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I [Prjce One Shilling.] r 4 * 1 I t, m p f * •* V, ' r: ■^ *. «.. 4 I i i I? 1 A THIRD LETTER TO THE People of England^ O N LIBERTY, TAXES, And the APPLICATION of PUBLIC MONEY. Torpere ultra, ^ perdendam rempublicttM relinquere Sopor (^ Ignavia 'videretur. . Tacit. • f . 1 ' " The FOURTH EDITION. LONDON; Printed in the YEA R, 1756,. Si *. - '1 if ■V f ^ ■ :'i I « 1 ' r - ' J r r . r w- J k.. X / ^ "^ - -s. - «.' If; • , ^ b :!P^.^ X •I I I ^ ■t ! ■> ■» ■ T ■;. n.iu{v! ■ ' '■•""^ J W T t "! "' i..uT ■(Ui.hi.-: --.:^ L'(t;A:i'> , i J 1 1 , Midi i E R / •,:vj T O T H E I T H O U T entering into a long DiiqiiiTition concerning the Requi« fites which Art fj^ceffary to cnntii- tute the IdcaiOfLiBEHTlrih every State, or afcertaining what kind of Government is, in the Nature cf it's Conformation, the heft adapted foir fiiflaining it when once eita- bliftied 5 finay it not with Truth be faid, that whenever Inequity in Laws, and Intqaality in diftributive Juftice are. found amf)ng(l a People, that then the Exertion and Enjov- ment of true Freedom do not perfectly exifl in that State, r^ilAT- Ltberty- flcceflarily belongs to no one Form of Government, may be fairly in- ferred from the Opinions and Pradlicc of all Antiquity, and in particular from the Senti- ments and Behavi9ur of A)[\e two moft illu* flrjpus Nations of C the World, the Atheniam and Romans, During the Reign of l^hefem their great legif^ative King, and in many others which fuceecded his, and'* under i\\t Ar*cbom^ the jithenians confidered themfclves a free Peo- ple, becaufe they were gover||fd by equita- ble Statutes; 'Eveh Pififtratus^ who fraudu- lently ufurped an abfolute Power ovef his Fellow- Countrymen, was lefs oppofed by the People than by his Competitors for Do- minion, and die^ at laft upon the Throne of Athens* -.so v. < . -^'^ ;^*'' - • '•' The Heafon of this feems i evident ; he ruled according to the Laws of Equity and: Solon, Had his SuccelTors accompanied their Reigns with equal Judgment,, and the fame juft Difpofition, the Grecians had not com- plained of violated Freedom, anjd expelled them from their City. .: - * ni : Breach t T [7] ,, »•••■•«• r ^^ \ . • • «-r I k- '- ' 'I.I BreachoF Juftice, and Contempt of LaWffJ proved their Banc and Demolition j and not their being Monarchs. , , ... . . > > The next Innovation in the AthenUn State, was the Aridocratic Government, con- fiding of Four Hundred Men ; ihefe, under the Pretext of appealing to their Conftituent«, obferving the Laurs, and preferving the Con-f Aitution of the State, perverted the Intention of the firft, and fubverted the Foundations of the latter; 'till, becoming obnoxious to ^ People ever jealous of their Liberty and fenfible of Injury, they were banifhcd by the Re-call of Alcibiades, and the Valour of their enraged Countrymen. After this. Li- berty, and the old Form of Government, re^ turned to Athens, . . .. t K 4 No long Space intervened 'till ambitioui Views and popular Commotions created new Diilurbances in the State. At this time the Athenians, to re-inflate the confufed Condi- tion of their Affairs, chofe from amongfl their Fellow- Citizens thirty Men, to colled; and compile a Body of Laws, the mofl pro- mifmg and probable to re-eflablifh the broken Police [81 Police of the CI7, corredl thr Diflblution of Manners in the Ci izens, reft ore h to it*s ancient Glo^) and to be the (landing Rules of future Governaient. ' ♦rr.c ,.: ;::: To this Oligarchy the foic Dtreing faiutary Laws, were chearfuHy obey* ed by the Peof>le ; 'till the Ltrft of Power ^vouring the Love of Equality, tiicy infti* tured Statutes opprcflive of their Fellow-Citi^ sens, and held in Contempt rhofe which they had already pafled ; when being let ioofe to all the Octtrage of defpotic Infdlcnce, per- petrating the moft atrocious and tyrannic Infults on Liberty and the Conftitution, in- ftigated thereto by a Subfidiary Aimy of Lacedamoniam, they became the Deteftation •f every unpurchafed Athenian, At this Time the Virtue of ^brajyiulus, snd Seventy more otjy, who difdained to be j^heniam and be Slaves, refcued their native Land from the opprobrious Chains of Oli- garchic Tyranny j Th« Tyrants were igno- minioufly expelled the City, driven to that Land 1 of it's n of I crt- cccd* , and obey* *owef infti* -Citi- which t loofc I, per- tannic m, in- ny of ftation 'fyhuluSt I to be r native of Oli- 3 i^no- to that Land [9] Land from whence they had hired the en- flaving Mercenaries, and their Laws publickly abolinicd. In this manner Liberty and Juftice returned once more to Athens, Hence let it be remembered, what Succefs attends the Virtue of a Few fired with their Country's Caule j and what FaiaUty awaits thofe who attempt defpotic Sway, and the lluin of their native Land by Foreign Hire- lings. In this State of Freedom the Athenians perfevered for fome time, 'till growi.ig info- lent by Wealth they defpifed ihe Religion, fevere Virtue, and wholefome Laws of their Ancedors ; v,hen drowned in Luxury, Effe- minacy, and Sports, negledting all Military Attention, conluming the public Revenue in Wantonnefs and Profufion, thronging to Theatres, and inattentive to their Country's Welfare $ excluding the Wife from all public Councils, and indulging Mimics, Buffoons, and Parafites, at the Tables of the Great, they fell at length the eafy Prey of Philip, King of Macedon. ■& u I C lo] A In like manner, amongft the Romans^ un- der the various Changes of that Empire, the Revolutions which prevailed in it, feem ra- ther to have arifen from the pernicious Excefs of adting contrary to the Nature of Liberty, than from Difinciination to any one Form of Government. The Kings, in the Infancy of Rome, were willingly obeyed by the People, and the regal Power would probably have continued, if they had not dared to violate the Laws of that Conflitution which they Were chofen to proiedl. The Confular and Patrician Power was never oppofed, 'till it became oppreflive and injurious to the Plebeians j 'till the Senators, defigned the Protedlors of Liberty, became the Oppreflbrs of the People ; hence fprang the Decemviri y to curb the Ariftocratic Pow- er, and inftitute liable Laws for the Diftribu- tion of Juftice, and Prefervation of Liberty. Yet, alas ! fuch is the Nature of Man, thefe, grown arrogant by Power, illegally prolonged the Time for which they had been chofen for the forming good Laws ; violating the firfl Principles of Juftice, and the very Intent for .which they had been eleded. At length, the juft 1 f un- the H ra- xcefs 3erty, m of icy of eople, have violate they ir was ^e and nators, )ecame fprang : Pow- iftribu- ^iberty. thefe, )longed >fen for hefirfl mi for ;th, the juft I I I I juft Refentment of an injured Nation fell up- on them ; they were ignominioufly depolcd, and the ancient Form of Government, and Freedom reftored together. Hence does it not manifeftly appear from the Hiftory and Tranfadlions of thofe People, who entertained the jufteft Senti- ments on that Subjedt, that Liberty belongs not neceffarily either to Monarchy, Arifto- cracy. Oligarchy, Democracy, or to a Com- pofiiion of thefe -, that it is not abfolutely united to eledtive, more than to hereditary Powers J or confifts in being governed by Laws 5 but in being obliged to obey no Power which is arbitrary j and being ruled by no Laws, which are not equally diftributive of Juftice and Equity; alike prefervative of Great and Small, the Rulers Prerogatives, and Peo- ples Liberties. What I mean by Liberty, is not that diflblute Licentioufnefs, which is conftantly miftaken for, and alierted by the Profligate to be that celeftial Attribute, alike the impious Companion of Tyranny and Anarchy ; but fi.ich as it is defined by the celebrated Author of De I'Efprit des Loix j confiding in a Peo- B 2 . pie's [ 12 ] pie's poffefling a Power of doing all that they ought to choofe, and in not being conftrained to do that which they ought not to choofe. If then this Definition, and what has been already faid, bear the facred Seal of Truth, does it not follow, that whenever a People are prohibited to bear Arms in Defence of themfelves, their Liberties, and Properties; that whenever a Nation is doomed to labour for Thofe who have no legal Claim of Mer^t on it's Inhabitants, who ar« deftrudtive of the public Good, or for the Advantage of foreign Potentates, independent of their own : That in whatever Country thefe Conditions have obtained, they muft be incompatible with the Intereft of a free People, and totally repug- nant to the Definition of Liberty, and that Idea of it acknowledged by Ancients and Moderns ? V5. 1 ';? i Notwithstanding thefe ^eries are al- mofl: felf-evident Truths, permit me to exa- mine, without Heat, and explain, without Acrimony, whence it is derived that Liberty and the above Conditions are abfolutely con- trad idory and found impoflable to fubfift to- 1^ J V t [ 13] ire al- exa- thout iberty con- ift to- ll^ >l ■A In attempting this, I (hall not trace your Right to Liberty from Magna Charta, and the diftant Pradlice of your Anceftors j it will be fufficient for me to fay, That the fame Legiflative A61 which eftablidies the prefent Illuftrious Family on the Throne, confirms you in your Liberties; that Law, which gives your Sovereign his Crown and Prerogatives, affigns and fixes your Rights and Privileges. The Power of making Peace and War is not more inherent in the King, than the being governed by juft Laws be- longs to the Subjedt. Should any Men audacioufly attempt to infringe the Royal Authority, and make the crowned Head dependent on the People's Will, ought they not to be deemed as Re- bels to their Sovereign ? In like manner, are not all thofe who by any means would deprive their Fellow-Subje(lts of their Rights by Law eftablifhed, Traitors to them, their Conflitution, and all that is committed to their Charge? If Liberty then be the undifputed Inhe- ritance, and pecqliar Bleffing of an Englifi- man^ f ■ i f >l : (I ' 1 [ X4] man, has he not a jufl Claim to the Right of defending it? Or, with what Shadow of Truth can he be imagined to be free ? But left the Word Liberty ^ conveying no Idea of an Objed: to the Senfes, may create fome Puzzle in comprehending what may be here faid, let me place the Word Money in it's ftead ; the Reality of which, and the Idea adequate to the Term, being thoroughly un- derftood by all. Let us then imagine a Law to have been enaded, by which every Man in England f who does not poflefs an Hundred Pounds a Year in Land, is prohibited from refifting all who have the Inclination to de- prive him of his Money. What kind of Security would he conceive he had for pof- fefling this Property ? Would not he con- clude, that his Tenure, depending on the Good-will and He of who furround ed him, open to the Inroad of Invaden Jittle worth, and extremely precarious .? was ■^ ;) Thus circumftanced, would he not find himfelf in a worfe Condition in Society than without i being prevented from defending his Property by this Law of Compad j whereas it is permitted by that of Nature ? And thus would not the very ElTence of Society ghtof Truth ing no create nay be me'j in le Idea tily un- a Law •y Man lundred ed from 1 to de- kind of for pof- le con- on the rround- ers, was s? not find iety than efending oinpadt i Nature ? lence of Society % [ »5 ] Society be annihilated, becaufe a Law of fuch a Kind is deftrudive of the very Ends for which Societies were Oiiginally inftituted, mutual Prefervation, and Defence of Pro- perty ? Is not fuch a Law a more flavifli Injundlion than the arbitrary Will of a Prince, becaufe under the Semblance of be- ing enaded by your Reprefentatives ? Is it not confidered as your own Deed, and do you not therefore become the AfTafTins of your own Freedom ? Place Liberty for Money ^ and the Ar- guments are equally coercive. If then Eafe of Mind be amongft the diftinguifhing Cha- raderiftics of Freedom, in what a deplora- ble Situation mufl every Man be, who be- holds this celeftial Donation every Minute ready to be fnatched from his Pofleffion, de- prived of Arms to refcue that Bleffing from the Hands of the Ravifher ? Wherefore under whatever Difguife military Weapons may be withheld from your Hands, though it fhould be under th;pit important and natural Confideration of pre- ferving Hares and Partridges j fince you will thereby be denied the Power of defending your . Y ill n M [ i6] your Liberties from the Invafion of all who may attack them j can ye any longer be deemed a free People ? To aflert a Nation is in fecure Pofleflion of what it is forbidden to prote(5t, is a Con-» tradidion in Terms : And to fay it is free, diverted of all Power of defending it*s Free- dom, is that abfurd Contradidion. Liberty, by the Conftitution of the Realm, is the Birthright of every Englifiman, and ought to be defended by all. It is not a Privilege granted to the Peer, and denied the Commoner; it is not conceded to the Merchant, who deals in Thoufands, and withheld from him who labours at the Loom or Plough. Your Reprefentatives have never been authorized to difpofe of it, being chofen as it's Protedors, and not as Traffickers in that precious Merchandize j to guard, and not to betray, the important Charge of preferving your Conftitution. Every Law therefore, which can deprive you of defending that ce- leftial Right, is it not an Infringement of your juft Privilege, and a Violation of the Conftitution ? Let I 1 t '7 j who r be eflion Con-» ; free, Free- if the Oman, is not denied to the >, and Loom been fen as n that not to ferving refore, lat ce- lent of of the Let V ?■ *» LEt me add alfd, that Inhibition of bear- ing Arms in defending of Pcrfon, Libferty, and Country, has been ever deemed, through all Nations of the World, the moft flagitious Charaderiftic of abjedt Slavery. Under no Form of the Athenian or Romah Govern- ments were the People denied the Ufe of mi- litary Weapons, and fighting fdr their na- tive Soil. Indeed the Elot^, the Unarmed SlaVes ot hacedcemon^ held in Contempt and Ignominy through all Greece^ tilled the Lands, and rfcaped the Harvells for their atrocious Ma- fters ; in like riianner, diverted of all Power of Defence, the fpoty African toils for his infuliing Lord beneath the fultry Suns of Jamaica, In this Way, naked and defeilce- lefs, do ye not labour in this Ifle, with this imbittering Circumftance, that being born Englijhmen^ ye have the fame Claim to L;- beriy with Thofe who may for^e your Chains and rivet your Bondage : A Circumftance never known in Greece oi: Rome, in which the Slaves were Aliens to the Land. THAt your Ancef!ors, and manj^ now k- lii^e, entertained the fame liberal Sentiments^ C may I "!l n ill I! ! |:, >'l [ i8] may be certainly gathered from that very y^Sf which plojced the Engli/b Diadem on the Head of Williat?i III. in whjch one great Complaint againil Jatnes II. and one juft Caufe of his being dethroned, was, that he cauled feveral good Subjedls, being Prote- flants, to be difarmed, at the fame Time that Papifts were indulged with Arms contrary to Law, What Ad: of Rebellion have ye iince committed againft your Sovereigns, that ye are thus ftript of all military Power of defending yourfelves ? If difarming a few Proteflants was at that Time a juft Caufe of Complaint, ^nd no fmall Motive to dethrone a King; is it a lefs rea- fonable Caufe of complaining againft a M r at this Hour, when the whole Na- tion is difarmed ? Are Papift and Proteftant become equally dreaded, and ilript of all De- fence, alike injurioully fufpeded ? Are the Sons of tho(e who oppofed, and thofe who placed William on the Throne of England^ thus held indignantly like Slaves ? Ii^ Papifts were a juft Caufe of Terror in the Reign oi james, will the Riijjian Savages and German Blood- fuckers, under the Name of I J y A^ n the great ; juft lat he Prote- e that mtrary ive ye that ver of It that > fmall :fs rea- infl a leNa- ►teftant all De- .re the fe who ngland^ rror in savages Name of I i i t i I •f. [ 19 ] of mercenary Auxiliaries, afford lefs Reafort for your Feais ? If the pretended Exigency of Affairs, through m 1 Ncgledt, or Dc- fign, fhonld require their Affiflance in this Ifle, will Thofe who freeze beneath the bitt- ing Froft of a Rujian Winter, defiled almoft the Neceffaries of Life, diverted of it*s Com- forts, cherifhed by Treaty with Hopes of be- ing Fret hooters, and endleft Plunder ; will they return at your Command, after having tafted the Sweets of England^ Will the tief- fiariy whofe Being is the Price of Thirty Crowns, who fees himfelf fold by his inhu- man Mafter, like the Ox to the highefl Bid- der J will he return to him who trafficks his Subjedts Lives for Englijl:) Gold, and quit this Land, where they may be M afters ? If they (hould difobey your Orders, de- fencelefs and difarmed as ye are, by what Method will ye compel them to obey you ? Are then thefe foreign Troops of merce- nary Hirelings lefs to be dreaded in George's Reign, than Engfijb Catholics were in that of James f Are ye lefs treated like Bondfmen, in being deprived of the Ufe of Arms now, ^han at that Time ? Are ye lets open to At- C 2 tack [ 20] tack and Ruin from avowed Enemies and pretended Friends ? Is nil then the Law which renders yc defencelefs, and fnatches all Power of pre- ferving Liberty from your Hands, a more alarming Approach to Arbitrary Power than James'% prefuming to ef&d it by his own Au- thority ? The one, a Burden fixed upon your Shoulders which ye cannot efcape, a Load which you muft: carry j the other, though placed on the Back of EngliJJ^nien for a whle, thrown to the Ground and reje(fted : Shall the firfl prevail unremonftrated againft becaufe difguifed as legal, allowed and ac- cjiiicfced in, and the other difa vowed, deem- ed defpotic, and refifted becaufe illegal ; is it not a Breach of that Ad which placed the Cfovvn upon William's Head ? Surely no Man has Hardinefs enough to aflcrt, that if the Minifter in the Reign of 'James IL had poflefled by Place and Penfion an absolute Power over the Houfe of Com- mons, and commanded them to pafs a Law for difarmin^ the People, that fuch an AH r Having faid thus much to prove to you, that no Nation denied the Power of defend- ing their Liberties and Properties from fo- reign and domeftic Enemies, can juftly be denominated Free ; permit me to fhew you, how thofe Hands which have been denied the Ufe of Arms for their own Protedlion, have been employed for the Advantage of others : That the whole Produce of your Labour, the Improvement of your Lands, your Increafe of Manufadlures, and your Gains by Merchandize, have been long doomed to the Support of foreign Nations, ruinous to Englijh Liberty and the public Good. In order to lay this Truth more evidently before your Eyes, it feems neceflary to return to i '} ] bat Erig- Romans, aws may then, by ncc and at abjedt )ryj like . and b6 ve to you, ,f defcnd- from fo- i juftly be ihew you, !en denied Protedtion, vantage of of your Dur Lands, and your been long n Nations, the public e evidently ■y to return to [ 23 ] to the End of the Reign of James the Se- cond, to (liew you the State the Nation was then in, and compare it with what at prelent exills in this Illand. That Prince then, from a PafTion of be- ing defpotic, and mole-eyed Zeal of propa- guiing the Roman Catholic Religion, abufed the regal Authority, and extended his Pre- rogative illegally over the People. He dif- armed Protellantsj kept a ftanding Army in Times of Peace ; attempted to fubvert the eflabliOied Religion, by tolerating Catholicks and Sedaries ; violated the Freedom of Elec- tions of Members to ferve in Parliament ; and committed man)* other grofs Enormities, mentioned in that Adl of Parliament which placed the Crown on King JVilliam*^ Head : All thefe being then deemed deftrudive of LiL'-rty and your Conflitution, and avowed as jalUiiable Reafons for depofing a King, are iHll maintained to be fuch, by every £;7^- lijhman j they muft ever remain the fame, in the Opinion of all honed Men j and be an everlaiting Juftification of all who attempt to oppofe the Return of fuck ablolute Proceed- ings, whether in the Monarch or his Mini- iter. . ■ . Accord- ( 2+ 3 . Accordingly in Obedience to filch trtic Sentiments of Liberty ? nd our Conftitution, Popery and arbitrary Power were fuppofed to be expelled togetht^r. Since which Time the two iaft have been confidered as conftant Companions, ever united in the Mouths of the Whigs : Let me examine, whether the Experience of fucceeding Years has not prov- ed that they have been divided, and that when Popery was driven into Banidiment, arbitrary Power did not change Mafk and Domino, and remain in that new Dilguife amongft the Crowd. It;: And here it is impoflible to aVcM obferV- ing to you, that though before this Date it had been declared *' a King oi England could do no Wrong," yet that this Maxim could not then have been univerfally received, be- caufe in dethroning James the Second, and in not confining their Punifhments to the Mi- nifters alone, the Leaders muft have been deemed as Rebels by all Men of Virtue ; which Behaviour having never been Confider- ed in that View, it appears impofiible that the above Maxim could have been univerfally ac- knowledged. NbT- it< [ 25 ] :h trlic itution, ippofed 1 Time :onftant uths of her the 3t prov- at wheii Lrbitrary )omino, ngft the obferv- Date it nd could n could ved, be- , and in the Mi- ve been Virtue ; :onfider- that the fally ac- NOT- NoTWiTHSTAKDiNG this, whatever might have been the Speculation and Pradlice of Englifimen at that Time, it certainly ought to be received as an inviolable and facred Tenet at prefent, " that the King can do noWrong:'* And I am under no Apprehenficns of its being difproved, when I affirm, that fince that Day no crowned Head has ever committed a wrong Adlion. However, though Kings, as Vicegerents of Heaven, replete with celeflial Attributes, are acknowledged to be incapable of doing Wrong, yet are they not totally exempt from human Weaknefies : Nor has it ever been af- ferted that Miniflers, who generally receive their Qualifications from a very different Ori- gin, cannot injure their Fellow-Subjedls, or deftroy their Country. Can it ever therefore be criminal for an Englifiman to delineate to his Coiintrymen in what manner human Frail- ty in a crowned Head, and Iniquity in Mini- flers, may have co-incided to advance a Na- tion's Ruin ? yAMES being depofed, and the Prince of Orange placed on the Throne, that Prince, D though C 26 ] though confidcred as Immortal, was yet not unallayed with human Fraihies •, amongft which, his Preference and Predilection of the United Provinces, proved not a little prejudi- cial to this Land, and this People, who pre- fented him with the precious and fuperb Do- nation of three Kingdoms, to which he had no Claim, and to the obtaining which no Man ever atchieved lefs. i This Foible loo eminently diftingulfhcd itfelf in poftponing the Good of thefe Nations to that of Holland j and tho* a Theme for much Praife in the Songs o^ Dutch Poets, yet ought it to be held in everlafting Remem- brance with Pain by all EngliJJjmen, From the Time of this Prince's mounting the Throne, the Intereft oi England began to fink in the Bogs of Holland, and the High and Mighty Stares reigned in the Bread of this King in PolTeffion, as Popery did in Him that was exiled from the Throne. Unhappy for this Nation, the King of "England was likewife Stadtholder of the United Provinces : And though a Prince of the Continent may be allowed Plurality, of Dominions, yet not mongft 1 of the prejudi- ho pre- ;rb Do- he had bich no igulfhed Nations sme for )ets, yet lemem- lounting began to be High ;rea(l of in Him King of of the rince of rality. of minions. i [ 27 ] Dominions, yet part: Experience has proved, that the Intered of tliis Illand will no more permit the Sovereigns of it to pofTefs Plurality of Realms, than the Chriftian Religion Plu- rality of Wives. It cannot fuffsr this King- dom to be wedded for her Wealth, lublervi- ent to another more favourite Wife, taken for Love alone. As flie is feparated from tiie World, file ought to be diiunited from all others in the Breafl of her PoiTcfror. It is not therefore impuffible for one Part of a King's Dominions to be uttering eternal Eu- logies, in Commemoration of him, whom the other has little Reafon to efleem. It qui ft be remembered alfo, that tho' the King of England and Stadtholder were united in one Perfon, that thelntereft and Titles oi England and the United Provinces remained as didindt and feparate as if held by two different Princes; and no Union of thefe in one Man, can change the Nature and Advantages which each Domi- nion naturally polfeffes. Whatever Country then may be held by the King oi England under another Title, is to be coniidered as unconneded with th s IHe, farther than as that Dominion and this may mutually aid and fupport each other • P % and © r [ 28 ] and this notwithflanding any fuperior Love which the Soveicign niay nianifefl: towards it. An E h M r therefore, who may in- dulge his Mailer, and, for the i'ake of pre- fcrving his own Power, dupe his native Land to this Fropeniity, is an Enemy, if not a Re- bel, to his Country. Should France and England ^ which Hea* ven avert, be ever ruled by the fame Sove- reign, would not the M r who pillaged this Land to pleafe his King, and enrich the French^ deferve the fevereit Punifhment ? In like manner, every other Realm held by a King of this Ifland, the Intcreft of which is diilind, if not contradidory to yours, rtiould be coniidered by you in the very fame Light as France^ and beheld with the fame Averficn by every Englijkman who is refolv- ed to be free. Have ye not juft Right to complain, whenever the Labour of your Hands, the Profits of your Trade, and the Blood of your Fellow-Subjtds, (hall be wan- tonly lavi(hed in Defence of Foreign Inte- refts, to fatten the fterile Soil, and fill the empty Purfes of more favourite Subjedls ? — » Will not every M—— r who foflers fuch In- clinations, i?. tf.i-^p your \d the [ 29 ] ^ cli nations, and drains his Country's Treafurci to fupply them, merit the moft ignominioua Punilhment ? It muft be remarked alfo, that at this glorious Period of the Revolution, which fo happily eftablifhed (according to the Whig Phrafe) our Liberties and Privileges, Things took a different Turn from what is general- ly conceived j the Supreme Power, in Fadl:, fell from the crowned Head on that of the Minifter. From this Inftant the latter be- gan to be abfolute, and his Sovereignty has been increafing fince that Time. The Whigs in Power, from the Principle infeparable from a Whig, now refolved to make themfelves arbitrary. They had found by Experience, that an Attempt to reign without a King was impra(5licable in Eng-^ land', they therefore commenced the fuccefs- ful Scheme of reigning with one ; and this Change of Princes afforded too favourable an Opportunity for executing their defpotic Defigns. Th EY faw that the King muft of Nccef- fity fall entirely into their Poffeflion. They knew TT [ 30 ] knew alfo that his Opponents being very nu- merous, he dared not to defert that Party which had crowned him. They perceived alfo, that being an Alien to the Land, the Love of Dutch Welfare had abforbed the Good of Eng- land in the new Sovereign's Heart ; and he, in his Turn, had difcovercd, that the Defire of Power, and not Freedom, had chitfly ac- tuated in the Breafts of thofe who had given him the Throne: In mutual Acquiefcence therefore with each other's Interefls, the King declined ftruggling for Power in England, to obtain Money for the Service and Advantage oi ^Holland', and to fate his Love of Slaugh- ter, and Enmity to Lewis XIV. And the Minifler indulged him with the Obje(^s of thefe Defires, in order to govern more quietly and defpotic. Thus this Country was facrificed to Holland, to pleafe the favourite Inclinations of a King, and to fupport a pernicious Minillry. At the fame Time the Minifters, to bind the monied Men to their Devotion, and fe- cure them in their Power, began the deftruc- tive Schemes of National Debts^ and mort- gaging Englljhmen -, by which all thofe thus indulged in their Defigns of accumulating Wealth were gained to the Party ; And all this 1 # i i very nu- at Party ved alfo. Love of of E/Tg-- and he, e Defire iefly ac- ad given liefcence the King landy to d vantage Slaugh- ^nd the bje(^s of e quietly facrificed :linations Vliniflry. to bind and fe- deftruc- d mort-^ lofe thus nulating And all this ^'*?. ■m [ 31 ] this was tranfaded under a Mafk, written all over in red Letters with LIBERT Y, PRO- PERTY, and thePROTESTANT RE- LIGION i No POPERY! No SLAVERY! The People, caught like Larks by the dazzle of thefe Words, and with feeing a King feem- ingly kept under by his Minifters and Par * liamcnt, imagined that the Temple of Li- berty was now fixing on a Rock, which no Winds or Tempefts could remove j never entertaining the lead Idea, that the very Part of the Conftitution which was pruning the Regal Power, v/as inoculating their own ; and that by their future Culture this Sprig of minifterial Power might grow to over- ihadow the Regal Prerogative and People's Liberties; and that a Minifler might here- after be an abfoluie Potentate. Yet, though Minifters are abfolute, they are not immortal. Like the defpotic Sul- tans they frequently give Way to their Suc- cefTors, through Tumult and Oppofition ; and Kings, like Janizaries, may change their Lords, and yet live under an abfolute Do- minion. For this Rcafon, as there are at all times many vigorous Sons urging up the fteep i [32] flcep Afcent of Power, the Mlnlfter in Pof- feflion, in order to preferve his Seat, has con- ftanily indulged the crowned Head with Mo- ney to promote Dutch and Germanic Intcrefls j and thus the Sovereign being content, the Minifter has been fecure, and the Nation going on to Ruin. By Proceedings of this Nature, fince the placing the Crown on the Head of William the Third, a new Way of becoming arbitrary has been purfued by M rs. It feems, they had been convinced by the Death and Exile of Princes, that P ts would not lilently bear the exorbitant Attempts of Regal Prerogative, and from thence were apprehen- five, they were no more inclined tamely to fubmit to the arbitrary Difpofition of M — rs ; they theieforc began to divide amongft the Members part of that Money which they levied on the Conftituents 5 and thus, under the Appearance of proceeding legally, kept the People quiet, and ftified the Clamour of their Reprefentatives by venal Influence.— By this Way Laws were made, which inflidl- ed greater Grievances, and impofed heavier Taxes on you, than had ever been attempted by extended Prerogative and arbitrary Incli- Mtions, Not* f ler in Pof- t, has con- 1 with Mo- c Intcrefts ; mtent, the :he Nation , fince the of William ig arbitrary It feems. Death and would not ts of Regal ! apprehen- tamely to of M — rs J mongft the ^hich they bus, under ;ally, kept !^lamour of iiuence.— ich inflidt- sd heavier attempted rary Incli- Not- [33] Notwithstanding this, it appears to me, that as thofe Articles in the A5i of Bet* tlement were then judged neceflary to afcer- tain your Liberties ; they cannot be infring- ed or abrogated without injuring your Rights and the Conftitution, and bringing back in EfFedl, though not in the fame Place, that arbitrary Power fo juftly complained of in J ami's Reign. Having faid thus much, let me now pre- fent you with the State of your Taxes, as they flood at the Abdication of King James j and then (hew you by what Means they have fo enormoufly increafed, from that Hour to the prefent. At James*s leaving the Crown, the an- nual Revenue of this Kingdom, at the higheft Computation, was Two Millions Sixty-one Thoufand Eight Hundred fifty-fix Pounds. This Income then fupported a formidable Navy equipped for the Seas, and an Army of Thirty-Thoufand Land Forces. It fupplicd the Civil Lift, and impowered the King to fave Money yearly : For, according to Accompts given into Parliament, the annual E Expence [3+] Expencc amounted at a Medium to no more than One Million Six Hundred ninety-nine Thoufand Three Hundred lixty-threc Pounds. By this it appears, that Three Hundred iixty- two Thoufand Four Hundred ninety-three Pounds of the public Revenue were annually faved : At this Time alfo the Kingdom was not a Shilling in Debt. f This then was the fuppofed Situation of your Affairs at that diftinguifhed /Era. A Kingdom without a Head ; a Nation out of Debt ; an annual Revenue of Two Millions ; Popery and Slavery baniflied ; the Whigs in full Poffeflion, unincumbered, and entire Ma- ilers ! Let me now inquire, how like Patriots thofe who flript the Crown from the Father's Head, and placed it on the Son and Daugh- ter's, have acquitted themfclves in the Service of their Country. During the Reign of King William^ his Love of Holland, and Luft of War cherifhed by the Minillry defiring to be abfolute, le- vied upon this People upwards of Fifty Mil- lions in thirteen Years. More than double the III ■^ 1. f no more ety-nine Pounds, id lixty- !ty-thrce annually om was ation of ".ra. A 1 out of lillions ; Vhigs in tire Ma- Patriots Father's Daugh- ; Service anti his ^erifhed ute, le- ■ty Mil- double the [ 35 ] the Amount of fornier Taxes, for an equal Number of Years preceding ; befides which^ you aiid your Poflerity were mortgaged for a Debt of Ten Millions. This Bleffing the De- liverer of this Land bequeathed you at his Death ; doubly Immortal, in expelling Po- pery, and mortgaging England. After his Deceafe, the Balance of Power, the Liberty of Germany, Popery, Slavery, and the ProteJL . Intereft, Terms which Time has (hewn never to have had any reafonable Ideas annexed to them, together with the Ambition and Avarice of the Duke and Duchefs of Marlborough, engaged you in a War on the Continent, in fupport of the moft Popifh and mofl: Arbitrary Prince of all the Germanic States, the Houfe of Aujlria, During this War, your Taxes, your Ruin, and your Conquefts, went Hand in Hand, magnificently increafing. For at the End of Ten Years' Vidlpry and Queep Anne^s Reign, there had been levied on this People more than Seventy-five Millions j which being al- moft Six Millions a Year, is annually three Times as much as was raifed during the Reign of James. To fay nothing of the ex- E 2 travagarit mm ^ ,ii ;l 'I [ 36] , travagant Incrcafc of the National Debt tq Fifty-three Millions. Thus in two Reigns of Twenty-fix Years, this infatuated Nation was pillaged of One Hundred twenty-three Mil- lions to fupport Dutc/j and German Interefts, and deftroy their own. To this Princefs fucceeded George the Firfl, who^e Inclination to govern according to the Conftitution has been generally allowed and believed, and I imagine with Juftice, though by no Means diverted of Predilection for hir native Land. Had his Minifter pofTefled the fimple Qua- lification of Integrity during this Reign, Eng^ land might have been lightened from her Load of Debt^j and emerged with all her former Effulgence from behind her Cloud of Griev- ances : For it is as demonftrable as Figures can make it, that during mis Reign, \i Eng^ lijh Welfare had been the Minifterial ObjeIe Qua- », Eng^ er Load former Griev- Figures if Eng^ Obje(^, Fwelve would \ Fifty at pre- tion of es not In I S'S A*' [ 37] In Confequence of fuch Dcfign purfued with Equity, in the Year 1 740 we fliould have had a free Revenue of Five Millions from the Sinking Fund, Malt Tax,, and Land Tax, at Four Shillings in the Pound. Du- ring this Reign of Peace the whole Revenue anaounted to more than Thirty-eight Millions, and the National Debt remained much as it was at the Queen's Death. How then can the Memory of a M r be fufficiently dctefted, who thus negleding the Salvation of his native Land, faw it ex- piring beneath the Burthen of her Taxes, yet never ftretched forth his Hand to eafe her Load and fave her from Perdition ? He, who had been the Univcrfal Invader of Freedom in Eleding your Reprefentatives, the Profli- gate Spreader of Piirjury and Corruption j the wanton Spoiler of Religion and Virtue ; who, by the Power of pafTing penal Laws, cut you from your Rights and Privileges, and doom'd your Lives to tiie Mercy of every proftituted Juftice of the Peace. Is this according to the Spirit of Magna Charta, the Bill of Rights, the Ad of Settle- ment, or Englijh Liberty ? Deteftable there- fore [ 38 ] fore as he muft remain in the Hearts of all honeft Men, tell me in what Light ought hi$ Succeffors to be regarded, who, improving on his nefarious Plan of National Ruin, have fo loaded the Genius of this diftrefled Ifle with accumulated Impofts, that, funk beneath the Load, he gafps expiring ? _ \- \ During this Time Germanic Interefts grew daily more prevalent, and M rs in- folently purfucd the old Maxims of indulg- ing the ruling PalTions of their to preferve themfcives in Power, remorfelefs in their Country's Ruin j fo that during this Reign there has been levied on this opprefied People, One Hundred forty-five Millions, and in one Year, the laft of the War, Tea Millions fifty - nine Thoufand ninety - four Pounds : And even in the Year Seventeen Hundred fifty-four, in profound F .ace. Se- ven Millions five Hundred thirteen Thoufand three Hundred forty-four Pounds. Thus from the happ^ Hour of the Oorious and Immortal King PVillimn'^ being placed on this Throne, your annual Taxes have been increafed from Two Millions fixty-one Thou- fand eight Hundred fifty-fix Pounds, to Ten Millions fifty -nine Thoufand ninety -four Pounds rts of all ought hk oving on have fo fflc with leath the '-»... Interefts -rs in- [39] Pounds in Time of War, and to Seven Mil- lions five Hundred thirteen Thoufand three Hundred forty-four Pounds in Time of per- fect Tranquillity ; added to which Blefling, you, your Children, and Childrens Children, to endlefs Generations, are mortgaged for a National Debt of Eighty Millions. During this Interval, fo produdive of Bleffings to this Land, according to the Songs of Whigs, Penlioners, Placemen, and M— rs, conliiling of Sixty *?x Years only, there has been levied Three Hundred and eight Mil- lions, from which deduding the annual Ex- pence of Two Millions at the dethroning jfames the Second, there remains One Hund- red and I'eventy-fix Millions, which have been lavifhed in fupporting Dutch and German In- terefts, and ruining your own. Having thus far traced the happy Coiire- quencc: of the Whig Adminiftration, in drain- ing you by oppreffive Taxes, and overwhelm- ing you with enormous Debts, I (hall take the Liberty to (how you how this Money has in Part been difpofed of in Subfidies to foreign Princes ; firft making one Remark, that whenever a Man of no Fortune marries a t 40 ] rich Wife, it generally follows, thit her Mo- ney maintains his poor Relations and needy Coufins. i^: m\ I u doing this it will be impoflible to come at all the Sums paid in Subfidies, becaufe Votes of Credit, Money for Deficiencies nC provided for by Parliament, and other unfpe- cified Sums, may very poflibly have been ap* plied in this anti-conftitutional Manner And to fhow you that this Suppoiition is not without juft Foundation, in 1697 there were, amongft the Refoluticns of the Houfe, men- tion of Sums due to the Eledor of Branden-- burgh^ Landgrave of Hisjfe Cajfel^ Duke of Wolfembuttky Bifliop of Munjier, Duke of Hanover and Zelly Duke of Holjidn^ and the King of Denmark, However, without including what has been juft mentioned, there has been paid in Subfidies and incident Expences to foreign Princes, more than Fourteen Millions : A Sum exceeding the prefent Quantity of Spe- cie in the Nation. And to this if there be added the Expence of fubfifting thofe Troops in Time of War, probably the Sum would be doubled. This % I r i [41 ] Tais muft inevitably appear not a little Unaccountable and extraordinary to the Mind of every true Englijhman : How will he re- concile this Idea with the Love of his Coun- try ; that during Wars carried on folely for Germanic Interefts, the Englijh have fpent in Paying and Suftaining thofe Powers Twenty- eight Millions, hiring Princes and People to defend their own Territories, and protect their own Properties. What Arguments can a JVl r offer to palliate this profligate Abufc of Power and Public Truft, this Sacrifice, more inhuman than thofe to Moloch^ of a whole Nation to the Advantage of German Princes, whofe Interefts are as diftant from yours, as thofe of one Planet from another, whofe Dominions are not worth, at public Audbion, the Tenth Part of what you have fpent and ran in Debt to fupport them ; of this Sum, Two Millions Three hundred thou- fand Pounds Englijh Money, have been paid to the Eledor of H-^—r, as Subfidies for Troops hired to defend their own Country. Marvellous as the former muft appear, this Article muft yet furely excite a greater Wonder in the Eyes of all Men who yet F love 1 . I \\: { 42 ] love their Country, particularly when they confider, that fince the blefTed Acceffion of this Family to the Throne of thefe Realms, the Eledor of 2? r muft have been ena- bled to fave from his Germanic Revenues, by not refiding on the Spot, at leaft Two hund- red thoufand Pounds Annually. Thefe Sums, without entering into a flridt Calculation of increafing Interefl, like a Change- Alley Broker, and yet not quite rejedling it, muft, without Doubt, have doubled themfelves to the a- mount 01 • .. :n Millions Four hundred thou- fand Pounds. This Sum then H r has faved, whilfl M rs have been opprefling the har- rafled Subjeds of England^ deftroying your Manufadures by Taxes, ruining your Li- berties by fatal Laws, and mortgaging your Progeny by enormous Debts ; methinks therefore, fince this forlorn State has been already thus exhaufted, oppreflbd, and mort- gaged for German Intercfts, whilft thofe for whom you have Fought and Laboured have been growing Rich by your Undoing, it would be realbnable that H r fhould at leaft expend in her own Defence that Mo- ney which England has enabled her to fave, before we are deeper plunged into the fa- thomlefs ,i L [43 ] thomlefs Abyfs of National Debt and over- whelming Taxes on that Account. Notwith- fl^nding this, tho' I confefs to you with great Alacrity, that unfpeakable Advantages to this Nation have been derived from the Kings of the Brunjwick Race ; yet, may I not be per- mitted to plead fomething in Favour of a grateful People, who have by Indulgence de- fended tiie Germanic Dominions to the en- riching their Inhabitants, and impoverilhing themfelves. K Gratitude towards the Eledorate of Ji ^, which has given us fo Illuftrious a King, ought undoubtedly to be cheri/hed and eftimated to it's full Value, in the Ereaft of all Rnglijhmen ; yet will it not admit of fome Debate, whether a M r fliould be in- dulged in fuch extravagant and fatal Mif- condud, as that of dooming the Labour of your Hands entirely to German Welfare ; ef- pecially when we know, that our moft gra- cious S n on the T e is abfolutely diverted of all fuch partial Inclinations, pre- ferring the National Blifs of this Ifland and it's Inhabitants, to whom he was born a Stranger, to the Welfare of that People, a- mongft whom he firfl drew his Vital Breath ? F 2 Tq i ifjii -9 [ 44 ] To fuch Exaltation can the Souls of S- rife above Hunnanity I With what Rapture then do I declare this lo you, my Fellow Countrymen j with what Pleafure will you fee it confirmed by Public Authority, that all thefe levied Subfi- dies, CO hire mercenary Barbarians^ and fuf- tain Germaji Interefts, are the Schemes of M 1 Heads ? Shall then the Tendernefs of the parental P — e be defeated by the Arts of rapacious M— - — rs ? But let me no longer detain you from the Joy of reading what, fatally overlooked by the M — — r, demonftrates the Truth of that which I have been afTerting, the FaflagQ is from the laft Edinburgh Addrefs on his Ma- jefly's Return from Hanover^ printed in the laondon Gazette^ and in thefe Words, " The " Spirit and Vigour with which your Majefty ** has fupported the Rights of your Crowa *' and Kingdom, when unjuftly invaded, ^' makes it our indifpenlible Duty to applaud *' thofe Meafures, wherein all Conji derations ** have been manifefdy poftponed to the Inter eft ** of the Bntiih Dominions." This Tranfcript of Zpal, breathed from a Country fo remarkable for > I vii [ 45] for it's Loyalty, though perhaps it may not be parallelled by any Addrefs from EngUJh Cor- porations, yet for the Honour of my Country, I aflfert is as firmly believed by Englijh as t by Scotchmen 5 and though you have been Jpfs warm in your Expreflions, I am con- vinced ye are as fleady in your Loyalty and Duty. Having in this Manner proceeded to lay before you the Money which has been raifed and lavi(hed, together with the Debt incur- red in fuftaining German Interefts, it is with Pain I proceed to (how how your Calamities have increafcd in other Views ; every Bofom that yet feels for it's Native Land, muft prove the biting Anguilh of this accumulated Mifery. • It Is not only that your Trade, Agricul- ture, and manufadures, have been wholly employed to fupport foreign Interefts ; the matchlefs Iniquity of M rs has been totally engaged in ruining yours, by redu^ cine the Value of pecuniary Property to lefs than one Sixth of it's worth at the Revolu- ;ion, In v^t m 14*1 ' [46 ] In the Reign of King William Money was I. Seven per Cent, it is now reduced to Three nd One-half : Thus then as the Intereft ari- fing from that Property determines it's Value, Two thoufand Pounds being now only pro- dudive of the fame Intereft which one gave you at that Time, are of no more Worth 5 and all your Property in that Shape muft have loft half it*s Value : To this Misfortune the fatal Adherence to Germanic Interefts has re- duced )0U. How many friendlefs Widows and defti- tute Orphans have already forely felt, how many more muft fufFer on this Account, ow- ing to this calamitous Redudtion ? Old Age pines in Want of the neceflary Comforts which that helplefs State requires, and Infants are divefted of Education from this fatal Change in pecuniary Income. Yet, alas! this Redudion of half the Worth of your Pofleftions in Money does not terminate the Evil. By the beft Computa- tion, according to the Taxes of 1754, in pro- found Peace, out of every Twenty Shillings which is laid out to purchafe the Neceflaries as ec 1- e, )- e > e e [47 ] of Life, Fourteen are doomed to the paying Taxes. By this Means two Thirds of that Money which was before reduced in half it's Value fince the Revolution, by diminished Intereft, is again taken from you, by the In- creafe of your Taxations. Thus then for every Twenty Shillings In- come in the Time of James the Second, ari- fing from the Intereft of your Money, you receive but Ten Shillings only at prefcnt ; and as at his Exile your Taxes amounted only J Four Shillings in the Pound of all you expended, and at this Time to Fourteen, it follows, from the Imports fo enormoufly in- creafed by M rs, that fince that Time, inftead of poffefling Sixteen Shillings in e- very Pound clear of Taxes, you now pofTefs Three only to purchafe all the NecefTaries of Life : What have ye already fufFered ? When will ye behold the End of your Cala- mities ? What Englijhman^^ Heart can ceafe from throboing with Anxiety, when the haplefs Condition of his induflrious Countrymen comes acrofs it? When wounded with this Thought, that of all vou earn one half is loft Il ,!;■: ■ .) [48 ] lod in Value, and two Thirds of that funk in Taxes fince tfie Revc'utionj how inex- preflible muft that AnguiQi be to all you who recolledt, that of every twenty Strokes of thofe who labour at the Hammer, or the Loom, in Agriculture, Arts, and Manufadlures, Four- teen are doomed to pay accumulated Taxes, raifed for German Interefts? That of Mi- nutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Years, and Ages» Fourteen of every Twenty are deftined to pay for what will be your Ruin, before your- felves, your Wives and Children, can tafte their daily Bread, the honeft Labour of your Hands ? A m Nay, all ye Eat, Drink, or Wear ; Health, Cleanlinefs, and Warmth; your Dwellings, and even the chearing Light of the Sun, which Heaven has given alike to all, are taxed to enrich Germans and exhauft you. Such then, tho* the Revolution was at that Time abfolutely neceflary, have been the de- plorable EfFedts of M 1 Mifcondudl fince that iEra, to fuch Diflrefs ye are reduced. mt Hard as thefe Conditions may appear, I ihould yet have acquiefced in this Support of German to 1 t4^:i G^rrhan interefts, if the Produrt of yodf Trades had anfwered to the Sums ye con- fumed, and rUc Increafe of your National Wealth had augmented during the Time of this DifUpatlon : But, alas ! fuch is the Fate of Engiifimen, that of the Millioris coihed in this Lanci, of the Millions coined iti others, and brought hiiher by Loans and Commerce, not lefs perhaps than One hundred Millions fmct the Revolution, not one Shilling remains a- tnongfl you more than there was In England at that Time j not to mention the National Debt incurred of Eighty Millions. Germany ^nd her Intcrefts, with ibme Afliftance front the Eaft'India Company, like the Locujis^ which fell on Egypt^ have devoured up the Wholci Wealth has paffed thro'' this King- dom like a Meteor thro* the Sky, blamed, and left no Trace behind. This long Lift of Evils, ye might well ex^ i^tdi would terminate your Mifery • but, alas ! it is not in the BUrthen of your Taxes only, but in the Manner which they are laid upon you, that the Calamity is increafed. When Taxes were firft granted in this Kingdom, for ever^ as a Security for the Money which was to be levied upon them, G ia r 1 Hi ,[ 50 ] in many it was provided, that as foon as the Mohey borrowed thereon was paid, the Tax diould ceafe : But fince that Time, thefe and all others, the N4alt-Tax, Land-Tax, and very few befides excepted, have been granted to all Eternity ^ with a Provilion only, that when the Money borrowed on them fliall be paid, the Produce fliall be at the Difpoful of Pailiamcnt, . ' The Difference is too glaring to efcape your Obfervaiion in thefe two Ways of paf- iing the Bills ^ in the fir ft, the Tax ceafes ne- Ceflarily with the Payment of the Debt, and the People are not obliged to pay it ; in the Jecbnd, it continues after the Debt i« '- charged, and the People are obliged to ^a^ it* Wherefore, if ever the National Debts fhould be liquidated, which I believe no Man's Fears will induce him to fay God prevent, fron:« any prefent Probability of that Event, the King will have a Revenue of more than four Millions Sterling coming annually into his Exchequer, without any new Grant from Parliament, or need of it. Will then the Crown, the M r. Place- men, Penfioners, and Plunderers, hereafter confent to free you from thefe Taxes, by ab- rogating the Law ? Should a Monarch gra- cioufly . ' cioufly incline, will a M r honeftly con^ fcnt } or will a Crowned, Head liften to thp righteous Advice of a juft M — r, if Heaven, an C )mrpiferation to our Fall, Uiojuld in fur ■J^reTjn^iC .ijend us tjiat Teihporal Saviour E ".". If then the blefTe'd Sun {hall ever rife, which (hall behold the Difcharge of your pebt?, and perad venture there fliall be feated on this Throne a K fwift to Wrath, and fwift to Fear, whofe partial Fervor for Ger- tnanic Interefts (hall prornpt him Irito Broils, inattentive to your Welfi-re, fo tender of hjs continental fubjeds, and ib afraid oi French Invafion in that Part, that through Dread of jheir.piOrefs^ ^e (hall hue iijitimidated to vote for the'Eledlion of that very E- — -r he is oppofing J when chainitig by his timid C im- mand the Royal Fleet oi, England jii GibraU tar, he fKaJl permit that of the ^nemy to pafs by unnoticed and untouched, whilft the brave Admiral runs' hiad at the Fib'rf Or df this Sacrifice of his Country's Honour j then 'ihvs Revenue will probably be applied to ,^e,(oJe Benefit of foreign Nations. f( iC ? ' But if It fhall iiappen thatthS M ^ then in Diredion fhall dare the K-^g to tiif- ijiifs hiva, from his' Pod, fhall appoint all Q z Officers if '* [ sO OfBcers at his arbitrary Will, and difcharge ^U who prefume to oppofe his pernicious Practices ; then (hall this Revenue be fquan- dercd to purchafe Burroughs, corrupt P — ts, lull the Turbulent, footh and fatisfy the And- bitious, and rule ye with the Iron Rod of M 1 p^-fpotifin? It may happen alfo that a K — — and M r of thefe Pr3penfities may rule to-^ gether, then will their Condudl be a Mixture of the fatal Effeds of fuch Inclinations, and you doubly fleeced, to fate the outrageous Love for foreign Nations in Oiiw, and to fup- ply the iney tinguifhable Hunger after Rapine in the othpr, and in his profligate Adherents : In this Manner, by Powers drawing different "yVays, ye fhall be rent afunder. i' To what a deplorable Situation fincc th^ glorious Revolution are ye reduced ? Arms are ^gain taken from your Hands, the Income of your pecuniary Property (hrunk to one Sixth pf its Value. The Neceflity of your Toil for daily Bread immenfely increafed, the whole Profits of It befliowed on Foreign Nations, yourfelvc^i and Progeny mortgaged beyond Redemption, and your Taxes rjvetted beypn4. ^11 ^opes of Diflblutipri. J' [ 53 ] It Tell me then by what Name I fhall de- fine ye, doomed to fuch hard Conditions for your daily Bread, defencelefs ev^n of that little ye pofTefs. Shall I, beholding ye are yet Eng^ iijktnen^ dare to call ye Slaves ? Yet, alas ! to GermanWcdl have not yowr Looms and Labour, Arts, Agriculture, Mer- chandize, and Science, been long deftined I For that your Flocks have been increafed and fhorn, your Fields been fertilized and reapt» your Shi-ps have dared the Wrath of Tem- pefts, your Cafh been fquandered, your Blood been laviOied. For that Inter^ft ye have Lived and ihall Die. ' n Then tell me, hov/ does the purchafed Negro differ from you in Servitude ? How is your Condition more eligible or free, when the* hard Hand of Neceflicy compelji you to Toil Fourteen Hours in every Twenty, for foreign Nations, to whom ye owe no legal Obedience, before you earn one Bit of Brtud. Who fhall novjr audaciouily *U1 his Front and fay ye are longer Free, or that your State anfwers to the Definition given by uhat great Authgr cjuotcd in the Beginning of theie msium I':,' t t54] th^fe PagCLS ? Do. ye poiTefs the Power of do- in^ all ye ought^ to chufe ? Are ye not com- pelled to do that which ought not to be tbQ Choice of a free People ? , ^ . In this Mannef reduced as ye arc fince the Date of the happy Revolu^on, in all the Va- lue of your annual Revenues, is it credibly that the Heart of nn En^UJhman^ unrelenting to the Miferjes of his Native Land, can agaia fuggeft the cruel Thought of finifliing your Deflrudion, by efpoufing H n Interefls, ^t this precarioas Moment ? ij-i- — V I i)'M Is it not Time to refpite this Nation from her Calamities and Sufferings? Muft her Wounds again be opened, her Treafures fluiced for the fole Benefit of German Powers ? Shail mercenary Barbarians be purchafed in De- fence of H r, and ten Times the Valueojf' that State in Englijh Gold be vvafted for it*iS Prefervation ? Will the Woes of all Nations but yours be ended ? ' * ,uv u:;o I'' In/I . .1 Be not amufed with fpecipus Tales of Conventions made with the F'rujjlan King, and vaft Advantages obtained j what are youi to him, or he to you, as Hamlet fays of He- Cuba ? What is this but farther Proof of At- tention .1. [ 55 3 tention to H-^-^n Weal, whilft tht Safety of this Nation is Aiil negleded and poflpon* €d, and Arms withheld from your Hands? Whatever be the concealed Condition, be af» fured, the Price of your Labour, the Works of your Hands, the Produce of your Lands and Manufadlories, purchafe him to the En* gagement ; whatever the Advantage, it can accrue to H — r alone. Of what other Con* fequences can thefe Treaties be to this Land^ faving that of compleating your Perdition? / Have ye an Ally, unpurchafed by your Treafure, who will advance one Regiment td the Field in your Defence ? Will even the H nsy for whom you have already wafted fo much Wealth, will the Auftrtam efpoufc your Quarrel, and fifquc the Netherlands in your Favour ? Can that Nation which alrea- dy pays Fourteen Shillings in e i y Twenty, which her Inhabitants expend t .vvards the Taxes of the State, bear farther fleecing, and new Imports ? Can a People in whole Favour, at the higheft Computation, the Yearly Balance of Trade does not exceed Five hundred thoufand Pounds, whofe Ca(h confifts of only Fourteen Millions, be capa- ble of fuftaining the Payment of foreign Sublidies, and Support of German Armies, to Ir [56I to the Amonnt of thtce or four Millions an- nually j whicli tianfinigrating, like the Soul in the Syllem of Pythagoras^ from hence to Brutes ^ never returns to the fame Body ? Will Dutchmen and other Fofeignerfi lend their Money to furnifh Loans to a State, whofc declining Credit is manifeft by the Re- duftion of one Quarter of their Eajl- India Stock ? Can you alone fuftain a continental War J mortgaged for Eighty Millions, againft France, who, when free and unmortgaged, have been running to Dedrudtion in fupport- ing former Wars, affifted by the Dutch and jiujirians ? Will not then a five Vears War on the Continent, and M 1 Condudt, bring upon you a more deploiable Calamity than that with which the Will of Heaven has Vifited the Portugueze f When Paper no longer cir- culating from Hand to Hand in lieu of Mo- ney, your Treafure wafted to Germany^ ye iland in need of wherewithal to buy your Children Bread ? The Gold of Portugal^ tho' buried in the Ruins of Lijbon^ may again be recovered from ^he Rubblih^ tho' hid, not annihi- lated ; ted , t 57 ] lated ; whereas the Treafure of this Ifle, tranf- pbrted to Germanic Landb, will be irrecover- able by human Induftry, and loft for ever. Does it then require the Gift of Prophecy to predidt your Deltrudtion ? Yet in this preferit Situation, hot irre- mediable by adhering to Britijlo Interefts i- lolie, this precious Moment v^rhich muft de- cide the Fate of Engldrid, fuch is the unna- tural Lot of every hone ft En^liJJman, who feels for the Diftrefles of his Country, that Confent to Subfidies, and fupporting Germatt Interefts, are the fole Tefts of Allegiance to M rs, the fole Prefer vative of Place and Pen (ion. He who nobly prefers his Native Land to H— — n Welfare, is marked the irt- ftant Vi(5lim of M 1 Vengeance. Long Service?, unimpeached Fidelity, fuperior Ta- lents, well-fought Fields, and honeft Wounds in England'^ Caufe, weigh nothing in the M 1 Scale againft if—- « Welfare ; thefe fecure no Man from Difmiflion, who dares oppofe the draining your Treafures for Get' man Interefts. Such is your dire Condition : Then tell me, what have ye to expedt from that Man, who having violated his Fidelity to his H Prince, N ii'ii • . [ 58 ] Prince, and trucked his Religion for a Place, bellows out for Subfidies, his hardened Front of Hibernian Brafs unblufliing at the Speech and Adion ? O R what have ye to Hope from him, who, like St Pauly converted by the Splen- dor of thofe Rays which dart from on high, becomes all Things to all Men ? Who, fown in Weakiv^fs is raifed in Power ? And, like the fiffl Man, is of the Earth, earthly? But behold, I will fliow them a Myflery, they Ihall not all fleep, but they fliall be chang- ed ; for this Corruptible, mud put on Incor- ruption, and this Mortal mufi: put on Immor- tality. Or laftly, from him, who like the Vulture long hovering o'er his Prey, has at length fowling fixed his Talons in M 1 Power j he who polTefTes it on the bafe Conditions of wafting your Wealth in foreign Subfidies, and dooming this Land to Perdition in fupport of H-^ — n Interefls. ii.' H E who, from his early Youth Compa- nion of the Abandoned, immerfed in Dice and Women, Self-interefted, Daring, Proud, Rapacious, Vehement, Unequal, Adive, Timid ; C 59 ] Timid J his Ambition rifing like the rank Weed from Dung ; now giving, yet retain- ing ; completes the promifed Expe(ftation of his opening Life, and dupes his native Land to his own, and foreign Interells. -^ ^ * He whofe Tongue, the pleading Bawd for every Robber of his Country, has vindicated an y^— r an ^ L •/>, whofe Finger?, Hke the Hair of SoIomon*s M'j.trefs, arc all of pure Gold 5 like Cutiliney tlefperatc in Iiis Purpofes, undoing or undone, feducing the Young, far- rounded by the Profligate, who, avaricious thro' Profufion, with fcarce lefs Vice or more Virtuous Inclinations towards their Country, pillage to wade : Among whom,' perhap?, a Ccefar now cheriflies the Hopes of future Em- Or that Veteran in M — 1 Iniquity, who, like the filly Oflrich, thinking hinnfclf invilibh; to all he does not fee, hides his Head anion2,ii: thefe Men, and leaves his bare Backfide an Objed of Derifion to every Paflenger. If fuch {hall ever be your M— — 1 Ruler?, behold them with that Horror v/hich Hcav-n has commanded the Virtuous to look on Iniquity: Then turn your Eyes on thofe. Ha ■ '' who Tssam I 1 I I ' t . [ 60 3 who fcorning all Place which is incompatible with Englijh Honour and Englijh Intcreft, l})all be difmifTed, becaufe they prefer their Country's Caufe to foreign Welfare. Behold with Joy him, whofe unwearied Diligence, fuperior Intellecfl, Love of his Country, and Memorial for fettling the Limits of Nova Scotia, refcued the M r from the dire Dilemma of not being able to prove the Right of England to thpfe very Provinces in America, for which ye contend, and filenced all the babbling Batteries of France : Who, greatly renouncing all Pofl and Place, deflines bis Talent? to ferve his Country only. Or him. Integrity burning Incenfc at the Altar of his Heart, whofe honeft Hand dif- dained to Sign a Breach of this Conftitution, or trifle with Britifh Welfare, Hp who, refigning ^11 pecuniary Advan- tage, defpifes the falfe Honour of Place, the fallacious dazzle of Power, fuftaining his Country's Caufe flill uncorrupted. How fhall I defcribe to you a noble Fa- mily, where all the Sons are virtuous, ar- den; in their Country's Caufe, relinquifhing all [6i] . , all Place and Profit, rcfolute in Honour, ftrc- nuous in JuAice to this Land^ tfieir Conflitu-^ tion, and their King ? -V, ' . ' * * ' ■ ' • ...... Or him, who renouncing immepfe In^' come, the Price of Numbers, and even the Poft he wifhes to poflefe, when it may be held compatible with his own Honour and his Country's Glory, fteps forth like David^ tho* not at SauN Requeft, before the Ifraelites^ oppofing the M 1 Goliah^ and his Hoft ? His Heart ftill uncorrupt amidft the ge- f)eral Venality, animates his Lips in your Defence 5 thofe Lips, which to this Day have uttered nothing but the Voice of Truth ia England'^ Favour, He, who contemning mercenary Views,' with pure Integrity fu^jported the Honour of his Station, his Hands unftained with venal Pollution, his Tongue unproftitured in De- fence of Falihood, or Extenuation ul Iniquity; for him the Soldier maimed in Battle, offers up his daily Prayers, who freed hun i.om the Plunderer. Mark how that force of Eloquence, like tjie Sword of Michael^ cleaves the bur;^iuo i^)Od^ H li li' ■. ; r [62] — y afunder ; yet fiich is the Power of Union jimongft Evil M rs. like Body of the M- that of Evil Spirits, it unites them again to wai* againft your Welfare. Assist me, Heaven, to paint thisMelTen- ger difpatched from your Abodes, who, ar^ duous in the Tallc of Liberty, fpreads his^ broad Shield of Truth in Protection of thia Country from the Rage of G n Harpies y or give my Words his Power of Speech, and Strength of Argument, which dart like tlie folar Rays on the dark Places and Receflcs of your Miferies, making all vifible : Then may I offer him to your Perceptioix^, and fhew hinx as he is. Did ye behold him rifing in the AlTem- bly ot the , the Lightning of Virtue flaflilng from his Eyes, the Thunder of Pa- triotifm rolling from his Tongue -, fo fupe- rior he appears, fuch Majefty he wears, you mud conceive him fent an Angel, to de- nounce the Wrath of Heaven againft a finful Generation j his Opponents calling on Rocks and Mountains to hide and cover them? Such Confufion and Dread dwell on the daftard Faces of all, who, fold to H — n Interefis, iland branded in the Forehead [63] >vith the White Horje, the ignominious Mark of Slavery. ., . ■, ■ . , .? Listen not, ye People, to the Voice of Slander and Maledidion, which taints in vain his / '5ts of Virtue vi^ith the bafe Idea of Ter- giverfation, or want of Uniformity in Con- dudl : On whom has he turned his Back, but thofc who would deftroy their Native Land ? Whom has he deferted, ihat Honour can (uf- fer an Englijhman to herd with ? Why did he remain fo long filent, but thro' Hopes, at length the aulpicious Hour might (;ome, when getting to his S n's Ear, the Voice of fTruth might prevail in England'^ Favour ? » In vain, him whom they tremble to oppof* Face to Face, beneath the Light of Heaven, they fecretly llilletto'd in the Dark, before his M r. The magic Voice of Verity was withheld from R — I Ear?, whilft the keen Breath of Malice blafted his Attachment to the K- of E dj pronouncing him the Enemy of H r. ^ May that Hour never arrive, when the R 1 Heart fliail too late be touched with Remorfe for this Credulity, and fuffer by the Deception of M rs ! On C 6+ ] 6n this Man then turn all your fiyes, froni Him cxpcift Redrcfs, by Him urge your Re- monftrances, bel: ,ve Him fent for your Pre- fcrvation, left, like the Mejftah to the Jews, he preach Salvation to an ungrateful People, and ye arc loft for ever. "; I FINIS. »'i. .,„*l t , ■« >i A Vl ' Jujl FuhUficd, r.-:: * N E W E D I T I O N S of - * ' The First and Second LETTERS . to the People of E/Tg-AzW. [ Price One Shilling each. ] \ ' i .;:*:- 1 ' 1 . t' ff '\