under General Amherst ; a post which, we may fairly presume — time, place, and circumstances being duly considered — must have left its holder little lei- sure for lashing his quondam commanding officer, through the medium of the public press in Lon- don. At what particular date the army left New York, we have been unable to discover ; but it must have been very shortly after the date of Barry's letter to Mr. Pitt, as we find that Gen- eral Amherst had established his head-quarters at Albany before the 18th of May ;^ — that the army left Schenectady on the 21st of June, — reached Oswego on the 9th of the next month, — left the latter place on the 10th of August, — laid siege to — and, on the 25th, captured Fort Roy ale, — thence descended the river St. Law- rence, and laid siege to Montreal, which resulted in the surrender, by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, not only of that city, but of all Canada, on the 8th of September, 17G0. General Amherst's despatches, announcing that important event to the British ministry, were intrusted to Colonel (then Major) Barr^, who, three days after the capitulation, sailed from Quebec, in the frigate Vengeance, and reached London on Saturday, 1 Major Rogers's Journal, p. 172. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 57 the 4th of October, the day before the date — and, we presume, two days before the publication of the Refutation. Barr^ could not have written the Letter before he left New York, because there are in it references to — and quotations from, the proceedings and sentence of the court martial, held in London, for the trial of Lord George Sackville, for misconduct at the battle of Min- den, which sentence was first promulgated, in London, on the 26th of April ; while the pro- ceedings and evidence were not made public until some weeks afterward, when they were published at the instance of Lord George him- self. Again — in the postscript to the Letter^ there is embodied an " advertisement " of General Towns- hend, dated June 20, 1760, referring to a para- graph which had appeared in the London Daily Advertiser of the preceding day ; — the writer of the Letter gives the contents of that " advertise- ment," as his authority for having asserted, that — "yow (General T.) were convinced Quebec was not defensible : " — and further, the battles of Erxdorf and Warbourg, fought — respectively — on the 16th and 31st days of July, are men- tioned in the Letter; and a quotation is also given from the London Gazette of the 2d of August, 1760. From these premises, it follows ; that the Letter must have been written and pub- lished, in London, after the latter date, and before 58 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. t i| i the 5th of October, date of the Refutation. In the face of these stubborn facts and precise dates, the assertion of the possibility of Colonel Barrd having been the author of the Letter^ can only be exceeded in absurdity by a contention for the probability of his having been so. We turn now to the inquiry — whether Gov- ernor Pownall could have been its author ? The extracts already given from the Picture of Quebec show, satisfactorily, that although Gov- ernor Pownall was not a soldier by profession, yet, as early in life as at the date of the Letter^ he could vie with military men of high standing, in that peculiar knowledge which is essential to the formation of the higher class of soldier; — and when to that knowledge we add, his long and familiar intercourse with military men in the regular service, and the practical knowledge of the minor details of active military service, which, of necessity, he must have acquired during the short, but warlike and eventful period of his governorship of Massachusetts Bay, we shall find him possessed of all the requisite qual- ities, to enable him to write the Letter^ and to breathe through it that military tone which has led to the general belief, that it could not have been written by any one but a soldier: — and when, again, we add to these qualities, the par- ticular circumstance of his having originated the general plan of operations for the invasion and JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 59 conquest of Canada, of which the attack upon Quebec, as it was carried into execution, formed an important feature, we may well imagine, that he not only anxiously watched the chief move- ments of the army under Wolfe, but that he had the means, and used them too, of obtaining — in America, in the course of the remainder of his governorship, and — in England, immediately after his return thither, all those minute particu- lars of events which occurred before, during, and subsequent to the reduction of Quebec, with which the writer of the Letter was undoubtedly familiar. As General Monckton, Colonel Carle- ton, and Major Barr^ withdrew from the cap- tured city of Quebec, to New York, until their wounds were healed, there is nothing improbable in the supposition that Governor Pownall may have learned from them^ many of those little anecdotes of the expedition, and of the parties engaged in it, which could only be gleaned in the course of familiar verbal or epistolary cor- respondence with persons who had taken part in it. As already stated. Governor Pownall sailed from Boston on the 3d of June, and the Letter could not have been written and published until after the 2d of August; showing — on the as- sumption of his passage to England having been an ordinary one — that there must have been more than ample tinde, after his arrival in Lon- »< 60 JUNIUS DISCOVEKEO. { don, for the concoction, printing, and publishing of both Letter and Refutation^ so that the latter should be published on the 5th of October. That the author of the latter suspected the writer of the former of having been absent from England, is evident, when he says — p. 41 — " But where has this pamphleteer been to find himself under the necessity of quoting this letter ? He must not have been in England, surely ; or must not have read the public papers, in which, a little time after the news of the taking of Quebec, appeared the annexed funeral eulogium, taken from a letter written by G[enera]l T[ownshen]d, to a friend in London." The letter referred to, was quoted in the Letter^ p. 8, ^s one in which Sir William Johnson had said, — "I have only to regret the loss of General Prideaux. I endeav- oured to pursue his vigorous measures, the good effects of which he deserved to enjoy." Now, it is to be remarked, that General Prideaux was in command of the force besieging the French fort at Niagara, when, on the 23d of July, 1759, he was killed by the accidental bursting of one of his own cohorns, and the further prosecution of the siege devolved upon Major- General Sir William Johnson, the commander of the Indian auxilia- ries ; — the letter of Sir William, referring to that event, was addressed to General Amherst, the Commander-in-chief of the forces in America; and, as it was not published in England, the JUNIUS DISCOVERBD. 61 writer of the Letter must have obtained the extract from it either from the latter or the former. Either is likely, if Governor Pownali were the author, on account of the great inti- macy in private life, and the confidential footing in public matters, on which he stood with each of them. The facts which we have thus alleged and proved, and the inferences which may, legiti- mately, be drawn from them, form together a mass of evidence so little short of positive, that we think it will now be as readily conceded, that, towards the close of the summer of 1760, Governor Pownali wrote the ^^Letter to an Horir Durable Brigadier- General, Commander-in- Chief of His Majesty's forces in Canada " as that it and the Letters of Junius were the productions of one and the same mind. In further support of this position, we may a^so call the attention of the reader to a particular expression in the Letter, which seems directly to point to Governor Pow- nali, as the author. On page 9, the writer says, — " But they must have known very little of the expedition to Quebec who expected that you would bear testimony to the conduct of a Gen- eral whose plan of operations you had the honour, both in public and private, to oppose; and against whose last desperate attempt you protested in form." Besides showing an inti- mate knowledge of the preliminary consultations 62 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. at Wolfe's head-quarters, this passage speaks of the General's plan of operations : — now, the document to which we have already referred, as having been drawn up and presented, in 1756, by Governor Pownall, to the Duke of Cumber- land, was intituled — "A Memorial : stating the nature of the service in North America, and proposing a general plan of operations, as founded thereon ; " ^ and in several places in this memorial, and in his other writings relative to the Colonies, the expression — a plan of opera- tions — or, a one plan of operations^ is used. Moreover, — in the Letter, General Wolfe's " last desperate attempt" is spoken of, — an expres- sion which seems to tally well with that of Governor Pownall before quoted, — " the greatly hazarded, and gloriously successful stroke of General Wolfe : " — and, in reference to the " plan of operations " which General Towns- hend " had the honour, both in public and private, to oppose," we see the foundation of the bitter feeling evinced by Junius — who, beyond question, was a good hater — towards General Townshend. Pownall's ^^ general plan of operations " was, no doubt, known to Wolfe, although he may not have known PownaU to have been the originator of it; but Pownall, knowing that it had been adopted by the Min- Appendix to Admin, of the Colonies, p. 1. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 63 istry, and that Wolfe's particular "plan of operations," was but the carrying out of the chief feature of his own general plan, must have felt his ire rise, on learning, that the opposition of General Townshend " both in public and in private," was likely to render — or had nearly rendered — that general plan abortive ; and hence — the Letter of 1760 was the outpouring of that ire on the first fitting opportunity, after the au- thor's return to England. Having now re-landed our worthy governor in his native country, and exhibited him in such close connexion with the earliest of the writings of Junius, as — at the least — to raise in the mind of the most doubting reader, some faint idea that, after all, our conjecture of the identity of the two, may, possibly, be well founded ; we resume the narrative of such of the remaining events of Governor Pownall's life, as tend to establish the truth of our hypothesis. The energy and ability of such a man could not be allowed to remain long idle ; and, accord- ingly, we find him, a few months after his retirm to England, foregoing his appointment to the governorship of South Carolina,^ and accepting, with the rank of colonel, the office of comptrol- ler-general of the expenditure and accounts of the 1 Thomas Boone, Esq., was appointed Governor of South Carolina, April 14, 1761. • 64 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. extraordinaries of the combined army in Ger- many, under the command of Prince Ferdinand, of Brunswick. In this appointment, we find why — in the language of Dr. Good — "Junius appears to have uniformly entertained a good opinion of, or at least, a partiality for. Lord Holland ; " * and why — in Junius's own words — he should "wish Lord Holland may acquit himself with honour," 2 namely, from the charge of peculation, made in the petition of the city of London, presented to the King, July 5, 1769 ; — and why Junius "designedly spare4 Lord Holland and his family." ^ His lordship was paymaster-gen- eral of the forces, from July 5, 1757, to June 8, 1765 ; and. Governor Pownall, on accepting the comptroller-generalship, became one of his depu- ties, and bound to render to him the accounts of the office. In Lord Holland's ^^ Answer ^^ to "06- servations on the accounts of the paymaster-gen^ era^^ to be found in the note A, immediately after the letter to Woodfall, No. 5, July 21, 1769, is the following paragraph ; — " The accounts of Lord Holland for the years 1757, 1758, and 1759 ; likewise the accounts of his deputies, attending the army in Germany, from the com- mencement to the end of the late war, are also 1 Prel. Essay, vol. i. 81, and * 174, note. 2 Letter to Woodfall, No. 5. * Misc. Lett. C, vol. iii. 410. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 65 before the auditors for their examination, and his Lordship's account for the year 1760, is almost ready to be delivered to them."^ We learn, here, that Mr. Comptroller- General Pownall's accounts " to the end of the late war " had been transmitted to the auditors for examination ; and, from an obituary notice of him, published in the year of his death, that they had been " examined and passed with honour J^ It is not at all improbable that Governor Pownall received his appointment on the recommendation of Lord Holland ; and hence, the partiality of Junius to his lordship. We may also well suppose, that the great anxiety of Junius to remain unknown, would prohibit his entering upon the discussion of any subject — such as that of the public ac- counts of Lord Holland, as paymaster-general, connected as they, necessarily, must have been, with his own, as comptroller-general — that might bring his real name into prominence, and tend to direct towards him the attention of the legion of hunters who were in busy and constant search for the " mighty boar of the forest." The notice of Governor Pownall's appoint- ment, as comptroller-general, gives us also occa- sion to explain a passage in the Miscellaneous Letter IV., dated Aug. 25, 1767, which has puz- zled every one who has attempted to solve the 1 Vol. i. 182. 00 JUNIirH niriCJOVHKKU. iTtiiihiH inyHtrry ; iiiiil Iiiih, in iiiiuiy, inductMl the M'w\\ tiiiii .liuiiuN iniiHl. Imvd Ihtii ii iiiciiilM'r of tlir iiiilitiiry pnift^Hi^ioii. Hpciikiii^ of Lnnl ()tH)r^« 'rowiiNli(*ii(l ((li(^ iH'lorrHiKMilioiHMi l>rif(- iuli«*r-^«Mii«nil), iiikI liiH liroilii'r, (*liiirl(*it, JitiiiiiH HiiyH, — *' I Hill not. II Htriiii^«>r to Miih par nohita JhUrum, 1 liuvi* nrrvtul iiiidcr tlio our, iiiul liiivo htMMi forty tiiii<*H proiiiimMl to bf' nvrvvil liy tlir otlirr.'** PiiriidoxUMil iih it iiiiiy Hrriii (iiiul ooii- Hulrriii^ tlir riiiik of colonol, wiiicli iUM'oiii|miiivrrMor i\>wiiiill could properly uho, in itn militiiry nciinis iho I'xprt'HHion-—'* 1 ha vo sdfrrtv/ under tho oii«)" — ill rrfonMiro to (Mtlicr the iiiilitiiry, or ilin riviliun, of tho two broiliorH TowiihIkmkI. Not long aftur Brigadior-Onicral TownHlitMurH return from (/au- ada, ho joined the alliod army in (Jurmany, and luado a campaign with it, undc^r Priiico Ferdi- nand. During the name campaign, and in the name army, but in a civil department. Governor Pownall starved; and, of course, in a« truly a mil- itary sense as if he had belongi^d to the cornmiB- sariat or medical departmentM ; he served under General Townshend, although he might not have been under his immediate command. Thus much for the military brother : — now for the civilian. I- J 1 Vol. ii. 469. * Wo use tho wonl cmlian in Uio sense which it obtains in com- mon parlance, and not as meaning " ono skilled in civil law." JliNIDH liIMCOVKRKD. 67 »» On r i\u'. otw, nor th» other of them, waM, in a Htrict Hf'nH(?, a Boldier : — -the former wa» q/*— but not in — tho army, — and the latter wan neither of — nor in — but over the army; and both were non-combatantH. A conHeqii(!noe of the treaty of Paris, of Feb. 10, 1763, waH, the breaking up of the office in the army, in Gennany, held by Governor Pow- nall, and. his return to England; soon after which, he took up his residence at Richmond, where, it will be recollected, the court of George the Third, was established during the period in which Junius, as chief public political censor, reigned in England, unseen, unknown, but not unfelt. 68 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Before retiring to Richmond, Governor Pow- nall was ottered, by the ministry, any government he pleased in America, if he would return to that country, in that line of service ; but, he de- clined the otter, because he could not agree with them, that " the surest way of securing the de- pendence of the colonies, was an exercise of the supremacy of Great Britain, in legislative power, external to their will, and in imposing and levy- ing taxesi, neither given nor granted by their own consent ; " and that " a revenue so raised might be applicable, as future occasions might require, to the measures of British politics."^ And, in this declining to go to America, we find the ground of that passage in the Miscellaneous Letter^ LIV.^ signed Junius, and dated, April 12, 1769, in which Junius says — " It is true, I have refused otters which a more prudent, or a more interested man would have accepted. Whether it be simplicity or virtue in me, I can only affirm, that / am in earnest ; because I am convinced .... that the present ministry are driving this country to destruction." ^ Having in vain urged upon the ministry his peculiar views of Colonial Government^ he at length embodied them "into a treatise on the subject, and published it in the year 1764, as an appeal to the sense of the nation at large, under 1 Greneral Preface to Memorials, p. viii. et seq. a Vol. iii. 202. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 69 the title of The Administration of the Colonies" In this treatise he endeavoured to point the way of so combining into one great system the re- ciprocal interests, political and commercial, of the mother-country and her colonies, as " that Great Britain may be no more considered as the kingdom of this Isle only^ loith many appendages of provinces^ colonies^ settlements^ and other ex- traneous parts^ but as a grand marine dominion, CONSISTING OF OUR POSSESSIONS IN THE ATLANTIC AND IN America, united into a one empire, in a one centre, where the seat of government is."^ The work attracted so much attention, that in 1768 it reached to a fourth edition, and six years afterward to a fifth. " The refusing to go to America on this service" — wrote Gov- ernor Pownall twenty years afterward — "and the publication of this treatise, ruined me with those who had the real power of Government in their hands.* I was not ignorant that it would have such effect. I sacrificed to what I thought truth and right; and I thank God I have never yet once, to this hour (1784), repented that I made that sacrifice." ^ In 1765, Governor Pownall was elected a Fel- low of the Royal Society ; and, on the third of 1 Admin, of the Colonies, p. 9 et seq. General Preface to Me- morials, p. xi. '^ Namely, Lord Sandwich, and the Duke of Grafton. * General Preface to Memorials, p. xi. 70 JUNIUS ■ DISCOVERED. August, in the same year, he married Lady Fawk- ener, daughter of Lieutenant- General Churchill, and widow of Sir Everard Fawkener. Than Lady Fawkener, few women in England were, at the time, more remarkable for personal beauty ; and fewer still for a high order of intellect, sedu- lously cultivated, and a manner in every way fit- ted to adorn and charm society. Sir Everard had been appointed, in March, 1745, secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, and, in the following May, he and the Earl of Leicester, were appointed joint post-masters general : — he subsequently, and for several years, held, with great ability, the high office of His Majesty's ambassador to the Otto- man Porte. Governor Pownall, being now independent of office under government, soon found in the House of Commons a new field for the exercise of his talents. In January, 1767, he was elected to suc- ceed the deceased William Trevanion, Esquire, in the representation of Tregony, in Cornwall ; and, at the ensuing general election, in 1768, he was reelected for the same borough, in conjunc- tion with John Gray, Esquire, uncle to the Earl of Stamford, and a clerk to the board of green- cloth. In December, 1774, he was returned for Minehead, in Somersetshire, and continued to sit for that borough until the end f "^hat parliament, in October, 1780, when he closed his parliament- arv career. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 71 The reader will, no doubt, have observed, from the foregoing sketch, how progressively, as the time for the rising of the comet-like Junius ap- proached, Governor Pownall became established in that social, political, and local position, in v/hich he could unobservedly, and without any extraordinary exertions, collect almost any amount of that kind of information respecting past, pass- ing, and approaching events, and regarding per- sons of all ranks and degrees, from the monarch on the throne, to the lowest clerk in a public of- fice, which manifests itself throughout the writ- ings of Junius ; and which not only excited the surprise of his contemporaries, but has continued to the present day, to be a stumblin^-hlock to every one who has attempted to penetrate the darkness in which he enshrouded himself. But another source from which he derived in- formation, especially that information which re- lated to measures and movements in and about the public offices of the government, remains to be pointed out. In opening our sketch, we men- tioned that Governor Pownall's public life began in 1745, as secretary to the lords commissioners of trade and plantations; and that he had an elder brother. *We now extract from Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the eighteenth century^ but with one or two corrections and additions, a sum- mary of the leading events of that brother's life. John Pownall, who was also an eminent •iv -v.ijuiatt «**ti*^ 72 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. antiquary and intelligent statesman, and, like the Governor, educated at Cambridge, was for many years one of the deputy lieutenants for the county of Lincoln, and in the com- mission of the peace for the counties of Lin- coln, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, and the city and liberty of Westminster. In 1754, he succeed- ed his brother, Thomas, as secretary to the lords commissioners for trade and plantations.^ In January, 1768, on the creation of the new office of Secretary of State for the colonies, and the ap- pointment of Lord Hillsborough thereto, Mr. Pownall was made vnder-secretary for the colo- nies, in addition to his other secretaryship. On the 11th of December, 1771, a grant passed the great seal, conferring upon him the office of Provost- Master- General of the Leeward and Caribl ee Islands in America, " to hold the same by himself, or sufficient deputy, during his life, or the lives of John Livingston Pownall, and George Pownall,^ his sons, or the longest liver of them." In 1773, he became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, — in 1774, he was elected a member of the House of Commons, for St. Germain's, in Cornwall, but iHis appointment to the same office on the 17th of February, 1761, as recorded by the annalists of the time, was merely a re- appointment, on the first one becoming vacant by the demise of George the Second. 2 Afterwards Secretary of the Province of Lower Canaua. He was knighted April 6, 1796, and died October 17, 1834. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 7", vacated his- seat about eighteen months after- ward, on being appointed one of the commis- sioners of excise, — and in 1785, he was made one of the commissioners of the customs. These commissionerships he resigned in 1788, on account of his declining health, and upon his eldest son being appointed to the office of accomptant of the petty receipts. His character for ability, in- tegrity, attention to and knowledge of business, was universally known : and after his retirement from public employments, he continued his exer- tions as an active and useful magistrate. He died at Westminster, July 17, 1795, leaving a widow (daughter of Lillingston Bowden Lillings- ton. Esquire, of Ferry by, in Yorkshire), the two sons above named, and a daughter. Now, where there is no greater disparity of years, than that which existed between Governor Pownall, and his brother John, — and wliere there is — as, in their case, there certainly was — a tendency of mind towards the same studies and pursuits,^ we may fairly presume that " brotherly love," in full force, will prevail ; and when to that presumption are added the facts — that John Pow- nall became the immediate successor of his brother in the secretaryship for trade and plantations, — that their relative positions thenceforward, and 1 We allude more particularly to those relating to autiquities, in which both brothers were very eminent. 74 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. until the close of Thomas's governorship in 1760, necessarily kept them in continued official cor- respondence with each other,^ — and that John Pownall continued to hold the same office, and that of under-secretary for the colonies, through- out Urn p' riod of time in which Junius blazed, there can be little doubt that the social intercourse oi i he two brothers was of the most unrestrained and "oijSdential character ; and that John would, froir ll iiie to time, relate to his brother, as one of us, many ol those little — as well as great anec- dotes, respecting little — as well as great men (and vjomen) which obtain free circulation in — and scarcely beyond — the public offices; and this — without ever dreaming, that, in so doing, he was feeding " the mighty boar of the forest" — Junius. Before entering upjn the tapk of showing an identity of opinions between Governor Pownall I I 1 Wc have seer some of this correspondence in the State-paper office, in Boston ; and, although it r lu/ tend to throw doubt upon the hypothesis which we are half inclined to entertc.i that Sir Pbiljp Francis was the amanuensis of Junius, we cannot, in fair- ness, withhold an observation on the handwriting of Governor Pownall. In general, it approaches as nearly to the handwriting of Junius, as that of Sir Philip does; but in one particular it perfectly resembles — while Sir Philip's differs from it. The let- ters — m, n, and iv, are invariably written by Sir Philip with round tops and bottoms — and, as invariably, by the Governor and J unius, with sharp ones. This is very conspicuous in the Governor's signature, in which the w and n are conjoined. j JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 75 and Junius, on questions of constitutional law, or of public policy or interest, and other matters, either directly dealt with, or incidentally touched upon, by the latter, we pause, for the purpose of asking the reader, if, in any one of the many per- sons to whom the authorship of the letters of Ju- nius has been attributed, a greater aggregate of the qualities essential to the due filling of the character of that singular writer, can be found, thon in Governor Pownall, as we have, thus far, although, we fear, very imperfectly, depicted him ? Trace him from his first entry, at the age of twenty-three, into a public office of high trust, through his career of service and command in America, and of service in Germany, down to his entrance into the House of Commons, at the age of forty-five, and we find him progressively pass- ing through those situations wherein he could best obtain a thoroughly practical, as well as the- oretical knowledge of public men, and public affairs, military as well as civil; — situations wherein, without being a soldier, he could scarcely fail to become one, — wherein, without being a lawyer, he, almost of necessity, became — and practically too — a constitutional one, — wherein a certain manner of command was an almost necessary adjunct to the fulfilment of his duty, — and wherein, assisted by consciousness of sound intellect, and integrity of purpose, he could, with ease, contract the habit of addressing his fellow V'"..i>, .i ' " 76 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. man as his equal, although a coronet should press the brow, and a ducal star gleam from the breast of that fellow man. It may be said, however, that we have not shown any particular direction of Governor Pow- nalPs mind towards the acquirement of that fa- miliar knowledge of constitutional law which manifests itself throughout the letters of Junius. Let us see then, whether the Governor himself cannot supply the deficiency ; and whether he cannot, at the same time, exhibit a perfect iden- tity of opinion with Junius, of those gentlemen with whom the practice, as well as the study, of the law, was a profession. The reader, however, will bear in mind, that while Junius chose to re- main unknown, and was, therefore, fearless of personal consequences, his bitter invectives were shot forth without restaraint of any kind, save his own sense of propriety ; but, when he appeared as Governor Pownall, in proprid persond^ they were kept within reasonable bounds, by the pres- ence, actual or assumed, of their objects, — by the conventional rules of society in general, and of the House of Commons in particular, when engaged in his parliamentary duties ; and, more- over, it must not be forgotten, that as Junius took every precaution to forbid his becoming known, he would, as Governor Pownall, most sedulously avoid every peculiarity of expression, every mode of argument, every turn of thought, that could, by JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 77 possibility, lead to the supposition that he and the Governor were identical. In a debate in the House of Commons, on a proposed address to the King, on the disturbances in America, May 8, 1770, Governor Pownall said, — "I ought here. Sir, and I do beg leave, to make apology to the gentlemen of the long-robe in this House, for taking upon me to state a point of law, and desire their indulgence whilst I endeavour to do it. Law hath neither been my study, nor was it my profession ; ^ and yet. Sir, that law which respects the state of our constitution, ought to be the study of every gentleman, who, by his situation, may have any share in the deliberative or executive part of the community. That law, which respects the state and powers of the crown, was my study : because, being commissioned by his Majesty to execute his royal powers as his governor, it was my duty to act according to it : and, so far. Sir, I will consider it as my profes- sion." 2 In the following November, in a debate in which he combated the ministerial position — " that the attorney-general's power of filing in- 1 In his Administration of the Colonies, p. 90, he says, — " I am no lawyer, and do not therefore presume to give an opinion of decision, but venture to affirm, that, etc." — This is veiy nearly the language of Junius,^ in his Preface, — "I am no lawyer by profession, nor do I pretend to be more deeply read, than every English gentleman should be in the laws of his country." Vol. i. 350. ' Hansard, v. xvi. 988. 78 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. *^* formations ex officio^ is a legal, fundamental, con- stitutional power, exercised in the King's Courts invariably, and of time immemorial," — he said,— " But it can never be proved, the most learned of the long-robe have not proved, and cannot prove, that any such proceeding ever was admitted, as established in the Court of King's Bench, till the period of the establishment of the Star-chamber, in Henry the Vllth's time. Since that period, there do exist some precedents, but prior to that period they cannot produce one" — [Here some gentlemen in large full-bottomed wigs shook their heads ; as much as to say — he is wrong, totally wrong. This gave fresh spirit to the callers for the question, and the clamour began again. Mr. Po vnall, however, continued, by saying] — " that authoritative shaking of the head may have effect where those wigs are to give weight to judgment, but they give no force nor weight to argument. If I am wrong, convict me. I call upon you to prove the contrary. The conviction of my error may produce truth. I challenge those gentlemen to the proof. Until the contrary is proved, I will affirm, that this proceeding by information ex officio is directly contrary to our constitution ; is not known to our common law ; is not authorized by our statutes ; is at best an usurpation of the Court whenever practised ; crept in from the habit of exercising it according to civil law proceedings in the Star-chamber; and when that cursed court JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 79 was abolished, was left as a bitter layer of it, which had struck its poisonous root in the King's Bench." * We have designedly made this ex- tract longer than is strictly needful, and we again, occasionally, may do the like ; but our purpose in so doing will not, we trust, be unap predated by the reader : it is to the end of show- ing, that Governor Pownall's language is not wanting in the energy, decision, and clearness of style that are so remarkable in the acknowledged letters of Junius. Another extract, and the last, on this point, will show, still more prominently, how much his contemptuous opinion of lawyers coincided with that of Junius. It is from a speech reported in Hansard) s Parliamentary History,, Vol. XXI. p. 249. Governor P. said, — " . . . that he had attended to the reasoning of gentlemen on this subject, with that respect which their char- acters and their opinions deserved, and to the 1 Hansard, v. xvi. 1173 et seq. : — There is much in this ex- tract like the following from Junius's Letter XVI., July 19, 1769, vol. i., 516. " I will venture to affirm, 1st, That there is no stat- ute existing, by which that specific disability, which we speak of, is created. If there be, let it be produced. The argument will then be at aa end. 2dly, That there is no precedent in all the pro- ceedings of the House of Commons which comes entirely home to the present case, viz. : .... If there be such a precedent, let it be given to us plainly, and I am sure it will have more weight than all the cunning arguments which have been drawn from inferences and probabilities." See also. Letters XLIV. and LX VIII., in vol. ii., pp. 215 et seq., and 409. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) -^ <^ ^ 1.0 I.I lit lU u |M 1.25 III 1.4 14^ ^^A ^ ^>. \^- Hiotographic Sciences Corporation A ^ V <^ 4 23 WEST MAIN STRUT WIUTIII,N.Y. M5M (716)t72-4S03 i\ ) impossible for them to take an active concern in your affairs, if they were as well af- fected to your government, as they once pretended to be to your person. They were ready enough to distinguish between you and your ministers. They complained of an act of the legislature, but traced the origin of it no higher than to the ser- vants of the Crown: They pleased themselves with the hope that their Sovereign, if not favour- able to their cause, at least was impartial. The decisive, personal part you took against them, has effectually banished that first distinction from their minds. They consider you as united with your servants against America, and know how to distinguish the Sovereign and a venal parliament on one side, from the real sentiments of the English people on the other. Looking forward to inde- pendence, they might possibly receive you for their King ; but, if ever you retire to America, be assured they will give you such a covenant to digest, as the presbytery of Scotland would have been ashamed to offer to Charles the Second. They left their native land in search of freedom, 1 Vol. i. 401. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 97 and found it in a desert. Divided as they are into a thousand forms of policy and religion, there is one point in which they all agree: — they equally detest the pageantry of a king, and the supercilious hypocrisy of a bishop. It is not then from the alienated affections of Ireland or America, that you can reasonably look for assist- ance ; still less from the people of England, who are actually contending for their rights, and in this great question are parties against you." ^ In Letter XXXIX., May 28, 1770 : — « Neither the general situation of our colonies, nor that par- ticular distress which forced the inhabitants of Boston to take up arms in their defence, have been thought worthy of a moment's considera- tion. In the repeal of those acts, which were most offensive to America, the parliament have done every thing, but remove the offence. They have relinquished the revenue, but judiciously taken care to preserve the contention. It is not pretended that the continuation of the tea-duty is to produce any direct benefit whatsoever to the mother-country. What is it then but an odious, unprofitable exertion of a speculative right, and fixing a badge of slavery upon the Americans, without service to their masters? But it has pleased God to give us a ministry and a parlia- 1 Vol. ii. 76, 77. 98 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ment, who are neither to be persuaded by argu- ment, nor instructed by experience." ^ In Letter LIX., Oct 5, 1771,— "When Lord Chatham affirms, that the authority of the British legislature is not supreme over the colonies, in the same sense in which it is supreme over Great Brit- ain; — when Lord Camden supposes a necessity (which the King is to judge of), and, founded upon that necessity, attributes to the crown a legal power (not given by the act itself) to suspend the oper- ation of an act of the legislature, — I listen to them both with diffidence and respect, but with- out the smallest degree of conviction or assent. . . . . Lord Hillsborough wisely confines 7*15 firm- ness to the distant Americans I should be sorry to revive the dormant questions of Stamps actf Corn-bill, or Press-warrant The spirit of the Americans may be an useful example to us."2 In Letter LXIV., Nov, 2, 1771, — (Junius's opinion had been mistaken, or misrepresented, and he set it right by this declaration) : — " Junius considers the right of taxing the colonies, by an act of the British legislature, as a speculative right merely, never to be exerted, nor ever to be re- nounced. To his judgment it appears plain, ' That the general reasonings which were employed iVoLii. 147. «Vol.ii. 350-357. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 99 against that power, went directly to our whole legislative right, and that one part of it could not be yielded to such arguments, without a virtual surrender of all the rest.' " ^ In Letter No, 66, to Wilkes^ Sept. 7, 1771: — " As to taxing the Americans by their own representatives, I confess I do not perfectly under- stand you. If you propose that, in the article of taxation, they should hereafter be left to the au- ^ Vol. ii. 393. Tho opinion, on this subject, of a statesman like Canning, stamped with the approval of Sir Robert Peel, may not be deemed inopportune here. We give it as we find it, with the introductory remark, in a note on page 39, of the first volume of the interesting " Life and Correspondence of Joseph Heed, Mili- tary Secretary to Washington, etc.," by his grandson — our re- spected and learned friend — William B. Reed, Esquire, of Phil- adelphia : — "In contrast," says Mr. Reed, " with the blind fanat- icism of British statesmanship at this period ( 1 766 ), I cannot refrain from alluding to the tone of debate on a recent occasion in Par- liament. In 1834, on the Jamaica bill, Sir Robert Peel cited with warm approval Mr. Canning's doctrine on this subject 6f parliamentary supremacy over colonies. — ' I will only say that no feeling of wounded pride, no motive of questionable expedi- ency, nothing short of real, demonstrative necessity, shall induce me to moot tho awful question of the transcendental power of Parliament over every dependency of the British crown. That transcendental power is an arcanum of empire, which ought to be kept back within the penetralia of the Constitution. It exists, but it should be veiled. It should not bs produced on trifling occasions, or in cases of petty refractiousness, or temporary mis- conduct. It should be brought forward only in tlie utmost ex- tremity of the state, when other remedies have failed to stay the raging of some moral or political pestilence.' (Hansard, vol. xlvii. p. 767.) This was not the tone in 1765 and 1774." 100 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. thority of their respective assemblies, I must own I think you had no business to revive a question which should^ and probably would, have lain dor- mantfor ever.^ If you mean that the Americans should be authorized to send their representa- tives to the ^Pritish parliament, I shall be con- tented with referring you to what Mr. Burke has said upon this subject, and will not venture to add any thing of my own, for fear of discovering an offensive disregard of your opinion. Since the repeal of the stamp-act, I know of no acts tend- ing to tax the Americans, except that which cre- ates the tea-duty ; and even that can hardly be called internal. Yet it ought to be repealed, as an impolitic act, not as an oppressive one. It pre- serves the contention between the mother-country and the colonies, when every thing worth con- tending for is in reality given up." ^ And lastly, — in Letter No. 79, to Wilkes, Nov. 6, 1771 : — " My American namesake ^ is plainly a man of abilities, though I think a little unreasonable, when he insists upon more than an absolute surrender of the fact. I agree with him that it is a hardship on the Americans to be taxed by the British legislature ; but it is a hard- ^ Junius had previously said, in the same letter (p. 279), — " There are questions which, in good policy, you should never provoke the people in general to ask themselves." a Vol. i. 293. > Dr. Lee, who wrote under the signature Junius Americanus. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 101 lever ship inseparable in theory from the condition of colonists, in which they have voluntarily placed themselves. If emigration be no crime to deserve punishment, it is certainly no virtue to claim ex- emption ; and however it may have proved even- tually beneficial, the mother-country was but little obliged to the intentions of the first emigrants. But, in fact, change of place does not exempt from subjection: — the members of our factories settled under foreign governments, and whose voluntary banishment is much more laudable with regard to the mother-country, are taxed with the laws of consulage. Au reste, I see no use in fighting this question in the newspapers, nor have I time. You may assure Dr. Lee, that to mi/ heart and understanding, the names of Amer- ican and Englishman are synonymous^ and that as to any future taxation of America^ I look upon it as near to impossible as the highest improbability cango^^ The preceding extracts are made thus full, in order that the reader may, at a glance, judge for himself, whether they exhibit any thing on which to found the oft repeated accusation — already al- luded to — that Junius was a bitter enemy of the colonies, and a bigoted advocate of the mother- country's tyranny towards them. We do not hes- itate in answering for him in the negative. Yet, kus. 1 Vol. i. 330. 102 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. the extracts contain all — except a few unimpor- tant sentences — that is to be found relating to the colonies, in the avowed writings of Junius, including his private letters to Wilkes ; and con- sequently, all upon which the accusation can, with justice to Junius, be based. In evidence of the coincidence of Governor Pownall's opinions with those of Junius, expressed in the above extracts, we begin by referring to the dedication of the fourth edition of his Admin' istration of the Colonies^ to the Right Honourable George Grenville ; which dedication must have been written, and published, only a few months before the first letter of Junius made its appear- ance in The Public Advertiser. " You had con- ceived" — wrote Gov. P. — "that government hath a right to avail itself in its finances, of the revenues of all its dominions ; and that the im- posing [upon the Colonies] taxes by parliament, for that purpose, was the constitutional mode of doing this. The colonists, who were not repre- sented in parliament by knights, and burges- ses of their own election, *did apprehend, they had reason to fear some danger of arbitrary rule over them, when the supreme power of the na- tion had thought proper to impose taxes on his Majesty's American subjects, with the sole and express purpose of raising a revenue, and with- out their consent.' Parliament had, by a solemn act, declared, that it hath a right to make laws JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 103 which shall be binding upon the people of the Colonies, subjects of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever^ — while the colonists say, in all cases which can consist with the fundamental rules of the constitution ; by which limitation, they except the case of taxation, where there is not representation. Hence the colonists have, by many, been deemed factious, undutiful and disloyal ; and even charge* able with treason itself. " .... It is a great pity that questions of this nature were ever raised, * ' for, it is a very unsafe thing in settled governments, to argue the reason of the fundamental constitutions.' — But when contrary propositions are alternately brought for- ward by the representatives of two people, as the avowed principles of their respective constituents ; when an inferior government, which invariably acknowledges its dependence on a superior and supreme government, thinks it hath a right to call into question some particular exertions of power in that government, by rules which limit the extent of that power, it is absolutely necessary, either to decide such question, or to give such explanations "*Comm. Journal, 1672." Note: The asterisk is here placed, as it frequently is in other places, by Gov. Pownall, at the beginning of the passage quoted, instead of at the end, as is usually done. The same thing has been observed in the writings of Junius, that is to say, in his own edition of 1772. In G. Woodfall's edition of 1814, the asterisk, or other note-mark, has, in general, been removed to the end of the quotation. 104 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. of the matter, that it may cease to be a question ; . . . . — The matter is in that state, that it ought to come before parliament ; it must; it will ; — it is necessary to the support of government that it should ; — it is necessary to the security of the nation and its interest; — it is necessary to the peace, liberties, and constitutions of the Colonies; it is necessary to the safety of ministers. .... I show that the colonies, although without the limits of the realm, are yet in fact, of the realm ; are annexed^ if not yet united parts of the realm ; are precisely in the predicament of the counties palatine of Durham and Chester ; and therefore ought, in the same manner, to be united to the realm^ in as full and absolute communication and communion of all rights, franchises and liberties, as any other part of the realm hath, or doth enjoy, or ought to have and to enjoy : in communication of the same burdens, offices, and emoluments ; in communion of the same fcederal and commercial rights ; in the same exercise of judicial and exec- utive powers ; in the same participation of coun- cil. — And that, therefore, in the course and pro- cedure of our government with the Colonies, there must arise a duty in government to give, a right in the Colonies to claim, a share in the legislature of Great Britain, by having knights and.burgesses of their own election, representing them in par- liament." The following extracts are from Governor JUNIUS DISCOVEH^D. 105 Pownall's speech in the House of Commons on the 8th of February, 1769, on a proposed amend- ment to the address to the King before mentioned) when it was brought up with the report from the Committee.* Although all the extracts tend to support our proposition, yet they are a little more extended than is absolutely necessary, for the purpose of showing the identity of the Governor's style of thought and reasoning, with that of Ju- nius. " On one hand you have your declaratory law •— your revenue laws as the exertion of the de- clared right, — you have your commissioners to execute these laws — and the military to enforce this execution. On the other hand, the Ameri- cans do universally, invariably, and unalterably declare, that they ought not to submit to any in- ternal taxes imposed upon them by any legisla- ture wherein they have not representatives of their own election. On this principle, they oppose such taxes by their petitions and remonstrances ' only, as yet,' — but there is something threatening in the bad temper and ill blood which seems to be forced up — so that the issue is wellnigh brought to force. The people of that country and the King's troops are, as it were, set in array against each other. The sword indeed is not drawn — but the hand is upon it. The word for action is 1 Hansard's Pari. History, v. xvi. p. 496 et seq. 106 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. not indeed yet given, but mischief is on tip-toe ; and the slightest circumstance would in a mo- ment throw every thing into confusion and blood- shed. And if some ' mode of policy ' does not interfere to remove this exertion of military power — the union between Great Britain and North America is broken for ever — unless (which is worse) both are united in one common ruin. " Where the whole spirit and bent of a people, who have the powers of government within them- selves, is fixed and determined against a tax — experience and common sense will convince you, that no civil power, no civil coercion, will ever assess or collect it. It will be found also in the trial, fact, that no military force can do this, — it never did, so long as the ' forms ' only of govern- ment remained: it cannot assess or collect; it may raise a contribution by ' military execution ' — but that is not ' government,' it is * war.' . . . " . . . . yet, if you attempt to force taxes against the spirit of the people there, you will find, when perhaps it is too late, that they are of a spirit which will resist all force ; which will grow stronger by being forced ; will prove superior to all force, and ever has been unconquerable : they are of a spirit to abide, nay, to court persecution : and if amonget other propositions which they have taken up, they should once take it into their heads that they are under a state of persecution, that spirit of enthusiasm which is of their temper, JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 107 it and of their very nature, will arise, and every mischievous consequence, in every extreme will accompany it.^ This spirit is not dead in them ; it is only dormant ; the utmost care and skill of those who lead them, either in civil or religious matters, is employed to restrain and keep it c!own. If this spirit should once take fire, (and bf lieve me. Sir, it is in such a state of inflammability that the smallest spark would give it fire,) it wilT break out into a flame which no reason, no pru- dence, no force can restrain : ^ those who yet re- tain some lead, and have kept matters from run- ning to extremities, to whom the people still listen, will either lose that lead, or will take the lead of this spirit when it shall be once gone forth ; and if the ministers (whom we here call the clergy) once fall in with this spirit, — if the people once call upon them, they must take the lead ; and if they do, the people (to use their own phrase) will 1 " But I see the spirit which has gone abroad through the col- onies, and I know what consequences that spirit must and will produce. If it be determined to enforce the authority of the leg- islature, the event will be uncertain ; but if we yield to the pre- tensions of America, there is no further doubt about the matter. From that moment they become an independent people, they open their trade with the rest of the world, and England is undone." — Junius, Misc. Letter XLV., Oct. 6, 1768. Vol. iii. 159. 2 " This treatment of the colonics . . . will naturally throio them cdl into aflame." — " The first act of his own administration was to impose that tax upon America, which has since thrown the whole continent into a flame." — Misc. Letters XLVIIL and LL, vol. iii. 173, 185. 108 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. be led by Moses and Aaron, by the civil and reli- gious, under a bond of unity that no factions will divide, no force can break. The spirit of their religion, or if ycu please so to call it, of fanati- cism, will, like Moses' serpent, devour every other passion and affection : their love for the mother- country, changing its nature, will turn to the bit- terest hate ; their affectation of our modes and fashions (the present source of great part of our commerce), will become an abomination in their sight. " That spirit which led their ancestors to break off from every thing which is near and dear to the human heart ; from every connexion which friendship, relation, blood could give ; which led them to quit every comfort that a settled and civ- ilized country (their own native country) could afford ; and to encounter every difficulty and dis- tress which a wild wilderness of savages could oppose to them, to struggle even for their exist- ence ; ^ that spirit, equally strong and equally in- flamed, has but a slight and trifling sacrifice to make at this time ; they have not to quit their native country, but to defend it ; they have not to forsake their friends and relations, but to ilnite with and to stand by them, in one common union. 1 Ten months after this speech was delivered, Junius wrote, in reference to the American colonists, — " They left their native land in search of freedom, and found it in a desert." Letter (to the King) xxxv., Dec. 19, 1769, vol. ii. 77. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 109 The only sacrifice they have to make is that of a few follies and a few luxuries. It is not neces- sity that is the ground of their commerce with you ; it is merely the affection of your modes and customs ; the love for home^ as they call England, that makes them like every thing that comes from thence : but passion may be conquered by pas- sion, and they will abominate as sincerely as they now love you ; and if they do, they have within themselves every thing which is necessary to the food, raiment, or the dwelling of mankind, and have no need of your commerce. * • • " Truth lies in a very narrow compass. * * * " The ground that this business doth actually stand upon is this : you have now no internal taxes upon which questions may be raised or dispute arise with the Americans. You have no conces- sions to make, no repeals as to internal taxes. * * * * there is not at present any intention of extending the exercise of our power to the laying internal taxes ; nor will any future ministry (be they composed of whomsoever they may) ever venture to lay internal taxes " Let the matter of right rest upon the declara- tory law, and say no more about it. It may be understood (as it is in the same words as in that respecting Ireland), — that it shall stand in the same line of administration — I say it may be so understood, and will be better understood by be- ing never explained. Do nothing which may 110 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. bring into discussion * questions of right/ whicli must become ' mere articles of faith.* .... Ex- ert the spirit of policy, that you may not ruin the colonies and yourselves by exerting force." The relative term mother-country^ it will be ob- served, is used by Governor Pownall and Junius with equal familiarity ; and in a manner which appears more natural to a colonist, or to one who has long resided in the colonies, than to one who — speaking or writing in England — has never been beyond " the four seas." The following is from a speech of Governor Pownall, in April, (?) 1769, in support of his own motion for the repeal of the American revenue act.^ " And first, of the sovereignty and supremacy of parliaments. That is a line from which you ought never to deviate, which ought never to be out of sight. The parliament hath, and must have, from the nature and essence of the consti- tution, has had, and ever will have, a sovereign supreme power and jurisdiction over every part of the dominions of the state, to make laws in all cases whatsoever ; this is a proposition which ex- ists of absolute necessity — its truth is intuitive, and need not be demonstrated, — and yet, there may be times and occasions when this ought to be declared and held forth to the eyes and notice 1 Hansard, xvi. 612. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Ill je of the subject. Such was the time when the law declaring this power was made ; it enacted noth- ing new ; it declared no power that did not exist before ; but it was like the hoisting your colours, the fixing your standard, to which all true patri- ots of this country might repair, under which they might arrange themselves, and to which the duty and obedience of all might be directed ; and as you cannot, as you ought not, to give up the least, the most inconsiderable point of this right, of this power thus claimed, so ought you not, so can you not, lower these colours one inch, nor remove your standard for a moment. ** Although the declaratory law is no part of the superstructure of the edifice of our constitu- tion, yet. Sir, it is a visible sign and symbol of its sovereignty affixed to it ; and if ever any one, now it is so fixed as a symbol on the edifice, should attempt to eraze or remove it, the whole edifice would fall to pieces. " This, Sir, is my idea of the sovereignty of parliament ; this is my idea of the law which de- clares it ; and if I could think myself capable of proposing any thing which might derogate from this, even in an to to, I should not only think my- self unworthy of being a member of this House, but even a member of the community. When, therefore, people say that when the colonies re- cede, the proper occasion will arise wherein the government of Great Britain may concede ; I say 112 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. that occasion never can arise. Great Britain ought never to concede, if by those concessions are meant the giving up any of the rights or pow- ers which are necessary to the supremacy and sovereignty; nor is it what the. colonies either wish, des;re, or expect. They only wish to hold under this supremacy those rights which they have hitherto enjoyed, and to exercise them in the manner in which they have been hitherto per- mitted to use them. " . . . . You have, in the plenifude of your power, not only rejected the petitions of the col- onies, but you have renounced the principles which those petitions contain ; and yet, they con* tinue to obey to tKis hour Matters are now brought to a crisis at w^hich they never will be again ; if this occasion is now lost, it is Jost for ever. K this session elapses with parliament's doing nothing, American affairs will perhaps be impracticable for ever after. — You may exert power over, but you can never govern an unwill- ing people ; ^ they will be able to obstruct and pervert every effort of your policy ; they will ren- der ineffectual every exertion of your government, and will shut up every source, one after another, by which you should derive any benefit or ad- vantage from them When we consider 1 A little before he had said — "even despotism itself cannot command the will." JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 113 this law as a measure of finance, the fact upon your table proclaims its insufficiency, for the sum returned, as its whole net produce, amounts but to <£295, and a few shillings." The act in question was the 7 Geo. III., cap. 46, imposing duties, on a variety of articles, in the colonies ; and Governor Pownall's motion was, for the House to resolve itself into a com- mittee of the whole to consider the act ; when he purposed to offer certain propositions, declaring — that the act had a tendency to obstruct the vent of British manufactures and merchandise in the colonies, and to render the colonies less ben- eficial and advantageous to Great Britain ; — that it had not answered its purport and intent of raising a revenue ; — and that the repeal of the duties was, tipon commercial considerations alone, highly proper and necessary. — "Every person seemed to agree with the motion ; but the minis- try complaining that the late time of the session would not allow a matter of so much conse- quence to be properly agitated, as they were not prepared for it, — a motion was made to put it off till next session." ^ In the next session (March 5, 1770), Lord North, after stating, that "it must astonish every reasonable man to think how so preposterous a law could originally obtain exist- ence from a British legislature," moved for leave 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist., x\i. 622. 8 \ 114 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. to introduce a bill, repealing all the duties, except the duty vpon tea. This was resisted by Gover- nor Pownall, because of the exception ; and be- cause also, that it kept " the preamble of the act as a yoke upon the neck of the Americans ; " — he therefore moved, in amendment, for the entire repeal of the act of the 7 Geo. III. In the course of his speech he said, — "I feel, Sir, in a very sensible manner, the disadvantages under which any one rises in this House to speak on Ameri- can affairs, if it be supposed that he means to speak in favour of the Americans. I am aware of, and wish I could obviate these prejudices, which prevent every argument offered in re- straint to the exertion of the power of the House. I know that what I am now going to speak may be misconstrued, and imputed to party and to faction, wishing to profit of the uneasiness and disquiets which are raised in the minds of the subjects in America ; so as to take such ground for the purposes of opposing and distressing ad- ministration, as must widen the breach now made between the two countries I am conscious, that in what I must necessarily say, it will be imputed to me, that I am stirring up the question of right, and taking part with the faction in Amer- ica, against the sovereignty of this country : on the contrary, if there did not remain (after this act of the 7th of Geo. III. shall be repealed,) one act declaring the right of parliament, and another, JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 115 viz. the 4th of Geo. III., exerting that right, I would not now take the part I mean to take in this debate. If I saw that there could any thing possibly arise (these acts remaining) which could agitate that question, I would withdraw from this debate ; because, whatever may be my opinion of the right, as now stated, I know it never will be decided by arguments, reasonings, resolutions, or even acts of parliament. It will be decided by power ; and I know that we never shall have any power which we shall think reasonable to hazard by exerting — while the colonies will every day grow more and more into a capacity of disarm- ing, if not of resisting that power : it is wise, therefore, that the question should remain, as it will, by the declaratory act, and the 4th of Geo. III. But this day's debate arises from a neces- sity of acting ; as that necessity is derived from the simple fact of the suspension of your com- merce, in consequence of an imprudent exertion of your power But why should I combat these reasons — they are the artificial, the osten- sible reasons only. The true reason of making the distinction is — that by thus continuing the duty on tea, you preserve the preamble of the act, you still keep the yoke about the neck of the Amer' leans ; although you avow that you do not mean, you have not indeed any hopes, that you shall be ever able to make them draw in it." The amend- 116 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ment being put, there were — yeas 142, noes 204 ; BO it passed in the negative.^ In the preceding session of parliament, namely, on the 26th of January, 1769, Governor Pownall played a very conspicuous part in " the grand de- bate on the North American affairs," as it is called in Hansard. It was on a motion for the concur- rence of the Commons in certain resolutions, with an address to the King, relative to the proceedings of the House of representatives of Massachusetts Bay, and the riots in Boston, which had been sent down from the House of Lords. The speak- ers were Lord North, the Attorney and Solicitor- Generals (DeGrey and Dunning), Mr. Price, Mr. Hussey, and Mr. Dyson,^ for the question ; and Sir George Savile, Mr. Burke, Mr. Dowdeswell,' Colonel Barr^, Mr. Grenville, Mr. Beckford, Mr. Fuller, and Governor Pownall, against it. Al- though the debate is stated, in Hansard, to have been " very fine indeed," none of the speeches, but Governor Pownall's, are reported; and, of that, the substance only of a part is given. Inter alia, " he showed that the charge contained in the first resolution went upon a total mistake of the evidence brought to support it, so gross as to ac- 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist., xvi. 856-870, and 874. 2 Junius's ./erjy D^son, vol. i. 238, No. 44; and vol. ii. 131, lett. xxxviii. ' Chancellor of the Exchequer daring Lord Rockingham's ad- ministration. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 117 cuse the House of representatives at Boston, of coming to a positive resolution which had re- ceived its negative in that very House, and was not upon their journals, although the resolution proposed by the House of Commons referred to it as if really there existing. .... Mr. Dyson en- deavored to parry the objection, by referring to the amendment respecting the date of the As- sembly's resolve. But the Governor still insisted that there was 'no such resolve existing;' — Mr. Burke hoped the ministry would not draw the House of Commons ' into a positive error in fact ;'-—.... Mr. Grenville said, if there was any such resolution on the journals of the Boston Assembly, he desired it might be read. Others called out * read — read.' This threw the whole bench of ministers and clerks into a most ridic- ulous confusion, as they could not, when now called upon, in the face of the House, find any such : the business of the House stood still ; one side laughing, the other side in the most shame- ful perplexity, for more than a quarter of an hour. Under this state of perplexity, Mr. Baker moved, that the House should adjourn, to give the gen- tlemen time to produce their evidence. Governor Poivnall then showed them how their mistake arose ; but as they were not willing to own it, they rested on Mr. Dyson's amendment. And the chorus-men, who at proper times call for the question, helped them out at this dead-lift by an 118 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. incessant recitation of the word * question, ques- tion, question.' At length, at four o'clock in the morning, the whole House in confusion, laughing, etc., the resolutions and address were agreed to. Upon which a member remarked, it was inde- cent to bring us resolves ready cut and dried, only for the drudgery of passing them : it was inde- cent to do it without evidence, and highly so to answer all arguments with — 'the question! — the question ! ' " ^ In this disgraceful treatment of a momentous question, that (to use the im- pressive language of Junius, in his first letter, published but five days previously), " in (its ul- timate) effect divided one half of the empire from the other," ^ we can see " ample room and verge enough," aye — and excuse too — for the subse- quent conduct of Junius, in " coming down souse upon both Houses of Parliament," ^ and particu- larly upon the House of Commons, and the indi- vidual members of the Cabinet. In referring to Governor Pownall's work enti- tled — The Administration of the Colonies, we stated, that it was dedicated to the Right Hon- ourable George Grenville ; and every reader of the Letters of Junius has remarked, the respectful, and even laudatory terms in which Mr. Grenville is always therein mentioned. The Lllird of the 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist., xvi. 485-487. 2 Vol. i. 395. 8 Mr. Burke. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 119 Miscellaneovs Letters i» addressed to him, and is the only letter in (1. Woodfall's collection so ad- dressed. Taking the avowed letters and the mis- cellaneous ones together, in the order of their dates, this letter will be found immediately to fol- low the first one of the latter which bears the sig- nature Junius,^ and to precede the first in date of the former; their respective dates being — Nov. 21, and Dec. 15, 1768, and Jan. 21, 1769. This letter bears no signature ; but, as it not only does not contain any thing in disaccordance with the acknowledged letters, but bears an intrinsic im- press of being genuine, we do not hesitate to use it ; and we do so the more readily, as it was on a chance perusal of the dedication of Governor Pownall's work, that this letter to Mr. Grenville suddenly crossed our mind ; and the comparison of the two together, which immediately followed, led to the inquiry which has resulted in our sincere conviction, that in the author of the dedication we have discovered the mysterious and long- sought Junius. If it be said, that the assertion of Junius, in his letter XVIIL, — that he had "not the honour of being personally known to Mr. Grenville," ^ — is repugnant to the fact of Governor Pownall's pre- 1 There are only two others of the Misc. Letters signed Junius, viz. LIV. and LIX., respectively dated April 12, and Sept. 7, 1769. 2 Vol. i. 533. 120 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Ill ri ! vious dedication of his book to him, we would answer, — there is nothing in the dedication — at all events, in the one prefixed to the fourth edi- tion of the book — that indicates whether Mr. Grenville's permission for the dedication to him was first obtained ; and, even if it were, it does not follow that it was obtained upon such an in- troduction as would entitle Governor Pownall af- terwards to say, that he was personally known to Mr. Grenville: — on the contrary, if asked for at all, the permission is more likely to have been obtained by letter, inasmuch as, at the time of the dedication of the first edition, Mr. Grenville was principal Secretary of State, and possessed of " a manner rather austere and forbidding," ^ — circumstances which, probably, did not tend to relax, even to an erc-governor of a colony, the aristocratic etiquette of that day, in regard to per- sonal introductions. The letter in which the as- sertion of Junius is to be found, bears date the 29th of July, 1769 ; and we shall presently show facts from which it may reasonably be inferred, that Mr. Grenville and Governor Pownall did become personally known to each other, but at a later date.^ 1 Knox's Extra-ojficial state papers, vol. ii. 2 Since these pages were written, we have obtained a sight of thejifth edition of Governor Pownall's work, published in 1774, in two volumes, under the title of The Administration of the British Colonies ; and find in the Appendix an extract of a letter from Mr. Grenville to Governor P., dated July 17, 1768; acknowledge iiift uUJtiimmhm JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 121 We now give some extracts from the dedica- tion and letter, respectively (both published within a few months of each other), premising — that as the differences of opinion alluded to in the for- mer, did not prevent the dedication of the work to Mr. Grenville, so the respectful and laudatory notices of him by Junius did not forbid their en- tertaining opinions of a very opposite character ; — witness Junius's stern denunciations of the measures against Wilkes, which were commenced by Mr. Grenville, — and his condemnation of the stamp act, to which Mr. Grenville had given birth. Our extracts are placed in juxtaposition, not under the idea of exhibiting in them any very close similarity of expression, or even of style ; but as showing, in bolder relief, the strong like- ness in thought and sentiment, as well as in ap- preciation of the merits of the party addressed. Mr. PownaU's Dedication to the Junius's Letter to the Right Hon. Right Hon. George Grenville, George Grenville, dated Decern- in — or shortly before — July, 6erl5, 1768: — 1768: — " When I first published my " If there be any thing im- ^ opinions iipon the administra- proper in this address, the sin> ing the honour paid in the dedication to him of the fourth and preceding editions ; but it contains no proof of the parties being personally known to each other. As the extract, however, is short, and contains Mr. Grenville's opinion on " the great question " of colonial representation in the Imperial parliament, recently (May 27, 1852,) revived in the House of Lords by the Earl of Harrowby, and favourably entertained by the Earl of Derby, we gi i*" it in the Appendix. 122 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. tion of the colonies, I addressed the book to you. You was then minister in this country, and had taken an active and leading part in the administration of those affairs. I did not by that ad- dress dedicate, as is the usual phrase, my opinions to the min- ister, for our opinions differed on several points : But as dis- putes upon a question, pregnant with the most dangerous conse- quences, began to be agitated between the minister of this country and the colonists, which I saw must soon extend them- selves in contentions with par- liament itself: As I saw a spirit of suspicion and alarm arising, a temper of ill blood infusing it- self into the minds of men ; I en- deavoured to obviate these mis- chiefs, by marking in that ad- dress, that, as there were neither arbitrary intentions on one hand against the liberties of the Col- onies, nor rebellious designs on the other against the just impe- rium of government; so there was a certain good temper and right spirit, which, if observed on all sides, might bring these matters of dispute to such a set- tlement as political truth and liberty are best established upon. (77ie extract given on page 102.) " I had been sufficiently con- gularity of your present situa- tion will, I hope, excuse it. Your conduct attracts the atten- tion, because it is highly inter- esting to the welfare of the pub- lic, and a private man, who only expresses whai thousands think, cannot well be accused of flat- tery or detraction. If we may judge by what passes every day in a great assembly, you already possess all the constituent parts of a minister, except the honour of distributing, or the emolu- ment of receiving, the public money. These, in the contem- plation of the present ministry, are the most essential ornaments of office. They ai o the decus et tutamen of a respectable admin- istration, and the last that a pru- dent administration will relin- quish. As for the authority, the credit, or the business of their offices, they are ready to resign them to you without reluctance. With regard to their appearance and behaviour Avithin doors, these docile creatures find a re- lief in your understanding from the burthen of thinking, and in your direction from the labour of acting. This, however, is no more than the natural prece- dence of superior abilities and knowledge. Folly cannot long take the pas of wisdom ; and ig- norance, sooner or later, must submit to experience. Yet, con- sidering what sort of heads you JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 123 versant in these affairs, although neither employed nor consulted in them, since I left America, to know that these alternate charges were false and ground- less ; that there were neither ar- bitrary intentions on one hand, nor seditious views on the other. As therefore, by my address, I meant to do justice to your prin- ciples, which I knew to be those of peace and government, estab- lished on political liberty, — so I took that occasion, as I will ev- er esteem it a duty to do, to bear my testimony to the affection which the colonists have ever borne to the mother country ; to their zeal for its welfare ; to their sense of government, and their loyalty to their sovereign ; as al- so how much they have merited from this country, and how much they deserve to be consid- ered by it ; in order to put these matters of dispute on a footing of fair discussion, and equitable settlement. ( The extract given on page 103 et seq.) " Many matters therefore, the have to deal with, the task of giving them instruction must be a heavy one. The triumph is hardly equal to the labour which attends it. To convey instruc- tion into heads which perceive nothing, is as hard a task as to instil sentiments into hearts that feel nothing. In both these ar- ticles, I think, his Majesty's present servants are invulnera- ble. They are of so strange a composition, that knowledge will neither penetrate the sub- stance, nor shame stick upon the surface. They have one short remedy for every inconve- nience, a remedy which tyrants make use of, and fools profess, without scruple or management. Force is their grand arcanum imperii. If this be the ejcecutive power of the crown, they pos- sess and exeit it to a mira- cle.^ Red and brown makes all the difference. To Southwark the guards are detached in their uniforms; — to Brentford they march like gentlemen, with or- ders to change their colours in the blood of this country. This, Sir, is the last irresistible argu- ment of kings ; — the only one 1 " But why do I endeavour, under the discouragement which gen tlemen give to any reasoning — any consideration of this matter; why should I endeavour to obtrude my poor reasoning so ill received? Why should I talk of adopting modes of policy, when the shorter way of the question and decision, the short way oj" force, seems already adopted? " — Speech of Gov. P., Feb. 8, 1769; Hansarda Pari Hist., xvi. 500. ■: 'i 194 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. publication of which I had sus- pended while I thought that this question might be waved, or some way compromised, I now publish in this edition. I con- tinue my address, Sir, to you, now you are no longer minister, nor perhaps ever likely to be. I address myself to the private country-gentleman, who will al- ways have a great share in the business of his country; — to Mr. George Grenville, as to one who hath, and always will have great interest, lead, and author- ity in parliament ; * from'an opin- ion really and deeply grounded in the minds of the most serious of his countrymen, that, while for the sake of the peace and lib- erties of the whole, he means to support the constitutional pow- ers of government in the crown ; so is he equally, by principle, determined, as by abilities able, to guard the civil rights of the subjects, with a peculiar regard to, and management of, their interests in their property. " This American question, in which liberty and the rights of property are so deeply engaged, must now come forward. From the part which you have already taken, you must still bear a con- Bidera!)lc part in the debates and consultations which will be held which your abilities cannot an- swer, nor your integrity oppose with effect. In vain shall you demand an account of the most flagrant waste of public money. The ministry are sure of being protected by the ruffians who received it. The murder of His Majesty's English subjects calls aloud, but calls in vain, for jus- tice. To complain is dangerous, to prosecute might be fatal. We are arrived at that dreadful cri- sis at which open murders may well be succeeded by secret as- sassination. May heaven avert the omen ! " Your weight and authority in parliament are acknowledged by the submission of your op- ponents. Your credit with the public is equally extensive and secure, because it is founded on a system of conduct wisely adopted and firmly maintained. You have invariably adhered to one cause, one language ; and when your friends deserted that cause, they deserted you. They who dispute the rectitude of your opinions, admit that your conduct has been uniform, man- ly, and consistent. This letter, I doubt not, will be attributed to some party friend, by men who expect no applause but fi-om their dependents. But 1 " The honmirable lead you have taken in the affairs of America, hath drawn upon you the whole attention of the public." — Misc. Let- ter XXX V.f Aug. 29, 1768, vol. iii. 105. . ;w.a,:.;» *>, ,.^<"''' 'i-jiJiW JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 125 upon it. I therefore address, to your most serious consideration, that state of this business which the following book contains; nor will I despair of your assent to what so firmly establishes the rights of property, on the foun- dations of liberty, hy an equal extension and communication of government, to wheresoever the peo- ple and dominions, having these rights, do extend. In the matters which I propose, I speak my own sentiments, not yours. I ad- dress them to your serious con- sideration, as I do to every man of business in the nation ; with an hope, that from conviction of the justice, policy, and necessity of the measure, they may be- come the general sentiments of the government, and of the peo- ple, of Great Britain. From the same sentiments, and with the same view of general peace and liberty, I could wish to recom- mend the same propositions to the Americans. Nor would I despair of their assent to things, were there no jealousies of, no prejudices against men. I am convinced that these maxims are true in theory; and do sin- cerely believe, that they are the only principles by which the peace, the civil liberty, com- mercial prosperity and union of the British dominions, can be maintained and supported. you. Sir, have the testimony of your enemies in your favour. After years of opposition, we see them revert to those very" measures, with violence, with hazard and disgrace, which, in the first instance, might have been conducted with ease, with dignity and moderation. " While parliament preserves its constitutional authority, you will preserve yours. As long as there is a real representation of the people, you will be heard in that great assembly with at- tention, deference, and respect ; and if, fatally for England, the designs of the present ministry should at last succeed, you will have the consolation to reflect, that your voice was heard, un- til the voice of truth and reason was drowned in the din of arms ; and that your influence in par- liament was irresistible, until every question was decided by the sword." 126 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. I am no partizan — I do not palliate the errors of Great Bri- tain — I do not flatter the pas- sions of America. My zeal and many services towards the one, have appeared in the effect of those services ; and my affection to the other, if it be not already known, will be seen ; as, under the accident of a certain event, I mean to end my days there in a private character. "May both the Briton and the American take this consid- eration to heart : and, whatever be the fate of parties and fac- tions ; of patriots or ministers ; may the true government of laws prevail, and the rights of men be established in political liberty ! " With the highest esteem and regard, I have the honour to be, etc., etc., T. POWNALL." On the 7th of March, 1770, Mr. Grenville sub- mitted to the House of Commons, his plan for regulating the trials of controverted elections ; his object in which was, as he had previously stated to Mr. Knox, the under Secretary of State, " to endeavour to give some check to the abominable prostitution of the House of Commons in elec- tions, by voting for whoever has the support of JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 127 the minister, which must end in the ruin of pub- lic liberty, if it be not checked." The House there- upon — " Ordered, nem. con. — that leave be giv- en to bring in a Bill to regulate the trials of con- troverted elections, or returns of members to serve in parliament : and that Mr. Grenville, the Mar- quis of Granby, Mr. Wedderburn, Mr. "Whately, Mr. Dowdeswell, Mr. Solicitor- General (Thur- low), Mr, Pownalli Mr. Thomas Townshend, jun., Mr. Burke, and Mr. Mackworth, do prepare, and bring in the same. The Bill was accordingly brought in on the 12th." ^ The debates upon it, between that date and the 2d of April, when it passed its third reading, occupy seventeen col- umns of Hansard's Parliamentary History; of which about one fourth are taken up by two of Governor Pownall's speeches in support of the measure. These speeches show him to have been an able leader, in answering objections to the bill, and proving both its constitutionality and its practical character. It passed the House of Lords without opposition, and received the royal assent on the 12th of April. Its duration was limited to seven years ; but four years afterward, it was, with a few comparatively unimportant amend- ments, made perpetual; and thenceforward, in honour of its projector, it continued to be famil- iarly known, in parliament, and out of it, as " The ^ Hansard, xvi. 906. 128 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Grenville Act^ ^ In the reports of the debates on the last occasion, Governor Pownall is not mentioned as a speaker, but his name is recorded in the list of the majority who voted in its favour. The Grenville Act was the last important public act of Mr. Grenville's life ; — he died in Novem- ber of the year in which it received the royal as- sent (1770). Historians have characterized it as " his last legacy to the nation ; " and while the experience of the better part of a century justifies the expression, it likewise enhances the correct- ness of the opinion of Junius, of " the shrewd, in- flexible judgment," ^ the "superior abilities a.d knowledge," ^ and " the rectitude of the opinions " * of Mr. Grenville ; an opinion equally entertained by Governor Pownall, as we have already shown ; and as again appears in one of the two speeches above-mentioned, in which he spoke of — "the great parliamentary knowledge of the right hon- ourable proposer of this bill, supported by the au- thority and influence which his character, es- teemed in all points, does give to every thing he proposes." It is somewhat remarkable, that in the Letter XXXIX,, dated May 28, 1770, in which Junius considers "in one view, the beginning, progress, and conclusion of the deliberations " of 1 10 G. III. c. 16,-11 G. III. c. 42, — and 14 G. III. c. 15. « Lett. XV., July 8, 1769, vol. i. 507. » Misc. Lett. LIII., Dec. 15, 1768, vol. iii. 193. * lb. 195. i'V •t»i,i.,f. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 129 the two Houses of Parliament, in their then just- closed session, he makes no allusion whatever to the Grenville acty or to the part-opposition and part-discouragement offered to the measure by Lord North, and others of the ministry. One would think that Junius would not have let slip so favourable an opportunity of paying a grace- ful compliment to his favourite senator ; and we can only account for the omission, by supposing that he feared, that his praise of Mr. Grenville, on that subject, might possibly excite the attention of the seekers for Junius towards the principal debater in the House of Commons, in support of the bill, namely. Governor Pownall. The only allusions made by Junius to the Grenville act, that we can, at the moment, call to mind, are — in Letter LIX., Oct. 5, 1771, — " this very House of Commons have graciously consented that .... contested elections shall for the future be determined with some decent regard to the merits of the case ; " ^ — and in Letter LXL, Oct. 18, 1771, — " Of the popular bills which you say he (Lord Mansfield) supported in the House of Lords, the most material is unquestionably that of Mr. Grenville, for deciding contested elections. But I should be glad to know upon what possi- ble pretence any member of the upper house could oppose such a bill, after it had passed the 1 Vol. ii. 359. 9 130 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. House of Commons?"^ Slight as these allu- sions are, there is sufficient in them to prove iden- tity of opinion, on the subject to which they have reference, between Junius and Governor Pownall. The last quoted speech of the Governor, also furnishes material for identifying his opinion of juries with that of Junius. He said,— "that even in the midst of the most luxurious, unprin- cipled, profligate age, even in the very crisis, in the delirium of the fever of party rage, juries had preserved their faith and honour." ^ So Junius, in his Preface ; — " If, from an un- warrantable distrust of the integrity of juries, they would wish to obtain justice by any mode of pro- ceeding, more summary than a trial by their peers, I do not scruple to aflirm, that they are in effect greater enemies to themselves, than to the libeller they prosecute " It is not true that tht temper of the times has, in general, an undue influence over the conduct of juries. On the contrary, many signal instances may be produced of verdicts returned for the King, when the inclinations of the people led strongly to an undistinguishing opposition to government. . . . " The numerous instances, in our state trials, of verdicts recovered for the King, sufficiently re- fute the false and scandalous imputations thrown 1 Vol. ii. 380. It is also mentioned, approvingly, in letter to Wilkes, No. 66, vol. i. 286,— and Misc. Letter LX2^., vol. iii. 290. 3 Hansard, vol. xvi. p. 913. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 131 by the abettors of Lord Mansfield upon the integ- rity of juries." 1 Although the prominent position held by Gov- ernor Pownall in the passage of the Grenville bill through the House of Commons precludes all doubt of his having been, at that time, " person- ally known " to Mr. Grenville, yet it is evident that the knowledge had not yet ripened into inti- macy ; as, in the course of the debate, he did not once mention Mr. Grenville as his " Right hon- ourable/newc/," — but — in cold respectfulness — as "the Right bono arable proposer of the bill;" — thus showing a probability, that at the earlier date of the Letter of Junius, July 29, 1769, he in- deed, as is therein stated, " had not the honour of being personally known to Mr. Grenville." ^ The next important debate in the House of Commons, in which Governor Pownall took part, is that which originated in the seizure by the Spaniards, on the 10th of June, 1770, of Falk- land's Island ; and on which a thorough accord- ance of opinion between him and Junius will ap- pear manifest. On the 22d of November, Mr. Dowdeswell, seconded by Governor Pownall, moved for an address to his Majesty for all papers, etc., on the subject. A very meagre account of the violent debate which ensued is given in Hansard's Par- 1 Vol. i. pp. 352, 353, and 378. « Lett. XVIII. vol. i. 533. 132 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. liamentary History (the only work of that de- scription to which we have access). Governor Puwnall, it is therein stated, " entered into the whole argument at large, with full knowledge of his subject. He showed the little utility a settle- ment upon Falkland's Island was to us, but hav- ing been once made, it could not be given up." The debate resulted in the rejection of the mo- tion, by 225 votes against 101. On the follow- ing 25th of January, a Declaration^ and an AC" ceptance, which, three days previously, had been signed at London, the former by the Prince de Maserano, Ambassador extraordinary from His Catholic Majesty, and the latter, by the Earl of Rochford, on behalf of his Britannic Majesty, were communicated to the two Houses of Par- liament ; and these were followed, on the 4th of February, in answer to a previous address, by forty-three letters and other papers connected with the subject. The whole were taken into consideration on the 13th of February, when Lord Beauchampj seconded by Lord Palmerston^ moved an Address to his Majesty, in approval of the convention (as the declaration and acceptance, taken together, were called) ; and Mr. DowdeS' welly seconded by Governor Pownall moved an amendment, to the effect of leaving out all but the first paragraph of the proposed address, whereby it would be reduced to mere thanks to his Majesty for his communication. The amend- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 133 ment was lost on a division of 271 votes against 157. On the 5th of March, Governor Pownall, seconded by Mr. Darner, again brought the sub- ject before the House, by a motion condemnatory of the acts of the ministers in relation to it. This motion also was defeated, by the votes of 130 members, against 43. The speeches of Governor Pownall on these two occasions, occupy — the first one nine — and the last one fourteen col- umns of Hansard's Parliamentary History. They are stated, in a foot-notej to have been taken " From a pamphlet published in 1771, entitled ' Two Speeches of an Honourable Gentleman on the late Negotiation and Convention with Spain,' " and, no doubt, underwent the Governor's correc- tions, before they were put to press. These speeches show a very clear and intimate knowl- edge of the subject, and a masterly mode of treating it ; — many passages will vie with the best in the avowed letters of Junius. On refer- ence to the Chatham Correspondence, ^ it will be seen, that Governor Pownall's motion of the 5th of March, had been, on the 20th of the preceding month, communicated by the Duke of Richmond to the Earl of Chatham ; and by Mr. Dowdes- well to Colonel Barrd, — the latter stating, that Mr. Dowdeswell " wished to bring it in — under the auspices of Mr. Poivnall — in a day or two, 1 Vol. iv. 93, 94 and 100. 134 JTJKIUS DISCOVBRED. if possible." The correspondence indicates a pre- concerted mode of action between the parties above named, and Governor Pownall, in regard to the Spanish convention, which Lord Chatham characterized as " the late infamous transaction." ^ There are two of the private letters of Junius to Woodfall, which bear reference to the Falk- land's Island matter; namely, No. 28, Jan. 16, and No. 29, Jan. 31, 1771. * In the first one, Junius says — " You may assure the public that a squadron of four ships of the line is ordered to be j^ot ready with all possible expedition fcwr the East Indies. It is to be commanded by Com- modore Spry. Without regarding the language of ignorant or interested people, depend upon the assurance I give you, that every man in admin- istration looks upon war as inevitable." On the 13th of February, in the first of the above-men- tioned two speeches. Governor Pownall detailed minutely the negotiation, which had resulted in the signing of the convention, an hour only before the re-assembling' of parliament after the Christ- mds recess. After introducing the intervention of the King of . France, Governor P. said, — "His Christian Majesty .being thus vested with full powers from Spain, and matters being thus pre- pared in England, he forms the terms of the con- clusion, and sends them hither to his minister, to 1 Vol. iv. 94. « Vol. i. 216, 217. I JUNIUS DISOOVBRBD. 135 be communicated to the Spanish minister ; but sends, at the same time, to M. de Guisne, a letter, ordering him to adhere closely and strictly to the family compact ; ^ and if the Spanish minister should be recalled, to come away himself without delay These despatches arrived on the 14th of January. Prince Maserano, notwith- standing every deference to, and the most pro- found respect and reverence for his Christian Majesty, yet finds himself in a predicament of resisting those directions of the King of Spain " — (three grounds of difficulty are then stated).-— " These difficulties lasted from this time to the 18th. On that day our ministry determined to give him satisfaction by remanding Mr. Harris back to Madrid. For which purpose, on that day, four or five messengers were sent different ways in order to meet him." — Better proof could scarcely be afforded of the strong ground upon which was based the information given by Junius to Woodfall, only two days before the day on which the difficulties were removed; while the minute, as well as extensive information on the subject, shown by Governor Pownall — a strong oppo- nent of the ministry, and, consequently, not sup- posed to have access to the inner secrets of the Cabinet, is worthy of remark, and of being kept in remembrance, when weighing the evidence in Namely, between the Bonrbons of France and those of Spain. 136 JUNIUS DISCOVERBD. favour of the identity of the one with the other. Two of the avowed letters of Junius, No.'s XLII. and XLIIL, ^ and one of the Miscellaneous Letters^ No. LXXXVIII.,^ respectively dated Jan. 30, and Feb. 6 and 13, 1771, relate to the Falkland's Island matter; and these together, when compared with Governor Pownall's treat- ment of the same subject before the House of Commons, exhibit a perfect identity of knowl- edge, opinion, style, and tone. The difference, in- deed, between them, is only that which derives from tne difference of the parties to whom they were respectively addressed. Junius's letters were intended for immediate effect upon the people at large, — he therefore appeals to their feelings and their passions ; — Pownall's speeches were directed to the judgments of the — proportionately — bet- ter-educated — and, perhaps, less excitable — gen- tlemen of the House of Commons ; — Junius was, necessarily, restricted to the space that could be afforded him in the columns of the newspaper in which he wrote, and he, therefore, in the state- ment of facts, limits himself to the more promi- nent points of the case, but still, in such a man- ner as to convince one that he is not ignorant of the minor details ; — Pownall describes the case, in extensoy in the most regular order, and with 1 Vol. ii. 182 and 195. a Vol. iii. 324. ■utaMMir hMm JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 137 the greatest precision and minuteness ; — Junius's style is — what he himself calls it — the omO' menied stile} but impulsive and indignant ; while that of Pownall is thoroughly business-like^ yet not devoid of ornament, nor wanting in indig- nancy and warmth of expression, whenever the occasion calls for it. As to the matter lb. 1199. JUVIUS DliiOOVBBBD. im that ground, that opinions might operate on measures of policy, I never withheld mine, poor as they may have been, — 1 always avowed them openly and publicly.-- In this House i delivered my sentiments explicitly and directly. It was my duty so to do— I considered it as of perfect obligation,— and I hope I have fulfilled that duty. I could not but think it a matter of imperfect ob* ligation, even to obtrude my sentiments, and the best infonnatlon that I could ^ve, in other places, out of this House. I hope I have not there exceeded my duty: I have expressed the same sentiments at all times, and have given thf same opinion in what I have written to America. AH tended to one point; tiie pointing out the grounds of reconciliation and peace. The ca^e at present ceases to be matter of opinion — it is come to action. The measure which you are pursuing will be resisted, not by force, or the effect of arms, as was said by an honourable gen- tleman on the late occasion, but by a regular united system of resistance. I told this House (it is now four years past) that the people of America would resist the tax which lay then up- on them — that they would not oppose power to your power, but that they would become imprac- ticable. Have they not been so from that time to this very hour ? 1 1^ you now that they will resist the measures now pursued in a more vig- orous way, Yoft wiU find them prepared for 10 146 JUNIUS DISCOVERED* such resistance, not by amis, but by a system of measures On the other point, should mat- ters ever come to arms, you will hear of other officers than those appointed by your governors. When matters once come to that, it will be, as it was in the late civil wars in this country, of little consequence to dispute who were the aggressors — that will be merely matter of opinion. It is of more consequence at this moment so to act — to take such measures — that no such misfortune may come into event." ^ The crisis foreseen by the Governor, when making this speech, <^ wherein all opinion as to the modes of policy must be useless," and " mea- sures of force " must be resorted to, was soon afterward attained ; and on the 20th of February, in the following year, we find him not only break- ing the silence, as to opinion, which he had im- posed upon himself, but taking a decided part in the advocacy of such strong measures as the po- sition now assumed by the colonies towards the mother-country rendered necessary, in the eyes of the ministry, for the maintenance of the supre- macy of the latter, in the sense in which it was alike understood by them — by Governor Pow- nall — and by Junius. " When I see " — said the Governor — "that the Americans are actually resisting that government which is derived from ^Hansard's Pari. Hist., vol. xvii. 1282-3. JUNIUS DISCOVERKD. 147 the crown, and by the authority of parliament ; when I see them opposing rights which they always acknowledged, and for asserting which I could produce the best authority (I mean their own authority, as expressed by one of their ablest agents) ; when I see them arming and arraying themselves, and carrying this opposition into force by arms ; seeing the question brought to an issue, not on a point of right, but a trial of power ; I cannot but say, that it is become necessary that this country should arm also. It is become ne- cessary that this government should oppose force to force, when that force is to be employed only in maintaining the laws and constitution of the empire. These, Sir, are my reasons for acquies- cing (though I have neither advised, nor been ad- vised with), in measures of force. The Ameri* cans themselves have rendered them necessary. " ^ This strong repetition of the determination, for- merly expressed by Governor Pownall, to uphoJc; the supremacy of the mother-country at all haz- ards, might lead to the conclusion that he had ceased to be — what he bad called himself —-"an advocate for the colonies, and the British subjects in America,"* — and had taken rank with the measureS'Of-force party ; particularly when, in the continuation of his speech, he is found support- ing the prime minister — and that prime minister, ^ Hansard, vol. xvii. 323. a lb. 328. 148 JTJNrcS DISC0V1S1IED. ii I hill Lord North! Yet, in this, Governor Pownall was not inconsiptent ; for the subject of debate was a series of propositions, whereon to found a bill " for conciliating the differences with Ameri# ca," submitted by Lord North — not, however, as prime minister, but as a private member of the House — which were so utterly at variance with the government measures of the preceding years of his administration, relating to America, as to cause Mr. Fox — after congratulating his friends and the public " upon the motion which the noble Lord has now produced " — to exclaim, — ** He who has been hitherto all violence and war, is now treading back his steps to peace : " ^ — the change of opinion, or inconsistency of con- duct, was therefore in Lord North, and not in Governor Pownall. With our further extracts from this speech, we shall advert, to an anonymous letter to the Earl of Chatham, first published in 1840, in the Chat- ham Correspondence^ ^ which is not only remark- able for its contents, but because of its having been deemed worthy of a confidential, and almost immediate answer from the illustrious statesman to whom it was addressed ; as appears from the reply of the anonymous writer. This letter bears date on the 14th of November, 1775, and Gover- nor PownalVs speech was delivered on the 20th ^ Hansard, xviii. 329. a Vol. iv. pp. 414-419. JUNIUS DISCOVBRBD. 140 of the preceding month of February. To us there appears ho great an analogy of ideas and expres- sions in the two, that we are led to the conclu- sion, that they owe their existence to one and the same author ; and if Governor Pownall and Ju- nius were one, as — we think -— we have already made manifest, then must the letter be added to the budget of the genuine letters of Junius. If Sir Philip Francis were the amanuensis of Ju- nius, this letter could not be in the same hand- writing as the other letters ; as, at the time of its date. Sir Philip was in India. It is to be regretted, that a/ac simile of a part of it did not accom- pany the numerous fac similes with which the Chatham Correspondence is enriched ; as, possi- bly, a suspicion of the handwriting being similar to that in which the letters of Junius were writ- ten, may not have been excited, in the minds of the Editors of the Correspondence^ from a foregone conclusion, derived from the impossib' ity of its having been written by Junius, if Sir Philip Fran- cis were either Junius or his amanuensis, — added to the general impression, that with the letter to Woodfall of the 19th of January, 1773, Junius had, for ever, ceased to write. If Governor Pow- nall were Junius, and also the author of this letter, the handwriting may afford some means towards deciding whether Junius employed an amanuen- sis or not. We give the letter at length in the 150 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Appendix, and restrict ourselves here, to placing a few of its paragraphs in juxtaposition with some extracts from the speech. 1% Letter. " That subject, the American dispute, is now arrived at a cri- sis, which makes all men trem- ble, many despond "My Lord, when private friends disagree, the same ob- stacles are apt to occur; the same, too, in the dissensions of foreign powers. In both these cases, how is it that difficulties of every sort are constantly overcome, but by the interven- tion of a common friend 1 Sup- pose, for an instant, that, in the present case, such a character could be found to exist : ardu: ous as his task must, be admit- ted to be, it seems to me far from being impracticable. . . " . . . . The true senti- ments of the prevailing parMcs in both countries, if unknown, ought previously to be discov- ered by the common friend . . " That common friend, once possessed of this knoAvledge, could stand in need of nothing, but a head to plan, and a heart to undertake " The last difficulty that oc- curs is, in what region to dis- cover this common friend. The Speech. "At present, matters are come to the last extremity, — this Country and America are in the situation of open and de- clared war ; they are on the very point of striking the blow which must be the beginning of shed- ding of blood. " When two independent na- tions are in that situation, they generally, amidst their friends and allies, can find some com- mon mediator, that may at least bring them to some terms of conference, some mode of ex- planation, that may avert the war that is ready to commence ; but where can that mediator be found that can stand for- ward between the subjects and the government of a country 1 Who can have sufficient au- thority to interpose in such a case, to prevent fatal conse- quences ? If the country gen- tlemen, the landed staple inter- est of this country, that have never taken any share in this business, as a party, will not on this occasion stand forth, there can be no such mediator. They alone are in that predicament which will enable them (and it JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 151 Alas ! my Lord, Great Britain and America know no foreign power that can assume the name "At present, so far as I can judge, there is in the univetse one only individual qualified to undertake this important office. .... Be then, my Lord, the guardian angel of this great empire ; decline not the honour- able office of mediator between Great Britain and America." becomes their actual duty) to stand forth on this occasion. . . . . . . Yet, Sir, , I do think it is humane, it is nobly spirited in him (Lord North) as a pi'ivate member of parliament, as one of that candid body, which will, I hope, join him, to stand forth ^ as the mediator on this occasion." A parallel to the anonymous writer's praise of Lord Chatham may be found in Governor Pow- nall's speech in a debate in the House of Com- mons, in March, 1778, " on the King's message respecting the treaty between France and Amer- ica," in which he said, — " Now here, if an indi- vidual may be permitted to express his private wish, I should wish that the present ministers would advise his Majesty to take that same great man, now Lord Chatham, to his councils, and to their aid ; and that they would, as the ministry of the former reign did, lend him their majority. 1 " I call upon you, in the name of the English nation, to stand forth In defence of the laws of your country." — Junius^ to Lord Camden, Letter LXIX., vol. ii. 441. " When a man who stands forth for the public has gone that leng;th." — Junius, Letter LIX., vol. ii. 358. '' When such a man stands forth, let the nation look to it." — Juniusi Letter XXXIX., vol. ii. 143, in note. ^'' Stand forth, my Lord, for thou art the man." — Junius, Letter XV., vol. i. 506. 162 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. In the moment in which it was known that he had a lead in the councils, and the direction of the forces of this country, in that moment we should have peace in America, and should lower the haughty crest of France." ^ On the 16th of November, 1775, Governot Pownall strenuously opposed Mr. Burke's bill " for composing the troubles in America," because it embraced " a plan of concession, previous to all treaty ; that is, concessions made as preliminaries to peace." — " From the first sprin,^ of this busi- ness," he said, " having been for modes of policy, in preference to measures of force, I have always thought, and invariably said, that your system called for revision and amendment ; I have been against all partial concessions and repeals. I think it should be laid on some basis which is solid, and may be permanent; on such whereon the liberties of America being fixed, the sovereignty of the empire might be established. Repeals upon every partial complaint, and concessions upon every clamour, is not the way ; this would produce nothing but endless successions of quar- rels, and patching up of those quarrels. IndvcicBy helium^ pax rvrsvm. It should be taken up on some great and general system." — Governor Pownall, accordingly, seconded by Lord George Germain, moved the previous question: — -The 1 Hansard, xviii. 942. This speech preceded the last memo- rable speech of Lord Chatham, but a few days. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 153 House divided — yeas 105 — noes 210. Mr. Burke's measure was therefore lost. * In the first letter of Junius, dated January 21, 17(89, we find a reference to the subject of the King's debts : — " As to the debt upon the civil list, the people of England expect that it will not be paid without a strict enquiry how it was in- curred. If it must be paid by parliament, let me advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer to think of some better expedient than a lottery. . . . I think it ill becomes the royal dignity to have the debts of a King provided for, like the repairs of a country bridge, or a decayed hospital ; " 2 ^„ also, in letter XIII., June 12, 1769, " — but is it possible for a minister to offer a grosser outrage to a nation which has so very lately cleared away the beggary of the civil list at the expense of more than half a million ?"3 — and again, in letter LIX., Oct. 5, 1771, — " The same House of Com- mons .... who paid our good King's debts, without once enquiring how they were in- curred." * The following extract from a speech of Governor Pownall, delivered on the 18th of April, 1777, in a debate on the arrears of the civil list, shows, that in 1769 he also had required " a strict enquiry how it was incurred " to be made. " As on a late application to parliament for pay- 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist., v. xviii., 988-992. Journals of the H. of C, V. 35, p. 447. 2 Vol. i. 393. » lb. 495. * Vol. ii. 3.59. 154 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ment of the King's debts, in 1769, 1 voted against the paying of them without account ; and as T shall now give my vote for the payment of the present debt, as well as for the enlarging of the King's income, I should be glad to give the rea- sons on which I found my conduct. When the message came to the House in 1769, and a mo- tion was made thereupon to vote the sum said to be in arrear, without one article of account, gen- tlemen of the highest authority, with me, called for the accounts, and asserted, that as £800,000 per annum, which had been granted at the begin- ning of the reign, was, to their certain knowledge, not only adequate, but amply so, it was impos- sible such arrears could have been incurred, if there had not been some strange mismanage- ment, or some very reprehensible misapplications, which must appear if the accounts were laid be- fore us : the accounts however were refused, and the question for the motion was put ; I therefore voted against it, etc." ^ We have already had occasion to advert to Governor Pownall's speech in the House of Com- mons, on the 6th of February, 1778, in the debate on Mr. Burke's motion for papers relative to the military employment of Indians in America ; and we now give a further extract from it, for the purpose of showing, that he was possessed, alike 1 Hansard's Pari. Hist., v. xix. 157. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 155 of the enthusiastic temperament, and of the dis- interested spirit, which gleams through the pages of Junius. — " So much, Sir, for what is past. If the House will indulge me to speak to arrange- ments which might be taken for the future, re- specting these Indian services, I think the neces- sity of employing them may be avoided ; I know, and therefore speak directly, that any idea of an Indian neutrality is nonsense, is delusive, dan- gerous nonsense ; — if both we and the Ameri- cans were agreed to observe a strict neutrality in not employing them, they would then plunder and scalp both parties indiscriminately. . . . I am persuaded, that if we and the Americans would come to some stipulation, or convention, that we mutually, and in one spirit of good faith, would not suffer the Indians to intermeddle, but to consider and act against them as enemies, wherever they did execute any hostilities against any of the British nation, equally, whether Eng- lish or Americans, all this horrid business might be prevented, or at least in great measure re- strained. If government would, in the true spirit and temper of humanity, adopt this idea, and if parliament would by any means find their way to give sanction to it ; — if government, in this temper, and under this sanction, would propose to the Congress the terms of such a convention, I am certain that the Congress would embrace it with sincerity, and execute it with good faith. 156 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. This is a measure that would have nothing to do with the object of the war; and yet, this spirit, thus aiming to regulate the means of restraining its rigours and cruelty, might become the first seed of peace. This would open grounds that might lead to mutual good dispositions and good of- fices ; and who shall say what may not arise out of this ? I think I see clearly, that such a begin- ning would end in peace ; — government will not commit any of its rights or interests in making the proposal; — the very making it would lay the grounds of agreement." [Here a mark of almost general approbation showed itself^ 6^ — " Hear him ! " — from all sides of the Hkmse.\ " I hail the happy omen ; I think I see the spirit of peace arising in the House, and may it animate all our breasts ! I am so confident that this mea- sure would be adopted and succeed ; and that it would finally lead to the opening a treaty for peace itself; that if government will take it up as a measure, and this House give its sanction to it, I will, without commission, without pay, or the expectation of any reward whatsoever, go myself to the Congress, and make the proposal: and though I take with me no commission, by which government may be committed ; yet if the propo- sal is accepted and agreed to, I will find a way to give assurance to the Congress, that they may act on my proposal ; — I will put myself into their hands as an hostage for the truth of what I JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Ifl? propose, and for the good faith of government On this ground, I am ready to set out thie mo- ment. I feel not a little happy, that what I have said is weH received by the House ; whether it will be accepted and adopted by government, I know not ; — I feel that I have done my duty." ^ In the same session of parliament, Governor Pownall was a prominent speaker in the debate on the King's message respecting the treaty be- tween France and America. The report of his speech occupies nearly thirteen columns of Han- sard's Parliamentary History, and exhibits the like extensive knowledge, down to the minutest details, of the subject, that appeared so remark- able in the debate respecting Falkland's Island. The opening of the speech shows how highly be appreciated the importance of the subject — "I do not rise " — said he — " to defend ministers ; the object of this day is much above all such con- siderations. I do not take into my estimation the pretensions of any set of men ; and as to the present ministers, by an examination of their past conduct, which is to come under consid« nation in a few days, we shall be better able to judge how far they are to be trusted for the future. In the magnitude of this day's business, I will not mix, even in my ideas, any secondary objects." ^ From this speech it appears, that the negotia- ^ Hansard, v. xix. 703 et seq. * lb. 930. 158 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. tions at Paris, between the American Commia- sioneilj and the French ministry, had not been entered upon earlier than in the preceding Au- gust ; that, after a time, " all negotiation with France was at a stand ; and mutual reproaches arising, had almost driven matters to an open breach between the Commissioners and the French ministry. The Commissioners wrote to the Congress, stating their situation. Here, Sir," continued the Governor, "was a moment that Providence seemed to offer to the good for- tune of this country. In this moment, commu- nications of this state of things came to a very private, and very inconsiderable individual ; they were made to me, with direct explanations, that the Americans were willing to open a treaty with this country, for reconciliation and reestablish- ment of peace ; and that although the acknowl- edgment of their independency was a causa sine qud fiQn, yet on that point, and on all such points, with which the affairs of America and this coun- try wei'e entangled, they would do every thing to save the honour of their parent country. . . . Overtures of such a nature coming thus to me, an unconnected individual, who had no commu- nications with ministers, as such, nor any right to such communications, what was I to do, or not to do ? I decided, in the moment, that the suppression of such an important communication would have been criminal to my country. And JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 159 yet, Sir, as I would neither commit myself to any individual, nor be so unjust as to commit any person in employment by such a communication, I did not communicate with the minister; — I did communicate this matter where I thought it most proper so to do ; ^ and by means of which I knew I should have an authentic answer. Thus far I went in what I communicated ; and said, I was ready to go into a full explanation of the whole ; but would make that only to a cabi- net council. . I had my answer — that the ground was inadmissible in the first instance ! And there this matter dropped ; and this one opportunity (such as can never happen twice) was lost for ever." ^ The introduction into the House of Commons, in the preceding month, of Lord North's measure for effecting a reconciliation with America, put an end to the procrastination of the French min- istry, who, fearing that that measure might at- tain its object, immediately signed the treaty. Governor Pownall showed clearly how impossi- ble it had become for Great Britain ever to regain sovereignty over America. His description of the progressive steps of the Americans to inde- pendency was excellent : — " Look " — said he — 1 Query — to the King? 2 Hansard, xix. 935, From General Conway's subsequent speech (p. 950), it is probable that the communications to Gov. P. were made by Dr. Franklin. Their intimacy, it will be recol- lected, dated as far back as the Congress at Albany in 1754. 160 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. "into the four great acts of their proceedings; slow, but in measured steps ; feeling their ground before they set their foot on it ; yet when once set, there fixed for ever. Their first great act was their Declaration of Rights^ in 1774. The rights there '• declared, claimed, and insisted upon/ are incompatible with provincial, and inapplicable to any other than a sovereign independent govern- ment, having all the powers necessary thereto within itself. Their next great act of state was the deduction of their reasons for taking up arms in defence of tfiose rights^ published in a mani- festo to all the world. Can those reasons and allegiance stand on any ground of argument? Can they and supremacy stand any where on the same ground? — Their next act was the DeclaV' ation of their Independency ; not suddenly taken up as an ebullition of enthusiasm, or in the bit* terness of passion and revenge; but rather as coming on of course, by a train of events, linked -together by a system of politics. This Declara- tion was not made till two years after the first act, and not until July, 1776 ; and not even then until they were prepared for their next great act, their Act of (hnfederation. After having re- nounced their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and all political connection with the na- tion ; each province (thus become an independ- ent community) formed and established (as an original act and compact with the people) their JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 161 respective governments ; and these, thus formed by a mutual and indissoluble Act of Confedera- tion, have established a great republican empire ; which, by principles of nature, and not of politics, necessarily sprang up from the ground whereon their affairs stood." ^ The succeeding, and several other passages in this speech are well worthy of perusal, and of be- ing ranked among the productions of Junius ; but, to curtail would be to injure them, and they aro too long for our pages. The Governor closed by saying, — " In this confidence, therefore, passing by all idea of who are, or who should be, our ministers, which I am totally against mixing in this day's business, I am for the address proposed, in every sense and feeling of the resentment it expresses." * Before leaving this speech, however, we should have stated, as leading to Governor Pownall'a last reported movement in the House of Com- mons, that he strongly urged, that parliament should extend the powers of the Commissioners, to the enabling them to treat, and finally to agree with the Americans, as independent ; on condi- tion, that they should, as such, form a federal treaty, offensive, defensive, and commercial, with us. On the 6th of May, in the following year (1778), ^ Hansard, r. xix. 937 et seq. 11 2 lb. 943. 162 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. he again advocated the policy of such a measure ;^ and finally, on the 24th of May, 1780, he " moved for leave to bring in a bill to empower His Ma- jesty to make peace, truce, or convention with America." The result of a division of the House was unfavourable, as there appeared — for the motion 52 — and against it, 113 votes. ^ Parlia- ment was prorogued July 8, and dissolved Sep- tember 1, 1780 ; and, as Governor Pownall did not seek admission into the succeeding parlia- ment, we are led to imagine, that the failure of his last attempt towards effecting an honourable peace, between his country and her former colo- nies, had removed every doubt, if any he had, that he was truly in the position in which, in the assumed character of a retired philosopher, writ- ing from the Ponta del Gada, in St. Michael's, in March, 1779, he had described himself as be- ing : — " When I look lack," he wrote, " and com- pare my opinions with events which seem to have confirmed them, and yet see how little effect those opinions have had, even when called for, and when duly explained by facts, in their proper place, I am at length convinced, that I have not the talent of so arranging, and of so explaining things, which I am sure are facts and truths, as to demonstrate them to others. That mind, whose faculties are most readily exerted in the 1 Hansard, v. xix. 1137. 2 lb. V. xxi. 627. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 16^ search of truth, is seldom habile and efficient in the demonstration of it. This, therefore, will be the last paper which I shall ever write on this side the world, on this subject. So little (if I am not too vain in a reference to my own ideas) was this subject comprehended, so little did it seem inter- esting, so little was it relished, when I was in Europe, that I scarce ever talked of it in real ear- nest : And, although this withdrawn place may seem best suited for contemplation; yet I feel here the want of that correspondence and conver- sation which elicits, and brings forward into effect, the power of reasoning, better than the closest and most intense study ever did. Nee quenquam ha' beo quocum familiariter de hvjus modi rebus eoU loqui possim ; vt ne saltern explicem et exacuam. And I own, I have my apprehensions that I may prove to be as visionary^ as the world, I know, will think me" ^ The reader cannot fail remark- ing in the latter part of this extract, a striking similarity of idea with that conveyed by Junius, in his private letter. No. 79, to Wilkes, in the fol- lowing passage : — " Besides the fallibility natural to us all, no man writes under so many disad- vantages as T do. I cannot consult the learned, I cannot directly ask the opinion of my acquaint- ance, and in the newspapers I never am assisted. Those who are conversant with books, well know ^ Preface to the Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, p. v. et seq. (This Preface is dated Paris, Jan. 25, 1780.) 164 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. V ! Ill If I how often they mislead us, when we have not a living monitor at hand to assist us in comparing practice with theory." * An equally striking similarity may be found in their respective opinions of the game laws. "There are not" — says Governor Pownall — " nor ever were, in America, any of those Forest- laws, if laws they can be called, which were the mere denunciations of tyranny and domination; regulations that ruined the poor subjects of the monarchs of Europe, in order to insure the pres- ervation of their beasts of the chase. This tyranny became intolerable everywhere ; in Britain it was wrenched out of the hands of the monarch. If the suppression of this domination had been made under the genuine spirit of liberty, the mis- chief would have ended here; but a hundred heads of petty tyrants sprang out of the neck of this hydra principle. A system of Game-Laws became established in the hands of lesser, but more mischievous tyrants ; and in their hands be- came snares round the necks, and as whips of scorpions over the backs of the lesser inhabitants of the land, the unqualified yeomanry and ten- antry : but the spirit of America revolts against such baseness; the very air will not permit it; what is wild hy nature is there Game to every individual, who is fret hy nature. There are 1 Vol. i. p. 331. Nov. 6, 1771. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 165 la^vs to secure to each landholder the quiet en- joyment of his land against real trespass and dam- age; but there are no Game-Lav)s in America: that impudent tyranny hath not yet, and, I trust, never will, dare to show its head in that land of liberty."! " As to the Game-Laws" says Junius, writing in the third person, " he (Junius) never scrupled to declare his opinion, that they are a species of the Forest Laws, that they are oppressive to the subject, and that the spirit of them is incompati- ble with legal liberty: — that the penalties, im- posed by these laws, bear no proportion to the nature of the offence ; that the mode of trial, and the degree and kind of evidence necessary to con- vict, not only deprive the subject of all the bene- fits of a trial by jury, but are in themselves too summary, and to the last degree arbitrary and op- pressive. That, in particular, the late acts to pre- vent dog-stealing, or killing game between sun and sun, are distinguished by their absurdity, ex- travagance, and pernicious tendency. If these terms are weak, or ambiguous, in what language can Junius express himself ?"2 It is sufficient to refer the reader to the dedica- tion and preface, and the 1st, and 35th and three following letters of Junius, to show, both his ap- preciation of what should be " the conduct which 1 Memorial to the Sovereif/ns of America, p. 122. 2 Letter LXIV., vol. ii. 396. 166 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. a I il becomes the permanent dignity of a King" of a free people, and his contempt for the " wretched formalities " which are the too constant attend- ants upon the kingly office ; and as a parallel thereto, and a close to this portion of our subject, we quote the following passage from Governor Pownall's Memorial addressed to the Sovereigns of America : ^ — " If this genuine spirit pervades the character of the people [of America], those amongst them, whom the sense and opinion of the people destine to be rulers, will be trained to the character of Sovereigns, and, when actually clothed with the Majesty of the People, will feel a consciousness, not of the pride of their own per- son, but of the honour and dignity of the People^ Under this conscious sense they will, as the Con- suls of Rome did, act the character of ^ ivereigns in a higher tone of dignity than Kings and Princes, whose conscious feel of Majesty is centred in their own narrow selves. They will act with less pride, but more commanding ascendency ; with less violence, but with greater effect ; with less craft, but with more wisdom ; with truth, honour, and the real spirit of Majesty. If this spirit of sovereignty does not reside in the People ; if, through defect of this, the State is not formed to act as a sovereign with all the majesty of the people ; this new sovereign may, like a meteor in its rapid trajectory, blaze in the heavens, and as- 1 P. 30 et seq. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 167 toniah the earth for a time, but will not be found in any uniform revolving orbit, nor become estab- lished as a permanent system. Ostendent terris hunc tantum, Fata neq : ultra Esse sinent." In 1765, Governor Pownall was elected a Fel- low of the Royal Society. When Junius wrote to Woodfall, July 21, 1769, — " That Swinney is a wretched but a dangerous fool. He had the im- pudence to go to Lord G. Sackville, whom he had never spoken to, and to ask him, whether or no he was the author of Junius," ^ — that Sivin- nei/, namely, the Reverend Sidney Swinney, D.D., author of The Battle of Minden, a poem in three books, was also an F. R. S. ; and it was, proba- bly, at the meetings of the Society, that Gover- nor Pownall made his acquaintance, and formed the appreciation of his qualities indicated to Woodfall. In 1772, Governor Pownall was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries ; and in pursuing the objects of that learned body, he attained to great eminence ; — a large propor- tion indeed of his published works, is on the sub- ject of antiquities. Of these, and his other writ- ings, a list will be found in the appendix. He is also said to have been a contributor to — The Remembrancer ; a collection of papers in favour of the American cause ; — and — The Political Register; both published by Almon, 1 Vol. i. * 174, No. 5. 168 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. We have already mentioned the marriage, in 1765, of Governor Pownall to the widow of Sir Everard Fawkener. That lady died in February, 1777 ; and, on the north side of the Lady ChapeU in Ifincoln cathedral, her husband erected to her memory a monument, bearing an inscription, which, as it is somewhat p*»culiar, we shall give in the appendix. On the second of August, 1784, Governor Pownall was united in marriage to i^In« , Hannah Astell, relict of Richard Astell, Es- quire, of Everton House, Bedfordshire, where the Governor thenceforward established his perma- nent residence. From the termination of Governor Pownall's parliamentary labours, to the close of his earthly career, we find nothing worthy of notice, that can in any wise show his former connexion with the letters of Junius; but, in*' the last sad scene of all," there seems to be a presumption in favour of our hypothesis ; and we shall venture to point it out, although it may be at the risk ^ of being deemed a Miile fanciful. •a! 1 By the by, — the word risk is spelt by Junius risque (vol. i. 214, 223, and vol. ii. 176) ; and the peculiarity has been deemed worthy of a foot-note by Dr. Mason Good. We may then state, that Gov. P.'s spelling of the word is also risque, {Adm. of Cd., 232. — Memorials to the Sovereigns of Europe, 34, — to the King, 20, — to the Sovereigns of America, 18 and 88). While noting a matter of this nature, we may add here, that the expression " so far forth," which has been claimed as peculiar to both Junius and Sir Philip Francis, is also peculiar to Gov. Pownall — (see instances, in JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 169 We believe it has never been doubted, that the short motto — slat nominis umhra, — now familiar as household words to English ears — prefixed to the first authorized edition of the letters, was dictated by Junius himself. Indeed his letter to Woodfall, No. 57, Feb. 29, 1772, refers to it. He says, in anticipation of the appearance of the book a few days afterward, and apparently in an- swer to a question from Woodfall — "I am very glad to see that the book will be out before Saw- bridge's motion. There is no occasion for a mark of admiration at the end of the motto. But it is of no moment whatsoever." ^ In the Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe^ Governor Pownall says, — England " might still have a more solid and less invidious power than that Magni nominis umbra with which she braves the whole world ;"2 — Hansard, v. xvi. 495 and 868, — and v. xvii, 1285, — and in Adm. of Col., p. 300, etc). — And, for fear we may not find place for it elsewhere, we add here another small sign of identity : — In Philo- Junius's letter published in a note on p. 558, of vol. i., of G. WoodfiiU's edition, a quotation is made from a work by Lord Somers, — the name is so spelt twice. Tiio same letter is again published in the text, as letter XL VI., in vol. ii. p. 225 et seq. and the name is there again twice spelt Somers. But on referring to Junius's own edition of March, 1772, the name in the four in- stances is found to be spelt Sommers. Now, on referring to Gov. Pownall's Administration of the Colonies, p. 20, it will be seen that he also spelt the name Sommers ; and further, that his opinion of Lord S., corresponded with that of Junius. 1 Vol. i. 251. 2 p. 93. 170 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ■iiiiiiliii' showing a familiarity with the particular expres- sion. But an expression of that description may be shown — or rather, a similar idea may be ex- pressed — otherwise than in words. On the 25th of February, 1805, Governor Pownall died at Bath, leaving directions to be buried in Walcot church, in that city ; " and that he might be laid in an oaken coffin, without ornament or inscrip' Hon; that eight men should carry him to the grave, without any pall ; and that a new suit of clothes should be given to each of them, of any colour they might like. He was to be attended only by his house-keeper and man-servant." * — - "What could he mean by this direction for an in- scriptionless coffin, but a repetition of the motto -—stat nominis umbra? In connexion with the death of Governor Pow- nall, we would advert to one of the subjects of the satire of Junius, — the Earl of Shelburne, after- wards Marquess of Lansdowne. Mr. Britton, in his Junius Elucidated,^ and, after him, Mr. Wade,^ place the death of the Marquess in 1804, whereas it happened on the 7th of May, 1805. " Only a week before his death," says Mr. Britton, " the Marquess of Lansdowne was personally appealed to, on the subject of Junius, by Sir Richard Phil- lips, who communicated to the Editor of the 1 Nicoll's Literary Anecdotes. ^ Prel. Address, p. xxx. 8 P. xxvi. of Essay prefixed to the second volume of Bohn's Wood/all's Junius, published in 1850. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 171 Monthly Magazine a very interesting account of their conversation. On stating to his Lordship, * that many persons had ascribed those letters to him, and that the world at large conceived that, at least, he was not unacquainted with the au- thor;' the Marquess smiled, and said, * No, no, I am not equal to Junius, I could not be the author ; but the grounds of secrecy are now so far removed by death, and changes of circumstances, that it is unnecessary the author of Junius should much longer be unknown. The world are curious about him, and I could make a very interesting publication on the subject. I knew Junius, and I knew all about the vrriting and production of those letters. , . . I'll tell you this for your guide generally; Junius has never yet been publicly named. None of the parties ever guessed at as Junius was the true Junius. Nobody has ever suspected himJ' " If Governor Pownall were in- deed, as we believe him to have been, the true Junius, the last two paragraphs continued to be as applicable to him, up to the time of the writ- ing of these pages, as they were at the moment of their utterance by the Marquess of Lansdowne. Assuming the ipsissima verba of the Marquess to have been noted down, may not the allusion con- tained in the sentence — " the grounds of secrecy are novj so far removed by death'''' — have been to Governor Pownall, whose death happened just nine weeks before the date of the reported con- 172 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ' *~ii. versation, and was no doubt known to the Mar- quess? The remainder of the same sentence seems to imply, that hia Lordship thought it would be proper, that the author of the Letters of Ju- nius should remain unknown yet a short time longer, — probably, this meant — until the sur- viving few of the leading characters who had been victimized by the pen of Junius, had, like him, been " gathered to their fathers." We shall now dispose of two or three points, which have not yet found a fitting place in our somewhat desultory observations. Junius, in hi^ letter to Wilkes, of Sept. 7, 1771, says, — " If you mean that the Americans should be authorized to send their representatives to the British parliament, i shall be contented with re- ferring you to what Mr. Burke has said upon +^is subject, and will not venture to add any thin^ of my own, for fear of discovering an offensive dis- regard of your opinion." ^ The reference, if we are not mistaken, is to a pamphlet, by Mr. Burke, published in 1769, and entitled " Observations on a late publication intituled — * The present state of the nation,^ ^^ in which, inter alia^ he severely ridiculed the Author's project of American repre- sentation in the British parliament ; and then con- tinued, — "Governor Pownall has handled the same subject. To do him justice, he treats it 1 Vol. i. 293. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 173 upon far more rational principles of speculation ; and much more like a man of business. He thinks (erroneously, I conceive ; but he does think), that our legislative rights are incomplete without such a representation. It is no wonder, therefore, that he endeavours by every means to obtain it. )t like our author, who is always on velvet, i. is aware of some difficulties, and he proposes some solutions. But nature is too hard for both these authors ; and America is, and ever will be, with- out actual representation in the House of Gom- mons ; nor will any minister be wild enough even to propose such a representation in parliament." The work in which Governor Pownall had advo- cated the measure, was the one we have already often cited under the title of" The Administration of the ColonieSy^ the fourth edition of which was published in the year preceding that in which Burke wrote his " Observations," and its author anticipated the reception his proposition, respect- ing the representation, would meet with : — "I know " — said he — " that this proposal will be considered Utopian, visionary, idle, and what not, etc." The chief objection arose from the dis- tance, and consequent tardiness of communica- tion and intercourse between the colonies and the mother-country, which, Burke held, would render the measure utterly impracticable ; — while Gov- ernor Pownall insisted, " that the mutual situa- tion of Great Britain and America very well allows IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 I i.25 ■* m^ H^ ^ La 12.0 ■lUU UK 6" 5^ V 174 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. every communication, which a member of par- liament ought to have with his constituents ; and any influence beyond that is unparliamentary and unconstitutional." * If the two had lived to the present day of ocean steam-navigation, and elec- tric communication, how would the former have seen, that while his objection was becoming " small by degrees, and beautifully less," the prac- ticability of the proposal of the latter was yearly and proportionately becoming more apparent. Now, Junius's letter to Wilkes implies an ap- proval of " what Mr. Burke has said upon this subject ; " and some minds will thence infer that Junius and Governor Pownall could not have been identical, because they differed in opinion on the practicability, if not also on the theory of American or colonial representation in the British legislature. But — may not Governor Pownall have changed his opinion ? — may not the reason- ing in Mr. Burke's " Observations " have operated that change of opinion? — That there is some ground for the supposition, we think will be ad- mitted, when it becomes known, that in the many of the reported speeches of Governor Pownall, in parliament, although repeated opportunities of- fered, he is never found to express an opinion, either adverse or favourable, to such a measure. And, after all, Junius's approval of Burke's opin- 1 P. 169. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 175 ion is but an implied one ; — he may have adopted it " for the nonce," because it was the then •— generally considered — orthodox opinion, — or — ' as a ruse to prevent Wilkes' suspicions of the au- thorship of the letters from lighting upon Gover- nor Pownall.^ The Miscellaneous Letter XXL, April 23, 1768, signed Bifrons, contains a passage which has arrested the attention of many investigators of the mystery of Junius, as appearing to afford a slight clue to its solution. It is this: — After quoting a pamphleteer who had said — that the Duke of Grafton '^ can be supported by the sound- est casuists," in not feeling bound, as a king's minister, by a promise which he had made as a private man, Junius says, — "I am not deeply read in authors of that professed title, but I re- member seeing Bassambaum, Saurez, Molina, and a score of other Jesuitical books, burnt at Paris for their sound casuistry by the hands of the com- mon hangman." * In a note to this passage in Bohn^s WoodfalPs Junius^ Mr. Wade refers to " a decree of the parliament of Paris, dated August 6, 1761," which " had ordered that certain books ^ Since this was written we have seen tiie 5th edition of his work ; and, it is but fair to add, it contains no symptom of a change of opinion on the point in question. « Vol. iii. 46. • Vol. ii. 175, where the spelling of the first two names is prop- erly (almost!) corrected to — Buaeiibaum and Suarez. 176 JUNIUS DIBOOVEBED. by Jesuits should be burnt, in the palace yard at the foot of the great staircase) by the common hangman The works condemned were chiefly those of Busenbaum and his commenta- tor Lacroix. The decree was executed August , 7, 1761. There had been previous burnings of the books of Busenbaum, namely, in 1757 and 1758, and there may have been others later than that of 1761." But the particular burning on the 7th of August, 1761, did not suit Mr. Wade's hero. Sir Philip Francis, who unfortunately hapt pened, at that time, to be at Lisbon, with Lord Kinnbul ; and, moreover, in Mr. Bohn's ^ biblio- graphical account," the burning at Paris in 1761, of Busenbaum's << Medulla Theologise Moralis," only, is mentioned ; with the addition, that ^ no evidence of any of the works of Suarez having been publicly burnt since 1614," could be found, and that there is not "any reason to believe that the works of Molina were at any time pub- licly burnt either at Paris or elsewhere." The facts, as above quoted, were somewhat stubborn : — if the letter of Bifrons could be supposed to be a genuine letter of Junius, — then Junius would be proved to have alleged a false fact j^ namely — * that he had seen the works of Suarez and Molina burnt at Paris, when no such works had been burnt there within a century, and more, before 1 Letter to Sir W. Draper, toI. i. 415. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 177 d at moif 9fexe jnta- igast ?9 o^ tlje time of his allegation; — and^if Sir Philip Francis were Junius, then he — Sir Philip — would have been guilty — not only of alleging the false facti hut — of falsely alleging that he had been at Paris, at a time when, in fact, he was at Lisbon. Mr. Wade, however, gets rid of the dif- ficulty, more stiOf by denying the letter to be gen- uine,^ — by doubting "whether Bifrons was an Englishman, or even an Irishman," — and by boldly declaring, that "he certainly could not have been a British subject in 1761, unless he was a prisoner of war, for in that year we were at hot war with France." If Mr. Wade had searched a little deeper, he might have found the means of reconciling the letter with his hero, and with Junius too, without reversing Dr. Good's opinion of its being genuine. The decree or arrSt of the parliament of Paris, of the 6th of August, 1761, after detailing thirty- three different works, written by Jesuits (and published under the sanction of their order), as having been examined by Commissioners of the Court, condemned twenty-four* of them, to be "lac^r^s et bruits en la cour du Palais,^ au pied du grand escalier d'icelui, par Vex^cuteur de la haute justice, comme s^ditieux, d^structifs de tout 1 " Unqnestionably," quoth he, "Bifrons is sporions." ^ Bifrons says — "and a score of other Jesuitical books." ' Not the king's palace ; but that in which the parliament, and principal courts of justice held their sittings. 12 178 JUNIUS DISOOTBRED* principe de la morale chr^tienne, enseignant une doctrine meurtridre et abominable, non-seulement contre la sdret^ de la vie des citoyens, mais mSme contre celle des personnes sacr^es des souverains." Busembaum'sj Theologia Moralise edited by Lacroix, — Suarez's Fidei Catholicce^ — and Mo- lina's De Justitid etjure, were among the works examined, but only the first and third were con- demned to the flames ; the first being moreover honoured by a special prohibition of its future sale or use. Suarez's work, as stated in the arrit^ had already been condemned to be burnt, in 1614, the year of its publication ; and, probably, the parliament therefore deemed it unnecessary to repeat the condemnation. Besides the condem- nation of the books of sound casuistry, the arrSt, at great length, forbade the further operations of the Jesuits, as teachers or professors, in the French dominions, and decreed the closing of their col- leges, schools, etc. By the King's letters patent of the same date, the execution of this arrSt was suspended for one year ; and, on the last day of that year, namely, on the 6th of August, 1762, another Arrit du Parlement de Paris, concemant les J4suites, was passed, which — after recapitu- lating the legislative and judicial proceedings in France, relative to the order of Jesuits, from the arrH of the 29th of December, 1594, and edict, based thereon, of Henri IV., of the 7th of January following, which first banished the Jesuits from JUNIUS DISOOYERED. 179 , une ment nSm« ains." id by d Mo- works e con- neover future e arr^t^ n 1614, >ly, the ssary to 'ondem- e arrH^ Ltions of ! French Lcir col- patent •rH was day of 5t, 1762, mcernant •ecapitu- idings in from the Ld edict, January its from the kingdom, — showed, among other things, with wonderful minuteness, the grounds of the con- demnation of the works of the Jesuits, and then confirmed the arrSt of the 6th of August, in the preceding year, and commanded its execution. At what precise date, afterwdlrd, the exScuteur de la haute justice fulfilled the particular duty as- signed to him by the arrSt^ we have failed to dis- cover. But the delay of little more than a month, would have rendered it possible for such a person as Governor Pownall to have visited Paris ; as, on the 4th of September, 1762, the Duke of Bed- ford was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to His Most Chrisitian Majesty, and immediately departed to Paris, where he remained, until the object of his appointment had been attained, by the signing of the preliminary treaty of peace, at Fontainbleau, on the 3rd of November, and of the final one, at Paris, on the 10th of February, in the following year ; so that, if the burning of the books took place at any time after the Duke's arrival in Paris, in the first week of September, 1762, it is quite possible that Governor Pownall, in his Grace's suite, or otherwise, may have vis- ited that city, and been present at the burning. Indeed there is a strong probability that he did visit Paris, towards the close of the year ; as, very soon after the signing of the preliminary treaty, the combined army in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand, began to break up, and the English 180 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. portion of it returned to England in December. Governor Pownall's situation as Comptroller- general would not require that he should accom- pany the army, on its march, and his own return to England, by the way of Paris, would no doubt better suit his convenience than by any other route.^ That the burning of the Jesuits' books of sound casuistry, alluded to in the letter signed Bifrons, was the burning ordered by the arrSt of the 6th of August, 1762, at whatever date that arrSt may have been carried into execution, we believe cannot admit of doubt ; as it was the only burning of the kind within a probable period — say, within half a century immediately preceding the date of the letter, that was of sufficient extent to warrant the use of the words " and a score more," in addition to the specified works of Bu- sembaum, Suarez, and Molina. The only subse- quent similar burning of books at Paris, took place on the 21st of January, 1764, in the court-yard of the palais ; but by what authority does not ap- pear. The collection of French arrits, down to 1789, to which we have access, professes to be a complete one ; yet the arrSt of the 6th of August, 1762, is the last one, of that collection, that con- demns any books to the flames. The burning of the 21st of January, 1764, could not have been effected under its authority ; because among the ^ In the General Preface to his Three Memorials, p. vii., he says, — " in the year 1763, 1 returned from Germany." JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 181 • )) books burnt, was the Instruction Pastorale of the Archbishop of Paris, Christophe de Beaumont, which was not published until the 28th of Octo- ber, 1763 ; and yet, a modem French historian of the Jesuits^ insinuates, that the Archbishop's book was burnt by an arbitrary order of the par- liament, — and adds, that the Emile of Jean- Jacques Rousseau, and the EncychpSdie, shared the same fate, at the hands of the same execu- tioner. From the letter of BifronSf and the fol- lowing passage in Miscellaneous Letter XXVIIL^ July 23, 1768, viz. — " An ostensible engagement, with a mental reservation, is the first principle of the morale relachSCy professed and inculcated by the society of Jesus," * — as well as incidental ex- pressions in some of the avowed letters, it is clear, that Junius entertained no favourable opinion of the Jesuits. And — no more did Governor Pow- nall, if we may judge from the following pithy note, on page 26, of the Appendix to his Admin- istration of the Colonies: "I mention nothing here of the influence of the Jesuit missionaries, because nothing is meant less than religion by them.^^ The letter signed Bifrons closes with a quota- tion of the distinction, made by Molidr^s Sosia, between the two Amphitrions, — " c'est P Amphi- trion chez qui Pon dine," — and Junius has, in 1 Cr^tineau — Joly, Hist, de la Compagnie de J€su$, torn. v. ch. 4. a Vol. iii. 70. 182 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. his acknowledged letters, and particularly in his note to Letter XLII.,^ shown himself a proficient in the French language. This also appears from a due consideration of the quotation from Mr. De Lolme's essay on the English constitution, with which Junius concludes his Preface. That Pre- face was published in March, 1772, — the quota- tion is in English; — but the first edition of De Lolme's work, in English^ was not published until June, 1775.* The opinion of Junius, therefore, must have been formed from a perusal of the essay in the language, in which it was orig- inally written. The same familiar knowledge of the French language and literature, and occa- sional use of French phrases and words, are man- ifest in the writings of Governor Pownall. " "Whether Junius had any other and less wor- thy object in view than that (which) he uniformly avowed, namely, a desire to subserve the best political interests of his country, it is impossible to ascertain with precision." So says Dr. Good, in his preliminary essay ; ^ and he refers to two • of the private letters, the one. No. 17, to Wood- fall, and the other. No. 65, to Wilkes, as contain- ing " the only hints which can be gathered that he (Junius) had any prospect at any time of en- gaging in public life." The first is merely the closing expression -i- " but if things take the turn 1 Vol. ii. 191. 3 Preface by the Editor of a new edition, London, 1816, p. xix. • Vol. 1. 85. JUNIUS DISOOVSEBD. 183 I expect, you shall know me hy my works ; '' «- the second is of more consequence for our imme- diate purpose. " It is a very common mistake in judgment," says Junius, " and a very dangerous one in conduct, first to look for nothing in the ar- gument proposed to us, but the motive of the man who uses it, and then to measure the truth of his argument by the motive we have assigned to him. "With regard to me. Sir, any refinement in this way would assuredly mislead you ; and though I do not disclaim the idea of some per- sonal views to future honour and advantage, (you would not believe me if I did,) yet I can truly affirm, that neither are they little in themselves, nor can they by any possible conjecture be col- lected from my writings." ^ On considering this passage, in connexion with the clear proofs, already adduced, of the author's disinterestedness in pecuniary matters, we cannot but look upon the words — ^^ personal views to future honour and advantage" — which views were not ^^ little in themselves ^^ — as implying, that the author looked forward to a time when his public services would entitle him to something more than mere professional promotion, if he were a member of a profession, civil or military, namely, to an eleva- tion of his rank in society ; such as would be — the raising of a commoner to the peerage, or of a peer of an inferior grade, to one of a higher. 1 Vol. i. 264. 184 JUNIUS DISOOVERBD.' The proofs that Governor Pownall was as little itiAuenced by pecuniary views as Junius, we think are clear. Let us see whether he had any '^ per- sonal views to future honour and advantage," such as Junius did not disclaim entertaining. In 1764, he proposed, and strongly advocated, the formation, in lieu of the then existing Board of trade and plantations, of a separate department, ^*to be sovereign and supreme as to every thing relating to it," with a Secretary of State at its head, for the superintendence or government of the colonies ; who should, as the first step, ^^ fix the basis of an established, permanent, and effec- tive system of government for the mother-country and the Colonies," by some leading measure that should be " consistent with the general govern- ment and interest of the whole;" — and — "to obtain this with truth and certainty, and to en- gage the colonists to cooperate in this view with that confidence which a free people must have, if they cooperate at all, government should send out to America, some very considerable person^ under commission and instructions, to hear and exam- ine on the spot, the state of things there, and by such proper representations and assistance as can nowhere be had but upon the spot, and from the people themselves, to form such authentic matter of information for the King in council, as may become the solid basis of real government, estab- lished by the principles of real liberty. To such JUNIUS DI800VBRED. 185 considerable person, and to such commission, only, would the colonists give their confidence. .... They would meet such person in the abun- dance of their loyalty, with dispositions of real business in their temper, and with the spirit of real union in their hearts. What commission could be more honourable and glorious, even to the highest character, than that of acting for the rights and liberties of a whole people, so as to be the means of establishing those rights and liber- ties, by an adequate system of freedom and gov- ernment, extended to the whole ? What can be more suited to the most elevated character, than to be the great reconciler between the mother- country and her colonies, misrepresented to, and misinformed of each other ? " * Considering the preceding relation of the Governor to the colo- nies, is it too much to suppose, that he entertained the honourable ambition — for honourable it cer- tainly was — of being selected as the considerable person, who should be the great reconciler he- tween the mother-country and the colonies ? Sed 1 Adminttiration of the Colonies, p. 27 et seq. — Since the above was written, we ha^. bund, that in 1766, on the proposal of Gov. Pownall, the Duke of York undertook to become the great recon- ciler, if the minister would adopt the measure, and his Majesty approve of it : — the Governor thereupon, authorized by the Duke, obtained an audience, and submitted the measure to the minister; but it was rejected at the first offer ! The minister was — the Duke of Graftc*^ ; and here we find the origin of Jnnius's unappeasable wrath against His Grace. 186 JUNIUS DISOOYSBBD. dis aliter visum ! On the 20th of January, 1768, such a Secretary of State's office as that recom* mended was formed, and the Earl of Hillsbo- rough was placed at its head. Unfortunately, however, the office was not put upon the practi* cal and efficient footing proposed by Governor Pownall ; nor were any other of the leading points of his plan adopted. The judgment of Junius, passed upon the new Secretary of State for the colonies, just twelve months after his appoint- ment, shows how soon commenced, and how firmly and permanently became established, that infatuated system of governing the colonies, which, in the course of a few years, " divided one- half of the empire from the other ;"^ and by which — rejecting the lessons of experience — the successors of Lord Hillsborough, down to the present year of grace, 1852,* have unceasingly fomented in the British colonies throughout the world, discontent — revolution — rebellion; and by which, with a similar result, colony after col- ony must cease to be a colony, and the once mighty empire of Britain will — eventually — be reduced to its original limits "within the four seas." Writing in January, 1769, Junius says, — " As for his (Lord Hillsborough's) measures, let it be remembered, that he was called upon to 1 Letter I. vol. i. 395. ' When this was written, Earl Grey was still the head of the colonial department. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 187 he once cdnciliate and unite ; and that, when he entered into office, the most refractory of the colonies were still disposed to proceed by the constitu- tional methods of petition and remonstrance. Since that period^ they have been driven into ex- cesses little short of rebellion." ^ Is not this the very language that Governor Pownall would use, on seeing the early evil effects of the adoption of a part only — instead of the whole — of his orig- inal suggestion of a distinct department and Sec- retary of State, for the rule of the colonies ? And may not the observation of these evil effects, as they successively developed themselves, and the certainty, that no considerable person-^ no great reconciler would be sent to America as a mes- senger of peace and good-will, have embittered his spirit towards the ministry of the day, until it found vent in the " thoughts that breathe, and words that burn " in the letters of Junius ? If the suggestion of sending to America a considerable person, wlic should become the great reconciler between the mother-country and the colonies, had been adopted, and Governor Pownall had been chosen for the office, is it too much to conjecture, that, in case of success, of which he was too san- guine to entertain a doubt, he might look for his reward in — a peerage ? Let not the reader ac- cuse us of being too visionary on this point. He ^ Letter I. vol. i. 396. 188 JUKICS DISOOVBRED. will, no doubt, admit the truth of the very old sayings" straws show which way blows the wind." Now, in Governor Pownall's Three ilfe- morials, we have found two such straws, indicat- ing the direction of his mind towards a peerage. The General Preface to these memorials, and the Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, respec- tively, bear the simple signature, " Pownall ; " as if, when subscribing it, the writer had " in his mind's eye" his first patent of nobility: — "Ba- ron PowNALL, OP Pownall-Fee, iii the Count/ of Chester," would both look and sound well ; and perhaps, peering still further into the vista of fu- turity, his < aching sight' may have been spared a glimpse of his own brow, surmounted by that object of the ambition of his ancestors — the chamberlapnes of the second and third Edwards — the coronet of an Earl ! " " There was a time," says Junius, " . . . . when titles were the reward of public virtue, and when the crown did not think its revenue ill employed in contributing to support the honours it had bestowed." ^ Among the minor indicia tending to identify Governor Pownall with Junius, it may not be amiss to point out a coincidence in their avowed motives for writing anonymously. In his letter to Wilkes, of Sept. 18, 1771, Junius says, — " Be- sides every personal consideration, if I were 1 Misc. Letter XXXVII., vol. ui. 121. JUNIUS DISOOVBRBD. 189 known, I could no longer be an useful servant to the public. At present there is something orac- ular in the delivery of my opinions. I speak from a recess which no human curiosity can pen- etrate, and darkness, we are told, is one source of the sublime. — The mystery of Junius increases his importance." ^ The first edition of Governor Pownall's Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe was published in 1780, anonymously; and when a new edition appeared in 1784, the authorship was avowed in the following terms : " Although at the first publication of the Memorial addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe I withheld my name, I never denied my being the author. .... I had therefore nothing to conceal respecting my- self personally I wished that the world might receive the state of the case iiolely on the authority of the facts, and not on that of the testimony of any name : That it might re- ceive the proof of the argument from the demon- stration of its reasoning ; and not from the opin- ions of any person, howsoever supposed to be in- formed in those matters. I could not but be con- scious, that, with many, my name would, in this business, be attended by strong prejudices, both for and against the opinions and advices which this Tract contains: I therefore withheld my name." 2 Junius and Governor Pownall alike thought more of the soundness of their opinions 1 Vol. i. 314. * General Preface to Three MemoriaU, etc« 190 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. and arguments, than of their personal influence with the public ; and each of them desired that his opinions and arguments should be judged on their intrinsic merits, by minds unbiassed by any such prejudice as might be excited by a knowl- edge of his name. Hence, each of them withheld his name ; but Governor Pownall had nothing — whilst Junius had every thing- — to fear from its subsequent disclosure : — the one therefore after- wards avowed his authorship, while the other continued sedulously to conceal it. Before closing our self-imposed task, we would notice a slight clue, from which some reader more fortunately situated than we are, iot ferreting out information, may possibly trace a friendly con- nexion between Governor Pownall and Sir Philip Francis, whereby the opinion, that the latter was the amanuensis of Junius, may be strengthened, if not confirmed. In his Administration of the Colonies}^ Gover- nor Pownall, in discussing the question of a colo- nial paper-currency, says, — " On this subject, I here refer the reader to the following very judi- cious tract, written and given to me, several years «^go» l^y Tench Francis^ Esq.; late Attorney-gen- eral of the province of Pennsylvania, conversant in these matters, both as a lawyer and a mer- chant. I print and publish it hy leave of a near relation^ and subjoin it as containing the >- 4th Edition.!). 190. JUKTIUS DISOOVEBED* 191 most exact and decisive sentiments, on this sub- ject, that I have anywhere met with. I entitle it— Considerations on a Paper Currency." Tench Francis, was Attorney-general of Pennsylvania, from 1744 to 1752, and Recorder of the city of Philadelphia, from 1750 to 1755. He married, in 1724, Miss Elizabeth Turbutt, of Maryland, and died about the year 1760. He was brother— and, we believe, only brother, of Dr. Philip Fran- cis, the translator of Horace and Demosthenes, and father of Sir Philip Francis ; and the Doctor was the near relation who gave leave to Gover- nor Pownall to print and publish the Considered tions. Besides the reasonable inference of inti- macy to be drawn from the circumstance of 'At- torney-general Francis writing and giving to Gov- ernor Pownall, a tract of the description men- tioned, their official acquaintance with each other may fairly be presumed, from their relative public stations, as well when Governor Pownall first visited America, as previously, when he was Sec- retary to the Lords Commissioners of trade and plantations. If it can be shown, that the Fran- cis and Pownall families, in England, were on social terms with each other, then the probability of Sir Philip having been the amanuensis and private friend of Junius,^ wiU be enhanced. For the above particulars respecting Attorney-general ^ And, perhaps also, " the gentleman yirho transacts the convey- ancing part of our correspondence." Letter to Woodfall, No. 51. 192 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Tench Francis, we are indebted to the kindness of one of his great-grandsons, resident in Phila- delphia ; who has in his possession several amus- ing letters addressed by Sir Philip, to his cousin, Colonel Turbutt Francis, of Maryland, about the time of the letters of Junius. These, we are given to understand, do not, by any means, support the pretensions of those persons who claim for Sir Philip the authorship of the letters of Junius.^ 1 A propos de bottea. Besides the existence of his abore named uncle, the biographers of Sir Philip Francis appear to have over- looked his first marriage, viz., on tiie 27th of Feb., 1762, to Miss Macrabie ; and his appointment, in the following December, as Deputy Secretary at War.' {London Magazine for 1762, p. 165, and Appendix thereto, p. 724.) — Sir Philip's second wife was Em* ma, daughter of the Rev. H. Watkins. They were married in December, 1814, only four years before Sir Philip's death. Miss Watkins was then in her 36th year, and her acquaintance with Sir Philip, according to her own account, dated no farther back than 1 805. If Lord Campbell, and — after him — Mr. Wade had duly kept these circumstances in view, neither of them would have laid the stress they both have done upon her Ladyship's let- ter {Lives of the Lord Chancelhrs, vol. vi., p. 344, in note), written for his Lordship, and addressed to Mr. Edward Dubois, Sir Phil- ip's quondam secretary ; nor would either of them have adduced it as containing proof, " wholly conclusive," in favor of Sir Philip, of the great question of the authorship of the letters of Junius. When analyzed, the letter of Lady Francis amounts to no more than a declaration, that she had so long suspected her husband of having been Junius, that her mind was, at length, brought to the belief, that he really was so : — it, in fact, proves, that her '* wish " — and her wish alone — that Sir Philip should be Junius, "was father to the thought," that he was so ; and this, although trans- parent throughout the letter, has imposed upon the clear intellect of a far-seeing Lord Chief-justice, and the literaiy acumei^ of an experienced editor and essayist ! JtNIUS DISOOTERBD. m iidness PhUa- [ amus- cousin, lOut the e given port the for Sir ius.^ yre named have over- 2, to Miss >ember, as i2, p. 165, fe was Em> married in ^. Miss Lce with ther back I Wade had [em would 'Ship's let- i), written I, Sir Phil- adduced |Sir Philip, of Junius. no more nsband of jght to the !r"wish" |ius, "was ugh trans- kr intellect len of an " ' In conclusion, we would beg the reader to re- peruse Dr. Mason Good's summary of the char- acteristics necessary to be combined in one per- son, to entitle him to be called the author of the Letters of Junius; and if on such reperusal, he shall feel convinced, that those characteristics were, in every essential particular, combined in the person of Governor Pownall, he will not hesitate to concede to the humble writer of these pages the honour of being — the discoverer of Junius. As intimated in the postscript to our preface and dedication, we now proceed to lay before the reader some additional evidence, discovered dur- ing our short visit to the British metropolis last spring. This evidence consists of twenty-seven original letters, written by Grovemor Pownall, in 1769, and the three following years, and one written in 1774. All of them, with one exception, are ad- dressed, or, on sufficient grounds, are presumed to have been addressed, to the Reverend Samuel Cooper, I). D., of Boston, Massachusetts, one of the Fellows of Harvard College ; and they have reference to those political relations and disagree- ments between Great Britain and her American 13 194 JUmUS DISCOVERED. colonies, out of which, shortly afterwards, arose the independency of the latter, as a nation. The exception alluded to, is the penultimate letter, which is addressed to Samuel Adams, Esquire, of Boston. For the convenience of reference, we have numbered them from 1 to 27. The first twelve belong to the year 1769, No. 1 bearing date, at its commencement, the 30th of January (nine days after the publication of the first of Junius's acknowledged letters), and be- ing continued on the 6th of the following month : these are followed by nine of the year 1770, three of 1771, two of 1772, and one of 1774. The greater part of No. 1, and the whole of Nos. 12 and 22, (except the closing words and signatures, which are in the Governor's own handvmting,) are in a beautiful free running hand, not improb- ably, that of the Governor's brother, John Pow- nall ; and as, in the formation of most of the let- ters, are to be seen the general characteristics of Junius's finer penmanship — we mean that which appears to have been v^nritten with a crow-quill pen — we may easily imagine, that when the writer chose to disguise his handwriting, by form- ing the letters nearly perpendicular, instead of giving them the ordinary slope, it would, in almost every respect, assume the appearance of Junius's finer handwriting. Although the handwriting in question differs much from that of Governor Pownall, yet in many particulars it bears a JUNIUS DISCOV£RED. 195 strong affinity — a species of family resemblance — to it. No.'s 2 and 4, are so remarkably like the pub- lished fac-similes of the handwriting of ]V&.-» afterwards Sir Philip Francis, that we do not hes- itate to express our opinion, that on those two occasions he was Governor Pownall's amanuensis.' The continuation of No. 1, and all the remain- ing letters, are wholly written by the Governor himself, in a bold, off-hand style, greatly resem- bling, not only in the formation of particular let- ters and words, but in the general appearance of the mass — or tout-ensemble of the words, the published specimens of the bolder kinds of Ju- nius's handwriting : — the peculiar formation of the letters m, n, and tr, mentioned in our note on page 74, both separately and when in combi- nation, is precisely the same as that of Junius. No. 17, which bears a dash, in place of a sig- nature, is the most remarkable of the series ; for, while its ordinary closing words — " I am Dr Sir, Yr. affect, friend, and faithfuU servt. — ," and its original interior address "For y« Rev*d Dr. Cooper" (scrawled over at some later date by another hand, and with different ink), are in the Governor's ordinary handwriting, although some- what less bold than usual, the body of the letter is in a disguised style, which is yet so superficial as to be easily detected as the handwriting of the Crovernor himself; and that disguise, although 196 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. principally formed by giving the letters somewhttt mote than the ordinary slope, instead of raising them to a nearly vertical position, yet so strongly resembles the handwriting of Junius, both in its general features, and in its peculiarities, that it is really not easy to withhold an assent to the prop- osition, that it and the letters of Junius were written by one and the same hand. Unfortu- nately, the shortness of our stay in London, after we had discovered these letters of the Governor, precluded us from obtaining fac-similes of portions of them ; and we must therefore content our- selves with indicating where they are to be found, and hoping that ere long such specimens of them may be published as shall enable the reader to judge of them for himself. They are in " the King's library " in the British Museum, richly bound together in crimson mo- rocco, and lettered — " Original Letters, from Governor Pownall to the Rev'd Dr. Cooper, wntten in the years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, atnd 1774, on American Politics" — and with them are two other volumes, bound and lettered in the same style; the one containing original letters from Dr. Franklin to the Rev'd Dr. Cooper, and the other, draughts and copies, in his own hand- writing, of letters from Dr. Cooper to Governor Pownall and Dr. Franklin; but of these we can say little or nothing, as time would not admit of pur giving them more than a cursory inspection. JUNIUS BISCOVBRBI). 197 With the three volumes, there is a fourth, in like manner bound and lettered, containing copies (in a writing-master's most formal style !) of Gover- nor Pownall and Dr. Franklin's letters, preceded by an address of presentment of the originals to the King, including therein the following account of the manner in which they came into the hands of their then possessor : — " Immediately after the affair of Lexington, which happened on the 19th of April, 1775, the town of Boston was surrounded by the rebels, and all intercourse with the country was cut off: those who were in the town were not allowed to quit it, without the permission of the Commander- in-chief, and no person was allowed to pass the lines to go into the country, without first being searched by the officers appointed by the General for that purpose. At this time, many of the lead- ing men of the disaffected party were still in the town; and among the rest, the Reverend Dr. Cooper, minister of the gospel to one of the reli- gious societies in that town; a man of great weight and influence among the people, who ad- mired him as much for his abilities, as they re- spected him on account of his holy profession, and his exemplary life and conversation. He, with many others, made immediate application for leave to quit the town, and obtained a pass- port for that purpose. ^ At this time, he had in his possession, the 108 JUNIUS BIBCOVBRKD. original of tiie following letters from Dr. Franklin, together with the original draughts of his answers, and a great number of letters from Governor Pownall, written at the same time. Being un- willing to destroy these papers, and afraid of de- tection if he attempted to take them with him through the lines, he determined to leave them behind, in the hands of a confidential friend, with directions to forward them to him by the first safe conveyance. He accordingly packed them all up together in a bundle, and sent them to Mr. Jef- fries, one of the selectmen of Boston, who at that time was sick, and unable to leave the town. He was confined to his bed when these papers were brought to him ; they were therefore put by in a trunk, which contained other things of his own. As soon as Mr. Jeffries was recovered from his illness, he left the town, and followed the rest of his party into the country. " His son. Dr. John Jeffries, who is now one of the surgeons to the hospital at New York, not choosing to take part. in the rebellion, refused to accompany his father into the country. With this son, he left every thing that he could not take with him, and, among other things, the before- mentioned trunk ; either not knowing, or forget- ing that it contained a treasure that belonged to his friend. This trunk remained nearly a year in Dr. Jeffries' possession, without his knowing what it contained, till, upon the evacuation of Boston JUNIUS DIBOOVBRBD. 199 in the month of March following, collecting his effects, in order to embarlc with them for Halifax, he accidentally discovered the packet of letters, and, finding them interesting, took care to pre- serve them. From Halifax he brought them with him in January last, and made a present of them to Mr. Thompson, who now presumes, most hum- bly, to lay them at His Majesty's feet, as a lit- erary, as well as a political curiosity." Who " Mr. Thompson " was, does not appear ; * and as there is no date to the address, we can only guess from the words " in January last," that it was presented to His Majesty in a later month in the year 1779, as " at the evacuation of Boston, Dr. Jeffries embarked with the troops, and went to Halifax, and was appointed chief of the surgi- cal staff in Nova-Scotia ; " and " in 1779, he went to England." 2 It is stated in our essay, that Governor Pow- nall took up his residence at Richmond, shortly after his return from Germany, in 1763 ; and from letter 24, it now appears t)iat his country residence was at Richmond, whence that, and the preced- ing letter, bear date ; while his town-house, in London, was in Albemarle street, whence eleven others of the letters are dated. Junius, while — -, tow'ring in hia pride of place/ ^ Probably he was the King's librarian. ^Sabine's Biographical Sketches of American Loyalists — p. 385. 200 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. could have chosen no better " local habitation " than either of these. The Governor's will, which we have seen in Doctors' Commons^ shows that the town-house was his own property. A trifling, but yet significant peculiarity may be observed in the manner of dating these letters. It is this, — that in all of those which are dated by the Governor himself, the numeral date follows the name of the month ; and the same peculiarity is observable in all the private letters of Junius to Wbodfall : the dates of the public letters, are not as they were written by Junius, but are the dates on which those letters appeared in the Public Advertiser.^ With regard to the letters themselves, gener- ally, — if the reader expects to find in them the same finished, compressed, antithetical style, which pervades the letters of Junius, we tell him plainly, that he will be disappointed ; and for the very good reason, that in his expectation he is unreasonable. To disbelieve that these letters, written, as they were, in the full confidence of private friendship, and without any view to future publication, are not the emanations of the same mind that produced the letters of Junius, only because they do not exhibit in their composition an equal fire — an equal force — an equal laboilr to express ideas in the fewest, but yet most com- prehensive words, would be about as reasonable 1 Preface, vol. i. 349 et seq. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. liiOl as to disbelieve that a certain peasant walking the earth like other mortals, was a VendSe-3.n peasant, only because we have never seen a VendSe-em peasant walk the earth otherwise than on his native stilts. The avowed writings of Ju- nius were, according to his own account, not pro- duced without much labour,^ — the errors of the original MSS. never appeared in the Public Ad' vertiser, when time was allowed the printer to correct them:— of the first genuine edition, the proof-sheets of the first two letters only were cor- rected by the author ; and those of the remainder by Woodfall ; while the Preface and Dedication ' were submitted to the revision of Mr. Wilkes.'* That Woodfall's corrections occasionally ex- tended further than the proof-sheets, may be gath- ered from the letter to him of August 16th, 1769, in which Junius says — " Your correction was perfectly right. The sense required it, and I am much obliged to you. .... you know, I do not, nor indeed have I time, to give equal care to them all ; " ^ — and also from those to him of Dec. 26, 1769, and Feb. 21, 1771 ; in the former of which Junius says — " As to embowelling, do whatever you think proper, provided you leave it intelligible to vulgar capacities ; " * — and in the latter — "I leave it to you to alter, or omit, as you 1 Letter to Woodfall, No. 24, vol. i. 214. 2 Prel. Essay, vol. 1. 91,— letter to Woodfall, No. 40, vol. i. 228. » lb. No. 7,197. * lb. No. 17, 206. 202 JUNIUS DISGOVEKEO. think proper; — or bvrn it."^ — Also, in letter XIII., sighed Phih-Junius^ he says, — " As for his style, I shall leave it to the critics. The truth of his facts is of more importance to the public ; " ^ — and in letter XXIX., with the same signature — " Notwithstanding the partiality of the public, it does not appear that Junius values himself upon any superior skill in composition, and I hope his time will always be more usefully em- ployed than in the trifling refinements of verbal criticism." ^ But, notwithstanding all the labour of the author, and the corrections made by the original printer and publisher, " numerous errors of grammar and construction," says Mr. Butler, in his Reminiscences, "are to be discovered in these celebrated letters ; " and to the like effect say Dr. Good,* and Lord Brougham.*^ If such be the case then with writings originally pre- pared for publication, and subsequently, on re- publication, corrected, and recorrected, it is 1 Prel. Essay, vol. i. 91, —letter to Woodfall, No. 33, vol. i. 220. 2 Vol. i. 493. 8 Vol. ii. 28. * Prel. Essay, vol. i. 91. ^Statesmen of the time of Geo. III., vol. i. 113. — From the responsibility of one error, however, we must relieve Junius. The beautiful metaphor at the close of the 42nd letter, (vol. ii. 194,) is thus printed in G. Woodfall's edition of 1814: — "Private credit is wealth ; — public honour is security. — The feather that adorns the royal bird, supports its flight. Strip him of his plu- mage, and you fix him to the earth." The pronoun its, which we have italicized, was, in Junius's own edition, (vol. ii. 145,) printed • — his. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 203 scarcely reasonable to look for the elaborated com- position of the letters of Junius, in the private letters of Governor Pownall, written as these were without a view of their ever passing beyond the circle of his and his correspondent's immediate friends. The impartial reader will no doubt bear this in mind, whenever he catches the Governor tripping in his grammar^ and will set down any occasional defect in grammatical construction, as another presumption in favour of the Governor's identity with Junius. The Governor might truly have said, with Junius, — "I was not born to be a commentator, even upon my own works." ^ Yet are these letters neither unworthy of the fame, nor wholly devoid of the style — even "the ornamented style "^ — of the great nominis um- bra: — on the contrary, there will be found in them much of the same patriotic spirit — the same fearless independence of mind — the same interest in the cause of the people^ — the same contempt for the ministry of the day — and, oc- casionally, the same comprehensive, antithetical modes of expression, and of reasoning — that are so remarkable in the letters q/" Junius. 1 Preface, vol. i. 350. 2 Letter XXXI., vol. ii. 45. * No. 63, vol. i. 255, — vol. ii. 344 et seq. 204 JUNIUS DISCOVERED, LETTER I. o o London, Jan'y 30, 1769. Dear Sir: — The American affairs being now actually under consideration, and I having taken so large a part in Parliament relative thereto, my whole time is so entirely engrossed, that I have scarcely leisure to write this kind of note. I do intend hereafter to enter with you into the discussion of the several points of opinion, and matters of conduct, contained in your letters of Oct. 5, and Nov. 26 ; (which are the only two let- ters I have lately received from you, — if there be any others that you have written, they have not come to hand, which I mention to put you on your guard) — at present, I can only give you as it were notice of the course which things are in, without being able to form any judgment how they will end. I need not mention to you the King's speech, as you will doubtless have seen it. The matters relative to America contained therein were in- tended as the foundation of such measures as Ministry intended bringing before parliament in the course of the session. I thought it improper to enter at all into any part of that day's debate, but reserved what I had to say, till the measure itself should be laid before Parliament. The JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 205 measure has been since brought forward, and originated in the House of Lords: and consists of a set of resolutions relative to the conduct of the town of Boston, in the province of M. B., charg- ing them with several misdemeanors and criminal proceedings ; and for an address to the King, founded on that charge, beseeching him to direct his Governor to make inquiry as to treason and misprision of treason, and the most active com- mitters of those offences ; in order that his M. may, on the act of the 35th of Henry 8th, issue a spe- cial commission for the hearing and determining these matters within the realm, in case there should be sufficient ground for such proceeding. I take this measure up in two views — first, as to the expediency of it as a political measure — • secondly, as to the foundation and justice of itj as a proceeding of the House of C, acting on this occasion as the grand inquest of the nation. I shall not speak to the first head, till it is a com- plete measure reported from the committee to the House, which is to be done on Friday next, when it is understood that I am to take the lead, and open the debate in opposition to this measure. In the committee on Friday last, I spoke to the second head ; and considered the resolutions and address which the Lords sent to us for our con- currence, as a bill of indictment of the grand in- quest : and therefore entered into the considera- tion of the charges therein made as to the mat- 206 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ters of fact and evidence on which they were founded, which I took the liberty to say, were false and groundless. I here refer you to the res- olutions, which I really have not time to get cop- ied, but of which I suppose you will have num- bers of copies sent to you. I would send yoii a transcript of what I said on that occasion, but have much less time to examine the correctness of what was taken down : — I can only acquaint you, upon the second resolution, that I convinced the committee, and ministry itself, that the reso- lution in January of the House of representatives, therein referred to, of writing letters to the other assemblies on the continent to Join with them, etc. — on which the resolution of the House of Lords was founded — was never laid before that House, and never could have been laid before that House, as it did never exist ; and that therefore the charge of unwarrantable and dangerous proceedings, tending to create unlawful combinations, etc., was not founded in fact and evidence, so far [as] that resolution was made a ground for the charge: [here follows a running commentary upon the sev- eral resolutions and address of the House of Lords ; ^ after which the Governor proceeds ;] Besides going into this defence of the town and 1 The resolutions, eight in number, were passed by the House of Lords, on the 15th of Dec, 1768, at the instance of the Earl of Hillsborough ; and the address, founded thereon, was adopted on motion of the Duke of Bedford. And see ante,, p. 1 16 et seq^. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 207 province, as to the charges exhibited against them in the resolutions, I called upon Government to make one charge more, and challenged them to exhibit a charge against the town for refusing to quarter the troops, — and upon this head said, that the act was such a foolish, indecisive, im- practicable law, that it could not be carried into execution. — [It will be necessary to give a cau- tion here, that what I might say in debate in par- liament, can neither be said nor written, much less published, with safety, out of those walls] ; — that the General had written word, that the clause in ii, ^rn.8 incompatible with the circum- stances of the province ; and that another of the servants of the Crown had written, that, as it was capable of being explained, it was an act to pre- vent the quartering his Majesty's troops in Amer- ica ; — and that therefore, if nobody else did move for the repealing or amending it, I should do it. As I have said in one particular, I must beg to caution you upon the whole, that many things which I have above stated to you as passing within the walls of our H , cannot, with safety to myself or any other, be made public out of, or beyond those walls. Feb. 6. — I kept my letter back, in hopes to have sent you some further account of our pro- ceedings on American affairs, but the proceed- ings against Mr. Wilkes have put off these mat- 208 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. ters. ^ The ship by which I should send my letters, I am told sails today — so must close. The Report on American affairs is to be received — Wednesday, 8th, when we shall have a pretty smart debate. Besides opposition which I shall give to the resolutions and address, not only as a bill of indictment and presentment, but as a measure^ in both which views I shall consider it, and speak of them in words that I will not ven- ture to use out of the House. You say in your letters — " Strange, that no- body will think of some measure that will re- establish matters on their right footing:" — If you did but know how impracticable (nay — im- possible) it is for an individual — nay, any body of them who are of, or are permitted by, ministry, to bring forward any measure, you would cease to wonder. However, as Ministry have proposed nothing — as nobody seems to have thought of any thing — I will bring forward, on Wednesday, some propositions of which the following are the contents : — 1. That we take the old ground which matters stood upon before the late innovations. — 2. That we act upon that ground as Govern- ment always has done (till of late), ever since the establishment of the colonies. I shall take up the doctrine of the distinction between internal and external taxes, as the prin- ciple of my plan — wmtmmmmm JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 209 Explaining the justice and constitutional equity of our abstaining from the first — And the manner of laying the latter — not ac- cording to late precedents, but — according to the invariable old practice. Sat sapienti dictum. I have not time to say more — I am, dear Sir, Your sincere friend, and faithful humble, T. POWNALL. LETTER II. latters )vern- |ce the iction prin- Albemarle street, London, 13th Feb'y, 1769. Dear Sir : — In addition to what I wrote you in my last, of the part which I had taken in your affairs, lately before parliament, I should here have troubled you with the remaining part of what I said upon the occasion, but as it is possi- ble you may have other opportunities of being informed of it, I will not here enter into it. I cannot as yet learn, whether any other mea- sures are likely to be taken in this affair, but I will attend to all motions on this subject, with the watchfulness, not only of a good subject of Great Britain, but as a friend to the colonies, and of the Massachusetts Bay in particular. 14 210 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. This measure of the Crown's being advised, if it think proper, to act upon the 35th of Henry the 8th, altho' I think it is not meant to be, or ever will be, carried into execution, yet deserves some very serious cqnsideration to guard against the ill use that might be made of it; — as for instance — by this measure any servant of the Crown may be directed to inquire after and re- port any matters of treason;^ or misprision of trea- son, upon which report the persons thus charged or informed against, may be taken into custody, brought prisoners to England, etc., etc. Now, as some check upon this power of infor- mation seems extremely necessary, to prevent its being wantonly, maliciously, or falsely made i^e of, I have under contemplation the bringing for" ward, and applying to the present case, the two following old statutes, which appear to me to be at present in force, and require only such altera- tions and amendments as may suit them to the present occasion. The statutes are the 18th of 37th Edward 3rd, and the 9th of 38th Edward 3rd. ; the nature of which measure of mine, you will better see by referring to the statutes at large, than by any explanation I can give you by letter. As I do really think that a repeal of the late rev- enue laws, if taken up upon commercial grounds, in consequence of petitions, formed upon those grounds only, coming from the colonies, would be the first step to, and the surest ground upon which JUNIUS DI8C0VERBD. 211 a reconciliation and good understanding between this country and the colonies, might be estab- lished ; and as by this time the people of Amer- ica cannot be at a loss how to frame such peti- tions, if they think proper, so as to avoid any of those objections, or obstructions that they might meet with from the repugnant views of different parties, I wish something in this way could be attempted, because I am convinced if this step were once taken, we should not find it a difficult matter to get back to the old safe, and well un- derstood ground, on which the administration of American matters hath been conducted until these few years. On this head I have had in contemplation, the making a draught of such a petition, framed upon such general principles, and in such general terms, as, from my idea of the people of the colonies, I do apprehend, consistent with their opinions, they might adopt ; and such as I should upon consul- tation have reason to think Government here would not reject, if petitions so drawn were to come. But as your Assembly is not likely to meet till May, there is time enough for the fur- ther consideration of this ; and indeed, matters do not seem as yet to be quite ripe for it. In the mean time, there is no wisdom or safety, but in peace, and in the submission of the subordinate to the supreme. Sat sapienti dictum — for if I were to use all the words and expressions which language m JUNIUS DIBOOVBRED. can give, I could not give my advice in tenns that would convey it more properly. Permit me to repeat a. caution necessary for myself, that what I write in a private and confi- dential manner to you, should be particularly guarded against any public use being made of it ; which is a caution I have very strictly ob- served respecting your letters to me ; — and, let me add, that notwithstanding all the good inten- tions of two persons corresponding with each other, for the sole purpose of promoting the mu- tual good of the mother-country and her colonies, as founded in their union upon principles of law and the constitution, — that notwithstanding ev- ery precaution such persons may use not to offend, either against the laws or the government of the supreme power, yet the unguarded and confidential expressions which persons are open to, in their friendly communications, are not only liable to be misunderstood, but to be misrepre- sented, if such correspondence should fall into the hands of those who are either willing, or whose interest it is, to misrepresent them: — to prevent therefore, beyond all doubt, all such let- ters asf you may write to me from falling' into such hands, you must take care they never come in any other channel than [one] thro' which iihey will be delivered directly into my own hands. I cannot by letter tell you why this caution is ne- cessary, but — it is necessary; and you may sug- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 213 gest the same to any of our friends who may have occasion to write to me. I hope this will find you and all our friends well, to whom I beg my best respects — I am, with greatest esteem, and most sincere regard, Dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, and faithful T. POWNALL. To the Rev'd Dr. Cooper. I did niean by this conveyance to have sent you my speech ; — should the ship not sail for two or three days, you shall have it. LETTER III. II London, Albemarle street, Feb. 25, '69. Dear Sir : — The passing of the measure con- tained in the resolutions and address, has given occasion to various speculations in every party amongsit our various factions, considering what ground it may best afford to their own respective plans of measures. I, who profess to be, and am determined to remain, — a single — unconnected individual, and to belong to none of these fac- tions — none of those vortices which form the chaos of our present politics, have had in contem- 814 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. plation the effect that this measure hath immedi' ately^ and the consequence that it must draw after it infuturo. I consider that it hath drawn into question, whether those rights and privileges, which the Petition of rights in 1628 — the act for abolishing the Star Chamber — the Habeas Cor- pus act — the Bill of rights — have declared to be the undoubted rights of the British subject of this realm and Kingdom — do extend, or do not extend to the colonies. If royal charters, and the royal assent to provincial laws, cannot extend them otherwise than as [they are] extended by the law of the British parliament (and yet par- liament hath not extended them), I am totally at a loss, and without my compass, as to any one cardinal point in my plan of Liberty. I have therefore had it in contemplation to contrive to bring forward in parliament some motion which may call forth the consideration of this matter, [in order] that (even if the House should not choose to do any thing direct and express on the point, which I think they will avoid), we at least may feel the sense of it ; and for that purpose to make a motion for leave to bring in a bill, as a kind of bill of rights, for extending those statutes to his Majesty^s dominions in America. This is in itself attended with many difficulties and some dangers. But the difficulties I meet with, are the way and means to accommodate my measure so to the respective views and schemes of the JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 215 1 1 several parties of men, all differing with one an- other, as to get them to join me, if it were only so far as to get a debate upon it, that the House may at least be apprised of the state of the case^ and not go on blindfold. To explain to you these difficulties, I must develop the several real views of all these several parties, which the com- pass of a letter would not permit ; nor would it be safe, as ani/ such explanation would be disa- vowed and contradicted. The ostensible declar- ations are what all justify themselves upon, while the real esoteric springs are what give motion and direction to every step taken. However, I am to have a conversation with Mr. Y ke next week, to whom I shall state the whole case^ in order to establish the necessity of something being done. In the mean time, upon the House going into Committee last night, upon the nullum tempus bill, for quieting grantees against claims of the Crown, I moved for an instruction to the Com- mittee, for extending the provisions of this bill to America. I did it more to open the ground on the doctrine of acts extendinff^ or not, than in hopes of obtaining it. The bill is passed without naming America, and it was (though no vote was come to on the point) the general sense of gen- tlemen — that it does not extend; — so now I have got my ground whereon to state my doubts of the danger of this doctrine, and shall take the ^ i.ir .i>»^ f>Haf^!Uwiit-r' 216 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. first opportunity of doing it. The question was new, even to our lawyers ; and one of the very first of these told me, it was of that magnitude he would hope for time to consider it, before I should bring it on. The messenger who is to carry my letter to the ship tells me I shall be too late, — so, God bless you — I am your affect'e and real friend, T. P.' I have not even time to read my letter over, so yon must correct my pen. I am advised by all parties, not to bring forward any motion on the statutes of the 37 and 38 of Ed. 3rd. LETTER IV. London, 19 March, 1769. Deajr Sir: — As I did not care to mix any thing in my letter of this day foreign to the pur- pose of it, I trouble you with this additional one, on two or three points which I have touched upon in my former letters. The measure of extending, with amendments, the two old acts of Edward 3rd to America, which I told you I had in contemplation, has been entirely laid aside, upon this prudential rea- son, — that the following the example set by JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 217 Government, of reviving old laws, in order to ex- tend the purport of them to America, although meant to carry the antidote as well as the poison, might yet lead to. dangerous consequences. I had mentioned to you another measure, which I and some friends had in contemplation ; but as it depends on a question of such magnitude, both in the matter and the consequences of it, and as some of our first lawyers have declared themselves not fully masters of it, but that they wish further time to consider it, it has been upon every account thought best to defer it over to the next session. As to the matter of the repeal of the late reve- nue laws, the agents have had it under consider- ation, whether or not they should present a peti- tion for that purpose, and have finally determined not to do it, finding no encouragement, at this time, from any set or party of men, to that end. I do not believe that it can be brought on directly in this session, in any shape whatsoever. How- ever, Mr. Fuller and I have it under considera- tion, whether something in part may not be done on this subject ; but as the parliament is to rise so early this year, I much doubt whether it will be possible to bring any thing forward on this subject, and therefore can give you no hopes about it. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. 218 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. LETTER V. 35 Letters in all to Dr. Cooper, and ) 1 Letter to Samuel Adams. ) LoNDOx, Albemarle street, March 22, '69. , (Most private.) 1 Dear Sir : — My letters which accompany this, I mean not only for your own information, but for any use, or any good purpose which they can be applied to ; and if you can conveniently, or any way properly do it, I should not be sorry that the one concerning the quartering bill, with its enclosures, was communicated to those of New York with whom you or your friends communi- cate. That the principle upon which this bill goes, should be received by the House, and with such general approbation, — that part of the ministry. Lord Barrington, the Secretary at War, should join me in it, — and that the rest of the ministry should not oppose it, but let it pass, is a symptom of better temper than one could have expected in the same session in which those resolutions against our Province passed, — is a symptom that I hope the colonists will avail themselves of, and profit of. They gain ground by it ; — that they ought 1 Several of the letters of Junius to Woodfall, are marked "Private," and the postscript to No. 40 (v. i. 228), " Secret" — while hi3 letter to Lord Chatham, of Jan. 14, 1772, first published in The Chatham Correspondence, is marked "Most secret." — F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 219 to take post upon, and make their own ; — it is in their power, if heaven does not mean otherwise. I dare say many letters will mention a clause which Lord Barrington opened to the House, as intending to offer it, but which he withdrew. Whatever there might have been wrong in it, he is not hostile to the colonies. I owe my success, in getting the present quartering bill accepted, to his candour on this subject ; for if it had been opposed by the Secretary at War, ministry and the majority would not have let it pass. Besides, he not only avowed the principle of letting the colonies act as to mode of doing in this case, but said — he liked it best, and hoped one day to see this principle adopted in the case of taxation also. But there are many people who have no other way of making themselves appear to be your friends, and at the same time of pointing out the benefit and necessity of their friendship and ser- vices, but by telling you what enemies you have^ and how they are active to counteract them. This is almost the whole craft of Agents, or those who wish to be so — to set you, and keep you at variance with many persons well disposed to you, and who would be your friends. In short, I am of opinion with Dr. Franklin, — I do not see what good any agent can do as matters now stand ; [but] I do see how often, and how much they may injure you, and your cause. I do think they are a needless expense, and a dangerous Trust 220 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. I dare say you wonder that I.have never given you any account of our system of politics here, or what it is we mean, or what we would or do intend to do. You might as well expect, that if I was shown Des Cartes' chaos of vortices, I should tell you what worlds, and what kind of system that would produce in the fortuitous con- course and collision of vortices. We have neither knowledge, nor system, nor principle ; we have but one word (I will not call it an idea), that is — our sovereignty ; and it is like some word to a madman, which, whenever mentioned, throws him into his ravings, and brings on a paroxysm. But the less prudent we are here, the more it becomes you to be so, on your side the water. For, be- lieve me, there are yet many good men, who be- long to none of the factions, who are serious and grieved, and who will -^ (if it be not the pleasure of the Supreme God to put an end to us,) — who will, I repeat it, get more and more into lead on these matters. The still voice will be heard at last — I hope it will [not] be too late first. I have not had a letter from you this age, — I hope none have miscarried. I hope, if you have written, that you observed the caution I gave you, of giving your letters to those who would deliver them to my own hands, and not put them into any post whatever. Under this precaution^ pray let me hear from you, and write as I do — pour- ing out all my heart. I beg my respects to all JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 221 firiendS) — to those especially who are nearest and dearest to you. I am, in every sense of affection and esteem, Your friend, T. POWNALL. If any reports or letters should raise an alarm, as if there was any design here to make any change jn your charter, believe it not. — It will never take place here, whatever people elsewhere may imagine: attacks of that kind are steps which ministers do not wantonly hazard. LETTER VI. London, April 27, 1769. (Private.) Dear Sir : — Finding the vessel did not sail this morning, and that I have a safe opportunity of conveyance to you, I add this most private and confidential letter to you. First, as to our correspondence: — Although in point of safety and honour there is not a word which passes between us which might not be read in the market-place, yet in point of prudence many things may pass in the confidence of two friends, which may do more harm than good, if publicly known without that reference to the pur- 222 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. port and end of them, which, in private corres- pondences, people never have occasion to refer to. On this head, I must repeat my caution to you, both as to what I write to you, as well as to what you write to me — we cannot take too much care. My correspondence, by some means or other, by extracts, copies from memory, or per^ haps by the originals having gone through bad hands before they arrived at you, has been known to Ministry, and they have told the King, that I correspond with the Sons of Liberty. Having heard this, I took occasion to tell them, in the House of Commons, that I did so correspond, and would continue to do so ; and I have since let them know, that if they will be at the trouble of copying my letters, they should have copies of all that I have sent, — and, to save them the trou- ble of that infamous breach of trust by which they get at private correspondence, I would, if they desired it, send them copies of all that I shall write to America for the future. I am sure if I could hope they would fairly carry them to the King, I would write all I think, and spare not, — by which, I will be proud to say, he would have a fairer state of the business, and better ad- vice in it, than any he gets now.^ However, you cannot be [too] cautious about showing my let- 1 May we not here detect the embryo idea of Junius's celebrated letter to the King, published on the 19th of the following Decem- ber?— F. G. JtJimrS DISCOVERED. 223 ters, whatever use you make of the contents of them, as it is not any thing I have to apprehend from my letters, but from false and misrepresented accounts of them. In like manner, never send me any letter wherein you wish to have the same caution observed, unless you can send it by some person, who will deliver it with his own hands. Your's of Feb. 18, 1 received on the 15th instant : — enclosed I send you the seal, with which it came sealed to me. You'll know if it be your's. You Americans will not want to be told at this time that every thing here is Party .^ Nor can the Americans be at a loss to feel, if they do not , see, how their interest in this country depends upon, and is affected, by the views and interests of such parties here, so far as it is to depend upon, and be affected by any movements that can be set a going here. If your affairs cannot come forward on their own ground, and be led by a na- tional spirit, what interest — what safety can you have in negotiating, or in seeking any connection with any of our parties here J — Nor will you re- ceive any aid from any Bodies of Men w^hatever ; for, while you are labouring to relieve yourselves from one burden, you must of course become second and subordinate to such parties, instead of the whole. As you may expect still less aid from Minis- 1 " You Barristers are too apt to be civU, etc." — Junius, letter Ixiii. v. ii. 389. 224 JUNIUS DISOOVEHSD. ters, 80 is the danger much greater of any appli- cations to, or negotiations with them. Towards Government itself, you cannot ob- serve too guarded an obedience. On the other hand, I can see no use, and if no use, I see no wisdom — perhaps there may be danger — in pe- titioning for a repeal, or in any correspondence or negotiation whatever, between the people and government : — leave that to the Crown and its ministers here, with its servants, etc., on your side the water. What have you to do, but to be, and to continue, good subjects, and doing your duty, according to law and your constitutions ; — and — let government do as it pleases, till it finds its own interest in adopting and promoting yours. In matters oi politics, as well as of asconomy ^ and supply, the old stoic adage should be the motto and the maxim of the colonies : — nete qucesiveris extrd. Upon the whole of the above, I own I am con- firmed in my opinion — that the Colonies should not have any agents here for the purpose of ap- plication or negotiation ; and that in these times of difficulty, no agent should be furnished by you with any powers which may conclude you. As I see no prudence, so I see no great safety in this. People with such characters are too apt to convert 1 In the original edition of the letters of Junius, the first letter in this word is invariably the diphthong ce. And the same remark applies to the Governor's printed works. — F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 225 their powers to their own importance, and their own interest. These powers are apt to make such people better worth purchasing who can sell others* I speak this of the general course of human nature, and do not mean any reference to any particulars. On the other hand, if the people of the Colonies fixed on some particular friend or patron, with whom they might correspond, who might send them every necessary intelligence, and might in the mean time be watchful for their interest in general^ and interpose and act for it in particular\ either 1st in Council, or 2ndly in Parliament, or 3rdly who might be empowered, if any, matters arose which should have any tendency to bring their interests and concerns into the judicial courts, to appoint an Attorney or Solicitor, and to employ lawyers from time to time as the cases might require, I think all that the people have to do in appointing agents would be answered. I will close my advice with a [passage] from Stru- vius's Htstoria Juris, where — speaking of the Roman colonies — he says, Habebant istee ex il- lustribus Romanis suos patronos, ex institute Romuli, qui causam illorum in senatu agerent, — and it would always be the interest of the people of the colonies, to take care that such, their pa* tron, had a seat in parliament, and was no place- man. Secret as all the above is, and should be, I 15 226 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. leave it to your pradence, as to the use you'll make of it, and am, Your most affectionate friend, and faithful T. POWNALL. LETTER VII. (t Albemarle street, London, May 9, '69. Dear Sir : — Yesterday our session closed, and enclosed you have the King's speech. The two points relating to America are — ex- pressing satisfaction that Parliament approves the measures which ministry took in the Boston expedition, and in the assurances of support in the prosecution of those measures. In the first place, it does not appear that any further steps are to be taken in that line. You will observe still that it is a settled mode of speech with ministry, in the face of day, to call the opposition in America, in which the whole are united, the designs of a few Factious , 1769, " to see the pacquet you speak of. It cannot come from the Cavendishes, though there be no end of the family. They would not be so silly as to put their arms on the cover.") V. i. 200.— F G. JtTNIUS DISCOVERED. 237 Britain d with )f their pendeU" ti Bome - so far . the de- caution li rights 1 1 hope Their no false I deceive heir pol- itives to Lve [not] always danger lore and right to assist- er, LL. D. pril, 1758, eated Lord 757, when mentioned In-in-law of to Wood- It cannot |tlie family- le cover.") ance, and not as alliance. 1 had while in Ireland several conversations with some of the leading men in their Parliament, particularly on the sub- ject of the augmentation of the Irish army, which the Crown desires, and which is not yet complied with; — the present establishment is 12,000 to 15,000 men ; — amongst other arguments against this, you will find the following will [be] applied next sessions in Ireland: — that 12,000 men, if applied to the purpose for which they are sup- posed to be raised, that is — for the protection of Ireland, and the English government there, are sufficient, — if the measure of withdrawing the men of this army to extra purposes is to continue, an augmentation ad infinitum would be to no pur- pose, so far as respects them, — and if they are desired to raise and pay an additional number of troops, for the purposes of . . . of American expe- ditions, they will not accede and be accessory to such purposes. But if they can have any assur- ance that the additional number of men now de- sired and raised, shall be as guards and garrisons to Ireland, or for the immediate defence of Great Britain, if attacked, they wiU agree to the aug- mentation. They will try to clog the augmenta- tion with some such clause, and will avowedly give the reason as above. In my way from Ireland, I visited our great manufacturing towns — "Wolverhampton and Birmingham. They sensibly feel the effect of 238 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. your agreements against importing, and complain of those who reduced you to the necessity of these measures. Some of them told me, the redress would now come too late — their labouring peo- ple began to hanker after the good, cheap living and freedom of America, and several would never be easy till they got there. I am convinced, that if the American societies were to establish a fund appropriated to the supporting English manufac- turers, and their families, who should come to America, until a settlement and employment could be found for them — if such measure, when established, was made known in England, and proper correspondencies settled here, to forward such sober, industrious, and useful manufacturers as were desirous of going — if encouragement were given to masters who gave them their pas- page — a whole flood of such is ready to pour in upon you, — that although your ships do not at present freight with our manufactures, they would come full-freighted with manufacturers. This was the method taken, by act of parlia- ment, in Richard the 2nd's time, when the Flan- ders manufactures first began to come over to England ; — look into the statutes and you will find it so. If I were at this moment, what, at this moment, I wish to be — established in Amer- ica on an American root, for on no other shall I ever come there — I would establish such a fund | for there can be no crime in one part of the King's JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 239 omplain of these ; redress ing peo- ip living aid never iced, that sh a fund manufac- come to ployment ure, when land, and 5 forward ufacturers iragement their pas- to pour in do not at ley would of parlia- ] the Flan- le over to you will what, at in Amer- ler shall I 3h a fund I the King's dominions trying to rival another in the spirit of trade and manufactures, so long as all coincide to the same interest. I think also so long as any set of people can be said to be at liberty to judge what it is they want to purchase, and to judge of the terms on which they are to purchase, nobody can impute it as a crime against the sellers, if the buyers choose to abstain from the purchase of such articles as the sellers have clogged with terms of sale, that these buyers do not approve of, and will not agree to. On the contrary, the ab- staining from the importing such articles as you can do without, or ought to raise, and make amongst yourselves, has a home merit. Thus much, even as a British member of parliament, I may and shall venture to say ; but as an Ameri- can, I will transcribe a remark from Sir William Temple : — " .... It is no constant rule, that trade makes richer. For there may be a trade that impoverishes a nation, as it is not going often to market that enriches the countryman : but on the contrary, if every time he comes there, he buys to a greater value than he sells, he grows the poorer the oftener he goes. The only and certain scale of riches arising from trade in a nation, is the proportion of what is exported for the consump- tion of others, to what is imported for their own. The true ground of this proportion lies in the general industry and parsimony of a people, or, in 240 TtrSIVB DISCOVERED. the contrary, of both." — See the whole of the pasBagc, in the 6th chapter of his remarks on the United Provinces.* It is not your advantage to be a trading' people, if all the profits of your labour are to derive to others. It is to the disadvantage of Great Brit- ain if you cease to trade. If Great Britain were to shut up all your ports, and to exclude you from the ocean, it would, by that very act, drive you to the exercise of your proper interest — a trade like that of China, founded on the internal inter- change of the various manufactures of its various provinces, lying, as those of America do, under various climates. While the association of oeconomy against im- porting luxuries, etc., circulated only amongst the merchants, I had no great trust or apprehension about it ; — importing is their business, and they must live by it. Their resolutions therefore against such, could act only as temporary ; but I did always believe, that the spirit which began, and even grew up in the maritime and trading towns —. not in its natural soil — would soon take root in the country, which, when it had once done it, never could be again eradicated. What I ex- pected, you tell me has come to pass ; and it is upon this crisis that the fate of the eastern and 1 Viz. Observations upon the United Provinces ofUie Netherlands; first edit. London, 1673, 8vo. — 7th edit. London, 1705, 8vo.— F. G. JUNIUS DI800VERBD. S41 of the on the 'people, erive to at Brit- in were ou from ive you a trade lal inter- i various 0, under ainst im- 3ngst the ehension nd they ;herefore •y; but I began, trading loon take lice done Ihat I ex- ind it is tern and Netherlands; f05, 8vo.— western world will take Us turn, a^id from thii moment that fate is decided. By the papers which you have sent me, and by the train which I understand the negotiations in favor of the province are to run, I am the more and more convinced of the propriety, and even safety of the advice, which I have so often re- peated, against all paper — all writing — and all negotiating. Where a people are so circum- stanced, that they cannot always give the real reason, they will always give an advantage against themselves, when they give the ostensible one. Besides, I am sorry to feel, what I shall not say, that even the ostensible is not conducted to the best advantage for the Province ; — it may, and* will perhaps, serve the purposes of some fac- tion here, but must, on the ground to which it is now warped, make a mere tool — a mere cat's- paw of the interest of the Province, for the sake of interests which never can be united with it. I am really grieved to see it, but the repeated ex- perience of every day gives one to see (without being the wiser for it), that a people always put more trust in — and have more love for the iriends of their passions, than in those of their real in- terest. By the conduct of Ministry last year, and in the beginning of this, there are points arisen into controversy — into question — and [they] remain 16 242 ^UKIUS DISOOYBRID. etill most dangerously in question, which respect every right and privilege — that the petition of rights -— the act for abolishing the star-chamber -^ the habeas corpus act — the bill of rights — the act of settlement— do establish and confirm. There are rights and liberties, which depend upon the constitution itself, arisen into doubt and con- test, and all these are passed by, to engage in a personal dispute of mere trifling personal conse- quence, which will either have no end, or a bad one. On the subject of the real grievances of the Colonies I am now employed, — and if the colo- nists would assist their friends in their own cause, a sure and lasting security might be obtained : — however, assisted or unassisted — obtained or not obtained — the remedy shall be sought. Paoli is come to England, and Government and ministry have taken him by the hand, and he is so far in their hands. I was desired to advise my friends in America, that a new discovery of making alkaline salts from sea-water, in so easy and cheap a manner has been now made, as must put a total stop to the use of pot-ash amongst our manufacturers. It has been discovered by the same gentleman JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 24a who- invented the method of procuring oil of vit-t riol. The knowledge of this fact may be of use, to prevent any people putting either their prop- erty or labour in the manufacture of potash. Perhaps people will not believe the fact, and will of course not listen to the caution;— but, as I was desired, I have given the caution. Pray let me from time to time hear from you, and believe me most sincerely, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. P. S. — I this moment by Mr. S. Elliot receive your favor of Aug. the 3rd. ~ Your recommenda- tions I shall be happy to honor. LETTER X. London, Albemarle street, Sept. 25, '69. Dear Sir : — I am extremely happy that I did write you word, that I declined wishing to be ap- pointed Agent. I first wished it, from the same motive from which I wished to serve the Prov- ince ; because, being entrusted with, and being personally deputed for the interest and concerns of the Province, would have entitled me person- ally to have interposed, and to have been con- sulted, where my interposition and advice might 844 JT7NIUS DISCOVERED. have essentially served the Cause. I wished it — secondly, as such an appointment, if general enough to be esteemed unanimous, would have done me honor, both from your opinion of my knowledge of your affairs, and from your confi- dence in my attachment to the interest of the People. It would not have dis-served the cause of the Province, to have given to the world a proof, that the People of the Province are so far from what they are held forth to be — disaffected to the government of the mother-country, and of the Crown — that where a Governor, a servant of the Crowfii has administered their affairs with a spirit which united the interest of the Crown and People, they think that very Governor the very person whom they, of their own choice, will entrust, as their servant. I saw my way clearly, how I could serve the Province, — I saw, as clearly, how it was not, and would not be served, and I wished to be en- abled to serve it really, without regard to any of the parties or the factions which will ruin this country, and hazard yours. But under these de- sires I never meant that my friends should can- vass for me, or make it a matter of contest. The contest — nay, the very canvass would have dis- honored the honpr. I wished from it. If I could not have it without competition, the competition would have taken away the very authority that the appointment should have given me here in JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 24^ your behalf; — besides, that under such a predic- ament the losing faction, in constantly counter- acting me, must have counteracted the interest of the Province. I wished only to be clothed with the means of serving the Province, the doing of which, and the honor and pleasure which must have redounded to me, and resided in my breast from doing it, was the only reward I sought. I aimed at no emolument — at no interested view from it. But of this no more, — it was just ne- cessary to have said thus much. I shall still invariably continue to be, and to act as the real friend of the Province. I am now at liberty to do it in any way which I think will best serve its real interest : — whereas, if I had entered into any compact with the General Court, I must have esteemed myself bound to have done it, from time to time, in such way as the leading interest of men would have required, which, at various times, has much hurt the interests of the Province. I wonder I have never received a line from the Town. There is a transient pleasure in know- ing that one's services are acceptable, especially when they have been effectual ; but the perma- nent pleasure arises from a consciousness of hav- ing done it as a duty, and not as pleasuring any one, or any set of men. Pray give my most affectionate regards to all my old friends. If ever you hear from — write m JUNIUS DISCOVERED. to — or see my old friend Mr. Tyng, tell him I shall never cease to honor and esteem him, which I do the more from contemplating hie re- tirement. I most truly condole with him for his late loss. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. LETTER XI. London, Albemarle street, Oct. 9, 1769. Dear Sir : — I write to you as standing in the same predicament with myself as to opinions, namely, considering that which is nearest to right and truth in things to be best for men in politics^ without ever looking to that which leading par- ties of men ikinJe to be, or wish to be considered as best. But there is a material difference in our situations as to practice. I am totally with- drawn, and remote from mixing in with the busi- ness of the Province, and do not find myself par- ticipating in that degree of confidence with the men of it, as might be useful to them. Your sit- uation, relations and alliances must necessarily, and indeed ought to mix you with them ; and therefore, when I have at this distance — in my JUNIUS DISOOVERBD. 247 letters •— disapproved any part of the conduct of our friends, as comparing it with the ultimate right there, you may be able to see, and to say how I am mistaken, considering the necessary dig-estion of business^ passing through men. When I suggest what I think to be right, your relative situation may explain to you why that very right may be wrong ; 'or even if it should be right, and what a dispassionate friend to the Province would wish to be done, the friends with whom you are connected can tell you why that is not the nail which will drive. Under this explanation, I wiU give you, with- out disguise, my free and open opinion of the present state of things. If it were necessary to the Assembly, for osten- sible reasons, respecting their constituents and the people of the Province at large, to write, and to print messages, remonstrances, etc., it should have been confined to the Province. I do assure you that (whatever people on this side of the water, who want to negotiate with your griev- ances, to their own emolument, may tell you), your writings, and your coming forward in a pal- try, personal quarrel, unworthy your state, wiU operate to no good, and turn out to your disad- vantage. If the Province had stood with that patient courage which a conscious sense of not being wrong always gives, and had contemned, rather 248 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. than answered suggestions which could not warrant any charge against them, and had ^^> manded the charge to be made and brought for- ward in legal proof, such measure (as I advised) would have had better effect here, than what has been done. For people here, comparing the in- sufficiency of suggestions which cannot amount to a charge of any crimen with the collected and assured confidence and silence which the prov- ince and town observed (except in calling for the charge), would have conceived a conviction of your innocence and rectitude, which no writings and arguments will give. On the contrary, such writings, from some defect in the matter, or even the mode of them, may give advantage against the Province. So much for the defensive. But they have another part to act, which they have not of themselves yet taken up, nor does it appear that any one has suggested to them, — that is, A Claim of Rights. For, besides the claim of not being taxed but by yourselves, or by deputies of your own election, have there not been brought into question, and [do there not] remain in a dangerous state of indecision, three important points ? 1. If any late conduct or advice, by referring to an old act, made for the tryal of treasons com- mitted out of the realniy by such persons as had no legal resiancy but within the realmy and then stating the subject in America as under the pre- JUNIUS DISCOVBRED. S49 ;mng corn- had then pre- dicament of the case made by that act : By ap- plying the purview of a statute which was made to bring subjects of the realm, who had commit- ted treasons out of the realm (in places where was no criminal jurisdiction to which they might be amenable), to tryal within the realm, under that criminal jurisdiction to which by their legal resiancy and allegiance they were alone amena- ble; by applying this to the case of subjects whose legal resiancy is without the realm, and who are by that resiancy and their allegiance amenable to a criminal jurisdiction without the realm, authorised and empowered to try all capi- tal offences, and to give judgment thereupon without appeal ; by applying this statute so as to take up a proceeding for which there is no legal process, either by common or statute law, and at the same time superseding the jurisdiction of the legal courts, and of the laws, established without the realm, by construction on such doubtful cases, so as to take away the benefit of the writ of Ha- beas Corpus, by which some of the essential rights of British subjects, as enjoyed and pos- sessed within the realm, are brought into doubt, — is it not a serious matter ? — Does there not arise a Claim, which ought no longer to remain in a dangerous and presumptuous state of inde- cision ? 2. Ts it not a serious matter, whether appeals are to lye from the judicatory of the Province, in 350 JUNIUS DISOOYBRED. real actionSf to the King in Council, whereby the landtj, tenements, and hereditaments of British subjects may be questioned by the Lords of the privy Council, contrary to the Petition of Rights, 16 Car. I. cap. 10? 3. Ought it to remain any longer in doubt (much less in practice), whether a military power and command, exercising law-martial, can be legally authorised to act, or can legally act, in any province where there is, as of perfect right there ought to be, a Civil Government, invested with the regalia, according to the laws and con- stitution of England, in a way independent of, and superseding the command of the civil su- preme magistrate of that government? If the people are entitled to the rights of a British sub- ject, their supreme civil magistrate [vide Ad- minis, of the Colonies, edit. 1768, page 85, 86, etc.] must have of right, as in fact he has, the perfect exercise of the regalia. If these can be granted in part^ or — being granted in full, ample, and perfect manner, can be afterward superseded, in part or in whole, by any military command, — may, or may not, a Military Government be so far forth established ? Are not the rights contained in these three qusBries serious matter of Claim ? — Is not this Ground which will not deceive you ? — Is not this matter of Remonstrance or Petition, which, in the hands of some friend to the colonies, who has JUKIUS DIS0OVBRBD. 251 three ^t this )t this |in the lo has studied these points, may be wrought up to the establishment of your political liberty ? If these points be once avowedly brought for- ward in claim, they must be decided — and they cannot be decided agmnst you. Whereas, on the other hand, if th^^estion of the revenue laws should be huddled up by some compromise amongst parties, which I think, from what hap- pened last sessions, there is some reason to im- agine may happen, these never having been brought forward, will remain suspended in the state they are. Consider this, and make what use you think is best for the true and real peace and safety of the British rights in America, as by law estab- lished ; and, if there be any part that our friends shall wish me to take to that end, I shall do it readily in their behalf, — but I shall do it also, from principle, of my own mere motion, inde- pendent of all parties and views of men. I beg my respects to all friends who wish to be remembered to or by me. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. P . 262 JUNIUS DISOOVERID. LETTER XII. London, 6 Dec, 1769. Dear Sir, and my ver'wPjod Friend : — I am to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th Sept., by Captain Freeman*s ship — for you will see by the post-mark on the cover, which I now inclose, that notwithstanding he bad promised to deliver it to my own hand, he put it ashore at Deal ; so that had it contained any matter of confidence, that you would have wished to have been confined between yourself and me, we should have had another confidant, viz., Government, thro' whose hands the letter most certainly has passed. On the subject of the Agency, I have said so much in my former letters, that I shall repeat no more ; and really wish to drop the subject, as I never meant to have any thing to do with a mat- ter that was to become a subject of contention. An unanimous reference of their interest to me, would have done me honor, and enabled me in return to have done them the more service. But a matter of contest could neither have done them nor me service, but must have been a dis- honor to me. I am very glad to find that your people begin to be sensible of the danger of suffering their in- JUNIUS DISOOVfiRBD. 253 terests to be governed, or even influenced, by any faction on this side the water ; and I hope that the sense of that will work itself with a principle of action, which may prevent such danger. You tell me that the merchants remain firm. — I wish they had remained firm, and not done more. Every man certainly has a right to withdraw his custom from any person or persons whose trade he does not approve, and certainly has a right to judge what he will, and what he will not pur- chase for his own use : — But when such person, or a number of persons in a body, proceed to re- strain other individuals, by compulsive measures, they do undoubtedly give an opportunity to others against themselves, which may and will be used to their disadvantage. When I say this, I don't speak of what Gov- ernment may or will do : but I know that some late steps taken at Boston, have hurt our friends there, with persons here, who, though not pro- fessed friends, were yet well disposed to have assisted and befriended them. You know I always was of opinion, that neg- lecting the great points of interest and concern touching their affairs, which have of late been drawn into question, and engaging themselves with a resentment unworthy of them in a per- sonal quarrel and dispute with their late Gover- nor,^ who never will or can have any further con- 1 Sir Francis Bernard, Bart. — F. G. 804 JUNHTB DISOOVffiOD* neotion with theni) or power either to hurt or serve them, was a step which passion has hurried them into, at a time when prudence and policy would have passed by, and have engaged their whole attention to matters of infinitely greater concern. I can only repeat here that advice which I once gave, and which is now become a mere idle wish, — that they had neither written letters, nor remonstrances, nor appeals, — or suf- fered themselves to enter into any negotiations whatsoever, either with ministers, or their oppo- sers in this country, but let their cause have stood on its own bottom, whilst they stood on their own defence, when properly called to it • • « • • . • I hope all friends with you are well. I beg my most sincere respects to them, and am, in every sense and affection of friendship, Your sincere friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. LETTER XIII. London, Jan. 27, '70. Dear Sir : — Being in the New England Cof- fee-house, and hearing that the master of a ship i lLL. '70. Id Cof- ship JUNIUS DIBOOVIBBD. 205 for Rhode Island takes away his bag this eve- ning, I just seize the opportunity to acquaint you, that I have fixed an early day (which would have been much earlier, had not the illness and death of our late Speaker ' put off all business), to propose the total repeal of the late revenue- law, imposing duties in America. If your peo- ple had been more firm to their agreement, the ground of the necessity of doing it would have been better. I shall make no reflections on this matter. 1 hope I shall get my day for the mo- tion unalterably fixed for Monday se'nnight. My endeavours to bring forward measures which will again restore the minds of the Americans to peace and confidence must go further, I shall, either in the Committee for the state of the na- tion, or when Administration lays before the House the state of his Majesty's Government in America, bring forward the two points of — 1. The Americans being supposed by certain resolutions liable to be taken from their legal re- siancy to be brought to Great Britain, to be tryed on imputations or suggestions of treason, — and 2. The case of the military commission of Commander-in-Chief superseding the powers (in actual command) of the supreme civil magistrate. As the ideas of the right and liberty of the in- ^ Viz., Sir John Cast, who resigned the Speakership of the H. of C on the 22d of Jan., and died the same day. — F. G. 256 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. dividual, and of the political liberty and rights of the constitution are so indecisive, superficial, and vague, that scarce any here attends enough to them, so as to draw, or to judge of when drawn, any stable and true consequences in rea- soning upon this subject, I have drawn up a state of the Constitutions of the Colonies, and printed a few copies to give to my friends. -I inclose to you a few copies. I make no secret of my being the author of it, and even wish it as publick as I wish the beneficial purport of it to be wherever it shall be attended to and understood. I am, your sincere and old friend. Jan. 29. — Last night the Duke of Grafton re- signed. Lord North is to be Minister^ and First Lord of the Treasury, and Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. The first mark of this change which I have ex- perienced is — that upon asking him last night to agree to fix a day with me for my motion — - as the day we had agreed to fix upon was now superseded by the business of the Committee /or the state of the nation taking up that day — his answer was, that Ministry themselves were pledged to move a repeal of the law,^ so far as the duties on glass^ paper, white-lead, red-lead, and 1 Viz., the Act 7 Geo. III. c. 46. —F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 257 painters'* colours went. I told him that would answer no one good purpose^ unless they repealed all the duties^ and repealed the discontinuance of the drawback on China earthen-ware, so that no part of the act, not even the preamble, which was really the grievance felt, should remain, respect- ing these American duties levied for the purpose of revenue. The duty on tea will not be repealed — the discontinuance of the drawback on China earthen-ware is to stand — and the preamble to remain.^ I shall oppose a partial repeal, and shall pro- pose an amendment that goes to a repeal of the whole, — nor will I now absolutely despair, but I can give you no hopes. Mr. Alderman Tre- cothick is very zealous in the cause, and by his great weight and influence amongst the mer- chants, as well as by his interest amongst certain connexions at this end of the town, will greatly strengthen the ground.'* Your real and affectionate friend. 1 " Yet it ought to be repealed, as an impolitic act, not as an oppressive one. It presei'vcs the contention between the mother- country and the colonies, when every thing worth contending for is in reality given up." — Junius to Wilkes, No. 66, vol. i. 294. — F. G. 2 March 5, 1770, — Lord North moved to bring in a bill to re- peal so much, etc., — leaving out only the duty on tea. Gov. Pownall moved, in amendment, to introduce the words — "and on teas," — the House divided, — for the amendment, 142, — against it, 204. April 19, Mr. Treco thick showed his zeal in the cause, by 17 258 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. LETTER XIV. London, March 8, *70, Albemarle street. Dear Sir : — I have stolen away from the House — now half-past 8 o'clock, P. M., just to send you a line in acknowledgment of the receipt of your's of the 1st, and of the 30th of January, '70. I have not time to answer either. I have a subject of the utmost importance to explain to you, but in this short note have only time to beg you to caution the good people to suspend the doing of any thing, on the grand point of the state of the military power being paramount to, and superseding the civil. The whole success in the conduct of this point will depend on the taking the right ground^ — and therefore, I hope nothing will be done in it by the General Courts till the May session. Something should be done, in the mean time, by your law-courts^ which I will explain in my next. I will act upon the best advice in England, and be sure of safe ground. I have given notice that I will bring forward the consideration of the state of his Ma- moving for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the American duty on tea ; but the motion was rejected, as out of order, the question having been decided on Gov. I' j iiotion in amendment. Lord North's bill received the Royal assent, May 19, 1770. It is the lOGeo. IIL c. 17.— F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 259 jesti/s Government in North America^ and that I will point out the unlawful state of the military establishment. This point, respecting the mili- tary and civil command in North America, has been decided in the Court of Common Pleas here. I will send you, from the hand of one of the first lawyers in this kingdom, the state of that process^ and will point out what it will be neces- sary for you to do, to form the proper ground for the course which your Assembly should take to obviate the establishment of a military power, paramount to the civil supreme magistrate ; and the same course, I doubt not, will be unani- mously taken by the whole of the provinces and colonies. Suspend every thing, therefore, at present. By some of the next ships you shall hear further. I will almost venture to promise, that I will put an end to your fears about the military. I have not time to write you any thing about the part I took in the motion for a total repeal of all the duties, — you will, I dare say, hear that from others. Mr. BoUan, very imprudently, in the opinion of many of your friends, interposed by petitioning, at a time when the prudence of every colony, and every agent, avoided the making the necessity, or propriety, of a repeal, an American measme — at a time when the true line of conduct was, that 360 JTJNIUS DISCOVERED. it should derive from the application of the Brit- ish merchant. Pray make my best compliments to Mr. Bow- doin, — tell him I received his letter of Dec. 5, '69, and will answer it, as soon as the hurry of our present engagements are over. I have re- ceived the letter of the committee of merchants, and the books, and beg you to thank them for me. I will write them an answer by the next ships. Remember me to &s — ^ I wish to be remembered by all my friends of the Prov- ince. I am your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. To the Rev'd Dr. Cooper, Boston. LETTER XV. London, Albemarle street, March 31, '70. Dear Sir : — I don't find that in any of your letters of Dec, or of Jan. 1, or 30, you mention the receipt of mine of Oct. 6th, wherein I sug- gested the matter of the military peace establish- ment existing paramount to the civil supreme magistrate, who is, and ought to be, according to our constitution, military Commander-in-Chief, 1 Sic in orig. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 261 within the precincts of his jurisdiction. There are many reasons why I should be sorry, that that, and one former letter on the same subject, should have miscarried; — not that I care any thing as to the fate of the letter, for it contained nothing which I shall not take occasion to avow, in such manner as shall turn out to the confusion of those who shall dare to avow the support of the military establishment as it now stands. But I am sorry, lest the subject-matter suggested, and the maimer of taking it up, should not have reached you. Through the delay of lawyers, I am not able to send you the opinions which I promised to send you. Through the backwardness of friends, and the illness of others, who would fairly stand forth, I have not yet been able to bring forward, in parliament, thn- matter. You cannot conceive — 1 cannot, in a letter, explain — and if I could, it is impossible you could believe, the reasons of the obstructions and difficulties one meets with, in moving any thing respecting America. Dr» ^ goes this summer to Philadelphia. I refer to him, on all points not explanatory by let- ter. I hope that the advice I gave, relative to the suspending all measures touching the above men- tioned military business (in a letter forwarded by Mr. Haley) arrived time enough, and hath been 1 Sic in orig. — quaere — Franklin ? 262 JUNIUS DISCOVERED, '%»■.^ taken. We shall have a recess at Easter, when I will write fully to you. A bill foi the reforming the shameful, profligate mode and manner we had got into, of deciding on contested elections in the House, — for taking the trying and deciding out of the House at large, and giving it to a select Committee (to be drawn by ballot upon each case) formed on the model o' a jury, and under all the same sanctions, has uassed our House, making its way by the irresis- tible force of right, truth, and necessity, against the Ministry, who fruitlessly opposed it. I am not a little proud of the share I had in it, and of the honour I had in being one of the persons to bring it in. This event has shewn that all spirit of honour is not yet quite dead and corrupt amongst us. This measure will restore us to our honour, — will, 1 hope, regain to us the esteem of the people, and lead to every the most salutary pur- pose. In all steps your friends take, let suaviter in modo, fortiter in re- - be the motto, and the spirit of conduct, never to be deviated -"rom for a mo- ment — for one instant. Your sincere and affectionate friend, T. P. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 26^ LETTER XVI. pur- P. London, Albemarle street, April 11, '70. Dear Sir : — Having fully explained myself on many points to Mr. Elliot, whom you were so good as to recommend to me, and for which I am much obliged to you, I shall refer myself to him on those matters, as better explained by word than writing. Last Frid|iy, Mr. Trecothick, upon the com- mitment of the American duty- bill, gave notice, that he would, as yesterday, make a motion for leave to bring in a bill for the repeal of the duty laid by the 7th of Geo. III., on teas, — and yes- terday, brought on his motion. K being gener- ally understood, that this matter had been fully argued, and had received its negative, and that it could not be brought on again the same ses- sion, and that the so bringing it on was not quite according to the rules observed even between party and party, [the House) was very ill attended. There were not fifty members in the House when the debate began, and but 132 at the decision. When the motion was made by Mr. Trecothick, it was opposed by calling for the order of the day, and after a few speeches to the point of order, the matter was decided against the question, by 80 to 52. 264 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. There is gone through our House, and will, I believe, go through the House of Lords, a bill " to regulate the tryals of controverted elections, etc." ^ I have sent a blank copy to Mr. Bow- doin, with some suggestions of an use which may be very properly made of it, by applying the prin- ciple, and some part of the mode, of the regula- tion, to those transactions in your General Court, which take up the consideration and decision of matters of property. I am not a little proud of the share I had in this matter. The day which I had fixed upon for my mo- tion, for taking " the state of his Majesty's gov- ernment in North America " into consideration, proves to be the day fixed for a grand masquer- ade, so that it would have been impossible to have got an attendance. I have been therefore forced to put it off to May the 2nd. Upon the subject of this motion, I shall write you a letter by itself. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. P. S. — This motion of Mr. Trecothick quite put off the possibility of the motion which I had in contemplation to make, for rendering the duty on tea temporary — to last as long as the agree- 1 The Grenville Act, 10 Geo. III. c. 16. — F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 265 ment between the East India Company, and Treasury lasts, and then to cease and determine. LETTER XVII. Dear Sir : — There is not a clearer proposi- tion in the world than the following, — nor any precedent which can arise in the administration of the British constitution, as that which deviates from the truth and right of it,* viz. — The su- preme military command is inseparably and es- seniiaJly anv-exed to the King, his heirs and suc- cessors. Kings and Queens of Great Britain. This supreme military command never has been, and never can be separated from this supreme civil office of King, within the realm. Whenever this office has been delegated, as to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and to the King's locum tenentes in America, the supreme military command has always been inseparably annexed to it. It can never be otherwise. The manner in which all the constitutions upon the continent 1 The meaning of this passage is far from being clear. May it not be better expressed thus : " nor can any precedent arise, in the [course of the] administration of the British constitution, from that which deviates from the truth and right of the proposi- tion."— F. G. 266 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. in Europe have lost their liberty, has been, in sufTering the authority of the supreme military power, although united in the same person, to run, in the actual exercise of it, in two distinct and incommunicable lines, by which power and command have superseded civil authority, and become not only independent of, but paramount to the civil constitution. It is a mistake to imagine that the civil con- stitutions of those countries which have lost their liberties are changed ; — tho constitutions, in the- ory and right, remain as free as ever, and some of them more so than even our British constitu- tion. But the military being the only poiver^ and separated from, and incommunicable with the civil avthoYlty^ the civil constitution is under an absolute paralysis. In this light of danc^er, I view the precedent which may arise froi. the present peace establishment of the military com- mand in America, separated from — incommu- nicable with — and paramount to the supreme civil magistrate, the King's hfmm tenens in each province. It is therefore to obviate this danger that a mo- tion will be made, to have this matter particu- larly considered, in the consideration of the state of the King^s government in America, which comes on, on the 2d of May. A matter relative to this point has come before the Court of King's Bench here. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 267 A dispute arising in "West Florida between Governor Johnstone and Lieutenant-colonel Walsh, commandant of the troops there, as to the command of the garrison and the troops, it went to those lengths, that Lt. Col. Walsh finally refusing to, and withholding from Gov 'or Johnstone, the command which he th ^^ht his commission gave him, and which no military commission had, or could take from him, until the commission was superseded, he [Gov. J.] ar- rested Lt. Col. Walsh. Lt. Col. Walsh brought his action in the King's Bench against Governor Johnstone, for fake imprisonment, — but upon the powers which Governor Johnstone's commis- sion gave him, and those which Lt. Col. Walsh claimed by delegation, under General Gage's commission, being explained at the opening, Lt. Col. Walsh's council * (from a suggestion coming with some authority) suffered a non-suit, as not having legal cause of action. This matter, being so decided, even by the non-suit, would it not be the most unexceptionable ground of pro- ceeding, the least liable to inconvenience or dan- ger of any kind, the most respectful to the King's 1 r.ounci/ for Connsel. This affords another slight indication of the Governor's identity with Junius. In the Preface twice, and in each of the letters Ixiii. and Ixviii., once, of his original edition, (v. I, pp. xix. and xxii., and v. 2, pp. 292 and 335,) Ju- nius wrote council for counsel. The latter spelling was substituted in G. WoodfuU's edition of 1814 (vol. i. 372 and 376, and vol. ii. 389and429). — F. G. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■50 ■■^ ^HB u» iiii 12.2 S KS 120 ■yuu U IL6 — 6" KiotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WfST MAIN STRCET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 ^ 268 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. commission, the most safe to the military officers and commanders, the least liable to create fresh matter of dispute between Great Britain and her colonies, if a case was made (arising out of some actually existing transaction), as is done in many cases, to try a right, and to have this matter fairly and dispassionately discussed, by a special jury in your Courts of law, — and then, upon the ground of such decision, wherever the right shall be found to be, to apply, by the great and Gen- eral Court, or by the two Houses, to the King, in a dutiful and respectful address, to have this matter of right considered ? — In forming such case, these matters must be attended to; — that it comes up to the point, that the military command in dispute exists where the King has by charter, and his commis- sion, delegated the royal powers of supreme civil magistrate, — that therefore, the proving that the command of the military derives from the Kingi is not to the point in question, unless it derives from the King, throvgh these delegated powers. Care also must be had, that the case be not stated on any act, which the military commander is authorised to do, or to order to be done, in consequence of the mutiny bill; but the distinc- tion must at the same time be observed, that many acts and commands are authorised by that law to derive from the King within the realm, which must, /or the same reason^ derive from the JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 269 civil Governor without the realm (and not from the King), as supreme civil magistrate within such respective jurisdiction. I am, dear Sir, your affectionate friend, and faithful servant. LETTER XVIII. London, Albemarle street, May 11, 1770. Dear Sir: — I received and am much obliged to you for your letter of the 26th and 27th of March. My letters to the Committees of the town c^ Boston give the best account, I can ascertain, of the effects which the notice of the late catastrophe at Boston had, and have here. I have been so explicit and open, that I have not left myself any thing to add in this private and confidential let- ter to my private friend. I own I do feel no little satisfaction in the suc- cess of the motion I made ; fey although it did not pass, yet it carried its effect, and went off upon no other ground — and upon that ground only — that the Crown had (upon doubts arising in point of law, etc., etc.) given directions for every thing to be done that this address could 270 JUNIUS DISCOVBRBD. desire. The Lord Mayor seconded the motion, and spoke as his free and independent spirit always leads him to do, for the freedom of the subject, and the political liberty of the state. He showed, that the motion was grounded in fact and in law, and desired nothing that could be refused. He therefore called upon ministry, either to make some one objection to it, or to let it go.i Colonel Barr^, upon the ministry declaring that the thing desired by the address was already ordered to be done, said — he was glad to hear it, but added, that as ministers had let this mat- ter sleep so many years, amidst so much danger, and had never thought of it, nor would ever have taken it up, if they had not been driven to it within this month, by the notice which the gen- tleman (who now made the motion) had given, of his intending to make it, six weeks ago, the public, the colonies, nay — ministers themselves (whatever they might be willing to think of it), were much obliged to this gentleman, and to him 1 The Lord Mayor here mentioned was Mr. Beckford, whose celebrated reply to the King is perpetuated, not only in history, but by being engraved on the monument erected to his memory, by the city of London, in Guildhall. This letter is dated only twelve days before that reply was given. — The Governor's mode of expression — "some one objection,'* finds parallels in Junius's Dedication — " no one man in office," — " answers no one purpose of r&il power," — and Letter L, " nor any one important measure " — etc.— F. G. JUNIUS DISCOVERBD. 271 alone, for stirring and bringing forward, and now discussing this point Sir George Saville declared, in still stronger terms, the same thing, — saying — that as there was no possibility for ministry to make any ob- jection, either to the matter — the manner — or the purport of the motion, so he was glad to find them admitting the matter, and declaring that orders were given to the same purport. General Conway said, that as we were all agreed as to the ground and purport of the mo- tion, and as ministry had so solemnly declared, that orders were given to have the point of law considered — the matter revised on that basis, and that every thing was, by that, intended to be done which the address desired, the carrying up the address would, under such circumstances, be- come disrespectful to the King, — and that he was on that account, and that only, against the motion. The matter came thus to a short issue. Mr. Serjeant Glynn, although ill in a fit of the gout, came down to support the cause. Mr. Dunning, by some mistake, being told that I was not to move it tjiat day, was not there, but meant to have been there, and has since lamented to me that he was not. Mr. Cornwall was of opinion with me; — and Mr. Dowdeswell, had not my Lord Mayor have done it, would have seconded the motion. I had many difficulties at first, to get even so 272 JUNIUS BISOOVBRED. far as to bring on my motion ; but amidst all its difficulties, it has had the best issue of any thing which has been moved this session, having car- ried its point, although not carried itself. En- closed are some of the arguments I used, — but I have not time [to give] either a particular, or a full account of what I said. I went into a large dis- cussion of the causes of the discontents — pointed out the doubts conceived, and the apprehensions felt, — as the people of the Massachusetts were the people whose case was more particularly in question, I went into a long eulogium of their affection to the mother-country — their loyalty to the King — their zeal for the service, — I men- tioned Quebec, 1711 — N. Scotia for a series of years — Louisbourg, 1747 — Beausejour — the united expedition to Ci-own- Point — their setting the example in raising men at the requisition of the Crown, instead of 2300 as a quota of 7,000, 7,000 men for their quota — the 300 men sent to the fleet — the King George — the Snow sloop — their raising 80,000 per ann. during the war — and a design which I had concerted, and [which] would have been gone into, by the zeal of the people, and their love for their mother-country, that if the French had actually landed men in England, the New-Englanders would have come to their [the mother-country's] assistance, — but said — how are matters now changed, when we JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 373 11 its thing ; car- En- butl afuU re dis- Dinted nsions I were irly in f their alty to [ men- ;ries of — the setting ion of 7,000, Isent to sloop war — |which] of the luntry, en in |e come — but en we here are sending an army to ensure the affection and obedience of these very people ! The withdrawing of the troops, and the de- claration of the ministry, supersede all necessity and occasion for the advice which I forwarded to you by Mr. Elliot. I find that my speech was taken down in short- hand, and that a copy is got abroad, though I cannot learn where : — 'tis most likely you'll see or hear of it, so I shall not now enclose the little imperfect abstract, which by the bye, I have not time to copy. I never heard — till yesterday on meeting Mr. Bollan by accident — that Captain Gardner was to leave town today ; and this day Mr. Bollan sends me word, that Captain Gard- ner will call on me this evening, between six and seven. You may guess then — as well as by my writing — of the hurry in which I am reduced to write. ♦ Make my respects to Mr. Bowdoin, and my excuse, that I am not able to answer his private letter. You'll excuse me also to your Brother, to whom I desire my respects. Remember me to all fjriends. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. I sent to Mr. Bollan a copy of the address which I proposed. I suppose he will transmit it. 18 274 JUNIUS DISOOVEREO. LETTER XIX. Duplicate. London, July 11, '70. Dear Sir: — There have now arrived three ships — the Susannah Johnson, the Lydia Scott, and the Thomas Davis,^ by none of which have I received one letter from Boston. I mention this only, that if you, or any of my friends, have written any, you and they may be informed, that such have been stopped. I here am marked by Government as the American partizan in gen- eral; — and on this occasion particularly. Gov- ernment has had information given to them, that the renewal of the Associations for non-importa- tion is entirely owing to the letters that Dr. Franklin and I have written, — that I, particu- larly, wrote this special advice, that the sending back a few of the goods imported contrary to the Associations, -y^ould have more effect in Great Britain, than a hundred resolutions not to import, however firmly adhered to, — and that, in conse- quence of this advice, those goods which have come back were returned. Mr. Haley has had letters from Boston, saying expressly, that it is 1 July 30. I may now add — the Hannah, Capt. Jervis.- {Gov. P.) JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 275) owing to letters in which I say, that if the Amer- icans had kept firm and unanimous not to import, the whole of the revenue law would have been repealed. This has been written by some false brethren, who wanted an excuse for sending back the goods which they had ordered, contrary to their own agreement. In like manner, you and Mr. Bowdoin are represented here, as the principal springs, managers, and conductors, on your side the water, of the opposers. There are numbers of bad people here, running about with such reports and representations. You are charged, even in our newspapers, with be- ing the author of the Abingdon resolves. I did not think the matter deserved any strict in- quiry who was the author, so can only guess. Friend Cummings told me, that one Sindeman, living in New England, was the writer of some of the papers published under the signature of Veritas, I have heard Mein also mentioned, biit there are others also. Whoever the writer is, he affects to be well informed of affairs at Boston, in order to give authority to abuse. He signs himself Veritas, by the same analogy, I suppose, as the grammarians say lucus is so called a non lucendo. It has also been suggested, or rather whispered, that Mr. Bowdoin had a hand in draw- ing the Boston instructions. In like manner as some of the best friends of the public on your side the water — such as most wish, and could 276 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. best lead matters to a reconciliation, was there a temper on this side disposed to meet it — are driv- en from the confidence, opinion, and communica* tion which Government ought to have with them : — so some of your truest and most disinterested friends, such as in these affairs form no connec- tions of party but with yourselves, and that on the ground of the general civil liberty of mankind to be maintained in your case, are misrepresented and obstructed in their full communication and connexion with the friends of liberty on your side. It is ,the interest of agents, and runners of parties, that such should be removed from your confidence. Interested dealers also, whose only connexion with your interest is the profit they can derive from it, cannot wish you to stand upon your own interest otherwise than as subser- vient to theirs. But my opinion is, that your interest will stand firmest when set on its own basis, and that you will receive the truest advice, and most genuine assistance, from such as have no connexion with either parties or dealers. There is one caution more, which I cannot but think right to suggest, that you be particularly cautious to distinguish those motions and reason- ings which point only to an attack upon ministry, on their conduct in American affairs, from those which take up propositions and truths to bring them forward, so as to form a safe, firm, and sure foundation whereon the political rights and lib- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 277 erty of the American constitutions may be estab- lished. Seeing the importance — nay, the neces- sity of this advice, and fearing that it is not rightly understood, I could wish to enlarge more upon it; but if I am once misunderstood, the more I say, the further I shall fall bacic in a lee- current. I am, dear Sir, Most affectionately your friend, T. PoWNALIi. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. P. 8. — You will have read in the newspapers, and perhaps have had it written to Boston, that there were thoughts of my being appointed Gov- ernor. In the first place, I would not accept any post whatever in America under the present sys- tem of Government: — in the next place. Ministry are too well informed of my sentiments, and too angry with me, ever to make me any offer or proposal. LETTER XX. London, July 14/70. Dear Sir : — I have written a general public letter to the gentlemen. Committees of the town of Boston, which I have sent to my good and 278 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. worthy friend, Mr. Bowdoin, desiring him to communicate it I had originally drawn it up in a form much more explicit and pointed, marking in the way the springs and motives, as well as the outward and visible effects of the scheme of our present ministers ; but upon consulting with an intimate friend, a great lawyer, he advised me to more caution, as, he said, he knew I was marked, and that if ministry meant to lye ^ upon the watch, to charge the Boston ians with sedi- tion, etc., etc., they might, by an old maxim of law, construe my letter, although it did not cpn- tain one syllable that was actionable, into con- spiracy with such sedition^ etc., and so make me an imaginary confederate in imaginary crimes. — And although no process in the law-courts could establish any such crimes, yet violent resolutions of some violent party, in some other house or court, might be equally ruinous. The difficulties do really cut off from that fair communication and information of the real state of things, by which many mischiefs might be warded off, and much good be brought to gather toward the rec- onciliation of contending parties. These diffi- culties had almost determined me to make a trip this summer to America, and would have wholly so fixed it, had not family domestic connexions * In the original edition of Jnnins's Letters, (v. 1. p. 65, and p. 171, in note,) the noun lie is spelled lye. — F. 6. JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 279 I of happiness, which must have been sacrifieed to pain, and to perhaps worse consequences, inter- posed. However, if these can be settled on any plan on which I can be justifyed to my own heart, I will make that trip next summer. If I were single, there is nothing which I would not sacri- fice, to obviate and prevent mischiefs which I think will certainly fall upon both countries, but perhaps first on America. They will spring from a spirit ignorant of the principles of colonies, and colony administration ; from a violent temper that calls all opposition to such spirit Sedition, at least, if not Rebellion ; and charges all interposi- tion as conspiracy and confederacy with such prejudged sedition. Be that as it may, I shall, in this private letter to my friend, be as explicit as the nature of things will permit : — And first, I do affirm, that if the plan of ministry is, that the governors, and the civil government of the colonies, shall no longer be, as they have always hitherto been, dependent on the People for their support, in like manner as the King and his gov- ernment are dependent on the people for their sii "nort, — and if an army (no longer an annual one in America) is to be kept standing, and under discipline beyond the year, without communica- tion with the will of the community wherein it is posted, and not commanded by the supreme civil magistrate of the jurisdiction of that community, as it hath always hitherto been, — and if the forts, 280 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. castles, and places of strength are to be taken out of the hands of the Governor, the King's legal military Commander-in-chief, within each respective jurisdiction, — if citadels and garrisons, under this mode of establishment, are to be fixed within these jurisdictions, and then, because you would not acquiesce (although you have obeyed the laws, and paid the taxes) in a system of tax- ation which is imposed by power, instead of grants of and by good will, and do object to the establishment of a military force, which you think to be — and which is contrary to law, while it is not commanded by the civil [power], — I say, if then, upon these grounds, and for these reasons, attended by such circumstances, your charters of government, the jurisdictions of your civil com- munity, are to be attacked, and either dissolved or altered at pleasure, as any administration of the government of the mother-country shall from time to time think expedient, and shall be advised by the Crown lawyers belonging to such minis- try, your rights and privileges are no longer what you always understood and conceived them to be, and what every good whig will still think them to be. The first and essential principle of political lib- erty (without which it is not), is — "that civil government is the action of the whole body op- erating on itself:" — this is what I call interior or internal government : — this is what in the in- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 281 dividual forms philosophic liberty, — what in civil society forms political liberty. As it may be thus said of an individual, either a man, or a community governing itself, so may one man in his individual capacity, govern an- other in his individual capacity, leaving to the governed all and every right, privilege, and lib- erty which constitutes a free agent ; — so, and in like manner, may one supreme comprehending community govern another subordinate compre- hended community, by a sovereign jurisdiction, which yet leaves the inferior jurisdiction all and every right, privilege, and liberty which consti- tutes the free agency of a political state. So long as the governed is permitted to act by his own powers of action, and by a communication and intercourse of will, notwithstanding that such subordination and obedience are as of the es- sence, so the duty, of the relation in which the inferior stands, yet the subject individual remains free — yet the subordinate community retains its political freedom. The labourer — the journey- man — the husbandman is thus subordinate — thus obedient to his employer, but is not thereby a slave. The colony likewise is thus subordinate to the mother-country, but ceases not, by that subordination, to have " freedom of will, and lib- erty of action." It acts by those powers which constitute a free agent ; and as a free agent its will is actuated upon from the duty of the rela- 282 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. tion in which it stands to the mother-country : — But if the governing individual assumes a power over the action and will of the governed individ- ual, exterior to those powers which constitute his free agency, — if he operates upon him by mere force, — if he admits no communication of will, — if he considers the governed, and all his ac- tions, and all the effect of his actions, that is to say, all his property created by his labour, so much the property of the governing that the other can have no right to act, or to enjoy the fruit of hi^ own action, that subordinate individual is in an absolute state of slavery: — His will, His power of acting. His property, is not his own ; all right, all power over these, is exterior to his being. I therefore call this government external or exterior^ by force. There is also an exterior government of right, as thus : — Whilst any individual is not in a state of reason, — * " is in a state wherein he has no " understanding of his own to direct his will, he is " not to have any will of his own to follow : He " that understands for him must will for him too ; " he must prescribe to his will, and direct his ac- " tions." 1 This is the government of a father over * Mr. Locke. 1 Junius, in his original edition, as well as Gov. P., invariably prefixed the inverted commas to every line of a quotation. This peculiarity was not observed, until the preceding pages had been corrected in the press, which will account for our having over- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 283 I I iably This been over- his son during his minority, of a guardian over an ideot, or a lunatic. This is the government of a mother-country over a colony, before it is formed into a state of civil community and gov- ernment, that is, before it is in a state to have an understanding and will of its own. The mother- country wills for it, prescribes and regulates its actions, and disposes of its property. This also is exterior government. But, as in the case of a child the moment he comes to a state of matu- rity, the moment that the ideot ^ or the lunatic re- covers his understanding, the exterior government of the parent and guardian ceases ; so of a colo- ny, — if by positive grant or charter, or by iiri- plyed right, from the nature of the political liberty of the state from whence it derived, from the na- ture of the constituents of the community itself, it is in a situation to have " freedom of will, and liberty of action," the moment that it is from pos- itive grant, or by right of derivation, or the abso- lute right of its own nature, a free agent, from that moment exterior government, as founded in right, ceases ; the mother-country, still retaining its sovereignty, has the power of government over looked the omission of the full number of inverted commas from the quotation on p. 239. — F. G. 1 This is the second time in this paragraph, that the Governor spells this word ideot. The same spelling will be found twice in vol. 2, of Junius's original edition, pp. 87 and 229. In the latter instance only, it is corrected in G. Woodfall's edition of 1814, to idiot.— F. G. 284 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. the colony, — the colony of righi^ and by duly subject and subordinate to the government of the mother-country. But the government must be interior ; and therefore, although the government of the mother-country constitutes the executive povirer of the colony by its commissions, and re- tains a restraining and negativing power over its will, yet it leaves it to form its own will, and to act by all those powers which constitute it a free agent. If the mother-country were to say, that the colonies have no right to have a will, as was the case before they were in a state of civil gov- ernment — before they were erected into prov- inces, and that therefore they should not have a representative assembly, but should be governed by the King in Council, or by the Governor and a Council appointed by the Crown; — or if (the establishment of a representative assembly re- maining) that assembly should from time to time be suspended ; — if the mother-country restrain- ing tryals per pais should say, that, in particular enumerated cases, we will take the accused and try them within the realm, or by judges of an ex- terior jurisdiction, without the interposition of juries, and the jurisdiction of the country; — if the office of Governor were so restrained by sub- sequent instructions, that he was no longer that efficient magistrate which of right, from the na- ture of the government, and of his office, he ought to be, and which the people, so framed into a go JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 285 government, have a right to require him to be ; — if the community were acted upon by a force ab extra, which was not the force of the commu- nity, whiclj was not commanded by the supreme civil magistrate of the jurisdiction ; and if such an exterior force, under such a predicament, were attempted to be established within the limits of the jurisdiction of such a free agent, the govern- ment would be exterior, and if not of right, then of force ; and so being arbitrary and despotic, the colony would be put exactly in the case of the slave above described. In like manner even within the realm, all gov- ernment can be no longer free than while the will of the government is the collective will of the whole community, and the power of the govern- ment only the united force of the community : so if any other will than the laws, which are this collective will, or any force, deriving from any other source than that of the supreme civil mag- istrate, attempts to govern, that is exterior gov- ernment. 1 shall this summer write a treatise on this proposition, which distinguishes interior from ex- terior government, and points out all the cases as they derive from this distinction, which I hope may have a tendency to open the eyes of those who think (however zealous they may imagine themselves to be for political liberty within the realm), that the constitution does not require 286 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. that interior government be applyed to any com- munity in partibus exleris^ without the realm. Such proposition, if I shall be able to explain it with the conviction #iat I feel, if it does not convert your enemies may, I hope, put the reason and conduct of yoiir friends on some fixed basis. I am sure that if the Americans felt the ground, and saw the extent of it, their reason and con- duct would be more fixed, uniform, and united, in pursuit of that political liberty, which it is of the essence of the constitution of the mother- pountry to establish amongst them. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. LETTER XXI. LoNDOX, July 21, '70. Dear Sir: — As I know it will be a pleasure done to yourself, and may be of great advantage to my friends at Boston, and in the Province, to bring Commodore Gambler and yourself ac- quainted, I beg to introduce him as my friend to your particular acquaintance. I am sure you cannot know one another without creating a JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 287 friendship, and to such I recommend you. The Commodore will be so good to deliver you my letters. I beg to make him well with my Mends ; ^ — he wishes it. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. ) I LETTER XXII. Albemarle street, Londox, June 7, 1771. Dear Sir : — I was favored with your several letters, and delayed answering them, as the points on which they chiefly turned were kept in sus- pense by the state of business, both on your side the water, and also here — from the nature of every matter which becomes the subject of par- liamentary discussion, whilst Parliament is sit- ting. The session is now over, and not one sin- gle point, either by ministry, or by those who oppose it, has been brought forward relative to the constitution of the Provinces, or to the rights 1 " to make him well with my friends : " A parallel for this somewhat peculiar mode of expression, will bo found in the "Letter to a Brigadier General, etc.," p. 19 : — "Did Lord George imagine, that the reputation of being well with the great minister, would bear him .... to the highest pinnacle of military glory?"— F. G. 288 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. of the Americans. There is a tide in the affairs of men; and when that tide is once turned, things flow down with something like a fatality that no efforts of spirit or prudence can resist. Things then may be said to have taken their course; and those who wish best to mankind, can only lye by for such events as may present future occasions for serving them. I shall always consider myself as being in this situation, both with regard to the general liberties of mankind, as well as the particular interest of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with whose affairs my administration naturally connected me. In this light, even from general motives, I should wish the uninterrupted continuance of our mutual correspondence; but the affection which my friendship towards you makes me feel, will be ever a most irresistible motive for wishing the continuance of every communication that may contribute to increase it : and therefore, I do hope that we may neither of us lose any op- portunity of improving that friendly intercourse which has subsisted between us, from my first knowledge of you : — You may depend upon ev- ery attention on my part to your friends, and to your recommendation of them. As by the last convention between England and Spain, an end is put for the present to the appearance of war between the two nations, and as nothing seems immediately to threaten a change JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 289 rland the ,and ange in the course of those afTairs, there can be noth- ing new in them to impart to you. It is also impossible to form any opinion, what will be the event of the present troubles between Russia and Turkey, which still continue a mixture of fight- ing and negociation. The fighting part will con- tinue, without the least decisive event arising from it, until it shall give some occasion for con- cluding the negociation, which, in my opinion, would have been concluded long ago, was there not a jealousy between the different Courts of Europe, which should have the management of the mediation and arbitration. If any alteration in the present course of af- fairs should happen; or any new schemes or systems should arise, which may any way affect the public interests of the province, or of our friends there, I shall be always watchful to every motion, and communicate every sentiment that such impresses upon me ; although there seems just now, no great reason to. expect any change in thing's, as those who have the forming and di- rection of persons seem thoroughly founded and established in their power. I beg my sincere regards and respects to all our friends, and that you will be so good as to remember me to them, as I hope I am remem- bered by them. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL* 19 290 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. There will be peace between Russia and Tur- key — this you may depend on. To the Rev'd S. Cooper, D. D., Boston* [In the Duplicate^ which immediately follows the above letter^ the information contained in the postscript^ is thus thrown into a paragraph before the sigTiature:] Since the transcribing of the above, I am pos- sessed of a fact which enables me to tell you, with certainty, that there will be peace betwixt Russia and the Turks. June 7, '71, London, Albemarle street. LETTER XXIII. Richmond, July 26, '71. Dear Sir : — I hope you received safe the let- ters, which I had the pleasure of writing to you soon after the recess of Parliament, as also the Duplicates. Since that, I have not been favored with a line from you, which is a matter of uneasy disap- pointment to me. I not only miss the happiness I enjoyed in the intercourse and communication of your friendship, but I remain wholly unin- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 291 ii formed of the state of things in a country whose welfare I shall ever invariably remain anxious for, and watch over, as far as power enables me to serve it. Pray let me hear from you. Reports from one quarter say, that the Assem- bly, as to men, are the same individuals, — yet the spirit is of a different essence. Government is told, that all is quiet, humble and submissive ; and that the people would be glad to receive as a favor, and ask, and hold on that tenure, matters which they have hitherto claime4 as rights. Since Government hath given [up] the ascend- ancy of civil authority, and leant on military power, I think the case equally dangerous to both the governing as well as governed. One has a precarious [power?] that in its nature can be but temporary, the other is exposed to all the consequences of anarchy. Sat sapienti dictum, — otherwise, I could expatiate for many and many a melancholy page on this subject. Until some new event shall give a new spirit of government to both parties, and that spirit shall actuate an honest people, all is in hazard, I had almost said — at random. Tempted with the glare of false characters, too many on your side the water attached themselves to men, and the seduction of party, forgetting all the while things — things of the last importance. Where will they now look for men ? the enchant- ment is broken — the mask is off; — they will ^ JUNIUS DISOOYERBD. view them in the true characters which they mu- tually give of each other, an4, — it is a sad view to see things as they are, I do not despair of once more seeing my real friends in America ; — it is almost a fixed purport in my mind, to make the tour of America once more, to compare on the spot the stage and pro- gress of the country : — but that must be some years hence — if ever. Give my love and respects to all my friends in your circle, and accept your- self the tender of my best affections. J I am, your friend, v Most sincerely, T. POWNALL. To the Rev'd Dr. Cooper, at Boston, N. America. LETTER XXIV. BiCHMOND, Sept. 3, '71. Dear Sir : — It is long — at least I think it so — since I have had the pleasure of a line from you. I hope you have received my several let- ters ; — by not hearing from you I fear it. In my last I acquainted you that we are likely to have, before this time, a general peace m Eu- rope. Russia and the Turks might easily have JUNIUS Dl.^f'OVERED. 293 made up their quarrel, for all that Russia desires, is to bind the Turks to an observance of the laws of nations, as settled amongst the European pow- ers. And even necessity itself must adduce the Turks to this system, as they are now become part of the great Republic of European States. But Poland cannot govern itself, and all the neighbouring [powers] will quarrel who shall govern it. The Turks think that the Russians meddle too much, and thereby grow too power- ful. Russia does not seem to give any satisfac- tion on that head. This makes Austria think it necessary to interfere ; and if that Court does, Prussia will not remain neutral, but will throw its weight into the opposite scale. France is en- gaged to assist Austria to a stipulated degree, — • and who can say where all these movements can train? I am determined to be silent upon, although not forgetting or negligent of American affairs. I am, at my leisure, putting together some ideas on the right of mankind to colonize, and the rights of colonies so emigrant, when settled as distinct, and compleat^ communities; but whether I shall ever finish it, or whether, when finished, I shall ever publish it, is very distant from my pres- ent determination. If I do, I shall close it with 1 Compleat: — Junius always so spelled the word, in his origi- nal edition. See v. 1, pp. 117, 141, 159, 204, 281, 241. — In O. Woodfall's edition, it is corrected to — complete. — F. G. 294 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. advice to colonies that shall find themselves on the point the most dangerous to them. Dr. Franklin is gone on a tour to Ireland. I have been here all summer — am going into Lin- colnshire, my usual tour, for the next month, and when I return, shall, I fancy, soon after go to winter residence in town. Parliament does not meet, unless any thing extraordinary happens, until after Christmas. I beg my real and most sincere regards to Mr. Bowdoin, — pray tell him I will hope to hear from him, as I most certainly do hope to hear from you. Remember me most kindly to all my friends, arid believe me to be — as I am — Your's, most affectionately, ♦ T. POWNALL. The Rev'd Dr. Cooper, Boston, New-England. LETTER XXV. London, April 5, '72. Dear Sir : — I will add — dear friend — for I must thank you as such for your kind and affec- tionate letters. I must make my acknowledg- ments for the kind and more than friendly man- JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 295 ner in which you have interested yourself for my honor, and in which you have laboured, that jus- tice at least might be done to my services, while I was sincerely, an(f^to my own hurt, labouring to serve the province and the people. My hu- manity was for a moment — my Lonour could not be — hurt, — my utility was reniered unuseful, and was frustrated : — in that I felt not for my- self, — I was sorry for the cause, and the interest of the Province, and its rights, which suftered by it. But that is now passed. Let us view the pres- ent state of things, for I will still persevere wher- ever I can ; and I will try to serve the Province, although my services may not be acceptable.^ In order to keep up the protest against the mil- itary establishment, which hath superseded the civil, I moved the question again this year. The news papers got part of my speech, although but a miserable extract of the part which they did get, and not one half of the real argument, and not one sentence of the application of the doc- trine. The people may acquiesce, but I, as a friend, never will. The matter, under the state of acquiescence with which the people sit down, is every day more and more striking root, as a 1 " In the present state of things, if I were to write again, I must be, etc. ... I meant the cause and the public. Both are given up." — Jiinius's last letter to Wood/all, 19 Jan., 1773. See also, the commencement of letter LIX. — Y. G. 996 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. rooted precedent^ which will grow up, and bear bitter fruit. The old proverb says, one may see light thrmigh a small crevice ; — and on * may discern more strongly than by the most outrageous clamour- ing, the spirit of the people in the start which they took about the proclamation. Yet it is a spirit that is hide-bound. I have enclosed a letter for your perusal. I may think that it may possibly serve some views which I have entertained ; and yet you, who see and know, upon the spot, what one's heart could not conceive, may know that it can do no ser- vice on one hand, but may expose me to the malice and ridicule of bad men on the other. Run no risks for me, or for my honour, about it, — rather burn it a thousand times over (if that can be), rather than run any risque, by delivering it, where the task for ever is — out of good, still to find means of evil. April 12. — If there be a temper and culture of mind to receive the good seed, get your Brother to deliver it, — if there be not, or even a doubt whether there be or not — burn it. I am now extremely busy in preparing to bring forward a new system of law for the corn-trade. Our circumstances in that article are changed ; our system therefore must follow, and adapt itself to those new circumstances. It is a matter JUNIUS DISCOVERED. 297 of risque,^ and great hazard, to meddle with the operations of the supply of a country, and the commerce of the supply and provisions. It is in any way of almost infinite import, and may draw danger in its consequences. To-morrow I make my motion. I do not know any which I ever engaged in, that hung with so much dread upon my mind. If my ideas are wrong or dangerous, I hope the House will reject them. Adieu. Let me always hear from you. I am, in every sense of love and esteem, most affectionately, Your friend, T. POWNALL, To the Rev'd Dr. Cooper, Boston. LETTER XXVI. London, Albemarle street, April 10, '72. Sir : — From various hands, and through va- rious channels, I have heard, that you had con- ceived of me, and, in consequence of your concep- tions, did represent me, in your public opinions, at least as a doubtful friend of the province. Under what spirit such conceptions could be con- 1 See note, ante, p. 168. 298 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. veyed to, and could enter into your mind, I am unable even to guess. Judge not of the tree by the colouring of the blossoms ; wait the bearing time, and judge by the fruits : — if you had any doubts then, I ask of the candour of your mind, and of the honest feelings of your heart, what you think now. However, whatever doubts malicious represen- tations might have raised in your mind, could any temper of mind less than that sin against the holy spirit of ti'uth, that temper which prevents the mind from giving its assent to its own con- viction — have represented me as an enemy to the Province, at the very moment, and in the very action, when 1 was invariably and unremittedly labouring to defend and serve its interest ? 1 would not write this while the animosity of parties kept the temper heated, and the passions in agitation ; I would not write this while I could suspect even myself that I might retain the least spirit of resentment. But now, as all is over and past some years agone : — wishing to stand in the eye of the Province as I know I deserve to stand, fair and well, — I wish you, in the spirit of can- dour, and with your own genuine honour,, to re- view the whole of my conduct, from the first planting of me amongst you, to the fruits I have borne. I never belong to any party — I never wished to serve any party : in that view, there- fore, I neither claim, nor can have any merit. JUNIXJS DISCOVERED. 299 Attached solely to the true interests of the prov- ince, I never sought to flatter — nor ever did flatter — its passions. Whether rightly under- stood, or misunderstood, my affections will con- tinue the same : and I shall always endeavour to serve the Province, and its inhabitants, in con- junction with those who do serve it. I wish, with all my heart, you may find yourself con- vinced, that this is true. You will find me, at the same time, to be truly, Sir, Your friend, T. POWNALL. To Saml. Adams, Esq., Boston. • LETTER XXVII. London, April 2, '74. Dear Sir: ■'—I have not of late found either things or myself in such a situation that I could write. I never will write an ostensible letter, and withhold my real opinion. I have therefore been forced to be silent, as to my correspondence for some time. Yet, do not think that my friend- ship or old affections have been weaned from the Province. Although I cannot write all that I wish to say, yet I cannot wholly refrain : — but 300 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. all that I can at present go to, is to beg, for God's sake, that the good and prudent of the Province will try their best authority, — that the good sense — the old good temper, and good principles of the Province, may prevail over the passions and party of the violent and heedless, who have well nigh ruined the town of Boston, and will ruin the Province. I know, 'though the stroke given is heavy and severe, and 'though the arm of Government, raised, threatens more, yet it is the wish of every good man here, both in and out of Ministry, to remove the present grievances, and to withhold all further severity. Nothing bul^imprudence and violence on the part of your present leaders can essentially hurt the Province, — such will certainly do so, because they give grounds and plausible reasons to justify the measures of such amongst us, who mean mis- chief, and such there are on all sides. Be not made a cat's-paw, either to those in America, or to those here, whose interest may be served by your ruin. May He who disposes of events, dispose your hearts to what is right for peace. I am, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, T. POWNALL The Rev'd Dr. Cooper. * APPENDIX. LIST OF GOVERNOR POWNALL'S WORKS. Principles of Polity ; being the grounds and reasons of Civil Empire; in three parts. Lond. 1752, 4to. ^^ <1ministration of the Colonies; wherein their rights and constitution are discussed and stated. Lond. 1764, |vo. Between that year and 1 768, the 2nd and drd, and in 1 768, the 4th editions, were published. In 1 7 74, the 5th edition, with additions, was published in 2 vols. 8vo., under the title — " The Administration of the British Colonies." Considerations on the Indignity suffered by the Crown, and dishonour brought upon the Nation, by the marriage of H. R. H. the Duke of Cumberland, with an English subject. 1772, 4to. The right, interest, and duty of the State, as concerned in the Affairs of the East Indies. London, 1773, 8vo. A Pamphlet on the high price of Bread. 1774, 8 vo. Letter to Adam Smith, LL. D., and F. R. S., respecting his Wealth of Nations. 1776, 4to. ^ Drainage and Navigation, but one united work. 1776, 8vo. A Topographical description of a Map of the middle British Colonies, etc., in North America. Lond. 1776, fol. A Treatise on the study of Antiquities, as the Commentary to Historical Learning, sketching out a general line of research, also making and explaining some of the desid' erata; with an Appendix on the Elements of Speech, the 302 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. Origin of written Language, the Ships and Chariots of the Ancients. Lond. 1 782, 8vo. A Memorial, most humbly addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe, on the present state of affairs, between the Old and New World. Printed first in 1 780, and fourth edition, 1784, pp. 127, 8vo. A Memorial, in two parts, originally intended to be presented to the King ; since published with an explanatory preface. Lond. 1784, pp. 58, 8vo. A Memorial, addressed to the Sovereigns of America. Lond. printed 1783, and again 1784. pp. 139, 8vo. The above three Memorials, with a General Preface, pp. 20, again published as — Three Memorials, most humbly addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe, Great Britain, and North America. By T. Pownall, late Grovernor, Captain-General, Commander-in- Chief, Vice Admiral, etc., of the Provinces, now States, of Massachusetts Bay, and South Carolina, and Lieutenant Governor of New-Jersey. Lond. 1 784, 8vo. Hydraulic and Nautical observations on the Currents in the Atlantic ocean, forming an hypothetical theorem for inves- tigation ; to which are annexed some notes by Dr. Frank- lin, etc. Lond. 1787, 4to. Proposals for founding University professorships for Archi- tecture, Painting and Sculpture. 1 786. Notices and Descriptions of the Antiquities of Provincia Ro- mana of Gaul ; with dissertations on the subjects, of which there are examples; and an Appendix, describing the Roman Baths and Thermaa discovered in 1 784, at Baden- weiber. Lond. 1788, 4to. {Mem. In the Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1808, p. 338 et seq., imder the head Literary Intelligence, is the following, — "Amongst the works of which all the unsold copies were destroyed by fire, and which probably will never be printed, are .... Governor Pownall's Provincia Eomana, and Antiquarian Homance.") APPENDIX. 303 An Antiquarian Romance ; endeavoring to mark a line by "which the most ancient people, and the processions of the earliest inhabitants of Europe may be investigated. Some remarks on Mr. Whitaker's criticisms annexed. 1795, 8vo. Answer to a Letter on the Jutse or Viti. 1 786. Descriptions and Explanations of some Remains of Roman Antiquities dug up in the City of Bath in 1 790 ; with an Engraving from drawings made on the spot. Lond. 1795, 4to. Considerations on the scarcity and higb prices of Bread com and Bread at the markets, suggesting the remedies ; in a series of Letters, first published in the Cambridge Chronr icle. 1795, 8vo. Character of Sir Robert Walpole, written in 1 783, printed among the original papers in Mr. Coxe's Memoirs of Lord Orford, with Lord Orford's two letters to Governor Pow- nall — (republished in Nicols's Literary Anecdotes, vol. iv. pp. 710-712). Intellectual Physics; an Essay concerning the Nature of Be- ing. 1803, 4to. Treatise on Old Age : — Besides several papers published in volumes — 11. III. V. VI. VII. VIII. and IX., of the Archceologia, of the Society of Antiquarians. The last mentioned volume contains a pa- per, the title of which creates a suspicion that Grovemor Pow- nall was o Brother of the Mystic tie. It is — " Observations on the origin and progress of Gothic Architecture, and on the Corporation of Free-masons, supposed to be the establish- lishers of it as a regular order." 304 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. (Referred to on page 120 in note.) Extract of a Letter from the Right lion. George Qrenville^ to Governor Pownall ; dated Wotton, July 17 th, 1768. I am very sensible of the honour you do to me, both in this, and in the Address prefixed to the former editions of your treatise upon the Administration of the Colonies; a'li am much obliged to you for the expressions of your regard and good opinion. You say, very truly, in the beginning of your present Address, that our opinions differed on several points : but we agree intirely in our wishes, that the consti- tutional powers of this kingdom, and the fixed government of the laws may prevail, and the rights of the people be estab- lished upon ti'ue political liberty. As to the great question of our parliameut's granting to America a competent number of members to sit in our House of Commons, you are no stranger to the declarations I repeatedly made in the House, at the time when the repeal of the stamp-act was agitated; That, if such an application should be properly made by the Colonies to parliament, in the same manner as those which were made from Chester and Durham, and probably from Wales, it would, in my opinion, be intitled to the most serious and favourable consideration. I continue still in the same sentiments ; but lam much afraidj that neither the people of Great Britain, nor those of America, are sufficiently apprised of the danger which threatens both, from the present state of things, to adopt a measure, to which both the one and the other seem indisposed. Some of the Colonies, in their address to the crown against some late acts of parliament, have, if I mistake not, expressly disdained it ; and I do not think it has been kindly received in Great Britain, when it has been thrown out in parliament, or started in any pamphlet or printed paper. The fullest conviction of APPENDIX. 305 its necessity, and the heartiest concurrence, both of the gov- ernment and of the people, are indispensably necessary to set so great a machine in motion, as that of uniting all the outlying parts of the British dominions into one system.—* For my own part, I shall wait the event with concern, and shall be ready to give any assistance I can, whenever I see any practicable road opened to our safety. (Referred to on page 149.) Anonymous Letter to the Earl of Chatham, extracted from the 4th vot- ume of the " Correspondence of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham ; edited by William Stanhope Taylor, Esquire, and Captain John Henry Pringle, Executors of his son, John, Earl of Chatham, and published from the original MSS, in their possession : " — London, Murray, 1840. "Nov. 14, 1775. "My Lord: — My only motive for interrupting your Lordship's retirement is a real anxiety for the public good ; and though I have not the honour of being known to your Lordship, yet when I assure you that I am equally below con- nection with any party, and above dependence upon any, I persuade myself you will indulge the request of a man who has nothing to ask, except a few moments' attention, whilst he expresses a wish, perhaps an idle one, on a subject which at least will not divert your thoughts from their present object. " That subject, the American dispute, is now arrived at a crisis, which makes all men tremble, many despond. A vast majority of the inhabitants of both countries, I verily believe, are so deeply affected with the fatal prospect now before them, that they passionately long for reconciliation, and would think it cheaply purchased at the expense of large conces- 20 306 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. sions. How to accomplish the Mriahcs of those majorities is the perplexing difBculty. My Lord, the misfortune is, that parties and factions prevail on both sides of the Atlantic. Reconciliation, thou<;h an object with all but the very worst men, is but a secondary object to any party. The prevailing one in either country will not accede to terms that cither disgrace or dispossess them : the opposition in either country will obstruct all terms which do not insure victory to them. Punctilios, too, party impediments removed, prevent treaty. "My Lord, when private friends disagree, the same obsta- cles are apt to occur; the same, too, in the dissensions of i< >r- eign powers. In both these cases, how is it that difliculties of every sort are constantly overcome, but by the intervention of a common friend ? Suppose, for an instant, that, in the present case, such a character could be found to exist : ardu- ous as his task must be admitted to be, it seems to me far from being impracticable. The governing parties in both countries would not reject terms which neither endangered their emoluments nor infringed upon their honour ; and any terms which the governing parties in the two countries would not reject, the power of faction would struggle in vain to ob- struct. But prudence forbids the proposal of rejectionable terms ; therefore the true sentiments of the prevailing par- ties in both countries, if. unknown, ought previously to be discovered by the common friend. Those sentiments are to be learnt as well from one man of each party, properly chosen, as from many ; for your Lordship knows better than I do, that the many govern not themselves; no, not even their opinions. " Now, I will not think so meanly of the prevailing party either here or in America, as to imagine that there is want- ing one man of each description, who would trust a common friend, and might safely be trusted by such an one, in a free communication upon the subject of the admissibility of terms, under the sanction of inviolable secrecy. That common friend, once possessed of this knowledge, could stand in need APPENDIX. 307 party want- )mmoii a free terms, ■tmmon need of nothing but a head to plan, and a heart to undertake : se- crecy still bcin^ an indispensable requisite till the instant of execution, to secure the minds of the people from being pois- oned with jealousies and suspicions of treachery in the me- diator. '* The last difficulty that occurs is, in what region to dis- cover this common friend. Alas ! my Lord, Great Britain and America know no foreign power that can assume the name. 8ome centuries arc past since superstition might, per- haps, have sought the mimic of such a character in the see of Rome. At present, as fur as I can judge, there is in the uni- verse one only individual qualified to undertake this impor- tant oftice. My Lord, I mean not to flatter you ; I disdain the art; — but, in my sincere opinion, that individual is your Lordship. The dignity and splendour which surround your name raise you above the level of other men. Neither of the nations has forgotten the great debt they both owe you. Both acknowledge, that, above all men living, you are he who is most deeply interested to preserve the united honour and happiness of the whole empire. Fortunate it is, that your long retirement renders you, in appearance as well as reality, unconnected with the men and the measures, the adminis- trations and the oppositions of either nation, as much as ii you were this instant descended from the clouds. This con- stitutes you, as it were, an independent power, and doubles the confidence which all reposed in you before. Be then, my Lord, the guardian angel of this great empire ; decline not the honourabl<3 office of mediator between Great Britain and America ; unite the two countries upon a basis of per- manent friendship, without regard to the internal factions of either; leaving administrations and oppositions undisturbed, to fight, as they have fought before, their little battles upon ground less perilous to this great community. " "Were I addressing a man who could be moved by a love of office or desire of wealth, I am aware that the hajsard ot failure might deter him from the enterprize, more forcibly 308 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. than tbe prospect of success could urge him to it, gilded as that prospect must appear to any one, who reflects upon the copious streama of bounty which must necessarily flow from the gratitude of two nations. I neither hope nor apprehend any thing from the effect of such considerations on your mind. The world, as well as I, believe you destitute of the passion of fear, as well as of the appetite of gain ; but, unless all men are deceived, there is one noble passion, against which your bosom is by no means proof. This is the moment, and God only knows how short it is, that solicits gratification. Lose not the luckiest opportunity that ever befell the most fortu- nate lover of true glory. The worst that can follow disap- pointment is that inward satisfaction, which surpasses every thing extrinsic, attended by the silent blessings of millions. " The consequence of success I will not attempt to describe — for it will prevent calamities, the limits of which no imagi- nation can trace ; — it will insure blessings, which none can estimate ; — and the happy instrument to accomplish this, will be a private individual, naked of every weapon, whether of war, corruption, or superstition — a character not the less glorious, because it is absolutely unparalleled in the history of the world. "My Lord, it is with shame I beg your indulgence a min- ute longer : but I think it proper to inform you that this let- ter, and the subject of it, is known to one man alone besides myself, and he is bound to secrecy by the same ties that I am. To satisfy you that I have no end to answer beneficial to myself, I not only refrain from subscribing my name, but, whether you treat this letter with consideration, or yrhether you treat it with contempt, I promise you, upon the word of a gentleman, that I will never divulge my name to you, or the contents of this letter to any other person, without your re- quest, To convince you, at the same time, that I mean noth- ing prejudicial to any man, I promise you, under the same sanction, that I will disclose myself to your Lordship, if ever you should think fit to require it, by a letter directed to A. APPENDIX. 309 Z., at Oliver's coffee-house, Westminster-hall gate. If your eye reaches this place, I return your Lordship a thousand thanks for your patience, and am, with the truest respect, Your Lordship's most obedient, and most faithful servant." To this letter the Editors of the Chatham Correspondence add the following note : — " By the following note, of the 1 7th, in the same hand- writing, it will be seen that Lord Chatham returned an answer t<> the above remarkable letter." "Nov'r 17th, 1775. " The author of the letter of the 14th was far from intend- ing to trouble again the writer of the note of the 16th, even with the acknowledgments that were due, for the very high, though unmerited honour done to him by that note ; but as the mistake of a letter in the direction of it (Q instead of Z) may possibly be recollected, and create a suspicion of its hav- ing fallen into wrong hands, he presumes that he will be par- doned the liberty of giving this assurance, that it was received by the person for whom it was intended, and that the injunc- tion of secrecy will be religiously observed. It neither has nor shall be imparted, even to the single friend who was privy to the letter, as the injunction is understood to that extent The writer of this cannot help adding, that the reception of his sincere endeavours as they were meant, would indeed have made him truly happy, had the account of it not been embittered with more just cause of sorrow. However, he, too, indulges the most sanguine hopes, that the invaluable blessing, which is for the present withheld, will quickly be restored to this country and its friends." 310 JUNIUS DISCOVERED. EPITAPH; (llcferred to on page 168.) Here is entombed Dame Harriet, daughter of Lieut't General Churchill ; wife, in her first marriage, to Sir Everard Fawkner, kn't ; in her second, to Governor Pownall. She died Feb. 6, 1777, aged 51. Her person "was that of animating beauty, with a complexion of the most exquisite brilliancy, unfaded when she fell. Her understanding was of such quickness and reach of thought, that her knowledge, although she had learning, was instantaneous and original. Her heart, warmed with univer- sal benevolence to the highest degree of sensibility, had a ready tear for pity, and glowed with friendship as with a sa- cred and inviolate fire. Her love, to those who were blessed with it, was happiness. Her sentiments were correct, refined, elevated. Her manner so chearful, elegant, amiable, and winning, that, while she was admired, she was beloved ; and, while she enlightened and enlivened, she was the delight of the world in which she lived. She was formed for life ; she was prepared for death ; which being a gentle wafting to im- mortality, she lives where life is real. EERATA, P. 186, 1. 18, dele the " after— Earl! To the note on p. 112, add, — and Junius says, — " no outward tyranny can reach the mind." — Letter xxvii, v. ii, 16. To the note on p. 278, add, —In vol. 2, p. 297, Letter LXIV., — "But the question does not It/e between rich and poor." i