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Tous les autras exempiaires originaux sont fiimte en commenpant par la pramlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impreasion -i d'iliustration at en terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle emprein'^e. Un dea symboies suivants apparaUra sur la darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le aymboia — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbola y signifie "FIN ". Les cartas, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimAa A das taux de rAduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seul ciichA, II est fiimA A partir da I'angle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaira. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ./ ON THE PRINCIPLES or THR REFOLUTIOJV. A ^ DISCOURSE Ij ON THR jRea/ Principles of the Revolution^ THE BILL OF RIGHTS, ACT OF SETTLEMENT, S^c. IN HTHICH The REPRESENTATIONS of Sir FRANCIS BURDETT, Mr. MADDOX, and others are considered, Their ignorance and their falsehood exposed^ and their real views detected ; BEING THE SUBSIANCE OF THREE LECTURES, Delivered in Triniti/ Term, 1 SOPj BY THE 6RESHAM LECTURER IN CIVIL LAW. Printed by J. Sceley, Buckingham. SOLD BY HATCHARD; PICCADILLY, LONDON. > »«vr.«r tr INTROBUCTOHY ADDRESS To the JVorshipJul the Trustees of SIR THOMAS GRESIIAM, Knight. I^INCE tl:e boasted liberties of this country know no partiality in their application, and the privilege of speaking and writing, and publishing what every one pleases, is arrogated alike by all, no man ought to be offended or surprized if in the exercise of that privilege, a difference of opinion on any point should happen to subsist. No person who is a lover of the truth, will be backward to consider any representation of a case or question, which professes to be founded on argument and fact, although it should differ from that view in which it hath been previously regarded by himself. And much good will always arise from such a consideration, for in proportion as reason is exercised and prejudice laid aside, truth will prevail. In all political questions every individual will have an opinion; but, comparatively, very few individuals have the study of politicks for their proper occupation, or have leisure for the just contemplation of any subject which is not the immediate business of their lives. Opinions therefore, in matters of this sort, will too often be adopted hastily on a partial view, which fur- ther consideration may correct, or be imposed by an authority which hath obtained a greater weight than it deserves, or founded upon a re- lation of facts which is not true, or a represen- tation of them which is false and treacherous. In all these cases the cause of truth will be promoted by argument and discussion. Persons, however, no doubt are to be found, upon whom, because they are wedded to their own conceit, or because they have some private and unac- knowledged object in view, argument exerts its force in vain, and truth shines but cannot en- lighten. Such men must be abandoned to the error of their own minds; and, if they are thcmgelves only affected by it, they will be the objects merely of compassion. But if error ex- tends itself to the perversion of the minds of other men, and especially if its views affect the state, it becomes every one's interest and a public duty to expose it. Private individuals will usually decline entering upon a controversy in which, as they are no more concerned than others, they are sensible of no proper duty of their own. But if any one standing in some public capacity, beholds the particular point which it is his otiice to illustrate aad to teach, made the subject of perversion and misrepresen- tation by artful and designing men, it becomes his immediate duty to meet the effort and expose the fraud. Upon these grounds I take the liberty of presenting the following discourse to the Trus- tees of the foundation of Sir Thomas Gresham, and trust that they will not be displeased with this attempt of their Lecturer in Civil Law. It is only necessary to add, that in the prose- cution of this subject, I have first produced the statutes and explained the Law; then exposed VIII the misrepresentations of those who wouhl pervert it ; and lastly argued their real ohjects from their own expressions; and that where- ever I have had occasion to quote their words, I have taken them from the public papers of the day, considering that uncontradicted report, as an avowed publication. The particular paper which I have used, is the Morning Post of May the second. ' ON THE Principles of the Revolution of 1688, . . THE BILL OF RIGHTS, &c. A HE throne of England has l)ccn at all times hereditary, and it was so acknowledged at the restoration of Charles the second by the two houses of parliament assembled in the solemn form of a convention of the states. Had it en- tered into the minds of the leading people of the day to have given that event another cha- racter, the times seem to have afforded no un- favourable opportunity of declaring it to be of the right and power of the people to elect their King. But we have reason to be thankful, that in the restoration of that monarch, and in a subsequent instance of Revolution, matters were conducted on the surer and the saier B WfA 2 ground; surer — in respect of argument; safer — in respect of experience. Hereditary liie throne of England is allowed to be, but not absolute. For the crown itself is subject to limitation as to the wearer, and the wearer to restriction and abridgement as to the exercise of his royal prerogative. Absolute power jn every state must reside somewhere ; but by the conslitution of this realm it is here found in the triple state of Parliament alone. Jt is not in the King. It is not in the Lords. .It is not in the Commons. It is not in any two branches to the exclusion of the third. Much less is it in one only to the exclusion of the other two. But in the three estates of Parlia- ment together is vested the absolute power of jiiaking and declaring Law ; which embraces without exception every case, capable of be- icoming the subject of Legislation, that i^ .every thing that relates to man as a social crea- iture, and an inhabitant of these realms. The (King therefore is no less subject to the power x)f Parliament than , the meanest of his sjubject%; imd the .crown he wears no lesis assuredly tbau \] the estate of a private individual. The in- stances, in which Parliament has exercised its power in ena£tini>: Laws., which affect the crown, from the tera of the restoration, I shall now pro- ceed to consider. Nothing material occurs in the reign of Charles the second to arrest our attention : and had any thing, which was then attempted, been accomplished, the new aira commencing at the Revolution could necessarily have obliged us to date all autliority with respect to the ac- knowledgement of fundamental principles from thence.* It is true however, that in that reign, (the reign of Charles II.) the House of Com- mons asserted its right as one branch of the supreme legislative power of interfering in the matter of succession to the Crown, and three times introduced a bill to exclude the Duke of York : wliich once passed their house, but was rejected by the Lords. On both the other * The Habeas Corpus Act, possed in the 31 Car. II, forms A singular exception to tlie above observation, no pa'^^'culw notice having been tai^en of it in the declaration of the Bill of Rights, probably because James' government had been clear of any gross imputations of it's infringemeivt. occasions their wish was defeated by a proroga* tion and dissolution. — The principle, on which they acted, viz : the competency of Parliament, was clearly assented to by the other house iu their reception of the bill, and their debates upon it, though they did not agree as to the expediency of the measure ; and still more directly was it allowed by the King himself, who was willing to have consented to any limi- tations, provided the measure of absolute ex- clusion might be given up. Indeed the propo«- sitions he made to the parliament held at Oxford, did in fact amount to an exclusion in every thing but in name. That nothing was done seems wholly owing to the great heat and party violence of the times. The object Avas the exclusion of the Duke of York, heir pre- sumptive to the throne. But it went no further ; and the Duke's Son, if he should have one educated a protestant and professing the pro- testant faith was to have succeeded : otherwise his daughters, Mary, and Anne, who did indeed afterwards succeed in pursuance of the same principle in the event of the Revolution. For ! the great cause, for which the Duke of York's exclusion was so much desired, was no othc* than his being a papist, and the encouragement he gave to persons of the same persuasion, together with the known intolerance of that Church in matters of rehgion and its despotic principles in respect of civil government, and the danger to be apprehended from these circumstances in the event of his becoming King, heightened no doubt by the manifest intrigues at that time carried on by the Court of Rome through the great influence and unceasing activity of the society of Jesuits. Although the measure of exclusion was at the time lost, yet the principle on which it was founded in the end prevailed; for James indeed succeeded to the throne, but was quickly obliged by the united voice of the whole Kingdom, — the dangers before appre- hended, being found real, and even exceeded by the event, — the desertion of all his counsel- lors, and even of his own children, aiding the attempt of the Prince of Orange his Son in Law, who had married his eldest daughter, to relinquish it : and although to force James to such 6 ■I a step does not seem to have been the immediato object of the Prince or of the People, yet nothing could happen more favourable for their views; and doubtless the presence of the armed force, which attended the Prince of Orange, and the general defection of the Kingdom were the means of inspiring such terror and despair into the King's mind, as induced him to reiin-l quish the throne and kingdom. A step, which fortunately settled the business without strife or bloodshed, and justified the immediate transfer of the Crown to the heads of William and of Mary. The history of the Revolution forms no part of my present subject. Suffice it only to ob- serve, that it was the danger of a popish estab-? lishment of the faith in these kingdoms through the influence of a popish King, which first suggested the measure of the exclusion ; and that it was the same danger bow become im- mediate, which brought about the Revolution, It was this principle, that interrupted the then; succession, and placed the crown upon the heads of William and Mary ; and it was the same, that thereupon limited the succession to the protestant descendants of the abdicated monarch without further interruption to tho direct hneal and hereditary right, and after- wards extended it to the Princess Sophia the ancestor of his present Majesty. And here I cannot dismiss the reflexion without observing, though it be somewhat foi'eign fioin the sub^ ject, that it is in perfect accord with this great fundamental principle of the Revolution, which- the advisers of such measures seem alone to have forgotten, that his iMajcsty hais ever re- sisted those attempts, which M'ould extend' the toleration of the Roman Catholic faith to aa admission of its professors to a participation of political power, and. probably soon lead tO' aj share of the execution, if not ultimately to- the thifonje itself. We cannot on these occasions he too grateful for the steadiness of the King; nor too watchful, it should seem, over tbose, who would be his servants. < Yet the Revolution is a subject of too great importance to be passed over without furth^v comment; especially in these times^ when- it's g trueprinciples are so grossly perverted and misre- pre.-^ented, and when under colour of it's autho- rity the main assertion of, I know not what, opinions, by fraud, or force, to the perversion of the minds of the people, the confusion of their present peaceful and happy State, and the overthrow of good order and regular govern- ment, is held forth as just and glorious. Glo- rious indeed was the Revolution, which placed the protestant line upon the throne of these K'ngdoms: glorious, — not merely as a Revolution and an assertion of the People's rights as some seem to think ; but rather glorious, as a great public measure involving a nation's weal, undertaken for a just cause, and pursued with temper and moderation; and al- though by arms, yet with peaceful intent: —a measure indeed of the last moment, fraught with extreme peril, and blessed by Providence with complete success. These are the glories of the Revolution. Let those, who have been ever since the advocates, as it were, of Revolution upon Revolution, who seem to wish reformation itself reformed, and in the greatness of their T 9 Zeal and magnanimity of tlicir patriotism step forth — to enfranchise even tlic free; — let them consider, what they have in common with the promoters of that great event. Let them con- sult history, if they can, with an unprejudiced mind, and perceive the folly and ahsurdity of their attempt. Or, if they apprehend no dan- ger in loosening the restraints of government from a people too far advanced in profligacy of manners and corruption of sentiment, hut abounding in wealth and means, let them but cast their eyes beyond the circle of this favoured land and behold to what results a Revolution,— tho' softened under the name of radical reform, — in such a state of things must lead; — a Senate for the houses of Lords and Commons: — a code de la conscription for a standing army and a militia:— a Man worshipped as a God; — and a people at his word, spreading violence, subjec- tion, and desolation through the earth. - But since the true Glory of the Revolution seems to have been so much mistaken, and for particular purposes misrepresented, as consisting in the forcible assertion of the People's presumed 10 right of resisting the Chief Magistrate^ autho- rity, if ever they see or think they see just oceasion ; the deposition of a reigning Monareh at the People's will ; and the appointment of another Prince according to their mere plea- sure; — it is necessary only to ohserve, that the history of the thing is sufficient to determine, that sucli was not the fact. To which, it will he useful, if hy way of authority we call to mind the judgment of one of the first expounders of English Law, and most enlightened advocates of well regulated liberty and just privilege in> the subject. With respect to the Revolution, by which persons not in the direct order of succession were called to the throne, *' the true " ground and principle, upon which that event " proceeded, "says Blackstone, *' was an entirely ** new case in politics, which had never before " happened in our history, the abdication of the " reigning Monarch and the vacancy of the " throne thereupon." — " It was not a defeaz- " ance of the right of succession and a new " limitation of the crown by the King and " both houses of Parliament. It was the act ;il 1 11 *' of the nation alone upon the conviction that " tlicre WHS no King in lieing."— *' The facts, ** from which this conclusion was drawn were " ohvious and notorious, and the consccjuencea! ** which they necessarily involved, it belonged " to our ancestors to determiuc." And, if it be true in politics us in morals, tlKit princi|)les are. best illustrated by their effects, as men*s Ivearts are by their manners, the things done will best. declare the real grounds and motives of thet Revolution, and the principles on which our ancestors proceeded. I'or it is n>anitcst from all the provisions of the> different settlements of the crown, which folr lowed, that no such motive or cause, as is toa frequently, and with too much confidence attri- buted to them, really obtained; and it is no less manifest from the very words of thedeclaratioa of the bill of Ilights, in which they acknow- ledged William and Mary to be King and Queen, tliat they held »o such thiug, as the right to call in, whom they would, to the vacant throne in prejudice of the protestant branches of the ancient royal family. For the settlement K ■iii' included all the protcstant poslcvity of King Charles the first, except snchotlicrissueas King Janifs might at any time liavc, which was totally omitted, ** through fear," says blackstone, " of a popish succession."* Thus while the irregular elevation of King William, who in the common order would liave succeeded Queen Anne, took place with the consent of hoth the sisters, and is to be attributed to the necessity of the times, and the great service which he had rendered, the exclusion of the infant Son of James, and any future issue he might have, was evidently owing to the same cause which drove the Father from his throne, the danger of a popish Monarch — and the words of the decla- ration in the bill of Rights are decisive, " thank- * I admit of no general principles to be drawn from the events of which we are here speaking.— The events and the causes which led to them were singular and anomalous, as all writers on the subject agree. And therefore no principles of general application can be drawn from them. I also wish it to be observed that I am merely arguing the principles which guided our ancestors in their conduct of the revolution as jV'5 principles ; and that I deduce them from the events which they produced,— events indeed which carry their prin- ciples on their front. I 'f: 13 ** ini]; Cod for bis wondciTiil Piovldrnce in pre- " serving their Majesties' royal persons to rciga ** over us upon the throne ottheir ancestors;" and acknowledging, that on the aixlication of King James, and their acceptance of the throne, the vacancy thereof having been declared by the two houses of parlianjent, " i/tci/ did become^ were, " arCf and of right ought to be, by the laws of this ** land, King and Queen of England, &c." — - a The Revolution being thus accomplished, it remains for us to consider the enactments which thereupon took place by the legitimate autho- rity of King, Lords and Commons in parliament assembled, declarative of the rights, privileges^ and liberties, of the subject, aud limitations of the crown. And this will further illustrate- the true principles of the Revolution, which is justly considered as the last solemn assertion and settlement of the Constitution. • • These acts are principally found in the 1st \V. and M. Sess. 1. c. 6. and Sess. 2. c. 2; in the 12th and 13th. W. III. c. 2; the 4th Ann^ c. 8; and the 6th Ann, c. 7. ... ■ .. : The first of these prescribes the oath to be 14 lakcn by the Kings of l!nglan " I will to my |)ower cause Law and Justice ** in mercy to he executed in all iDy judgmenta. ** I promise to tihe utmost o»F my power to ^' maintain the Laws (jf God, the true profession *' of tlie Gospel, a^id the Proteslaiit r€/orme4 *^ Religion est a blUhal bif Law, "And 1 will preserve uuto the Bishops an|)eaieil likely to result. ThuJi have I endeavoured to brinu: into one view the several acts, which have asserted the power of parliament, to make laws restraining the lloyal prerogative and lirnitini^- the succes- sion to the crown, and at the same time defin- ing, enlarging, or ascertainingthe liberty of the people. These indeed do not form the consti- tution of our happy government of which we boast, nor any part of it ; but rather serve to prove it's beneficial fruits. Yet they may be considered of the next greatest value to the constitution itself as principal and fundamental Laws, touching the rights of the subject and the pre- rogative of the Sovereign. I have thought it incumbent on me to be more diffuse and par- ticular upon this head, on account of the mis- chievous and deceitful attempts which have been lately made, or rather renewed, to mislead the people, and particularly the inhabitants of this great city, attempts which I shall make it my further endeavour to expose. 1 30 My attention having been accidentally di- tected of late to this subject, it was not without surprize mingled with indignation, that I saw in the public papers, purporting to rehearse the speeches of Sir Fi .ncis Burdett, Mr. Maddox, and others at a meeting of a number of persons calling themselves " the friends of Reform," positions insinuated by Sir Francis, boldly as- serted by others of less name, probably through ignorance ; and solemnly and repeatedly sworn to, as -nuch as any man could voluntarily swear himself, by Mr. Maddox; positions however directly contrary to the truth. Sir Francis Burdett with much apparent art insinuated merely to others, who were not so well 1 Informed probably as himself, and impli- cated only what is not true. The resolutions proposed imderhis auspices rehearse the proposi- tion much as Sir Francis stated it ; — *• That by the act commonly called the act of " settlement, which placed the house of Bruns- ** wick on the throne of these realms, it was as- " serted and recognised as the constitutional " principle, that no person who has an office of ^' profit under the King, or receives a pension *' from the Crown, shall be capable of serving " as a Tvember of the house of Commons." How this matter really is, as far as it relates, or ever did relate, to the actual law and consti- tution of this country, I have already shewn at large. I apprehend, that Sir Francis Burdett and the.framsrs of these resolutions know that matter as well as any body; and that they could tell, if they would, what they have omitted^ and what on the otlier hand they meant their hearers to supply. It is impossible to suppose, that Mr. Maddox should be ignorant of this matter. Yet, when it came to his turn to speak, — and the strain to those who have a taste for fiction really is amusing, it h a perfect amoebaean, — * ir F.ancio [^raises the enlightened patriotism of Mr. Wardle. Mr. Wardle tha ; of Sir Francis. Mr. Maddox both; the one for the virtues of his private life, the other for his sweec eloquence in public. And we might compli- ment with equal justice Mr. Maddox himself in both respects, his eloquence and his virtue, '* Et vituU tu dignus et hie.'* 32 ■'till' * v.. it ll There is a proverbial saying I tluak among the Scotch, *' Yoa claw me, and I'll claw you :*' leaving therefore these orators to claw one another as they please, since such is the way with copartners in general in the pursuit of popular applause ; and i^l m^ans only not what they think of pp^, 9(tiot))^r, ^i^t what they think rather, every one of hijqasejf ; let us hasten to examine fac.^,af)d |Jjqy;,fpan^cr of stating them, by which m^anp^\^e,^U bp? best able to deter- mine what credit ^cy really deserve for sound judgment, and upright mind. «. , Sir Francis Burdett simply insinuates what is nc, true. The resolution proposed by Mr. Cartwright repeats it as an assertion in form< Mr. Maddox seconds the resolutions, and be- gins and ends his speech with a solemn assertion in the legal form of a sworn witness,-— . ^ , *' That the resolutions which he h^d the " honour of seconding, were the truth, the " ivhole truth, and nothing hut the truth," Whereas the fact is, that they contain in the particular point alluded to, in every clause just tlie leverse. An^^ this Mr. Maddox did know. .♦» 53 or he did not know. If he did, what credit can be given to such a man for integrity? If he did not, what for information? So that every way he is the last person, who should be trusted in such matters. It is also worth while to remark, that Mr. Aladdox is a Reformer, and that he sits for Bos- ton. Now Mr. Cartwright, says,* and Mr. Cart- wright once stood for Boston himself, that he understands " it to be the point of honour in a ' .^uston election, for every candidate who •' stands a poll, to give five guineas a man to all " such of the electors who vote for him, and " will accept the money ;" and that, because he (Mr. Cartwright) did not think proper to pursue this plan, he only got 59 votes out of 549.— How many votes Mr. Maddox got, and h >u many guineas by Mr. Cartwright's accoaJi^ ^5 nust have given, he did not tell the crood people at the Crown and Anchor. He only told them, that *' he;' this Mr. Maddox, * Mr. Cs pamphlet " Reasons for Reformation," page 11 ; but perhaps Mr. Cartwright does not speak " the truth, the " tt■/^ '7 truth, and nothing hut the truth." J) 34 I' '■I ^fcniljcr for Boston, *' had pledged himself io " a parliamentary reform !!! '' Since, however, I have made a more general charge of falsehood and misrepresentation against Sir Francis Burdett, it will not be im- proper, if I bring together the various [daces to which I allude, expose the spirit which pervades them, and endeavour to obviate and defeat the mischief that aeems intended. The hasty rhetorical relies of this faction, and the ephemeral productions of their pro- founder studies, which are printed for the benefit of the fund, are utterly incapable of any other answer. Visionary as they are, they have nothing of defined theory or abstract principle, which ofl'ers itself to our ex- amination. They propose no certain line of conduct to be considered. Full of words, but without argument, there is nothing to refute. These men indeed despise both theory and prin- ciple, practice and argument. Their cause is so strong forsooth, that it is independent of all such things. The necessity of their reform i*: so manifest; that it is incapable of being ex- I i\ A ^1 3.5 plained. The practice tliey would have us em- brace is so pure, so safe, so necessarily fortunate, that they dare not tell us what it is, lest we sliould be too soon surprised and frightened, But they deal largely in frothy declamation, and indefinite expressions; strong conclusions without regard to reason ; frrefragable proof without having heard either side of the question; and bold reiterated assertion without the least regard to the truth of fact. Such persons are incapable of an argument in answer, since they advance nothing distinctly on which to found it. If we argue with them, the labour is lost, " As easy may wc the intrenchant air " Witli our keen swords impress." They can only be dealt with by an exposure of their falsehood, their folly, and their ill-dis- guised intentions. The task would not be difficult in any of their speeches or publications, and were it not for the seriousness of the stake which itinvolves, it might be made the source of much amusement and recreation. The serious- ness of that stake however, forbids us to treat the subject with levity ; and the interest we all. 36 ■ t 'I have in it, gives every one a right to speak. In the part that I have undertaken, I shall con- fine myself to the proceedings of that meeting, which has accidentally crossed my view. The business of the day seems to have been opened after the diostT was removed, (for without dining nothing can be done,) by a toast from the Chair; ^' •• « - " The Kingf und the principles 'which seated ** his family on the throne*'* <. . i , We cannot give the king of this civic feast much credit for the loyalty of the first clause of this toast, until we have ascertained what his views were in the second, and in the manner of it's connexion with the first. The next toast which issued from holy Chair was ; !' '■^'■^'■ " The People, with three times three.'* And then followed the speech, which may be considered as addressed to the subject of the latter toast with reference to the fbrmer* In this we soon find the following expressions^ ' " Of late years — every period is marked with " some encroachment on the rights, with some f i 37 " deprivation of the coinforts, with some at- ** tempt on the property, and freedom of tlie " people. If we go back to the obsolete statute " Magna Cliarta^ to the Bill of Rights, and to ** the Act of Settlement, we shall there indeed see ** developed, thostprinmplci of British indepen- " dence, which fw>m tirwe) ittimemorial it has "been the pride of Britofie to assert. If "we read over the Eitl &f Jxights, and the " Act of Settlement, We^halt see that it was the " assertion o^ those principles, Avhich placed the ** present Royal Family on the Throne.'' Sir Francis Biirdett here says, that it was the assertion of the principks which are developed in Magna Charta, the Bill of Rights, and the Act of Settleine^W-which placed the present Family on the throne. To this we cannot possibly object. Only we object to Sir Francis Burdett s view of this business, and. to the in- ferences he with rhuch art would teach his audience to draw from it. lie calls Magna Charta ^* obsolete" with what view we shall pre- sently see. But in the mean time, we must just observe that if instead of saying, that from these 98 1.1 Laws " British independence,'' which is a vague term, had been developed, he hadsaid, that from thence was drawn those principles of eciual law, just Liberty, and safe Government, which are at this day the source of British happ:ncss and glory, his language would have been more cor- rect, and less liable to misapprehension and perversion. But this would not have suited his purpose. His purpose was to infer that all these principles have been, and are, by the King's government trampled under foot. He says, " that every period of late years is marked with " some encroachment upon the rights, Mith " some deprivation of the comforts, and with *' some attempt on the property and freedom "of the people;" insomuch, that Magna Charta is become ** obsolete.''' Now Sir Francis Burdett said not a word specifically of the enactments of Magna Charta, the declaration (^F the Bill of Rights, or the provisions of the Act of Settlement. He took it for granted, all these things were known to all men ; and he says simply, " if we look into *' them." However that might be with respect 39 to the multitude of his hearers, perhaps they arc as well known to us as to Sir Francis Bur- ik'tt himself; and we have looked into thcni, thou«!;h not at his hiddin^, nor with his eye. Let us see then how he j)roceeds to substantiate the inference, that these principles have been thus contemned and trampled upon, and things come to that pass, that exulting as in the tri- umph of a sound argument, he concludes; " our present situation being compared with "our former, we must needs be convinced, that " relief is only to be found" — in the adoption of the views of himself and ])is associates. lie begins therefore with a general assertion that, " Among various stipulations^ which King " William assented to as the conditions of his " ascending the throne of these Kingdoms, " there were many, which related to grievances *' at that time most oppressive, but which have ** since been so interwoven with the practice of " our government, that we scarcely mention " them as abuses, because we scarcely liope for " their redress." ■l '■i;v m * 40 • This extraordinary .sentence, if it luis any certain reference at all, must refer to the decla- ration of the Bill of Rights, in which however, as hath been shewn at large above, there is not a word of ** stipulatmr or '* condition' to be found. The grievances at that time, or rather that had been under James H^'tho most oppressive, so far from being' ihttwirovrn- with our present government, are themsdv^s become most truly obsolete, insomuch that it 6(rems futile to men- tion them any longer, as declarations of Right, being such as no one for the last 120 years has called in question, and no one has dared to transgress. Wc have only to refer to the declara- tions of the Act itself as aboi^e stated, where it is to be seen as well from the articles, as from their preamble, that by far the principal grievances then complained of, were those which related to the pretended power of sus- pending laM^s by Regal, authority without consent ^l Parliament, and of dispensing with the execution of Laws in like manner; the new erection of the court of conlmifision for ecclesiastical causes; the levying money ;,f^ 41 without the consent of Parliament; and the i\c* nial of the subject's rijjht of petitioning. These indisputably were the prominent pjrievances of the day; and they are bo literally become obsolete, and so very far from being inter- woven with our prraeut government, as Sir Francis Burdett uiiiirnis^ that it. is more than probable, that nkir lentiis of In» hearers never dreamt of Uicir l^tiBig exiiited. And be^ cause the very shadow of tliem' is unknown, therefore they are not complained of; not, as the speaker asserted, because from their in^ veteracy we scarce hope for tlicir redress, — a reason in this case the most absurd that ran be imagined, an \, .tofi^i' i -. % , Sir Francis Burdett knew what he was about, and he evidently sinned wilfully. He knew, 42 that the giiovanccs complained of in Kin/r James's government, wvic made the foundation of tiie declaration of the IVill of Uiohis. lie knew the article, which in that declaration related to the keeping of a standing army. But he suppressed the article itself, and heing pushed for proof, touched vaguely upon King James's practice, and left it to his audience to con- clude that the declaration of rights contained some such article as this; ** that keeping a ** standing army is illegal and agaiu.st the con- ** stitntion." 13ut what are the words of the real article M'hich he suppressed, hut which if he had given it, would have proved nothing? Its terms are these; " That keeping a standing army within the " Kingdom in time of Peace, unless it be with " consent of Parliament, is against Law." Now it is no less manifest, that the practice of the King's go»ernnient hath in no respect been contrary to this article of the declaration of the Bill of Rights, than that Sir Francis Burdettby direct implication hath asserted that 43 to he an article in ir, which he knew while he was uttcrinj^ it, did not exist. It is in vain thatthisCicntleinan ishcld Mj)t<)ns in private life as a model of truth and virtue, a Thilij) Sidney amoni^ his friends, an AIu;ornon to the people, M'hile such is his puhiic cone^(iy''tefefred for Mr. Maddox's sake, and nui[Mtwi/tfci9tandiiig the warn- ing which the;ttiiw9St.r wiU>ml»ti}be less terrible because it shall have bcenttso-l^ng delayed. But as things are at present, only let the attempts of that wild enthusiasm ii' politics, that lawlefis fanaticism in civil life, which hesitates at no means to attain it s object, which seems too plainly tQ '*. despise dominion," and loves to " speak evil, of dignities, '* only let these attempts be properly exposed, resisted, and suppressed; ' and» let. corruption, where it really exists, k, the. priv^^c bosoms of too large a portion of the People f be '.^onfeeted and re- formed ; and we may laugh to scorn even the gi »;antic power of the continental foe. But I am eetcringupon reflexions wliich seem proper to a conclusion, before I have done justice to £ 50 I my subject. I must recur again to the in- stances of false and malicious insinuation which made up the speech of the Chairman at the Crown and Anchor. • f > >' He says, that, " it is known to all, that the " present war originated with the defence of the '* King's German Domintoiilisi ! " He speaks of the House of Commbnsr itself with contumely and reproach dn account of the borough repre- sentation. And he speaks of it to the People as an infringement of the Constitution. Yet he knows well that, as long as the House of Commons has existed, that representation I ^s formed a part of it ; that, in the language of the Bill of Rights itself, it formed a part, and an essential part^ of " the lazi^ful, fully and free " representation of all the estates of the people of " this realm.",' ' '- And he knows that at the Revolution no- thing of thi^ sort wjtfr' made the subject of com- plaint as grievance; and that, had any persons then dared to calumniate that palladium of liberty and guardian of the people's right as he has done now, they would have stood in danger, with a vigorous and enlightened parhament, of a 51 very different sort of treatment from that wliich the modern patriot has received, and with the people themseh'ca would inevitably have been taken for dis<^uised Jacobites or madmen. It is barely necessary to recite the sentiments and assertions ofthis'Wduld^'be Jiefornier to ex- pose both their falsdtwwd' and absurdity. Who has not known theltmityrcif 'tjar Xaws, and the mildness of their exeoutioii? Who has not seen the thief escape for want of legal evidence, and knows not the acknowledged difficulty of bringing an oflcnder to justice? Who has not seen the liberty of the land abused to tlie mad purposes of sedition, until the passions of man- kind have been inflamed to blood, and then at last heard the disappointed authors of rebellion accusing government of the murder? But Sir Francis Burdett knows nothing of all that which all the world besides knows. He shame- lessly affirms, alluding to the Irish rebellion, to the trials of Tooke, Hardy, and, we must con- clude, (for hemakes no distinction or exception) to Despard and his associates, — , v ' " / cannot forget the long, the cruel, and the ** unjust imprisonment 'which individuals haie 52 ^■4 ** endured. I cannot forget the years which have ^^ passedy marked by the Government of this " Country^ with every trait which distinguishes " the conduct of the gffoernments of Countries, " that we have been in the habit of considering ** as under the iron hand of despotic power. Not " only have we seen innocent men enduring a " cruel and arbitrary imprisonment, but we " have seen our seas covered "iDith exiles, and our ** shores stained xvith blood'' — the blood of iiino- cents no doubt he means — *' for years and *^ years,'' he goes on, ^^ did the country endure *' the grossest violations of the Law, S^c. This no doubt alludes to the period sometimes called by this sort of declaimers " the reign of " terror," which at the utmost extended from the passing of the Treason and Sedition Bill, to the expiration of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act at the peace in 1801, and which the speaker here by a beautiful figure designates by ** years and yearsJ" * * Upon another occasion the King's German Legion, an use- ful body, but iu point of numbers a mere handful of men to our military establishment, is marked as " thousands of " thousands of foreigners in arms upon i one " that feareth ** God and c^chewetU eyil," and had found it necessary to mention certain scandalous prac- tices in high life at all, he would rather have expressed his sense of them in the spirit of the Roman poet, and said — " hoc fonte derivata *' clades ;" — but on the contrary, with all the malice and falsehood of an evil spirit, he de- clares: , ^,., ^ , ** I have no hesitation in saying that we " should even shut our eyes to those follies^ if on " the other side we saw our rights, our libertieSf " and our constitution respected. We are not. ** to expect from Primes, feelings and actions " equal to those of human beings in general, much " less superior^ We are willing to grant them ** indulgence, but we are only willing to grant it " on the security of our liberties and our rights,'' .15 Upon this most diabolical sentence, and upon the no less diabolical cmnpliment which fol- lows, I feel myself utterly unable to comment. One sentiment only fills my breast, and takes possession of my whole Soul, — horror of the corrupt heart, and indignation at the audacity and impunity of the ariVc^aker.' " '-' With Sir Francis Burdett individually I have* now done. I kntA^ Wthi itM but as he shewed himself in speech ; and I have read somewhere that " out of the fulness of the heart the mouth " spcaketh :" Sir Francis Burdett sought a place where he said publicly what it pleased him to say; and it hath been everywhere printed and dispersed. In the notice I have thought fit to take, I too have exercised the privilege of an Englishman, that of speaking what I think; a privilege of which I trust, notwithstanding the cant of these self-inspired prophets, neither sooner nor laicr we shall be deprived. The love of truth hath warmed me, and the impudent protrusion of falsehood hath provoked me. I have vindicated the honour of the chair I fill, and they, to whom I address myself, will testify that I have done my duty. ' 56 Having thus, I hope, satisfactorily exposed the gross misrepresentations of a set of per- sons, who, if they would be received as the Apostles and preachers of no neiv doctrine, but only of a just and rational reform, a ** renova- tion'' they say, of the ancient constitution, a " restoration" of that, which formerly existed, ought to be the most accurate and correct of all men in their account of things past; but having shewn how greatly they are deficient in this respect, and having thence inferred the insincerity of their professions in regard to the object which, they say, they would obtain, it only remains for me to endeavour to shew, what that object really is. In this attempt there is certainly more of difficulty, and less of ma- terial wherewith to work; but yet, I think, sufficient, to convince and to convict. None so foolish, runs the proverb, as the false. We have seen how shamefully deficient these persons are in truth; now let us try their wisdom. They seem indeed upon this occasion to have been somehow beyond measure elated, with a prospect they thought they saw of pre- sent success. They triumphed before the fight, 57 to the end, I trust, that we ruay triumph aftcr'xX. Watchful of events, and eaj^jcr ro ^^izc every opportunity, they gladly took advantage of a late enquiry, and used every means with the most industrious activity of publishing and magnifying the mischief. So much indeid of real infamy appeared ;— do not let me be mis- taken, — of infamy on tho part of the would-be dealers, and the number of /^/^yer?, gentlemen, who by becoming willing parties in that tralhck, where the thing offered for sale ought never to be bought, have shewn, that they valued pro- motion above principle, and have indeed sacri- ficed honour to obtain it; — the infamous deal- ings, which thus were brought to light, and the scandal which the conduct of great characters, whom I M'ill not insult the Almighty by sup- posing less capable of virtue, from the very eminence of their situation than other men, but of whom I should rather say, that the more therefore was required; — the scandal I say, which the conduct of great characters, and the detection and exposure of these things neces- sarily involved, had such an effect upon men's F o8 I I niimls, that the passions of the people were inflamed ; and, blinded by what they saw, they would not admit of a question being made of that, whieh v/as by no means proved to have existed. Thus did the reforming set easily contrive to procure popular resolutions from various quarters, London, Reading, and the rest, the striking* similarity of whose language argues them the production of almost one pen^ while the remarkable attenr.ion to veracihj and fact, which they exhibit, as strongly lead us to infer whose that pen was. However they came in from all quarters, and reformers intoxicated with their present success, proceed to develope other views in other measures. Although they did not think prudent even yet to tell the Peo- ple all at once the extreme object of their hopes and wishes, t^'^eir infatuation w"s so great that they plainly said l-o: and, if they have not explkitli) declared their views, nor said muchy the little they have said is worth attention ; and perhaps will open to us more than they may desire. - - Now I say, Reform is not their object ; 59 or, if it bf, it is that, which certain ancient writers would have called a reform zvhich is no reform. And this I mean to prove. When Mr. Wardle first made his attack upon H. R. II. the Duke of York in the house of Commons, a member* is said to have charged him with the views of a certain set of des- perate wretches, who some sixteen years ago, would have set the country in a flame, but for the vigour of the then adminisvration, and the good sense of the nation at large ; and to have declared, that he considered that attack as a preconcerted measure of the icviving party. I own, that not seeing the ne- cessary connection between the charge against his Royal Highness, and the views of this set, I for one thought the allusion to Mr. Wardle's prejudice unhandsome and unfair. I am now inclined to think, from what has since happened, that the honourable member, who made it, knew veil what he was about, and had suffi- cient grounds for the conclusion, and deserved not the obloquy that was cast upon him. • Mr. Yorkc. I ? 11/ :J 1 li' t .1 tt'l •ii GO Some such expressions as the following, are said to have fallen from Mr. Warclle in his speech at the Crow n and Anchor, where every thing seems to have been the effect of a pre- concerted plan, and the playing off of perfect parts previously gotten. * " Great numbers of pcoplcj" he said, *' not *' only in the metropolis, but all over the coun- " try had joined the standard of reform *' something rcas due to those xvho xverc iioivjoin- *' ing theJUf and they ought not to go any *' lengths to frighten them.'' This is too plain to be mistaken. If their object, if il/r. Wardlc's object, went no further than the apparent purpose of the meeting ; if they had no further lengths to go, the caution would have been altogether superfluous. But it seems there were other persons not then present, who suspected the probability of such really being the case. Mr. Cartwright read to the following * The general cry, when Mr. Cartwright proposed to put the resolutions singly, of " all, all" and whi'n Mr. Maudojc stated, that he had prepared u paper, which he declined to read and the cry forthwith of *' read, read," savour too strongly of the trick. 61 effect, purporting to be a letter from Mr. Fawkes of Farnly Hall, once member for Yorkshire; " The people of Yorkshire Mould not come *^ forward," I\Ir. Fawkes said, " //// they sazv ** 7tjhat zvas the conduct of the Reformers of the *' South. If they sent forth the genial heat, ** which belonged to the temperate zone of the ^^ British Constitution^ they ivould be joined; " but if it xvas the scorching heat of the Revolu- ** tionary furnace^ others would shrink back ^' from them.'' This conmiunication clearly betrays a donbt at least upon the minds of some persons, not twfriendly to reform^ what the intentions of these Rejormers of the South really were. What- ever therefore they may be, I infer, that they are not certainly ktiozvn even to the friends of Reform; I infer, that they are not ne- cessarily those, and those only, which ap- peared to be the purpose of the meeting at '■he Crown and Anchor. Still more, from Mr, JVardle's own words, I conclude, that there were " lengths'' in their contemplation^ to which if they proceeded hastily, they might alarm 6l2 ,||r!' the good people, who upon the Duke of York's business have too readily joined them. What these '* lengths'' are, and what the real object i**, remains to be discovered. Now there was yet further a very singular sentence delivered by the Chairman of this meeting, Sir Francis Burdett, which I have already noticed, but my observations on which I purposely reserved for this place. Sir Francis Burdett alluding to the sufferers in the Irish re- bellion, to the trials of Tooke, Hardy, Despard, and others here at home, said ; *' / do most sincerely believe that the only ob- *^jectf that the People had in view, at the period to " xvhich I have alludedt is the just and rational " object, the attainment of which xve have here ** met to facilitate.''' Nobody doubts that Sir Francis well knew the real object, to facilitate which the meeting at the Crown and Anc !ior was called together; which we have seen there is ground enough to conclude was not that simply, which was pro- fessed, namely, a just and rational reform. We all know what was the object, real and prC' 63 Is t iendedj of the Irish Rebels, and of the Con- spirators in this Cv)untry: and it may be pre- sumed, tliat Sir Francis Burilctt knoxos xchat they werc^ at least as xvell as we do. And he says, that " he verily believes they are both the samCy' that the object of the friends of reform now is no other than what was formerly the object of tlie Irisli Rebels and the English Conspirators. In the further prosecution of this enquiry, I assume therefore upon their own authority, rashly and unwillingly, I know, afforded ; — but upon their own authority I assume it, as a certain fact, that the real object of these sup- posed Reformers, is the same with that of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, M'Nevin, the two Sheares, O'Connor, Tooke, Hardy, Thclwall, Despard, and their associates. Upon this principle, to ascertain the real object of the " Friends of Reform," it will be only necessary to recall to mind the avowed objects, the proceedings, and the confessions of those "i/2W(?cew/ men," to whom Sir Francis Burdett alluded in his speech at the Crown and Anchor. •i 64 On referring to the history of the times these persons seem to form three distinCi Eodies; the pohtical societies of England and Scotland ; the society of United Irishmen; and the con- spirators engaged with Colonel Despard. * Colonel Ma'j w *' back the accusation and say ; no, wc want " on\y res /oral inn, — restoration in the coii^ti* " tution of the Country and of Pailianient:" as of a thing lost, and overwhelmed in corruption and abuse. Mr. Wardle declared that, *' till " the whole system teas chuugedy it mattered not ** to the people of England, who the ministers " were." And Mr. Hare Townsend improved upon the sentiment, and said, ** it mattered not " whether we fell to ajorcignfoe or to a minis- " ter at home." The same gentleman also agreed perfectly with Mr. Maddox that " no- " thing could be done in such a House of Com- '- mons unless backed by the peopleout of doors.''' And in the spirit of the sentiment he toasted Lord Cochrane, who was then present ;" " The gallant castigator of our foreign foes, *' and may he meet with equal success and better " support, when he joins the patriotic band " against our domestic enemies." So that from the similarity of their manners, 71 and from ihc'ir apparent views, Sir Francis Bur- dt'tt, if //«; kfiew nothings had grounds enough for ^' mosi sincere jj believing that the only ob- ** jcct the people had in view, at the period to ** which he alluded was the bumcju.'ii and ra^ *' lional ohjcct which the friends of reform had ** met on that day to facilitate." Colonel Despard's object was not reform but revolution. The object of the Irish, Scotch, and English Societies were the same; and of these last Ritform was tlic avowed pretext co- vering an ulterior object. From these premises argued upon their own words, we must ccrtaiidy conclude that the re^/ object of tiiis faction, Sir Francis Burdctt, and " the Friends of llelorm," /* not reform. " It was no temperate reform" Sir Francis himself said, " it was complete reformation alone ** which couhl benefit the country, it was a ^' substantive, just ^ and upright governynentj for ** which they must contend." Reform in par- liament is the cloke which these men hold up to their real designs ; it is the cry with which they endeavour to seduce the people; as their 7a prcilecessors did before them ; whose views they thc.nselves have identified with th.eir own. Presently they would throw off the mask, and proceed to greater *' lengths," as Mr. Wardle intimated; *' but now they had recently been " joined by great numberj?, whom they must *' not go any kjigths to frighten?'' No reform therefore would satisfy the Fac- tion. A change, a radical change in the con- stitution is their object ; which is not reform, but Revolution FINIS. J. Seelei/f Printer, Buckingham. -y 11. id He CII List ac- )n-