Berkeley Ths Danger of Violent Innovations in the Stato THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES '* THE DANGER OF VIOLENT INNOVATIONS IN THE STATE EXEMPLIFIED FROM THE REIGNS OF THE TWO FIRST STUARTS, IN A SERMON PREACHED AT THE CATHEDRAL AND METROPOLITICAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, CANTERBURY, ON MONDAY, JAN. 31, 1785, BEING THE DAY APPOINTED TO BE KEPT AS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF KING CHARLES I. Bv GEORGE BERKELEY, D. L. (LATE STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD,) VICE-DEAN OF CANTERBURY, AND CHANCELLOR OF BRECKNOCK. THE SECOND EDITION. CANTERBURY: PRINTED AND SOLD BY SIMMONS AND KIRKBV. SOLD ALSO BY FLACKTON AND MARRABLB, AND T. SMITH, CANTERBURY ; J. JOHMSON, AND J. ROBSON, LONDOW ; FLETCHER, OXFORD ; T. AND J. MERRILL, CAMBRIDGE ; TODD, YORK J AND ELLIOT AND CREECH, EDINBURGH. M DCC LXXXV. X PROV. xx. 21; in MY SON, FEAR THOTT THE LORD AN0 THE KlNG, AND MEDDLE NOT WITH THEM THAT ARE GIVEN TO CHANGE* WE are this day affembled, to exprefs our abhorrence of an aHon which involved our forefathers in guilt and infamy ; and to deprecate that vengeance, which, for fuch an unheard-of-crime, may juftly be in/- flicled on us their children* ( As we look not for any refurreclion of the tody-pollti^ and as in the future world there will be no diftinction of 1 nations, but each individual will be rewarded according to his works- the guilt of nations (if puniihed at all) muft be puniflied in the brejent ffate*- That nations^ as fuch, are capable of guilt, and that they - JP^ are, by confequence, \ iable to* pumihrrient, 7s the do&rin of .. Scripture, and mult be" admitted by every man who believes in GOD'S moral government of the world* That the punifhment of nations may be delayed, 'till their iniquities be/W/, is likewife fuffieiently obvious* That the guilt, which we now deplore, was In fame fenft SV~ia national needs^ no proof : the nation confefles it ; and every one knows that it was by a pretended national authority, that the virtuous Sovereign was brought to the block. To prevent the iniquities of our fathers from being vi- , . j fited on us, in a national manner j the only manner, I ap- ft /* * prehend, that the^rii ^oj^Jthe fathers are ever vifited on their children ; it will be our \vifdom to avoid~their > ways < thofe ways which they purfued in attempting, by violent jo reform tbg Conjiitution. A a It 882159 [ 4 ] It fhould feem then that I cannot better fulfil the pur- pofe for which I ftand here, than by endeavoring to per- fuade you " to fear the Lord and the King, and not to ** meddle with them that are given to change." To this end, it is propofed to fhew you that Civil Go- vernment is the ORDINANCE OF GCD : and then T . fhall point out the danger and the fin of making violent innova- tions in any confHtution of government whatever, that has been long eftablifhed, and to which the people have been accuftomed quietly to fubmit. J FIRST, the nature of man the cor.ftitution of his mind / as well as of his body -fhews clearly that his Creator in- tended him for' Society. No other animal is fent into the i; world in fo helplefs a condition as this Lord of the Creation ; naked,, ...y&t iinfi,t,tjg.d^o^e4J^:he inclemencies of the wea- ther ; necefTarily requiring-fbd^.yejtutj:erly vl unable jto pro.- f 'i cure it for himfejjf.^ _^.^^, ^^.. v * %^ Thus cireumftaoeed^. jf.deftitutepf pa-rental protection, few and evil would be the moments of his life. Thus totally dependent muft every defcendent of Adam be contented to remain during the period of infancy and childhood in the more rigid climates, during a much longer one. 'When he. .arrives at that ftage of life at which he may be fuppofed capable, in fome meafure, to take care of himfeli} Ihoald he feparate from his parents,, and roam alone among the wilds, he might, perhaps, in the more favorable regions of the globe, be able to fupport, for a few years, a wretched exigence 4 -.f-But to render life, in any degree, pleafantand defirable., many more things are abfclutely neceffary than can poffibly be provided by the labor and ingenuity of an individual. Should thisfelitary man take, from the other fcx, fuch a hdp help, as inclination might prompt him to feek, or as accident might bring within his reach, by that aflbciation his bands would indeed be doubled, but fo would his mants too : in the rearing (for we fpeak not of the education) of children, he would foon encounter difficulties fo numerous and fo formidable, that the utmoft ftretch of imagination cannot conceive him able, if difpofed, to overcome them. But, fuppofe all thefe wants fupplied, all thefe obftacles furmounted, and a family grown up. Suppofe that little^ community doing all that a fingle family is capable of dcingf . towards fupporting themfelves, "by gardefitrlg and ag "cul- ture, by hunting and by a few cattfe, cafually got and tame"d j Tbefe occupations would engrofs their whole time : leaving neither leifure nor inclination for aught befidc. Man's fiTgber faculties would remain unempld'yed and uncul- A1. ; r*m*< .' . ^ - - - -~~-~+*~^, fc ., j^Mj^n^inif rr^*<^X tivated ; for thofe arts and fciences^which are indifpenfably neceflary to teach men how to ufe their nobler faculties, andl to unfold their reafon, are not the growth of fingTeTarmires. hlerice, ~mlucrj a itateT^man mufremain a ftranger "to religion and morality. He could have no knowledge of the greateft and moft beneficent of beings, by whom he was created, and would little furpafs, in excellence or dignity, his brethren the beafts of the foreft. That this is not a vifionary theory is evident from the hiftory of the new world. When that immenfe continent was firft difcovered, fuch of its inhabitants as lived in dis- jointed independent families, or in very fmall tribes, were exactly in this degenerate ftate, ftrangers to all the arts, and toall the comforts of life, and " without GOD in the world", they carried about with them fcarcely any marks of huma- nity but their form. In the kingdoms, where fociety was and a regular fubordination eftabliflisd, the cafe A 3 was / - I 6 1 ms far otherwife. The people were in a degree civilized, they had fome acquaintance with many f the arts, the elt- gances^ and even the luxuries of life. And although by the nature of their governments, and their monjlrous idolatries , they were prevented from attaining to that degree of know- ledge and politenefs which has been attained by nations upon whom *< the fun of righteoufnefs hath arifen", yet, when compared with the wandering tribes around them, they were happy, intelligent, and polite. Now as thatjugeriority in improvement could be Qwu^g to nothing .but the_ mutjial aid afforded by fccietv ; and as the human race, when out of fociety, degenerates rtj+#lmo/l to the level of the brute- creation, SOCIETJT mult un- I (joubtedly je^he ftate intended for man by his Maker. /7/^ 9 ut Society neceffarily implies laws and fuboramation, A number of men living together in a ftate of abfolute equality, and indulging each his own humor, would form a confufed rabble : inftead of affording one another mutual affiftance, " every man would do what is right in his own t< eyes ;" every man would grafp at as much as he could ; and, in the general fcramble, the ftrong would deftroy the weak. In msdcrn pbilofopby, the focial affections hold a very con- C fpi^^pus place ; and from the certain exiftence, and fup- " pofed influence, of thefe affections, have torrents of fen fe- lefs declamation been poured forth in praife of the Jlate of f nature ; of that imaginary ftaie in which, during the early .' ages of the world, men zrzfuppofed to have lived together, I while every man was his own legislator. & That there never w_aj fuch a ftate as this, all tke records pf antiquity, to which any credit is due (with the books of Mofes at the head of them) agree in affuring us. That there- [ 7 3 there never could have been fuch a ftate, is almoft evident. For, tho' it cannot be denied that there is implanted irtA the human heart A PUBLIC AFFECTION, which makes even *\ children delight in fociety ; yet in minds uncultivated, that \ public affection hath but little ftrength, and is by no means Sufficiently enlarged to comprehend the whole fyecies* or even many individuals. f / *-*** How far, for inftance, does the public affection of a low / illiterate clown extend ? Probably, not beyond the limits of * Afa the village or parifh wherein he refides : And when public - ^ affection oppofes itfelf to the principle of felf-love, in every * ^*" "* uncultivated mind, in the high or low, it is always foiled in the conteft. V Indeed, were mankind compounded of nothing but pure intellect and public affection or (fuch beings as they are) did the interefts of one never interfere with thofe of another - t they might, perhaps, even in SOCIETY, be left to the gui- dance of their own reafon, to the influence of their owr reafon, to the guidance of their own internal feelings. But whilft man is a compound of reafon and appetites'!^ of public and private affections ; and much more, whilft the _ . interefts of one man are fo frequently oppofed by thofe of ana- \ I fy i t 4, ther, it is paft difpute that pofitive laws are abfolutely ne- ceflary to render fociety either comfortable or ufeful- t ar indeed to keep it together. Eut laws, in the very idea of them, infer magijlrates of different orders, and of various powers ; and, as it is impof- fible to multiply powers to infinity, there muft, in every ftate, be fome man, or tody of men, vefted with fupreme and U neon troul able authority. This can pnlv be fo e j^^f*^- to which all Inferior and executive powers muft, of neceffity, A 4 bQ JP f V i. E s ] fubjcct j and to the decrees of which every individual of ftate is bound to pay obedience, as he values the blejjings tiffeciety, and as he would Ihun the hotrors of anarchy. Whatever therefore, in the wild fallies of imagination, men of warm genius may have advanced in favor of abfotute liberty, and boundlefs freedom, it muft be plain to every one (who can conceive the difference between the cabin of a favage and a commodious houfe, between a rude barbarian and an enlightened religious phildfopher, between a people living wild in caves and woods, and a nation in full pof- felfion of eafe and affluence) lhat government is the true and folid bafts of rational freedom, and the folc foundationjpf all that can be ftyled dignity and luppinefs ui this world. "But, whatever is eHential to the happinefs.of man muft be agreeable to the will of GOD, who cannot be imagined to have had any other view in creation than the felicity of his creatures. The abfolute necefiity of fome fupreme authority to enacl: laws, and to punifh the violators of them, is as convincing a proof that civil government is a divine ordinance, as St. jjaul's declaration to that purpofe, in his epiftle to the Ro- 'jnans. > Particular firms of government (the force of which de- pending little on the tempers of men we may deduce from .^diem confequences only net as certain and general as from wiatbematical fciences) may be devifed on earth ; and they may be different in different nations, but ftill, let us attend to a moft important diftinclion in this matter, ^\l\\o > forms of government may be of man's device,yi is not government iffetfj that is from above, for " the moft High ruleth in the " kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whomfoever " he will."* * To a fiftrfcia! thinker this frjl head of the difcouife may perhaps appear I 9 ] SECONDLY, to trace government from its rude origin, thro' all the flages of perfection and refinement of which it is capable, is foreign from my purpofe, and far beyond the limits of the prefent difcourfe ; neither fljall I wafte your time in comparing the various forms of government exifting in divers countries, and in a fruitlefs endeavor to decide pe- remptorily which of them is bejl : It is my bufmefs to pro- { ceed, underlie diiecli^nx)f the text, to fhew the daager and the fin of making violent innovations in any form that hath been long and guietly^etfablimed., " My ion^fear th.ou k " the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that M^ ^JK " are given to change." Altho' the wife man particularly fpecifies the King as the * power which, after Gop, it is our duty to fear ; yet it is ~ not to be imagined that his prohibition againft u meddling " with them that are given to change" is applicable only to - perfons living under kingly governments. ; ' * The danger to^ be apprehended from innovations is as / great, perhaps greater, in popular than in monarchical V forms. No great and indent change can be effected in any conftitution, but by armed force ; now fhould an abfolute prince be (lain, and the government bediffolved, that form, being fimple and uniform, may be injlantly reflored by pla- cing another monarch on the vacant throne. But in a complicated conftitution, confifting of various parts, the fuperfluous ; for where is the man that doubts of the necefiity of Jbmcform of Government ? No man, indeed, doubts of the necefiity of Government, ieuufe * from his infancy he has been told that it is necefiary, but few, very few, have confidered what wretched creatures they mufl be were it not for Government, and perhaps a view of tbat larttcbtdmj'i may have a good effect upon the mind* of fuch perfon as have never duely examined thefe obvious verities, and may tend to give them a due abhorrence of anarchy and confufion. The dema- gogues of the Jaft century involved our forefathers in mifery becaufo thefe truthtr > were not fufHciently regarded. leaft ^ *m jfW [ ,0 ] leaft 'innovation (provided it be perceptible by the people at large) will not fail to fplit them into a thoufand fierce and rancorous parties. If, while things are in this ftate, the government be difiblved (which in fuch cafes is always to be dreaded) when or how it may be reftored, can be known tnly to HIM " who ftilleth the raging of the fea, and the ** madnefs of the people." Nothing human is abfolutejy fixed : natioas, as well as individuals, are progreHive ; and what was fit for the laft age, may not be proper for the _ncxt. Gentle alterations in ^ % ^rie 1 Kriod cs of government are, perhaps, unavoidable ; but 1%H great and violent innovations jip^Jndividual is entitled to make. Indeed fuch alterations are very dangerous to be at- tempted even by the legijlature itfelf, and if experience may . ' when one le,tteth out wafer ;" at firft it runs in a gentle * rill, but, by degrees, the rill fwells into a mighty torrent, that fweeps away every thing before it.- The ufual pretence of tbofe " who are given to change" is to redrefs grievances, and to reform the conftitittion. One rnay, however, very fafely appeal to the experience of all ages and nations, nay, to the common fenfe of all man- kind, whether under the worft conftitution with which we are acquainted, the people in general can fuffer any griev- ance equal to the miferies of a civil war ; and every vioknt innovation in the ftate hath been and always will be at- tended by a civil war. Nor t ] ft 4V Nor are the horrors all"^ << ronfincfl frt hp ^ m n^ * *"*- " -^i^*** 1 ^ ^ the conteft j by no means, for it hath been commonly found lljfc that, after civil broils, a return of peace hath not _br ought ^back with i t freedom anj^ bappiqeji*. . NpjMjp infift upon the * 3V%Kecutions, profcriptions, and confiscations whicji njii^ jn- evitably take place, whichever party prevails it is hardly 4 /fr to be expected that, if the Sovereign prove victorious., the * / / ^IM grievances complained of fhould be redrefTed ; an unfuceej ~_ nil rebelliorTTTaVing been ever found" to ftrengthen the^^*^ **^^!| vernment it intended to cieftroy ; but, fhould fuccefs de- clare for the popular party, the leader of that party, at the of a victorious army, may eafily feize the fuprgme y power, and amply fupply by force what he wants of right. jp Thus, inftead of finding their Conftitution reformed tne ^ people will feel themfelves enflaved by a military tyrant -^ I and perceive, when too late, that " the little hiiger ofthie " Protector of their liberties is heavier than the loins of 11 their lawful Sovereign" j that if the yoke laid upon them ^formerly was heavy, that under which they now groan is Jrtavier j and that " if they were before chaftifed with " whips, they are now fcourged with fcorpions." This is *^ the natural, I had almoft faid the necejjary, iflue of every / infurredtion againft the Legiflature. The infurgents are * not fure to obtain a better government, but they are fure 9 \ by overthrowing that which is eftablifhed, to engage their * fellow citizens in civil v/ars, cabals, factions, and univerfal confufion ; and to open a door for the admiffion of thofe horrid evils in future, upon pretences the moft falfeand fri- volous. The love of our country then ojipofeth the overthrow of /T*T*.< * . t .4*T . James, as was very natural, thought himfelf entitled tp cxercife aH the powers which his predecefibrs had exercifed : . *-(f^. and, no doubt, eileemed it his duty to tranftnit thofe powers to his fon. Being, however, pacific and, perhaps, timid itifo, he contented himfelf with an oflentatious difplay, both I '3 3 in HisjJ5eeches and writings, of all that, by his prerogative, he might do, whilft in truth he \^r*y rarely <&/ any .thing at all in matters of confiderable importance. Thefe occafional flrctches or exertions of prerogative were commonly made too with fo little dignity, and, for want of political cou- rage, they were fo frequently retracted, that they tended ra- ther to dimintjh than to tncreafe the power of the crown. The long peace which was preferved during the reign of James afforded men leifure, and a general increafe of kpow- ledge gave them ability, tj^reafon ^jjoon the^nature^arid^defigq^ of government, and to enquire into the foundaj^on of that p^*ogative o?. which the Monarch was continually boafting. The m^oreenjjghtened part of thejiationwere not long* occupied in TpohdcaTdifcuflioris, before they difcovered that the conftitutional affembly*oik-he three Eftates*, of Lords Spiritual, Lords Temporal, and Commons, muft have beenf inftituted for fome better and higher_purpofe than merely to ferve*as an organ of the royaTwill. Men became now intent upon afcertaining the rights of the fenate, anaj-c- Draining the prerogative of the crqwnr TThe peaceable fyftem of James afforded not any oppor- tunity for accomplishing thefe aims ; and he never deviated from pacific meafures until the concluding year of his reign : Then he was, in fome fort, conft rained, by the_cla>- iis fubecSbta enter -into a war with the molt werful kingdom in Europe. To his fon and fucceflbr he * Tim is our Parliament confidered in the eye of the Law : Thus Lord Cla- rendon reprefents it after the Great Rebellion, and thus in the reign of William III. it is reprefented in the Service appointed by the higheft authority of the ftate to be ufed on the 5th of November. Why then fliould we adopt an incotreft idea en this fubjefi, ai if the King was one of the three Eftates of the Realm ? left r H i left the profecution of that conteft j under a load of debt, and with^an empty treafury. Charles infcantly fummoned a Parliament, whom he ad- drefled with the utmoft fimplicity and cordiality. Secure in the affections of the Commons, with whom he had lately become a favourite, he lightly mentioned his need of a fupply ; not doubting but that a competent one would be liberally and chearfully granted for the profecution of their ewn war. The young King, however, was foon convinced of his miftake ; for the Commons (having voted a fupply, fo icanty, as to evince an intention rather to morfc their So- ^erejffnjjian to fupport the war) inftandy preferred a com- plaint of grievances, w For this conduct they did not, perhaps, jeferye much Jbjarne. Their aaceftors had tamely yielded to practices and to precedents favorable to abfolute monarchy : it was therefore abfahitely neceflary tojix_a cbotc_e^ either to aban- don entirely the privileges .of the people^ or to guard thofe jJIHleges with barriers^more firm and recife^han^ny hi-* "'therto provided by the Constitution. With pleafure they beheld the King engaged in a foreign war, which could not fail to render him every day more de- pendent upon his Parliament. It certainly was natural, and in their opinion, allowable, to take advantage of Charles's fituation, and to extort from him conceiTions f*% vorable to civil liberty. However natural and juftifiable thefe fentiments might be in the Commons, it could not be expected that the King Ihould entertain the fame ideas. Educated heir apparent to a crown, the prerogative of which had been Igng ^defined, and almoft unlimited, he coujd [ '5 ] could not fail to confider this attempt to ere& new rampartt againft his authority, as a violent and indefenfible innovation in the conftitution. . He had exercifed no authority -(he had not indeed had time or opportunity to exercife any au- thority) which had not, without complaint or murmur, been exerted by his predecefTors. Charles well knew that trie grievances of which the 'Commons complained were not the effedfc of any error in his Jn adminiftration therefore to be thus deferted in the com- mencement of his reign, and of a war into which popular clamor had driven his father, could not but appear jojiim jgrueLjftui^ deceitfuh When he perceived, as he foon did, that this defertion was a prelude to encroachments upon his authority, and infringements on his prerogative, heTailet! .not to regard thofe aims as highly criminal aj^faiterouis. *. Nor need we wonderjit^this j the love of power being, <7mR&* in fome fort, natural Jto the human mind 7 and few men ffm && being difpofed willingly to fuffeTany, but efpecially inferi- j t ors, to v/reft from them that influence to which they fuppofe * ^ceived it, let every reviewer of thofe turbulent fcenes lay his hand upon his heart, and fay, as in the prefence of that GOD from whom no fecret is hid, " that, foK^j?5 en ' n " the fame elevated ftation, he would have adedjdiffer- " ently." See hii Swojen on the joth of January, 1733, In t 16 ] that there are rights arid pri- vileges unallenable from human nature j and that upon thefe the Crown had long trampled : for, granting the truth of this (which, however, is not felf-evident) we afk whether it was reafonable to expect that a young King fhould, imme- diately after his acceffion, make difcovery of thisjruth; which had lain fo long concealed ; or that, becaufe he had not difcovered it, hefhould, on this account^ be deferted by thofe who had hurried his father into an expenfive war ? The Commons, however, deaf to the felicitations of their JJ m ^ Sovereign, and rgga reliefs^ it fhould feem, of the glory of the y//^ nation, remained inflexible. Thus circurnftanced-, it was- f / - natural^ and who can fay it was not vyfe^ for Charles to diflblve fuch an affembly ? The next which he called, as if tha.fame men had ever.y^vere been returned, and as if no time had intervened .between the two -parliaments, adopted.the fame principles^ ajjddifplayed the fame views. ^ The third parliament at firft feemed to be actuated by a more carulid fpirit, but events foon proved that, for violent purpofes, they had affumed the mafic o^moderation. Their- fftition of right having been granted, by which as much li- berty was fecured to the fiAjecTr, and asfm-uoh reftraint w^s 1 * J impofed on the Sovereign, as the circutnftances of the times,, ' j} and the genius of the people, could admit, there remained lloj[pjige^ny one. rtal grievance, of which the Commons could complain. The conftitution was now reftored to its primitive pu^n't^s and it was the indifpenfable duty of the reprefentatives of the people to fupporf. the Crown in the profecution of the peo- ple's war j in which they had unequivocally promifed to ad- here to the King with their lives and fortunes. Had [ 17 ] Had fuch been their condua, they would have j uffificd the higheft pretenfions to patriotifm; they would have de- ferved the applaufe df their contemporaries, and the admi- ration of their pofterity : But, alas 1 they had other ends in Tiew. Far from being fatisfied with this important con- ceffion on the part of the Crown, thefe peiverfe men were only thereby encouraged to make new demands, and fuch as, had they been granted, would have entirely changed our ancient conftitution both in church and flate, The King, extremely provoked by a factious fpirit which he faw that nothing could fatisfy, difTolved this parliament likewife ; and feeing no profpeft of fupport from his peo- ple (among whom the feeds of fedition had been fown with a lavifli hand) wifely made peace With his foreign foes altho' he had not been able to obtain the object, for which his father had commenced, and he himfelf had continued, the war. Difgufted, and furely not without reafon, at po- pular aflfemblies, a long period wasfuffeied to elapfe before the King called another parliament, and it is, perhaps, doubtful whether he would ever have done fo, had he not been compelled by a rebellion excited among his Scotch fubjccls, in behalf of their fa&ious prefbytery and impious An army of twenty thoufand fanatics, rendered defpe- rate and implacable by the curfes which their preachers de- nounced on fuch as " went not forth to help the Lord *' againft the mighty/' was marching to the borders. At this critical time a Parliament was fummoned, and one would conclude that real patriots tould h%\e had no other object in view than the crufhii.g fo unprovoked a rebellion. To crufh this Scotch infurreition was, however, far from their wi(h : regardlefs of the kingdom, and without deign- ing to take any notice at all of the royal application fof B neceflary t 18 ] rcceflary fupplies, the Commons entered immediately on their eternal complaint of grievances. Where great evils lie on all fides, it is very difficult to follow the beft counfels. The King was in the greateft doubt and perplexity, and we cannot wonder that a Parlia- ment, which evidently had the peace of the kingdom fo little at heart, was haftily diffolved. Thedifiblutionof this affembly was, however, a meafure of which the unfortunate Charles foon repented, and which fubfequent events, more than a thoufand arguments, incline every one now to con- demn. The Scotch rebels mean-while marched into England, and another Parliament was necefTarily called. This af- fembjy began with difplaying a difpofition more fierce and unrelenting than had been vifible in any preceding one: Far from enabling their Prince to fubdue the infurgents, this Houfe of Commons actually voted pay for the Scotch rebels ; with whom they kept up a conftant correfpondence, and whom it was their avowed intention to retain until the King himfelf fhouldbe totally fubdued, and all their own repub- lican purpofes effe&ed. " We cannot yet fpare the Scotch," (faid a popular leader in the cant of thofe times) " the fons " of Zeruiah are ftill too ftrong for us." Encompafled with enemies, the fad neceffity of the King's affairs deter- mined him to leave this Parliament to itfelf : a year had not elapfed before Charles beheld his moft faithful fervant mur- dered by them, himfelf ftripped of every branch of the pre- rogative, and the entire authority of the ftate, executive as well as legiilative, affumed .by the Houfe of Commons. All this could not have been effected by the powers of rhetoric or of reaibn. The Houfe and the nation were deeply tin&u- red with Unaticifm, and the pulpits, artfully and arbitrarily filled [ 19 ] filled by the Commons with preachers of that defcription, refounded with faction and enthufiafm. Hypocrify, noife, and nonfenfe expelled found piety and fober fenfe ; and the fole aim of the preachers was to exaf- perate the minds of the mob alike againft the King and the Bifliops : Herein their fuccefs certainly equalled their wifhes, and probably exceeded their expectations. A democracy of the worft and moft tyrannical fort had now fucceeded to our free and ancient government j and as Charles had been compelled to aflent to an A61 for making this Parliament perpetual, a civil war feemed to be abfolutely inevitable, before the conftitution could be reftored. Ac- cordingly vigorous preparations were made by each party for an appeal to the fwoid ; it matters not at all, which of them drew it /r/?, the King having been unqueftionabiy conftrained to arm in felf-defence : if, indeed, his troops firft took the field, yet the Parliament had previoufly wrefted from him the militia, they had feized his caftles, and had appointed to them governors by their own authority. To trace the progrefs of that calamitous war is no part of my plan j the IJfue of it is but too well known, and reflects indelible difgrace on this nation ; as, under pretence of amending^ it overturned the conftitution in church and ftate, and murdered one of the beft and moft accomplifhed princes that ever wore a crown. Had Charles been born an abfolute Monarch, his huma- nity and his good fenfe would have rendered his reign hap-, py, and his memory precious. Had the limitations of pre- rogative been, in his time, fixed, his integrity would have made him confider as facred the boundaries of the conftitu- tion. Had the Parliament reftored to him hisju/t rights, after that thofe rights had been precifely afcertained, his high fenfe of hooor, and his fear f GOD> would have B 2 prevented [ 20 ] prevented his ever ftretching the regal authoiity beyond its prefcribcd limits. But the Commons had other ends in view. The utter Abolition of royalty was in truth the original aim of all, who vsw remained in that fa&ipus affembly ; and one of their leaders, foon after the murder of their pioijs, virtuous > and mild Sovereign, confeffed in the Houfe that " if they ' * c were for a King, the laft was as proper as any gentleman *' in England." No fopner was the monarchy diflblved than the Houfe of Peers w^s, very conftftently, voted to be ufelefs ; and the Commons erected themfelves into a democracy, under the denomination of ** keepers of the liberties of England." This new form of government was very fpon overturned by a fanatical, hypocritical, military defpot, the ajch-trai- tpr Crpmwell ; who, feizing the whole authority of the ftate into his own hands, retorted upon the Prefbyterian feet, and the pretended patriots, part of that feverity which they had exercifed towards the adherents of the Church and ths King. Such was the ilTue of an attempt to reform theconftitution by violent means ; even when its reformation was confefledly needful. Upon this pretence were the disturbances begun, and upon this pretence was the monarch murdered, " Let not us therefore murmur, as fome of them alfo ?t murmured, and were deftroyed of the deftroyer ;" but let us rat her learn wifdom from the folly of our ancestors, and cautioufly avoid " meddling with them that are given " to change." We enjoy the moil free and equal govern- ment with which any age or nation was ever blefled : a go- vernment which (now that the boundaries of the conftitu- tion are fixed) as far furpafleth in excellence the long famed politics of Athens and of Rome, as they furpalTed the def- potlfrn of Perfia and the Eaft._ . At At the head of this government reigns a moft excellent .Prince, equally amiable in public and in private life ; a Prince who has uniformly acted like the father of his peo- ple ; and has preferved entire that conftitution both in Church and State, for the prefervation of which his family was called to the Throne. If, in return for his paternal care of us, we could be fo ungrateful as to with- hold from him our cordial affection and chearful obedience, we fhould deferve to be abhorred by GOD and good men, as a people whom neither paji miferies nor prefent mercies can bind to their duty. But, ofdifloyalty there is, I flatter my felf, little room for apprehenfion : The virtues of the Sovereign have fe- cured to him the hearts of his fubjects. The dread is (at prefent), from another quarter and of another kind. I mean, from attempts, however well meant, to reform the reprefen- tation of the people in the Houfe of Commons. That our conftitution is abfolutely perfect, it would be ridiculous to aflert, Perfection belongs not to lapfed hu- manity. That a better conftitution may be conceived^ we do not pofitively deny. For many theories may be clearly conceived, which by the utmoft human ingenuity are not reducible to practice. It may, however, be confidently alTerted that fo few and fo unimportant are the defects, fomany and fo valuable the perfections, of the nicely balanced Britifli Conftitution, as to render it highly probable that any innovations in its fyf- tem will be more likely to injure than to improve it. The people, it is alleged, are not fairly and equally repre- fented*. Granting the truth of this petition, what benefit * It has fcmctimes been haftily aflumed as a firft principle that " it is the " bitth-right of every Englishman not to be taxed but by reprefentatives of his " own immediate choice" whereas, in fafil, this never wai the privilege of Eng- lilhmen, merely as fuch, but only of En^liihmtn under particular descriptions. The t ] ould they derive from a more equal reprefentation, which they have not enjoyed, tor almoft a century, from the prefent ene ? During all that time our rights and liberties have been carefully preferved; and, in the name of common fenfe, what would we have more ? No plan of reprefentation could poffibly b,e devifed in which the WHOLE NATION would agree: Why then fhould we hazard the confequences of an innovation, which it is barely pojflble might do fome good ; but which is much more likely to create difcord, and to proceed to lengths which were never intended ? Every rank of men, amongft us, both in Church and State, may, doubtlefs, learn moft important lefTons from the miftakes, as well as from the crimes, of their predecefibrs. Many popular leaders, in the beginning of the reign of Charles, were wife men and true patriots. Now, if differ- ences bet ween fucb Senators and fuck a Sovereign produced in the end the horrid confequences which we this day lament, what dreadful confufion have we not juft caufe to expect, from differences about the Confutation excited, as feems at prtfent intended, among the people at large throughout the whole ifland, who have neither leifure nor abilities to com-> prehend the fubjecl ? Befides, altho' the fpirit of fuperfti- tion be now fo faft afleep that nothing like that which hap- pened in the laft century can be apprehended in the prefent, yet let us not forget that very lately the Prefident of the, Proteftant Afibciation affembled twenty thoufand followers in the caufe of fanaticifm. Should the legiflature, however, in its wifdom, fo far yield to the fafhionable cry for a parliamentary reformation^ as to make any alteration in the Houfe of Commons, it will, in that cafe, unqueftionably be cur duty, and the duty of The Science of Politics is very muy fludicd, and yet it it fuppofed to be very genei-liy C 23 ] every Briton, quietly to fubmit, altho' the alteration adopted fliould appear to us moft undefirable. In every ftate, be the form of government monarchical, ariftocratical, democratical, or a mixed one confifting of a fufan of the three fimple forms, in every ftate " the' fu- fKme t^wwer^is ordained of GQD., whofoever therefore rejiftetk. " that power refejleth the ordinance of GoD. a nd they that " refift (faith an apoftle) lhall receive to themfelves " damnation."* In a word whether the legislature fhall preferve the ftate as it now is, or alter any pa# of it, let us, a^^good fubjecT:s, and as friends to our country, " udy to be quiet, *' and mind every one his own bufinefs"-Let us, by the grace of GOD, reftrain paflion, and overcome prejudice in ourfelves. As fubje&s of a free conftitution let us be par- ticularly careful to bear in mind the counfel of the wife JCing, " to leave off contention before it be meddled with." So (hall we learn to behave fuitabjy, according to Saint Peter's rule " as free, yet not ufing our liberty for a cloak " of malicioufnefs, but as the fervants of GOD." Tins is the moft effectual courfe we can take to avert the .judgment ftill hanging over us for the horrid crime which we this day deplore. And, if the fpirits of juft men made, 'perfect have any knowledge of what is doing on earth, this is the courfe which, above all others, will atone to the Spirit of the ROYAL MARTYR for the barbarous treatment given him by our forefathers. If we muft be reformers^ let us, by contemplating the good parts of other men's characters, and the faulty ones of our own, learn to think juftly, that is humbly, of our- * See Bifliop Berkeley's Eflay "on the Meafure of Obedience to Civil Govern, merit" laft edition, printed foi Robiat'on, London j and Elliot and Creech, .Edinburgh, 17^4. felves. E 24 } ftlves. Humility will wonderfully difpofe us to coriterit- ment as to all external circumftances, be they public or private. Every Chriftian is a patriot or lover of his country* every real patriot will then apply himfclf to perfonal refor- jnation, and by fo doing he will labor to feture to his nativejland. Hypocrify and fanaticifm were the characteriftics of thn laft age, as infidelity, and a carelefs negle of religi >n and its duties, are the crying fins of the paffing century. Let but thefe evils be done away, and we (hall loon happily ex. perience that for political reformations there will be no oc- cafion. By " rendering unto Caefar the things that are Cnefar's, " and to GOD the things that are GOD'S," and by " doing " to all men whatfoever we would they fhould do unto us," by applying j|in every private and -bublic calarru'ty) to J:he ever-prefent fource of life, comfort, and blcffing, we {hall happily experience that the compajfion, as well as the power^ of our great Redeemer is " the fame yefterday, to-day, and " for ever." Safe under His protection, who alone u ma- * c keth men to be of one mind" in any community, de- livered from all corroding anxiety about lives, liberties,jmd fortunes, we fhall chearfully^pafs the time of our pilgrimage here in hope j and when called to quit this fcene, wherein every thing is mutable, and which affords nought good un- mixed with illy we fliall be found meet to relifh the occupa- tions, and to tafte the delights, of that blifsful Kingdom, which, by our adorable Redeemer, hath been opened to all believers. Now to that GOD whom all Chriftians adore, to the holy t blefTed, and glorious Trinity, three perfons and one GOD, be afcfibed all honor and glory, now and for ever. FINIS. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. DISCHAK 3E-URC Form L9-40m-7,'56(C790s4)444 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Berkeley - |1335 Danger of violent ""21 innovation in thf> 11785 State BINDERY All/: I ^ 1QC7 B 1335 D21 1785