IRISH CATHOLICS ADVICE TO HIS BRETHREN, HOW TO ESTIMATE THEIR PRESENT SITUATION, AND KEFEb FRENCH INVASION, CIVIL WARS, AND SLAVERY. BT DENTS SCULLT, ES^ BARRISTER AT LAW. 3 m\s^ Ctiftton. WITH A PREFACE, NOTES, AND AN APPENDIX, By a Member of the Imperial Parliament. DUBLIN : PRINTED FOR M. N. MAHON, CRAFTON-ST. LONDON : RE-PRINTED BY C. GORDON, PICCADILLY, 1803. y^ LIBRARY .. UNIVERSITY OP^CALIFORN SANTA BARBARA 5-^ /e0 2 PxREFACE, THE Editor of this Pamphlet affures the Public, that he has had it Re* pubhfhed with Notes and Appendixes, for no other Purpofe, but to refute the groundlcfa Calumnies and grofs Mifreprefentations con- tained in it, and to fhew the Roman Catho- lics (the Majority of whom he is convinced are Loyal) the Excellence of our Conflitu- tion, and the Juftice and Mildnefs of the prefent Adminiftration, v/ho have fhewn unabated Zeal to conciliate all Orders, AN SH CATHOLIC'S ADVICE to HIS BRETHREN, &c, My Countrymen^ J. ADDRESS you with a heart full of devotion tto your welfare, and deeply interefled in the deftiny of our common Country; that beloved Country, where we all have drawn our earlieft breath, where our ancellors have flourifhed in former times, the fcene of our own comforcs, the obje(5l of our hopes, whofe honour and hap- pinefs it is our folemn duty to guard for our- felves, and to tranfmit inviolate to our pofterity. I wifh, and hope, to roufe and animate you to the defence of our native foil, and to demon- ftrate to you the dire and intolerable calamities 1 'whieh r 2" l«7liich impend over and mufl furely Crufh us, unlefs we fhaii inftantly awake from our le- thargy, look into our true lituation, and 2^.Qt v/ith a fpirit, a wifdom, and a promptitude be- coming aur numbers and our character. The following fentiments flow from an honeft and unbJaiTed furvey of our common interefls, without the leaft mixture of folicitude for thofe of either England or France, farther than as thoie countries affe«5l our profperity and inde- pendence^ If they fiiall appear, irl themfelves, reafonable and convincing to your judgments, and fhall invigorate your fouls with a true affection for our Country at this awful crifis, I feek no other objedl; I feel no higher ambition. But, that you may fafely confide in the ere-' dit and motives of the perfon who now ad- drefles you, and as you may naturally defire ta be firfl fatisfied in that refped:, I fnall begin by fubmitting both to your decifion, upon their weight and probity. I neither am, (as many of you know) nor is any one of my Family, a Partifan, a Dependant, or a Flatterer of any * Here Mr. Scully plainly intimates, that he is as little folicltous about tlie profperity of England as of France; and the word independenc* can admit of no other conftrudion but that of feparation ; for how can Ireland become independent of Great Britain, with whom fiie is incorporated by a Legiflative Union, but by a complete diffolution of the connexion which binds them together. Government^ 3 Government, nor in any wife interefled In fup- porting a lingle abufc or defedt of our political fy flem ; — but, like yourfelves, ! am a true-born Irifhman, a Milefian,'' a Catholic, of parents and Icindred dwelling amongfl you, your friend and brother, allied to no title, or power or party, fave yourfelves, (if that be a party) iden- tified with you, living in the fame habits and comforts, fharing in the fame privations,- re- itraints and grievances with my Catholic coun- trymen. i feel an honeft pride in belonging to a faithful and loyal *^ clafs of people, who have never deemed any facrifice of their wifhes or refentments too great for their King and their Honour, who have never loll their Dignity, or their temper, with their fortunes, who fuffered with manly fortitude a century of unexampled jnjuftice, who vanquifhed the fpirit of Intole- rance by fubduing their own paffions, and finally * Jumes alto fanguinc Druforum. JUVENAL. Wc undcrftamlthat the genealogy of the Scully family, extradled from the Milefian archives, will foon be publiflied by Pheiim O'Flanoegan, keeper thereof. <= If the Reader confults Cox or Leland, he will find that his brethren were as loyal in the reigas of Elizabeth, James I. Charles I. aai William III. as they were in the years 1758 and 1 S03. B z redeemed yed«emed themfelves from fervitude by tliei^' Wifdom and unbroken energies ''. We have honourably won our way, with calmnefs, to our prefent rank, which (however flill fomewhat ihackled by a remnant of the bro- ken chain) is 5'et, in my judgment, the moft en- viable and truly fplendid, that the arinal? of JJiflory prefect. This is not idle exultation ; it is an ufeful foothing of our fouls by the recolledion of our merits and thofe of our Fathers, by a juft re^ view of our gradual refurrpcflion in our Country, and by a mutual congratulation of each otheif upon the Rank and Profperity which we now enjoy, My Countrymen, let us manfully prefer ve that Rank and Profperity. The moment is at hand, which is to decide, whether we fliall be cafl from it into f^r deeper mifery than we have emerged from, or be triumphantly condvK^ted t;o National concord and permanent peace. The warning voice of our venerable Guide, Arthur QXeary, i? hufbed to eternal lilence; ^previous to the ye^r 178a, the Parliament of Ireland had fcarcely jny Legiflative power, and could do little more than regifler the edlfts of a Bntilh Miniflcr; but as foon as they were reftored to the exercife of their funilions, thpy generoufiy repealed the bulk of the Penal Laws. Mr. Scully and his brethren fhould recollcdt that th^y owed this, not to their wifdom and unbroken etiergiesy but to the liberality of a Froteftant Parli»- Xiitalf at the icdance of the bed of Sovereigns, 5 his foul is gone to receive in Heaven that hap^ pinefs, which he wifhed to all mankind, but particularly to the Men of Ireland " He, doubt- lefs, flill looks dovi^n, "with fond folicitude, upon his native Country : and, could his benevolent fpirit re anim4te his fleeping durt, he would now (for I knew him and his fentiments well) pro- claim to you, with the earneft voice of Patriot- ifm and Chriftian eloquence, thofe folemn and precious truths, which, with not lefs pure mo- tives, but far inferior powers, I flvall venture briefly to lay before your eye?. My Countrymen, THE FRENCH boaftfully proclaim the menace of invading our Illand once more. For this darjng entcrprife they have col- leded all their adventurers, their convidls, their outcaftg and plundering banditti ; and their Ge- neral, Maflena, cheers his fellow- ruffian>i on; by pi(5luring us as an eafy prey, as a lazy, bickering, cowardly, helplefs nation of pol- troons, worfe even than themfelves. They fancy- already, that they may, with impunity, pillage our Homes and fields, ravifh our Women, bind pur Men neck and heels, tranfport them to the Weft Indies to perifti t>y the yellow fever, or the • 1 fuppofe Mr. Scully concludes (hst h? -s rewarded in heaven, for hav- ing been General of a Crwfade, in the County of Cork, iu the year 17S6, when, after the example of the pious father Nicholas Sheehy, he incited the White Boys to commit various outrages ; which many refpedable peyfop;;, no^/y living in that County, can attcft. fwords fwords of their Negroes, and lallly, parcel out this lovely Ifland amongfl the mofl ferocious robbers of their Gang. It is high time, therefore, for us to bethink ourfelves how we fhall adr, whether WITH THEM OR AGAINST THEM?^ In order to determine wifely, let us difcufs this Queftion, not angrily, but calmly, — let us leave all Paf- lions and animofities at the door ; and when "we have determined, let us adl accordingly, with vigour, and in concert — with vigour^ be- caufe, that will do half the bufinefs for us,— in concert^ becaufe, if we iliould difagree, we inight be mad enough to ihorten the bufinefs of the enemy by cutting each others throats, inflead of ferving ourfelyes or our country. We are all, I believe, heartily agreed in our deteftation of a Civil War; we feel the fame emotions of grief and fhame on all its mife- rable confequences, whether they appear on one f After defiring his brethren to bethink themfehes, haiJ they Jball aSl, vihether vaith er againjl the French, and that they Jhould difcufs the quef- tion not angrily hut calmly, and that they (hould ait in concert, becaufe if they Jhould df agree, they might be mad enough to Jhorten the bufinefs of the enemy:, by cutting each ether t threats, he reminds them in page 7, of the pradice tf indifcrii-.inateJj hurniiig the hoiftSy and torturing the per fans of the mni' cent and guilty. In page 36, he alfo reminds them of their " fore and difeafed ftate," of " thofe bleeding wounds and gafties, to which falves and plaifters ought to be applied," and of their " prefent political degradation." Are fucU infinuations lihcly to unite the difTereat oidsrs of the Irifh natiofl againil the French ? fide 7 Me or tlie other, in the fiiape of Vi^lories or Defeats, of a Battle at Rofs or at Carnew, of a maffacre at Wexford or in the fields of Ballinamuck.s Thofe, who execrate the prac- tice of indifcriminately burning the houfes and torturing the perfons of the innocent and the guilty, thofe who abhor the now exploded fyf- tem of Terror amongft us, thofe who profefs the true principles of brotherhood of aiTedion amongft Men of every Sedt and party, muft fhudder at the renewal of a Civil War. They will, therefore, join with me in fcrwtinizing clofely the pretences and promifes of thofe Fo- reigners, who now invite us to hoftilities againft each other. We are to confider which of thefe two parts" we fhall adl, whether to receive thofe French vifitors with open arms, and throw ourfelves upon their Mercy and good Faith, or v;hether we fhall keep to ourfelves what we now have, (be it ever fo little) and drive them back into the Ocean at the points of our Bayonets and our pikes.^ In 6 He applies the appellation of mrilT-icrc eqnally lo tlie dreaJrul carnage which took place on Wexford bricige, and to the vidlcry at Uar.iaainuck, when a number of traitors forfeited their lives, for having joir.ed a foreign enemy, agalnft the bed of Sovereigns, vfhoXs their hinMtary King, In this he reflecls on the humanity of Lord Cornwailis, who was prefent, the' he is lavifh in his er.comiums on him afterwards. "It is to be feared that the reafoning of Mr. Scully, or even the vjaritin^ ftiet »/ bis viKtrahle ^ulj- Arthur 0\l,ijry, were ht llvipg, could not pcrfuade 8 In tlie firfl place, I entreat of every Irifhmafi to lay his hand upon his heart, and toafk hini- felf ferioufly thefe few and limple queftions: Who are thefe French ? Which of lis have ever feen or talked with them, or had expef ience of them ? What may be their objedl or view in taking this long voyage, upon the element that all Frenchmen deteft, expofed to the cannon of our fleets, and the fury 6f the llorms ? Have they the kindnefs td take this mighty trouble merely for our fakes ? And, if fo, what pre- sents do they bring to us, and what rewa:rds do they promife to themfelves ? Can they bring t6 us what they themfelves have not, Liberty, Pro- perty, Laws, Honefly, Truth, or Religion ? Have we in a word, any reafon either to love or to fear them ? Now, rriy Countrymen, I have deliberately- weighed thofe queftions, and I will tell yoii frankly what anfwers I have found to them. — ^I have long watched their c*» The Bifhep of Killala tells uf, th:it they reftraioed their Irifh allies from committing robbery and affaflinacion. " Mr. ScuUy has given us a true pidlure of the French; and as they are jullly execrated by every nation in Europe for their tyranny, cruelty and rapacity, I beg leave to know from him, how it comes to pafs, that the mafs of his brethren in Irefand have fo ftrong a predile£lion for them, that they exprefs it without referve, and that they invited them to invade their native country in J 798, and again in jSoj, We i vnll give you an inil:ance of the rudeneCa and intemperance even of Humbert and his • Generals, in a private company ©f ladies and gentlemen, where (if any where) their beha- Tiour might be expecfted to be difcreet and guarded.— During their captivity, they dined, by invitation, at a worthy Dean's houfe, in the county of Longford; a trifling* difpute arofe amongft thofe Generals, which foon, as is ufual amongft them, was inflamed into ,a mighty quarrel. So little regard for decency had thofe deliverers^ fo little temper or common fenfe, that there, at their hofl.'s table, they vented the grofi!eft fcurrility againft each other, ex- changed the moft angry menaces, and at lengthy 5n the prefence of ladies ! nearly drew their fwords, to difplay their valour — fwords, which they had been fuffered to wear only by cour- tefy ! The company were glad to withdrav/ and leave the room to thofe polite gentlemen ,° and We fhould pay a well- merited tribute of prnife to his argnirents againft French conne£lion, had he had not reminded his brethren, in page 36, of the " fore and difenfed ftate," of the Catholic body, *' thofe bleeding wounds and gallies, to which fa Ives and plaiflers ought to be applied-," and their " prefent political degradation." It (hould be recollcfted alfo, that he is as virulent in his abufe againfl the Cromwellians, the Williamites, tfte Swadlers and the Orangemen, as agaiud the French. " The want of politenefsin the French mufl operate as ajlrottgji^ua^ze ■with the polifticd fikemen againft them. He forgot to add, that they did not worfliip the holy Virgin, which ■would have much more force in that way. the " 15 the holi was, you may imagine, heartily glad when they jtft the room and the houfe to him. Thofe are thomen who would guide and govern us, and who yet have not as much command over themfelves as the meanell of us. Let us confole ourfelves for the invedtives and con- tempt of this defpicable crew. We repay their fcorn tenfold. In i8oi, our Countrymen met and fought them in Egypt ; there, amongft other exploits the 28th Regiment of Foot, moflly compofcd cf Irifh Catholics, cut down the flower of their boafted veterans. A Regiment of Germans, headed by Irifh officers now at Cork, bayoneted the French Regiment of Invincibles, fo calling themfelves, took their Standard, and extin- guifhed them and their name. The remnant of this gafconading Army, whom Bonaparte had allured to follow him and then dcferted, were forced, in difgrace, to bite the duft or to lay- down their arms. Peace was-made opportunely for the French. It drew the curtain before their defeats, and favcd them from our triumphs and the mockery of Europe. In a word, do not cur Sailors alfo, moftly Irifh, beat them to a jelly v herever they meet them ? Do they not, at every opportunity, land in open boats upon hoftile lliores, fpike their guns, ilorm their battericb, and ever conquer Frenchmen, even upon French ground.-^ And, i6 And, after thefe things, fnall we, or fnould we, fear Frenchmen ? We, who are not, like the Dutch or Auflrians, dull, flow, and llupid machines; nor? like the Spaniards and Nea- politans, effeminate, debauched, or frivolous ; Ror, like the Swifs, few in number and bor- dering on France ; but we, who are, 1 fay, from our cradles, a bold, martial, and mufcu- lar people as ever exilled^ <« Fierce in our native hardinefs of Soul." inhabiting a remote and defenfible Ifland, which we well know how to defend -, we, who are, be- yond mofl nations, robuft of conftitution and frame, patient of fatigue, of cold and heat, hunger and thirft, nimble, terrible in battle, rufhing headlong upon the bayonet and the batter}^, and ever prodigal of life in a favou- rite caufe.P Shall five hundred thoufand of us (for we can turn out fo many efficient men) fear to fight the French in the caufe of our Country ? Of us, who, at our fchools, our pa- tron feftivals and our fairs, make fighting and rough games our paflime, and even our delight ? What is, and has been, more common in Ire- f He does not take the trouble of telling us what this faveurite Caufe is, beCRufe he knows that the page of hiftory informs us, that it has been uni- formly the fame, from the beginning of the ifith century, to the 23d cf July, i8c3.' — See Appendix I. land, 17 land, than to fee the men of rival Parifhes and i-ival Counties meeting, by choice and previous appointment, upon our Fair-gveens and Race- grounds, i and there, with clubs and other wea- pons, fighting each other furioufly for whole hours, with dreadful lofs of limbs and lives, and all for the empty honours of their Parifh or County ? What, then, is there for fuch meii, as we are, to dread in facing thofe fliri veiled French Fops, who feed upon garlic, chicken broth, frogs, rats, and other vermin, who weai* rings in their ears, and muffs on their delicate hands, and who pafs their days and nights amongfl dancers, fiddlers, and gamblers ? Cox- combs, whom a fingle week of our wet weather would blockade in their Hofpitals, or wafh back into the Sea ; who would find in our very air and climate the fame noxious repugnance tOr wards them, that St. Patrick is faid to have breathed into it for our protedlidn againfl all. other venomous animals. If, then, we need not fear or refpecfl them as Foes, what better reafon is there for us to love them as Friends or Allies ? Let us coolly con^- fider this matter, and fee, whether their amity is to be confided in, or their alliance cfteemed. 'The hurling match at Donnybrook, near t)ublin, carried on for fomt months previous to the i3d of July, 1803, affords a (Inking inftance of fuch innocent paftimes. It is well known that the meetings held there ■were for the fole purpofe of bringing to maturity that confpiracy, which exploded in rebellion oa the ajd of July, 1803. ^ In 1 8 In the fir ft place, they have never, fince Ire-r land has had a name, done any one thing to ferve us or our Country. — I challenge them, or any fervile adp:iirer of theirs, to fhew one afl of kindnefs or friendfhip flowing at any time from the French to the Irifli. I call upon them to point out a fuigle inftance, in Hiftory, of the French having befriended any People, v/ithouc endeavouring alfo to rob and to enllave them — They approach with the kifs of Judas, and they bite v/ith the deadly venom of the afp. We have feen their bafe treachery at Ballin- amuck ; we know that they have feduced fe- veral Irifhmen to their caufe, fome of whom were undoubtedly men of great talents and in- tegrity, and whofe private views, whatever I may think of their foreign connexions, I will not here, contrary to my opinion, accufe as fordid or vindi(ftive, nor will I, for any pur- pofe or at any time, fpeak of the moral and intellcdlual qualities of thofe men, othcrwife than, as I have heard of them from their pro- feflional acquaintance, with rcfpedl.^ But we know that they have been cruelly deceived and "Long before Mr. Scully's Pamphlet appeared, it was thought that Ic entertained a rejpcd Jor the great talents end integrity., the moral and iittcl' liiiual qualities of thoje men, who weie ccnfined in Fort George, in Scot- land ; for during their imprifonnnent there, he was in the habit of going to the houfe of Jthn Stockdalf, a lojol Printer, to eiiq»"ne about them, dif- ^9 difappointcd ; they were promifed fplendid re- wards, the Wealth, Glory, and happlnefs of their country, ample and generous aid from France. They believed in thofe promifes ; at a time, indeed, when the French Revolution had not fully developed, itfelf, when its charadler was vibrating between Liberty and Slavery, when public opinion was undecided between the fero- city and folly of the many, and the timid, but impotent, benevolence of the few, and when many honeft and patriotic perfons did really hope that the French Nation was engaged, not in forging its own chains, but in maintain- ing the caufe pf rational Liberty. What is now to be thoug;ht of thofe promifes and thofe hopes ? Their Revolution is at an end, - they had gained, after the flaughter or exile of two or three millions of men, the opportu- iiity of firmly fixing their Liberties and of choof- ing calmly their own form of government; whether a limited Monarchy, aqualified or a pure Republic. AH their friends, in other countries, looked for the event with impatient folicitude, and hoped that the French would now produce fome admirable maflerpiece of a free Confuta- tion. But no ; French fouls were too fervile for fo noble a line of conduct. They have pre- ferred an odious and execrable Tyranny ; they fiave made a cruel, vulgar, gloomy, and arrogant D 2 ■ little little foreigner their Tyrant, without whofe leave they dare not open their lips, or move one inch , and they have made themfelves the vileil of flaves, becaufe Frenchmen never have been, nor ever can be, any thing elfe but flaves. As for ouf ill-fated Countrymen, who have been allured by the falfe fignals and lights of France to fteer to fuch a coaft in queft of Liberty, their reception, I am well informed, has been fo cold and chilling, and their difap- pointment fo bitter, that you would really pity their prefent feelings/ They are allowed no penlion ; they have no fubfiflence but what they caa raife amongfl their families here , they are either watched and encircled by fpies in Paris, or left to ftarve in the garrets, cellars, and highways, for the French feldom give alms, or relief to the poor. Thus our abufed Exiles, who might have lived in comfort at home, drag on the burden of life in the utmoll mifery and negle(5l, in the land of unfeeling ftrangers, fuf- pedled by every body they meet, however un- juflly, of being robbers and aflailins, worfe than the French themfelves. So much for their condudl towards our nation and their own. Next, it may be ufeful to fee what are the received and current fentiments amongfl them, with refped to Ireland. •Can we doubt but that Mr. Scully's brethren would pity them from a congeniality of prir.ciplc. Now, 21 Now, all Frenchmen dilpire and ridicule all other nations, but ours in particular. The wide and turbulent ocean, which the Almighty, per- haps amongfl his other mercies to us, has in- terpofed between Ireland and France, is con^ iidered by the modeft people of Paris, as a proof that we are deftined, from the Creation, to be an incorrigible nation of Savages or flaves, eter- nally cut off from all their refinements, civiliza- tion, and improvements. Voltaire himfelf, their favourite Author and Oracle, nffures them very gravely in one of his publications, that the Irifh have no good moral or iatelledlual He feems defirous of exciting the indignation of his brethren agsinft nonapaite, bccaufe he refufed to come to their aflift- ance. We are toprefarne then, tliat he would have been entitled to thetr warmeft regards, if he had acceded to their wifhes in 1798, in aflifting the IriO) DireOiory to form the Ccnftitution whish they had then in con- tcmplatior- as *♦ "'2 as you remember, to Egypt, where Famine, Pef- tilencc, Murder, and the Deaths of hundreds of thoufands of men, followed his vifit. He deferted from that army, and fled back to France. The enraged Egyptians joined our army the moment it landed, fell upon his for- faken and dejecled troops, and allifled in killing or capturing every man of them, whom the climate had fpared. Such was his conducSl and fortune in Egypt. Let us now fee how this Bonaparte has acled towards other nations, to whom he deigned to wear a fhow of kindnefs. He found the Swifs republic fomewhat divided in itfelf — the Catholic cantons were tranquil and fatisfied ; fome of the Proteftant cantons mur- mured againft a few of their Magillrates, — Bo- naparte cameamongft them, with grimaces and fweet fpeecbes, promiiing them his healing pro- tection, and a new Conllitution, more free than their own, which liad ilood for centuries — he caught them, as the fpider catches the innocent fly— he prote6led them, as the kite proteds the dove — he plucked them, and llripped them, and plundered them of their all, even of their goats. He took them in the fame trap, in which he has taken other nations; and the following is the iimple contrivance and uniform conflrucition of it. Firfl. a catalogues of grievances, (fuch as every 24 every country under Heaven does and mufi furnifh in fome degree,) is vamped up, by a fev/ ihallow natives of the country, v;ho either are bribed by his agents, or have the folly to flatter themfelves that they fhall be Rulers and Lords of all, if they ailifl him in enflaving their Country. Then follows an invitation to him, or to France, to adf the farce of the Umpire, as be- ing great, glorious and powerful.— He accepts the mediation, and both parties are bafe enough to fubmit to his interference. — ^He pretends to^ call a general congrefs by proclamation, for the purpofe of choofing their ov^n form of govern- ment. — This gratifies the rabble, and colle(5ls alt the vulgar and conceited politicians of the coun- try together. All is gratitude to the great little man.— All is enthufiafm for Liberty ; and every man dreams of it in his own way ; the ftatefman, (that is, the mobs) debate and difcufs the fub- jed:, in the fireets, in the taverns.— No fyflem can pleafe all, nar ever did. —They differ, alter- cate, and form new factions. — Bonaparte, pre- pared for this perplexity, fendshisagentsamongffc the multitude, to divide and bewilder them the more, while he feems to take no a(flive part iiimfelf, nor to exercife any influence over them. — In the mean time, a general uncertainty pre- vails i the old Lav/s are at a ftand, the Courts of Juflice are fliut, and men begin to find the mifery of 25 of being without Magiflrates or Judges, Riots become frequent, property is pillaged ; the ftrong attack the weak, all with impunity; and bad men are encouraged, by the general confufion, to proceed from wicked aitions to worfe — The in- novators flare at each other with terror and amaze; they afk themfelves, in tremulous whifpers, where will all this end ? — They are afhamed to own their error, and all are afraid to return from Anarchy to their late Government, without firfl confulting with the Great Man and the Great Nation. — The Great Man receives the plaintive Deputies of the Congrefs ; — liftens, with great appearance of tenderncfs, to thetalt of their forrows ; gets all the Information he can from them ; tells them that their cafe is very hard, that they are patriotic, valuable ci- tizens, profound Legiilators, and that he would be happy to fee diftinguifhed by Public pofls, men fo capable of working a new Conftitution ikilfully, andof preferving the relations of Amity and Fraternity with the Great Nation. The De- puties retire from his prefence, wondering at his political fagacity, and dazzled by the tawdry magnificence that furrounds him. They receive fome money, and more flattery, from the Conful and his Agents; and, by and by, they are agreed in intreating him to condefcend to frajne a Conftitution for their poor Country. E He, 26 He, with much diffidence, gratifies their defires, and in due time produces, from one of his Pi- geon-holes, a pompous Proclamation, full of generofity and high founding phrafes, followed by a (keleton of a Conftitution, in which much is vaguely promifed, and new coined words of undefined meaning are abundantly fcattered through, in order to leave the whole to his own fubfequent interpretation. The Deputies are delighted at the profpedt of fome Novelty, of cafting off th^ir old fafhioned Laws, and of re- generating their Country. They return to it with this Conftitution in their pockets, in which care has been taken to nominate them, during pleafure, to fome confpicuous Polls of power. They prefent it to the Congrefs, who accept it by acclamation, and, having thus fulfilled their Legiflative Duties, their Seffion clofes with adls of public thanks to the great Conful and to Heaven. The Confular Proclamation, in patriotic po- lyfyllables, is promulgated ; and all is joy and feftivity again, until the frenzy of the moment has had time to evaporate. Then, indeed, the dizzy lovers of Novelty begin to feel, in pradice, the lludied imperfe(5lions of their new Conftitution ; they murmur at the grofs injuflice of its provifions; they detedl the incapacity of thefe Rulers of their choice. — Difconten.t 27 bifcontent dilfufes itfelf — Power is ridlcule