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 ■"- i» ■'.*"''■*-■■-■■■-. * "■ 
 
 POLITICAL PROGRES 
 
 ... • ' I 
 
 AN IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT 
 
 Of tu$ 
 
 principal Abuses in the GoVE|ii^EHT of this - 
 CounUyi from the Revolution in 1688. 
 
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 INTRODUCTION* 
 
 '.■>'♦ 
 
 WITHIN the laft hundred yea« of our hiftory, Britain hal 
 been live times at war with France> and fix times at war 
 with Spain. During the fame period, (he has been engaged in 
 two rebellions at home* befides an endlefs catalogue of maifa* 
 cres in Afia ind America. In Europe, the common price which 
 we advance for a war, has extended from one to three hundred 
 thoufand lives, and from fixty to an hundred and fifty millions 
 Uerling. From Africa, we import annually between thirty and 
 forty thoufand flaves, which rifes in the courfe of a century to 
 fX leaft three millions of murthers. In Bengal only, we de- 
 Uroyrd or expelled, within the (hort period of fix years, no lefs 
 than five millions of induftrious and harmlefs people * ; and ar 
 vre have been fovereigns in that country, for above thirty-five 
 years, it may be leafonably computed that we have ftrewed the 
 plains of Indoftan with fifteen or twenty millions ofcarcafes. 
 If we combine the diverfified ravages of famine, peftilence, and 
 the fword, it can hardly be fuppofed, that in thefe tranfadliont 
 lefs than fifteen hundred thouiand of our countrymen have pe« 
 riflied ; a number equal to that of the whole inhabitants of Bri- 
 tain who are at prefent able to bear arms* In Europe, the ha- 
 vock of our antagonifti has been at lead not inferior to our own, 
 fo that this quarter of the world alone has loft by our quarrels, 
 three millions of men in the flower of life ; whofe defcendants, 
 in the progrefs of domeftic fociety, would have fwelled into 
 multitades beyond calculation. The pesTons pofitively deftroyed 
 muft, in the whole, have exceeded twenty millions, or two hun> 
 dred thoufand.a^ of homicide /^r annum, Thefe vidlims have 
 been facrificed to the balance of power, and the balance of trade, 
 the honour of the Britifli flag, the univerfal fuptemacy of par- 
 
 * InfrS} chap. i. 
 
 : -iitji 
 
 
 liunent. 
 
 *f 
 
I i ] 
 
 ■■ ■~vm-y^<im-vur>r^.-j,-ammMiimrtitimtmim> 
 
 I' 
 
 {iamenfi and the fecurity if the Proteftant fiicceflion. If we aro 
 %o proceed: at this rate for another century, we may, which is 
 natural to ipankirid, admire otirfelves, and our atdiievementst 
 but every other nation in the world muft have a right to wifh 
 that an earthquake or a volcano may firft bury both iflands to« - 
 ge«her in the centre of the globe j that a fingle, but decifire ex- 
 ertion of Almighty vengeance may terminate the progress aqd 
 (he remembrance of our crimes. 
 
 In the fcal^ of juft calculation, the moft valuable commodity^ 
 ttext to human blood, is money. Having made a grofs eftimate 
 of the deftrui^ion of the former, let us endeavour to compute 
 the confumption of the latter. The war of 1 689 coft fixty roiK 
 lions of public money, and at the end of it, the public debt$ 
 amounted to twenty million's, or by another apcoiint^ lo be 
 feventeen millions and a half; fo that not more than one third 
 part of the expences were borrowed. In Quefen Anne's war^ 
 forty or fifty millions fterling were alfo funk in the fame martw 
 ner, befidcs about thirty millions, which were added to th* 
 former public debt« Very large fnms have fince been abforbed 
 in other wars, over and above thofe which were placed to the 
 AatioAal credit. In 1783, by the report of the commHIionets 
 of public accounts, the total debt* of Britain extended to twb 
 hundred and ^venty-nin* millions, fix hundred and ninety, 
 •fight thotifand pounds, though many millions have been paid 
 off in time of peace, by what is called the finking fund. Hence 
 we fee, that thisfum of mm hundred and feventy-nine ntillions is 
 much inferior to the aftual charges of thefc wars. The total 
 amount m&y be fixed fomewhere perhaps between four and fix 
 hundred millions. To this we muft fubjoin the value of fix- 
 teen or tvftTiXy thouf^tid merchant (hips taken by the enemy. 
 This diminutive article of fixty or an hundred millions would 
 have been fafiicient for tiani))oiting and fettling eight or twelve 
 hundred thoufimd farmers, widi their families, on the banks of 
 ' the Potowmack or the Mifiiffipi, By the ttporc above quoted^^ 
 we learn, that in 1785, the intereft of our public debts ex- 
 
 
 ^tK^-Sft, 
 
 t Memoirs of Britain 9ndIve^nd}Tol«ii^ 
 
J*"; WiMfPWWI^I'^ 
 
 ^«nd«4 
 
 ■ t s 1 
 
 fended to nine millions, and five hundred thoufand potimtily 
 . which is equivalent to an annual tax of twenty (hillings fer 
 hihA, on every inhabitant of -•Britain. The friends ofour intel- 
 ligent und. refpe^ble minifter, Mr, Pitt, make 4n infinite buftle 
 about the nine millions of debt which his ingenuity has difr 
 charged. They ought to arrange, in an oppofite column, a lift 
 of the additional taxes which have been impofed, and of the 
 myriads of families,, whom fucfa taxes have ruined. At beft| 
 we arc biit as a pcrfon transferring his money from the right 
 pocket to the left. Perhaps a Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 Vnight as well propofe to empty the Baltick with a tobacco* 
 pipe. Had the war with America lafted for two years longer, 
 Britain would not at this day have owed a {hilling ; and if we 
 Ihall perfift in ru(hing irko carnage, with out former contempt 
 of itll feeling and reflexion, it may ftill be- expeAed that, ac- 
 fsording to the practice of other nations, a fponge or a bonfire 
 will finiih the game of fundings 
 
 '' WhAt advantage has refulted to Britain from fuch inceflant 
 fcenes of prodigality and of bloodfhcd ? In the wars of I'iSg, 
 mnd 1701, this country Was neither more nor Icfs than an L b'f 
 iiotfe for the Emperor and the Dutch. The rebellion in 171 j^ 
 was excited by the de'fpotic irtfolence of the Whigs; The pur- 
 «h«fe of Brertieft and Verden produced tije Spanifli war of 1 7 1 8, 
 ■«tid ti fquadron'di^atched for fill: dillerent years to the Bakick. 
 ^eh exertions coft tes an hundred times mote than thefe qni^ 
 liiire Dutchies iire worth, even to the EleAor of Hanover; a 
 diilindlion which on this buline(s becomes neceflaiy, for as tt> 
 Britain, it was never pretended, diat we could gain a farthing 
 by filch an acquifition. In I'jt'ji the hUtion forced George thb 
 Firft into a war with Spain, which ended as ufual with much 
 ^ifehief on both fides. The Spanifti wai of the people ki 
 9759, and the Auftrian fubfidy war of the erown, which com- 
 meticed in 1741) were abfurd in their principles, and ruinoits 
 in their corifequehtes. At fea, wc met with nothing but hard 
 blows. On riie continent, we began by hiring the Queen of 
 Hungary to fight her own battles againft tl^e King of Pruflia ; 
 ffi{d ten yoM «^r tl^e win ^nded| we Mted die King of Praffia 
 
 'Pl' 
 
; [ 6 ] - 
 
 Tvith fix hundred and feventy-one thoufand pounds per annumt 
 to fight his own battles againft her. If this be not folly, what 
 are we to call it ? As to the quarrel of 175:44 " It was xe- 
 " marked by aU Europe," fays Frederick, *' that in her difpute 
 .« with France, every 'wrong ftep •was on the fide of England^* ' 
 fiy nine ye^rs of butchery, and an additional debt of feventy 
 millions ftcrling, we fecured Canada ; bat had Wolfe and hii 
 army been driven front the heights of Abraham, our grandfons 
 might have come too early to hear of an American revolution. 
 As to this event, the circumftances are too fho(;king for leflec- 
 tion. At that time an EngHfh woman had difcovered a remedy 
 for the canine madnefs, and Frederick advifes a French cor- 
 tefpondent to recommend this medicine, to the ii/e of the Parliament 
 of Englandy as thtymufi certainly, have heen bitten by a mad dog. 
 
 In the quarrels of the Continent we ihould concern ourfelvet 
 but little ; for in a de&nfive war, we may fafely defy all the 
 nations of Europe. When the whole civilized world was em- 
 bodied Under the banners of Rome, het Di^tor, at the head of 
 thirty thoufand veterans, difembarked for a fecond time on the * 
 •coaft of Britain. The face of the country was covered with a 
 foreft* and the folitary tribes were divided upon the old quef- 
 tion, Whojhall be. king f The ifland could hardly have attained . 
 ^to a twentieth part of its prefent population, yet by his own 
 jiccount, the invader found a retreat prudent, or perhaps neceip 
 .fary. South Britain was afterwards fubje^led, but this acquifi- 
 tioQ was the ta(k of centuries. Every village was bought -with 
 the blood Qf the legions. We may confide in the moderation 
 of a Romiui Hidoriani when he it to defcribe the difafters of 
 hi» countrymen. In a fingle revoltj eighty thoufand of the 
 Ufurpers were extirpated i and fifty, or, as others afErm, feventy 
 thoufand foldiers peri(hed in the courfe of a Caledonian cam- 
 paign. Do the iQafters of modern Europe underftand the art of 
 war better than Severus, ai|d Agricola, and Julius Ctefar ^ Is 
 smy combination of hunnan power to be compared with the tju 
 lents and refources of the Roman empire ? If our naked an-' 
 ceftors refifted and vanquifhed the conquerors of thefpecies* 
 ,5WlMt have we to fear from any antagonift of thia day ? On fix 
 .':'. monthi 
 
t 1 ] 
 
 4 
 
 feionths wafning we could mufter ten or twelve hundred thou-* 
 fahd militia. Yet, while the defpots of Germany were fight- 
 ing about a fubutb, the nation has condefcended to trembla fot 
 its exiftence> and the bloflbms of domeftic happinefs have been 
 blafted by fabfidies, and tide-waiters, and prefs-gangs, and ex- 
 cifemen. Our political and commercial fyftems are evidently 
 nonfenfe* We poffefs within this fingle iiland> every produc-' 
 tion, both of art and nature, which is necefTaty for the mod 
 comfortable enjoyment of life j yet for the fake of tea, and fu- 
 gar, and tobacco, and a few dther defpicable luxuries, we have 
 tsflied into an abyfs of blood and taxes. The boafted extent of 
 our trade, and the quarrels and public debts which attend ity 
 have raifed the price of breads and even of grafs, at leaft three 
 hundred /^r r«»/« . • _ 
 
 This pamphlet conflfts not of fluent declamation, but of curious 
 Authenticated and important fadls, with a few ihort obfervations 
 intetfperfed} which feemed neceflary to explain them. The 
 reader will meet with no mournful periods to the memory of 
 cnnual or /ri«««M/ parliaments } for while the members are men 
 fuch as their predeceflbrs have almoft always been, it is but of 
 fmall concern whether they hold their places for life, or but for 
 a fingle day. Some of our projeAors are of opinion, that to 
 Ihorten the duration of parliament would be an ample remedy 
 for all our grievances. The 'Advantages of a popular eledion 
 hivc likewife been much extolled. Yet an acquaintance with 
 Thucydides, or Plutarch, or Guicciardini, or Machiavel, may 
 tend to calm the raptures of a republican apoftle. The plan of 
 hniverfal fuiFrages has been loudly recommended by the Duke 
 of Richmond ; and, on the i6th of May 1782, that noblemauj 
 /econded by Mr. Home Tooke, and Mr. Pitt, was fitting in a 
 tavern, compofiag advertifements of reformation for the newf-> 
 papers. Mutantur Tempora. But bad his plan been 
 adopted, it is poffible that we fhould at this day, have looked 
 back with regret^ on the humiliating yet tranquil defpotifm of 
 a Scots, or a Comilb borough. 
 
 > The ftyle of this work is concife and plain ; and it is Loped 
 t^t it wiU be fqiind fuJicipntly refpe^ful to all paroes. The 
 

 , ..\ . ... '■.■«, 
 
 ^itellion to ^c decided is, are we to proceed with tlie w&r fy^cm \ 
 Are we, in the progrcfs of the nineteenth century, to embrace 
 five thoufand frcfh taxes, to fquander a fecond five hundred 
 millions ftcriingi and to extirpate twenty millions of pepple I 
 
 ii. i. 
 
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 CHAPTER 1* 
 
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 ' ' DuteK prtwivefs, Danifli wit) and Britiili policy* 
 ' Great nothing ! mainly tend to thee* kocHtsTEK* 
 
 THE people of Scotland arei on all occaiionsi fooliih enough 
 to intereft themfelves in the good or bad fortune of ail 
 £)ngli(h minifter ; though it does not appear that we have more 
 influence with fuch a nlinifteri than with the cabinet of Japan.. 
 To England we were for many centuries a hoftile> and we are 
 ftiil confidered by them as a fofeign, and in effed^ a conquered 
 nation. It is true) that we eledl very near a twelfth part of the 
 Britifli Houfe of Commons ; but our reprefentatives have no 
 title to vote) or adl in a feparate bodyi Every ftatute proceeds 
 upon the majority of the voices of the whole compound afTem- 
 bly t What) therefore^ can forty-ftve perfons accomplilh) when 
 oppofed to five hundred and thirtcert ? They feel the total in- 
 fignificance of their fituation) and behave accordingly. Ain 
 equal number of elbow chairs) plac<id once for all on the minif* 
 tefiai benches) would be kfs expenfive to government) and juft 
 about as manageable. I call thefe, and every minifterial tool o£ 
 the faxne kind, expenfive) becaufe thofe who are obliged to 
 
- ^— t 10 I 
 
 huyt mull be underilood to /ell*; and thofc who range theirt- 
 fclves under the banners of oppofltioni can only be confide redy 
 as having rated their voices too high for a purchafer in the par- 
 liamentary auction +. ' - " " 
 
 There' is a faOrionable phrafe, the politks of the county i <vhidt 
 I can never hear pronounced without a glow of indignation ; 
 compared with fuch politics^ even pimping is refpedlable. Our 
 fupreme court have, indeed, with infinite propriety, interpofed 
 to extirpate what are called in Scotland, parchment barons^ and 
 hive tlius prevented a crowd of unhappy wretches from plung- 
 ing into an abyls of perjury. But, in other /efpefls, their dc- 
 cifion is of no confequence, fmce it mod certainly cannot be of 
 the fmallell concern to this country, who are our eledors, and 
 reprefentatives ;' or, indeed, whether we are repiefented at alh 
 Our meirbcrs are, mod of them, the mere fatellites of the mi- 
 nifter of the day ; and forward to fcrve his moft opprcflive and 
 criminal purpofcs. 
 
 It feems to have been long a maxim of the monopolizing di- 
 redlors of our fonthern mailers, to extirpate, as quickly as pof- 
 fible, every raanufafturc in this country, that interferes with 
 their own. Has any body forgotten the fcandalous breach of 
 national faithr by which the Scottilh diftilleties have been 
 brought to dcftruftion ? Has not the manufaAure of ftarch alfo 
 l>ecn driven, by every engine of judicial torture, to the laft pang 
 of its exiftence I Have not the manufafturers of paper, printed 
 callicoes, malt liquors and glafs, been harraflcd by the moft 
 vexatious methods of exading the revenue } methods equivalent 
 to an addition of ten, or fomctimes an hundrifd per cent, of the 
 duty }iayable. Let us look around this infulted country, and 
 fay, on what manufadure, except the linen, government hat not 
 faftened its bloody fangs. 
 
 * «« Damn you and your inftrudions too, I have bought 
 «* you, and I will sell you," faid a ivorthjf reprefcntative to 
 his conftitucnts, when they rcqueftcd him to attend to their in- 
 tereft in parliament. Folitkal DiJ'fjtiiJitionsy vol. i. p. »8o. 
 
 f I'o this general ccnfure we can produce a few exceptions) 
 but thr; individuals are fo well knowu, that it would be ncedleft 
 to name them. 
 
 X^ 
 
 a 
 
range theitf- 
 
 confidcredy 
 
 r in the par- 
 
 unfyt tvliidi 
 ndignation ; 
 table. Our 
 I intcrpofed 
 harem, and 
 rom plung- 
 s, their de- 
 :annot be of 
 ledlorsi and 
 :nted at alh 
 i of the mi- 
 preflive and 
 
 polizin^ dl- 
 :kly as pof- 
 rfcres with 
 i breach of 
 have been 
 f ftarch alfo 
 he laft pang 
 jcr, printed 
 >y the moft 
 I equivalent 
 cf/if. of the 
 Quntry, and 
 lent has not 
 
 ; BOUGHT 
 
 entative to 
 o their in- 
 280. 
 
 exceptions* 
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 In the Excifc annals of Scotland, that year which expired 011 
 the 5th of July 1 790, produced for the duties on foap, ^fixtj- 
 P'iie thou/and pounds. Oft the 5th of July 1791. the annual 
 amount of thefe duties was ov\y forty-five thou/and pounds; and 
 by the fanae hopeful progrefs, in three years more at fartheft, 
 our minillers will enjoy the pleafure of extirpating a branch of 
 trade, once flouriflung and extenfive. Two men were fome years 
 $go executed at Edinburgh for robbing the Excife Office of 
 twenty>feven pounds ; but offenders may be named, who ten 
 thoufand times better deferye the gibbet. We have feen that 
 oppreffive flatutes, and a method of enforcing them, the moil 
 lyrannical, have, in a Single year, deprived the revenue of 
 twenty thoufand pounds, in one line only, and have driven a ' 
 crowd of induftrious families out of the country ; and then our 
 legifiators, to borrow the honeft language of George Rous, Ef^, 
 «* have Hjie infoience to call this g o v t r n m e n t." - " •" • 
 
 By an oriental monopoly, we have obtained the unexampled 
 privilege of buying a pound of the fame tea, for fix or eight 
 Ihillings, with which other nations would eagerly fupply us for 
 twenty-pence ; nay, we have to thank our prejcnt illuftrious 
 minifter, that this trifling vegetable has been reduced from * 
 price ftill more extravagant. His popularity began by the 
 commutation adt. Wonders were promifed, wonders were ex- 
 pe(f\ed, and wonders have happened ! A nation, confifting of 
 men who call themfelves enlightenedt have confented to build 
 up their windows, that they might enjoy the permifllon of fip- 
 ping in the dark a cup of tea, ten per cent, cheaper than for- 
 merly ; though not lefs than three hundred per cent^ dearer than 
 itsintrinfic price. 
 
 Such are the glorious confequcnces of ourftapid veneration for 
 a minifter, and our abfurd fubmiflion to his capricious didUtes I 
 
 At home Englifhmen admire liberty ; but abroad, they have 
 always been harlh mafters. Edward the Firft (Conquered Wales 
 and Scotland ; and at the diftance of five hundred years, his name 
 in yet remembered in both countries with traditionary horror. 
 His actions are (haded by a degree of infamy uncoixunoi) evei^ 
 jyp tl^c ruflian catalogue of Englifh kings* 
 
 3 ? . ' Th» 
 
 • \ 
 
[ 
 
 12 
 
 ] 
 
 The rapacity of the black Prince, as he has been emphati- 
 cally termed, drove him out of France. At this day, there are 
 Englifti writers who pretend to be proud of the unprovoked 
 maffactes committed by his father and himfelf in that country ; 
 but on the other hand, Philip de Comines afcribes the civil 
 wars of York and Lancafter, which followed the death of Hen- 
 ry the Fifth, te^he rhdignation of divine juftice, 
 
 Ireland, for many centuries, groaned under the moft oppreflive 
 and abfurd defpotifm ; till, in defiance of all coofeqi\ence$} th« 
 immortal Swift, like another Ajax, "^" ■ ■» •■'■^^' *-'.*' 
 
 ' <* Broke the dark phalanx, and let in the light," 
 
 He taught lus country to undcrftand her importance. At lad 
 £he refolved to afTert it, and, as a neceiTary circumftance, iho 
 arofe in arms, England faw the hazard of contending with a 
 brave, an injured, and an indignant nation. The fabric of ty- 
 ranny fell without a blow ; and a (hort time will extinguilh the 
 lad velHge of a fupreinacy, difnonourable and pernicious to 
 both kingdoms. 
 
 In the taft and Weft Indies, the conduft of Britain may ba 
 fairly contrafted with the murder of Atabaliba, and will prove 
 equally ruinous to the detefted conquerors*. . :^ ., .. ,f 
 ., When our fublime politicians exult in the viftory of Seringa- 
 patam, and the butchery of the fubjedls of a prince, at the d^i 
 
 * « The civil wars to which our violent dcfirc of creating 
 •* Nabobs gave rife, were attended with tragical events. Ben. 
 ** gal was depopulated by every fjiecies of public diftrefs. In 
 « the fpacc oijix years, half the great pities of this opulent 
 « kingdom were rendered dcfolate ; the moft fertile fields in the 
 *' world lay wafte ; and five millions of harmlef; and in- 
 *' duftrious people were cither expelled or dcftroyed. Want of 
 ** forefight became more fatal than innate barbarifm ; and men 
 '< found thcmfelves wading through blood xx^ ruin, when their 
 «f only objeft was y/a/7," Do-w's llijfory of Inde^any vol. iii. 
 p. 70* This book was publilhed in j 1^72, and the prefent quo- 
 tation refers to our conduct at that period. 
 
 In this dreadful fcene, the moft diftinguifhcd aAor was Lord 
 Clive. But neither four millions fterling, nor even iionjenfe 
 
 auantities of opium could ftifle in his bolom the agonies of rct 
 e^on. In 1 77^ he ?« Ml own throat, 
 
•en emphati- 
 ay, there are 
 unprovoked 
 hat country ; 
 )cs the civil 
 eath of Hen. 
 
 oft oppreflive 
 
 squencesf tha 
 
 ', ■ ■ >•»••»,'«■> •■■■' 
 
 ce. At laft 
 mftance, ftio 
 idin^ with a 
 fabric ofty- 
 xtinguilh tho 
 ernicious to 
 
 itain may be 
 id will prove 
 
 y of Seringa^ 
 
 it at the d^- 
 
 ■ — p— 
 
 '. of creating; 
 vents. Ben, 
 diftrefs. In 
 this opulent 
 e: fields in the 
 )lef$ and in- 
 d, Want of 
 m ; and men 
 when their 
 flan, vol, iii. 
 prefent quo« 
 
 or was Lord 
 en inanjenfe 
 ;onies of re-« 
 
 t«nc9 
 
 [ >3 ] 
 
 t*ncc of fix thoufand leagues, I am convinced from the bottom 
 of iijy heart, and fo will the majority of my countrymen be, 
 long before this century has elapfed, that it would be an event, 
 the moft aufpicious both for Bengal and for Britain, if Corno 
 wallis and all his myrmidons could be at once driven out of 
 India. 
 
 But what quarter of the globe has not been convulfed by out 
 ambition, our avarice, and our bafenefs ? The tribes of the 
 Pacific ocean are polluted by the moft loathfomc of difeafes ; 
 our brandy has brutalized or extirj^ted the Indians of the weft- 
 em continent ; and we have hire<![ by thoufands the wretched 
 furvivors to the taflc of bloodihed. On the (hores of Africa, 
 we bribe whole nations by drunkennefs, to robbery and mur-' 
 der ; while in the face of earth and heaven, our fenators aflTem- 
 ble to fanftify the pradice. 
 
 Our North American colonies were eftabliihcd, defended, 
 and loft, by a fucceflion of long and bloody wars, and at a re- 
 corded expence of af leaft two or three hundred millions fter- 
 ling *. We ftill retain Canada, at an annual charge of fix or 
 feven hundred thoufand pounds. This fum is wrefted from us 
 by an excife, which revels in the dcftruftion of manufadlures, 
 and the beggary of ten thoufand honeft families +. From the 
 province itfelf we never raifed, nor hope to raife, a (hilling of 
 revenue ; and the fole reafon why its inhabitants endure our 
 dominion for a month longer is, to (ecure the money we fpend 
 among them. '",..'.,» 
 
 • In the war of 1775:, Britifti officers pilfered books from a 
 
 Cublic library, which nad been foanded at Philadelphia by an 
 idividoal more truly eftimable than many of the whole profef« 
 fion put together ; I need hardly fubjoin the name of Franklin. 
 
 + Look into Kearfelv's or Robertfon's tax-tables: What 
 concifc ! what tremenduous volumes ! When our pditicat 
 writers boaft of Briiifti liberty, they remind us of SmoU<t's€ob« 
 ler in BedUm bombarding Conftantinople. If the vi^tinM who 
 groan under our yoke, were acquainted with the oonfufion ard 
 ilavery which our avarice or mad ambition have inflifled on 
 Durfelres, a very confiderable (hare of (heir abhorrence woukl 
 \ft converted ioto conlciopt or pit/. 
 
 tt-TOil »> 
 
 CHAP* 
 
<^'.- 
 
 I H ] 
 
 
 
 y^l.*$'''j 
 
 ,,r:;yv;>./:!; :,;,;.;/ .Vj/ >. CHAP II. S^i vJ.tVvC.A.-v; ^t>,;i 
 
 it; 
 
 .■ ; -T' , 
 
 
 tl'^'J li (fss't'*! tci •1., /lit-, ■ u .J' . t i>- •► (•nj-.JiJ'^^ii iv:*,;^i,C»i* 
 
 "tc iatj'ii •Hfe- jiiiO 
 
 ',/ '! ^lii^it .Vlvfl^'':''i'/ ^ ' 
 
 r,: Tis time to take enormity by the forehead and brand it* - 
 
 -«'. "^^^ p,.*",'i ,.,n' ^ ,*)»Y^.;».,) T «, ; Be n Johnson* - 
 
 <* "TXURING the reigns of Charles and James the Second, 
 (( ±^ above fixty thoufand Nonconformifts fuffered, of 
 « whom^^i;^ thou/and dikd in prison. On a moderate com- 
 « putation, thefe perfons were pillaged o£ fourteen mi^li- 
 " ONS of property. Such was the tolerating, liberal, candid 
 " fpirit of the Church of England*'" This eftimate cannot 
 be intended to include Scotland, for it is likely that here alone, 
 Epifcopacy facriBced ilxty thoufand vidlims. Of all forts of fol- 
 lies, the records of the Church form the mod outrageous bur^* 
 lefque on the human underllanding. As to Charles the Second, 
 it is full time that we (hould be fpared from the hereditary in- 
 fult of a holiday, for what Lord Gardenftone has jufily termed 
 
 « his BANEFUL RESTORATION." - . , ., . 
 
 It is vulgarly underllood that our political millenium com- 
 menced with <* the glorious Revolution," Let the reader judge 
 from what follows, 
 
 « Two hundred thoufand pounds a year htftvwed upon the 
 ** parlianuHti have already (1693) drawn out of the pockety 
 <( of the fubjedls more money than all our kings Jince the Con- 
 ** qutft have had fnm the nation! — ^The King (William) has 
 *< about fix fcore members, whom I can ireckon, who are it| 
 « places, and are thereby fo entirely at his devotion, that though 
 *^ they have mortal feuds, 'when out eftbt Houfe^ and though 
 <• they are violently of oppofite parties, in their notions of go« 
 •» vemment, yet they vote as lumpiogly as the latun Jleevet, 
 «^ The Houfe isfoo^r^r^-iby thofe who have places and pen** 
 ♦ .i ■ I , . .1 I -I . 
 
 ♦ Fide Flowei on ihp French Cooftitution, p. 437, and hli 
 Authorities, - .. - 
 
[ >5 I 
 
 4 
 
 *f lions, that the King can baffle any bill> quafli all grievances, 
 «* and ftiflc all accompts *." 
 
 A pawnbroker defcfcnding from the pillory would not bw- 
 fufFcred to rcfume his profeflion. A porter convifted of theft, 
 would be deprived of his ticket. We might be tempted to rma-' 
 gine, that a folicitude to embrace pollution, can hardly exift 
 even in the meaneft and mod worthlefs rank of mankind. It 
 feems incredible, that an aflembly confifting of Gentlemen, (hall 
 firft by a folemn vote difcTiarge one of their members as a raf" 
 taly and in a (hort time z^ltx, place him at their head. That fuclv 
 A cafe has aftually happened, appears upon record. 
 ' In the year 171 1, the Houfe of Commons refolved, " That 
 « Robert Walpele, Efquirei having been this feflion of parfia.- 
 « liament committed a prifoner to the Tower, and expelled this 
 <* Houfe for a breach of triifi in the execution of his ofGce, and 
 « NOTOfcrous CORRUPTION, whch fiecretarj' at War, was, 
 « and is incapable of being cleAed a member to ferve in this 
 « prefent parliament." Such an expulfion would for ever h^ve 
 bolted him out of any fociety but a Britifh fenat'e. In 1 7 1 5, 
 when a new parliament was called, he refumed his feat. He 
 I'ofe fuperior to competition ; and the end of his career was 
 worthy of his outfet. Yet his charafter can lofe nothing by a 
 comparifon with that of his conftituents, the burgefles of Lynn, 
 who attempted inftaatly upon his expulfion, to return him a fe- 
 cond time as their reprefentative, but their choice was rejeftcd. 
 Nor was it becaufe Walpole had pilfered five hundred guineas 
 that he was expelled and fent to the Tower. He was a Wbi;^, 
 Ind at that time the majority in the Houle of Commons were 
 Tories, This was regarded as the true caufe of his fentcnce +. 
 
 ^ ■ .....— .. — ..,.■■.— ^ — 1^., ^m ■ I- ■ ..^ ■ 1^ ■- 111!.— ' 
 
 , * Burgh's Political Dilquifitions, vol. i, p. 405. 
 
 + George the Second, on his acceflion, had refolved to dif- 
 mifs Walpole. The minlilcr offered on condition of keeping his 
 place, to obtain an addition of an hundred thoufand pound* /(t 
 annum to the civil lift, and a jointure of an hundred thoufand 
 pounds to Queen Caroline. His terms were accepted. It it 
 impoflible for the human mind to conceive a more fordid tranf- 
 aftion. Edmund Burke, in what he calls an appeal to the old 
 whigs, has gravely aflured us, that " Walpole was an honour- 
 *' able man, and a/ounJ whig. He was not a prodigal and cor- 
 "f ru/t minifter. He was far from governing by corruption." 
 
 The 
 
K; 
 
 i! 
 
 , 
 
 . t '6 ] 
 
 T • • 
 
 *f1ie Earl of V^Tiarton, another "whig ^ was fined in a thoufanci 
 J^unds for an outrage too grofs to be repeated. This did net 
 deprive him of his feat in the Houfe of Peers, nor impede hia 
 progrefs to the go\ emment of Ireland^ where his condudl rivalled 
 that of Rumbold in Bengali or Vfcrres in Sicily* — About the 
 y9ar 1770^ General Burgoyne was fined in a thoufand pounds 
 for bribery at an eledion for Frefton. He enjoys a feat in tliA 
 preleiit parliament. & ,. ; ^ f'^^* ,, ,.. ./\ .lik... 
 On the fubjeft of parliamentary corruption, no writer has 
 ipoken with more franknefs and perfpicuity, than Mn Dodding- 
 ton,^ in his celebrated Diary. In a converfation with the Duke 
 of Newcaflle, in 1753, about anele^ionfor Bridgewater, therd 
 is the following curious paflage : " I recommended my twq 
 « parfons, Burroughs and Franklb< The Duke entered into 
 « it very cordially, and anfwered me* that they fliquld have 
 '< the firfl crown livings that (hould be vacant in their parts, \i 
 « we would look out and fend him the firil intellLgence." And 
 again, « Mr. Pelharo declared, that I had a good deal of 
 *' marketable 'warti't ht,\.Mi.\A^nt Kw Interest, and that if 
 " I would empower, him to offer it all to the King, nuitbout 
 *' conditioHSt he would be anfwerable to bring the affair to a good. 
 « account. — ^The Duke of Newcaffle faid, that what I did waa ' 
 vety greati that he often thought with furprife, at the eafe 
 and cheapne/s of the elcftion at Weymouth, that they had 
 NOTHING like it. I faid, I believed there were few who 
 could give his Majefty six members for nothing* — ^The elec- 
 <' tion coft me three thoufand four hundred pounds. I waa 
 fairly chofcn, nor would the returning officer have dared not 
 «« to return me, had he not been encouraged by the fervants of 
 «« adminiftration. The borough was loft, and loll folcly by a 
 *' Lord of the Bed-chamber, and the Cuftom-houfc Ofiicen/*. 
 (Par mbile fratrum ! ) « Lord Bute had toU Anfon, that 
 « room muft be made for Lord Parker ; who replied, that all 
 «* was engaged. Bute faid, What, my Lord, the King's Aimi* 
 ■<« ralty borottghs fully and the King not acquainted 'with it I AlW- 
 '^ fon feemcd quite difconcerted, and knew not what to fay */* 
 
 ■I II ■■ ■■■■■! ■■■■HI . ■I.— . — .I 11 ■ ■■■ ■■..III ■■■! I !■ i ^ 
 
 ? Doddington's Diarj', 3d cd, p. 256, 283, 293, 3091 tt/eq, 
 
 Thit 
 
 « 
 
 <( 
 
 (( 
 
 (( 
 
 it 
 
[ >7 ] 
 
 in a thonhnd 
 This did net 
 r impede hit 
 iduft rivalled 
 -About thci 
 ufand pounds 
 a feat in thci 
 
 .,:t ^s^u 
 
 writer has 
 lii Dodding> 
 th the Duke 
 ewater, theri 
 ded nay twq 
 entered into 
 ' fliQuld have 
 leir parts, if 
 ;cnce." And 
 ;ood deal of 
 » and that if 
 ing> luitlMut 
 air to a good 
 lat I did waa ' 
 f at the eafe 
 hat they had 
 :re few who 
 . — ^The elec- 
 indsj I wai 
 ire dared not 
 ; fcrvanti oi 
 folcly by a 
 fe Officen/'. 
 AnfoQ, that 
 ied, that all 
 ^ing't Admi* 
 tbitl An* 
 itiofayV* . 
 
 ■ I I ■ 11 I i^fc 
 
 309, ttfeq, 
 Thii 
 
 by Mr* Courfnevi 
 
 *rhis agrees cxaftly with the account gi 
 in a late debate in the Houfe of Commons, where he obferved, 
 that members came into parliament with a label at their mouths, 
 infcribed, Yesi or No, The ftate of Britilh reprefentation has 
 been often examined and cenfured; A few particulars may ferve 
 as a fpecimen of the reft; 
 
 England is faid to contain eight millions of inhabitants, who 
 fend to the Houfe of Commons five hundred and thirteen mem- 
 bers. At this rate, every million ought, upon an average, to 
 chufe fixty-ifour rcprefentatives. The cities of London aiid 
 Weftminfter contain between them, about a million of people^ 
 I who eledl not/'x/y-yiar, baty?;*' members for parliament. The 
 
 borough of Old Sarum, which contains only om inhabitant, 
 fends /two members. 
 
 On this topick, a (hort extraft from Mr. Burgh's Political 
 Difquilitions, may entertain the reader. — « Two hundred and 
 « fifty-four members are ekfted by five thoufand feven hundred 
 ** ^nd twenty-three votes ; now, the moft numerous meeting of 
 <' the Commons ever known, was on occafion of the debate 
 « about Walpole, A* D. 1741. There were then five hundred 
 *< and two in the Houfe. Therefore, two hundred and fifty- 
 « four comes very ricar a majority of the Houfe, or the ijchole 
 ;,y: « ailing-KcA efficient number. And the greateft part of thefe 
 
 •i ** illuftrious five thoufand feven hundred and twenty-three^ 
 
 " who have the power of conftituting lawgivers over the pro- 
 ** perty of the nation, are themfelves perfons of no property *." 
 
 The writer has here committed a flight inaccuracy ; for, in 
 the debate about Walpole, thefe two hundred and fifty-four 
 members, who are not, in faft, eleded by a two hundredth part 
 of the nafion, would hive ftemed an adtual majority of fljC 
 votes againft the whole other rcprefentatives in the Houfe. In 
 the year 1770, the Englifli nation becdme jealous that their 
 liberties were in danger, becaufe Government had interfered in 
 the ele^ion of Mr. Wilkes, as a member for the county of Mid* 
 dlefex. The letters of Junius are chiefly employed upon this 
 
 Political Difquifitions, vol« i, p. 4j;. 
 
 •.". 
 
 topic. 
 
r '8 } 
 
 topic» Junius, with all his merit, refcmblcd' a barbcrr whey 
 plucks out a lingle hair^ when he ought to be (having your 
 beard. It could not be of the leaft confequence to the county 
 of Middlefex, nor is it of any concern to any other county in 
 England, who are their reprefentatives, fince the two hundred 
 and fifty. four members who are elefted by a two hun- 
 dredth PART of the nation^ and the forty-fire make -weight 
 Scotch members, arc alone fufficicnt to infure a majority. The- 
 fubje<fl is too abfurd to admit of an argument, and too detcfta- 
 blc for declamation. If Government were candidly to fend 
 two hundred and fifty-four excifemen» or clerks from the Bank 
 of England, into parliament, in place of thefe two hundred and 
 fifty-four members,, it would fave the expence of elcftion, and 
 a great part of the ncccflary expence of corruption.. It is true,, 
 that the matters of rotten boroughs arc often inrolled in the 
 ranks of oppofition ; and among others, the Eari of Chatham 
 began his progrefs as a member for Old Sarum. But an oppo- 
 fition always confifts, in part, of adventures, wjio^ as Dr. John- 
 fon obfcrves, " having eftimated fhemfelves at two high a pricet, 
 « are only angry that they are not bought *." There is a cant 
 cxprcflion in this country, that our Government is defervedly 
 the ivonJer and envy of the world. With better rcafon it may be 
 faiJ, that Parliament is a mere outwork of the court, a pha- 
 lanx of mercenaries embattled againft the reafon, the happinefs, 
 and tlie liberty of mankind. The game laws, the dog aft, rfie 
 (hop tax, the window tax, the pedlats tax,, the attorney tax,. 
 and a thoufand others, give us a right to wifh that their au- 
 thors had been hanged. 
 
 Vide 
 
 Falfc 
 
 Alarm 
 
 .'■- .ii-. 
 
 4' m.- '^ 
 
 - 
 
 ,' ' •' ,'- 
 
 - f 
 
 
 
 -I ' 
 
 CHAPf 
 
rbcr, wficy 
 ving your 
 the county 
 
 county in 
 •o hundred 
 
 wo HX7N- 
 
 ike -weight 
 ity. The 
 DO detcfta- 
 y to fend 
 the Bank 
 mdred and 
 rftion, and 
 It is true,, 
 led in the 
 Chatham 
 t an oppo- 
 Dr. John- 
 gh a pricei, 
 re is a cant 
 defervedly 
 I it may be 
 lit, a pHa. 
 happinefs, 
 (gad, rfie 
 jrney tax,, 
 their au- 
 
 ! .-feV 
 
 CHAP* 
 
 •» 
 
 t »9 ] 
 CHAP. Ill, 
 
 -Felicior effem 
 
 Anguftis opibas : maliem tolerare Sabinos* 
 Et Vejos : brevior duxi fecurius asvum. 
 Ipfa nocet raolev 
 
 ClAVDIAK. 
 
 IT is now eighty-eight years fince * we furprifed Gibraltar, 
 Wc have retained this barren, ufelefs rock, under the pre- 
 tence of protefting our trade in the Mediterranean; and it is 
 even a forry conceit in Britain that we are thus mailers of a kind 
 <of toll-bar to the entrance of that fea. Had the paffage been 
 only five hundred yards wide, this fancy would have had fome 
 foundation. But, unfortunately, the Strat'f, as we call it, is 
 twenty miles in breadth ; fo that all the (hips in the world may 
 pafs it every day, in contempt of all our batteries. As to the 
 proteftion of our merchants, it is equally fuperfluous, for out 
 commerce to that part of Europe was far more extenfive, long 
 before we poffcffed Gibraltar, than it is at this moment + ; and 
 this unqueftionable faft proves the abfolute impertinence of the 
 whole fcheme. A plain comparifon from domeilic life will il- 
 Juftrate what I fay. Let us put the cafe, that a private gentle- 
 man is like Britain, overwhelmed with debt. He builds and 
 fumifhes a handfome inn on the road to his country feat, and 
 he gives the premifes to his butler^ with a penfion of five hun- 
 dred pounds, on condition, that in dirty weather, he (hall be 
 fuftered to pull off his boots in the kitchen. But were even the 
 port of Gibraltar funk to the centre of the earth, we can have 
 no want of flielter at the (horteft diftance. There are three 
 ports on the oppofite fide of the Strait. Befides, we ca.^not re- 
 jtain this fortrefs, nnlefs we preferve a fuperiority at fea, and as 
 
 * In 1704. 
 ' + This circumftance has been fully explained by Dr^ Adam 
 ^mith; ia his Inquiryi book 4^ chap, 7, 
 ^•-VT . C 2 long 
 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 long as we preferve that fuperiority, Gibraltar is of no confc* 
 quence. For the memorable progrefs of Admiral Blake on the 
 coaft of Barbary provesi that while we can launch a vi*Storious 
 navy, manned as it is by a race of veterans beyond all praife, 
 ive can always command a free navigation in every harbour of 
 the globe. So much for the importance of this boafted acqui- 
 fition. Let us now confider its expence ; and on this head the 
 reader may, if he thinks proper, prepare himfelf for aftonifh- 
 mcnt. The fortrefs, for a long period paft,has coft us five hun- 
 dred thoufand pounds a year, befides the extraordinary advances 
 in time of war, and the fums which the garrifon, by fober in- 
 duftry, might have earned at home in time of peace. For the 
 fake of moderation, let us compute that Gibraltar, during the 
 whole fpace of our poflefllon, has required, upon an average, 
 only two {lundred thoufand pounds per annum ; on multiplying 
 fhis fum by eighty-eight, we are prefented with an amount of 
 feventeen millions and fix hundred thoufand poinds llerling. 
 Could the premifes be difputed, the total expence would ex- 
 ceed credibility ; for at the rate of five per cent, of compound 
 intercft, a fum doubles itfelf in fourteen years ; and, confe- 
 quently, in the courfe of eighty-four years, from 1704, to 1788, 
 the firft payment of two hundred thoufand pounds will increafc 
 to twelve millions and eight hundred thoufand. The fimple 
 intereft of this fum, for the four additional years, from 1788 to 
 1792 inclufive, amounts to two millions five hundred and fixty 
 thoufand pounds, ar^d the whole arifes to fifteen millions three 
 hundred and fixty thoufand pounds. This, however, concerns 
 only one year of our conqueft. The firft four years extend in 
 the whole to fifly-ftrven millions and fix hundred thoufand poundf 
 fierling, Another lofs alfo muft be taken into this unfathom- 
 able accoinpt. The garrifon of this fortrefs confifts always of 
 at leaft four thoufand men, and fometimes of more than twice 
 that number. An ordinary workman can earn ten (hillings a 
 week, and the labour of four thoufand fuch workmen is worth 
 |o the public above an hundred thoufand pounds per annum. 
 This adds one third part more of additional lofs. The total 
 f xi)ence therefore, vrhich this acquifition cx)}aufted in the fiift 
 
 • ■ \ ... fowf 
 
 ■k. 
 
is of no confc, 
 il Blake on the 
 ch a vi»Jlorious 
 )nd all praife, 
 cry harbour of 
 boafted acqui- 
 I this head the 
 f for aftonilh- 
 ift us five hun- 
 nary advances 
 by fober in- 
 ace. For the 
 ar, during the 
 1 an average, 
 1 multiplying 
 an amount of 
 unds fterling. 
 ce would ex- 
 of compound 
 ; and, confe- 
 704, 101788, 
 will increafc 
 
 The fimple 
 from I -788 to 
 red and fixty 
 millions three 
 ftXy concerns 
 jrs extend in 
 7u/an(i poundt 
 is unfathom- 
 (Is always of 
 ; than twice 
 n (hillings a 
 nen is worth 
 per annum. 
 
 The total 
 1 in the fiift 
 
 f9»f 
 
 [ 21 ] 
 
 four years only, including the legal intereft of our money do^vm 
 to this day, cannot have been lefs than eighty-Jix milliont 
 four hundred thou/and pounds. We are likewife entitled to 
 compute not only what we have pofitively loft, but what we 
 might with equal certainty have gained. Britain and Ireland 
 contain about an hundred and four thoufand fquare miles, and 
 if this fum of eighty-fix millions four hundred thoufand pounds 
 had been expended on the purpofes of agriculture, it would 
 have fupplied a fund of eight hundred and thirty pounds fter- 
 ling for every fquare mile. Hence, inftead of an intereft of 
 five per cent, the funds thus employed would hav^ returned 9. 
 profit oi ten or tiuentj^ or perhaps oi Jlfty per cent. 
 
 The reader may profecute, and contemplate the fequel of 
 this calculation. All the current calh in Europe, or in the 
 world, would come infinitely (hort of difcharging fuch a reck- 
 oning. Britain may be fuppofed at this time to contain about 
 fifteen hundred thoufand families, befides thofe who are fup- 
 ported upon charity. Now, dividing the prefent annual ex- 
 pence of five hundred thoufand pounds equally among them, it 
 amounts to a fliare of fix ftiillings and eight pence /i-r family. 
 The money ought to be raifcd under a diftinft title, fuch as the 
 G'^xiSxxt additional Jhilling of land tax y the Gibraltar wa// /aa-, 
 the Gibraltar excife on tobaccoy the Gibraltar game liiencey the 
 Gibraltar horfe Ucencey the Gibraltar attorney licencey or the Gib- 
 raltar y?a/«/ duty on legacies. In tliat cafe, the nation would 
 inftantly confider what they are about, and caft off fuch a 
 prepofterous burden. The payment of fix Ihillings and eight 
 pence is frequently the fmalleft part of the grievance. By the 
 expence of excifemen, of profecutions, and of penalties, fivp 
 (hillings of revenue may often coft a Yim\^ freeman ten times 
 
 as many pounds fterling *, ;,.-,. .;'. , - 
 
 Beforo 
 
 * I fhall mention an example in point, which occurs while I 
 am now writing. An old woman had been in the practice of 
 fupplying her neighbours with halfpennyworths of fnuflF. She 
 was ordered, under a penalty oi fifty poundsy to pay five fljillings 
 - for a licence, and ftie did fo. Had flie been able to buy from 
 |);e n^nuik^orcr fgyr pouitds of fnuff at a tint% thie bufineft 
 
m i! 
 
 hi: 
 
 [ 82 ] 
 
 Before the acquifition of Gibraltar, England, In the whole 
 courfe of her hiftory, had only three wars with Spain. The firft 
 in 1588, was produced by the piracies of Drake and others* 
 and by the affiftance which EUzalieth afforded to the Dutch rcr 
 volters. The feccMid war was likewife unprovoked on the p:irc 
 of Spain. Crojnwel] found 1% neceflary tp vent the turbulence 
 of his fubjccts in a foreign quarrel, and Jamaica was invaded 
 and feizcd without even a pretence of juftice. On this conqueft 
 chiefly has England founded that hopeful branch of her conir 
 Dierce, the Siave-Trade, while the climate has annually extir- 
 pated, by thoufands, the vagrants from Europe, The third Spa- 
 nilh war had an origin worthy of its predeccflbrs. The Kinjj; 
 of Spain, by his will, transferred his dominions to a Prince of 
 the houfe of Bourbon, His fubjefts confented or fubmitted to 
 the choice, and England, with a degree of infolence unmatched 
 in hiftoiy, interfered in favour of an Auftrian candidate. The 
 jCpnteft coded with our acquifition of Minorca, and Gibraltar ; 
 an injury to Spain of the molt ofFenfive nature. Since that 
 period her court has always been forward to contend with us • 
 and five wars*, begun and terminated in the fliort fpace of 
 fixty-iive years, alTures us of their indelible indignation. Nor 
 can wc be furprifed at rheir aniniofity ; for what would an Eng- 
 Jifhman fay or feel, were Plymouth and Dover fortified by a 
 Frei^ch garrifon ? Happily for the fpecies, our countrymen at 
 Gibraltar have been but fcldom attacked. Hence, in a time of 
 war, they have commonly inflided and Aifiered far lefs mifchief 
 than muft have been committed on both fides in a piratical ex- 
 
 flight have rcfted there ; but as this was beyond her power, it 
 »vas required by the terriers of taxation, that ftie fliould make 
 oath; once a year, to the quantity (he fold. Her memory failed, 
 and (he is now, with a crowd of other vidims, in an excise 
 court, which will very poflibly bring her to beggary. This is 
 like a drop in the ocean of excifc, The very found of the word 
 announces utter deftrudion : for it is derived from a Latin verb| 
 ivbich fignifies to cut up by the roots. 
 
 -.1 What «« our moft excellent conftitution" may be in theory, I 
 neither know nor care. In praAice, it is altogether a con&pi- 
 
 KACY OF THE RICH AGAINST THE POOR. 
 
 ^ FiZf in 1718^ in 1737* in 1^391 in i^^Zj and in 1779. 
 
 j'-4*^« pcdition 
 
r ^3 1 
 
 pedition to the coaft of Pern, in defolating ine plains of Hii^ 
 doftan, in burning the ihipping at St. Maloes> or in ftorming the 
 pcftilential ramparts of the Havannah *. 
 
 In 1708, we captured Minorca, and after what has bceir 
 faid as to Gibraltar, it is unnecefTary to expatiate on the mon- 
 fterous expences which it mull have coft us during half a cen- 
 tary, till it was in 1756 fuirendered to the French^ On thia 
 event the whole Engliih nation feemed to have run out of their 
 fenfes. Yet to the lofs of this fortrefs^ we may in fome ntea*' 
 fure attribute our fuccefsy as it was called, in that war ; for tJ» 
 chairge of fupporting Minorca muft have been fek as a dead 
 weight upon our other operations. It was reltored in 1 763, and 
 in 1781, it was a fecond time, and I hope for ever, feparated 
 from the Britiih dominions. By the lofs of this fortrerfs we 
 iave an inceflant and extravagant expence. With me it is an 
 ebjedl of regret, that the brave Elliot and his garrifon had not 
 been forced to capitulate by the fiift bomb difcharged againft 
 them. The individuals, afting as they did, from the moft ge- 
 nerous and honoutable principles, have acquired and deferved 
 our warmeft gratitude ; and, as it may be expeded that fud» 
 events will hereafter become lefs frequent, their glory will de- 
 fcend with increafihg luftre to the laft generations of mankind* 
 Bat their efforts were fatal to this country ; for it is felf-evidenC 
 that we had much better have wanted this mock, appendage of 
 empire. The fiege itfelf produced fcenes of fuch ftupcnduous 
 deftruftion, that they cannot be perafed without horror.. Nine 
 years of peace have fince elapfed, and, in that time, including 
 the endlefs expence of fortifications, it is probable that Gib- 
 Ealtar has coft us at leaft five millions iteriing ; befides, we have 
 been again on the verge of a war with Spain, which has added 
 a comfortable item of four millions to the debts of the nation* 
 If the annual expence of Gibraltar amounts to five hundred 
 thoufand pounds, this is about one thirty-fecond part of our 
 
 * The Major of a Britifh regiment who ferved at that fiege, 
 had in his company, on his arrival at Cuba, an hundred and nme 
 healthy men. Of thefe, as he himfelf told me, five only re- 
 turned to Europe. 
 
 public. 
 
j»ubHc revenue. Nothing but the power of its difpofal can db^ 
 lain for a Britifli minifter a majority in the Houfe of Commons. 
 Three hundred and twenty members are about the ufual num-- 
 bcr un^er bis injlaence* ; and therefore the patronage; of Gib- 
 raltar may be conjeftured to purchafc ten votes in the market 
 of St. Stephen's chapel +; 
 
 Though writers have prefumcd to fpecify the annual charge 
 of Gibraltar, an exaft eftimate cannot poflibly be obtained* 
 The public accounts are prcfented to parliament in a ftate of in- 
 extricable confufion; Indeedj their immenfe bulk would alone 
 be fufficient to place them far beyond the reach of any human 
 comprehenfion. A fingle circumHance may ferve to (how the 
 way in which parliamentary bufinefs is commonly perfoi'med* 
 A ftatute was pafled and printed feme years ago» containing 
 three fuccefli\e references to the thirty-vii.iT day of November. 
 
 For a foreign conteft, our government is mod wretchedly 
 adapted. In the war of 17 561 Frederick, that Shakefpeare of 
 kings, fought and conquered five different nations. In the 
 courfe of his miraculous campaigns, he neither added a fingle 
 impoft, nor attempted to borrow a fingle (liilling. At the fame 
 time our boafted Earl of Chatham was overwhelming this coun- 
 try with taxes, and contraftin^ an annual debt of fifteen or 
 twenty millions ftcrling. With a more deftruftive minifter no 
 nation was ever curfed. Yet this man we prefer to Sir Robert 
 Walpole, a ftatcfman, whofe maxim it was 10 keep us, if pof- 
 fible, at peace with all the world. ,: . 
 
 In 1662, Dunkirk, then poficfled by England, cqH an annual 
 
 • When the wliole ftrength of each party is called forth, a 
 minority are commonly within an hundred voices of the minifter, 
 which corrcfponds with tolerable accuracy to the computation in 
 the text. In the regency queftion, Mr. Pitt, with the whole 
 nation at his back, muftered only two hundred and fixty-nino 
 members. 
 
 + In the Spanifh neeoeiation in 1757, the Earl of Chatham 
 (then Mr. Pitt) propofed to cede Gibraltar to Spain, and again, 
 in 1761, he offered it as the price of the Family Compad. Vide 
 llis Life, in two larj^e volum-.-s juft nul)li(hed. This propofal 
 evinces, that the fortrefs wiu not, in Mr, Pitt's opinion, of much 
 importance to Britaiji. 
 
 txpcnoe 
 
t =5 ] 
 
 can 6h^ 
 >n:imons« 
 al num- 
 of Gib- 
 market 
 
 expence of an hundred and twenty thoufand pounds. -At thai 
 iamc period the whole revenues of the nation did not amountjto 
 eleven hundred thoufand pounds* The retention of the town 
 muft have proved a hot-bed of future wars with France. Charles 
 the Sedond} at this time fold it to Lewis the Fourteenth, for the 
 fum of four hundred thoufand pounds. This was, I believe, the 
 only wife, laudable, or even inndcent aftion of his reign* It had 
 almoft produced a rebellion ; and, as Mr. Hume obferves, « has 
 «< not had the good fortune, to be juftified by any patty." 
 
 Domeftic improvement is, in all cafes, more advantageous 
 than military acquifition. Yet in the great outlines of our 
 hiftory, we have inceffantly forfaken the former, to purfue the 
 latter. James the Firft, though in private, and even in public 
 life, univerfally delpifed, was one of the beft fovereigns that 
 ever fat on the Britifh throne. Without a fingle quality which 
 could recommend him to our efteem, he preferved the Englirfi 
 nation, though much againft their will, in peace, during his en- 
 tire reign of twenty-two years. Hence both iflarids made ra- 
 pid advances in wealth and profperity. " Nevef,'' fays 
 Stowei ** was there any people, lefs confiderate, and Itlfs thank- 
 *' ful than at this time, teit/g not nvilliug to endnre the memory of 
 " their prefent happinefs." On the fame principles of rapine, 
 which diftated the retention of Dunkirk, James has been fe- 
 ▼erely blamed for delivering back to the Dutch three of their for* 
 tificd towns, which had been put into the pofleffion of Eliza- 
 beth. Mr. Hume has, with much propriety, vindicated his con- 
 duct. Had it been poHlble that the life of fuch a prince, and the 
 tranquillity of this country, could have been prolonged to the pre- 
 fent day, it is beyond the power of Britifh vanity to conceive the 
 accumulated progrefs of Britifli opulence. Both iflands would, 
 long before this time, have advanced to a ftats of cultivation, not 
 inferior to that of China. The produdions of the foil, and the 
 number of inhabitants, might have exceeded, by tenfold, their 
 prefent amount. Public roads, canals, bridges, and buildings of 
 every defcription, muft have multiplied far beyond what our mod 
 fanguine wiihes are capable of conceiving. A ihort review of the 
 dcllru^on committed by foreign wars within the laft hundred 
 
 D years 
 
 
 tf 
 «"-i 
 *; 
 
r .6 J 
 
 years of our hI(lory> can hardly fail to amufc} and may perhap* 
 indrudl the reader. 
 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 
 'f'l 1 -' ' »• 
 
 Facial eji Jcfceufus Averni, 
 
 'VlUG, \ 
 
 .■)t r a:.,; "Tis eafy into hell to fall; ^^^ » ,- r V; ,-.,.,j.:;r 
 
 « 'T^HE ground of the firil war," fays Dri Swift, « after 
 « -*■ the Revolution, as to the part wc had in it, was to- 
 *• make France acknowledjje the late king, and to recover HmJI~ 
 ** fott't Bay. But during that whole war the fer was almoft 
 « entirely ncglefted, and the grcateft part of fix millions annu- 
 *« allyy employed to enlarge the frontier of the Dutch. For the 
 «« king was a general, but not an admiral ; and although king. 
 «< of England, was a native of Holland. 
 
 « After ten years of fighting, to little purpofe, after tKc lof». 
 *' of above an hundred thoufand men, and a debt remaining oF 
 " tnutnty millions, we at length hearkened to the terms of 
 « Peace, which was concluded with great advantages to the 
 « Ivnplrc and Holland, but none at all to us *." 
 
 ■"I'liis account does not give us much encouragement to fend 
 
 for a fccond fovcrciv^n Irom Holland. Dutch gencrofity ap- 
 
 pea-s io have proved a very mifcrable bargain. It is hardly 
 
 * pofllble that James, witli all his priefts and dragoons, could 
 
 have committed one hundredth part of this havock. So much 
 
 .,for a Protellant hero, and a glorious Revolution. 
 
 William afcendcd and fupported liis throne by a fcrics of the 
 meaneft and mod difgraccful expedients. He excited Argylc 
 and Monmouth to rebellion. He bribed the fervanta of James 
 to betray tohimfclf the fecrets of their mafter. He inftrudted 
 
 • The Condua of the Allies. 
 
 tbcfe 
 
tliefe minifters to drive the King of England into thofe very 
 meafures which forced a Revolution. He was bafe enough to 
 deny the ligitimacy of the Prince of Wales ; he taught two 
 thanldefs daughters to forfake, and ruini and infult their father* 
 When embarking for this country, «< he took Heaven to wit- 
 ** nefs, that he had not the lead intention to invade or fubdue 
 '« the kingdom of England, much lefs to make himfelf mafter 
 <* thereof, or to invert or prejudice the lawful fucceffion *.'* , 
 James had quarrelled with the Church of England, and this was 
 one of the chief caufes of his deftruftion. Yet all the bilhops, 
 except eight, as well as many temporal peers, refufed to take 
 the oaths to the new government ; and Bancroft, Archbifliop of 
 Canterbury, who had been at the head of the oppofition to 
 James, was, along with five other bilhops, depofed for liis re- 
 fufaL The convention parliament who made William King of 
 England, were elfSied by himfelft and contained, befides other 
 extraordinary materials, ^^]^ members of the Common Council of 
 London, With this very parliament he was immediately on the 
 worft terms ; and Sutherland, Marlborough, and Admiral Ruf. 
 fel, with many other chiefs of his party, entered into a confpi- 
 racy for his expulfion. The Irifh rebels had forfeited lands to • 
 the value of three millions three hundred and twenty thoufand 
 pounds. This iramenfe property William divided almoft alto- 
 gether among his Dutch favourites, and the Countefs of Ork- 
 ney, an Englilh concubine, whofe fervices were rewarded with 
 an eftate of twenty-fix thoufand pounds a year ; while, at the 
 fame time, with the moft fordid ingratitude, he turned his back 
 on the family of Monmouth, who had been his tool and his vicr 
 tim. Thefc afts of robbery were reverfed by parliament. \ 
 pafi over the tragedies of Glencoe and Darien, for on fuch a 
 chara^er, they rcfleft no peculiar reproach. William was the 
 father of our public debt, which he multiplied as much as p^ff 
 fible, tkat befides other mean purpofes, he might attach to his 
 pcrfonal fafcty the creditors of the nation. As to parliament^ 
 in 1690, the Speaker <' piumifed to the king to manage hi» 
 
 • Macpherfon'8 liiftory of Britainj vol, i, chap. 8, 
 
 A 
 
 T>i 
 
 « OW'JI 
 
[ i^S ] 
 
 « own party, provided he tnight be furnijhed nuith money, to pur- 
 « chafe 'votes *." His majcfty confented. In the progrefs of 
 this confpiracy, his agent was expelled from the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, for accepting from the City of London a bribe of a 
 thoufand guineas. A bribe of ten thoufand pounds, from the 
 Eaft-India Company, « was traced to the king+ j" amagiftrate, 
 whofe office it was to fign the warrant for executing a pick- 
 pocket. William extinguiflied this inquiry by a prorogation. 
 U Thus ended," fays the hiftorian, " a ixiretched farce, in which 
 " the feeble efforts for obtaining jullice were fcarce lefs dif- 
 <* graceful than venality itfclf." On the 20th December i697t 
 the Commons granted William feven hundred thoufand pounds 
 a year for the fupport of the civil lift. This comprehended 
 fifty thoufand pounds a year, which he promifed to pay to 
 King James's queen as her jointure, and fifty thoufand pounds 
 a year, which he demanded as neceffary to eftablifli the houfe- 
 hold of the Duke of Gloucefter, To the queen he never paid 
 a farthing, and to the Duke only fifteen thoufand pounds a 
 year. This prince died on the 24th of July 1700, and in 1701 
 the Commons, after a violent debate with the adherents of the 
 court, compelled William to refund the fifty thoufand pounds, 
 which he ha'd engaged to pay to the exiled queen ; and above 
 twenty thoufand pounds, which the Duke of Gloucefter had 
 left behind him %, Mr, Pitt complains of authors who publi(h 
 
 • Macphcrfon's Hiftory of Great Britain, vol. i, chap. 10. 
 
 + Ibid. vol. 2, chap. 2. 
 
 X Macpherfon, vol, ii. chap, 3 and 4, The hiftorian has re- 
 lated this anecdote in fuch a manner, that wc cannot learn what 
 ^ums the exiled queen ought to have received. When her join- 
 ture is twice mentioned in chapter 3, he calls it fifty thoufand 
 pounds a year. But aiter four years, in chapter 4, he contra- 
 <iids this ftatement, by informing us, that William had retained 
 the fifty thoufand pounds due to ner, which, with the reverfion 
 by the death of the Duke of Gloucefter, amounted to " neamn 
 *' hundred thoufand pounds." By the account in chapter j, 
 the whole fums, including intcreft, Ihould have been about two 
 hundred and fifty thoufand pounds. 
 
 This miftake is hardly worth notice here, but is mentioned 
 merely to fhcw that one may fometimcs be forced to feek a 
 WJ»y tnrough very Uifcordani materials, 
 
t ^9 ] ^ 
 
 libels on the Revolution. To forbid a perfon from publifliing 
 his fcntimsnts on a hiftorical event which happened above an 
 hundred years ago, is in itfelf an example of the utmoft info- 
 lence of defpotifm. To depofe one tyrant was highly proper ; 
 but it was not lefs foolifli to exalt another *. 
 
 More coji more honour, fays the proverb ; and by this rule the 
 Revolution was certainly a more fplendid tranfaftion than the 
 nation had ever feen. ** The expences of England, from the 
 « landing of the Prince of Orange on the 5th of November 
 " 1688, to the 29th of September 1691, had amounted to neat 
 " EIGHTEEN MILLIONS. Befidcs, great arrears were owing 
 ** to the army in Ireland, the navy was dejiitute offtores, and the 
 " Jhips ivere out of repair \." In 1693, a bill paffed both 
 Houfes, providing for annual feflions of parliament, and a new 
 eleftiononce in three years.. To this bill, the founder of 
 ENGLISH FREEDOM refufcd his aflcnt, which in 1694 was ob- 
 tained by compulfion. After having told all the world for ten 
 years, that James had impofed a fpurious prince upon the na- 
 tion, he engaged in 1697, to obtain that prince to be declared 
 his fucceflfor %. A man of common fpirit would rather have 
 been a chimney fwecper than fuch a fovcrcign. 
 
 As for the inferior aflors in the Revolution, we may inquire 
 nuhai have they done f They did not transfer the load of taxci 
 from the poor to the rich. They did not extirpate entails, and 
 
 • Smollet's charafter of William is a curious jumble. 
 
 « He was religious, tcm\)CT^tt, gefteral/j Ju^ undjincere. — He 
 « involved thefe kingdoms in foreign connexions, which, in nil 
 '* probability, will be produSiive of their ruin. He fcrupled not 
 *« to employ all the engines of corruption. He entailed upon the 
 « nation a growing aobt, and a fyftcm of politics- big with 
 «< mifcry, defpair, and deftruftion." The reft of this paflage it 
 too lone for infertion ; but the author's inference appears to bCf 
 that William was the moft ruinous fovcrcign who ever fat on 
 the throne of England. 
 
 + Macpherfon, vol. ii. chap. i. All our continental wars and 
 fubfidies, from 1688, to this day, muil be afcribed to the Re- 
 V . volution, 
 
 ± Ibid. vol. ii. chap. 3. The author adds, " The fuccef- 
 " fors provided by the aft of fettlement, he cither defpifed ot 
 «♦ abborrcdt* Thcfe were the illuftrioui Houfc of Brunfwick. 
 * *" . ' • ' • ' rotten 
 
 m 
 
gotten boroughs. They did not eftablifh an univerfal right of 
 GOnfcience» and an univerfal right of citizenfhip. They did not 
 advance even a fmgle ftep towards exalting the motely parliament 
 of England into the aftual reprefentatives of a free people. They, 
 did not avoid a njoft deftruftive and endlefs quarrel on the con- 
 tinent. They did not reduce the civil lift even to the prodigal 
 eftabliftiment of Charles the Second *» They did not extirpate 
 the raoft abfurd and extravagant prerogatives of the fove reign, 
 to adjourn or difTolve a parliament at pleafure^ to baftardize a 
 peerage with the puppets of defpotifm, to interpofe a refufal 
 to the moil neceiTary laws, and to plunge at his will three na- 
 tions into blood and bankruptcy, IVhat then did they do ? They 
 obtained for their countrymen a right to petition the crown +, 
 They fettled the fucceffion on a family whom their hero, for 
 what reafon he beft knew, defpifed and abhorred. The whole 
 work was a change, not of meafures, but of mailers. Where 
 then ftands the diiference between the trimmer Halifax, :ind the 
 trirfraer Thurlow ; between Sutherland the traitor to all parties, 
 and our Hibernian panegyrift of the Baftile ? The Duke of 
 
 * Fiz. Four hundred and fixty thoufand pounds. The fet* 
 tlement of feven hundred thoufand pounds is no doubt one of 
 thofe luife AXkAnuholefome provisions fo gratefully referred to 
 in Mr. Pitt's late proclamation. There can be no queftion, that 
 in the courfe of an hundred years, the civil lift has reduced many 
 hundred thoufands of his Majefty's *' faithful and loving fub-» 
 *' jedh" to beggary. That the •weakefi rome always to the nvorjft 
 is a trite obfervation. The principal hardlhips of every tax 
 muft in the laft refort fall upop the poor. At this day the ti'vil 
 lijly with all its abyfs of appendages, abforbes above ele\ en 
 hundred thoufand pounds per annum of Englifti money. Thi$ 
 expence would, at Icaft in Scotland, be more than fuflicicnt to • 
 maintain two hundred and fifty thoufand paupers, for th'^fc \v. 
 the poor's houfe of the parifti of St, Cuthbert's, near luiin* 
 ^ureh, coft hut about four pounds each ter annum. 
 
 Hence it follows, that the royal eftabitihment is in faA equal 
 to an eftabUlhment of many myriads of beggars, As to the » 
 BLECTORAL HOARD, we have curious and authentic inform^v , 
 tion, but this fubjeft deferves a chapter by itfelf. 
 
 + They might as well have fpoke about the right of blowing 
 one's nofe. Yet this miferable ftipulation, extracted from the 
 Ver^ dre^s of ijav^ryi ha» been thought of infinite confequence, 
 
 M»rlbojrou|;l| 
 
 — -'T* 
 
If'fi: ;r 
 
 Marlborougti give a juft account both of the Whigs and T^of leS* 
 <* I do not believe," faid he, " that either party is fwayed by 
 « any true principks of confcience or honefty. Their profef- 
 «» fions are always different ; their views precifely the fame, 
 «< They both grafp at the poffeffion of povy^er > and the Prince 
 « who gives them the moft is their greateft favourite */' Were 
 farther evidc \ce wanting^ fiurnet, himfelf both a whig and a 
 Courtier> tells us that the whigs fet every thing to /ale. . He 
 complained of the praftice of bribing parliament to the king;, 
 and William aifured himy that it 'was not poffible to help it. 
 
 As a partial defence of our anceftois it may be urged, that la 
 ihe end of the lail century* the nation was unripe for a rational 
 conftitution. But lince we know this to be true, why are we 
 difturbed with rhapfbdies on one of the moft qoellionable com^ 
 binations that ever deformed hiftory ? Does atvy body cbinpjare 
 the packed convention parliaments of the twa kingdomsy in 
 ■1689, with the democratical members of the firft national adem- 
 Jbly of France ? As well might we parallel Charles Jenkinfon 
 ,with the Duke of Sully, 01 the affaffm of Culloden with the 
 conqueror at Bannockburn. Did the philofophical and concife 
 «kcrees of the French patriots grovel in the feudal jargon of 
 fubjedting a people and their pofterity forever to the affignees 
 of a Dutchman who was univerfally deteiled ? As well might 
 we fancy a refemblance between the daubing of a fign-poft, and 
 the pencil of Reynolds, or the exercife of a fchooi-boy and 
 the ftanzas of Buchanan, 
 
 Upon the whole, as William betrayed James into feveral of 
 thofe Climes by which a revolution became neceffary, his me« 
 mory is an objeA not of refpedl but abhorrence. His conduA 
 was like that of an incendiary who firft fets fire to your houfe» 
 iind then claims ten times the worth of the whole building for 
 his fervice in quenching it. To praife him and his revolution, 
 difcovets an ignorance of hiftory, or a contempt of common 
 honefty. It is as much a burlefque upon reafon, as when t 
 King of England calls himfelf King of France ; or as when a 
 
 ' 
 
 
 iCpvitix 
 
 * MacpherfoHf vol. ii, chap. 9, 
 
 perfon^ 
 
[ 3^ J 
 
 pcrfon, like Henry the Eighth, whofe word is trufted by no- 
 body, affumes for his title Defender of the Faith. 
 
 But fince the authors of the revolution did not furpafs the di' 
 mirwitive ftandard of Court integrity, why has our temple of 
 venality * for fo long a time refounded with the wretched larum 
 of whig families and whig virtues ? Why fliould common men 
 wander from their natural and juft progrefs to obfcurity, and 
 mock the attention of future ages ? Had Archimedes been only 
 the beft archer at the fiege of Syracufe, had Columbus lived 
 and died but the mod expert pilot in the port of Genoa, had 
 the eloquence of Shakefpeare fhrunk to a level with the drama- 
 tick ihuflirooms of this day, thefe memorable benefaftors of 
 mankind had vaniflied into inllant oblivion. Had Thomas Paine 
 been nothing, fuperior to a vagabond feamen, a bankrupt ftayi 
 maker, a difcarded excifeman, a porter in the ftreets of Philai 
 delphi, or whatever elfe the infanity of Grub-ftreet chufes to 
 call him, an hundred thoufand copif's of his writings had never 
 announced liis name in every village on the globe, where the 
 EingUfh language is fpoken, nor would the rays of royal indigo 
 nation have illuminated that charadlcr which they cannot fcorch. 
 
 3lfe/tAi ii 
 
 ^. .«.> CHAP. V. f'«'^----t>Tyu ^:, 
 
 H ;-. V 
 
 JO It' Nulla uftjuam de morte hominis cunSiatio longa ejl, < 
 No delay as to the death of a man is ever too long, j u vbnal* 
 
 TN the war which ended by the peace of Ryfwick, feven hun- 
 •*• dred millions fterltng were fpent, and eight hundred thou- 
 fand men pcrifhed, yet none of the parties gained one penny of 
 
 • In the Anecdotes of Lord Chatham, we are told that Mr. 
 Pelham was intruded with ivhfif is ufallj called T\iz pockbt 
 LIST OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ; and Mr. Pitt foraetimei 
 faid to his friends, « I was obliged to borrow the Duke of 
 Kewcaftle's « majoritji to carry on the public bu^nefs." 
 
t a J 
 
 .. ..I 
 
 .'.i1 -.If 
 
 . 'i 
 
 taoDtyt 
 
 jtloney, or'aimoft one foot of territory. In 1693, Lewis made 
 very ample offers for peace which William refufed. Had Wil- 
 liam accepted thefe offers of Lewis, «* the war of the firil grand 
 «» alliance would have end^d/durjears /ooher than it did'y and the! 
 «* war of the fecond grand alliance might ha've been prevented*. 
 «< During fome years previous to the peice of Ryfwick, the 
 «« price of corn in England was doublet and in Scotland qiia- 
 *' druple its ordinary rate ; arid in one of thdfe years, it was be- 
 «* lieved that in Scotland eighty thoufdnd people died ofivant +." " 
 The war which followed the Revolution cofl England _^jf{jr 
 rkillions jierling %, Let US fuppofe that an equal (hare ol this fumi 
 was fpent in each of the nine yedrs^ during which itlafted, and 
 at {vnper cent, the compound intereft of the foms advanced annu- 
 ally up to the peace of Ryfwick in 1697, amounts to _/^/'<'^« 
 millions jierling. Four thoufand merchantmen were taken by 
 the enemy §; and De-Foey in one of his pamplets, tells us, that 
 the damage in this way had been computed at twenty millions. 
 The intereft of this fumi eftimated in the fame manner with that 
 of the public eXperices up to the peace, will produce five mil- 
 lions. But that oiir calculations may be perfedly fafe,' let xxi 
 bring down both principal and intereft tofifieen millions^ and we 
 fhall pafs over the expence of at leaft four thoufand bankruptcies^ 
 and ten times that number of lawfuits. The diffctent fumg 
 above fpecified extend to ninety millions fterling. Let us next 
 put the cafe that this money had been placed at a compound in-^^ 
 t<!reft of five per cent. || At the end of ninety-eight years fromi 
 
 * Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland^ partiii; book loi 
 + Ibid, part iii. book 5. ij*^ ^^ .;.:."; ' . » "" 
 
 1 Ibid. Part iv. book i< ^^^ '.. j.^^ 
 
 $ Macpherfori, vol. ii. chap. 7; ' ■ '. - '' ': 
 
 I The legal intereft of money wks riot reduced from fix /^f 
 €eHt. to five, till the twelfth year of Queen Anne. The writer 
 of the Memoirs of Great Britain obferves, that in thofe days* 
 parliament found more difficiilty in borrowing at iight per cent, 
 than we do riow in getting money zifouri Lord North paid, 
 and we have ftill the fatisfadlion of paying Jix ox /even per cent, 
 for the monev that fuppofted his American war ; and this is 
 known to all mankind, with it fcems a {ingle exception. At 
 /«ur per cent* we could not raife a fmglc ft^illing. 
 
 ^=^'^- £ th9 
 
 
 \ .. 
 
C 34 J 
 
 the 
 
 Ryfwick, that 
 
 fay i 
 
 thefe 
 
 lunety 
 
 millions would have doubled themfelves exactly {even times^ 
 and the final produce would have been eleven THousAKiy 
 
 SIVE HUNDRED AllD TWENTY - MILLIONS STERLING} Or 
 
 a dividend oi eleven hundred and fifty-fwo poundi to every indi- 
 vidual inhabitant of Britain. This fum is equal to the difcharge 
 of our national debts forty-eight times over^. and is five hun- 
 dred and feventy-fivc times greater than the whole gold z\A 
 filver coin at prefent in the three kingjd^'i^s* ^"^^ ^^^ 1k;ci> 
 the price oi a Dutch frontierrZXidi of Hud/an r Bay^ As Britain* 
 and Ireland are faid to contain an hundred and four thoufand 
 fquare milesi if the money had been employed in t-h^ improve- 
 ments of agriculture^ it would have fupplied a fund of an hun-;. 
 dred and one thoufand one hundred and fifty-three pounds fifteen- 
 fhillings and eleven pence^ andfevtn thirteenth p*.yts, of a penny fpt- 
 each fquare mile. This fum is much more tlian npon an average 
 the whole landed property of both iflands is worth •- 
 
 An objedlion may be advanced to this ilatement> that a great-' 
 part of the fixty millions thus expended by government was em- 
 beaded among ourfclvesy and that as it never aftually went. out 
 of the country, lue are not at this day a farthing poorer than if the' 
 money had never been raifed. If we might oppofe the language^ 
 of common fenfe to the jargon of political fophiftry,- 1 would' 
 anfvver^ that when a grazier in Yorkihire has been knocked,; 
 down and robbed» he cares but little whether his guineas are to^: 
 b^ ftaked at the gaming tables of Paris or of London. But we^ 
 fhall admit that the Dutch adminiilration like all thofe which^ 
 have come aiter it^wasa fcene of inexpreffible infamy;. that thirty 
 millions out of the yT-r/y were pilfered in their road to the fer- 
 vice of the public ; and that the peers and others who ftole thir 
 money applied their pUmder to ends as honed as could have been 
 devifed by the farmers and tradefmen who were ftripped of it.- ' 
 This is not very fcafible, for what is won in a bad way is com- , 
 
 4 
 
 "" .ll — .— ll»l. ^. .I - ..- , M l,,.., ■ ., ,,.,■ ,.i,_, ., . ,. ■■ .1 II I I ■■— I^M^B* . 
 
 • In the Memoirs of Great Britian and Ireland* the author-', 
 eftimates the mtrtlofs of labour to the contending nations during ' 
 the nine years of war, at ninety millions Sterling, cxclufivc oT 
 the additional lof$ of kbgur/»;- If^, by th« mutual ilaughter. > 
 
 . njonly 
 
nrnety 
 n timesy? 
 
 NO, or 
 
 ^ t 35 ] • ' 
 
 Inohly fpent in a worfe one ; but let us proceed. In eftimatlng 
 the expences of the war, there was omitted an article of lofs at 
 leaft equivalent to thefe thirty millions. It has been obferved, 
 that a workman can, upon an average, earn about ten fhilllnga 
 a-week, which in London is at prefent about half the common 
 •wages of a journeyman taylor. Reduce this to twenty-five 
 pounds per annutrt, and his life may be eftimated at twelve years 
 purchafe, or three hundred pounds in value to the public. In 
 the war in queftion, we loft an hundred thoufand men, and by 
 this moderate and fimple computation, the price of their blood 
 to Britain was not worth lefs than thirty millions Sterling, Even 
 this nvmber of an hundred thoufand lives is moft likely far left 
 than the adlual deftruiElion, Four thoufand merchant (hips were 
 taken by the French privateers, and thefe alone muft have re- 
 quired, one with another, twelve or thirteen mariners, which 
 gives us an amount of fiity thoufand prifoners ; of vrhom, be- 
 iides the numbers killed, at leaft ten or fifteen thoufand would 
 })eri{h of jail diftempers, of their woands, of cold or hunger, 
 imd above all, of a broken heart. ' ■= i':4t*;?f vfrt v; 5 '» 
 As the pillagCi of public money is one of the worft confe- 
 quences of war, I fliall here fay fomething farther on that fub- 
 jeft. In 1 69 J, Knight and Duncombe, two members of the 
 Houfe of Commons, were expelled for having forged indorfe- 
 inents on Exchequer bills. Duncombe confeffed the charge, 
 and his (hare of the booty had extended to four hundred thoU' 
 fqnd pounds. I am not informed what was the amount of 
 Knight's plunder ; or that of feveral others who were concerned. 
 The Commons, in a fit of purity, paffed a bill to fine Duncombe 
 in half his ettate. By the ftatute laws of England, he fhould 
 have fuffered death. The bill for his fine was rejefted in the 
 hotife of Lords *, by the cafting vote of the Duke of Leeds, 
 who was himfelfa fwindler of the firft diftind^ion. The Earl 
 . 9f Chefterfield had fome reafon for terming that houfe an hof- 
 pital of Incurables, Salmon tells us, that the miniftry gave 
 Whatever intereft and premiums were demanded for the loan of 
 
 w ■ > 
 
 . ? Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland; part Ui, book 4. ^ 
 
 5 a »one/ 
 
[ 36 ] ' 
 
 money, and that provifions and naval ftorcs were taken Up at 
 an advance of thirty, forty, and fopictimes fifty per cent. 
 jibove their proper price. But, jndeed, after the dimiflion of 
 Mr. I)uncombc, tuilh his four hundred thou/and pounds in his 
 pockety every charge of this kind becomes perfeftly credible. 
 
 Whether in the prefent age, piatters have been much mendedi 
 there was nobody better able to inform us than the late Earl of 
 Chatham. <« There is a ftt of men," fays he, " in the city of 
 (f London, who are known to live in riot and luxury, upon the 
 *( plunder of the ignorant^ the innocent, and the helplefs, upon 
 «* that part of thp conimunity, which (lands moft in need of, 
 " and bell deferves tlje care and proteAion of the legil^ature. 
 f* To me, my Lords, whether they be miferable jobbers of 
 " Change Alley, or the lofty Afiatic plunderers pf Leadenhall 
 f< Street, they are all equally deteftable. I care but little 
 « whether a man walks on foot, or is drawn by eight horfes, 
 «* or by fix horfes } if his luxury be fupported by the plunder 
 *« of his country, I defpife and abhor him. My Lords, while 
 ** I had the honour of ferving his Majefty, / never ventured t^ 
 ♦' loot at Til fi TREASURY, hut from a diflance ; it is a bufinefs 
 '< I am unfit for, and to which I never could have fubmitted. 
 <5 The little I know of it, has not ferved to raife my opinion 
 << of what is vulgarly called the monied intereji ; I mean tl^at 
 1* BLOODSUCKER, t4lat MUCKWORM, which calls iffelf tRq 
 *f friend of Government, which pretends to fervc this or that 
 if adminiilration, and may be purchafed on the fame terms 6j, 
 *' any adminiftration. Under this defcription I include the 
 f< whole race pf comniifiiorters^ jobbers, contraflors, clothierS| 
 »f and remitters*,'* 
 
 The war of 1 689 is at this day almoft forgotten, in the blaze 
 pf more recent and ftupendous follies. Yet the prefent ihort 
 iketch of thpfe calamiti^^ vyhich it- produced, cannot fail of 
 
 * Vide his fpeq(;h in the debate on Falkland's Iflands, which 
 has been re-printed in the Anecdotes. 
 
 This quarrel ended like others, in our difappointment, and 
 perhaps difgrace. fiefides much expence and trouble to indi- 
 viduals, the nation fquandercd between three and four nuUions 
 fterline, ^ad'-vis infant f '" ' „ " J.' ' 
 
 ' "^ r:E ' . leading 
 
 #.,■ 
 
[ 37 ] 
 
 leading us into fome melancholy refleftions on the general ten* 
 dency of the military fyftem. War may produce advantage ta 
 a race of barbarians, who have nothing to do, and nothing to 
 lofe ; but for a commercial nation, it can be no better than an 
 alderman deferting his ledger, to bet in a cock-pit. Of this 
 fyftem there is no part more injurious than that which enjoin* 
 the capture of merchant fhips. An honeft mariner has by the 
 labour of half his life earned a thoufand pounds, and embarks 
 his whole property in a veffel freighted from Leith or Dunkirk. 
 He is boarded by an enemy's privateer ; his effeds are for^ 
 feited ; and he himfelf is to rot for fix, or twelve, or eighteen 
 months in a French or Englifli jail ; while his wife, his chil- 
 dren, or perhaps his father — but this part of the pifture becomes 
 too (hocking for the contemplation of humanity. Of thefe 
 matters, kings or courtiers almoft never think. At a certain 
 elevation, the human heart feems to com "afla/r^ more impe-r 
 netrable than the fummit of the Alps or the Andes. It would 
 be an aufpicous event for mankind, if all the (hips of war in 
 the world could be reduced to a(hes in one day. 
 
 We have adopted a fancy, that frequent hoftilitie$ are una- . 
 voidable. Yet the Swifs, a nation of foldiers, and placed in the 
 midft of contending tyrants, have hardly been thrice at war in 
 the courfe of three centuries. The leafon is, that their go- 
 vernments are founded on wifdom, benevolence, and integrity ; 
 while ours breathe only maxims of. a lefs amiable nature *. 
 Other inftances from the hiftory of our own ifland may be ad- . 
 duced to the fame putpofe. " For more than a century after the 
 *.< memorable year 1 1 89, there was no national quarrel, nor na-f 
 *f tional war between the two kingdoms +." This circumftancc 
 
 • ** The republics of Europe are all, and we may fay always 
 " in peace. Holland and Switzerland are without wars, foreign 
 «< or doraeftic ; monarchial governments, it is true, are never 
 <* long at reft ; the crown itfelf is a temptation to enterprifing; 
 « ruffians at home ; and that degree of pride and infolence, eyef 
 ** attendant on regal authority, Iwells into a rupture with foreign 
 ** powers, in inftances where a republican government, by beiiig 
 V formed on more natural principles, would negociate thc; 
 J< miftake." Common Sen/e, ' 
 
 t Annds of Scotland, by Lord Plailei} rolt i. p« 135* 
 
 f 
 
 
[ 38 ] 
 
 becomes ths mdre remarkable, beatufe, at that rime our an- 
 ceftors were fit for almoft nothing elfe but fighthig. The fatal 
 conteft that began in the end of the thirteenth century, fprung 
 from the ambition of Edward the Firft. The refpective na- 
 tions lived in a profound peace, and were alike folicitous to 
 prcferveit, aoi ;».«».«*•,*."*;; >>^.*i .a- "' .«,,>.. 
 
 From the year 1403, to the battle of Flodden, in 1513, be- 
 ing a fpace of an hundred and ten ycarsy peace was ' maintained 
 betvveen the two kingdoms, with very little interruption; 
 though fometimes there was a war which hardly lafted abo^e a 
 fingle campaign. During the long and bloody ftrugglc between 
 the houfes of York and Lancarter, the Scots interfered only 
 once or twice at moft, and that was at the earned defire of 
 the Englifh exiles ; but they formed no ungenerous and im- 
 prafticable phms of conqueft. Even to Flodden they were 
 driven by the temerity of their fovereign ; and his fortunate 
 death put an indant end to hoftilities. Our anceftors, whom we 
 confide r as barbarians, were unacquainted with the deliberate 
 iyftematic third of blood which marks a modern politician ; and 
 what quarrels they had, arofe from the folly of their feveral 
 monarchs. We have not enjoyed ten years of peace together 
 £nce the Revolution. Even when we ceafe to fight in Europe^ ' 
 a war mud immediately commence in Afia, or Africa, or Ame« 
 rica, and in the face of all this work, we call ourfelves the hap* 
 pied people in tht; world. 
 
 Peace may be confidered as the univerfal parent of human 
 happinefs. Indudry cannot long thrive wi^out it, and to thif 
 we are indebted for a great part of our comforts, our enjoy- 
 ments, and our refourcei. Spain has long been envied for hctf 
 gold and filver mines, which, by Dr. Robertfon's account, have * 
 in two centuries and a half, produced jikbove two thoufand miU '■ 
 Hons derling. But fober induftry is vaftly mors valuable thaitf ^ 
 idl tliC mines in the world. If we can forb^ir butchery, we 
 need not defpair of difcharging every penny of our public debt* 
 with eafe, in lefs than a century ; or if we (hoold not, ftill ther 
 property of the nation would inctcafe with fuch rapidity, tfiatf 
 the debt itf«lf a«ft be haidi/ felt. To make this truth eyi- 
 
 dcnti 
 
r 39 J 
 
 ient, let us attend to what follows. As a counterpart to tfirf 
 babble of Falkland's Iflands, four millions fterling have lateljr 
 been expended on a Spanifli convention. Had they been placed 
 ojut at five per cent, of compound intercft, they would in ninety- 
 eight years have produced five hundred and twelve millioiw- 
 fterling> and at prefect one half of this latter fum would be: 
 more than fuiEcient to difcharge all our incumbrances^ and' 
 make us as free of debts as oar grandfathers wew when the- 
 Prince of Orange landed. It is true, that the job government 
 of Rritain cannot* like that of a Swifs canton, place money ar- 
 interen« but from calculations of this fort> we may form a eon- 
 jefture> as to what we arc capable of faving, by confideringi 
 what we have fpent. The American war alone added about 
 one hundred and fifty miUiona to our public debt; and yet we:- 
 are in redity a richer nation than when that war began *, Oar* 
 funds» as we call them, have not hitherto recovered the ihocky 
 but that is> in fpite of common prejudice, a happy circumftgnce*. 
 Had THI YauNG-MAN been able to borrow money with equali 
 facility as his father, we Ihould certainly have been fcourged'! 
 into a Spaniih war. Now, though the country has recovered^ 
 and though our commerce is greatly fuperior to what it had : 
 ever before beecr it is evident, that if we had not pofTefTed a» 
 alinoft inexhauftible vital principle of leproduAion and accumu- 
 lation* fo great a havock of property as an hundred and fiftyr 
 or even an hundred millions flerling, muft have reduced whole? 
 provinces of this ifland to a defart. Such a complete recovery 
 frntn the lofs of moie than an hundred millions in lefs than ten 
 y«an» prefenta us with a regular annual overplus of at leaft fix- 
 
 '«*^"'« " I I ■■ ■■ 11 !!■ ' ...I M .— .1 I ■■■ ■ I.I I L M !■■■ ■^ 
 
 * On the fubjedl of national improvement, the reader mar 
 confult with advantage Dr. Campbell's Political Survey of fin- 
 tain \ an Eftimate of the Comparative Strength of Britain, dur- 
 ins the preient and two preceding reigns, by George Chalmers^' • 
 £iq. and a continuation of this latter work, by Uie fame ele- 
 gant and profound writer, publifhed about fix months ago. Oup 
 preiTei are groaning under controverfial divinity, heraldy, blank 
 verfe, commentaries on Shakefpeare, and every other imagin- 
 able fpecies of nonfenfe, while the books here referred to, have 
 not in this country beca bonouied» as 1 am iafooncdj with eveiv 
 K fc«ond (;diuoB* 
 • 1 -i . ■ ■ ■ « ■ V ' ar 
 
i: 40 ], 
 
 br eight millions: But that we may not dverfhoot th6 mdi'ki 
 let us rate the cleat annual profits of Britifli commerce and pgri^ 
 cultute at only five millions; We (hall find that this yearly 
 accumulation of ftocks with the legal compound intereft only^ 
 amouiits> in twenty-eight years> to three hundred millions^ So 
 that by a pwace of tWenty-eight yearsj we (hall become a mord 
 opulent nation* than we would be at this moment were all our 
 debts paid off to the laft farthing* ■ ,,;. Mii;;r>,i-c »vv*- - ?a/.i. 
 Before we call this profpefl extravagant, let ns cotifider wha^ 
 has actually happened; The moft fanguine projeftor, thirty 
 years ago< Would not have prefumed to believe that four mi!^ 
 lions flerling were by this time to be employed in extending 
 and adorning a fingle city in Scotland. Yet this progrefs of 
 el«*gance • continues to rife upon us like enchantment. Who in 
 the laft century would have fufpedied that by this time our 
 North American colonies were to contain four millions of in* 
 habitants ? It muft be owned, that bcfides other evils, Gib^ 
 r&ltar, Canada^ Nova Scotia^ Botany Bay, the Eall India Com'* 
 pany, and the civil lid, are a foi' of political millftones hang* 
 ing at the neck of Briti(h Jirofpcrity. Yet fuch arc our rc^ 
 fources, that if we chufe to defift from the war fyftem> our 
 wealth muft in the courfe of fifty years extend beyond all caU 
 culation. Mr. Fox, if providence (hall continue to ble& u» 
 witlvhis abilities till that period, will not then have the fmalleft 
 difficulty in obtaining a penfion of forty thoufand pounds a year 
 for every dcfcendant of the royal family. Three ungrateful 
 nations will then ccafc to affirm* that for his conduct in a cer* 
 tain debate *, any other man would have defcrved a flogging at 
 
 every 
 
 ~ - I II I ■ I T ■ ■ - - I - m 
 
 • Fide his fpecches in parliament on the fettlement of the 
 Duke of York. If the clerk of a counting-houfe were io lofe at 
 the gaming-table a thoufand pounds of his mailer's money, ot 
 even of his own, he would be difcharged as unworthy of t!futt4 
 There is a man* who is faid to have loft five hundred thoufand 
 pt)und8 in that way, and when he had thus reduced himfelf to 
 bankruptcy, wc have feen him preferred to the management of 
 an annual revenue of fixteen millions fterling. It is difficult to 
 conceive a more gigantic inftance of ftupidity and depravity than 
 fuch a choice. That^ Houfe of Commons Ihould adopt a mir 
 
t 4. t 
 
 every whipping-poft in England. At that happy period, we" 
 lliall fupport, without winching* an hundred Lords of the Bed- 
 chamberj and as many Lords of the- Neceflary Houfe. With 
 thpfe crumbs of comfort, I proceed to the war of the Spanifh' 
 fuccelfionj a legacy from our Dutch benefaftor; 
 
 
 . r^MV .J .J.. i*H ^ CHAP. VI. 
 
 ■...-i';^ ...tf ...^-^^j » • • • "nil lit 
 
 ,]^r)gl{uul has been the prey of jobs ever fince the Revolution. < 
 
 i-jir ,' Jii..Vi' 'In •*ii. )J-Ji '.!>i '..i-N ' .•• •■.•\'. ■ > .. '*.-<'li FxiNEf 
 
 /CHARLES the Second King of Spain had no children; he 
 ^^ was of declining years, and a feeble conftitution. There. 
 were three candidates for the inheritance of his dominions, the . 
 Emperor, the Dauphin of France, and the Eledloral Prince of 
 Bavaria. The Emperor claiiced right as male reprefentative 
 
 nifter of this fort, is auite in chdrafler ; but that individuals, wh<J 
 have the happinefs ot their count rj* at heart, (hould applaud fuch 
 a (eleAioH) muft fill every fober man with aftonilhment. To' 
 fweep off large fums at the gaming-table, is a dilhonourabld 
 dirty praftice. Mr. Fox, in the boundlefs diverfit)- of his ad- 
 ventures, muft have ruined many a family, and fent many a 
 helplefs woman with forrow to the grave. 
 
 In the manufcrlpt of a tour in Switzerland, which I have feenj 
 the following paflage dcferves peculiar attention. « At Bern* 
 «• a heavy pennhy is impofed upon any peifon, who in one day 
 «« (hall lofe raore than two pounds five (hillings (lerling by gam- 
 " ing; and every member of government, and ofiicer in public 
 « fervice, is obliged to take an oath, not only that he (hall faith- 
 « fully and honourably obferve this law, but that he (hall zea-' 
 *< loufly maintain it, and that he (hall freely and impartially give 
 (' information againft all perfons who to his knowledge (hall 
 « offend againft it. The prefence of fome of thofe diftinguilh- 
 ** ed perfoni in all good companies, proves in fad an in\ incible 
 *< bar to immoderate play. With what contemptuous pity 
 would a Swifs hear us prattlingi that our government is the 
 «m>j of the world 1 
 
 f 
 
 to 
 
 • <• 
 
r 42^ J 
 
 t» the family of Auftria. Philip the Fourth^ pretlcceffor »n<^ 
 father to Charles, had left behind him two daughters by difi* 
 ferent marriages. The eldcft was mother to the Dauphin; the 
 youngeft hadefpoufed the Emperorrand their daughter, an only 
 furviving child, had been married to the Eleftorof Bavar'iay to- 
 whom fhe had born that Prince who was at prefent a candidate. 
 It feems that the Dauphin of France, as defcending from the 
 eldeffi daughter of Phillip the Fourth, had the ncareft right ;- but 
 as the other nations of Europe weTc extr^mly jealous of France, 
 it was early forefeen that the Dauphin's claim would meet with 
 a dangerous oppofition»- On the ift of Oftober 1698, the King^ 
 of France, the King of England, and the Republic of Holland, 
 engaged in a' contraft as to this fucfcelfion. Their bitrgain waa, 
 that the Dauphin (hould fucceed to the kingdoms of Naples and 
 Sicilly, and a certain portion of the provinces of Spain itfelf. 
 The other two candidates were to (hare the reft of the domi- 
 nions, and this agreement hath fihce' been called iht Jft^ treaty 
 of partition. So vaft an acccfllon of territory would have ren- 
 dered France a moft formidable neighbour to the Dutch, and 
 on their part the treaty feems to have been an aft of imprudence. 
 The fecret of this combination having come to light, Charles 
 in a rage i.nftantly made a teftamcnt, by which he transferred the 
 whole dominions of Spain, to the young Prince of Bavaria,. 
 But as the latter died foon after, he made a fceond will, by 
 which he bequeathed the fucccfTion, alfo entire, to the Arch- 
 duke Charles, the Emperor's fceond fon, by a marriage which- 
 he had entered info after the death of his Spanifh cmprefs. 
 The former parties, on the r4th March 1700, engaged in n/c- 
 tond treaty of partition, by which the Da.uphin was to receive i 
 large addition to his (hare, and the remainder was ref«rved for 
 the Emperor. This tranfadion alfo reached Charics* before ir 
 was clofed ; and in Auguft 1 699, his ambad'ador at London de- 
 livered to the Engli(h miniftry an intcrefting appeal on the con- 
 duft of William, He remarked, that if fuch proceedings were 
 allowed, no people, no dominion could be fafe againft the am- 
 bition of the ftrongcft, and the deceits of the moft malicious ;. 
 that Ihould ftrangcrs be fuficred to put their hands into tlie line* 
 • '*! - - to ' i * ' . ^i 
 
[flbr andit 
 by dif^ 
 Uin; the 
 I an onjy 
 f&tiir to- 
 ididate. 
 Irom the 
 tht;.but 
 
 ' { AS 1 
 
 Jbffcccefllon of kings, no ftatutes, no municipal laws would be 
 aebferved ; that no crown could be free from the attempts of 
 aliens ; and the crown of England lefs than any crown.; and that 
 were men to lie watching for the ficknefs of fovereigns, na 
 health could be conftanti and no life fecure. He alfo reminded 
 themt that the expences of a war, and the dellr uAion of com- 
 merce, muft be the certain confcquence of fuch adventures. 
 . '■ For this honeil prodH^ion, the ambaiTador was forced to 
 leare England. On the id of Oftober 1700, the King of 
 Spain, by the advice of the Pope, made a third teftament. To 
 put an end to all projcfts of a partition, he left the whole em- 
 pire, undivided, to the Duke of Aujou, the fccond fon of the 
 Dauphin of France, and grandfon to Lewis the Fourteenth^ 
 By this choice, he attempted to avert th« calamities of a dif- 
 putcd fucceflion. For as the Duke of Anjou v/as not heir to 
 the crown of France, that circuraftuiice removed the objeftion 
 of m;tking u hazardous augmentation to the Frendi domini- 
 ons. This meafufe was more fimble, jufl, and pradicable, than 
 fhat adopted hy William and the Dutch. On the 25th No- 
 vember 1 700, Charles died ^ and though he bequeathed fuch a 
 fplendid legacy to the houfc of Bourbon, he had been one of 
 William's allies in his laft (ong and bloody war againft France ; 
 a fadl which evinces the mutability of the political world. 
 
 On the death of their fovereignt the Spanilh nation deter- 
 mined that a confpiraoy of foreigners ihould not be fuifered to 
 .partition their provinces. They difpatched a courier to the 
 court of France with the teftament of their late fovereign, and 
 if Lewis (hould refufe to accept the monarchy for his grand- 
 fon, they gave him orders to proceed to Vienna, and make an 
 offer of the univerfal fucceflion to the Archduke. Thus Lewis 
 had hit choice of two meafures^ If he accepted the teftament 
 of Charles, his grandfon was at once, and without oppofition> 
 put into poileflton of the Spaniih dominions, at the hazard of a 
 4)uarrel with the Dutch and England. If he refufed this ofier« 
 ihe Auftrian Archduke was with equal certainty to afcend tho 
 throne, and Lewis was to depend on the very doubtful friendf 
 ^ip of his old enemies; the Dutch and England, for their aflift* 
 
 F 2 jtnqi 
 
ance to conquer a fliarc of Spain, in Qppofition to the Empfirot 
 and that nation. But as Lewis himfeif was feared and hated 
 both in Holland and England, there is not the leaft probability* 
 that he would have obtained any ferious aid in his pretcnftons, 
 from thcfe two countries. We cannot therefore with reafon 
 condemn him, when he accepted for the Duke of Anjou the 
 offer of the Spanilh crown. The reader is requefted to pay par- 
 ticular attention to this concife and candid (late of the cafe ; 
 fur even at prefent} it is the vulgar opinion that Lewis aiiled 
 upon this occafion with treachery. It would be more' proper 
 to fay, that Wijliam engaged in an enterprife far above his 
 power, and that he (hewed an uicer indifference to the intereft 
 of his kingdoms. The preference which the Spanilh nation be- 
 flowed upon the Duke of Anjou, was in the moral fei^fe an am-^ 
 pie vindication of the acceptance of 'Lewis, If there be fuch a. 
 thing as equity upon eafth, it muft begin with this maxim, that 
 H people are at all times entitled to their choice of a mafter. 
 
 On the 17th of April 1701, William acknowledged the Duke 
 of Anjou, as the lawful fovereign of Spain, by a letter undes 
 hi? own hand. The Dutch alfo lecognized his right. On the 
 7th of September thereafter; WiUiamj with his wonted confi^,; 
 ency, entered into an alliance with the Emperor and Holland 
 to attack the young monarch. The deftgn avowed in the ar« 
 tides was, to obtain the Dutchy of Milan from the crown of 
 Spain, as a compenfation to the f)mperor ; and Flanders, of 
 part of it, as a barrier for Holland, What England was to ob- 
 tain, we are not informed. On the 6th of September 1701, 
 James the Second expired, and Lewis, on hi^ death, acknow. 
 ledged his fon as King of England, Though this was but ai^ 
 empty form, William employed it as a pretence to feduce the 
 nation into a fecond war. His projcft was embtaced with exul,» 
 tation by ail parties. 
 
 Vet though Lewis waj to blame, we durfelves had bihavt^ 
 but little better. Our affumed title as King of froMce, h not 
 only adifhonourable untruth, but a wanton infult to a refpeftable 
 people. William jM^paiod for a campa^n, but happily both 
 
' [ 45 ] ■ 
 
 for others and hiihfelf, a fall from his horfe put an end to hl« 
 battles and his treaties, on the 8th of March 1 702 *. 
 
 Before we enter into the events of this war, it may not b* 
 improper to^ illuftrate, by an exadl and interefting parallel, .whj^t 
 Dr. Swift calls « our infamous treaty of partition." Let us 
 fuppofe, that for fome years before the dcj^th of Queen Eliza* 
 beth, all Europe had forefeen that (he was to die childlefs, that 
 James the Sixth of Scotland was to be her fuccefTor, and that by 
 fuch an increafe of dominion, England was to enfure a decifive 
 addition of power and importance. " N0|" exclaimed tlrft 
 Dutch, the French, and the Auftrians, "we cannot, Elizabeth* 
 'f permit you and your people tq chufc a fovereign for Eng- 
 « land. We all know that Majier\ James is a fool. He has 
 ** married a daughter of the King of Demnsjrk ; and hence 
 « the Britifh Empire would become but a province tq the 
 M court of Copenhagen. \\'e have forpied a much better plan, 
 «' and you mull adopt it. Jerfcy, Guernfey, and Plymouth, 
 «< Dover cattle, and the county of Kent, are to compofe a 
 f* frontier in the hands of his Moft Chriftian Majcfty, The 
 
 * In drawing up this ftatcment, Mr. Macpherfon has been 
 chiefly followed, with fome additions from the Memoirs of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, printed in 1788, In this laft work, 
 William is every where reprefented as a virtuous and ftiblime 
 charader. The ftory of the Countefs of Orkney, and the trit* 
 cataftrophe of Darien, with many others of the fame fort, ars 
 completely explained away. The partition treaties are de- 
 fended, as pregnant with iuturc bleffings to England ; for the 
 biftorian feents to fancy that the Allies could have divided the 
 provinces of Spain, with the exaftncfs and tranquillity of a grocet 
 cuttine a pound of cheefe. The fequel fufficiently proved the 
 fibfurtuty of fuch a fuppofition, 
 
 This writer has alTigned a remarkable reafon for fendinff vnM 
 i|he worid his fecond volume. " But feeing Englaaod Gately, M 
 f < I thought] on the brink of ruin, becaufe ihe was on the brink 
 f* of a cmtineMtal war, I thought that the piAures of mifery, 
 M even amid fucgefs* which the continental wars of the two 
 f( grand alliances prefent^ might make the public, attend to tbi 
 \* pnfpea before tbtm" 
 
 It isimpoinble to puklifli from moit honourable motives^ 0^ 
 to atteft a more important truth. 
 
 t If enry the Foi^rth of France ufed to ea^ him fo« 
 
[ 46 ] 
 
 h ifles' of Wight, Anglefca, and Man, muft be deliyercd up to 
 '* their High Mightinefles for the convenience of importing 
 ** gin ; and you muil likewife permit them to catch and cure 
 ,«* pilchards on the coaft of Cornwall. To Ireland you never 
 f* had any title but that of a robber, and as you are detefted 
 '* by the whole nation, to the very laft man, it is tieceflary, for 
 <* prcferving iht balance of po'xver, to declare them independent. 
 « As for the reft of your dominions, we have brought you ^ 
 « German mailer, born at the diftance of a thoufand miles, 
 *' a ftranger to your country, your laws, your manners, and 
 f' your language. In defence of bis right, we have difem^ 
 f barked on the coaft of Yorkfhire two hundred thoufand 
 #* armed ruffians ; and iinlefs you inftantly acknowledge him ^ 
 « as fucceflbr, we Ihall fpread defolation from Caithnefs to th« 
 ** land's end. If his Danifh majefty declines to afllft us in 
 ** overwhelming his fon in-law, out admirals have orders to 
 ** beat Copenhagen about his ears. We are perfeftly deter, 
 f* mined ; and before we give up the point, we (hall fjynd the 
 ** laft drop of our blood) and the laft farthing of our money j 
 « befidcs diving into more debt than our pofterit)' can pay off 
 «' in an hundred eenerations." 
 
 9 ■ - 11-."' •«.*• ■ 
 
 On the 4th of May 17P2, hoftilltles were declared agalnft 
 Spain. *« We haftily engaged in a war," fays Swift, « which 
 f< hath coft us SIXTY MILLIONS, and after repeated, as well as 
 «* unexpeded fuccefs in arms, hath put us and our pofterity in 9 
 " worfe condition, jiot only than any of our allies, but thaa 
 V even our conjuered enemies them/el<vet *," The two firft cam- 
 fiaigns efcaped without any decifive event. On the 25th of 
 November 1702, the Commons, in confequence of a mendicant 
 mefTage from the Court, aifigned the yearly fum of an hundred 
 thoufand pounds to the Prince of Denmark, her Majefty> 
 
 ■■■■ - _ I 
 
 • The Condua of the Allies. This is the cafe at the end of 
 alnwft every war, and reminds me of a remark made by Lord 
 Monboddo. Somebody once aflccd him, Whether Europe or 
 America had profited moft by the difcovcries of Columbus ? 
 H The balance," replied hi» LordlTiip, « is pretty equal. Wet 
 " gave them brandy and the Jmall-tox ; and thev gave us rum 
 f xa.^ the grtat fox," * 4«wf »•*/'». *>■» 
 
f 4r J 
 
 rum 
 
 liiiJoand, in cafe he (hould furvivc her. So extravagant a pen-' 
 fion confirms the remark of Milton, that t/je trappingt of a mo" 
 narchy luould/et tip an ordinary commonixiealth. On the 28th of 
 Oftobst 1708, the Prince died, and as. he was a perfon of the 
 moft innocent character, it founds harlhly to fay, that his exit 
 was defirable. Yet had he outlived Anne, twenty thoufand 
 necefiitous families muft each have paid five pounds a year of 
 their pittance to fupport him. And this fmgle impoiition 
 would, while . it laftedy have comprehended more fubftantial^ 
 injuftice and opprelEon than all the other thefts and robberies-, 
 in the country. rvir»;^:'r,-"»!r<^ j".*s.», ■■^V^jr^ ,IrtV/;'^Vi4l 
 In September 1703, Gharles, the fecond fon of tlie Emperor. 
 Leopold, was declared King of Spain, and as fuch, was acknow- 
 ledged by all the Allies, includiriig the Dutch and England^ 
 who had both formerly recognized the title of the Frencb 
 Prince. It i» needlefs to expatiate on the juftice or decency of 
 fnch a meafure. In Auguft 1704, Marlborough won the battle 
 of Blenheim. In Odober 1 706 Lewis offered better terms of 
 pacification than naere afterwardi exupted. . With wl^at pro- 
 priety then are we to blame his ambition ? " The Whigs," fay* 
 Mr. Macpherfon, *< who were now poffeffed of the whole 
 «< power of government in England, infulted common fenfty injhe 
 «* reafon which they gave for rejefting the propofed peace. 
 *< They faid, that the terms offered by France were too good» 
 
 ■*^/.' " to be the foundation for a iafling tranquillity, and therefore > 
 
 U they ought not be admitted," — Had Lewis engaged to- 
 
 , reftore Normandy to England, that, upon Whig principles, 
 
 ' ' would have been a ftill better reafon for refufing an agreement. 
 
 Such were the political heroes whofc -virtues we vaunt of adopt- 
 
 , ing, and by whom Europe was condemned to remain for fix 
 
 years and five months longer, a fcene of confuTion, diftrefs, and 
 
 carnage ! This infolence very foon met with its reward. On 
 
 ' the 25th of April 1707, an entire Whig army was difperfed>' 
 
 taken, or extirpated, at Almanza, by the Duke of Berwick. 
 
 . Sixteen thoufand of the vanquidied ,were killed ormadepri«, 
 
 foners. In this campaign, the Duke of Marlborough atchieved 
 
 «othing worthy of his former fame. Pr^ce Eugenej with fort/ 
 
 ^ thoufand 
 
 k 
 
 V, 
 
 /< 
 
r 48 J 
 
 Hioufand men, invaded Provence, and invefted Toulon* His 
 farces were in danger of being furroimded, and his efcape ot 
 flight was marked with the ufuai and heroic circumfiances of 
 flaughter and devaftationt Four Englifh men ofwarj with Ad- 
 miral Shovel, a perfon whofe abilities had raifed him firoin thd' 
 ta,ak of a common failor, foundered on the rocks of Scilly. In' 
 ihort, the difafters of the Allies were fo numerous and fevere> 
 that Lewis might at .this time . have turned the chafe, if hisr 
 oounfels had not been governed by an old woman. The Scots>' 
 hy.i bargain fufUciently queftionable had bqen u«i/ed with. 
 England^ The whole nation wetc inflamed into a degree of: 
 inadnefs. ' The Pretender's birth day was publicly celebrated at 
 Edinburgh ; and a memorial was tranfmkted to France by i. 
 humber of nobility and gentry, who promKiid to embody in his 
 favour five thoufand horfe and twenty-five tboufand foou The 
 proppfal was tejefled. In 1 708, the Allies were more fuccefs* 
 ful, and among other blcfled events, they gained Liile, witht 
 the lofs of eighteen or twenty thoufand men. For what no-*' 
 table purpofes have we dragged the fmith from his anvil, and 
 the farmer from his plow I In 1 709, the Government bor- 
 rowed from the Bank of England four hundred thoufand poundt> 
 at fix fer cent, befides granting them feveral advantages,' 
 which may have raifed the real intcreft to ten or twelve per' 
 ttnU and ail this for the pleafure of making a German King ' 
 of ^ain. The prafticc of advancing money to the public 
 was at that time, and has been ever fince, a very profitabltf' 
 ttaiick to thofe gentlemen of whom Lord Chatham has madct. 
 fuch honourable mention. Lewis, in the beginning of thia 
 year, had renewed his offers of peace. He attempted, ai 
 Torcy relates, to bribe the Duke of Marlborough, by a condi-> 
 tional prefent of four millions of iivres ; but his Grace, after 
 due confideration, declined the propofal. The aged and uiu 
 fortunate King promifed to yield tht luhele Spauijh monarchy t» 
 tit Houfe of Aufiria (without any equivalent *. He confcnted to 
 a (tries of the mof^ degrading demands which his enemies could 
 
 f Macpherfoni vol, ii. chap. 7, 
 
 invent^ 
 
 ■• ■ "-'.*. '-■ . 
 
His 
 
 pe of 
 
 es of 
 
 Ad- 
 
 In 
 vere* 
 
 f his: 
 COtS>' 
 
 with 
 
 ree of: 
 ted at 
 
 by 4 
 in his 
 
 The 
 ccefsA 
 
 with^ 
 It no*' 
 
 and 
 
 bor- 
 >und(> 
 tages*' 
 e per' 
 
 i « ] 
 
 invent, but they left him no choice between refiftance and de- 
 ftruftion. France was in the mean time ravaged by a terrible fa- 
 mine, which fervcd to fill up the meafure of univerfal wretchr 
 ednefsk Whatever we may think of J^wis himfelfj and even a 
 defpot may deferve our pity, one muft have the nerves of a 
 Dutchman or a Whigi if he does not feel for the raiferies of 
 twenty miHions of people* On the loth of September 1709^ 
 thefe conferences were fuc(?eeded by the viftofy of Malplaquet, 
 which Marlbd^ough purchafed with the lives of twenty thoufand 
 men* while the B>ench, though defeated^ left but eight thOufand 
 dead on the field. 
 
 In 1 7 10, Lewis made frefli offers of fubmlfllon. « He pro- 
 " mifed even ,i fubfidy of a million of livrcs monthly to the 
 ** Allies, till King Philip ^o»/</ ^t' </«w« out of Spain*." But 
 liiark what follows : — -They required that Lewis Ihould affift 
 them with all his forces, to expel his griindfon from the throne 
 of that kingdom. We need not enlarge upon the bafenefs o£ 
 trampling a fallen adverfary, iince our illuftrious anceftors might 
 have improved their morality from a boxing ftage< A ring of 
 chairmen would be aihamcd of fuch confummate barbarity^ 
 Whether Lewis would have fubmitted to this lad a£l of degra- 
 dation is doubtful, for Eugene and Marlborough obftrufled the 
 progrefs of explanation, and commenced the campaign. — ' 
 <* They gained three places of importance, and conquered 
 «« twelve leagues of a fine country. But they loft twenty-fix 
 " thoufand men by the fword. Half their infantry tuas ruined 
 « by wounds, difeafes, and fatigue +." In Spain, we obtained 
 during this year two victories. Stanhope, the Englifh general* 
 entered Madrid . " The army lived at large upon the people* 
 ** without order, without moderation, and without difcipline* 
 " They raifed contributions on private perfons« They pillaged 
 ** the churches, and fold publicly the utenfils of the altar if*'* 
 Nobody can be forry to hear that on the 8th of December i7io« 
 thefe ruffians were defeated. Stanhope himfelf was taken pri* 
 foner, with five thoufand Britifh troops; |f ■' - - -?» *» ^*^^ 
 
 ; Macphcrfbn, vol. ii. chap. 7* 
 
 G 
 
 t Ibid. % Ibid. 
 
 By 
 
I • 
 
 l^y ttis time the nation were almoft tired with the expence of 
 this war, and had begun to fufpeft the abfurdity of it» firft 
 principles* But as the Cabinet was comletely garrifoned by the 
 partifans of Marlborough, to reverfe the fyflem, required both 
 k ftrong and dexterous hand« A circumftance in itfelf trifling 
 contributed to this event; and the friends of mankind muft 
 jicknowJedge, that for once at lea{l< public happinefs has been 
 promoted by public fuperftition. On the 3d of November 
 1709, Heniy Sacheverelly a Tory parfonr preached at St. 
 Paul's a fermon, in which he enforced, with much virulence* 
 the nonfenfe about pafllve obedience and non-refiftance* In 
 this performance, the Earl of Godolphin, Lord High Treafurer 
 of England, and one of the chief leaders of the Whigs, wa» 
 perfonatly attacked, and the whole party wer« eager to punilh 
 the mah who had thus contefted their darling defines. They 
 brought him to a trial befosie the Houfc of Peers ; and this mea- 
 sure gave the Tories an opportunity for aflerting tkat tie Church 
 tvas in iiatger. The great body of the people broke into a 
 tranfport of rage. ** The current, which had been long change 
 " ing, rah down with a ioKe, that levelled every thing beibre 
 it*." During the trial, the pews of five diflenting meeting- 
 houfes weit burnt in the ft«eetSr The ontrages of the rabble 
 were difedted by perfons of higher sanky who attended at theif 
 \x.^ in hackney coaches ^ the watch word was — The Church 
 and Sacbeverell, ^hofe who joined not in the (hout were 
 infulted and knocked down \ and Burnet teils us, that at his 
 door one man got his Ik^ili cleit with' a fpade, for his refufaU . 
 The fermon was ordeved to be burnt by the hangman, but the 
 public flame was kept tip with nnuch addrefs by the Tories* 
 Sadicvereli made a journey into Walesy and was every where 
 iKoeived with raptures of admiration* The Q^een^ by de* 
 ;^iees» embraced this opportunity to fite herfelf from the ty- 
 lanay of an infolent &^on. On the 8th of Auguft i7ro, Go* 
 dolphin was difinifled. A new parliament was fummoned to . 
 meet on the 25th of November thereafter. The frenzy of thoT 
 
 ;t 
 
 f Macpberf(w» vol* iif chap> 8« 
 
 mofii 
 
tenee of 
 its firft 
 by the 
 d both 
 trifilng 
 muft 
 as been 
 vcmber 
 at St. 
 ulenccf 
 In 
 eafurer 
 js, was 
 
 [ 5t 3 
 
 mob was fupported by the fubftantial logic of the Treafury; and 
 a majority was returned of Tory members. Harley, the new 
 minifteri and his aflfociates) had too much fenfe to difcover 
 abruptly their defigns to the people. The fum of fourteen mil- 
 lions five hundred and feventy-three thoufand» three hundred 
 and niDeteen poundsi nineteen (hillings and eight pence half- 
 penny* was voted to difcharge the arrears in the navy and other 
 offices} and the fervices of the current year. At this critical 
 moment, a fecund ftroke of fortune advanced the pacific views 
 of the Tories. On the ift of May 1705, the Emperor Leopold 
 had died ; and on the 6th of April 171 1» hiseldeft fon and fuc- 
 ceflbr, Jofeph, died alfo ; and without regarding his own two 
 daughters, left his brother Charles, our intended King of Spain, 
 his univerfal heir. « His death fuddenly changed the nuhole 
 ** Jiate of affairs. The war undertaken by the grand alliance 
 *« for preferving the balance of Europe, was now lilely to </<•- 
 " ftroy it for ever; and men who judged of the future by the 
 « pad, began to dread the irrefiftible power of the Emperor 
 « Charles th? Fifth, in the perfon of a prince of his family*." 
 Hence, even upon our own mad principles, it bocame juft as ne- 
 ceiTary to oppofe the fucceffionof our candidate Charles, as that 
 <of the Duke of Anjou. Yet with the moft aftoni(hing impu- 
 dence, the Whigs and our Allies, Charles and the Putch, were 
 anxious to continue the war. The German princes, and among 
 others, the Eledor of Hanover i-, exprefled their higheft difap- 
 probation of the projedled peace. The arguments of George* 
 if fuch they may be called, are too frivolous for confutation 
 or infertion here. Portugal and Savoy fecondcd the German 
 chorus. «« The emoluments derived from war were greater 
 «* than their expedations from peace. — ^The money of the ihajio 
 '< ririme powers, and chiefly that of England, more than the 
 « territories of the Houfe of Bourbon, was the grand objeA of 
 « thofe petty tyrants, who fed qn the bleed of fubJe&t<t»/kom they 
 
 . * Macpherfon, vol, ii. chap* 8* 
 
 -f- In a Memorial printed bv his envoy, and a ktter fkom hi|i|k 
 &lf to Hariey, dated November 7, 1711. t 
 
 V 
 
w letoiitforjlaughter*** Compared with merchants of this de- 
 fcription, an ordinary offender is a paragon of innocence. Whei\ 
 a nation fends for fovereigns from fuch a fchool, there appears 
 but a melancholy prefage of the profpej^ before it. 
 
 The campaign of 171 1, elapfed without effort on either 
 fide. The furrender of Bouchain on the 13th of September, 
 clofed the military exploits of the Duke of Marlborough. The 
 fiew minifter of England hadi>een engaged in attempting to re- 
 concile the demands of the contending powers. But the States 
 of Holland were fo much cxafperated by the conduft of Queen 
 Anne, that they wefe at no pains in concealing their dcfign to 
 treat her as they had" treated her father. They propofed *' to 
 *' fit out a fleet to affift the Elcdor of Hanover to ftrike the 
 f* fceptre from her handt," On the 7th of December, parlia- 
 ment met, Harley had fccurcd a Tofy m^ajority in the Houfc 
 f)f Commons ; but his party was fomewhat inferior in the Houfe 
 of Peers. Affairs had now come to a crifis. The leaders of 
 the Whigs were fufpefted of intending an immediate appeal to 
 arms. It became therefore heceffary to difmifs the Diike of 
 Marlborough from his military cornmand ; and on the laft day 
 of December, Harley produced what is now c-'led a batch of 
 peers. Twelve gentlemen devoted to the court were create4 
 members of the Upper Houfe. Anne had the very fame right 
 to have create.d twelve thoufand. Tbe conftitution of Britain} 
 like the (word of Dionyfius, hangs by a finglc hair. 
 
 On the 17th of January 1712, Mr. Walpole was committed 
 to the To\yerf H' had received five hundred guineas, and a 
 pote for five hundred more, for two contra^s ^yhen fecretary at 
 war, for fupplyiqg the forces in Scotliind with forage. «« A 
 <• member," fays Burnet, " who w^s a Whig, was expelled 
 r< the Houfe; and a profecution was ordered againft hip) : — but 
 f< the abufe goes on JiilU as avoiuedlj as ever," Tjic Duke of 
 Marlborough's condudl underwent a fevetc cenfyre, and Carr 
 
 * Macpherfoi^ vol, ii. chap, 8« Seventeen thoufand of thcfc 
 mlferable vidlims were at one time furnifhed by the Court uf 
 flanovcr. Macpher/ons Stale PiTferSf vol, U, p. 49% 
 
 f A^cuherfoni vol. iif phap^ 9, 
 
• ' [ 53 ] 
 
 donneli his fecretary, was expelled by the Commons. The 
 campaign of 1712 was unfortunate on the part of the Allies. 
 The Britilh forces under the command of the Duke ofOrmond 
 rctnained inaftivc ; and even the abfence of the abilities of Marl- 
 borough feems to haie been feverely felt. The peace was not 
 finally fettled till March 1713. The Whig faftion, to their 
 cte.rn.1l infamy, ftrained every nerve to prevent it. By this 
 peace, befides the iflands of Minorca and St, Chriftopher's, and 
 tin; fortrefs of Gibraltar, for ourfelves, we obtained the ifland 
 of Sicily for the Duke of Savoy, which produced the Spanifh 
 war in 1718, a partial right for our merchants of trading to 
 South America, which began the Spanilh war of 1739, and 
 Nova Scotia, which gave rife to the French war in 1756, 
 This war was more deftrudive than that of 1689, as it 
 lalled for eleven campaigns. Dr. Swift computes that each 
 .of them coft us fix or feven millions flerling. The lofs of 
 lives and . of (hipping could be hardly, if at all inferior to 
 that of the former war, as our battles were numerous, and 
 as the protection of our commerce was altogether negleded. 
 In a word, the nation fquandercd feventy or eighty millions) 
 that Marlborough might pilfer ow. 
 
 To Dr. Swift we are much indebted for the termination of 
 this war. His pamphlet on The Couduil of the Allies, excited 
 a fort of political earthquake, and more than all his admirable 
 verfes muft endear him to diilant pofterity. A few paiTages 
 may ferve as a fpecimen of the reft. " It will appear," (aya 
 lie, « by plain matters of fafl, that no nation was ever fo longi 
 " or fo fcandaloudy abufed, by the folly, the temerity, the 
 « corruption, and the ambition of its domeftic enemies ; or 
 f< treated with fo much infolence, injuftice, and ingratitude, hy 
 f* its foreign friends. — ^We are deftroying many thoufand lives* 
 <( and exhaulling our fubftance, not for our own intereft, which 
 « would be ^ut common prudence ; not for a thing indifferenti 
 " which would be fufficient folly ; but perhaps to our own de- 
 « ftruftion, which is perfeA madnefs. — The common queftion 
 « is, if we mud now furrender Spain, what have we been fights 
 ♦« ing for all this while ? The anfwer is ready. We have beeo 
 ff fighting for the nun of the public inXW^t wd the advance. 
 
[ 54 J 
 
 - t 
 
 * ment of & private. We have been fighting to raife the 
 M wealth and grandeur of a particular family ;" (that of Marl- 
 borough,) " to enrich ufurers and ftockjobbers) and to culti- 
 " vate the pernicious defigns of a fadlioni by deftroying the 
 ** landed intereft. — Since the monied men are fo fond of war« 
 ** I Ihould be glad if they would fumifh out one campaign at 
 '< their won charge. It is not above fix or feven millions ; and 
 '* I dare engage to make it out* that, tuheH they have done thh, 
 « inftead of oontributiog equal to the landed men, they will 
 ** have their full principal and intereft at fix per cent, remaining 
 « of all the money they ever lent to the government." 
 
 Even at this day, we are deafened about the glorious vidtorie$ 
 of the Puke of Marlborough, and though by the death of the 
 Emperor Jofeph, the object of difpute was utteriy extingui(hed» 
 « crowd of authors perfift in lamenting that our commander 
 was checked in the career of pillage and butchery. Happy 
 might it have been for this country, had Marlborough, with 
 all his forces, perifhed on the field of Blenheim ; fince it may 
 be fuppofed, that fuch a ftroke would at once have blafted our 
 crufades upon the continent. As if his Grace had not enjoyed 
 fuificient opportunities of plundering the treafury of the nation* 
 as if the manor of Woodftock, the palace of Blenheim *, and an 
 hundred thoufand pounds a year +, had not been adequate to 
 the fervices of himfelfand his Duchefs, we are faddled with 
 $n annaal payment of five thoufand pounds to his family for. 
 ever. When a conftitution, deferving that name, (hall fucceed 
 oar pie(ent political anarchy, it is not difficult to forefice fome 
 of the firft objeAs of reformation. The Earl of Chatham en- 
 joys fbnr thoufand pounds a year, becaufe hi* fiither added fe- 
 ▼enty millions to the national debt. The Duke of Richmond 
 Taifes from th^ city of London an annual revenue, faid to be 
 
 * Dr. Swift cftimates Woodftock atfoicy thoufand poond^i 
 and addS| that Blenheim Houfe had coft two hundred thoofiind 
 poundsi and wa« at the time of his writii^ unfnijhti^ Theie 
 can be no wonder, that we muft now pay nine>pence per pound 
 of imporution duty for Peruvian banc, and three guineas for 
 leave to ihoot a partriage worth two-penoe. 
 f The fun has been iUted hJAbcfi but ^^ computations aif 
 fflra^s in part random, 
 
 twenty 
 
r 55 J . 
 
 t»6nty thoufand poondsi becaufe he is defcended from tht ^a 
 of a criminal *, who deferved an hundred times over to have 
 been'flogged out of human fociety. 
 
 As a commentary on the preceding narrative^ we may con. 
 fiilt a quotation from Dr. Johnfon's pamphlet on Falkland'a 
 hlands. The reflections which it contains have more than once 
 extortedf in my hearings the admiration of the late Dri Adam 
 $mith} who was far from being a gener^ advocate for this Au« 
 thor. ; V.'- t ■ n- / 
 
 " It is wonderful, with what coolnefk and indifference th^ 
 « greater part of mankind fee war commenced. Thofe who 
 « hear of it at a diftance> or read of it in booksy but have nev«r 
 « pre/enu ^ its evils to their minds, confider it as little itaom 
 ** than i> ' )' d game, a proclamation, an army, a battle^ and 
 « a trim ^^ oome indeed muft periih in the moft fucccCsful 
 M field, but they die upon the bed of honour, reJigH their Irvti 
 ** amidji thejojt ofcoMqueftt andtfilUd'with England' t glorjifmiW 
 «• /« death. 
 
 « The life of a modem foldier is iU leprefented by hermc 
 *< fiAion. War has means of dellruAion more formidable thai^ 
 *^ the caimon and the fword. Of the thuufands and ten thou* 
 « fands who perifhed in our late contefts with France and ^Nun» 
 
 * a very fmall part ev«r felt the ftroke of an enemy ; the reft 
 *( languiflied in tents and (hips, amidft damps and putrefaction ^ 
 
 * pale, torpidf fpiritlefs, and helplefs ; gafping and groanu'ig* 
 M nnpitied among men, made obdurate by a long continuncc. 
 
 * of hopelcfs mifery ; and were at laft whelmed in pits, or 
 « heaved into the ocean, without notice, and without reniem- 
 <* brance. By incommodious encampments, and unwhokfomo 
 ^ ftations, where courage is ufelefs, and enterptife impraCHea- 
 M bie, fleets are filently difpeopled-l-f and amues fluggiihl|' 
 « melted away. - ; « 
 
 « That 
 
 »!■ - I I, ■ .1. . ■ I <.l I ■ ■ I II 11 III! I 
 
 • Charles II. 
 
 \ The manning of a fleet hai oflen produced almaft u moch 
 Inifchief as its deMnlathn, On this fubjeA there is here fubjoin- 
 ^ a Ihoit bat lao^ittPK fterf | wUkI^ lu{>p«ic4 "boiK die timo 
 
 4l 
 
^•* 
 
 ./ 
 
 '« Thus is a people gradually exhaufted, for tlie moft paif 
 
 « with'lktle effeft. 
 
 The wars of civilized nations make very" 
 
 . . .w>:;!«^«. , flow 
 
 i*. 
 
 whei^n. Johnfon's pamphlet was firft printed, and which cart 
 hsijl^ly be rejaitded as a digielfion) lince it reflects additional hor-> 
 ror* on the. war fyftem . 
 
 A workman, in London, was apprehended by a prcfs gang,^ 
 His wife and child were turned to the door by their landlord* 
 Within a few days after (lie was delivered of a fecond child in 
 a garret* On her recovery, (he was driven to the ftreets 
 as a common beggar. She went into a (hop, and attempted to 
 *arry off a fmafi piece of linen. She was feized, tried, and 
 condemned to be hanged. In her defence flie faid, that (he 
 had Hved^reditably and happy, till a prcfs gang robbed her of 
 her ^umnd, and in him, oiTall means to fupport herfelf and her 
 £imi)y ; and that in attempting to clothe ner new bom infant, 
 ihe perhaps did wrbng, as (he did not, at that time, know what 
 ihe di4. The p^rilh ofBcen, and other witncffes, bore tefti^ 
 inony to the truth of h.er averment, but all to no purpofe. ihe 
 Was o^defed for Tyburn. Tie hangman dragged her fucking hi- 
 ^faut frorM her breaj}, luhen he Jirahicd the cord about her necl» 
 On thfc lath May 17771 Sir William Meredith mentioned this 
 affaffinati*! in the Houfe of Commons. *< Never," faid he, 
 *^K?& there a fouler murder committed againft the law, than that 
 "of this woman by the law." — Such were the fruits 4f what 
 ^nglifliracn call their inejiimable pri'vilege of a trial by jury. 
 
 It would not be difficult to fill a large volume with decifions 
 of this (lamp, though there is not perhaps any Angle cafe, which 
 is in all its circumftances fo ab(olutcly infernal. The reader 
 may coriipare the gui/t, as it was termed, of Mary Jones, with 
 the ptojrefs of thofe mble patriots, whofe hiftory is recorded in 
 the next chapter, and who are at this day held up as the fa-r 
 viours'xjf Britain, and then fay which of the two parties beft de- 
 fcrvcd a* halter. 
 
 General Gunning, a roan \iHho is not worth a (hilling, Tt^at 
 latelyi4^ned in live thoufand pounds fur feducing a doxy wha 
 Vas.as forward as himfelf ; and Mr. Tatterfal, the editor of 
 a London newfpaper has juft now been fined in four thoufand 
 pounds for a paragraph which afiertcd, that a lady had ail 
 V^T with her footman. It was proved that Mr. Tatterfal 
 WMat a great diftance from London, when this ftory wai print* 
 •^ fd ; ^aiui confcquently, that had it^bcen even a forgery on the 
 JBstyk of England, the law could not have touched a hair of hi« 
 h€»d. There can be no doubt that the lady will accept the l»^ 
 farthing afligned by this verdiA, and fuch an acceptance can 
 Itavf no ftnking ioiprcflion gf female gencrofity. Anorhen 
 
 '"}%- 
 
 • r 
 
' [ 5? I 
 
 «« flow changes in the fyftem of empire. The public perceives 
 *< fcarccly any alteration but an increafe of debt ; and the few 
 « individuals who are bcnefitedj are not fuppofcd to have the 
 « cleareft right to their advantages. If he who Ihared the 
 « danger enjoyed the .profit, and after bleeding in the battle 
 «< grew rich by the viftory, he might Ihew'his gains withoit 
 *« envy. But at the conclufion of a ten year's war, how are we 
 <« rccompenfed for the death of multitudes, and the expence of 
 ** millions, but by contemplating the fudden glories of pay- 
 « matters and agents, contradors and commiiTaries, whofe equi- 
 " pages flvine like meteors, and whofe palaces rife like exhala- 
 «* rions. . • 
 
 " The. are the men who, without virtue, labour, or hazard* 
 *< are growing rich as their country is irapoverifhed ; they re- 
 «* joice when obftinacy or ambition adds another year to 
 " flaughter and devaft^ition; and laugh from their deflcs at 
 «« bravery and fcience, "while they are adding figure to figure, 
 •* and cipher to cipher, hoping for a new contraft from a pew 
 " armament, and computing the profits of a fiege or a tem- 
 
 « peft." 
 
 ■r ^i*^".-* 
 
 
 !(> •;*-.»-n'<t KAi iti 
 
 fplendid fpecimen of an Englifh jnty ihall conclude this long 
 note. 
 
 Some years ago, Mr. Cooper, of London, was accufed of 
 being the printer and pubiifher of a performance deemed a 
 libel. Upon ftridl inquiry, it was found, that it had been 
 printed at nis office ; but it was proved, that at the time when 
 this was done, he was in fo dangerous a ftate ofhealth, as to be 
 given up by the phydcidn who attended him, and that for fe- 
 veral months before the publication, as well as at that period, he 
 had been entirely difabled by ftcknefs from either attending his 
 office, or knowmg what was doing in it. Notwithftanding 
 thefe circumftances, a Middlefex jury found him guilty; and, as 
 foon as he had recovered from his ficknefs, he was placed on the 
 
 Killory, and, no doubt, would have been pelted by miniilerial 
 irlings, had not a number of refpe^able gentlemen prevented 
 it by their perfonal attendance. — So much for the liberty of the 
 preiti when protcAed by a Middlefex jury. 
 
 1 
 
 
 t 
 
 •^ 
 
 ^ J 
 
 t 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 J • 
 
 
[ 58 ] 
 
 •fV; 
 
 \ '■■■ 
 
 ■^^.'h 
 
 
 CHAP. VII. ^ 
 
 
 1} (■•, : ; ^h Rv$'r;->?: 
 
 ■V^iiere I have treated high life with freedom, I hope I ftaltnot 
 be underftood to propagate the doftrine of levellers.^ — ^I.h%ve 
 no fuch intention. — 1 mean to give a juft pidture-of Hainan 
 life, according to my own knowledge of it, and according to 
 my fenfe of truth, without ceremony or difguffe. — ^I do not 
 wi(h, in any degree^ to dimini(h the rcfpe^ which is juftly 
 due to perfons and families of diilint^ion. 
 
 Letter to the People of Laurencekirk'^ 
 
 '' I *HERE is not in hiftory a more Hgnal example of ingrati- 
 -■-' tude, than the conduft bf the Emperor, the Dutch; and 
 Marlborough, to the Qjiecn of England. She had fought for 
 ten years the battles of he: Allies. She had advanced her ge*. 
 neral to be the firft fubjeft in Europe, When, (he refufed ta 
 complete the ruin of her country for the caprice of the former* 
 when the infolence of the latter compelled her to difmifs, him» 
 loaded with the plunder of nations, from her prefence, thefe 
 worthy affociates confpired for the deftruftion of their bcne- 
 fa^refs.. It is not certain tha( William himfelf had eyer pro- 
 ceeded into fuch a climax, of bafenefs* Though his partition 
 treaties were abfurd in a Bririfh fovereign, we may forgive, ia 
 hi$ hoftilities with Lewis, the rcfcntment of a Dutchman. When 
 we perufe the plan of Eugene for fetting fire to the drcets of 
 London, and the palace of St. James's*, even his tranfcendaot 
 behaviour at the Revolution almoft fades before it. 
 
 £y the prudence and firmnefs of Harley, the plots of Eugene 
 were difcovered and difappointed ; and on the 1 7th of March 
 1 71 2, he was , obliged to embark with fome precipitation for 
 the Continent* The neutrality of the Engliih forces in the 
 next campaign, with the final termination of the war, ha* al- 
 ready been mentioned. It does not appcaj- that the Eleftor of 
 Hanover was engaged in the fchemc of dctlironing Anne. His 
 
 * Macpheifonj vol, 2> chap. 9. 
 
 
 beggarly 
 
 %. 
 
t 59 3 
 
 beggaily condition may have contributed to the moderation of 
 iiis fentimentfi. In 17 13, he folicited from the E»igli(h Crown 
 jL penfion for his mother the Prncefs r-^thia. « In the prefent 
 « fituation of his afFairs> a ,n i..^ ' of revenue was much 
 *f wanted. His agents every where toiuplained of their too 
 « fcanty allowance. The Whigs, with all their patriotifm, 
 " luere foUciting for penjions. Some Lorist who were zealous 
 « for the Froteftant fucceffion, were, it feems, too poor tofollottf 
 ** their confciencts. They had fold their votes to the Minijity» 
 «< But— /i&^ nuould take fmaller funu fnm «is electoral 
 « RiGHKEss. The Earl of Sunderland, in his attachment to 
 « the femily of Brunfwick, had advanced three hundred pounds 
 •* to one of thefc poor confcientious Lords. The Earl wilhed to 
 " foe thisfoim repaid. Though the EleftOr might be willing to 
 <* gratify fuch iaithful friends, he had reafon to cxpcft that 
 « they luould help to forve themfol'ves. They were, therefore 
 «« defired to promote, with all their influence, the penfion de- 
 *' manded for the Princefs. His Highnefs was no ftranger, 
 « upon the prefent occafion, either to the abilities or .poverty of 
 « the Duke of Argyle, The whole world knew his love ot 
 « money. He defired that nobleman, and his brother the Eaii 
 «« of Hay, to promote the allowance to the Eledrefs, as they 
 ** might exped good pen/ioHs to themfolves from that fund* ." This 
 penfion was never obtained ; and the Eledlrefs herfelf died about 
 iixleen months after, on the i8th of May 17 14. " The Eleftor 
 « himfelf feems to have become indifierent concerning the fucw 
 •« ceffion of his family to the throne. Teazed by the unmean- 
 ** ing pr(^effions of the Tories, and haraiTed by the demands of 
 ** the Whigs, he dropped all correfpondence with both parties, 
 « He fuffered his fervants to continue their intrigues in Lon- 
 ff don. He liAeoed to their intelligence. But to the requifi* 
 «* tions of his Whiggifh friends for money, he turned a deaf 
 « ear. He was however perfuaded at length, to order fix hun- 
 « died pounds to the Lord Fitzwaltcr, to enable that needy 
 
 * Macpherfon, vol, ii. cjwp. 9t and Hanover Papers, Ja» 
 wary 27) 1713. 
 
 i 
 
[ 6o ] 
 
 ■ « PEER to pay a debt of three hundred pounds to Sunderland. 
 '** He allo'wed forty founds to the author of a ttenvf paper, for con- 
 " 'V eying to the public, paragraphs favourable /othe protes- 
 
 /•"TANT SUCCESSION. Hc added ten pounds to that (immenfe) 
 '*' funif after various rcprefentations from his council and fer- 
 ,*' 'vants*."-'—*^ The excluded party in Britain harafled, at the 
 •*' fame time, the K^ftor, with propofals for his invading the 
 •«* kingdom luith a body of troops. They fuggefted, that.fhould 
 ." the Dutch refufe a fquadron of men of war, fome (hips of 
 " force might be obtained from Denmark. But the Eleftor 
 «* rejefted the fcheme, as utterly improper and imprafticable +.'* 
 On the 9th of April 1 71 3, the Queen opened a feffion of 
 
 • parliament. The dream of pcpularity had now turned againft 
 the Whigs. « In this diftrcfsful fituation, they implored 
 
 . " Kreyenbcg to lay their humble folicitations at the feet of the 
 
 '- •« Eleftor. They entreated his Highnefs, for the fake of Hea- 
 « ven, to fend over the Elcftoral Prince, Without the pre- 
 « fence of one of the family, they folemnly averred, that the 
 « fucceffion muft inevitably be defeated |." All this canting 
 had very little foundation in faft. The bulk of the nation 
 •were determined in favour of the Proteftant fucceffion. But 
 thefe fycophants wiflied to make themfelves of importance with 
 George the Firft. The following paiTage will fct the nature 
 and motives of their conduA in a proper light. ■ ; 
 
 " The Whigs had, in the beginning of the year (1713) ha- 
 
 ' *f raflfed the Eledlor with demands oi ptnfions for yook lords. 
 
 . « They had perpetually tcazed his Highnefs for money to po- 
 « litical writers, and for fpies planted round the Pretender. 
 « Though their folicitations on thefe fubjedts had been at- 
 « tended with little fuccefs, they continued to make applica> 
 
 « tions of the farie difagreeable kind. When the feflion was 
 
 i ■ 
 
 • Macpherfon, vol. ii. chap. 9. 
 
 + Ibid, This was about the 2 ift of March 1 7 1 3, a full yea* 
 gfter the departure of Prince Eugene. Their objeAs were to 
 prevent the peace, which was figned about this time, to rccovej 
 their places, and ruin the Mipiftry. 
 
 ^ Macpherfon; vol, ii, chap, io« ♦I'r '" . '"^ 
 
 ^'"^i « si « drawing 
 
 
underland. 
 er, for cou- 
 E PROTES- 
 fimmen/e } 
 il and for. 
 fled, at the 
 ijading the 
 thatfliould 
 ne ftiips of 
 he Eleftor 
 Hcable +." 
 feffion of 
 led againft 
 implored 
 feet of tlie 
 ce of Hea- 
 t the pre- 
 I» that the 
 lis canting 
 the nation 
 Hon. But 
 tance with 
 the nature 
 
 1713) ha. 
 
 R LORDS. 
 
 ley to po- 
 'retendcr, 
 been at- 
 ! applica. 
 iffion was 
 ■ ■ »•» 
 
 full year 
 were to 
 • recover 
 
 drawing 
 
 V ,: 
 
 « drawing to a conclufion, and a diffolution was forefeen, they 
 «f demanded one hundred thou/and pounds from the JEleflor^ t» 
 «' corrupt boroughs, to influence eleilionsi and to return men of con- 
 '* ftitutional and Wh I g g i s h principles to the enfuing parliament, 
 «« The magnitude of the fum left no room for hefitation in re- 
 " jefting their requeft. One repulfe, however, was not fuffici- 
 ** ent either to intimidate or difcourage a party fo eager in the 
 *< purfuit of their defigns. They diminilhcd their demand to 
 ** fifiy than/and pounds. The Eledlor plainly told theiit) that 
 «* he could not fpare the money. That he had done the greateft 
 *' fervice confident with his own particular fituation, and the 
 «* ftatc of Europe in general, to the well affefted in Britain. 
 ** That he had engaged the Emperor and Empire to continue the 
 « luar againft France. That he had tm^loytA. feventeen thou- 
 « fatid of his troops- againft that kingdom. That this circum- 
 «< ftance had deprived the French King of the power of fending 
 « an army into Britain with the Pretender. That could he 
 « even advance the money, which was far from being the cafe, 
 " the fecret could never be kept ; and that a difcovery might 
 « be dangerous, from the oifence that the meafure was likely 
 « to give to the Britilh nations*." 
 
 Within a few pages, we meet with frefli applications of the 
 fame kind. <* The Whigs again urged the Eleftor to invade 
 *' the kingdom. They promifed to furniih hira with fums, upon 
 « his credit, to fave their country, and to execute his own de- 
 «< figns ; but with an inconfiftence repugnant to thefe large 
 " promifes, they reverted to their former demands of money 
 « from his Highnefs. They aflced penfionsyor poor confcie:ttious 
 <« Lords nvho nuere in ivant of fubjiftence. They demanded, with 
 « the moft vehement entreaties, two thou/and pounds, to carry 
 <« the eleAions for the Common Council of Loudon, "hey reprc- 
 ** fented, that, with that fum, they could chufe their own crea- 
 « tures, and terrify the Queen and parliament with remon- 
 « ftrances and addreiTes throughout the winter +." It is not 
 furpriiing that Mr. Macpherfon is a nioft unpopular hiftorian. 
 
 
 
 Macpherfon, vol, )i, chap, iq, t Ibid* 
 
 ^t 
 
I ' 
 
 .But the fafts which he has advanced are unqueftionably true. 
 The ariginal correfponden'- . c{ the parties is ftill extant in their 
 own hand writing. Let us proceed, therefore, with a few far- 
 ther extratls froni this authentic and inftrudive author. " A 
 « propofal made by the Baron de BcrnftorfF, Prefident of the 
 *< EUcftor's Council, was received by Marlborough and Cado- 
 ** gan with eagemefs and joy. He infinuated, that his EledonJ 
 *< Highnefs might be induced to borrow to the extent of tiventy 
 *t thottfand pounds from his friends in Britain. This fum was 
 *' to be liud out on the poor Lords j and the Common Council of 
 « Londoth during the three years the parliament was to fit, 
 « The firft would be thus enabled to vote according to their 
 *« principles ; the latter might ply the Government, and harafe 
 (< the Queen and her minifters with remonflrances in favour of 
 « civil liberty and the Protejiant /uccejton. Marlborough and 
 <>< Cadogan undertook to furnidi the money on the obligation 
 « of his Electoral Highnefs, provided the intcreft of five/^r 
 <* ctnt.Jhould be regularly paid. But his Highnefs would give 
 «* no obligation cither for the principal or intereft. He how- 
 «( ever fignified to his agents, that his friends ihould advance 
 '< the money, as they might be certain of being reimburfed as 
 *< foon as his Highnefs, or the Elcdrefs his mother, fhould 
 <^< come to the throne*." It does not appear that his friends 
 « chofe to advance their money on this promife. On the 20th 
 of March 1714, George made anfwer to fome frelh demands 
 <« of money for poor Lords, Common Councils, bribery of 
 '< members, and ptivate penfions, that he '.uwlihear no mori 
 » or THAT AF,FAiR. That, from the rarrownefs of his own 
 ** iocome, he could not enter upon thefe heads, into any com- 
 " petition with hu> antagoniil, the Lord Treafurer. But that, 
 f( eic&ept in the artkle t/acpmceit he was willing to fupport, t» 
 ** Ihe utmoft, their .party +•" It would be idle to l^pp^e that 
 one pvt of the iflaad was iefs coFrupted than another. In J41I7 
 1715* " the Dttke «f A^yle %fM HalifaK, that luith tnueni^ 
 « tbo^frnd ptimdt, he would anfwer for aU the de6UoBs 1% 
 
 - f JWtcphcrfon, wjl, ii, ohap* 10. + IWd, 
 
 iM . « Scotland.'! 
 
 «■■■»'■ 
 
[ 63 ] 
 
 <« Scotland •-." The reafon affigncd for refufing thefe applied- ' 
 tions, was clear and fatisfaftory. A letter from the Court of 
 Hanover contains thefe words : — " The Eleftor cannot' give the ■ 
 « money demanded for the eleftions. Befides, he (hould faii" 
 " infallibly) as the Court luould alnuays have the betuviefi 
 «* purfe\" '--it ?^>»' 4-?*i ■■- 'i^ iA."-;':^^*-? i^^■i .'i^tdft «!'.. v <:. 
 
 Nothing is more furprifing, than the inaccuracy \v4iich' 
 abounds in many, even of our beft hiftorians. Thfere cannot* 
 bs ftronger proofs imagined of the corrnption of both Houfes ' 
 of Parliament, than what have been juft now produced. Yet» 
 with this blaze of evidence before his eyes, the writer of the 
 Memoirs of Britain has advanced a very ftrange aflenion.— 
 When fpeaking of Mr. Duncombe's acquittal in the Houfc of' 
 Peers, in 1695, he adds, ** For the honour of the Houfe of 
 «* Lords, this it the only infiance in- EngUjh hifioryt in which" 
 « the diftribution of private money was fufpeded to have had" 
 «< influence with a number of PflcrsJ." 
 
 Afker fuch a fpecimen of the honefty of the Whigs it would ^ 
 be unneceflary to enumerate all the other mediods. which they"^ 
 fell upon to embarafs their unfortunate Queen. One of thdr " 
 fchemes was, to bring over the Eledor Prince, under the title t 
 of the Duke of Cambridge, as a head to their party. But un* i 
 juckily this projeft was equally difagreeable to the Eledlor of ^ 
 Hanover and to the Queen. In a letter to George, dated 30th " 
 M«y 1714, " I am determined," fays Anne, « to oppofe a " 
 « piojeft fo contrary to my royal authority, however fatal the *' 
 «' confcquences may be ^." And George himfelf abfolutely re--'-* 
 fufcd every propofal of this kind. " His refufal was fo peremp* ' 
 « iQVfa that the Whigs, and even his fervants, made no fcruple- ' 
 « ofafcribing his conduA to a jealoufy of bis (nvn/on^" It''» 
 has been faid, a thoufand times over, that George the Firften- '- 
 tertained the mod violent fufpicion as to the legitimacy of his''' 
 
 * Macpherfon's State Papers, vol. ii; p» 498. 
 
 + Ibid. p. 497. 
 
 % Memoirs of Britain, vol. ii. part jdi Book iv* 
 
 ^ State Papers, vol. ii. p, 621. 
 
 jl Macpherfon, vol, ii, chap, io» 
 
 .T 
 -.t 
 
 fon; 
 
 J 
 
 i' 
 
 ,..-?lri 
 
l! - 
 
 [ 64 ] ; 
 
 fon ; and that his jcaloufy was fatal to the life of a Swedifli no- 
 bleman. His wife, the Princefs of Zell, was at this very time 
 in confinement for her amours ; and in this fituation the unhappy 
 %voman died, after a melancholy captivity of thirty-fix years. 
 
 Another modeft contrivance to harafs the Queen, deferves 
 peculiar notice. On the 8th of April 1714, "it was propofed 
 «« to requeft her Majefty to ilfue a proclamation, fetting a price 
 « on her brother s head. The Tory Lords reprcfented, that the 
 ** motion was as inconfiftent with common humanity, as it was 
 «' icpugnant to the Chriftian religion ; that to fet a price on 
 <' any man's head, was tu encourage afTaiTmation by public au- 
 ,*• thority ; and that (hould ever the cafe come before them, as 
 »* peers and judges, they would think themfelves bound, in 
 « juftice, honour, and confcience, to condemn fuch an adlion 
 «* asmurther. The Whigs argued upon the ground of expeoI'- 
 ** ENc Y *." The motion was rejefted. 
 
 The Whigs did not always confine their operations to bribery. 
 We may comprehend from what follows, the genuine charaAer 
 of fome of their principal leaders. In 1694, William planned 
 an expedition againft Breft. The particulars were betrayed to 
 James the Second, in a letter from Marlborough, where he com* 
 plains that Admiral Ruffel was not fufficiently hearty in the. 
 caufe of the exiled* In confequence of this aft of treachery, 
 the Englifh forces were repulfed on their landing at Breft. Six 
 hundred were flain, and many wounded ; one Dutch frigate was 
 funk after lofing almoft her whole crew. Another example, 
 may ferve to (how the charafter of thefe leaders in a proper 
 light. In 1695, Sir John Fenwick, a Major-General, had been 
 engaged with Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, and others, 
 in a projeA for a rebellion in England, and had, oa its diHi 
 coyery, fled. Some time after he returned, was found out, and 
 arreiled., To favc his life, he tranfmitted to the King an ac* 
 count of the treafonable correfpondence of Godolphin, Marl- 
 borough, Ruflel, and many other Whigs of diftinaion with 
 James. His accusation « is now known to have been in al][ 
 
 I 
 
 / . 
 
 V 
 
 * MacphcrfoD, vol. ii. chap. 10. 
 
 « 
 
 (( 
 
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 fointi 
 
t % ] 
 
 ime 
 
 ppy 
 
 S. " 
 
 rves 
 
 fed 
 rice 
 
 the 
 was 
 
 on 
 aa-ff 
 
 aa 
 
 in 
 ion 
 
 « points true ;" and as there was only one evidence againft 
 hioiy «* he could not be convifted in « court o/lanv, which rc- 
 << quilled two." But the peifons vyhom he had accufed* " be- 
 « lieved that Hiey could not be fafc as long as he lived," A 
 bill cf attainder was therefore brought in againft him, and 
 Ru0el q)peared ait the head of the profecution. The fequel 
 produced a .crowd of proceedings "which exceeded the injuf- 
 *' titie of the worft precedents in Lhe word times of Charles the 
 i' Second and bis fucccifibr j" jind the w}iole were vindicated by 
 Burnet) in.a long fpeech. The bill paiTedboth houfes by a nar- 
 row majority ; and on the zSth of January 169.6, Fenwick was 
 beheaded on Tower-hilJ, '* lAiitbout evidence or Jaw." Lady 
 Fenwick attempted to bribe a perfon whofe teftimony (he 
 dreadedj to fly the kingdom. The accufers prevailed on this 
 wretch to ;p]ace people behind a curtain to overhear the offer ; 
 (' and this attempt of ;t wife to favc her husband's Hfe from dan- 
 " ger,' tvat turned into an evidence of.bis^uilt *." Thefe are the, 
 words of a hiftorian, who is himfelf aprofeiTed Whig, who has 
 been a lawer, and is now a Judge. It is difEcult to fay, whe.., 
 therdie conduA of .the parliament* who paiTed fuch a fentsnccf 
 or of his Majefty who figned it, was moft completely inde- 
 feiicible. 
 
 On the aft of Auguft 1714, OgBcn Anne died ; and as^'"u.:t 
 has been faid in praife Of her virtues, a (hort account of a'tranf- 
 adion condudted by her Tory parliament is here inferted, which 
 in part is abridged from the Anecdotes of the Earl of Ciiatham. , 
 
 It has been told by many hiftoxians, tha;, for four years, 
 Qjieen Anne gave an hundred thoufand pounds per annum out 
 of her civil lift, to fupport the war againft France ; and hence 
 they deduce an argument of the oeconomy and patriotifm of that 
 Frincefs. — But, on the z,5th of June 1713, her Majefty ac- 
 quainted the Commons that (he had contradled a very large 
 debt upon the revenues ot the civil lift; and (he fpeciited.that 
 this deficiency amounted in Auguft 171O) to four hundred thou- 
 fand pounds.— Mr. Smith) one of the tellers in the Exchequer, 
 
 f 
 
 * Memoirs of Britain, vol, ii, part 3, book 7. -t- 
 
 .>■ -•>u<{ .f iijifs ,{i .»iovf,-7,a.od ■T;--.v7. >j« #'!!•*■ '* f'/ 
 
 who 
 
r 66 J 
 
 who feems to have been too honeft a mail for his office> arofc? 
 arid informed the Houfe, that the eftimate of this debt was to 
 him ailOnifhing ; as at the time pointed oat, he could affirm^ 
 that the debt amounteid to little more than an hundred thoufand 
 pounds* Other meinbers undertook to pfove, that the funds 
 affigned to her Majefty for feven hundred thoufand pounds /^r 
 annum, had produced eight hundred thoufand poundS) fo that ia 
 the courfe of eleven years, her Majefty had received eleven hun- 
 dred, thoufand pounds of an overplus, and after deducing the 
 pretended gifi of four hundred thoufand pounds, (he had ftill 
 /even hundred thoufand pounds fterlutg oi the public money in her 
 pocket. Though this was the fame virtuous afTembly which 
 had expelled Walpolc from bribery, thefcobf«rvations could not 
 obtain attention ; fince the very nert day the Houfe voted five 
 hundred and ten thousand pounds for payment of this debt* 
 " "i'his," adds the hiftorian, «• is tlie truth, and the whole truth 
 « of that generous exploit of the daughtef of James the Se* 
 *' cond. It was a mean trick, by which the nation was cheated 
 « of four hundred thoufand pounds*." He (hould haVe faidr 
 five hundred and ten thoufand poundsr for that was the exa^ 
 fum granted. 
 
 It is entertaining to remark the ftyle in which a cOurtief 
 fometimes talks of his fovereign'. When William, in a fit of 
 despondency, had once threatened to refign the crown of Eng- 
 land, « Does he fo ?" faid Sunderland, " there is Tom of 
 « Pembroke," (meaning Lord Pembi ,.e) " who is as good a 
 " block of wood as a king tan be cut out of.- We will fend for 
 " him, and make him our King +." To the fame purpofe the 
 Princefs of Wales, in 1753, cxpreffcd hcrfclf at to George the 
 Second, in a converfation with Mr. Dodington. " She faidf 
 " with great warmth, that when tliey talked to her of the 
 " King, (lie loft all patience, for (he knew it was nothing . that 
 ** in thefe great points (he reckoned the King no more than one 
 " of the trees nue nvalked bj, or fomething more inconfiderable 
 " which fi e named, but that it was their pufiUanimity nvhich 
 
 • Anecdotes of the Earl of Chatham, vol. ii. p. eo* 
 :+ Mcmoirt of Great Britain, vol. ii. part 3. book 7 
 
 (( luj^ld 
 
^ ... ■ t 67 ] 
 
 « would make an end of them " — " She faid, that if they talked 
 i" of the King} (he wa^ out of patiejice ; it was as if they (hould 
 ** tell her> that her little Harry below would not do what 
 ** was proper for him ; that juft fo the King would /putter and 
 *( make a buftUt but when they told him that it muji be done 
 i>( from the necefliiy of hi£ fervice, he muil do it, at little Harry 
 ^ «»«^ when (he came down *." , , , , „, , 
 
 ./{i^sfeYiiv*!* »;d CHAP, VIII. 
 
 ii fl^'llRH 'ith' ?^i4w ' ■ »-■•.« •\. 
 
 ft It?. 
 
 I am np orator-as Brutus !s» *• --f "^ .",';/'.■> . 
 To ftir men's blood ; I only fpcak right on, 
 Itellyouthat'whichj/ouj/otirjel'vesdokm'w,, '. ''' ^ 
 
 Shakespeark. 
 
 nPHE hiftory of England has been continued in the laft 
 -*- chapter, to the beginning of the difaftrous but memorable 
 reign of George the Firft. We (hall clofe this part of the work 
 with fome general obfervations on the civil lift, 
 
 " There we 'find places piled on places, to the height of the 
 « tower 'of Babel. There we find a mafter of the houfehold, 
 <• treafurer of the houfehold, comptroller of the houfehold, 
 « cofferer of the houfehold, deputy-cofferer of the houfehold, 
 « clerks of the houfehold, clerkscomptroUers of the houfehold, 
 « clerks comptrollers deputy-clerks of the houfehold, office 
 " keepers, chamber-keepers, neceffary-houfe-keepers, purvey- 
 *« on of bread, purveyors of wine, purveyors of fifli, purvey- 
 " ors of butter and eggs, purveyors of conf«dUonary, deli- 
 «< verers of greens, coffee-women, fpicery-men, fpiccry men's 
 *< afTiftant-clerks, ewry-men, cwry-men's afiiftant-clerks, kitch- 
 f* en-clerks - comptrollers, kitchen • clerk - comptroller's firft 
 « clerks, kitchen clerk-comptroller's junior clerks, yeomen 
 
 "C 
 
 • Dodington'i Diarj', p. 2051 and a 13, 
 I> 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 «• of 
 
 
 ^. -h 
 
 
« of t!ve mcmth, ander yeoman of the lijouth, gr6oms> groomi 
 " children, paftry-yeomen, harbingcM, harbingers yeomen^ 
 " keepers of ice houfcs, cart-takers, cart- takers- grQOrns> bell- 
 « ringers, cock andcrycr> table -deckersi water engine turners, 
 *« ciftera cleaners, keeper of ftye- btjcketsj and a thoufand or 
 *« two more of the fame kindj which if I were to fet down, I 
 *< know not who would take the troobie- of- reading ihem over. 
 «« Will any man fay, and keep his countenance, that one in one 
 *' hundred of thcfe hangcrs'-oh is of any feal ufe? — ^Cannot o«r 
 «< King have a poached egg for his fupper, unlefs he keeps a 
 << purveyor of eggs, and Kis clerks* and his clerk's deputy- 
 «* clcrk^ at an expencc of 500I. a year ? while the nation is 
 «< finking in a bottomlefs ocean of debt ? Again, who are they, 
 ** the yeomen of the mouth ? and who are the unde^-yeomen 
 •» of the mouth ? What is their bufuicfs ? What is it 
 «« to yeoman a King's mouth ? What is the nccclfity for a 
 « cofferer, where there is a treafurer ? And, where there is 
 *< a cofferer, what occafion for a deputy-cofferer ? Why a 
 « ncceflary-houfe keeper ? cannot a King have a water-dofet, 
 «« an J keep the key of it in his onuu packet f And my little cock 
 " and tn-yer, what can be his p<^ ? Does he come under the 
 «< King's chamber window, and call the hour, mimicking the 
 " crowing of the cock? This might be ofufc before clocks 
 «' and watches, efpecially rapeateri, were invented ; but feems 
 ** as fupcrfluous now, as tlic deliverer of greens, the coffee- 
 *' women, fpicery men's affiftant-clcrks, the kitchen-comptrol- 
 *< ler's firilclet' s and juniof clerks, the groom's children, the 
 « harbinger's yeomen, l^c. Does the maintaining fuch a muU 
 ** titude of idlers fuit tlic prefent ftate of our finances ? When 
 « will frugality be neceffary, if not now ? Q^een Anne gave 
 «* an hundred thoufand pounds a year to the public fervice •• 
 « We pay debts on the civil lift of fix hundred thoufand pounds 
 in one artidei <w(thgitt aJkiMg hrw then <^h h bt a d^ 
 " tiency\:* 
 
 u 
 
 * The reader is already acquainted with the progress and ter« 
 nination of this ati of royal munificence. ' 
 
 t Political Difqulfitions, vol, ii, Pt I j8» ""*** • 
 
 ..... , , . . ...... n^ 
 
t 6$ ] 
 
 The following' conrcrfations on the fame fubje^i. between 
 ^c late Princefs of Wales and Mr. Dodington> cannot fail tQ 
 pxcite the attention and furprife of every reader. *f She," the 
 Frincefs, « ^id, that notwithftanding what I had mentioned of 
 f* the King's kiudneis to the children and civility to her, th^ 
 « tiii/tgs did not impnfe upon her — that there were other thing$ 
 f ( which fhe could not get over, ihe wifhed the Kmg was leii$ 
 f^ civil, and that he put lefs of their money into his own pocket : 
 « that he got full thirty thoufand pounds per annumt by the 
 «« poor Prince's death. — If he would but have given them the 
 V Dutchy of Cornwall to have paid his debts, it would have 
 " been fomething. Sould refentments be carried h^ond the 
 *} grave ? Should the innocent fuffer ? Was it becoming fo 
 f< great a King to leave his Jons debts w^idf and foch incon« 
 f< iiderable debts ^ I alked her, what (he thought they might 
 « amount to \ She anfwered, (he had endeavoured to know as 
 « near as a perfon could properly inquire* who» not having it 
 *( in her power, could not pretend to pay them. She thooght, 
 <* that to the tradefmen and fervants they did not amount to 
 *< ninety thoufand pounds } that there was fome money owing to 
 « the Earl of Scarborough, and that there was, abroad, a debt of 
 « about feventy thoufand pounds. That this hurt her cxcee4- 
 « ingly, though fhe did not fhew it, I faid that it was ini' 
 « poflible to new-make people ; the King could not, now, be 
 f« altered—." 
 
 « We talked of the King's accumulation of treafure, which 
 f (he reckoned at four millions, I told her, that what was 
 « become of it, how employed, where and what was left, I did 
 <* not pretend to guefs ; but that I computed the accumulatioK 
 « to be from twelve to fifteen millions. That thefe thipjpst 
 ** within a moderate degree, perhaps left than a fourth pait 
 « could be proved beyond all poffibility of a denial { and, whea 
 ** the cafe fhould exift^ would be pobliihed in centrovedkl 
 «< pamphku*.'* 
 
 * Dodington'i Memoin, p. \t'] and 290* Thefe dcbtt of 
 the Piincc of Wale^ arc ftill uapaid. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
■ In 175:5, Mr. Pitt had a conference with the 15uke of Ncw- 
 caftlc, which has been recorded by Mr. Dodington. A ftiort 
 fpecimen may ferve to ftiow how the Briti(h nation has been 
 bubbled by Government. « The Duke mumbled th.zx. the Saxon 
 ** and Bavarian fubfidics were offered and prejfedy but there 
 <' was nothing done in them : that the Hcflian was perfeded, 
 «* but the Ruffian was not concluded. — Whether the Duke 
 " meant anfigned, or unratified, we cannot tell, but we under- 
 «* Hand It is figned. When his Grace dwelt fo much upon the 
 *« King's WoAr, Mr. Pitt afkedhiin — ^what, if out of the fif- 
 *« f BKN MILLIONS ivhich die King had favedi he Ihould give 
 "his kinfman of Heffe one hundred thoufand pounds, and the 
 ■« Czarina one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds to be off 
 <* from Jiefe bad bargains, and not fuffer the ftiggeftions, fo 
 «' dangerous to his own quiet and fafety of his family, to be 
 « thrown out> which would, and mull be, infilled upon in a 
 *« debate of this nature ? Where would be the harm of it ? 
 «« The Duke had nothing to fay, but defired they might talk it 
 «< over again with the Chancellor. Mr. Pitt replied, he was at 
 *' their command, though nothing could alter his opinion *." 
 ' The reader wi^ here obferve, that thirty-feven years havie 
 elapftd fince George the Second had favcd fifteen mil- 
 lions from the civil lift. It has been faid above, that a fum 
 at five per cent, of compound intereft doubles itfelf in fourteen 
 years. This is not pcrfeftly exad, but as my former calcu- 
 lations did not require ftriA minutenefs, the conclufions remain 
 unfhaken. Where a topick fo delicate as the civil lift is con- 
 cerned, the utmoft accuracy may be cxpefted, and therefore it 
 muft here be prcmifed, that in fourteen years, an hundred 
 pounds produce about a fiftieth part lefs than a fecond hundred 
 pounds, that is to fay, ninety-feven pounds nineteen /hillings and 
 eight pence, ox \xi decimal fra^ions .9799316 parts of an integer. 
 Now, at this rate, thcfe fifteen millions would, in thirty-feven 
 years, have multiplied to more than ninety-one millions and an 
 half. It is indeed true, as Mr. Dodington, fays, that we can- 
 
 Ai 
 
 • Dodlngton's Memoirs, p. 373, 
 
 not 
 
f.:.i 
 
 t 7t ] 
 
 Hot tell >wtfat has become o/itt or honv it hat been employed^ bflt 
 we know that no part of it has been applied to the fervice of 
 the nation. We have iince paid feveral large arrears into which 
 the civil lift had fallen, and an hundred thoofand pounds per 
 annum, have been added to the royal falary. At the fame time, 
 the nation has been borrowing money to pay that falary, the 
 cxpences of Gibraltar and Canada, for the fupport of the war- 
 fyftem, and other matters, nominally at three and a half, or four 
 per cent, but in reality, as (hall be explained hereafter, at fix or 
 eight /<?r cent. Hence, by the way, the calculations as to Gib- 
 raltar are one third part lower in point of compound intereft 
 than theyjhould have been, and the fifteen millions of George the 
 Second, inftead of increafing to ninety-one millions and a half, 
 would, at feven and an half per centi have extended to about 
 an hundred ani thirty millions , feven hundred and fifty thoufand 
 pounds ; which would at prefent buy out more than one half of 
 our national debt, and fave the country from an annual burden 
 of perhaps four millions and an half fierling. 
 
 The moft miferable part of the ftory ftill remains to be told ; 
 but the particulars muft be deferred to fome future opportunity. 
 The civil lift is a gulf yawing to abforb the whole property of 
 the Britifli empire. We look back without fatisfaflion, and 
 forward without hope. 
 
 Lord Chefterfield informs us, that George the Firft was 
 exceedingly hurt even by the weak oppofition which he met in 
 parliament, on account of fubfidies ; and could not help com- 
 plaining to his moft intimate friends, that he had come over to 
 England to be a begging King. His vexation was, that he could 
 not command money without the farce of aiking it ; for in his 
 reign, as at prefent, the debates of parliament were but a farce. 
 Such were the liberal fentimcnts of the firft fovereign of the 
 Protcftant fucccfiidn. 
 
 
 •1 
 
 not 
 
 FINIS,