UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 ESSAYS 
 
 ON THE FOLLOWING 
 
 INTERESTING SUBJECTS: 
 
 VIZ. 
 
 I. Government. 
 
 II. RevOI UTI'NS. 
 
 III. The British Consti- 
 
 tution. 
 
 IV. KiNGLV Government. 
 V. Parliamentary Repre- 
 sentation & Reform. 
 
 VI. Liberty & Equality, 
 
 VII. Taxation. 
 
 AND, 
 
 VIII. The present War, & 
 
 the stagnation of 
 Credit AS connected 
 
 WITH IT. 
 
 BY JOHN YOUNG, D. D. 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT HAWICK. 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 GLASGOW: 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY ' 
 
 DAVID NIFENy BOOKSELLERy TRONGATE; 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 By W. Creech, and Bell & Eradfute, Bookfcllers, Edinburgh, 
 sjoA Y^RMOR^apd Hood, ^ockfellcrs, London. 
 
 M,pcf;,xC;iv,
 
 Cntereu in tattonetiof $)an
 
 III 
 YfS. 
 
 -L 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT is long fince the inhabitants of Britain have been 
 termed a. nation of politicians. And it is one pri- 
 J^ vilege, by which we are dillinguifhed from raoft other 
 >- nations on the face of the earth, that on political, as 
 ^ well as other fubjefts, every man is allowed to think for 
 ZJhimfelf, to exprefs, and even to publilh his thoughts, 
 without fear of danger; fo long as he propagates no 
 opinions fubverfive of public order and peace. But never 
 were the minds of men fo intent upon political fubjeils, 
 nor fo many pens employed in political difcuflions, as 
 lince the year 1789. The furpriiing Revolution that then 
 took place in France, together with certain publications, 
 which then made their appearance in Britain, raifed 
 *~ iuch a fermentation in the minds of men, more efpecial- 
 e^ ly in the lower ranks of life, as perhaps no former peri- 
 cc od ever witnefled. Various circumftances have occur- 
 * red fincc that time, which have ferved to keep up that 
 fermentation. And, though people now find it convenient 
 to be a little more guarded, both in their expreffions and 
 in their condu6l, than they once were, the fame politi- 
 cal enthufiafm dill occupies their minds; it is ready to 
 burft forth vi-ith redoubled violence, whenever an occa* 
 iion Ihall offer: And who knows what occafion of that 
 ^ kind thefe critical times may produce? It is, therefore, 
 the part of every good citizen, and of every true Chrif- 
 3= tian, t<9 contribute his endeavour to iicia the torrent, or 
 
 B 
 
 300994
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 to prevent it from tiiking fiKh a direction as may over- 
 whelm all in confufion and ruin. 
 
 It may be thought foreign to the bufmefs of a mini- 
 fter of the Gofpel to intermeddle in poUtical difputes; 
 and, if thefe difputes are viewed in a light merely poli- 
 tical, there may be fome juftice in the thought. But 
 every political opinion muft either ht agreeable or dila- 
 greeable to the word of God : every political duty is en- 
 forced by the authority of God in his law: and every 
 political crime is an aft of moral depravity. Gofpel mi- 
 nifters ought to lay before their people whatever they 
 have received of the Lord: to inculcate every duty that 
 -God requires of them*, and faithfully to warn them 
 againft every fm that he has prohibited. If, through 
 their negleft, the people under their charge fhall fall in- 
 to fmful courfes, the people may perifh in their iniqui- 
 ty, but their blood muil be required at the watchmen's 
 hands. Upon this principle, the writer of thefe pages 
 holds himfelf fully jullified in laying them before the 
 world; more efpecially when he takes into confideration 
 the following things. 
 
 He does not confider the pulpit as a proper place for 
 either a full or a frequent difcuffion of political fubjedts. 
 However important thofe duties are which we owe to 
 one another, as members of fociety on earth, the doc- 
 trines of the crofs of Chrilt, and the concerns of an 
 eternal world, are of more importance dill. And upon 
 thefe chiefly he thinks it his duty to infill on the 
 Lord's day. Much lefs does he think it proper to fol- 
 low their example who make public prayer a vehicle 
 for conveying their political fentiments to their hearers. 
 As he confiders himfelf, when preaching the Gofpel, as
 
 ( 3 ) 
 Uie meflenger of God to men; and therefore would 
 make confcience of delivering that, and that only, which 
 he has in commifflon from God: fo, in public prayer, 
 he confiders himfelf as the mouth of the congregation to 
 God; and, therefore, dare exprefs nothing to which he 
 has not reafon to think that the whole congregation will 
 fay Amen. His views of the prefent ftate of public af- 
 fairs are pretty well known, both to his own congrega- 
 tion, and to others about the place where he refidesi 
 but the grounds upon which thefe views are built, he 
 has never had an opportunity fairly to ftate: and this he 
 now does the more willingly, in hopes that it may be 
 ufeful, not only to l^is own congregation,, but alfo to the 
 public at large. 
 
 He has the honour to belong to a body of Diflenters 
 who have always diftinguilhed themfelves by ftrenuous 
 contendings in behalf of Chriftian liberty and the rights 
 of the people, as members of the church of Chrift : and, 
 he is apprehenfive that fome may confider the whole fo- 
 ciety as equally ftrenuous in behalf of what fome now 
 call the political rights of man; while he is convinced 
 that thefe two forts of rights have ik) connelion with, 
 or relation to one another. He has feen, vdth deep con- 
 cern, that, by the alive part which fome diflenters, 
 both in England and Scotland, have taken in the prefent 
 difputes, an odium has been brought upon the difTen-* 
 ting intereft, in the eyes of Gk)Yemment and its adhe- 
 rents, which will not be eafily wiped off. By this means, 
 he is afraid, a very ftrong bar is placed in the way of the 
 JyCgiflature's granting that indulgence to Proteftant dif- 
 fenters, which they feem difpofed to extend to every other 
 dqiioipination of men. And he knows, that though th
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 principles of the Seceflion church, with relation to the 
 civil Government in this nation, have been fully laid be- 
 fore the world fifty years ago; and though Seceders have 
 always given the moft unequivocal proofs of their loy-^ 
 alty on every proper occafion; yet there never have 
 been wanting fome who attempted to traduce them as 
 enemies to the prefent Government. And, at this time,, 
 there are not a few who confider all Speeders, influenced 
 by the peculiar principles of their Society, as ringleaders 
 of that party who avowedly fet themfelves to oppofe the 
 meafures of Government, to embarrafs its motions, and 
 to overturn it, if poflible, from the foundation. The pub- 
 lication of thefe Effays will at leaft convince them that 
 fome Seceders are of a different mind. 
 
 To Chriftians, the Holy Scriptures are the fupreme. 
 rule, both of faith and practice. Concerning every opi- 
 nion, of whatever kind, that any man would propagate 
 among them, and concerning every pradlice, to which 
 men would infbigate them, the firft enquiry of Chriftians 
 fhould be. Is it, or is it not, agreeable to the word of 
 God ? And whoever they be, that fpeak not according 
 to this word, we are fufficiently warranted to conclude, 
 that it is becaufe there is no light in them. Few people 
 in the lower ranks of life can be acquainted with the 
 fcience of politics: nor is it to be hoped that they can 
 underftand thofe abftra<f!^ reafonings, which may be em- 
 ployed in matters of that kind. But, among us, even 
 the poor have Bibles in their hands, and have, for the 
 moft part, been taught to read them. In the Bible, 
 the duties of every natural and civil relation are clearly 
 and plainly pointed out: and if men, inftead of gather- 
 ing their principles, concerning political duty, from in-
 
 ( s ) 
 
 flammatory news-papers, and feditious pamphlets, writ- 
 ten by men, whom they know not whence they are, 
 would calmly perufe the Scriptures, and follow the 
 directions of the Spirit of God fpeaking in them, they 
 would find it more calculated to promote their inward 
 peace, as well as tending more to rrke them quiet and 
 ufeful members of fociety. In all that has been written, 
 on thefe political controverfies which of late have been 
 agitated among us, little recourfe has been had to the 
 Scriptures on either fide. Hence, people may imagine, 
 that thefe are matters' with which the Scriptures have 
 nothing to do: and' that they may take what fide they 
 pleafe, without a^ing contrary to the word of God. 
 To obviate this miftake is one main defign of this publi- 
 cation. On fuch a fubjeft, it will be impoflible to con- 
 fine ourfelves wholly to arguments drawn immediately 
 from Scripture: but Scripture and found reafon were ' 
 never at variance. From thefe two fources combined, 
 it is propofed to collect what has occurred on the follow- 
 ing topics. 
 
 I. On Government in general; and the Subjeftioa 
 due to the Powers that be. ' 
 
 II. On Revolutions. 
 
 III. On the Britifh Conftitution. 
 
 rV. On Kingly Government, and Hereditary Succef- 
 fion. 
 
 V. On Parliamentary Reprefentation and Reform. 
 
 VI. On Liberty and Equality. 
 
 VII. On Taxation. And, 
 
 VIII. On the prefent War, and the failure of Credit 
 as connedted with it.
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 Of Government in general; and the SubjelIon 
 which Chriftians owe to the Powers that be. 
 
 AMONG the philofophers of modern times, it has 
 become fafhionable to fpeak of mankind as hav- 
 ing originally been a race of favages, little removed from 
 brutes, and wholly unconnected with one another in 
 fociety. And this faA^ge ftate they call the ftate of na- 
 ture. In fuch a ftate, every man muft have united in his 
 own perfon all the rights that are now poflefled both by 
 Magiftrates and fubjefts, as far as related to himfelf. 
 Reftrained by no human laws, he had^ a right to do what 
 he pleafed, without being fubjeft to the will of another, 
 or being accountable for what he did to any creature. 
 Every man muft have been his own lawgiver, his own 
 judge, his own proteftor, and his own avenger. 
 
 But, though for argument's fake, we may fuppofe 
 fuch a ftate to have exifted, and though, in fome places 
 of the world, mankind have fo far degenerated, as to 
 have made near approaches to that ftate; yet it is plain, 
 from the nature of things, that, in fuch a ftate, main ng;- 
 ver could fubfift. The fecial principle is as much inter- 
 woven with cur nature, as the principle of felf-preferva- 
 tion: fo that no human creature could ever fubfift one 
 day, in the exercife of his rational faculties, without de- 
 firing fociety, and ufipg means tq obtain it, if fuch
 
 ( 7 ) 
 means were in his power. The law of nature, that was 
 originally written on man's heart, and ftill continues to 
 be fo in fome degree, exprefsly requires fecial and rela- 
 tive duties; and as exprefsly prohibits crimes againft 
 fociety: and, therefore, neceflarily prefuppofes a focial 
 ftate. Befides, unlefs we fuppofe all mankind perfedlly 
 free from any vicious difpofition, the fpecies could not 
 long have fubfifted without fociety. The weak would 
 have become a prey to the ftrong; and the meek and 
 peaceable ^to the turbulent and unruly. Either they 
 who were difpofed to live in peace, muft have aflbciated 
 together for their mutual defence; or the ftrongeft in- 
 dividual, and the moft wicked, would have made him- 
 felf mafter of the whole race. In either of thefe cafes, 
 the foundation would have been laid, of fome kind of 
 fociety. 
 
 If we have recourfe to Scripture hiftory, the only hi- 
 ftory that can give us fatisfaftion in that matter, we fhaU 
 find the above reafoning confirmed by fa(^. Adam, 
 though in full poflbfRon of a furniflied world, the very 
 day that he was created, felt a want of fomething more 
 adapted to his nature, than any thing that God had yet 
 made. Neither did he find a help meet for him, till he 
 was provided with a companion of his own fpecies. So- 
 ciety, therefore, was formed, as foon as Eve was created: 
 and from that day to this, men have always fubfifted in 
 fociety. Whether fociety could have fubfifted without 
 fubordination, or not, if man had continued in a ft ale 
 of original integrity? is a queftion that none can anfwer. 
 But we are very fure that it cannot in our prefent cor- 
 rupt ftate. Accordingly, as foon as fin entered, God put 
 the woman under fubjei^ioo to the man; when be faid,
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 * Unto him fliall be thy defire, and he ihall rule over 
 thee*." A fimilar expreflion ufed to Cain, intimates 
 a kind of natural fubjedlian of the younger to the elder, 
 even among brothers. And thus there can be no fociety 
 without fubordination, and fome Jcind of Government. 
 
 What fort of Government obtained among mankind 
 \a the antediluvian ages, or from the flood to the build- 
 ing of Babel, it is impoffible to determine. It is plain, 
 tiiat during die laft mentioned period, mankind conti- 
 nued united in one fociety , and dwelt together in one 
 part of the earth. After the confufion of languages, 
 they who fpoke with the fame tongue woukl naturally 
 aflociate together, fettle in fome convenient fpot of the 
 ' earth, and fet up among themfelves that form of Go- 
 vernment, which their peculiar circumftances might point 
 out. But we have no reafon to think, that the fame form 
 wajs adopted every wliere. 
 
 Some have aflerted that the fkft form of Govern- 
 ment was Patriarchal : that every man exercifed a fo- 
 vereign authority in his own family: that when the fa- 
 ther of a family died, his authority, together with his 
 inheritance, defcended to his eldeft fon. The fon's heir 
 fucceeded, and fo forward, till the family grew into a 
 nation, and the family chieftain rofe into a King. Hence, 
 they plead for Monarchy, as more congenial to nature 
 tlian any other fort of Government. 
 
 Others plead that the patriarchs were no Kings; 
 that they exercifed no other authority than what ftill 
 belongs to every head of a family: that this authori- 
 ty did not defcend to their heirs j but that each of 
 their fons, when they came to have families of their 
 Gen. iij. i6. ,
 
 c ft ) 
 
 own, exercifed the fame authority in them as his father 
 had done in his. They fay tliat the firll liing was iVrw- 
 rvdf an ufurper and a tyrant: that all othec kingdoms 
 were fet up in the fame manner. Therefore royalty is 
 repugnant to nature: and that both name and thing 
 ought to be banilhed from among men. 
 
 Both thefe opinions have fomething true in them, and 
 fometliing falfe. On the one hand, it cannot be denied 
 that the Patriarchs exercifed a more extenfive authority 
 in their own houfes, tlian any head of a family would 
 be allowed to do under a fettled Government. Abrain 
 had his trained fervants, whom he led forth to war: he 
 formed alliances with neighbouring Princes or Patri- 
 archs; for Aner^ E/hcol^ and Mamre were confederal-^ 
 with Ahram: he paft fentence of banishment againii 
 Hagar and her fon: and exercifed other fundlions of 
 royalty, even while he fojourned in a ftrange land. The 
 fame thing is apparent in the hiftory of the other Patri- 
 archs. On the other hand, we have no evidence that 
 this authority defcended to the eldeft fon. Neither 
 Reuben, who was Jacobs firft-born, nor J^fiph, to 
 whom he left the birth-right, nor Judah, tlie fatlier of 
 the royal line, claimed any authority over their bre- 
 thren after their father's death. But Judah, even in 
 his father's lifetime, exercifed the higheft authority in 
 his own family J for he paft fentence of death upon Ta" 
 mar his daughter-in-law. 
 
 But, as foon as birth-right, and a regular fuccelTicm to 
 property, were known, it is very natural to fuppofe, 
 that the man who fucceedcd to his father's eftate would 
 confider himfelf as fucceeding alfo to his authority. Nor 
 b it improbable that his claim might be fuftained by the 
 
 C
 
 ( IC) ) 
 
 reft of the family. If it was fo in one generation, it 
 might be fo in another j and thus the fucceflion of king- 
 doms, as well as of eftates, might become hereditary. 
 "We have, among ourfelves, an inconteftible proof that 
 this was the cafe in fat. All the world knows, that, 
 till the pafling of the Jurifdidlion Adl, an almoft defpotic 
 authority was e^ercifed, by the Chiefs of our Clans, over 
 all that were confidered to be of the fame blood: and 
 no fooner did a man fucceed to the paternal eftate, than 
 his authority was chearfuUy fubmitted to by the whole 
 tribe. Even to this day, neither the progrefs of know- 
 ledge, nor the force of pofitive law, has been able total- 
 ly to abolifh this authority. If this was the cafe in Scot- 
 land, why might it not be fo in other places? Whe- 
 ther this fyftem is agreeable to reafon or found philofo- 
 phy, or not, we {hall not difpute: but, as it is founded 
 in natural afFe<n:ion, it is furely confonant to human af- 
 fairs. And, in fadl, this feems to have been the man- 
 ner in which moft Governments were formed in the ruder 
 ages of fociety. 
 
 Of all human paflions, none is more infatiable than 
 ambition. And, therefore, it cannot be thought impro- 
 bable that a man under the influence of that paflion, 
 though he had no hereditary claim to dominion, when 
 he found it in his power to fubdue his neighbours, would 
 embrace, the opportunity of raifmg himfelf; and would 
 extend his conquefts as far as he could. Though Nim- 
 rod is the firft on record who made himfelf a King in this 
 manner, he was far from being the laft. Even in modern 
 times, Oliver Cromivelly Kouli Khatiy Hyder Ally and o- 
 thers, have rifen from the lower ranks of life, and made 
 themfelves mafters of powerful empires, without wait-
 
 ( " ) 
 
 ing either for the choice or the confent of the nation*- 
 whom they were to govern. The juftice of fuch men's 
 claims few will aflert. But it cannot be denied that 
 fuch is the origin of many Governments now fubfifting ; 
 as well as many that have fubfifhed in former times. 
 
 Neither is there any doubt, that, when a number of peo- 
 ple were, in the courfe of Providence, fettled together, in 
 a place where they were previoufly fubjeft to no Govern- 
 ment, they would fet up among themfelves what form of 
 Government they thought moft likely to promote the hap- 
 pinefs of fociety. The fame thing would happen when 
 the former Government had, by any means, been diflbl- 
 ved; or when a people, whether juftly or unjuftly, had 
 fhaken ofF their fubjeflion to their former Rulers. In 
 this manner was the Government of the United Provinces 
 erefted} and, more lately, that of the American States. 
 But we have no reafon to think that in all fuch cafes 
 the fame form of Government was fixed upon. Some 
 nations, like the people of Ifrael, chofe to have a King; 
 and Monarchy was eftablifhed among them. Others, 
 putting confidence in a few, who were confidered as the 
 moft eminent for wifdom and virtue, entrufted the Go- 
 vernment in their hands; and Arijlocracy was the refult. 
 In other places, the people chofe to retain the power in 
 their own hands ; and fo formed a Democracy-, or Repub- 
 lican Government. In different nations there have been 
 different modifications of all thefe three; and different 
 nuxtures of two or more of them. 
 
 Indeed there are manifeft traces of aU thefe three in 
 
 the earlieft periods of hiftory. Even in the days of 
 
 Abraham there were Kings in Egypt, in Aifyria, in Per- 
 
 Ca, and in Canaan: feme of theiu ruling oyer extenfive 
 
 C a
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
 empires, and fome governing one city only. Of Arifto- 
 cracv we have inftances in the Midianites, who, though 
 but one tribe, were governed by five Kings * : and the 
 Philiftines, whofe five Lords once had the adminiflration 
 in their hands conjunctly; though afterwards one of them 
 obtained a pre-eminence, and became their Kingf. And 
 of Republican Government we have an inftance in the 
 Hitfites, or children of Heth; ' as appears from this, 
 that, before Abraham could have a burial-place among 
 them, it was neceffary to hold an aflembly of all that 
 went in at the gates of the city; and the purchafe of the 
 field and cave of Ephron was tranfaled in their pre- 
 fence:}:. Among the Gibeonites alfo the Government 
 feems to have been Democratical; for, though they had 
 Elders, we hear nothing of their King: and all the inha- 
 bitants of their country aCted, in conjunction with their 
 Elders, in fending the AmbafTadors to Jofhua. 
 
 In this enlightened age, few will call in queftion the 
 truth of that important maxim, tliat all power and au- 
 thority are radically in the people. I hope few will ever 
 difpute it in time to come. Every people or nation has 
 an undoubted right to choofe and ere6t what form of 
 Government they find moft convenient; and to truft the 
 adminiflration of it in what hands they pleafe : and in 
 this right every individual has his fhare. But from tliis 
 maxim, if not rightly underflood, we may draw conclu- 
 fions which the premifes will not bear; conclufions 
 which neither confift with truth, nor with the peace and 
 well-being of fociety. A few of them may be pointed 
 out. 
 
 Numt. xxxi. 8. t J'lflg. xvi. i Sam. v. ix. Cetnpare cb. zxvii. 3. 
 \ Gen. zziii. 10. Ju{h. vs., iz.
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 1. It floes not hence follow, that all Governments 
 hawre aftually been fet up by the general voice of the 
 people, or even with their univerfal confent. Though, 
 m point of theory, the people's right cannot be de- 
 nied; yet it is plain from what has been faid, that, in 
 fadl, this right has feldom been exercifed, or even claim- 
 ed, in the ereilion of any Government. In mod nations 
 of the world, the people never to this day dreamed that 
 they had fuch a right ; and how fhould they exercife it ? 
 Even where it has been exercifed, it cannot be fuppof- 
 ed that a whole nation was ever unanimous in their 
 choice. Some individuals would always have preferred 
 a different form of Government, or would rather have 
 employed other hands in the adminillration of it. But 
 it would be abfurd to fuppofe that this minority, becaufe 
 they did not aftively concur in eredling the Government, 
 (hould enjoy the benefit of its protelion, without be- 
 ing obliged to fubmit to its authority, or to contribute 
 to its fupport. 
 
 2. It does not follow, that it is moft for the benefit 
 of fociety that the people fhould retain the exercife of 
 that power, or any confiderable part of it, in their own 
 hands. To govern a great nation mud require talents, 
 education, and experience, beyond what ufually falls to 
 the lot of thofe in the lower ranks of life, in the moft 
 enlightened nation of the world. Common people may 
 fpeculatc about affairs of ftatc at their fire-fides j but 
 the weight of Government is too heavy for their fhoul- 
 ders. Were our beft country politician placed at the 
 helm of public affairs, he would foon find himfelf un- 
 equal to the tafk. Neither would this be remedied by 
 employing a great number of fuch pcrfons in the bufi-
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 nefs: as the dlverfity of their opinions would add to the 
 confufion and embarrafsment. A man muft ferve an 
 apprenticefbip before he be qualified for any mechani- 
 cal employment; and how Ihall one be qualified to go- 
 vern nations without any inftrudlion in the art? Is the 
 fcience of politics more fimple, or more eafily acquired 
 than an ordinary handicraft ? Or, is it eafier to manage 
 affairs of ftate than to make a pair of fhoes ? Every man, 
 furely, has a right to choofe his own fhoemaker-, but 
 will that man zO: wifely who Ihall employ one for that 
 purpofe who never knew how to brij^le a thread F Yea, 
 every man has a right, if he pleafes, to make his own 
 fhoes; but are the rights of man violated by his wearing 
 fhoes of another man's making? In like manner, 
 though all power belongs radically to the people, their 
 right is not violated by committing the actual exercife of 
 their power into the hands of a few: and the fooner 
 the body of the people diveft themfelves of that power,, 
 if it is entrufted in proper hands, the better. 
 
 3. It does not follow from this maxim, that after a 
 particular form of Government has been fet up, and con- 
 tinued for ages, with the confent of the body of the peo- 
 ple, the people have a right to abolifh it, and fet up 
 another, as often as they pleafe. It has been pleaded by 
 the friends of liberty, and no true friend of liberty will 
 deny it, that all Government is founded upon a mutual 
 compaft between Rulers and people: and that fuch a 
 compact, eithcp exprefs or implicit, fubfifts wherever 
 there is a lawful Government. 'Now, it is plain to eve- 
 ry rational underftanding, that neither party has a right 
 to break or diflblve any contral, without the conferit 
 of the other. Hence, it has been argued with juftice^
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 that when Kings or other Rulers violate that original 
 compaft, they forfeit their right to govern; the people 
 may difplace, and even punifh them. The body of this 
 nation, aling upon this principle, once declared, that 
 their King had forfeited his crown, and the throne had 
 become vacant: And this declaration is a Handing law 
 of our country. But, may it not be argued, with equal 
 juftice, that if the people, or any part of them, violate 
 the compact on their part, and refufe to fulfil their fti- 
 pulations to Government; then Government has a right 
 to confider them as having forfeited its proteftion, and 
 to punifti them ;is rebels ? Unlefs this dodrine is admit- 
 ted, and reduced to practice, there can never be ftrength 
 or liability in any Government. 
 
 We (hall be told, that " Rulers were made for the 
 ** people, and not the people for them : that they are 
 but fervants of the public; and that every man has a 
 right to difmifs his fervants when he pleafes." True: 
 Magiftrates are fervants of the ftate, or, if you pleafe, of 
 the people; and were made Rulers for the people's good. 
 But, as the people are not Haves to their Rulers, fo nei- 
 ther are Rulers flaves to the people. They ferve by con- 
 traft: and furely they may be allowed the rights of a 
 common hired fervant. If a fervant breaks his contradV, 
 and refufes to do his nufter's work according to pac- 
 tion, his mafter may doubtlefs turn him. away: but, if 
 he ferves faithfully and honeftly, according to bargain, 
 the mafter who turns him away will find himfelf oblig- 
 ed, both in law and equity, to give him his wages and 
 maintenance for the time ftipulated; befides damages 
 for breach of contracEl. 
 
 Our new philofophers likewife tell us, that it h
 
 { l6 ), 
 
 abfurd for one generation to choofe a form of Govern- 
 *< ment for another, or for any generation to make laws. 
 " for pofterity: and therefore no fucceeding generation 
 is bound to adhere to that Government which theij 
 *< fathers fet upj nor to fubmit to any Rulers whom. 
 " themfelves have not chofen." But if this dolrine i: 
 once admitted, there is an end of all Government, of all 
 commerce, and of all fociety^ civil and religious. Does- 
 not every man bind his heirs,; executors, and fucceffors, 
 as well as himfelf, in every civil contract ? And what 
 confufion would enfue, if heirs and executors Ihould re- 
 fufe to fulfil fuch engagements? Parents, at the bap- 
 tifm of their childiien, lay their children as well as them* , 
 felves under folemn engagements to God, and to the 
 church; and what muft be the confeqitence to religion, 
 and to religious fociety, if thefe engagements are not 
 allowed to be binding? Have not public bodies the 
 feme right to bind pofterity by their contracts as pri- 
 vate perfons have? Indeed they have an additional 
 right to do it; becaufe public bodies never die ; but con- 
 tinue the fame, when all the individuals who compofed 
 them are changed. This is acknowledged by all man- 
 kind to be the cafe with every paltry corporation , and 
 who can deny that it is fo with nations too? If any of 
 the "Friends of the People were poflefled of a note for 
 a thoufand pounds, emitted by the bank of England a 
 hundred years ago, and fhould apply to have it paid; 
 would he be pleafed if the directors, ailing upon hi 
 own principles, (hould tell him, that they never emit- 
 ted that note, that their predeceflbrs in office had no 
 power to bind them by engagements entered into before 
 they were born, and therefore he (hould have nothing?
 
 ( J7 ) 
 
 Have not all nations, fince the beginning of the world, 
 confidered their treaties with other nations as bindinjr 
 
 o 
 
 Upon pofterity, as well as upon that generation in which 
 they were made? Yea, did not God himfelf punifh the 
 people of Ifrael for breaking a treaty in the days of Saul 
 that had been entered into by Jofliua four hundred years 
 before? And why (hould thofe contra<Sls be of lefs 
 force, that are entered into by the different parts of a 
 nation with one another? Is not George III. confider- 
 ed, even by the Friends of the People, as bound by 
 Magna Charttiy though granted in the reign of King 
 John ? And why fhould not the people of Britain be as 
 ftrictly bound by their engagements to the Crown, fup- 
 pofing them to be of as old a date? 
 
 If men could not chooffe a form of Government, or 
 make laws for pofterity j then not only the laws, but the 
 very Conftitution of every nation, behoved to be changed 
 every day. Every day almoft a thoufand perfons die in 
 Britain; an equal number ate born; and fome hundreds, 
 at lead, come of age. He that comes of age to-day, may 
 fay:" I never confented to the form of Government 
 " now fubfifting: I never had any voice in the choice 
 ** of the ruling powers, or in the making of any laws. 
 I will therefore be fubject to no laws till I myfelf have 
 part in the making of them: nor will I fubmit to any 
 "Government, till I, in conjunftion with my cotempo- 
 raries, have framed a Conftitution for ourfelves." He 
 that comes of age to-morrow may argue in the fame 
 manner; and infift for a general Convention, in which 
 he (hall have a voice, by himfelf or his reprefentativc, 
 feefore he will fubmit to any Government or any law 
 
 D
 
 ( ^^ ) 
 
 u'hatfoever. Surely then we {hall have Conventions and 
 Conftitutions in great abundance ! 
 
 Of all others, this argument comes with the worft 
 grace from Secedersj and I am truly forry ever to have 
 heard it from any of their mouths. We confider our- 
 felves, and the whole nation, as bound by the folemn 
 vows that our anceftors came under to God in the Na- 
 tional Covenant, and in the Solemn League. We con- 
 fider it as our duty to mourn for tlie breach of thofe en- 
 gagements, and to teftify againft it, as one of the moft 
 heinous of our national fins. But if our anceftors had 
 no right to bind us by contracts or covenants with men, 
 what right could they have to bind us by fuch engage- 
 ments to God ? Befides, I would beg my brethren's at- 
 tention to this J that, by thefe folemn covenants, wc 
 are as ftriclly bound to fubmit to the laws of our coun- 
 try, to adhere to its Conftitution, and even to defend, 
 with our lives and fortunes, the perfon and authority of 
 its chief Magiftrate, in the execution of thefe laws> 
 as we are to any other moral duty. The exprefs words of 
 the Solemn League and Covenant, Art. iii. are thefe: 
 " We fhall, with fincerity, reality, and conftancy, 
 ** endeavour, with our eftates and lives, to preferve the 
 rights and privileges of the Parliaments, and the li- 
 berties of the kingdoms; and to preferve and defend 
 the King's Majefty's perfon and Government, in the 
 prefervation and defence of the true religion and li- 
 ** berties of the kingdoms: that the world may bear 
 witnefs, with our confciences, of our loyalty; and 
 that we have no thoughts or intentions to diminilh 
 his Majefty's juft power and greatnefs." If thefe en- 
 gagements, come under by our anceftors in the days of
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 Charles I. are binding upon us; how can we be other- 
 wife than bound to defend, with our eftates and lives, 
 the rights and privileges of the Britifh Parliament, the 
 iibertiei of the united kingdom, and the perfon and au- 
 thority of our Sovereign George III. ? How far our words 
 atid aftions correfpond to tJiis obligation, God and our 
 own confciences will one day determine. 
 
 Neither Scripture nor reafon give an exclufive fanflion 
 to any particular forrri of Government. Owing to the 
 differences of national charadter, of fituation, and pur- 
 fuits, one kind of Government may be proper among 
 one people; and a different Conftitution may be better 
 adapted to the circumftances of another. Thus, a mix- 
 ed Government has been found moil congenial to the 
 people of Britain: perhaps a Republican Government is 
 more adapted to the circumftances of our brethren in 
 America: and, from recent events, it may be fufpedled, 
 that, hard as their fituation was, while the King's will 
 was their law, Monarchy is the only Government fuited 
 to the Conftitutional levity and ferocity of our neighbours 
 in France. There have been inftances of nations flou- 
 riftiing and happy under different forms of Government. 
 And every Government is capable of degenerating inta 
 tyranny, oppreiTion or anarchy, in the hands of a corrupt 
 adminiftration. Hence there is a great deal of truth in 
 Mr. Pope's maxim, 
 
 " That which is beft adminifter'd is beft." 
 
 There was once a nation whofe form of Government 
 was prefcribed by God himfelf. He not only moulded 
 their political Conftitution; but gave them a body of 
 municipal laws, which none had power to abolifti or to 
 alter: for Jehovah their God was their King. That 
 
 D z
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 law expired with the civil Hate of the Jews; and was 
 never confidered by Chriftians as binding upon any 
 other nation, or in any other place but the land of IfraeL 
 But many of thofe laws might with propriety be adopted 
 in every nation. And it is carefully to be obferved, that 
 there could hz iK)thing in their Conftitution* or code of 
 laws inconfiftent with moral equity or with any of the juft 
 rights of man ; Uecaufe the Great Judge of all the earth 
 muft neceflarily do right, It may be pleaded that many 
 of thefe laws were typical; intended to point out good 
 things to come : and this is readily granted. But neither 
 with this, nor with any other defign, can it be fuppofed, 
 that He, who is the original fountain of all reafon, of all 
 light, and of all juftice, would ever eftablilh tyranny, 
 opprefiion, or iniquity, by a law. And therefore, no- 
 thing that, by divine appointment, belonged to that Con.- 
 . ftitution, can be inconftflent with the rights, of the people, 
 when, adopted by any other nation. 
 
 But what is of the greateft importance to Giriftians 
 is, that the Scriptures every where enjoin obedience and 
 fubmiflion to that Government under which it is our lot 
 to live J whatever it is, or in what manner foever it was 
 fet up. And, accordingly, Chriftians, in^ all ages arid 
 in all places, have confidered it as their duty to fub- 
 niit to the poivers that be^ to pray for them; and to obey 
 them in all things not contrary to the word of God: rtat 
 ovly for pe'acey hut alfo for conjcience fake. <M.y foityfear 
 thou the Lord and the King, was a precept delivered by 
 the Spirit of God. In it God ftill fpeaketh to us as to 
 chiklren: nor is it thelefs to be regarded becaufe it was 
 delivered by the mouth of a King.* In agreeablenefs, tp:,, 
 ?rov. MiT.. %i.
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 this did the people of God condul themfelves, not only 
 towards the Princes of David's line, but likewife towards 
 all thofe who fwayed the fceptre among the ten tribes. 
 ThougH mod of thefe Kings were ufurpers, and came to 
 the throne by treafons, confpiracies, and maflacres; and 
 though they were all corrupt and tyrannical in tlieir ad- 
 miniftration, in a greater or lefs degree j ^yet the pro- 
 phets Elijah^ El't/bay Hofea^ and all other worlhippers 
 of the true God, who lived in their dominions, conti- 
 nued to honour tliem, to fubmit to tlieir autlaority, and to 
 obey them in all things lawful: even while they tefli- 
 fied againft their mal-adminiftration, and reproved them 
 lliarply on that account. And when the remnant of the 
 people were carried captive into Babylon, they fubmit- 
 ted to the Government eftablifhed in that country 5 ma- 
 ny of them accepted pofts under it, and under the Per- 
 fian Monarchy which fucceeded itj and tliey all demean- 
 ed themfelves as good and peaceable fubje(Sls, yielding 
 a ready obedience in all things lawful, even while they 
 abfolutely refufed to obey in what was contrary to their 
 religion, or the law of their God. Inftead of entering 
 into confpiracies or aflbciations for the fuhverfion of that 
 Government, they voluntarily difcovered fuch confpiracies 
 when they came to their knowledge, and prevented their 
 execution.* In all this they only followed the direftioa 
 that God himfelf liad given them, by the pen of Jere- 
 miali the prophet: "Seek the peace of the city whi- 
 *' ther I have caused you, to be carried away captivesi 
 " and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace there- 
 <* of ye (hall have peace f." 
 
 * fiftbcr u. ai,. ;, 3. f Jercm. xxix. 7.
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 Tlie fame duty is plainly inculcated, and ftrongly ar^- 
 etl, in every part of the New Teftament. Tiberius^ who 
 poflefled the imperial throne at Roine in the tinie of our 
 Lord's public miniftry, had no other right to it, but his. 
 bdng the adopted fon of an ufurper, and being in poflef- 
 tlon of it. He had no right to govern the Jewifh peo- 
 ple, except that of a conqueror. But Tiberius was ac- 
 knowledged as Emperor by the body of the Roman peo- 
 ple: and the Jewilh nation had fubmitted to his yoke, 
 enjoyed his prote^ion, and had his image and fuper- 
 fcription upon their current money. On thefe accounts, 
 our Lord himfelf enjoined his hearers to pay him tri- 
 bute, and continue to fubmit to his authority in things 
 lawful. This is the fenfe that interpreters, almoft with- 
 out exception, putj indeed it is the only fenfe that 
 agreeably to the common ufe of language, can be put 
 upon thefe remarkable words of his, Render to Cafar the 
 things that are C^far^Sy and to God the things that are God's'"'. 
 The Apoftle Paul, writing to the Chriftians at Rome, 
 exhorts them in the moft pointed manner, to a peacea- 
 ble fubjedtion to Nero^s Government. ** Let every foul 
 ** be fubjel unto the higher po>frers, for there is no 
 " power but of God: the powers that be are ordained 
 * of God. Whofoever therefore refifteth the power, 
 <* re6fteth the ordinance of God: and they that refill 
 < ihall receive to themfelves damnation. For rulers are 
 *< not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt 
 " thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which 
 ** is good^ and thou fhalt have praife of the fame. For 
 he is the minifter of God to thee for good. But if 
 thou do that which is evil, be afraid j for he bearetli; 
 * Mattb. ^i. a I.
 
 ( n ) 
 
 not die fword in rain: for he is the miniftcr o God, 
 " a revenger to execute wrath upon htm that doth evil. 
 * Wherefore ye muft needs be fub^ect, not only for 
 " wratli, but aJfo for confcience fake*."-^To his belov-* 
 ed Timothy he writes thus, " I will that fuppHcatbns, 
 < prayers, interceflions, and giving of tlianks be made' 
 *< for all men: for Kings, and all that are in authority; 
 " that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life under 
 them, in all godlinefs and honefty: for this is good 
 and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviourf .'* 
 To Titus, he points it out, as one part of that dut^r. 
 which he, as a miniftcr of the Gofpel, owed both to hi 
 raafter and to his hearers, to "Put them in mind to 
 " be fubje<S to principaHties and powers, to obey Ma- 
 giftrates, to be ready to every good work|." His bro- 
 ther Peter fpeaks in the fame ftrain. Writing to the 
 Jewifh Chriftians who were difperfed through various 
 provinces of the LeiTer Afi!a, he thus fpeaks, ** Submit 
 ** yourfelves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's 
 fakej whether it be to tKfe King as fupreme, or unto 
 " Governors, as unto them that are fcnt by him, for the 
 <* punifhment of evil doers, and for the praife of them 
 * that do well. For fo is the will of God. Honour all 
 " men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour 
 " the King." Thefe pallagcs are all fo plain, that they 
 need no commentary : they are purpofely fo expreft, as 
 to be equally applicable to all Chriftians, in every age, 
 and in every place. And from them all it is plain, 
 that whatever form of Civil Government is adually fet 
 up among any people^ and acknowledged by the hodf 
 
 Rom. xiii. i, 5. j I Tim. ii, i, j. ] Titus ill. i, 
 
 5 I Peter ii. ij, 17.
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 of the nation, all Chriftians belonging to that nation^ 
 are bound by the authority of God, to fubmit to that 
 Government, and to yield obedience to all the lawful 
 commands of thofe who are entrufted with the admini- 
 ftration of It: living quiet and peaceable lives under 
 them, in all godlinefs and honefty. 
 
 Conformable to this has been the praftice of the faith- 
 ful followers of Chrift in all ages. The primitive Chrif- 
 tians (hall ferve for an example. They could not but 
 fee the very great defetls of the Roman Government, 
 (now changed from its ancient Republican form, into a 
 military defpotifm.) They knew the unworthy charac- 
 ter of moft of thofe who, in that period, wore the im- 
 perial purple. They teftified, in their feveral ftations, 
 againft all that condu61:, whether of their Rulers or fel- 
 low-fubjedis, whereby God wae openly difhonoured. 
 They refufed, at the hazard of their lives, and of what 
 was dearer than their lives, to obey their civil fuperiors 
 in things that were contrary to the divine law. And on 
 that account they felt more of the tyranny and oppref- 
 fion of the ruling powers than all the other fubjedls of 
 the empire together. No doubt they wiflied, and often 
 prayed in fecret, for a reform. But they never fought 
 it by any feditlous methods. They never formed aflb- 
 ciations among themfelves, nor in conjundllon with mert 
 of any other denomination, for fubverting or changing 
 the Government. They had no Conventions, to which 
 they fent deputies from the different provinces, to con- 
 fult about the moft proper means of bringing about a 
 revolution. Their ecclefiafllcal fynods, which they held 
 in the face of perfecution, never employed themfelves 
 on fuch an objcdl. We never fo much a$ hear of Uieir
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 taking any part In thofc difputes, tumults, or civil com- 
 motions, by which the empire was convulfed, at the ac- 
 ceflion of almoft every new Emperor. They patiently 
 fubmitted to perfecution and tyranny, in imitation of 
 Him, who, ivhen he tuas reviledy reviled not again^ and 
 Hvhen he fufferedy threatened not; committing themfelves, 
 as He did, to Him that judgeth righteoiijly. The more 
 cruel and unjuft their civil fuperior^ were to them, 
 the more dutiful were they, in their refpe<flive ftations, 
 to their fuperiors. Thus, by patient continuance in well- 
 doing, they put to filence the ignorance of fooliih men. 
 This is the line of condufl which the Chriftian religion 
 points out to all its adherents; and tliis they have uni- 
 formly followed; unlefs where obliged to ftand on their 
 defence, againft thofe who hunted them down like 
 wild bsafts, or where a long feries of intol*rrable oppref- 
 fion had driven them to defperation. It cannot be thought 
 impertinent to fay, to ChriiHans in Britain, at the pre- 
 ient time, Go thou and do likeivife. 
 

 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 Of Revolutions. 
 
 THE above reafoning, fome may think, tends to 
 eftablifh the dodtrine of paflive obedience, and 
 hon-refiftance: and cuts off all poflibility, efpecially in 
 a Chriftian countfy, of providing a remedy for any de- 
 feats in an eftabliOied Government, or of preventing the 
 abufe of power. By no means. That abfurd, irration- 
 al, and antifcriptural principle, by which the flatterers 
 and abettors of tyranny have, in former times, attempt- 
 ed to deftroy Britifh liberty, and to wreathe about our 
 necks a yoke of arbitrary power; that principle, I hope, 
 thall never more find abettors in this nation. Though 
 the Scriptures require fubje<flion to tlie powers that be; 
 yet this muft always be underftood with the following 
 limitations. 
 
 I. Every fubjecH:, as well as every Ruler, is anfwerabk 
 to God for every part of his conduft. The law of God 
 is of prior obligation to any laws of men; and his au- 
 thority is fuperior to that of an earthly Magiftrate. 
 While the Powers of this world enjoin nothing incon- 
 (illent with the law of God, that law itfelf requires 
 obedience to them; and difobedlence to them is rebellion 
 againft God. But, whenever the laws of men require 
 what the law of God forbids, or forbid what it requires, 
 the meanefl peafant needs not be afhamed to fay to 
 the greateft Prince, what the two Apofljes faid to the
 
 ( ^7 ) 
 
 Jewifh fanhedrim; Whether it be right in the fight of Cod 
 to hearken unto youy nice than unto Gody judge ye*. To 
 fay, as fome have done, that whatever is commanded 
 by fuperiors the fole duty of inferiors is to obey; 
 and that, when any thing is done in this way contrary 
 to the will of God, fuperiors only are anfwerable for itj 
 this is to degrade men not only into flaves or beads of 
 burden, but even into mere machines. If my fuperiors 
 fin in %commanding what is unlawful, I fin likewife in 
 obeying them. No fuperior can either anfwer for me at 
 the tribunal of God, or bear that punifliment for me 
 which the divine law annexes to my tranfgreflion: And 
 it will afford me little comfort, in the day of reckoning, 
 to find thofe who are now my fuperiors involved in the 
 fame condemnation. Not only muft I obey God, at the 
 expence of difobedience to human Rulers; but I muft al- 
 fo judge for myfelf,- whether I may or may not obey 
 them, _ witliout being guilty of difobedience to Him. 
 And my own judgment, not theirs, muft regulat^my 
 conduct. 
 
 2. No man ought to be fubjedl to the arbitrary power, 
 or capricious will of another : but all Rulers ought to 
 govern by known and fixed laws. Laws ought not to 
 be fixed like thofe of the Medes and Perfians, fo as ne- 
 ver to be changed: for as, in every Government, bad 
 laws may be enabled, fo all fuch laws fhould be rever- 
 fed as foon as poflible. Befides what was, at firft, a 
 good and neceflary law, may> through a change of cir- 
 cumftances, become bad and pernicious. But thqy 
 fliould be fo fixed as that the fubjeO: may know what is 
 required of him: and that he who executes, may npt 
 A<Ss iv. 19.
 
 ( 28 ) 
 ha\'e it in his power to alter them. For it may be confi*. 
 dered as an infallible maxim, that wherever the legifla- 
 tive power and the executive are lodged precifely in the 
 fame hands, there is an end of civil liberty. 
 
 3. When any Government, of what form foever it has 
 been, degenerates into habitual tyranny j this may arife 
 from the corruption of the people as well as of the Rulers. 
 And the people can never be relieved from the duty of 
 allegiance, or fulfilling the compadl on their part, becaufe 
 they grow turbulent and ungovernable. But when, in- 
 Head of proteling the people. Government habitually op- 
 prefles them, or fuffers them to be opprefled-, and when 
 all other means prove ineffectual to procure redrefs: 
 then, undoubtedly, the people have a right to abolifli it, 
 and fet up another in its place; or they have a right to 
 make what alterations in it they fhall find expedient. Tlie 
 original cortipa(5l being then broken, on the part of Go- 
 ' vernment, the people are loofed from their allegiance^ 
 And the principle of felf-prefervation requires that the 
 people fliould refume into their own hands, that power 
 which originally belongs to them. Hence Revolutions 
 may not only be fometimes proper, but abfolutely necef- 
 fary for the prefervation of fociety. 
 
 But %vhen this interference of the people becomes ne- 
 ceffary, or hoiv long they ought to bear their grievances, 
 without coming to this extremity, may not be fo eafy ta 
 determine; indeed, the beft writers on the fubjed have 
 never attempted it. They uniformly acknowledge, that 
 it might even be dangerous to attempt a decifion of the 
 queftion. The following things, relative to it, deferve 
 confideration. 
 
 The relation between Magiftrates and fubjeds bears a
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 near refembhnce to that between huflaand and wife. 
 Marriage and magiftracy are botli inftitutions of the law 
 of nature: both relations are eftablifhed by contract; 
 and require the mutual confent of parties : both im- 
 pofe reciprocal duties upon the relatives: and neither 
 the one nor the other fhould be lightly broken through. 
 The fcriptures, and the laws of mod civilized nations, 
 have determined, that no man ought to put away his- 
 wife, except for the caufe of adultery. And furely no 
 people fhould think of fubverting an eftablifhed Govern- 
 ment, or difmilhng thofe, in whofe hands the Admini- 
 ftration is entrulted; uulefs for fomething by which the 
 contral: is as manifeftly violated, as the marriage con- 
 traft is by adultery, and fomething which renders it as 
 irapoflible, that the ends of the relation fhould be gain- 
 ed by its continuance, as adultery does in the other cafe. 
 If one a6l, or a few acts of iujuftice or mal-adminiftra* 
 tion were to be confidered as a fufficient reafon for fub- 
 verting the Government of a nation-, the beft formed 
 Conftitution would never be out of danger: and the 
 world would never be without Revolutionsj while Rulers 
 as well as fubje^ls are in a flate of imperfection. 
 
 Neither fhould a Revolution be tliought ofj till aU 
 other habile means of obtaining redrefs, have been em- 
 ployed without fuccefs. While petitions, remonflran- 
 ces, and other peaceable and conftitutional methods^ 
 have any probability of fuceeeding; or even while a par- 
 tial Reform can anfwer the purpofe, no wife man will 
 ever think of going further. Even a Reform fhould never 
 be fought, in atny other than a conftitutional way; un- 
 lefs the evil complained of is of fuch magnitude, as to 
 warrant rilking a national convulfion, with all its dangers,
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 whether to the political Conflitution or to the fafety and 
 comforts of individuals. No man will either pull down 
 his houfe, with a view to build a new one, or endanger 
 its fall by digging under its foundations, fo long as all 
 its defeats may be remedied by a few repairs. 
 
 "When things come to fuch a pafs as to make a Revo- 
 lution neceflary, the matter will carry its own evidence. 
 No man will need to be inforqied that fuch is the cafe. 
 Every man will fee*, every man will feel it. The 
 vhole nation will at once beftir themfelves; and every 
 man whofe mind is not enflaved, or who does not proik 
 by the fyflem of oppreflion, will be ready to bear his 
 part. They who are beft informed will always be mofl 
 forward', and they who have mod to lofe, knowing that 
 they (land the fairefl mark for the rapacious hand of ty- 
 ranny, will always be moft zealous for the breaking of 
 its arm. Hence it is manifeft, that while the majority 
 of a nation, continue fatisfied with their Government, and 
 while that majority confifts of thofe who have the beft 
 opportunity to know the real ftate of things, and of thofe 
 who have moft at flake; all attempts of a minority to 
 fubvert the Governmei>t muft be unwarrantable and fedi- 
 tious. 
 
 Under every Government there will always be a nunv 
 ber of difcontented perfons. Ambitious men, who thirft 
 for power, for places, or for penfions, will always rail 
 againft that Adminiftration in which they are not allowed 
 to bear a part; and revile thofe whom they envy. In)- 
 pious men, who trample upon the authority of God, 
 impugn his religion, and perhaps deny His being, can 
 never be expected peaceably to fubmit to the authority 
 of fellow-creatures. Men who have fpent their own
 
 t 31 ) 
 
 cflates in extravagance and diffipation, and fee no othet 
 way to furnifh themfelves with the means of continuing 
 the fame courfe of Ufe, may hope to retrieve their for- 
 tunes by raifing or fomenting convulfions in the (late* 
 He whofe confcience allowed him to'fquaiider what was 
 his own, and perhaps much that was never his own, in 
 the brothel or at the gaming table,- will feel little re* 
 morfe in attempting to reimburfe himfelf with the fpoils 
 of his country. Men addicted to thofe crimes, which 
 the laws of all civilized nations muft punifh, will readi- 
 ly cry out againfl: the laws as unjuft; and againft thoTe 
 who execute them as tyrannical. The thief will com- 
 plain, if he cannot (leal with impunity: the highway- 
 man may think it hard that he cannot follow his calling 
 undifturbed: and the infamous dealer in uncuftomed 
 goods may grumble becaufe fmuggling is reckoned a 
 crime. It is not to be wondered at, if even honed meir 
 complain of thofe burdens, which, from their peculiar 
 circumftances, fall ^leavy upon themfelves. The Weft 
 India merchant may complain of the duties on fugar and 
 Tum : the diftiller, the tallow-chandler, and others in fimi- 
 lar circumftances, may be diflatisfied with the excife- 
 iaws: and fo on. When, among any of thefe clafl'es 
 of men, there arifes a perfon of a turbulent fpirit, yet 
 capable of fpeaking or writing plaufibly, ^he may eafily 
 raife a fermentation in the minds of well-meaning la- 
 bourers and mechanics; who, by their fituation in life, 
 have little opportunity to read, to think, or to know 
 much about matters of Government. This he will find 
 the more eafy, if he catches the time, when an acciden- 
 tal fcarcity of provifions, or ftagnation of trade, deprives 
 ihem of employment or of bread. He may tell them
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 that all this is owing to Government ; that they will ne- 
 ver be better, v^hile the prefent fyftem continues-, and 
 that nothing but a Revolution will keep them from ftar* 
 ving Nor is it any wonder, if they, in the fimplicity 
 of their hearts, believe him 5 and all cry out for a 
 change. But, if we muft have a Revolution whenevet 
 fuch things as thefe happen, no nation on earth will be 
 one yeaf v/ithout them: and that Government which is 
 mod friendly to liberty will always be fooneft overturn- 
 ed; becaufe a Government really tyrannical would dif* 
 pitch the man, without ceremony, and perhaps without 
 noife, who {hould attempt to inflame people's minds by 
 fuch writings or fpeeches; fo that few would venture to 
 give fuch umbrage: and the means of circulating difcoa* 
 tents, or forming combinations, would be very limited. 
 
 As no wife man will begin to build a houfe, till he 
 firft fit down and count the coft; fo no wife people will 
 attempt to overturn their Government, till they have fe- 
 rioufly weighed the confequences ; and have, at leaft, a 
 probability, that the cure will not be M'^orfe than the dif- 
 e^fe. No tyrant will fubmit to his depofition without 
 refiftance, if refiftance is in his power. If the people 
 fliould fail in their attempts to difplace him, they do but 
 livet their own chains, and embolden him to be more 
 jtyrannical. How many inftances of this does hif- 
 tory furnifh ? And though they {hould, at laft, be fuc- 
 cefsful in the druggie, how much blood and treafure 
 muft be expended; and what accumulated calamities 
 muft be fuffered, before the end can be gained ? The 
 Dutch provinces were not emancipated, till after a war 
 of forty years: in which milUons of lives were loft,; and 
 many millions of money. They often fuffered mlferies.
 
 ( 33 ) 
 during the conteft, that we cannot fee human nature 
 fupporting without aftonifhment. All this, no doubt, 
 redounded to their honour, when, at laft, their lion 
 emerged free. But would they not have been arrant fools, 
 if they had expofed themfelves to all tins for no caufe^ 
 or on account of fome trifling inconvenience? Surely, 
 before we bring ourfelves into fuch a fituauon, we 
 (hould ferioufly confider, whether any evils we fufl^er, 
 are equal to thofe, to which we would expofe ourfelves? 
 Or whether that which we feek after, is of fuch impor- 
 tance, as, on its account, to put in hazard at once what 
 we enjoy and what we may fuifer? 
 
 Once, indeed, a Revolution was efFedled in Britain, 
 and the nation fcarce felt the fliock. But the Revo- 
 lution of 1688, was obtained by what was juftly termed 
 * the fiving of the whole people,'* and even it 
 was not fo cheaply purchafed as fome may appre- 
 hend. So that, if the matter is attentively confider- 
 cd, that inftance will not encourage us ralhly to ven- 
 ture upon another fuch attempt. From the time that 
 the Stewart family afcended the throne of England, a 
 fcheme was laid to fubje(n: both kingdoms to a yoke of 
 arbitrary power. During the life of James, ^partly by 
 his king-craft, and partly by the real infignificance of his 
 charadler, the nation was prevented from being much 
 alarmed. When they were roufed, in the days of his 
 fon, what a deluge of blood was fpilt-, and what convul- 
 fions did the three kingdoms fufFer, before the affair was 
 fettled? At the reftoration of the fecond Charles, the 
 nation, in a frenzy of loyalty, arifing from their being 
 heartily weary of ufurpation and anarchy, ^gave away, _ 
 in one day, all that they had gained by a fuccefsful War 
 
 F
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 of ten years. The confequence was, that the fame ar- 
 bitrary fyftem was refumed: and human nature recoils 
 at the recital of the fines, imprifonments, forfeitures, 
 banifhments, tortures, executions, and murders, that 
 difgraced the reigns of the bloody brothers. Now, the 
 Revolution of 1688, was really purchafed at the expence 
 of all that the nation fufFered, in the ftruggle againft 
 the defpotifm of that family, and under Cromwell's ufur- 
 pation, during fifty years before. For what was ef- 
 fected by the Revolution, was the very thing that was aim- 
 ed at by the Scottifh nation, when they firft took up arms 
 againft Charles I. and by the Parliament of England, till 
 Cromwell turned them into a rump. 
 
 After all, the perfon muft either be blinded with in- 
 fidelity, or utterly unacquainted with the hiftory of that 
 time, who does not fee, that the fuccefs of that attempt 
 was more owing to a manifeft interpofal of the hand of 
 God, than to all the activity of men. Had not the ty- 
 rant been fo infatuated, that he gave no credit to all the 
 information he received of the Prince's defign, till he faw 
 it put in execution, and then, in oppofition to what had 
 been his known charafler, dcferted his throne, his capi- 
 tal, and his kingdom, in fuch a cowardly manner, foon 
 after the landing of his fon-in-lawj the Revolution had 
 not been fo eafily brought about. Had he been permit- 
 ted to confult his friends, concert his meafures, colled: 
 his forces, and ufe fuch means to repel the invafion, as 
 any man would have ufed, whom God had not ap- 
 pointed to deftrulion j the attempt of the Prince of 
 Orange might poffibly have iflued in the fame man- 
 ner as that of the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of 
 Argyle had done fome time before. Had he made fuch
 
 ( 35 ) 
 refiftance in England as his friends made for him in 
 Scotland, or as himfelf afterwards made in Ireland ; who 
 can tell what it might have coft the nation, before they 
 had got rid of his defpotic fyftem ? 
 
 Neither ought it to be forgotten, that it is always dan- 
 gerous for the common people to interfere, in matters 
 of this kind. I mean nothing dilhonourable to the com- 
 mon people. I count it no difgrace that 1 am one of 
 them, or that my father was fo before me. But how 
 can it be fuppofed, that men, who have fpeot tlieir lives 
 at the plough, at the loom, or at the needle; whofe 
 time has been occupied in providing, by the labour of 
 their hands, a fubfiftence for themfelves and their fami- 
 lies; and who can fcarcely find leifure to read their Bibles, 
 and to think about the weighty concerns of an ap- 
 proaching eternity, that fuch men fhould be qualified 
 to ereft forms of Government, or to manage the affairs 
 of a great nation ? As foon fhould I expert to hear a 
 man explain all the phenomena of nature, who never 
 knew the firfl: principles of mathematics. -When the 
 multitude are once roufed into fury, they know not 
 where to flop: and, therefore, after overturning the exifl- 
 ing Conftitution, they could fcarcely fail to introduce fuch 
 violence, anarchy and confufion, as would prove far more 
 intolerable than the worft fort of Government. 
 
 Our ancellors were aware of this, in the period above 
 referred to. It was not by forming focieties or afTocia- 
 tions among the common people, that our Revolution 
 was brought about. It was not by holding Conventions, 
 in which journeymen taylors, barbers, and ftocking-ma- 
 kers, fat as deputies chofen by their brethren, called 
 themfelves Friends of tlie People, and confulted toge- 
 
 F 2
 
 ( 3^ ) 
 ther for the good of the nation. The wifeft men in the 
 three kingdoms, 'the men who, by their rank in Hfe, 
 had the beft opportunities of acquiring poUtical know^ 
 ledge, and the greateft degree of influence in the coun- 
 try, laid their plans among themfelves, and concerted 
 meafures with the Prince of Orange, without the privity 
 of thofe in the lower ranks of life. The common peo- 
 ple, though they rejoiced at the event, were as much 
 furprifed when they faw it, as the King himfelf. And 
 it deferves peculiar attention, that all this was the re- 
 fult of a* conviction, that a Government merely Republi- 
 can could not fubfift in Britain: and that it was pecu- 
 liarly dangerous, to allow the common people to inter- 
 fere, in the management of public affairs. To this pur- 
 pofe, I beg leave to tranfcribe a paflage from a foreign 
 writer of reputation, on this fubjet. ** The royal 
 power being thus annihilated," [by the death of Charles 
 I.] the Englilh made fruitlefs attempts to fiibfti- 
 tute a Republican Government in its (lead. Subjefted 
 at firft, to the power of the principal leaders in the 
 long Parliament, they fav/ that power expire, only 
 to pafs, without bounds, into the hands of a Protec- 
 " tor. They faw it afterwards parcelled out among the 
 chiefs of different bodies of troops; and thus Ihifting 
 " without end, from one kind of fubjeClion to another, 
 ** they were at length convinced, that an attempt to 
 < eftabUfh liberty in a great nation, by making the peo- 
 pie interfere, in the common bufmefs of Government, 
 " is of all attempts the moft chimerical; that the au- 
 thority of all, with which men are amufed, is in rea- 
 lity, no more than the authority of a few powerful 
 *< individuals >yho divide the Republic among themfelves }
 
 < 37 ) 
 
 and they refted, at laft, in the bofom of the only 
 <* Conftitution, which is fit for a great (late, and a 
 free people; I mean that in which a chofen number 
 deliberate, and a fingle hand executes *." 
 
 All the above obfervations are mournfully confirmed 
 and illuftrated, by the recent example of our neighbours 
 in France. Their firft National Aflembly, in the year 
 1789, was convened with fome meafure of agreeable- 
 nefs to their ancient Conftitution, which had been fut- 
 pended for ages. Many of them were men of rank, of 
 property, of learning, and political knowledge. Had 
 they been left to the free exercife of their own judg- 
 ments, there is no doubt that they would have given 
 to their country a Conftitution, which mi^t have prov- 
 ed the glory of France, and a pattern to other nations. 
 But unfortunately, there were among them, a party of 
 faftious and defigning men, who formed connetfbians 
 with the populace of Verfailles and Paris. And foon, 
 very foon, thofe beginnings which had given pleafure 
 to every friend of liberty, and of mankind, gave place 
 to the moft gloomy and difafterous appearances. At firft 
 the common people took no alive part, otherwife 
 than in choofing tlieir reprefentatives ; but no fooner 
 did the events of the 14th of July 1789, ftiow that po- 
 pular favour might be the road to power, than the Sans 
 Cullottes began to think themfelves capable to manage 
 the affairs of the nation. From that time, the excla- 
 mations of the galleries diftated the relblutions of the. 
 
 * See De Lolme 00 the Englifli Conilitution, p. jj.^A book whicK 
 1 would carneftly recommend, to be perufed by every perfon in BrU 
 tain, before he put his hand to any attempt to change the Govern* 
 
 tncnt of his country. 
 
 31)0994
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 AfTemWy: which was then deferted by its moft virtuous 
 members. The King was carried a prifoner to Paris, 
 where he remained in the power of an organized mob. 
 By this means, a Conftitution was adopted, which, though 
 profeffedly defigned to have been a Hmited Monarchy, yet 
 adlually gave an opportunity to thofe who courted the 
 populace, and knew how to flatter their paffions, to be- 
 come the defpots of the nation. The fecond National 
 Aflembly was ftill more under popular influence; and 
 the Convention moft of all. From the time of their meet- 
 ing, all matters were carried by the votes of the 
 Jacobin Club, or by the fovereign mob of Paris. Then 
 every thing went into confufion. Revolutions follow- 
 ed upon the back of Revolutions. Five hundred tyrants 
 ftarted up inftead of one. More blood has been (hed 
 by their Republican defpots, in the fhort fpace of eigh- 
 teen months, fince the fatal loth of Auguft, 1792, 
 than has been flied by all their Kings together, (if we ex- 
 cept the malTacre of St. Bartholomew, which was the 
 work of a faction, more properly than of a King,) fince the 
 days of Charles the Great. And now libierty, property, 
 morality, and religion, are all annihilated at once: and 
 France is become an execratian^ and a h'lfftngy and a curfcy 
 among all nations. 
 
 Perhaps it may be thought unneceflary to apply the 
 above reafoning to ourfelves in Britain-, becaufe, for 
 fome months back, no one pretends to wiih for a Revo- 
 lution, Reform being now the word, in the mouth of 
 all our mal-contents. But, however they may now 
 fpeak, every man, who had his ears open a year ago, 
 knows that nething lefs was then talked of, than fuch a 
 total Revolution as would bring us into the fame fituatiou
 
 ( 39 ) 
 with our neighbours beyond the channel. Our King 
 was to be difmift, as a piece of ufelefs and expenfive 
 lumber; our Parliament was to be turned into a Conven- 
 tion ; and our Friends of the People were to be what the 
 Jacobins are in France. Though they find themfelves 
 obliged to change their dialedt, becaufe Government be- 
 gin to punilh fome ring-leaders of fedition, their views 
 are by no means changed. They now feek' a Reform, 
 only becaufe they think it would be one ftep towards a 
 Revolution. 
 
 But will any of the moft dlfaffel:ed among us fay, 
 that we have any fuch occafion for a Revolution, as they 
 had in France fix years ago; or as our fathers had in 
 Britain a hundred years before ? We have no Lettres de 
 catchetf by which a man may be feized, when going 
 about his lawful bufinefs, or even in his own houfe, 
 carried he knows not where, and kept during the plea- 
 fure of a whore or a parafite, without ever knowing 
 whom he had offended, or how. We have no Bajiilles, 
 where an innocent perfon may be forced to fpend his 
 whole life in a dungeon, without trial, without appeal, 
 and even without allowance to prefer a petition for juf- 
 tice. No man's will is our law. Neither the King him- 
 felf, nor any of his minifters dare touch a hair of our 
 head, nor a farthing of our property, unlefs in execu- 
 tion of the law. Our Parliament cannot be forced to 
 regifter oppreflive edidls iflued, or oppreffive taxes im- 
 pofed, by arbitrary power: nor dare any tyrant banifh, 
 imprifon, or otherwife violate our Parliament or its 
 members, if tliey fliould refufe to do fo. All this was 
 but a fmall part of what the French people were li- 
 able to, before the year 1788. Neither will any man
 
 ^ { 40 ) 
 
 fay, that our King or his minifters have ever attempted 
 to make, abolifli, or fufpend laws, by the mere force of 
 prerogative, to levy taxes without the authority of Par- 
 liament, to keep up ftanding armies, in time of peace, 
 without their concurrence, to fubjel to fines, impri- 
 fonment, or military execution without trial, to au- 
 thorize his military officers to put innocent men to 
 death, without ever bringing them before a civil Ma- 
 giftrate, to pack or corrupt juries, to inftrul: Judges 
 how they fhould proceed, or what fentence they fhould 
 pafs, in caufes that might come before them, to rob 
 corporations of their charters, or to difplace their Magi- 
 ftrates, who had been regularly chofen, and appoint others ' 
 in their room, by mere court authority. Yet thefe are 
 but a few of thofe tyrannical meafures, by which the 
 laft James forfeited his right to the Crown. Unlefs we 
 have grievances to complain of, of equal magnitude with 
 thefe, we can have no fuch occafion for a Revolution a& 
 our falters had.
 
 T 
 
 ( 41 ) - 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 
 Of the British Constitution. 
 
 HAT wc may know what occafion we have for a 
 change, it will be neceflary to confider what is 
 the footing upon which we ftand. ^That Britain had 
 u Conftitution, and one of the bed that any nation was 
 ever bleft with, has not only been the boafl of Britifh 
 fubjefts, but the unamimous verdil of all foreigners of 
 reputatioo, till very kitely. A principal reafon Why our 
 fathers turned ofF King James was, that he had violated 
 the Conftitution of the kingdom. From that time, till 
 within two years paft, every man who thought it his in- 
 tereft to rail againft Government had it ftill as the burden 
 of his ditty, that the meafures of adminiftration were 
 inconfiftent with the Conftitution. To arraign the Con- 
 ftitution, itfelf, the moft turbulent durft not venture: 
 much lefs had any man fufficicnt confidence to tell us 
 that we had no Conftitution at all. This honour was re- 
 ferved for Thomas Paine: and, t^ the aftonifliment of 
 mankind, he was belicvetl, and his aflertion retailed, by 
 the very men whofe cry had been. The Conjtitution! the 
 Conjliiution ! for many year's before. And all the proof 
 adduced for this new doftrine is, that our Conftitution is 
 not written down in a pamphlet, and fold for a fliilling, 
 like that of France, or theirs in America ! But, in fpite 
 of Mr. Paine, and all his new colleagues, the world 
 knows that Britain has a Conftitution, which we fondly 
 
 G
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 hope their hundred thoufand invaders, though joined by 
 all their friends and well-wifhers among ourfelves, fl>all 
 not be able to fhake. It confifts of a fyftem of laws, 
 by which the people of Great Britain have agreed to 
 be governed. It comprehends the common law, which, 
 though it was never written, is as well known, and 
 much better eftabliflied, than any printed Conftitution, 
 either in France or America. It is explained and ex- 
 tended in various Als of Parliament. It is fummed up 
 in Magna Charta^ and in the Bill of Rights. It is im- 
 prefled on the mind and heart of every loyal fubjeft in 
 Britain: never to be erazed, by any efforts, either of 
 tyranny or fedition. 
 
 Any full delineation of the Britifh Conftitution cannot 
 be expected in a publication of this nature. Nor does 
 the writer of thefe Eflays pretend to be qualified for it. 
 All that is here intended, is only to mention a few ob- 
 vious advantages that it poflefles, and which would be 
 in danger of being loft, if any change fhould take place 
 in it. 
 
 Every man knows, that in Britain, the legiflative au- 
 thority, or the power of making laws, is lodged in the 
 three Eftates, King, Lords, and Commons. But all 
 the three have not the fame powers in this refpedl. 
 The King can propofe no laws, nor bring any bill into 
 either Houfe of Parliameht, except for the reverfals 
 of attainder. Nay, if any perfon, while a bill was 
 under confideration, fliould but infinuate how the 
 King would wifti the debate to ifl'ue, it would be 
 confidered as a breach of privilege: and the bill would 
 be reje<fled. The King's judgment is never afked, nor 
 can it be given, concerning any law, till it has paft both
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 Houfes. And thus, all his concern in the legiflation is 
 reduced to a mere negative. Another difference is, that 
 every money-bill mufl not only 'originate in the Houfe of 
 Commons; but muft receive all its form in that Houfe. 
 Even the fmalleft alteration made in it by the Ix)rds, 
 would caufe the whole to be fct afide; though it went 
 only to recftify a grammatical miftake. Thus, in regard 
 to all taxes, or burdens that can be laid upon the people, 
 the power of the Lords is alfo reduced to a negative. 
 The people of Britain can only be taxed by their own 
 reprefentatives. No law can pafs, or become binding 
 upon the fubjet, till it has a majority for it, firft in one 
 Houfe, and then in the other; and, laft of all, it muft 
 receive the royal aflent. 
 
 To balance the power of the Houfe of Commons, in 
 relation to money-bills, the Houfe of Lords is the fu- 
 preme court of judicature in the nation. They receive 
 appeals, in civil caufes, from all inferior courts; and 
 give a final decifion. All Peers, accufed of any crime, 
 muft be tried by them: and like wife all Commoners, who 
 are impeached, by the other Houfe. 
 
 The executive power is lodged folely in the King. 
 From the moment that a law is enafted, neither Houfe 
 of Parliament has any thing to do with it. Every mem- 
 ber of both Houfes is as much fubje<fl to it, as any other 
 perfon in the kingdom: and it will be executed M'ith the 
 fame impartiality upon them, as upon any other perfon. 
 Yea, the King himfelf is not above the law, though it 
 belongs to him to put it in execution. It is, indeed, a 
 maxim in our law, that the King can do no wrong; that 
 is, if any thing contrary to law is done by the King, or 
 by any in his name, the King in perfon cannot be call* 
 G 2
 
 ( 44 ) 
 ed to account or puniflied for it. But the mlnifter, to 
 whofe department it belongs, is accountable for it, and 
 is liable to punifhment, becaufe he did not prevent it. 
 Thus Britain has one happinefs, beyond almoft any other 
 nation in the world, that no law can be binding upon 
 any fubjel:, that is not equally binding upon every 
 perfoa concerned in the making of it. And, therefore, 
 our legillators would hurt themfelves, as much as any 
 other perfon, by enaling laws that were really bad. 
 
 It ha^been juftly obferved, that, under this mixed 
 Conftitution, we enjoy all the advantages of all the three 
 forts of Government, Monarchy^ Arijiocracyy and Demo- 
 cracy^ without being fubjecSl to the inconveniences of 
 any of them. The nation is not fubjected to the will , of 
 one man, who is himfelf fubjel: to no rule but his 6\^ 
 caprice, either in making laws or in the executiivt of 
 them, or in his private condul towards individuals-: 
 and yet our Government has all the ftrength and energy 
 of Monarchy. It has likewife ail the wifdom of Arifto- 
 cracy, without fubjedling the body of the people to a 
 junto of men, who, confidering themfelves as of a fu- 
 perior fpecies, and having an interell oppofite to that of 
 the Commons, might always be expeded to confult their 
 own advantage at the expence of the people. In the 
 mean time,, the Commons have fufficient influence in 
 the GovernniiJnt, to prevent their ever being opprefled 
 by the other !^wo eftates, or by either of them; whik 
 we are fecured againft thofe tumults and convulfions, 
 and likewife againft that dilatorinefs, and that unfteadi- 
 nefs of councils, which muil always attend a niere Re- 
 publican, or Democratic Government. 
 
 Thus each of tlie three branches of the Legiflaturc,
 
 ( 45 ) 
 forms an efFciHiual check upon the other two. If any 
 bill fliould pafs in the Upper Houfe, prejudicial to the in- 
 tereft of the .people, it may be rejefted in the Lower 
 HouTe. If, by reafon of a temporary enthufiafm, or 
 otherwife, any thing fhould pafs in the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, prejudicial to the rights of the Crown, of the 
 Peers, or of the nation at large, the Houfe of Lords 
 would probably throw it out. And if any thing (hould 
 pafs botli Houses, tending to abridge the royal preroga- 
 tive, or to lay fuch a reftraint upon adminiflration, as 
 would prevent the regular execution of the laws, or lay 
 the nation open to the infults of a foreign enemy, ftill 
 it may be prevented from pafling into a law, by the 
 King's with-holding his aflent: for, though this branch 
 of the royal prerogative has never been exercifed, fince 
 the accefhon of the prefent family, no perfon doubts its 
 exiftence. 
 
 The Houfe of Lords has, by fome who afFe<ft popu- 
 larity, been confidered as a grievance. But, inftead of 
 being fo, it is both the ornament and the bulwark of 
 the Conftitution. On the one hand, it has always been 
 by the interpofition of the Peers, or greater Barons, that 
 the power of the Crown has been reftrained, when a 
 Prince of an arbitrary difpofition was in danger of enflav- 
 ing the people; as in the days of King John, of Henry 
 ni. and others. On the other hand, as often as the 
 Commons have attempted to encroach upon the royal 
 prerogative, and fubjeft the Crown to their will, the 
 Lor<ls have interpofed to prevent it. One remarkable in- 
 ftance of this took place in the beginning of the prefent 
 century: when the Commons, by the expedient of tack- 
 ing any favourite meafure, which they found difagreea-
 
 ( 4^ ) 
 
 ble to the Crown, to a money-bill, thought to oblige the 
 King to pafs what laws they pleafed, the Peers efFe6lu- 
 ally defeated that dangerous fcheme, by making it a 
 (landing rule of their Houfe, never to pafs any bill of 
 another nature, that is tacked to a money-bill. When 
 the long ParUament aboliftied the Houfe of Peers, the 
 natural confequence was, firft the total abolition of roy- 
 alty, and then the deftruftion of the power of the 
 Commons, and the rights of the people, and the fubjec- 
 tion of the v/hole nation to the defpotifm of an ufurper. 
 
 If ever another attempt (hould be made to exclude 
 
 that Houfe from its fhare in the legiflative authority, fimi- 
 lar confequences mufl needs follow. 
 
 That the Lords and the Commons fit and vote in 
 two feparate houfes, is another peculiar advantage of 
 the Britifh Conftitution. Were they to fit in the fame 
 aflembly, and to carry all things by a majority of votes, 
 cither the one clafs or the other would neceflarily pre- 
 dominate. If the Lords could maintain liich an in- 
 fluence, as to bring over to their party as many of the 
 Commons, as, along with themfelves, might conftitute 
 a majority of the whole, then the rights- of the people 
 would be trampled upon, and themfelves reduced to fla- 
 very. On the other hand-, if the Commons, by virtue 
 of their numbers, fhould carry all their own way, then 
 the privileges of the nobility would foon be loft. They 
 would no longer hold the balance between the Crown 
 and the people: and, through the continual ftruggle 
 between liberty and prerogative, the one or the other 
 muft gradually fink; fo that our Government muft foon 
 (Jegenerate either into defpotifm or anarchy. Some 
 of the beft politicians confider the uniting of the nobi-.
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 Jity with the third eftate, into one aflembly, as the firft 
 ftep towards that ftate of confufion, in which our neigh- 
 bours in France are now involved. And fimilar con- 
 fequences muft enfue, if ever fuch an union fhould be 
 attempted among us. The fafety of Britifh liberty de- 
 pends upon each of the two Houfes retaining their ne- 
 gative over the other; and the Crown's having a nega- 
 tive over both. 
 
 For although it would be ruinous to liberty, if the 
 executive power were precifely in the fame hands with 
 the legiflative; yet it is a very great advantage, that 
 the King, to whom the execution of the laws is entruft- 
 ed, fhould be one branch of the legiflature, and have a 
 negative upon the whole. If this were not the cafe, 
 he might be obliged to adl againft his judgment and 
 confcience, in executing laws which he could not ap- 
 prove: Hence, not only would he be a flave upon the 
 throne; but occafion would Hkewife be given to fuch 
 remiflhefs and partiality in the execution of the laws, 
 as, in procefs of time, muft enfeeble the Conftitution. 
 On the other hand, if the executive power were in the 
 hands of the whole legiflative body, diere would be 
 none to call them to account for mal-adminiftration : 
 They might not only make what laws they pleafed; 
 they might likewife execute the laws, or fujSer them 
 to lie dormant, juft as it fhould fuit their own interefl 
 or ambition. With us, as fbon as a law is paft, they 
 who compofe the two Houfes of Parliament have no 
 more to do with it than any other fubjeft. The exe- 
 cution of it pafTes into other hands. And they who 
 are to execute it, muft be anfwerable to them who. 
 made it, if its execution be neglected or perverted;
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 while they who made it are as much futjeft to its opera- 
 tion as any other perfons in the kitjgdom. 
 
 This fuggefts another peculiar advantage of our Con- 
 flitution: that as all ranks of perfons enjoy the rights, 
 of free men ; our legiflators can never have any intereft 
 in opprefling their inferiors*, but every law that is de- 
 trimental to them, muft prove hurtful alfo to them- 
 felves. Moft members of both Houfes of Parliament, 
 are men of landed property. It can never be their inte- 
 reft to opprefs their tenants and dependants; becaufe 
 they would thereby difable them from paying their rentSy 
 and fo diminifh the value of their own eflates. Thus 
 th& pieople employed in agriculture are fafe . from any 
 fiear of oppreffive laws, unlefs the majority of both 
 Houfes of Parliament fliould become fo infatuated as to 
 ruin themfelves, with a view to ruin their country. 
 They who are employed in manufalures, and in trade, 
 have an equal fecurity, though it may not be fo readily 
 perceived, at firft view. It is plain that the increafing 
 number of trading and manufadluring people muft in^ 
 creafe the confumpt of provifions; this increafes the de- 
 mand for the fruits of the earth, and, of courfe, advan- 
 ces the price; and this again advances the value of 
 land. Accordingly, the rent of land is advanced, iu 
 moft parts of Scotland, one half, or more, fince our 
 trade and manufaiffeures began to flourifli. And not- 
 withftanding this, larkl that fold at twenty years pur- 
 chafe, not many years ago, now fells at thirty, forty, and 
 even fifty years purchafe of the prefent rent. This may 
 be partly owing to improvements in agriculture; but 
 that it is likewife owing, in a great meafure, to trade 
 and manufaflures, is plain from this circumftancc, that
 
 r 49 ) 
 
 tills rife in the Value of land is mofl remarkable, in thofe 
 places, where thefe are moft attended to. Befides, it is 
 plain, that, by means of thefe, the luxuries of life can 
 be enjoyed by all ranks of perfons, at a much eafier rate 
 than they otherwife would be. We can furely wear 
 filks and cottons, manufactured at Manchefter, Glaf- 
 gow, and Paifley, much cheaper than when they were 
 all imported from Spain or the Eaft Indies. Now, can 
 any man fuppofe, that our legiflators will be fo blind to 
 their own intcreft, as to deprive themfelves of all thefe 
 advantages, by willingly crufhing trade, or cramping 
 manufadures? It is true, that many of them are but 
 Httle acquainted with thefe matters: hence trade has 
 fometimes been hurt by thofe laws which were intended 
 to promote it. But we are every day in lefs danger 
 from this quarter. A good number of perfons have 
 feats in Parliament, who are as deeply engaged, both in 
 manufalures and in trade, as any others in the nation. 
 And this will be more and more the cafe, as trade and 
 manufadures are extended. Much attention will be 
 paid to their judgment, in framing laws relative to 
 thefe matters : and whenever any law of that kind is 
 found, by experience, to be hurtful, there can be no 
 reafon to doubt but it wiH be repealed. 
 
 In other countries, where there is a hereditary Mo- 
 narchy, and a hereditary nobility, the nobility have an 
 Interell in taking part with the Crown to opprefs the 
 people. But, with us, it is the intereft of tlie peerage 
 to proted the people from oppreffion : and, accordingly, 
 whenever the liberties of the people have been in 
 real danger, the nobility have ever been as adive for 
 the prefervation of them as the people themfelves could 
 
 H
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 be.- This is owing to the very great difference be- 
 tween the ftate of the Britifh peerage and that of the 
 nobility in other countries. In France, for inflance, 
 their nobility amounted to fifty thoufand. They enjoyed 
 exemption from all taxes and public burdens, except a 
 very inconfiderable (hare of tlie land-tax. They held 
 the common people in all the bondage of feudal vafTal- 
 lagc; and difdained to intermix with them by marriage, 
 or by engaging in any kind of trade. They treated the 
 common people as if they had belonged to an inferior 
 fpecies of beings* K^ the dependents of the nobility 
 were nobles: they formed a nation within a nation: and 
 their interefts were diredlly oppofite to thofe of the reft 
 
 pf mankind.- The fame is the cafe in Spain, with 
 
 this difference, that their Hidalgos are ftill more nume- 
 rous, and their contempt of the people more fupercili* 
 ous. In moft other nations of Europe it is little other- 
 wife. But, with us, all the nobility, including the 
 Scottifh Peers, do not amount to fix hundred. They 
 are fubjefl: to all taxes, and contribute to tj^ie expences 
 of the ftate as the commons do. As individuals, they 
 have no jurifdidlion over the meaneft of the people. 
 They not only intermarry with the commons; but their 
 children fink into commoners, and mingle with the 
 crowd. Many of them betake themfelves to trade, to 
 agriculture, and even to manufaftures. The eldeft fon 
 only enjoys the peerage; and even he is a commoner 
 during his father's life. Thus, as they derive their ho- 
 nour from the King; and, to preferve their own luftre, 
 muft fupport that of the Crown: fo their intereft is 
 the fame with tliat of the people; and, for the fake of 
 their own families, they muft watch over the people's
 
 ( 50 
 
 rights; becaufe any encroachmeot upon them would af- 
 fect their own children as much as thofe in tlie lowed 
 ranks of life. 
 
 But, if ever the nobility (hould find, or think it their 
 interejiy to opprefs the people; they cannot have it in 
 thtix pr-j'dry while our Conftitution remains. One branch 
 of the Legiflature is always chofen by the people: and it 
 maft be the fault of their electors if the members of the 
 Houfe of Commons are not men of abilities and of inte- 
 grity; for furely a competent number of fuch men may 
 dill be found in Britain, degenerate as the times are. < 
 If any law, prejudicial to the people, fhould pafs in the 
 Houfe of Peers, even though it were fupported* by the 
 whole influence of the Crown, the Commons have 
 power to rejefl it. Every attentive perfon mufl: have 
 obferved, that, fince the Revolution, the Houfe of 
 Commons is the moft powerful branch of our Legifla- 
 ture: and long may they continue to be fo! for, while 
 that is the cafe, the people of Great Britain can never be 
 opprefled ; unlefs they are betrayed by their own chofen 
 reprefentatives. 
 
 PaflTmg many other advantages of a political nature, 
 which I do not confider myfelf as qualified fully to difcufs; 
 one thing that fhould recommend our Conftitution, in a 
 peculiar manner, to diflenters of every denomination, is, 
 that its genius is more tolerant, and more favourable to 
 religious liberty, than that of moft other nations. I 
 know that fome penal laws, on account of rehgion, are 
 ftill in force; and others are only fufpended. Were 
 Adminiftration rigorous in the execution of exifting laws, 
 nve might be ftill expofed to confiderable hardfliips. But 
 we all know and feel that we enjoy a degree of religious- 
 H 2
 
 ( 52 ) 
 
 liberty, which oui: fathers would have purchafed at 3 
 great expence, and to which out brethren in other 
 countries are abfolute ftrangers. "We are allowed to 
 worfhip God according to the dictates of confcience: 
 and no man is. puniflied for maintaining, ijor even for 
 propagating his religious opinions, if they are not de^ 
 ftrutlive of the public peace. "We are fubjedled to na 
 additional taxes, nor to any poEtive inconvenience, be^ 
 yond our brethren who adhere to the religious efl:abli{h- 
 ment. We enjoy the fame protedlion, in our perfcsis, 
 cur property, and our civil liberty, as they do. Even 
 in our religious alTemblies no man is fufFered to difturb 
 or offer us any violeijce. We labour, -indeed, under 
 fome legal incapacities, whidi, to a few ambitious per-f 
 fons among us, may feem Iiard: but how trifling are 
 thefe in comparifon of the privileges we enjoy! Ani 
 even from thefe we might have hoped foon to be reliev- 
 ed; had not fome among us, by taking part in the mea-, 
 fures pf fedition, given occaGon for Government to con-, 
 fider us all as turbulent and fatious men. I hope they 
 m::y dill be undeceived: and, if dilTenters will but fhew^ 
 themfelves good fubjedls, the tolerant genius of our 
 Conllitution will gradually operate towards placing ua 
 upon an equ^l footing with our fellow-fubje^s in all poli- 
 tical refpefts*. 
 
 h may be thous:'it ftrange that this tolerant genius of the Con- 
 fiitution (hould be mentioned as an advantage by a Seceder; feeing, in 
 our teftimony, we mention it as a particular grievance, that, " in the 
 *' year 171a, an alrooft boundlcfs toleration was granted, &c. !" But any 
 pcrfon who will give hirnfelf the trouble to read that article of our tef- 
 timony will fee, that our reafonS for finding fault with that toleration 
 were; its tendency to " weaken the government and difcipline of the 
 *< church ; aad ita being intended to Arengtheo and Tupport a party-
 
 ( S3 ) 
 It alfo deferve? the particular confideration of the 
 friends of divine revelation, that our Conftitution bears a 
 nearer refemblance than any other on earth to that of the 
 Jewifh nation, which was framed by God himfelf. They 
 had their Kings, as we have; and their Monarchy, like 
 ours, was hereditary in David's family. Their Govern- 
 ment, likewife, had its Ariftocratic branch, in the fanhe- 
 drim, or great council of feventy-two. And that there was 
 fomething Democratic in their Conftitution is plain j from 
 thofe aflemblies of the people that were held about the af- 
 fair of the Levite's concubine,-r-aboat the bringing up of 
 
 " who had openly cfpoufed the intercft of a Popifh Pretender,^ and 
 " whofe meetings were feminaries of difaffefflion to our fovcreign King 
 " George, and the Proteftant fucceffion." On the fame grounds it 
 was reprobated by the commidion of the General AfTcmbly, as appears 
 by their addrefs to the Queen that year. Befides, that toleration might 
 judly be found fault with : as containing a bare fufpeniion of the pe- 
 nal laws in certain cafes; and as proceeding upon the fuppofition that 
 the civil powers have a right to punifli men for their religious princi- 
 ples. ^They mho, either formerly or more lately, have attempted to 
 render Seceders obnoxious to Government, as an intolerant fedl, fworn 
 to extirpate with fire and fword all who diSer from them in their reli^ 
 gious principles ;-r-muft have littk ac(juaii)tance either with Seceders 
 or their principles. They have the honour to be the firft fociety who 
 have fct the doArine of toleration upon its proper foundation, in the 
 eflential difference between the kingdom of Chrift and the kingdoms of 
 this world r-Our opinion is, that all members of the church of Chrift 
 ibould exert themfelves, io their refpedive ftations, to extirpate M 
 falfe dodlrines, and all finful pra<ftices, by a proper ufe of the /word of 
 the Spirit, -which is the -word of Go^. But, that heretics, or the profef- 
 fors of a falfe religion, while peaceable members of civil fociety, arc ta 
 he extirpated by penal laws, and by civil pains^nd punilhments; is a 
 doiflrine that we abhor. The office of civil magiftrates being founded 
 in the law of nature, they can have no right to interpofe their autho- 
 rity in matters of pure revelation ; or to punifh any perfon for having 
 views difTereot from their owd, in fuch matters.
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 tlic Ark to Jerufalem, ^about Rehoboam's fucceflioiij 
 and on other fimilar occafions. Thus it is manifeft that 
 the Jewifli Conftitution was a mixed Monarchy, as ours 
 is. Th.eir Kings, though they had no legiflative autho- 
 rity, ^their laws being given by God himfelf, yet had 
 more power than our Kings have, as might be made to 
 appear in various inftances. And their popular alTerh- 
 blies only met occafionally : whereas our Parliament muft 
 meet every year, or elfe the whole bufinefs of Govern- 
 ment muft ftand ftill. In thefe, and fome other refpedls, 
 our Government is even more favourable to the people 
 than theirs was: and yet it would amount to blafphemy 
 to fay, that their form of Government, "planned by Divine 
 Wifdom and Goodnefs, was fubverfive of true liberty, 
 or of any of the common or unalienable rights of men. 
 
 Whatever other men think or fay about the Britifh 
 Conftitution, Seceders, I truft, will refledl, that it has 
 undergone no change to the worfe, fmce their principles 
 concerning it were clearly ftated, and laid before the 
 world, in the Declaration and Defence^ fubjoined to tlie 
 AJfociate Prejhytery's Anfwers to Mr. Nairn. We have al- 
 ways borne teftimony againft fome things in the united 
 Conftitution of the two kingdoms: particularly againft 
 its incorporating the church with the ftatcj making the 
 kingdom of Chrift an appendage of the kingdoms of this 
 world', againft the abfiirdity of eftabliftiing one mode of 
 religion in England, and another in Scotland; and a- 
 gainft allowing a temporal lordftiip, and a place in the 
 legillature, to the Englifh bifliops as office-bearers of the 
 church; contrary to the exprefs command of Chrift*. 
 Againft thefe, and other evils of a fimilar nature, both 
 
 *^ Luke uii. aj
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 in the Conftltution and Adminiftratlon, relative to tlic 
 church and religion, our teftiraony has never given of* 
 fence to Government. 
 
 This ftrengthens our obligation to adhere, with equal 
 firmnefs, to our declared principles, relative to the civil 
 part of our Conftitution; as contained in the pamphlet 
 above referred to, where, the prelbytery affirms, that 
 < we ought to acknowledge the prefent civil authority 
 <* over thefe nations, and fubjedlion thereunto, in law- 
 " ful commands." This is the principle, in defence of 
 which the whole book is compofed. In an a6l of pref- 
 bytery fubjoined to it, they thus exprefs themfelves: 
 The prefbytery do hereby condemn the dangerous ex- 
 " treme of impugning the prefent civil authority over 
 thefe nations, and fubjetion thereunto, in lawful 
 " commands, as contrary to the plain tenor of fcripture, 
 and to the known principles of this church in her 
 < confeffion and covenants, and of all other reformed 
 " churches;" as well as " the dangerous extreme of ef- 
 ** poufing principles in favours of propagating religion by 
 ' offenfive arms; contrary to that difpofition which 
 < ought to be in all the followers of Chrift, who came 
 not to deftroy mens lives, but to fave them." Per- 
 haps it may be pleaded, that as this al of prelbytery was 
 never a term of Chriftian communion among us, pri- 
 vate perfons in our communion are not bound to adhere 
 to it- But furely their acceding to our communion im- 
 plies fuch an acquiefcence in all our known principles, 
 as not to difturb the peace of the church by a public 
 oppofition to them. And, if this argument have any 
 weight, with regard to private Chriftians, it cannot ap- 
 ply to office-bearers; for every minifter among us, and
 
 ( S5 ) 
 
 every elder, publicly and folemnly declares, that ht \i 
 " fatisfied with, and purpbfes to adhere unto and mzuu 
 tain the principles about the prefent civil Government^ 
 " which are declared and maintained in" the above 
 mentioiled pamphlet*. 
 
 The aflbciate fynod is ftill more explicit in their ap- 
 probation of the political Conftitution of Great Britain, 
 in an aft pafled by them, ort occafion of the acceflion of 
 his prefent Majefty, on the i6th of April i^6i, in which 
 they exprefs themfelves thus: " The fynod do hereby 
 ** agree in declaring, that they can yield to none of their 
 fellow-fubjefts in prizing the civil Government under 
 <* which they live, as the beft modelled Government 
 " throughout the known world; in refpeft to the me- 
 mory of our late fovereign King George II. as one of 
 "the beft of Kings,, of the mildeft adminiftration, who 
 *< ruled over us as the common father of his people; irl 
 *' thankfulnefs for the peaceable acceflion of our prefent 
 " fovereign King George III. to the throne of thefe 
 " kingdoms ; in a firm refolution to fupport and live 
 dutifully under hh Government, in our feveral ftations 
 " and capacities, according to the word of God, and 
 " our received and known principles founded thereon, 
 to which we are bound by folemn covenant ; in an 
 " inviolable attachment to the Proteftant fuccefTion, in 
 " the illuftrious family of Hanover; and in a full pur- 
 " pofe ftill to maintain thefe principles among the peo- 
 " pie under their infpetion." 
 
 Upon thefe principles Seceders have hitherto con* 
 dufted themfelves. It is well known, that when an at- 
 tack was made upon the Conftitution, by the Pretender 
 * See Formula, Q^iith. .
 
 ( 57 ) 
 and his adherents, in 1745, Secedefs, minifters, and 
 people, to a man, were fledfaft in their adherence to iti 
 and many of tJiem took arms in its defence. I trufl: the 
 body of them, whatever may be the cafe with indivi- 
 duals, will be as ready to defend it againfl the rage of 
 popular clamour as againft the antiquated claim of here- 
 ditary right. 
 
 But it {hall be left to themfelves to determine, how 
 far thofe men al like Seceders, or in agreeablenefs to 
 the principles above expreflcd, who encourage or join 
 themfelves to focieties and aflbciations, under whatever 
 fpecious names, ere<^ed and maintained for the purpofc 
 of oppofing the meafures of Government, and even of 
 fubverting the Conftitution. I know this intention is 
 now denied; becaufe they dare no longer avow it. But 
 what elfe could be their defign ? What elfe can it be to 
 this day? Why did they fend addrefles of congratulation 
 to the French Convention? Why did they exert tlieni- 
 felves to propagate books, in which our Conftitution was 
 held up to ridicule, and the exiftence of it denied? 
 Why did they erect Conventions among us, upon the 
 plan of that of France , fend deputies to them from their 
 different departments; and there, in defiance of the Con- 
 ftitution, take upon them to tranfal the buGnefs of the 
 nation? That there was a defign among thofe, who 
 very falfely call themfelves the Friends of the People^ to 
 fubvert the Conftitution, and to change the whole form 
 of the Government, is io plain, tliat no difinterefted 
 perfon has any doubt of it. Nor was it ever denied, un- 
 lefs by thofe who were themfelves concerned in it; and 
 wiftied to amufe Government, or lull them aileep by fuch 
 denials, till their fcheme iliould be ripe for execution. 
 
 I
 
 ( 58 ) . 
 
 E S S A Y IV. 
 
 On Kingly Government, and Hereditary 
 Succession. 
 
 /^NE principal objeiftion againft the Britifli Conftitu- 
 ^"^ tion is, that we are governed by a King: whereas 
 w^e are now taught that all Kings are tyrants j and that 
 under a Monarchial Government, however limited, no 
 people can be free. This aflertion could only proceed 
 from a man, who feeling in himfelf that. pride, cruelty, 
 and malignity, which would render him a tyrant if he 
 had power in his hands; and concluding that all men 
 are like himfelf, takes it for granted, that no man can 
 enjoy power without abufing it. But the aflertion has 
 been contradifted by the experience of four thoufand 
 years. Will any perfon believe, that David and Solo- 
 mon, Afa and Jehofhaphat, Hezekiah and Jofiah, were 
 all tyrants? Were Numa and Ancus Martius tyrants, 
 Vefpafian and Titus, Trajan and Antoninus? Many 
 Princes of later times might be mentioned, whom flan- 
 der itfelf never accufed of tyranny, fuch as Guftavus 
 Erickfon of Sweden, and his grandfon Guftavus Adol- 
 phus, Herury IV. of France, James I. of Scotland, and 
 many more. Kings are men of like paflTions with 
 others: and therefore it is not to be wondered at, if 
 there have been fewer good Kings than bad ones in the 
 world-, becaufe, in all ftations of life, there are more 
 bad than good men. And the proportion of bad men, 
 who have been Kings, is not greater than of thofe who
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 have been coblers. What tyrant has occupied the throne 
 of Britain fince the Revolution? Or what one al of 
 tyranny can malice itfelf impute to our prefent gracioits 
 Sovereign? 
 
 " But Kings," they tell us, " are deftroyers of man- 
 " kind. They have been the authors of all the wars 
 *' that have laid the world defolate: and peace will ne- 
 *' ver be enjoyed, till Kings be exterminated." This af- 
 fertion, if true, would go far to end the conteft. But, 
 unhappily no aflertion can be more falfe. It is true, 
 that the wars in which Kings have been engaged, are 
 mofe numerous than thofe which have been managed 
 by Republics*, becaufe the number of Kings in the world 
 has always furpafled the number of Republics, at leaft 
 in the proportion of ten to one. But Republics have, in 
 all ages, been more inclined to war than Kings, almoft 
 in the fame proportion. Was not Athens a Republic, 
 which not only maintained a conftant war for ages to- 
 gether, againft neighbouring Kings, but had well nigh 
 enflaved all the other ftates of Greece, till Sparta, with 
 her two Kings, rofe up to oppofe her.? Was not Car- 
 thage a Republic? And did flie not extend her con- 
 quefts, almoft as far as her trade; fo as to be, at one 
 time, in pofTefTion of a great part of Africa, of Spain, of 
 Sicily and of Sardinia, befides other places? Were 
 there ever any wars more bloody, more obftinate, or 
 more deftruclive, than thofe which (he waged with 
 Rome, her fifter Republic? Did ever any kingdom on 
 earth engage in as many wars as Rome did without any 
 provocation? Was not this the beaft, dreadful and 
 terrible, and ftrong exceedingly, having great iron teeth, 
 which devoured the whole earth, brake it in pieces, and r 
 
 I 2
 
 \ 
 
 ( 60 ) 
 
 {lamped it withV/'feet* ? To defcend td later times, 
 did not the Venetjen Republic, in a (hort time, raife it- 
 felf, by war, from a fifiiing village, to be a powerful ftate? 
 And, if it were not a difgrace to all other Republics to 
 reckon France among the number, has not France, fmce 
 her CouA'cntion calledyher a Republic, fliewed as much 
 of a difpofition to war and conqueft, as ever fhe did 
 in the days of Bewis XIV. She indeed made a de- 
 cree, that ilae was to engage in no war but for her own 
 defence, and fhe fulfilled it^by invading the territories 
 of the Emperor, and attacking Mons and Tournay, before 
 he had either declared war againft her, or had an army 
 in the field to oppofe her. Did Ihe not over-run .^avoy, 
 while its Sovereign had fo little thought of w^r as not to 
 have the veflige of an army to defend himfelf ? Did 
 {he not firft violate the rights of Holland, by her decree 
 for opening the Scheldty and then invade her territories 
 with a powerful army, before Holland had moved a 
 tongue againft her? Did fhe not declare war againft 
 Britain, and ftop all our fhips in her ports, before our 
 Court had formed any refolution of making war upon 
 her? So far is it from being true that Republican Govern- 
 ment is more favourable to peace than Monarchy, that 
 the fcope it gives to the ambition of individuals, and the 
 neceffity that thofe in power are under of finding em- 
 ployment for that ambition, unavoidably hurries them in- 
 to wars; and it will not be denied, that fome of the ftrong- 
 ^ft advocates for that fort of Government have attempted 
 to prove its fuperiority to all other forms, by this, that 
 it beft provides for warf. If the nations of Europe 
 
 Dan. vii. f. 
 f Sec Alg. 5y<3ney'5 i)if(;ourfe on Government, cb. U. fed, aj.
 
 ( <5I ) 
 
 rhould all difmifs their Kings, and fet up 'a^popular Go- 
 vernment, with a view to fecure themfelves. againft warj 
 it would be the fame policy as if the Dutch, in order to 
 drain their marfhes, ihoukl break down all their dykes. 
 
 ** But our King has too much power and influence } 
 fo that he over-rules the other branches of the Le- 
 " gifiature, and every thing is carried in Parliament, 
 *' according to the pleafure of the Court." As a proof 
 of this, we are reminded of a vote pall in the Houfe of 
 Commons, feme years ago, " that the influence of the 
 *' Crown has increafed, is increafing, and ought to be 
 diminiftied." But, could fuch a vote have pafled, if 
 Parliament had been fuch a tool of the Crown as is al- 
 ledged.^ Befides, the influence of the Crowii is not now 
 the fame as at the time of that vote. In confequence of 
 it, two a6ls of Parliament pafled, in order to reduce the 
 influence complained of, as low as could be done with- 
 out hurting the balance of the Conftitution. By the one^ 
 all pcrfons holding Government contradts, were difabled 
 from fitting in the Houfe of Commons; and all officers 
 of the revenue from voting in the election of members 
 of Parliament : and, by the other, a number of finccure 
 places were abolilhed, the falaries of which amounted 
 to L. 72,368 a year. But, in order to know what 
 weight is in the argument of there being too great power 
 or influence in the Crown, let us take a view oi thofe 
 branches of the prerogative, that arc conGdered as mod 
 exceptionable. 
 
 The King has the power of calling, proroguing, and 
 diflblving Parliaments. But how can this have any 
 dangerous effe<fl3? He muft call a new Parliament, at 
 lea ft once in feven years. And though the law require
 
 ( 62 ) 
 
 ing that the Parliament fhould meet once a year, if ne:- 
 cejfaryy might be evaded, and has been evaded, under 
 pretence that it was not neceflary; yet, in the prefent cir- 
 cumftances, fuch an evafion cannot take place: nor is 
 it likely that it ever can, in any time to come; be- 
 caufe, while the fupplies are only granted from year 
 to year, the meeting of Parliament is fo neceffary, that 
 the army would be, ipfo faBoy difbanded, the intereft of 
 the national debt would remain unpaid, and the whole 
 bufinefs of Gk)vernment would be at a (land, if any year 
 Ibould pafs without a meeting of Parliament. 
 
 The King has the power of appointing officers, civil, 
 ecclefiaftical, and military, and of granting places and 
 penfions; and, by this means, may indirecftly bribe 
 members of Parliament, and bring them over to the 
 Court fide. But this part of the prerogative is likewife 
 under fuch regulations, that it cannot eafily become hurt- 
 ful; for, I. Some of the moft important offices are given 
 for life, fuch as thofe of the judges, bilhops, and others. 
 Though the King can give them, he cannot take them 
 away. And if once a man has obtained what was the 
 aim of his ambition, his gratitude will hardly influence 
 him to vote, either to the diminution of his own confe- 
 quence as a member of the Legiflature, or in oppofi- 
 tion to his party, or to his confcience, if he has 
 any. How often have we feen a young clergyman 
 in Scotland cringe to a patron for a prefentation : 
 and, as foon as he had obtained it, profecute his be- 
 nefadlor for an augmentation of flipend ; becaufe 
 he knows, that he cannot recall his gift ? Men are not 
 more grateful to Kings, than to others who do them a 
 like favour. 2. According to law, no -perfon can enjoy
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 a feat In Parliament, who is concerned in the manage- 
 ment of any tax, impofed fmce the year 16921 nor any 
 who enjoys an office under the Crown, created fince the 
 year 1705: no more can any commiffioner of prizes, of 
 the navy or victualling office, nor any comptroller of army 
 accounts, agent for regiments, or clerk in any of the offi- 
 ces of the revenue; nor any who enjoys a pen lion from the 
 Crown during pleafure, or for any fpecified term of years. 
 So that if a member of Parliament accepts any of thefe, 
 he not only lofes his feat, but is incapable of being re- 
 elefted. 3. If any member accepts any office from the 
 Crown, of what kind foever it be, unlefs it be an officer 
 in the army or navy accepting a new commiffion, his feat 
 is thereby vacated : and if it be dangerous for him to con- 
 tinue in Parliament, the blame cannot lie upon the Crown, 
 but upon the people who choofe him anew. 
 
 Befides thefe legal provifions againft the bad effels 
 of Court influence ; experience Ihews, that neither of- 
 fices, nor dignities, nor penfions, are fufficient to flop 
 the mouths of thofe who are difpofed to join the oppo- 
 fition. In fact, every office in the gift of the Crown 
 operates two w^ays. They who thirft for thefe things, 
 hope to obtain tliem, not oftener by voting for the Court, 
 than by roaring againft it. Thefe bawl out againft every 
 meafure of Government, good or bad, in hopes that Ad- 
 miniftration will come up to their price. And after an 
 office has been obtained, they who enjoy it do not on 
 that account ftick to the Court party. How many in- 
 ftances have we feen of men eating the bread of Govern- 
 ment, and yet lifting up their heel againft it? It may be 
 odious to mention names; but plenty of inftances will 
 occur to every one.
 
 ( ^4 ) 
 
 Moreover, every attentive perfon may fee, and every 
 true friend of his country will fee it with pleafure, that 
 when the tide of party runs higheft, and when the 
 Court has the greateft majority on its fide, if a meafure 
 is propofed, that is manifeflly contrary to the intereft 
 of the nation, all the influence of the Court is not able 
 to carry it. Thus the Duke of Richmond's Fortifica- 
 tion Bill was loft; and fo was the Scots Militia Bill, 
 though Adminiftration was ftrengthened by the intereft 
 of all the Scotch Members. In matters of fmaller im- 
 portance, Court influence, or attachment to a party, may 
 fway a majority in either Houfe; but I hope there arc 
 ftill as many Britons in Parliament, of independent for- 
 tunes, and independent fpirits, as will ever be able to 
 prevent any party, whatever their influence may be, from 
 doing any material injury to the country. 
 
 " But our King has alfo the power of making peace 
 and war, and of entering into treaties with foreign 
 " nations: and hence he may involve us in a ruinous 
 war, and fubjeft us to new taxes to defray the ex- 
 < pence J or he may enter into alliances difgraceful or 
 " expenfive to the nation. And where fhali we find re- 
 
 ** drefs?" True; fuch powers belong to the King: 
 
 but if he enter into any war, prejudicial to the nation, he 
 cannot carry it on v/ithout money; and money he can- 
 not have, till it is granted by Parliament. Or, if he enter 
 into any treaty, which brings any expence upon the na- 
 tion, that treaty cannot be carried into effeft till tlic 
 Parliament grant him the requifite fum. The Court 
 "will, therefore, take care how they enter into any war, 
 or any fuch treaty, till they have fecurity that Parlia- 
 ment will fecond their views; becaufe they well know
 
 ( <5s ) 
 
 that the Houfc of Commons, as keepers of the national 
 purfe, have it always in their power to defeat their in- 
 tentions, and expofe them to fharne among furrounding 
 nations. Yea, they have power to impeach the minifter 
 who advifed the pernicious meafure; and to bring him, 
 if he defcrves it, to the block. Thus the minifter's 
 fafety lies in his pleafmg the nation; as he mull juftify 
 every meafure in the Houfe of Commons, in the face 
 of thofe who want to fill his place, and who exert every 
 talent to expofe his errors or miftakes. 
 
 Again we are told, that ** Kings arc very expenfivc 
 things. This nation pays no lefs than a million year- 
 " ly to a man, for nothing but what any cobler might 
 ** do as well: and all this might be faved by fending 
 
 < over him and his family to Germany." They, who 
 
 fpeak in this manner, neither know what they fay, nor 
 whereof they affirm. They labour under two capital 
 s miftakes. i. That million of money, which is called 
 the Civil Lijiy does not all go to the maintenance of the 
 King's family. From it are paid all the falaries of the 
 judges, the officers of ft ate, and officers of the houfe- 
 hold; all the expence incurred either by the refidence 
 of foreign ambafladors at our Court, or for maintaining 
 our ambafladors abroad; -befides penfions, fecret fer- 
 vice money ; and, in a word, the whole expence of the 
 civil Government. Whatever money is laid out by Ad- 
 miniftration, it muft be taken from this fum, unlefs it 
 is otherwife exprefely provided for by Parliament; as 
 well as what goes to the maintenance of the King's 
 family*. It muft, therefore, be either very ignorant or 
 
 Blackftone's Commentaries, vol. I. p. 331. EccyclopJcdia Bri- 
 taiuica, artick Civil Lit. 
 
 K
 
 i 66 ) 
 
 very wickeci in mein to cry oiit of all diis expence as in- 
 curred by the royal family; and then to cry out of pcn- 
 fions and falaries to the fervants of Government, as if all 
 thefe were diftin6l things, vt^hen they are all included in 
 this one. The bufmefs of the nation muft be done : no 
 man is obliged to ferve her for nought: nay, it is high- 
 ly reafonable that her fervants, like thofe of private 
 men, be allowed wages, not only in proportion to the 
 weight of their work, but like wife to the dignity of their 
 employer, and to the rllk and expence of fitting them- 
 felves for fituations that are precarious when obtained, 
 and cannot be filled without confiderable talents and 
 accomplifhments ; befides they muft be enabled to fup- 
 port a degree of fplendour proportioned to their rank; . 
 otherwife both themfelves and their offices will fall into 
 contempt. And if this is done, though all the royal fa- 
 mily were fent to Botany Bay, it would be comparative- 
 ly a fmall part of this begrudged fum that the nation 
 would fave by that means. 
 
 2. It is a very great miftake, that the advantages 
 which the nation derives from royalty are not fufficient 
 to balance all the expence of maintaining it. Is not the 
 whole executive power lodged in the King's hand.? And 
 is not the execution of the laws; the proteftion of our 
 perfons, liberties, and property; the adminiftration of 
 juftice; and the prefervation of the public peace in all 
 
 the Britifh dominions, worth one million yearly? 
 
 It may be faid, that the laws could be executed without 
 a, King. But no man who underftands the fubjedl will 
 fay that it could be done to fuch advantage, or with as 
 much fafety, . Every divifion of the executive power 
 mull tend to weaken it. To lodge it in the hands of
 
 ( ^1 ) 
 
 many would be to give each a power of opprefTmg ihc 
 people with impunity. By lodging it in one hand, the 
 nation can more eafily watch its motions, and deleft and 
 prevent every attempt to abufe it. One peculiar ex- 
 ." cellence of the Britilh Government, is its having thrown 
 into one place die whole mafs of the executive power. 
 *< By this very circumftance has the depojitum of it been 
 ** rendered facred and inexpugnable. By making one 
 " very great man in the ftate, has an efFel:ual check 
 been put to the pretenfions of all tliofe who would 
 otherwife ftrive to become fuch> and diforders have 
 ** been prevented, which, in all Republics, have brought 
 *' on the ruin of liberty*." Befides, is it no advantage 
 to us that the King holds the balance between the twe 
 Houfes of Parliament ; and, while he prevents the Nobi- 
 lity from being trampled on by the Commons, effeftually 
 prevents the people from being crufhed by the weight of 
 a powerful Ariftocracy ? 
 
 Still they rejoin: ^" Our Crown is hereditary; and 
 " this is an abfurdity Ihocking to common fenfe. What ! 
 Are not all men born equal.'* Or, is one man born 
 a King, and all the reft of the nation born flaves?" ^ 
 It is very true that all men are born equal; that is, every 
 perfon comes into the world a naked and helplefs in- 
 fant, poflefhng nothing, and capable to do nothing for 
 himfelf. But is it not as true, that, by the laws of all cir 
 vilized nations, one is born heir to a great eftate, and an- 
 other is heir to nothing but rags and mifery ? And why 
 may not a fimilar law make one man be born heir to a 
 kingdom, while another is born a fubjeft.'' The antL- 
 
 D^ Lolmc, p. 196, 197. 
 
 Ki
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
 quated claim of dwine hereditary rights I hope, will ne- 
 ver be again revived in Britain. But our Crown is ren- 
 dered hereditary, not only by the fanftion of the na- 
 tional will for more than two centuries paft, but by 
 an exprefs and folemn deed of the nation. An zO;, 
 of the Legiflature, pafled with the general approba- 
 tion of the people, declared the Crown hereditary in the 
 reigning family, upon certain conditions. And that adt 
 continued to be approved by the whole nation, except- 
 ing a few adherents of the Pretender's divine right ; and 
 to be gloried in, as the chief fecurity of our religion and 
 libertiesj till Thomas Paine taught us to think other- 
 wife. That a(ft, like all the other laws of Britain, be- 
 ing eftabliflied by the joint authority of King, Lords, 
 and Commons, has the force of a folemn compaft, by 
 which all the orders of the ftate are equally bound. And 
 while the conditions therein flipulated continue to be 
 obferved by the family of Hanover, neither the Parlia- 
 ment, nor the people, have any power to abolifh or alter 
 it without the King's confent, more than they have to 
 abrogate every other law that has been paft by the fame 
 authority, and to abolifh the whole Conftitution. If ever 
 thefe conditions fhall be violated by that family, the con- 
 trail will be diflblved, and their hereditary right will 
 ceafe. The nation will then unite in turning them off 
 the throne, as they have done their predeceffors. But, 
 till then, whoever fhall attempt any thing to the preju- 
 dice of their right will be juftly confidered as traitors to 
 their country; and all ranks in the nation will concur, 
 as in duty bound, in bringing them to punifhment. 
 
 .How much advantage has been derived to the nation 
 from this A(X of Settlement, fince it was paft, on the
 
 { 69 ) 
 
 i2th of June t700, will be eafily pei'6e*ived by every 
 perfon who knows what miferies have followed, in this 
 and other countries, from a difputed fucceflion, and even 
 from an elelive Government. How much blood was 
 I'pilt in England during the conteft between the houfes 
 of York and Lancafter ? AVhat calamities did Scotland 
 fuffcr, while the Crown was difputed by the families of 
 BiHol and Bruce ? And what has made Poland a fcene 
 of anarchy and of carnage, for many ages paft, as often 
 as the death, the ejectment, or the refignatlon of her 
 Kings, has made a new eleftion necefJary ? The want 
 of fuch a fettlement as ws have, is the very thing that 
 has reduced one of the moft powerful and warlike king- 
 doms of Europe to the neceffity of fubmitting to be par- 
 celled out by neighbouring defpots, without having it 
 in her power to make the leaft refiftance. Of this the 
 Poles are fo fenfible, that, by the Conftitution which was 
 voluntarily accepted by King, Nobles, and people, a few 
 years ago, their Crown was to be hereditary, as ours is. 
 And indeed their objeft was to obtain a Conftitution as 
 nearly refembling that of Great Britain as pofTible*. 
 
 The Prince of Wales is (^onfidered as heir apparent of 
 the Crown of Britain, not on account of any natural dif- 
 ference between him and other men-, not b6caufe he is 
 defcended from a race of Kings who have reigned fmce 
 the earlieft accounts of this Ifland:- but becaufe he has 
 been fo declared by a ftanding law, a folemn deed of 
 the nation. By virtue of the fame deed, we are born, not 
 his (laves, but heirs to that liberty and peace which that 
 deed has fecured to us. In all this, what is there inconfift- 
 
 * The iofurreiftion in Pgland had not taken place when this wat 
 vrrittea.
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 cnt with reafon, with common fenfe, with the rights of 
 men, or even with that natural equality, which, though 
 it may be an objeft of fpeculatlon, can have no actual 
 fubfiftence among mankind in a focial ftate. 
 
 It has been objeled, that, by this hereditary fuccef- 
 fion, it may happen that the nation may be governed by 
 a fool, a tyrant, or an idiot. But he mufl either be a 
 fool, or fomething worfe, that lays any ftrefs upon this 
 objeftion. If, by reafon of infancy, or any other caufe, 
 our hereditary King fhould be difqualified for the adlual 
 exercife of Government, the law has provided a remedy. 
 The Adminiftration falls into the hands of a regency, in 
 whom the nation may corifide, as being appointed by 
 the nation itfelf. If our King fhould ever happen to be 
 a weak man, the Parliament are his hereditary council; 
 and he will be aflifted by all the wifdom of the nation. 
 If he (hould even be a man of an arbitrary and tyranni- 
 cal difpofition, the law has cut off the claws of the lion. 
 The fate of the firft Charles, and the fecond James, will 
 teach him to reftrain himfelf within the bounds prefcrib- 
 ed by law. Or if he does not, he breaks the contract -, 
 his right to the Crown ceafes; and the nation will pro- 
 vide him a fucceflbr. 
 
 Before people decide, with regard to hereditary fuccef- 
 fion, they would need to know more of the matter, than 
 what is. to be learned from Pain's inve\ives. Suppofe 
 a chief Magiftrate were to be elefted by the whole nation, 
 would not that man who knew how to flatter the vanity, 
 and humour the prejudices, of the populace, however 
 profligate his character, be as likely to be chofen, as ^ 
 man of wifdom and prudence, free from reftlefs ambi-. 
 tion, and above facrificing the pubUc iutereft, to his own.
 
 ( 71 ) 
 
 or that of his family? Is it of no confequence, that he 
 who is to be a King have fuch an education as may 
 qualify him for the duties of his high ftation ? Does not 
 tlie limitation of the fucceffion to one family tend to pre- 
 vent our Kings from being infeled with thofe Httle jea- 
 louGc, and party connexions, which are fo favourable 
 to '.iihihrefs, avarice, and cruehyj and fo repugnant 
 to that magnanimity, juftice, and mercy, which ought to 
 diftinguiui the man who rules a great nation? Would not 
 tlie eiedion of a King give much more fcope to corrup- 
 tion, thai) that of members of Parliament, or of perfons 
 in any inferior office ? Or has ever an executive Govern- 
 ment been creeled or maintained, with fo little ani- 
 mofity, difturbance, or danger to public liberty, as by 
 a hmited hereditary Monarchy? 
 
 Such a hereditary fucceffion as we have, is likewife 
 agreeable to fcripture; and is plainly exemplified in that 
 Government, which God himfelf fet up. Though the 
 Government in Ifrael was a Theocracy, that is, though 
 God himfelf was their King, and therefore might have 
 appointed whom he would for his deputy, without con- 
 fulting the people, and adually did fo in the days of th? 
 Judges; yet no Kings were ever impofed upon them, 
 without their confent, nor any but fuch as themfelves 
 had chofen. Saul was exprefsly chofen by the people*.' 
 And though David had been previoufly anointed by Sa- 
 muel, at the command of God; yet he did not think 
 himfelf autlrorifed to take upon him the Adminiftration, 
 even after the death of Saul, till the people had inverted 
 him with it. Accordingly he was chofen and anointed 
 King, by the tribe of Judah alTembled at Hebronf : and 
 l&im.xii.i. tSam.u.4,
 
 ( 7^ ) 
 ever them only he clahned any right to reign, till he waj 
 alfo chofen by the people of Ifrael, feven years after- 
 wards*. And though God had promifed that the throne 
 fhould be hereditary in David's Une, upon certain condi# 
 tjons*, yet this v/as not confidered as legally fixing the 
 fucceflion, till it was done by a deed of the people. Ac* 
 cordingly, when Solomon died, all Ifrael affembled at 
 Shechem, to make Rehoboam King-, and when he refu- 
 fed to comply with the conditions which they ftipulated, 
 ten tribes rejed:ed him, and he reigned over two only. 
 
 It deferves particular notice, that it is not faid, in the 
 hiftory of that tranfaftion, that the tribe of Judah clave to 
 Rehoboam, or followed him;, but \}a&^ followed the houfe 
 of Davidf. From hence it would appear, that after the 
 ten tribes were gone, the people of Judali and Benjamin, 
 juftly apprehenfive of the renovation of fuch a fcene as 
 they had juft witnefled, agreed, by a folemn national 
 deed, to fix the fucceffion in the family of David. Ac- 
 cordingly, we hear no more of their aflembling again for 
 the choice or inauguration of Rehoboam's fucceflbrs: but 
 the fon regularly occupied his father's throne, without 
 any further interpofition of the people; unlefs when the 
 fucceffion was interrupted by Athaliah's ufurpation. At 
 any rate, we are fure, that the fucceffion in that line was 
 hereditary: that it was fo by the appointment of God, 
 and with the confent of the people: and therefore, that 
 all the fcurrility, fpued out by our modern Reformers, 
 againll: hereditary fucceffion, applies equally to the Con- 
 ftitution of the kingdom of Judah, as to that of Britain. 
 If the one is inconfiftent with reafon, with common fenfe, 
 or with the rights of man, fo was the other: Confe- 
 * z S;im. V. i. f i Xings xii. ao.
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 quently, Go4, the Fountain of reafon, the Creator of 
 man, and the Giver of all his rights, not only fet up a 
 Government among his chofen ami beloved people, tliat 
 Was deftrudtive of all thefe, but continued to fupport it 
 for nearly five hundred years! 
 
 To take off the force of this argument, we are told, 
 ihat God gave them this form of Government, as a pu- 
 nifhment; becaufe they rejected him from being their 
 King, and wouM needs have a King hkc tlic other na- 
 tions: and what was a punifliment to them can never 
 be a blelhng to any otlier people. In fupport of this the 
 words of God by the prophet Hofea, are often quoted: 
 J gave thee a King in mine anger y and took hitn aivay in my 
 wrath*. But it is plain that thefe words were addrefled 
 to the ten tribes: and all interpreters underftand them 
 either of Saul, in whom they were literally fulfilled, or 
 elfe of that race of Kings, who had reigned in Ifrael, from 
 the time of their revolt ftom l>avid's family, and from 
 the worlhip of the true God; and whom God was juil 
 about to take away by the hand of the King of Aflyria. 
 But until the prefent time, it never yet entered into the 
 mind of any perfon, who had a right publicly to interpret 
 fcriptwre, to underftand tlicfe words of David or of his 
 family. How could it? In what fenfe was ever David 
 given in anger.'* Or how could his family be faid to 
 have been taken away in the days of Hofea, when 
 it continued to reign an hundred and fifty years af- 
 ter? The fetting up of that family was ever confidered 
 by the people of God, as an zck of fingular favour, and 
 was celebrated, as fuch, in their public praifcsf. It 
 may be faid, that the people were miftaken: and tliat 
 Hofea xiii. II. f Pfal. Ixxvfii. 70, 71. PfJ. cilxa. II, li. 
 
 L
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 the Queen of Sheba was alfo miftaken, when fhe faid 
 to . Solomon, " Becaufe the Lord thy God loved Ifrael 
 " for ever, therefore made he thee King, to do judg- 
 " ment and juftice*!" But was the Spirit of God mif- 
 taken, when he indited the pfalms referred to in thfc 
 margin? Or has the church, from the days of David to 
 the prefent time, been publicly praifing God, for fetting 
 up and maintaining among his people, a Government in- 
 confiftent with reafon and common fenfe! 
 
 Chriflians fhould alfo confider, that in thofe injunc- 
 tions, that are laid upon us in the New Teftament, to 
 be fubjed: to the higher powers. Kings are exprefsly 
 mentioned: that we are fpecially called to pray, and 
 even to give thanks for Kings: That Jefus Chrift him- 
 felf is a King, though his kingdom is not of this world: 
 and that if the kingly office among men had been a thing 
 difagreeable to God, or to reafon, the Son of God had 
 never been difgraced with the name, or with the office. 
 Chrift is even a hereditary King, fitting " on the throne 
 <* of his father David, to order it, and to eftablifh it, 
 *< from henceforth and for ever." They fhould confi- 
 der, that there are many promifes and prophecies, con- 
 tained in the word of God, and which we hope to fee 
 accomplifhed in due time, more fully than they have 
 ever yet been, that plainly and neceffiarily fuppofe the 
 continued exiftence of Kings, and their acftivity in pro- 
 moting the interefts of Chrift. " Kings fliall be nurf- 
 ing fathers, and their Queens nurfing mothers" to the 
 church. *' All Kings fhall bow down before Chriftj - 
 " and all nations fhali ferve him. The; Kings of the 
 <' earth fhall bring their glory and honour into" the 
 cicw Jerufalemf. In anfwer, therefore, to thofe, jyi^l^p. j, 
 * I King;sx. 9. f See Ifa. XI4, 33. ?!. Ixxii. 11. Eev. xxi 24.
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 exprefs their hopes, that Monarchy fliall foon be abo- 
 IKhed, in all the nations of the world, we rejoice in de- 
 claring our firm aflurance, that while Chrifl: has a 
 church upon earth, and while there are nations to ferve 
 him, there (hall alfo be Kings to bow down, and they 
 Ihall bow downi before him. 
 
 Thefe arguments from fcripture, are fo plain and 
 conclufivc, in favours of limited Royalty, that Mr. Paine 
 himfelf, in various parts of his writings, feems plainly 
 enough to hint, that, along with Kingly Government, 
 the Scriptures alfo mud be extruded f. And now, 
 where his principles are reduced to pracVice, his col- 
 leagues of the rump Convention, have found it necefla- 
 ry, in order to juftify their abolition of Kings, to abo- 
 lifh Chriflianity too. What elfe could be their defign, 
 in aboUfhing the Chriftian Sabbath, which is appointed 
 by God, not only as a weekly commemoration of his^ 
 two great works, of creation and redemption, but like- 
 wife as the diftinguifhing badge of his religion: or, as 
 the Scriptures exprefs it, a ftgn between him and his 
 people y2>r ever? What elfe could they mean by dedi- 
 cating their principal churches to imaginary beings, 
 inftituting feftivals in their honour, and even in opeit 
 Convention, worfhipping a whore, adorned with the 
 emblems of Liberty? Yet thefe are the men, and this is 
 the Conftitution, which fome in Britain, and even fome 
 who pretend to be zealous Chriftians, wifli to imitate. 
 My foul i come not thou into their feerets ; unto their ajfembly^ 
 tnine hottour, be not thou unitedt 
 
 t And now hU Age of Reafon is publiflxed of purpofc to deny and rl- 
 dicale all Divine Revelation. 
 
 L 2
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 ESSAY V. 
 
 On Parliamentary Representation and 
 Reform. 
 
 jNE of the principal advantages of the Britifh Con- 
 ftitution lies in this, that one branch of the Legifla- 
 ture is compofed of reprefentatives chofen by the peo- 
 ple. Yet there is nothing that is more complained of 
 by difcontented perfons, than the prefent ftate of that 
 reprefentation. And the mode now introduced into 
 France is extolled, as, incomparably better than ours. 
 Bu,t a very moderate degree of attention will convince 
 any one, that our fyftem of reprefentation is incompa- 
 rably better than theirs. To mention only two parti- 
 culars : 
 
 I. In France, by the Gonftitution of 179*, ho perfoii 
 Was to have a voice in the primary aflemblies, but fuch 
 as contributed directly towards the expences of the ftate, 
 the value of three days labour j nor any menial fervant ; 
 nor any that was not enrolled in the national guards. 
 And no perfon could vote for the national reprefenta- 
 tives, in the elecftoral aflemblies, who was not valued, 
 on the rolls of contribution, at an yearly revenue, equal, 
 at leaft, to 150 days labour. But in England, every 
 perfon is entitled to vote for a member of Parliament,^ 
 who enjoys a free income of forty {hillings a year, which 
 is not earned by fervitude: and this right is not forfeit-. 
 cd by his receiving wages. Many elei^ors in Englaud
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 pay nothing dircftly to Government: and what every 
 one pays indiredlly, it is impoiFible to determine. Thus 
 it is plain, that in England, many are elelors, who, in 
 France, could have no place, even in a primary aflem- 
 bly : and many nK>re, who could not be ehofen elec- 
 tors*. 
 
 2. In France, according to the above-mentioned Gin-/ 
 ftitution, he who was to reprefent the department in the 
 Legiflature, might be ehofen, contrary to the mind of a 
 great majority of the adlive citizens, who were entitled 
 to vote in- their primary aiTemblies: which may be 
 clearly illqftrated thus. In France, every loo aftive ci- 
 tizens were to choofe an elector. Thefe eleftors were 
 to meet in what was to be called an electoral aflembly ; 
 where the reprefentative of the department was to be 
 ehofen. Now, fuppofe this mode adopted in Britain, 
 and fuppofe the number of active citizens in any coun- 
 ty, amounts to ten thoufand; every hundred of thefe 
 is to choofe one eledlor, making an hundred in all. 
 Thefe hundred eletors are to clioofe one to reprefent 
 the county in Parliament, or, if you pleafe, in Conven- 
 tion. iSuppofe the nation, as it ufually is, divided into 
 two parties; and, for diftindtion's fake, let Mr. Pitt be 
 at the head of one party, and Mr. Fox at the head of the 
 other. Of the hundred primary aflemblies, confifting 
 of a hundred adlive citizens each, fifty-one choofe elec- 
 tors of Mr. Pitt's faction, by a majority of lixty to for- 
 ty, at a medium. It is plain, that among all thefe, 
 tliere are in Mr, Pitt's intereft, three theufand and ftxiy 
 
 * How thefe matters ft^nd in that thing called a Conditution, which 
 the prcfent Convention have framed, I know not; having never feea 
 more of it than what was exhibited in public news-papers.
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 active citizens, and tivo thonfand and forty in that of Mr. 
 Fox. The other forty-nine aflemblies choofe electors of 
 Mr. Fox's party, by a majority of eighty to twenty^ one 
 with 'another: here there muft be three thoufand nine 
 hundred and twenty citizens in favodrs of Mr. Fox, and 
 only nine hundred and eighty for Mr. Pitt. ^Thus, in the 
 whole county, Mr. Fox has fve thoufand nine hundred 
 and ftxty on his fide, while Mr. Pitt has only four thou- 
 fand afjd forty : yet the election is carried in Mr. Pitt's 
 favours, by fifty-one againft forty-nine. Thus almoft 
 ' three fifths of the active citizens are really againft the 
 perfon who is chofen to reprefent them. The difpro- 
 portion might be much greater: It is even poflible that 
 2601 might carry the election againft 7399. But, among 
 us, whoever the eleftors be, we are fure that their re- 
 prefentatives are chofen by the majority of them. 
 
 Various other raiftakes people labour under, with re- 
 gard to the affair of reprefentation, which we ftiall en- 
 deavour to redlify, by the following obfervations. 
 
 I. A man may be truly, fairly, and equitably repre- 
 fented, by one whom he has never chofen for that pur- 
 pofe. Every member of the Houfe of Commoas repre- 
 fents thofe who voted againft him, as well as them who 
 voted for him. Yea, whenever a man is chofen, he 
 ceafes to he a reprefaitative of that city or county only, 
 by which he was chofen : and becomes a reprefentative of 
 tlie Britifti people at large. And every individual among 
 tliat people is reprefented, not by any particular member 
 of Parliament onlyj but by the whole Houfe. This, 
 dodlrine has been fupported by die beft writers on our 
 Government, and by thofe moft favourable to liberty*. 
 Blackftooe' Cammcnt. v. i. p. 153.
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 There are various ways, in which a true and juft tff* 
 prcfentation may be conftituted, without the choice qf 
 thofe who are reprefented. Every man has a natural 
 right to reprefent his own family, and even his pofteri- 
 tfi to the lateft generations. As tliis right is founded 
 in the law of nature, it is recognized by the municipal 
 laws of all civilized nations. And every man exercifes 
 it in every civil tranfafkion. If I enter into any con- 
 tract, 'and do not live to fulfil it, my obligation is bind- 
 ing Upon my heirs and executors to the end of time ; 
 becaufe I tply reprefented them in that tranfaclion, 
 though it took place long before they were born. Un- 
 der the feudal fyftem, every great man was the repre- 
 fentative of his vaflals and dependents j and thus the 
 people in Britain were, in a fort, reprefented in Par- 
 liament, before a choice of reprefentatives was known. 
 By the Britifli Conflitution, the King is the reprefenta- 
 tive of the whole nation. It is the majefly and autho- 
 rity of the nation, that is colle<5led, andi centers in his 
 perfon. It is in the name of the whole nation, that he 
 tranfadts with foreign powers, whether in making peace 
 or v/ar, or alliances of any kind: and as a proof that 
 every individual is included in this reprefentation, every 
 one in tlie nation is as much bound by the King's tranf- 
 aftions as himfelf is. Yet I need not add, that there 
 is not a perfon now alive in the nation, that had any 
 a6live hand in choofing him to he King. 
 
 To Chrifllans we may addrefs an argument of ftill 
 greater weiglit, in fupport of reprefentatioji, where tlierc 
 has been no ele<flion. Every one who adheres to the 
 Proteftaiit dolrine, as laid down in the ftandards, ei- 
 ther of the church of England, or of the church of Scot-
 
 ( 80 ) . 
 
 fand, muft believe, that, by a tranfa^ion co-eval with 
 the world itfelf, Adam was conftituted tlie federal re" 
 Jjrefentative of all his pofterity: and that, by a fimilar 
 tranfa<5lion, prior to that date, the Son of God became 
 the reprefentative of his fpiritual feed. In neither of 
 thefe cafes could the perfons reprefented have any 
 choice*, becaufe none of them had any being. And 
 therefore, if the choice of conftituents is of abfolutc 
 neceffity, both thefe traiifa<^ions muft have been unjuft* 
 Some of thofe who are moft zealous, in favour of our 
 new fyftem of politics, will be perfectly aware of thd 
 force of this argument: and, to avoid it, deny that any 
 fuch tranfaftion ever exifted. lliat they may be con* 
 fiftent with themfelves, they go further, and deny the 
 divinity of Chrift, his vicarious fatisfaiStion, the divane 
 infpiratiort of the holy Scriptures, and all the moft im- 
 portant articles of the Chriftian faith. Yet thefe arc 
 the men, with whom fome well-meaning Calvinifts af- 
 fociate themfelves, in our prefent difputes; without 
 being aware, that if they adhere to Dr. Prieftly's political 
 creed, they muft likewife adopt his religious fyftem, in 
 order to beconfiftent with themfelves. 
 
 II. It follows from w*hat has been faid, that a man 
 may be rightfully and equitably bound, to obey laws, 
 in the making of which he never had any fliare, eithef 
 by himfelf, or by any whom he had chofen to reprefent 
 him. However plaufible, in point of theory, that mai* 
 im be, that men cannot be bound by any laws, to the 
 making of which they have not given their confent, by 
 themfelves, or their chofen reprefentatiyes ; it is a max- 
 im, that, fo far as ever I could learn, was never heard 
 of, till after the commencement of our difputes with,
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 the Colonics in America. ,lt'^vn& nerer reduced to 
 practice, before that time, nor fince^ ia Britain, nor in 
 tj America, nor in France, nor in any other part of the 
 ?>iT world. I may venture to fay, that it ne^'er will be re- 
 duced to praftice; becaufe I am abfolutely fure it never 
 can. Muft not every man, in every country, be fubjet 
 to laws that were made before he was born, or capable 
 to choofe a reprefentative ? Are not the poor, who can 
 contribute notiTing to the fupport of Government, fub- 
 jel to the laws, as well as the rich? And is not the 
 protection of the laws more neceflary to tliofe, than to 
 tliefe? Are not minors fubjet to thg laws, as well as 
 perfons come to age? Above all, are not all women 
 members of fociety, fubjeCl to the laws of their coun- 
 try, and contributing to the fupport of Government, di- 
 rcftly or indirectly ? Are they not entitled to all the 
 unaHenable rights of human creatures, as well as men ? 
 How comes it, then, that in fuch an age of gallantry, 
 no man appears for the right of the ladies to choofe 
 their reprefentativesj to fit in legiflative aflemblies? 
 In a word, if ever the above maxim is put in praftice, 
 it muft be in a place, where all minors, all women, and 
 , even all gipfies and fturdy beggars, are allowed to vote in 
 .^>the choice of rcprefentatives. And, if this is one of the 
 ^/Viatural and imprefcriptible rights of man, two thirds of 
 the human fpecies muft be for ever deprived of it. 
 ,. When the fcriptures fo frequently injoin fubjedlion to 
 ithe powers that be, both in the Old Teftament and in 
 vfrftheNew, can any man believe, that they only require 
 obedience to fuch laws as have been made, either by 
 .jpourfelves or our rcprefentatives? Had the captive Jews 
 ? . any reprefentatives, in the Chalde m, or the Perfian le- 
 
 M
 
 f 82 ) 
 
 gjflature ? Had the Jews in our Saviour's days, or the 
 Chriftians of the difperfion, when Peter wrote, any re- 
 pxefentatives in the Roman fenate, or any voice in the 
 aflembHes of tliat people? Rather, had they any vote 
 in the choice of the Emperor; who, by that time, was 
 become the fole Legiflator of the Roman world ? Or do 
 tliefe palTages only bind us to fubjetion to fuch a go- 
 vernment, as never yet exifted ; and, in the nature of 
 things, never can? A new proof, this, that the total re- 
 jection of the Scriptures, and the abolition of Chriftia- 
 nity, muft be a branch of our new political fyftem, in 
 order to make it hang together. 
 
 III. It is very certain, that there never was a time, as 
 far back as hiftory can be traced, when all the inhabi- 
 tants of Britain, or of either of the two united king- 
 doms, were confidered as having a right to vote, in the 
 choice of reprefentatives, to fit in Parliament. It is 
 well known, that though Parliaments are of a very old 
 date, both in England and Scotland, parliamentary re- 
 prefentation is not fo. At what time foever the feudal 
 fyftem was introduced in Britain, it is agreed, that, ac- 
 cording to it, all the King's tenants in capite^ i. e. all 
 that held lands immediately of the Crown, were enti- 
 tled to a feat in Parliament, and none elfe. This was fo 
 ifar from being confidered as a privilege, by tlae proprie- 
 tors of fmall eftates, that it was reckoned an intole- 
 rable burden. After fundry efforts to compel their at- 
 tendance, they were allowed to be abfent, upon condi- 
 tion of fending two or more from each county, to re- 
 prefent them. "When this regulation was introduced in 
 England, is uncertain; owing to the lofs of their re- 
 cords: but it feems to be agreed that it was not before
 
 ( 83 ) 
 
 the latter end of the reign of King John, who died in 
 1216. With regard to Scotland, we can fpeak with 
 more certainty. James I. had an aft pad, in the year 
 1425, requiring the perfonal attendance of all free-hold- 
 ers. But this being found ineftedlual, another aft was 
 paft, in 1427, by which the fmall barons were exempt- 
 ed, upon condition of fending two or more wife men, 
 out of every (hire, to reprefent them': yet dill they had 
 a right to attend in perfon, if they pleafed. After all, 
 few of them attended, either by themfclves or reprcfen- 
 tatives, till the year 1587, when James VI. with much 
 difficulty, got the aft of 1427 revived. And it is on- 
 ly from that time, that there has been a regular attend- 
 ance of county reprefentatives in Scotland. 
 
 When the reprefentatives of boroughs were intro- 
 duced into Parliament is more uncertain. It appears ta 
 have been fooner than the reprefentatives of counties 
 were introduced. But this is certain, that boroughs, 
 as well as individuals, were obliged to give attendance, 
 as being the King's tenants. And the only reafon of 
 their being allowed to fend reprefentatives, was, that it 
 would have been an intolerable hardfhip, to require the 
 attendance of all the members of the corporation. It 
 (hall only be further obferved, on this head, that the 
 right of eleftion in counties, (lands upon a very differ- 
 ent footing in England, from what it does in Scotland ; 
 though both were originally the fame. It would ferve 
 little purpofe to trace the varioys fteps, by which thi 
 difference was introduced. With us, no perfon has a 
 right to vote in fuch eleftions, unlefs he holds lands of 
 the Crown, either in property, or fuperiority, amounting 
 cither to forty {hillings of old extent, or to L. 400 Scots 
 
 M Z
 
 ( 84 ) 
 
 of valued rent: whereas, beyond the border, every per- 
 fon is an elelor, who poflefTes freehold property to the 
 value of forty ftiillings flerling yearly, whether he holds 
 of the King or a fubjeft, provided he does not earn it 
 by a<51:ual fcrvitude. 
 
 When people talk of a reform in the reprefentation of 
 the people, it conveys the idea, of refloring the Conftitu- 
 tion to the fame (late in which it is fuppofed to have 
 been, before the introduction of certain corruptions, 
 which they propofe to have remedied. Hence many 
 people, who have not had opportunities of better infor- 
 mation, take it for granted, that there was a time, when 
 all the people were allowed to vote in the choice of 
 the national reprefentatives : and that this privilege has, 
 fomehow, been wrefted from them. And defigning 
 men find their account in foftering their perfuafion. 
 But nothing can be more falfe. Frflm the above ftate- 
 ment, it is manifeft, that there never was a time, when 
 a greater number of perfons were allowed to vote in 
 . fuch elel:ions. Of all the changes that have taken 
 place in our Conftitution, for many centuries back, I do 
 not recoUeCl one, that has not been favourable to the 
 people. The truth is, our Conftitution, from being ex- 
 actly fimilar to thofe of other nations in Europe, where 
 the feudal fyftem prevailed, has gradually rifen to its 
 prefent happy ftate; through a variety of changes, all 
 of which have been owing to the fuccefsful ftruggles 
 of th? fubjefts,;^ in behalf of their rights and liberties: 
 whereby we are become the envy of all neighbouring 
 nations. 
 
 I know but of orie inftance, that is condefcended up- 
 on, of degeneracy in the ftate of our reprefentation.
 
 ( 85 ) 
 It is in the cafe of the rotten boroughs, as tl*ey are 
 called. Certain towns, that were once wealthy and po-^ 
 pulous, are now fallen into decay j fo that fomc of 
 them have fcarcely the appearance of country villages. 
 Yet they continue to fend members to Parliament, as 
 before. By this means, a good number of our mem- 
 bers of Parliament are chofen by a few perfonsj while 
 many thriving and populous towns fend no reprefenta- 
 tives at all. This may be, in fome degree, a real griev- 
 ance: and, in due time I hope, a remedy may be pro- 
 vided. But there are various confiderations, which, if 
 duly attended to, might ferve to allay the clamour that 
 has been raifed about it. i. Tlie change in the flate 
 of thofe towns is not owing to Government; but has 
 gradually come about, in the courfe of Divine Provi- 
 dence. Trade and manufadures, after flourifliing, for 
 a while, in one place, have emigrated to another; and 
 thus one town has fallen into decay, and another has 
 rifen, in its (lead. Government could not prevent this- 
 nor would it have been proper to attempt it. 2. Thefe bo- 
 roughs, rotten as they are, have been long poflefled of the 
 privilege of fending members to Parliament: it is fecured 
 to them by charter: and it deferves confideration, how 
 far it would be juft to deprive them of it, without their 
 own confent; or witliout a.fuitable compenfation. 3. Thofe 
 towns that have lately rifen to opulence, and fend no 
 members to Parliament, are not unreprefented. Every 
 perfon in thofe towns, that is worth forty fliillings year- 
 ly, has a vote for the county members. 4. Whatever 
 complaints the people of England may have on this 
 head, we in Scotland have little ground for any. None 
 of thefe rotten boroughs are on our fide the Tweed j
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 and our populous manufafturing towns that have no rote 
 in eleftions, are yet but few. 
 
 IV. If it were pralicable, that all the people, of 
 every rank in Britain, fhould have an equal voice in the 
 choice of the national reprefentatives, it would not be 
 juft. This will be thought a bold aflertion; but it ad^- 
 mits of an eafy proof. All the objefts of legiflation 
 may be comprehended under thefe three, life^ iiberty, 
 and property : and every good law is intended for the fe- 
 curity of one or other of thefe. With regard to the 
 two firft, mankind are upon a level. And if our Par- 
 liament wer_e only to make laws relative to thefe^ every 
 ^ man would have an equal right to choofe reprefenta- 
 f tives. But, in making laws refpefting property, reafon 
 I dihites, that every man's influence fhould be in pro- 
 l portion to the property he poflefles. And as land is the 
 \ moft fixed kind of property, and the radical fource of 
 national wealth, it is highly reafonable, that landholders 
 fhould have a principal concern in the' making of fnch 
 laws. Now, every one fees, that for one law that mere- 
 ly refpels life or liberty, ten laws are paft for the fecu- 
 rity or regulation of property: it is neceflary that it 
 , fhould be fo. And therefore juftiee requires that a^ 
 man of property, efpecially of landed property, fhoulcf' 
 have ten votes, in the choice of legiflators, where a man 
 of no property has but one: and the more property 
 he poflelTes, he is entitled to the greater number of 
 votes. Of this the French National Affembly were fen- 
 fible; and accordingly attached two thirds of tlieir re-'' 
 prefentatives to the property, and only one third to the^* 
 population. A man, whofe mind is not warped with, 
 prejudice, nor heated with enthufiafm, however zea
 
 ( 87 ) 
 
 lous he is for his own rights as a man, can allow to 
 others thofe rights that are connefted with tliat (lation 
 ifX life, which Providence has allotted them. 
 . fV. Suppofing that a more equal reprefentation of the 
 people could be ever fo eafily obtained, it would not be 
 produlive of thofe advantages to perfons in the lower 
 ranks of life, that they are taught to expedt from it: 
 and it would produce inconveniences, of which they are 
 not aware. I do not mean to (late myfelf an enemy to 
 reform, either in this refpe6l, or in refpeft of fliortening 
 the duration of Parliaments. Perhaps both might be 
 of advantage to the nation upon the whole. But I am 
 perfuaded, that if advantages are balanced with difad- 
 vantages, and into the latter fcale are laid the difficul- 
 ties, that every thinking perfon muft fee in the way of 
 accomplifliing fuch a reform, even though all parties 
 were alike friendly to it, and the danger that might arife 
 from any alteration in our Conftitution, people's zeal 
 in that caufe will be very much cooled. To mention a 
 few inftances. 
 
 I. This reform would neither prevent nor diminlfli 
 that bribery and corruption, which are too often prac- 
 tifed at ele^ions. It would have the contrary effeft. 
 For proof of this we may appeal to fadls. In the coun- 
 ties df Scotland there are much fewer electors, in pro- 
 portion, than in thofe in England: yet there are no 
 eledlions in Britain, where there is fo little bribery and 
 corruption, or fo little riot and diffipation as in thofe of 
 the Scottilh counties. But let us fuppofe our reform ob- 
 tained, and every man in the county made an eleftor, 
 would this continue to be the cafe? Suppofe the num- 
 ber of electors, in any county, is now an hundred : fup-
 
 ( 88 ) 
 
 pofe that after the reform, they fhall amount to twen- 
 ty thoufand; and fuppofe them to be all alike honefl: 
 ftill it would he much eafier to bribe a majority of the 
 twenty thoufand ; than it is to bribe a majority of the 
 hundred. Our prefent ele^lors are men of independent 
 fortunes : and, if they were to be fold, would difdain to 
 take a fmall bribe. No man would dare to offer them 
 lefe than L. 500 a piece, one with another. And there- 
 fore, ta bribe fifty-one of the hundred, would coil him 
 L. 25500. But in the other cafe, there would be no 
 occafion to bribe gentlemen. A majority of poor la- 
 bourers and mechanics might be found, to whom twen- 
 ty (hillings would be a greater objel than L. 500 is to 
 our prefent eleftors. And therefore one might bribe a 
 majority of the twenty thoufand, by expending only 
 L.. 1 000 1 . ^The truth is, it will not be eafy to find a 
 remedy for corruption, till we can find eleflors that wilt 
 take no bribe. And furely the lefs they need it, the lefs 
 temptation they have to take it. It is not candidates 
 that are moft to blame, when a feat is obtained in this 
 way, but eleftors. No man can be fuppofed as willing 
 to give away money, as another may be to receive it.' 
 And the only reafon why gentlemen offer bribes, is be- 
 caufe they fee a probability of obtaining a feat in that 
 wayj and in no other. 
 
 It is faid, that the Court is the fource of corruption: 
 and that candidates hope to refund themfelves, by pla- 
 ces, penfions, or bribes, for all that they. expend in cor- 
 rupting their eleftors. It may eafily be believed that 
 he who buys a people will fell them again: and every 
 corrupt member of Parliament hopes to refund himfelf, 
 jull as every corrupt elector hopes to better his fortune
 
 ( 89 ) 
 
 by the bribe be rttelviiii fiiut it is moite than ten to bne 
 that both arc dHappointed. v For one eleilor that is en- 
 riched by felling his vote, ten arc reduced to poverty by 
 trufting to fuch a refourcc: and for one member of 
 Parliament that has hi? cxpfenceS refunded, by places, 
 ptenirons', or otherwrfej there are ten whofe eftates and 
 families feel the contraty, for fundry genei'ations. 
 There is no doubt but a torrupt Court will rather buy 
 off a member from th^ oppofition, than lofe sr favourite 
 meafure: and there i^ as Iitt!e dbubt; f3iat ^li imprin- 
 cipled candidate will rather bribe his eleftofs than lofe 
 his feat. But if members of Parliament were lioneft, 
 no bribe would' influence them to t^ote argainft their 
 judgment: and if ele&oT& ^fere Confcieritrous, they 
 would give their vote to no man who Ihould offer them' 
 a bribe. As foon as this is found to be the cafe, both' 
 courts and candidates will keep their money in theii* 
 pockets. Thus it appears, th^t, though neither rii6 Court 
 nor the members of Parliament are innocent, the prin- 
 cipal blame lies upon elclors; as the guilt of fin lies 
 chiefly, not upon Satan who tempts to it, but on the fin- 
 
 ''ftfef who yields to the teniptation. And if every temp- 
 tation was to coft him ten tlioufand pounds, any othei' 
 than Satan would foon ceafe to tempt, if finners would 
 ceafe to comply. 
 
 If the number of ele<^ors wetc incrcafed, there would, 
 
 fro doubt, be among them a greater numbet" of honefl: 
 
 ' then ; but there would be a greater number of rogues 
 too: for I have never yet obferved, that there was a 
 greater prbpottioil of morally honeft men, in thd lowefk 
 
 raiiks of life, than among their fuperiors. And it is ab- 
 ffttd to fuppofd, that they who need money moft> will 
 
 N ' r
 
 ( 90 ) 
 
 be moft averfe to take it. It may rather be fufpedled, 
 that many of thofe who now make fuch a buflle, about 
 a more equal reprefentation of the people, are men 
 grieved to fee themfelvcs out of the way of receiving a 
 Hiare of what they think is to be had at eledlions : and 
 wifh to have a vote, only that they may have it in their 
 power to fell it to the higheft bidder. 
 . Even tliough we had a new Parliament every year, or 
 every three years, this would have no efFe<ft in prevent- 
 ing bribery. Triennial Parliaments have been tried : 
 and perhaps the nation might have fuiFered no inconve- 
 nience from their continuance. But neither do I know 
 any great inconvenience that has arifen from their being 
 made fepiennial. One reafon given for the change was, 
 that gentlemen were hurt, by the expence of fuch fre- 
 quent elections: a certain proof that they had their 
 electors to bribe then as well as now. And furely an 
 elecStion every three years would not give lefs occafion to 
 bribery, than one in feven. It would, indeed, give an 
 opportunity to a greater number of gentlemen to ruin 
 themfelves, by fetting up for members of Parliament : 
 or the fame gentlemen might do it in lefs than half the 
 time. It would procure, to corrupt eledlors, feven 
 bribes in 21 years, inflead of three: inftead of nine days 
 of riot and diflipation, in that fpace of time, the people 
 might expel one and twenty. And thofe habits of 
 drunkennefs, idlenefs, perjury, and all kinds of vice, 
 that are contrattcd at ele<Sl:ions, would gather more than 
 double Ttrength in the fame time. Were our elel:ions 
 annual, thefe confequences would follow in a threefold 
 proportion. To fome men thefe may be defirable things: 
 but furely fuch men are not the fittefl to regulate the 
 Government of nations.
 
 ( 91 ) 
 
 B'-ibery and corruption are undoubtedly cryinjaf evils: 
 and every habile method ftiould be taken to abolifh them. 
 Many good laws have been made for that purpofe: and 
 many fevere punifhments have been infli(fled upon thofe 
 who have been found to tranfgrefs them. But ftill the 
 ingenuity of wicked men has found methods to evade 
 them. If it could be found practicable to abolifh all 
 canvafRng for votes, it would be the beft mean of pre- 
 venting bribery. Wliat if an act of Parhamcn* fhould 
 pafs declaring every man incapable of a feat in the 
 Houfe of Commons, who (hould be proved to have de- 
 clared himfelf a candidate either in public or in private, 
 till he did it publicly, on the huftings, in the day of 
 eleflion? By this means no man would have it in his 
 power, either to give or to receive a bribe. Some would 
 no doubt, be difappointed, who would wifh to have a 
 feat: but they would keep their money. And I am 
 perfuaded, neither tovni nor county in Britain would 
 find themfelves at a lofs, for men both willing an4 qua- 
 lified, to accept fuch a truft, when it fhould be volunta- 
 rily offered them. 
 
 11. This propofed reform would give no fecurity to 
 the people, that the proceedings of Parliament would be 
 more agreeable to their wifhes. Our reprefentatives 
 are not, like thofe of the dates of Holland, confined to 
 a bare declaration of tlie mind of their conflituents. If 
 they were, they would have nothing to do in Parlia- 
 ment, but to vote as they had been inflrudted : Parlia- 
 ment could deliberate about nothing; but it behov- 
 ed every bill that was to be brought into the Houfe of 
 Commons, firft to be difcufTed in a public meeting of 
 the eledlors, in every, town and county in Bhtaia 
 N 2
 
 i 9^ ) 
 
 What a dead weight this would hang upon the wheels 
 of Government, every perfon of common underftanding 
 mufl fee. But with us, when a man is chofen a mem- 
 ber of Parliament, neither he nor his conftituents know 
 what bills are to be brought in, nor what arguments are 
 to be ufed, for or againft any of them. His electors can 
 therefore give him no inft:ru6lions how he is to vote in 
 any caufe; nor is he bound to follow them if they do. 
 He is t^ follow the dictates of his own judgment and 
 confcience. And whether he is chofen by many or by 
 fe\y, whether chofen every year, or every feven years, 
 his judgment is neither more nor lefs likely to coin- 
 cide with the judj^nent of the multitude. Thisji by 
 the way. Chews what we ought to think of thofe men, 
 who, in order to obtain their elefUon, cajole their con- 
 ftituents with promifes to follow their in{lrulions, 
 The mofl favourable opinion we can have of tliem is, 
 that they make fuch promifes with a fixed refolution to , 
 break them; for unlefs this is the cafe, they muft re- 
 folve never to pay any regard to their own confcience 
 or judgment. 
 
 III. This reform could have no tendency to reduce our 
 taxes, nor to prevent our entering into^ new wars, by 
 which our burdens may be increafed. With regard to 
 prefent ta)^es, I, (halj fp?%H more fully hereafter. With 
 regard to waf : if the nation were threatened by a fo- 
 reign enemy, if any neighbouring nation Ihould cramp 
 our trade, ox, ptherwife injure or infult us, I am per- 
 fij^ded the people of l^ritain have rnore fpirit, th^n to 
 ifuffier, ijt without defending themfelves. Suppofing th^ 
 body of tlie people averfe to war, it is plain from what 
 has been faid, that tliis reform gives no additional fecvi-
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 rity, that Parliament will be of the fame mind. But eve- 
 ry one who knows any thing of our hiftory muft have 
 perceived, tliat the people have always been as much in- 
 clined to war as either Court or Parliament. The wars, 
 in the days of Kiug William and Queen Anne, were 
 undoubtedly popular. Nor was there ever any meafure 
 of adminiftration, fince the Revolution, more unpopular 
 than the peace in the latter end of Queen Anne's reign. 
 Yet, by thefe wars the foundation of the fyftem of na- 
 tional debt wi^s laid. The war which terminated in the 
 year 1763, was undoubtedly the war of the people: and, 
 tliough the peace of that year was the moft honourable 
 and advantageous to Britain, of any that ever fhe enter- 
 ed into, it may be well remembered how much it was 
 blamed by the people. Indeed, if all the people in Bri- 
 tain could be made, inftead of electors, members of Par- 
 liament, there is much reafon to think that we would be 
 engaged in more wars than ever. 
 
 IV. Experience fhews that we who have no vote in 
 choofing members of Parliament, fuifer no inconveni- 
 cace on that account: and we may be well aflured, that 
 if we couJd obtain a vote, it would be of no folid advan- 
 tage to us. The town of Jedburgh has a vote, and the 
 town of Hawick has none. Are the people of Hawick 
 fubje^ to any opprefllve laws, from which they of Jed- 
 burgh are free ? Are trade, manufactures, or any ufcful 
 improvement in a more flouriflnng ftate there than here? 
 Or what have we to complain of, that does not lie equal- 
 ly heavy upon them? On the contrary, is it not mani- 
 feft, through all Britain, that thofe towns that have no 
 concern in eletions, have rifen to opulence, and ar 
 rifing apace, while many of our Parliament boroughs
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 are lolling in indolence, ftrutting in pride, and finking 
 into infignificance? Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchel* 
 ter, Paifley, permit me to add, Hawick, and Galafhielsj 
 are inftances of the former: inftances of the latter are 
 too common to require fpecification. Perhaps other 
 caufes may concur, in producing this effect ; but I am 
 perfuaded it is not a little furthered by the exemption 
 of thofe towns from the hurry and buflle, the riot and 
 diffipatiouy the corruption, perjury, and chicanery, that 
 too frequently attend eleftions. Should we in this 
 tOAsm, for inftance, ever obtain a vote in eleftions, it 
 could not better our condition. Wc might indeed have 
 an opportunity of fpending a week or two, once in 
 feven years, in drunkennefs and debauchery, without 
 much expence to ourfelves. We might have canvaC- 
 fing and cajoling, and fwearing and bribing among 
 us, as our neighbours have, on every fuch occafion. 
 Perhaps we might now and tlien have the pleafure of 
 feeing our magiftrates degraded, our privileges fufpend- 
 ed, and commiffioners appointed by a court of juftice, 
 to manage our public funds for feven years j as a pu- 
 nifhment for our corruption. Our people, who now 
 quietly mind their own bufincfs, and by honeft induf- 
 try make a decent provifion for their famiUes, would 
 acquire habits of idlenefs and vice. Our trade and ma- 
 nufactures would decline apace; and we would foon be 
 remarkable for nothing but poverty and pride. Unlefs 
 we really wifh for fuch a change, we had much better 
 content ourfelves as we are. 
 
 V. Befides all this, we in Scotland fliould confider, that 
 if advantage is to be derived from a reform in Parlia- 
 ment, we could not enjoy an equal fhare of it. We ar
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 limited by the Union, to forty-five members in the Houfe 
 of Commons. Suppofing, as has been propofed, that^ 
 one hundred nxore members were added to that Hou&, , 
 our proportion of thefe would be no more than eight. 
 And what advantage would we gain, by having eight ^ 
 more nofcs to ftiew .* Perhaps we may be for breaking 
 the Union, in hope of fending . mare, reprefentatives ta 
 Parliament J as, now-a-days, little regard is paid to trea-. 
 ties entered into by our forefathers j but how do we 
 know that our Englifh brethren will be equally willing, 
 to break it in this article. Perhaps we only want an in-, 
 creafe of the number of electors, not of reprefentatives; 
 but what would that do for us? Is tliere any reafon to 
 think, that they who fliould be chofen by the many, 
 would be more worthy of the truft, or would difcharge 
 it better, than they who have heretofore been chofen by, 
 the few? In Scotland, a much fmaller proportion of the. 
 people are eledlors than in England : but has there been, 
 fince the Union, a fmaller proportion of honeft men, anji 
 friends to their country, among the Scottifh, than among 
 the Englifli members? 
 
 Upon the whole, the principal thing to be attended 
 to, in the matter of reprefentation is, that the members 
 of the Houfe of Commons, being chofen from among 
 the people, Ihould never have an intcreft oppofite tO' 
 theirs; nor have it in their power to aggrandize or en- 
 j-ich themfelves at their expence. While tliey can make 
 no laws, that fliall not affeft themfelves, as much as 
 their fellow-fubjefts, it is comparatively of very fmall im- 
 portance, who their eleftors be. They will always be at- 
 tentive to the interefts of the people, and will oppofe 
 every oppreflive law, for their own fakes.
 
 ( 96 ) 
 
 VI. Stipptifing the propofed reform to be^feffi'^^BJli^^ 
 and neceffary, this is furely no time fo^ driving fuch a 
 meafure. The nation is engaged in wat; the legifla- 
 ttrfe^ as well as adminiftration, muft have their attention 
 fcngag'ed to that, and other matters of ptefent neceflity'. 
 And they cannot have fuch leifure to deliberate upoii 
 the bufinefs of reform, as the importance of the affair 
 would require. Things may appear eafy in thebfy, 
 which are found very difficult when we come to reducd 
 them (o pralice. And, as no plan of reform has yet 
 teen propofedy by our Friends of the People^ it is impof- 
 fiWe for thcim td forefce what difficulties may occui*, 
 cither in the formation of the plan, or in the execution 
 of it: more efpecially as few of them have ever had an 
 opportunity to know much about affiiirs of ftate. How 
 many, for inftance, are to be added to the number of 
 our reprefentatives ? Who are to have a right to be 
 dedlors ? What number of people are to fend a member 
 ttj Parliament ; or how fhall the numbers, at each" 
 eleftion be afcertained, as they are always flufbuating ? 
 What proportion of the reprefentation ffiall be attached 
 to the foil; what to property, and what to population ? 
 And how are thefe diffi?rences to be; afcertained ? How 
 fhall the proportion" between England and Scotland be' 
 fixed to mutual fatisfaliort ? What compenfation fliall- 
 be given to our rotten boroughs, for the lofs of their' 
 privileges, or to our freeholders, for dividing their rights* 
 \*TtH the multitude ? Above all, how fhall the balance of 
 our Conftitution be preferved; and what fecurity ffiall we-' 
 have, that by loofmg a few pins, we ffiall not bring do'sfe'rt' 
 the whole fabric about our ears? Surely all thefe, and 
 many other difficulties that might occur, would require
 
 ( 91 > 
 
 more cklibcratlon, than can ht beftowed open them at 
 the prefent crifis. 
 
 Neither can it be diflemblcd, that the prefent (late of 
 the country is very unfavourable to fuch an attempt. 
 The minds of men are now as much divided about poli- 
 tical fubjecls, as they have long been about matters of 
 religion. Some are for a reform, and others againft it. 
 Some will have it now, and others at a more conveni- 
 ent time. Some will have Royalty abolifhed, and all ti* 
 ties of honour: and fome will be fatisfied with a more 
 equal reprefentation in the Houfe of Commons. Some 
 will have annual Parliaments, and fome wifh them only 
 triennial. Some cry out of one thing, and fome of ano- 
 ther: every one complains moft loudly of what bears 
 hardeft upon himfelf. And perhaps our Reformers 
 themfelves would not eafily agree among themfelves, as 
 to what degree of reformation fhould be adopted. 
 
 But what, above all other things, renders this at- 
 tempt unfeafonable at this time, is, that they whg are 
 moft clamorous for a reform, only wifh for it as a ftep 
 towards the total overthrow of our Conftitution, and the 
 reducing to praftice the whole fyftem difleminated by 
 Thomas Paine and his followers. Charity obliges us 
 lo think, that there are many who are prevailed witli, 
 ^/tti the fimplicity of tlieir hearts, to join the cry for re- 
 form, who would abhor the thoughts of deftroying the 
 Conftitution. But is there, any doubt that the leaders 
 of our new aflbciations, adopted Paine's principles with- 
 out referve, and avowed themfelves advocates for a to- 
 tal revolution, till they found Govertiment in earneft to 
 punifli the feditious? And if they durft, would they 
 not be as loud ftill for a rcA'olutron,- as they now are for 
 
 O
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 a reform? They hope, that if a reform to their miud 
 could be obtained, a few more men might be got into 
 Parliament, of their own kidney 5 and then they would 
 find it eafier to execut^. th^. r^jB; of, thepir .plan. . ^f? 
 have a few atheifts, murderers, and pick-pockets 5 a 
 few difcontentcd, ambitious, and turbulent men in 
 Britain, as well as in other nations. Thefe men fee 
 what fuccefs their brethren elfewhere have had, in 
 worming themfelves into power, in overturning all go- 
 vernment and all religion, in deftroying liberty, pro- 
 perty, and perfonal fecurity, and in bringing to the 
 guillotine all who were objei^s of their emulation or 
 refentment. There ambition is hereby fet on fire. 
 They long to tafte the fweets of arbitrary power: and 
 they do not yet defpair of turning this land of liberty 
 kito another fcene of confufion, blood, and horror, for 
 that purpofe. While fuch hopes are entertained, is 
 this a time to talk of reform ? 
 
 . VII. If this reform were botli necelTary and feafon- 
 able, the methods taken to obtain it are far from being 
 warrantable. They are pregnant with mifchief. To 
 form focieties or aflbeiations, in different parts of the 
 united kingdom, under whatever defignation, to choofe 
 deputies in thefe focieties, of thefe deputies, togetheiv- 
 with others from a neighbouring kingdom, to ere(St 
 a Convention, >and in that Convention to difcufs the 
 bufinefs of the nation at large, and concert meafures, in 
 avowed oppofition to the conilituted authorities; what 
 is all this, but to fet up a Government witliin a Govern- 
 ment? Do not thefe men ufurp the authority of Parlia- 
 ment; and praiElically declare, that if Parliament will 
 not come into their meafures, they mean to carry them
 
 i 99 ) 
 
 by force; yea, to execute as well as to 6nal by theif 
 own authority, if they can but make their party ftrong 
 enough? If fuch proceedings are not punifhable by 
 law, it muft only be, becaufe nothing of the kind hav- 
 ing ever b6en attempted in former tfmes, there has 
 never been otrcafion to make any law againft them. The 
 permifTion of fuch enormities is the ftrongeft evidence^ 
 that, inftead of a tyrannical Government, we live under 
 the mildeft on earth*. 
 
 For the meeting of the French Convention- there was 
 fome reafbn*, becaufe the fecond National Aflembly had 
 fo much wifdom left as to diflblve themfelves, and de- 
 fert the helm which they could no longer guide: and 
 they left no conflituted authority in France. But to fet 
 up the image of the French Convention among r/j, while 
 the known and eftablifhed authorities remain, is the 
 moft flagrant attempt that ever was made, to fubvert al^ 
 order, and introduce confufion and every evil work. 
 
 The Britifh people have an unqueftioned right to 
 petition the King or either Houfe of Parliament. Their 
 petitions, however unrcafonable, if but conceived vet 
 decent terms, will be received: and if they are reafon- 
 able, I hope they will be granted. But furely the Legif- 
 lature muft have a right to determine whether petitions 
 {hall be granted or not: otherwife why petitJort them?" 
 It is among the other excellencies of our Conftitution, 
 that it has the principles of reform within kfi^f. ff 4e- 
 
 Since writing the above, I atn happy to hear that the Magiftratea 
 of the city and coanty of Edinburgh, have prohibited the meeting of the- 
 pretended Convention in their bounds: for which they dcfcrvedly have 
 the thanks of the friendt of tranquillity and order, both there and i& 
 other places. 
 
 O 2
 
 ( ?<?o ) 
 
 fe^s Ihould be found in it, or (hould creep into it, 
 through the lapfe of time, as nothing human is either per- 
 fect pr permanent, it belongs to the Legiflature to reform 
 thefe defects: they hav^ powgr to do h; and I hope they 
 will do it, if dutifully applied to. But to attempt to over- 
 awe the Legiflature, and influence by clamour, or by the 
 appearance of numbers, theiy decifions,'-^vvhat is it, but 
 an attempt, an impotent, afternpt I hope it will prove, tp 
 deftroy their authority, and put the a<Slual exejrcife ^f fo- 
 vereignty in the hands of the populace ? 
 
 From the time that the Jacobin Club at Paris, in con- 
 cert with other aflbciations of the fame fort in other parts 
 of the kingdom, and in conjunction with the mob of Pa- 
 ris, took upon them to decide upon the general bufmefs 
 of the nation, and to prefcribe meafures to what was cal- 
 led, the Ijegiflative Aflembly, every thing has ruOied into 
 confufion in France. The prefent Convention, ever fince 
 it met, has been no more than a tool in the hands of the 
 Jacobin Club and the Paris rabble: and the world has 
 been witnefs to the dreadful confequences. Similar caufes 
 will always produce fimilar effets. If ever our clubs and 
 conventions fiiall become fo powerful as to be able to dic- 
 tate to Parliament, or if Parliament fliall become fo weak, 
 in point of intellects, as to fufFer them to attempt it with 
 impunity, that day will put an end to all regular govern^ 
 ment and fubordination among us. Our happy Conftitu- 
 tion, the work of ages, and the admiration of mankind, 
 will go to wreck in one hour : and the fame fcene will be 
 aCted here, that has been in rehearfal, for eighteen months 
 paft, on the other fide o the channel.
 
 ( iQ' ) 
 
 ESSAY VI. 
 On Liberty and Equality. 
 
 .*t rTX7HAT!" iuy our modern innovators, fhall we 
 ^* ^ * be precluded from feeking the redrefs of our 
 grievances, in what way, or by what means we pleafe? 
 Arc not Jiberty and equality the natural rights of men? 
 And who fhall deprive us of the one, or of th? other?" 
 Liberty is, doubtlefs, one of the mofl valu-able earthly blef- 
 fings; but, like all others, it is liable to be abufed. Often 
 has it been employed as a cloVe of licentioufnefs : but it 
 is only of late, that it has been coupled with equality. Let 
 us examine, with candour, this new aiTociation. 
 
 Liberty is one of thofe things of which every man ha* 
 fome kind of conception, but which no man finds it eafy 
 to define. Faffing over the various defcriptions that have 
 been given of it, it is manifeft that perfect liberty muft 
 COnfift in an unlimited power of doing what one plea/es: or 
 pf following the didates of one's own will, without any 
 reftraint from without himfelf. But it is equally manifeft, 
 that this fort of liberty is competent to God only: becaufe 
 none but he has a right to, make his own fovereign will, 
 the fole rule of his anions. Or if any creature enjoy it,^ 
 it'muft be a creature, whofe will is exaaiy conformable 
 to his. The will of God is^ the fupreme rule of conducfl 
 to all rational creatures, as well as to himfelf: as none 
 but he can be independent. He made his will known to 
 the firft man, by writing his law in his lieart : but this- 
 laid no reftraint upon him till fin entered j becaufe he fol- 
 lowed his own will, in yielding obedience to hi Creator.
 
 ( 102 ) 
 
 When fin fhall be totally aboliflied in the people of Go^, 
 nd their will reftored to its primitive conformity to the 
 will of God, they will then be reftored to perfeft liberty; 
 becaufe they will fulfil their own will, in doing the will 
 of their God and Saviour: and will be incapable to take 
 pleafure in any thing that he prohibits. This is the cale^ 
 evert in this world, as far as they are fanftified : Hence, 
 like David, they walk at liberty, becaufe they feek God*s 
 precepts. This is that glorious liberty, wherewith Chrift 
 hath made us free. 
 
 But, as all men, whether faints or finners, while in this 
 life, have much corruption about them, their wills muft 
 always be inclined, more or lefs, to what is contrary to 
 God's will, and is prohibited by his law. That law, therc-^ 
 fore, will always prove a great reftraint upon the liberty 
 of mortals. Suppofing mankind to be in what is called 
 the ftate of nature, before the formation of fociety, or the 
 erel:ion of government of any kind : in that cafe, no marf 
 was under any fubjeftion to the will of any fellow-crea- 
 ture, nor was his will under any other reftraint but the 
 law of nature. Even in that ftate he could have no right 
 to kill, to lie, or do any thing elfe which God in that law 
 had forbidden. Thus, every man would have had an un-" 
 reftrained right to follow his own will, as far as it was_ j 
 agreeable to the law of nature. And this is, precifely, ^ 
 what ought to be called natural liberty. 
 
 Though this natural liberty can never be increafed by 
 any human inftitutlon; becaufe men can never have powei^ 
 to aboliftj, or to leffen tlie obligation of the law of Godt . ; 
 yet this liberty may be abridged by human authority; an(f ' 
 muft be fo, wherever fociety exifts. When any number 
 of men fet up any form of Government among' thcmfelvcsj
 
 < 03 ) 
 
 they muft not only fix certain regulations, at the firft,. 
 according to which they will be governed; but they mufl 
 likewife eftablifh, in fome hand or other, a power of mak- 
 ing laws for time to come. Every member of that fociety 
 inu|t give up his natural liberty, fo far, as not only to fub- 
 mi{ to the fundamental regulations formally agreed to by 
 the whole, but alfo to the will of thofe who form the le- 
 giflature in the fociety, in all things that are not contrary 
 tQ the law of nature. But he parts with this portion of his 
 natural liberty, only upon condition of his being fo pro- 
 tected by the community, or by thofe to whofe hands the 
 adminiftration is entrufted, that none may have power to 
 lay any reftraint upon his will, but what is laid upon him, 
 by the laws of God or of his country. This is what has 
 been called civil /liberty. 
 
 Hence it is manifeft, that no man, in the due exercife 
 Q^,reafon, will ever claim the unreftrained ufe of natural 
 liberty, in the focial (late. The will of every individual 
 muft be fubjel to the public will. But if the Govenv 
 ment Is rightly conftituted, every one has a Aifficient com- 
 peiifation for that portion of his liberty which he gives 
 up, in the protcftion which he enjoys, under the wings 
 of the law. And no man has ground to complain, while 
 no reftraint is laid upon him by the public will, but what 
 is, for the general good^ 
 
 Every one knows that all Governments are not alil^c 
 friendly to liberty. Some allow the fubjedl to retain a 
 greater flwe of his natural liberty, and fome a lefs. 
 And tjhat Government is always the beft, where moft of 
 i^is fufFered to remain, pispvided the ends of Governtnent 
 are gained. This is the very thing, that, above aH others, 
 {hews ihe ^fcdlencc of our Government, and conftitutcs
 
 ( to4 ) 
 
 ^ritifh liberty. We afe not only fecured againft fubjeliOrt 
 to the will of any marij or any fet of men, contrary to 
 law, but the law itfeif allows us to follow the dictates of 
 our own wilLin more cafes, and lays us under fewer re- 
 ftraints, than the law's of any other country do. A Britifh 
 fubjeft may do with himfelf, and with all that is his own, 
 juft what he pleafes, fo long as he does no injury to his 
 fellow^fubje<ls, or to the community at large. 
 
 It is likewife evident, that it is impoflible to frame any 
 Government in fuch a manner, as that all who live under 
 it fliould be alike free. Suppofing a Government fo per- 
 feO: as to have every law enabled, that could conduce to 
 tlie good of the nation, and no more, it is evident, that the 
 man who was moft difpofed to promote the public goodf* 
 would al'jt-ays have mod liberty j becaufe, in dclng what 
 he pleafed, he would juft do what the law required. On 
 the other hand, if there cxifted in that nation, an enemy 
 to his country, or one who wifhed to promote his own in- 
 tereft, by oppreiTmg or injurii>g his fellow-fubjedls, that 
 man would live under continual reftraint. He would be 
 a flave in the midfl of a free nation; becaufe he could ne- 
 ver follow his own will, without tranfgrefling the laws. 
 Hence it follows, that, under every good Government, 
 the moft virtuous man is always moft free: and the moft 
 v.'icked will always be under the greateft reftraint. No 
 Government can be' faid to be unfriendly to liberty, be- 
 caufe the covetous man is reftrained from ftealing, or the 
 man of blood from murder. It is the principal end of 
 laws to prevent fuch men from following the dictates 
 of their depraved will: and when laws cannot do it, 
 they mu* be reftrained by punifhments. It is therefore 
 nothing to the difadvantage of any Government, to fnid
 
 ( los ) 
 
 wicked men complaining of want of liberty under, it, 
 while the honeft, iiiduftrious, virtuous citizen feels him- 
 ielf under no rcftruint. And tljis affords no fmall pre- 
 fumption in favour of our Conftitution. They among us, 
 who, fince the days of Wilkes and libertyy have always been 
 moft clamorous for more liberty, have been the very per- 
 fons who flood moft in need of the reftraints of law. 
 
 This obfervation is peculiarly applicable to thofe men 
 who are continually harping upon the Liberty of the 
 Press. This branch of civil liberty, as well as every 
 other, however valuable, muft have its bounds. If every 
 man was to be allowed to publifh what he pleafes, with- 
 out being anfwerable for it when publiilied, as well 
 might every one be permitted to do what he will, with- 
 out being anfwerable for what he does. To every man 
 of common generofity, his reputation is as dear as his 
 life. A public flanderer, therefore is as dangerous an 
 enemy to fociety, as an aflaflin. And to give free tole- 
 ration to the one is equally as pernicious as to grar-t it to 
 the othpr. A libel upon the Conftitution and laws of 
 the country is furely as prejudicial as a Jibcl upon a pri- 
 vate character. It is a peculiar happinefs of Britifli fub- 
 jels, that every on? is at liberty freely to publifli, as 
 well as to fpeak his fcntiments, concerning public mea- 
 fures. This is an advantage to the Conftitution, and even 
 to Adminiftration; becaufe they have, thereby, an oppor- 
 tunity to avail themfelves of the wifdom of individuals, not 
 connected with Government. But this liberty may be abu- 
 fcd. A man may fpeak treafon, and why may he not 
 print it ? And if he who fpeaks it in a private company 
 may be punifhed, why (hould not he who fprcads it 
 through the whole nation by his writings ? Men of loyal.
 
 ( io6 ) 
 
 peaceable, or even moderate principles, feel themfelves un- 
 der no reflraint: and if feditious men are in high dudgeon, 
 becaufe they are not allowed to fow the feeds of rebellion 
 with impunity, it is no more to be wondered at, than a 
 thief's crying out againft the gallows. 
 
 That liberty of the prefs, which is the acknowledged 
 birth-right of every Britifli fubjedl, does not confift in be- 
 ing allowed to publifli what one pleafes, without being 
 accountable for it. But " precifely in this, that neither 
 <* courts of juftice, nor any other judges whatever, are 
 * allowed to take any notice of writings intended for the 
 prefs , but are confined to thofe which are alually puh- 
 liihed: and in thefe cafes, muft proceed by trial by 
 jury*." Of, to ufe the words of a learned judge, " It 
 confifts in laying no previous reftraints upon publica- 
 <' tions, and not in freedom from cenfure for criminal 
 <* matter when publifhed. Every freeman has an un- 
 doubted right to lay what fentiments he pleafes before 
 the public : to forbid this is to deftroy the freedom of the 
 prefs: but if he publiihes what is improper, mifchievous, 
 or illegal, he muft take the confequence of his own te- 
 *' merityf." This is all the liberty that even Mr. Erflcine 
 pleads for, in his celebrated fpeech at Mr. Paine's trial. 
 The general principles laid down in that fpeech, no man 
 in Britain will deny. His application of them to the caufe 
 he was defending, every one will excufe; becaufe, as a 
 lawyer, he would confider himfelf as bound to fay what- 
 ever he could for his client. But not one word did he fay, 
 tending to prove that Mr. Paine deferved no punifhment 
 for what he had publifhed. Only he had ufcd his privi- 
 lege, in publifhing what he pleafed: and if he had done 
 
 Dc Lolme, p. 197. f Blackft<ne' Com. vol. iv. p. ijr, iji.
 
 ( 107 ) 
 
 vrrong, was to take the confequence. Wlien I read tliat 
 fpeech, I took it for granted, that he would have been 
 liifl'ed at, by all the Friends of Mr. Paine's doftrine, as 
 having defertcd the caufe: and I dare fay, he himfelf 
 was furprifed, as well as many others, at the very diffe- 
 rent reception they, gave him. Indeed, if doctrines as ini- 
 mical to the conftitutiou and peace of any country, were 
 allowed to be publiflied in that country, with impunity, 
 there would be an end of all government, and of all order. 
 "Were Mr. Paine now to publifli any thing as inimical to 
 the French Convention, and their new-fangled Conftitu- 
 tion, he would inftantly meet with that fate which in his 
 prefent imprifonment, he has good reafon to fear is not 
 very diflant. 
 
 It is well known, that, from the Union of the two 
 Crowns, till the year 1 694, which was fix years after the 
 Revolution, nothing was fuffered to be publiflied, till it 
 had pafTed through the hands of a licenfer appointed by the 
 Court, and had received his imprimatur. This was to 
 cramp the liberty of the prefs. Yet fomething like this is 
 praclifcd to this day, in mod other nations, and even in 
 fome Republics. Among us now, after a man has pub- 
 liflied what he thinks fit, without any to interrupt him, if 
 he comes to be tried for it, it muft be by a jury of his 
 countrymen. And that jury are allowed to determine, 
 not only whether he publiflied what he is charged' with, 
 or not; but alfo whether or not it is a libel. The man 
 who defires any liberty to the prefs beyond this, mufl: have 
 a bad reafon for fuch defire. 
 
 There is ftill another kind of liberty, of which I beg 
 leave to fay a word or two. At whatever period of fo- 
 ciety, a people receives a revelation of the will of God, 
 
 P 2
 
 ( io8 ) 
 
 fuch as we believe to be contained in the Holy Scriptures', 
 this revelation mull tend, in fome refpecl, to reftrain 
 men's libert)' ; becaufe, by it the will of God is made 
 known more perfe6lly, than by the law of nature: and, as 
 it requires duties which the other did not require, fo it 
 prohibits fome things as finful, which the other could not 
 difcover to be fo. Such a i-evelation muft affeil: the legif- 
 lative authority, in every nation where it is received, as 
 well as the fubjedls. For as no human authority cart 
 enal laws inconilftent with the law of nature ; fo nei- 
 ther can human authority have any right to ena(l laws 
 contrary to revelation, which proceeds from the fame 
 divine fource. Every {)erfon, therefore, who believes 
 divine revelation, muft be freely allowed to do what 
 God requires, and to abftain from what he forbids, 
 without being reftrained in thefe matters, by the will of 
 any man, or of any fociety. This is \vhat we have been 
 accuftomed to call, religious liberty. 
 
 Divine Revelation is chiefly verfant about things that 
 could not have been known without it: and therefore 
 things that cannot properly come under the cognizance- 
 of human laws , which muft all be founded on the light 
 and law of nature. Revelation doe& neither enlarge nor 
 infringe political liberty. It nuither extends nor contrails 
 civil authority: it deftroys not, but confirms the obligation' 
 of civil and municipal laws, unlefs they are inconfi Rent 
 with the laws of God. On the other hand, the duties 
 which revelation impofes, unlefs in as far as they were 
 previoufly required by the law of nature, are fuch as could 
 have been enjoined by no human authority: nor can any 
 htiman authority infringe the liberty of Chriftians, by 
 requiring other duties of a fimilar nature. For iixftai?ce>
 
 C lop ) 
 
 God has himfclf determined how, when, and with what 
 he is to be worfiiipped : and He only had a right to do fo. 
 As no human legiflature has a right to prohibit that wor- 
 fhip which he hath inflituted; fo, if any human legiflator 
 fhould pretend to enjoin us to worfliip Him, by ceremo- 
 nies and fer^'ices which He has not required, or to em- 
 ploy in his worfliip certain days and times which he has 
 not appointed to be fo employed j the province of God is 
 thereby invaded, and the liberties of his people infrin- 
 ged. Still more guilty Ihould that man be, of what- 
 ever-civil authority he be lawfully poflelTed, who fhould 
 take upon him to increafe our liberty, by fetting us 
 free from thofe laws, which God, in the word of reve- 
 lation has impofed. Nor can any of the powers of this 
 world be guiltlefs, in .pretending to add fandlions to the 
 peculiar laWs of revelation, or to enforce obedience to 
 them by civil punifhments. This is to fuppofe, that 
 God's authority is not fufficient to produce obedience 
 to his own laws, or that the punifhments, which he has 
 denounced againft the tranfgrefTors of them, are not 
 adequate. 
 
 By revelation, God has erefted a fociety in the world, 
 which is called the church, efTentially different from all 
 focieties of human formation. She owes her being to a 
 divine inftitution: they depend, for their exiflence, upon 
 the appointments of men. They are erected, for fecu- 
 ring to mankind, in this world, fuch a degree of out-> 
 ward happinefs, as their tranfient and imperfedl efhite 
 admits of; hnt Jhe is fet up, as a nurfery for another 
 world, that men may be prepared for perfeft happinefs, 
 in the eternal flate, and fafely conduced to it. This 
 fpiritual fociety extends over all the places of the wQrl4,
 
 ( no ) 
 
 -where the Chriftian religion is received : and all who 
 make profeflion of that religion, together with their chil- 
 dren, are members of it. Their being members of it makes 
 no alteration, with refpedl to their membepfliip in civil fo- 
 ciety, but lays them under additional obligations to per- 
 form the duties of their political ftations refpectively, whe- 
 ther th^y be magiftrates or fubjefts, mailers or fervants, 
 bondmen or free. But, under whatever form of civiL 
 Government her members live, Jefus Chrift alone is her 
 King. By Him is her conftitution, and form of govern- 
 ment appointed: from Him are all her laws and ordi- 
 nances derived: and by His authority alone they are to 
 be executed. They are enforced, not by civil fanflions, 
 by punifhments to be inflidled on men's bodies, or affec- 
 ting their outward eftates; but partly by thofe whole- 
 fome cenfurcs, that He has given, for edification and not 
 for deftrul:ion-, the fevered of which is exclufion from 
 her communion ; and partly by that final fentence, which 
 Himfelf in perfon will pafs upon every man, according as 
 his works Ihall be. 
 
 Of thofe fpiritual rights and liberties^ which God, by 
 rerekition, has bellowed upon his people, they cannot 
 divert tbemfelves for the fake of fociety, as they may 
 of their natural liberty: becaufe they are a truft com- 
 mitted to them, for which they muft be anfwerable to 
 the Giver, and without which the proper form and or- 
 der of the fociety cannot be maintained. The law of ' 
 nature itfelf, from which all natural rights are derived, 
 points out civil Government, as the beft mean of fecur- 
 ing the moft valuable of thefe rights, to individuals, and 
 to fociety. '^The fame law, which gives us natural li- 
 berty and the rights depending on it, and allows us to
 
 ( '" ) 
 
 xercife thefe rights in perfon, while we have not the 
 benefit of civil Government, requires us to abridge that 
 liberty, and to give up a part of the rights belonging to 
 it, into the hands of civil rulers, for the public good, 
 as foon as fuch rulers are regularly fet up. As for reli- 
 gious liberty, and the rights depending upon it, the 
 fame revelation from which they are derived, forbids us 
 to part with any of them : exprefly requiring us to Jlattd 
 faji in the liberty nvhereioith Chriji hath ntade us free. 
 
 The want of a due attention to thefe differences, be- 
 tween thefe two forts of liberty, and the rights depen- 
 ding on them refpetively, may lead pcrfons into very 
 grofs miftakes. On the one hand, forae who have a 
 becoming zeal for religious liberty, and are aware of the 
 neceflity of contending for it, may apprehend that na- 
 tural liberty is equally inviolable; and that they fhould 
 be equally guilty in giving up any part of it. But it 
 is impoflible that the ends of the law of nature can be 
 gained, in the foclal ftate, without every individual giv- 
 ing up a portion of his natural liberty; while the ends 
 of revelation are counteracted, as fat as Chriftiail li- 
 berty is infringed. Some, on the other hand, may 
 
 imagine, that, becaufe religious liberty is as valuable as 
 civil, and civil liberty, when attacked, may be defended 
 by the fword ; therefore religious liberty muft be defend- 
 ed in the fame way. If our civil rights and liberties 
 are in real danger, they muft be fupported by fuch means 
 and weapons as are in the hands of civil fociety. But 
 our Chriftian liberty, aud the rights belonging to it, are 
 only to be defended by fuch weapons, as the word of 
 God has furnifhed us with. If any man take the fword 
 for fuch a purpofe, the King of the church has faid, he.
 
 ( 1^2 ) 
 
 fhall perifli by the fword. And equally unwarrantable 
 it is, to make ufe of any other carnal weapon* 
 
 When Satan, like a great red dragon, made war againft 
 the faints, by means of the Roman empire in its Pagan 
 ftate, they overcame himy only by the blood of the Lamby and 
 by the word of their teflimony*. Without intermeddling 
 with civil affairs, or making ufe. of any methods, which 
 carnal policy might have diflated, to procure a Govern- 
 ment n^ore favourable to their religious rights or liberties } 
 they fatisfied themfelvea with ufmg fuch means as were 
 competent to every one, in his own place and ftation, to 
 further the fpreading of the gofpel, with enjoying, among 
 themfelves, in fecret when they durft not publicly, thofe 
 privileges which belonged to them as Chriftians, with 
 obferving the ordinances of Chrift, and performing the 
 the duties which his law required, towards one another, 
 and towards all men. By thefe, and by a patient bearing 
 of all their fufferings, they contributed more to the main- 
 tenance and propagation of their religion, than ever they 
 could have done, by any of thofe means, that are em- 
 ployed in civil contefts. And the men were at length 
 aftiamed, who falfely accufed their good converfation in 
 Chrift. 
 
 Upon this principle have Seceders aled hitherto. 
 We could have no occafion for a feparation from the 
 church eftablifhed by law, if we did not think that there 
 is fomething wrong in that eftablifhment. Againft the 
 ecclefiaflical part of our Conftitution, we have always 
 borne teftimbny, as prejudicial to the liberties of Chrift 's 
 fubjels, as well as to the prerogatives of his crown. But, 
 along with this teftimony, we have ever fatisfied ourfelvea 
 Rev. xii. Ii.
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 with ptaftlfing among ourfelves thofe duties which we 
 think the law of Chrift requires; and enjoying thofe 
 liberties and privileges, that he has bequeathed to us. In 
 ithis we have met with no interruption from our civil 
 rulers: and we have never thought it neceflary to ufe any 
 other means to bring about reformation. Let us not now 
 provoke Adminiftration, and draw down perfecution upon 
 our own heads, by attempting to promote the caufe of 
 Chrift, or the interells of his fpiritual kingdom, by fuch 
 methods as himfelf never appointed for fuch a purpofe. 
 It is long fince the Spirit of God aflured us, that ecclefi- 
 afticai reform muit be brought about by other means. 
 Not hy mighty nr by poiver; but by my Spirit, faith tb^ 
 Jjord*. When God's time fhall come to pour out this 
 Spirit upon all flefh, according to his promife, tlie true 
 diftin<Slion between the kingdom of Chrift and the king- 
 doms of this world will be fully and generally known. 
 Both icings and fubjedls will count it their honour to 
 diveft themfelves of all that they have ufurped from the 
 crown of Chrift, and to defift from all oppreflion of God's 
 heritage: reformation will be brought about without noife 
 or tumult; and the ftill fmall voice of the gofpel will be of 
 more ufe for that purpofe, than all the clubs, conventions, 
 or afTociations, that ever men can form. Let us aftbciate 
 ourfelves, as we have done hitherto, for the purpofes of 
 Chriftian fellowlliip, and focial worfliip: but I tremble at 
 the tlioughts of our attempting to promote the caufe of 
 truth, or of Chriftian liberty, by joining in poHtical aflb- 
 ciations, to difturb the peace of our country, with men 
 who are as much enemies to our religion, as they are to 
 our political Coaftitution. 
 
 Zech. iv. 6.
 
 ( IM ) 
 
 Having faid this much of liberty, let us now take a 
 view of her baftard filler Equality. But here, I am a- 
 fraid, we have got Proteus by the neck. No perfon can 
 tell us what this equality is, that fome men plead for. 
 If we hunt it down in one fliape, it inftantly aflumes ano- 
 ther, and we know not what we are contending about. 
 
 If they only mean, that every good fubjet fhould en- 
 joy an equal (hare of civil liberty, an equal proteftion of 
 law, and an equal fecurity for his perfon and property, 
 this kind of equality we all admit: and, thanks to kind 
 Providence, we all enjoy it; unlefs we have forfeited it 
 by our crimes. Am not I 'as much under the protedlion 
 of the law, as the Duke of Bucckugh is ? Have not I 
 the fame fecurity for my fmall pittance, as he has for 
 his princely eftate? If any man injure me, have I not 
 the fame recourfe to the laws of my country, as he 
 would in a fimilar cafe? If his Grace himfelf ftiould 
 ever fo far change his difpofition or conduft, as to be- 
 come my oppreflbr, have I not the fame accefs to a court 
 of juftice, and the fame profpe^l of having juftice done 
 me, as he would have, if I fhould trefpafs againft him? 
 It is poflible, indeed, that a corrupt judge, influenced by 
 his rank, or his riches, might pafs an unjuft fentence 
 againft me: but it is like wife poflible, that a judge of 
 flrong feelings, fympathizing with me in the unequal 
 conteft, might give a partial decifion in my favour; o- 
 therwife the law df God had never forbidden to counte" 
 fiance a poor man in his caufe *. And, till there ceafe to 
 be corruption in human nature, no law, nor Government 
 on earth can prevent inftances of that kind. But they 
 who have made the trial can witnefs, tliat there are fewer 
 * Exod. zxiii, 3.
 
 ( "5 ) 
 fuch inftances in Britain, than under any other Go- 
 vernment in Europe: or any that ever was in itf. Nor 
 is there any doubt, that my opponent might better afford 
 to bear the expences of the law fuit, and therefore might 
 find means to protracft it till my fmall finances were ex- 
 haufted. But in that cafe I can get upon the poor's roll ; 
 and an atteftation of this by the Minifter of the parifh 
 will procure one law for nought. What can human wif- 
 dom do more, to fet us upon an equal footing, unlefs 
 there was an equal divifion of property between him- 
 and me? 
 
 Such an equality of property, we are told, they do not 
 plead for: and no man of underftanding will plead for 
 it. It may eafily be believed, that the leaders of our aflb- 
 ciations, if they could fiicceed in their ambitious views, 
 would wilh to keep the largeft fhare of the |Mroperty to 
 themfelves. But no perfon can be ignorant, that many 
 of the deluded people, whom they have prevailed with to 
 join their Societies, and fubfcribe their papers, look for- 
 ward to fuch an Equalization of Property, as one effeft 
 of the Reform expefted : and this profpeft is the principal 
 ^thing that engages them to the caufe. 
 
 Some tell us, that what they contend for^ is an equal 
 eligibility to places of power and truft under Govern- 
 ment: and this alfo, in a certain fenfe, we enjoy* The 
 law, indeed, requires certain qualifications, in thofc 
 who poflefs fuch places; but any Britifh fubjecfc may en- 
 joy them, upon qualifying himfelf as the law direts. 
 Seceder as I am, there is no law to prevent his Majefty 
 from appointing me Prime Minifteri And if he does, I 
 have it in my choice, either to accept the appointment^ 
 f See De Lolnie, Ch. xvi. throughout.
 
 ( ii6 ) 
 
 and qualify myfelf for it, by taking the oaths, and thfc 
 Sacramental Teft, as the law diredls, or adhere to my 
 principles, and refufe the appointment, becaufe I will 
 not qualify. If the alternative was between fin and fuf- 
 fering, every Chriftian fhould know what choice to make: 
 but here there is no filtering on either fide. I have only 
 to choofe, whether I fhall enjoy riches, and honour, and 
 power, at the expence of my principles, or keep a clear 
 confcience and continue as I am. To be a minifter of ftate 
 is none of the natural and unalienable rights of man: 
 and I am deprived of none of my rights, by being kept 
 from that office. 
 
 " But, though the afbual enjoyment of civil offices 
 and places is no man's right; yet eHgibility to fuch 
 << offices is every man's right, and why ffiould we be de- 
 * prived of itP" I fhall never ftand up to vindicate any 
 law or cuftom, that lays a man under fuch difabillties, 
 or prevents his enjoying any office in the ftate, on ac- 
 count of his religious opinions, provided he is otherwife 
 a good fubjeft. But, the true reafon why diflenters lie 
 under fuch difabilities, is, becaufe the Legiflature does not 
 confider them as being as good fubjel:s, and as friendly 
 to the Conftitution, as thofe of the national church. Let 
 us not confirm that prejudice, by taking part in mea- 
 fures of fedition: but let us, by exemplary loyalty, and 
 by fupporting the Conftitution of our country, againft all 
 fuch meafures, and againft all the abettors of fuch mea- 
 fures, prove ourfelves to be good fubjefts indeed. 
 
 But why ffiould we contend about a phantom.'* And 
 what elfe but a phantom is this eligibility.^ What avails 
 it me, that no law precludes me from an office, for 
 which nature never qualified me, or from which provi-
 
 < "7 ) 
 
 dence has fet me at fuch a didance, that I can never 
 have any reafonable hope of enjoying it? Unlefs we are 
 influenced by ambition, or fome other principle equally 
 fordid, this kind of equality will never be confidered by 
 us, as an objel worth contending about: much lefs an 
 obje(Sl, on account of which we may embroil our coun- 
 try, or involve it in anarcliy and confufion. 
 
 Our friends muft acknowledge, tliat they who are en- 
 trufted with the fupreme power, in any nation, muft 
 have right to nominate whom they think moft proper, 
 to inferior ofRces under them. And they cannot fay, 
 that any man is deprived of his right, becaufe he is paiTed 
 by in fuch nomination. Or will they maintain, that, 
 though no man can be born a King, one may be born a 
 Minifter of ftate, a Judge, or a General in the army ? 
 They muft likewife allow, that laws may be made, with- 
 out injuftice, excluding men, who are acknowledged 
 good fubjecls, from certain places of power, truft or dig- 
 nity in the ftate. Is not a feat in the Houfe of Com- 
 mons a place of as high truft, as any that the nation has 
 to beftow? Woixld they think it reafonable that Peers, 
 officers of excife, or commiffioners of the cuftoms, (liould 
 be rendered eligible to a feat in that Houfe? Or do they 
 think, that a man's being a Lord, or an excife officer, de- 
 prives him of any of the inviolable rights of man ? 
 
 But perhaps it is an equality of rank and dignity that 
 we wifh for. The French have abolifhed all titles of 
 ' honour, and why fhould not we? Why fliould one 
 man be called my Lord, and another his Grace, while 
 ** a better man than either is no more than plain John 
 or Thomas?" But, pray, what would be gained by 
 fuch equality^ unlefs the g^ratification of envy ? This i$
 
 ( ^^8 ) 
 
 no way neceflary to Republican Government: Rome had 
 her fenators, her patricians, and her Roman knights. 
 Thefe are the cheapeft rewards that any Government cun 
 beftow, upon thofe who have diftinguifhed themfelves 
 by public ufefulnefs: rewards which will be more va- 
 lued, by men of generous minds, than pecuniary rewards 
 would be: and, with us, they ftand upon fuch a footing, 
 as can never be hurtful to the commonwealth. We 
 have already feen of what ufe the Houfe of Lords is, in 
 the Britifh Conftitution : and what difference there is be- 
 tween our nobility and theirs in France. There wa* 
 perhaps a neceflity for fetting the French nobiUty upon 
 a new footing, for reducing their number, and abolifh- 
 ing fome of their privileges. But the total abolition of 
 all titles of honour was one of the moft foolifh als of 
 the French revolutionifts, and perhaps one of the mofk 
 ruinous. Had the people of tihat kingdom been protect- 
 ed, againft the encroachments of the Crown, by fuch a 
 nobility as ours is, their Kings had never rifen to arbi- 
 trary power. And had the throne been furrounded^ 
 adorned, and defended, by fuch a nobiKty, it had never 
 been in the power of a junto, raifed from the dregs of 
 the people, aflifted by the canaille of Paris, to have af* 
 faulted the King in his own houfe, murdered his guards, 
 thruft himfelf and his innocent family into prifon, and 
 afterwards brought them to the block; for no other 
 crime, but his having exercifed that right which was 
 referved to him by the Conftitution, which they, as well 
 as he, were fworn to maintain. I know he was charged, 
 with attempting to fubvert the Conftitution; but fup- 
 pofing that charge proved, if that was criminal in him, 
 how could they be innocent, when they overturned it at
 
 ( "9 ) 
 once? Befides^ m fupport of that, or any other charge 
 of real crimmality againft him, or againft his unhappy 
 confort, they produced no evidence, upon which any man 
 of an unbiafled judgment, would have hazarded the life 
 of Ixis dog. 
 
 But the moft rational account of this equality which 
 is now argued for, is, that it connfts in an equality of 
 pow* r, or political influence. The rovereignty, and all 
 the power of the (late is radically in the people. This 
 power the people ought to retain in their own hands. 
 And if it were Ihared by all the people, every individual 
 would be -g-g g^as ? P^'^ ^ ^ K^"g' ^"t, as we fhall be 
 allowed to cut off all women and children, and proba- 
 bly all menial fervants, the number of thofe who hare a 
 claim to the rights of man, may be computed at two 
 millions. The fovereignty therefore muft be divided 
 into as many (hares-, and of thefe every adiive citizen 
 is to po(refs one. Doubtlefs this will be very juft, 
 when once we have all Government aboIi(hed, and our- 
 felves reduced to that (late of perfedl barbarifm, towards 
 which our neighbours are faft verging. But even if this 
 were attained, an important quedion will arife, whe- 
 ther each (hall retain his portion of fovereignty in his 
 own hands, or whether it (hall be deputed in the hands 
 of reprefcntatives ? It is very probable that one part of 
 the fovereign people will be for the one method, and 
 another part for the other. The people in and about 
 London, can meet together at a few hours warning, to 
 die number of two hundred thoufand, if they can but 
 find a place large enough to contain the a(rembly. Thus 
 they can exercife their fovereignty in perfon : and pro- 
 bably they would choofe to do fo. But our fans-cullotteff
 
 ( 120 ) 
 
 in the highlands and iflands of Scotland mufl: be con* 
 tent with fending reprefentatives; for it isimpofllble for 
 them all to attend, as often as an aflembly of the people 
 Ihall be neceflary. And who fliall decide between their 
 Jjondon brethren and them ? But the idea of a whole 
 people, gathering from all parts of a country fo exten- 
 five and fo populous as Britain, to deliberate about the 
 making of laws, is fo abfurd, that it muft, of neceflity, 
 be laid afide. 
 
 If we are agreed, that the fovereignty is to be exer- 
 cifed by reprefentatives, then equality is already deftroy- 
 Cd. Each reprefentative is conftituted a legiflator, he 
 is invefted with as many portions of the fovereignty, 
 as there were aflive citizens who had a vote in choofmg 
 -liim-, while his electors themfelves fink into mere fub- 
 jeds. But fuppofe it is only meant, that every man 
 {hould have an equal right to ele<ft, and an equal influ- 
 ence in eleOiions : let us fee if even this be poflible. I 
 go to the place of eleftion, without connexions, with- 
 out dependants, and without any thing to fupport my 
 opinion, but the honefty of my intentions*, for every 
 man may be allowed to fuppofe himfelf honed. But I 
 have a rich neighbour, who happens to be in the opp3- 
 fite intereft. He comes, attended with 500 tenants, 
 and dependants, who all know that he can turn them 
 out from their farms or places, if they do not vote as he 
 does. Where now is the equality between him and me.^ 
 It cannot exift without an equality of property. 
 
 Suppofe this likewife obtained. All men come to the 
 place of ele<5lion upon a level: no one is worth one 
 farthing more than anotlier: and with perfefl: equality 
 the elelion is got thrqugh. But before the year's end.
 
 ( 121 ) 
 
 tone ttian has ifquandered his allotment of property In 
 tiot and diflipation, and another has doubled his by 
 laudable induftry. Before a new ele<Slion, we mud have 
 ^ new divifion of property. The induftrious man is to 
 be robbed of the fruit of his labour j and it muft be- 
 come the reward ctf him who is a peft to fociety, that, 
 W the elelioii they may have equal influence. Sup- 
 pofe this new divifion made; (for what is impofuble to 
 a fovereign mob?) the diflipated wretch happens to be 
 a man of abilities, can fpeak, and knows how to work 
 vipon the paffions 6f a multitude: the man of induftry 
 is a blunt, honeft fellow, who contents himfelf with 
 faying aye or no. The firft makes a vehement harangue, 
 in favours of fome unworthy candidate of his own kid- 
 ney, and is followed with huzzas, and acclamations of 
 Paine for ever. The other can only fay, " Gentlemen, 
 *< I vote for fuch a man, becaufe I know him to be an 
 <* honeft man, and a friend of his country." and no 
 tody attends to him. The libertine, of confequence, 
 carries the elei:ion by a great majority, and the friend 
 of his country is rejeled. Thus, to maintain an equa- 
 lity of influence, even in annual eledlions, we muft not 
 Only have an annual divifion of property, we muft alfo 
 bring over dame nature to our fcheme, and obtain from 
 her a decree, that all men {hall have equal abilities, or^ 
 \vhich will be much fafer, Ihall be born dunces. In 
 one word, if we are not fatisfied with that fort of equa- 
 lity, which we already enjoy in Britain, I know no other 
 fpecies of it, that can fubfift one month, amo t^ man- 
 kind, while natural talents, acquirements, and accom- 
 pliftiraents, are fo unequally diftributed* 
 
 R
 
 (122 ) 
 
 ESSAY VII. 
 
 On Taxations. 
 
 A Principal reafon why many are diflatisfied with 
 * -^ the prefent Government, is drawn from the hea- 
 vy taxes impofed for its fupport. No man will deny- 
 that our burdens are heavy : and there is no man in the 
 nation who would not wifh, if poflible, to have them 
 reduced. But before we attack the prefent fyftem, or 
 wifh to overturn it on that account, we would do well 
 to confider the few things following. 
 
 It is utterly impoflible, that any Government can be 
 fupported without funds. And, for the fupport of fuch 
 a Government as ours, the funds muft be confiderable. 
 We muft not only maintain a ftanding army, propor- 
 tionable to what is kept on foot by neighbouring ftates. 
 We muft have a fleet fufficient to protel our trade. 
 Our colonies, in different parts of the world, muft be 
 defended. And the intereft of our national debt muft 
 be paid. Little more than a century ago, the Govern- 
 ment of both kingdoms was fupported, with few taxa- 
 tions. But then we had no national debt: we had no 
 colonies: we had no ftanding armies: we had no fhips 
 of war. Merchant fhips were hired by Government, 
 for war, as they now are for tranfports. Our troops in 
 the time of war, were only raifed for a few weeks; and, 
 for the moft part, they fubfifted themfelves. A great 
 proportbn of the land, in both countries, belonged to 
 the Crown: and its revenues were confiderably augmen- 
 ted by wardfhips, efcheats, and other feudal pCrquifites.
 
 ( >23 ) 
 
 And thefe, though not levied as our taxes now are, 
 were no lefs burJenfome to the people. The nation 
 thought themfelves happy, when they could exchange 
 the one fort of burdens for the other. 
 
 It muft be acknowledged, that tlie power of taxation 
 is one branch of the power of legiflation : and wherever 
 the legiflative authority is lodged, by the Conftitution of 
 any country, there mull the power of impofing taxes be 
 lodged. Accordingly, the fcriptures exprefsly require 
 us to pay tribute, or taxations of whatever kind, to 
 every Government, to whofe lawful commands, in other 
 things, we are called to be fubjeft. It is perfetlly rea- 
 fonable that it fliould be fo. How can we, who live at 
 a diflance from the feat of Government, and know but 
 little of its affairs, be as capable to judge of what is ne- 
 ceflary for the fupport of Government, as they whom 
 the nation has chofen, to attend to this very thing? 
 And it is our peculiar happinefs, that no taxes can be 
 impofed upon us, unlefs with the confent, and even at 
 the motion, of our reprefentatives. 
 
 Heavy ^s our taxes are, we are far from being as 
 much burdened as our neighbours : even fuch of 
 them as live under a Republican Government. To be 
 convinced of this, one needs only look into any approv- 
 ed geographical grammar. In Holland, for inflance, 
 their taxes are incomparably heavier chan ours: and tliey 
 fall in a much' greater proportion upon the poor. Their 
 taxes upon merchandife are indeed eafy ; fo that their 
 richeft merchants pay little ?nore to the ftate, than, the 
 pooreft mechanic: hence cheir flourifhing trade. But 
 all the neceflaries of life are taxed. A man cannot buj; 
 a pound of meat in tie fliambles, nor a bufliel of corn ia 
 
 R 2
 
 ( 124 ) 
 
 the market, that is not fubjel to a duty. Even their pu- 
 trid and ftagnant water is not free. Every hearth, yea, 
 every human head is taxed. And a certain vnriter obfervea 
 with ju {lice, that they have nothing free, but the air they 
 breathe. In France, befides a heavy land-tax, the ^abelle, 
 or tax upon fah, was intolerable. Salt being a mono- 
 poly in the hands of Government, every family was not 
 only obliged to take, all the fait they ufed at an exorbi- 
 tant price; they were even forced to take a fixed quanti- 
 ty, whether they ufed it or not. They likewife paid a 
 poll-tax, and a tenth part of all perfonal eftates, and of 
 the income of all employments. This laft article alone, 
 would be heavier than all our taxes together. And ex- 
 cept the falt-duty, I hear not that any of thg reft have 
 been reduced, fince the Revolution. On the contrary, 
 it was one of the firft decrees of the prefent Convention, 
 that all taxes fhould continue as they were, till the na- 
 tion was, fettled. Thus, their Republican Government, 
 after confifcating, at leaft, one third of the property of 
 the nation, as belonging to the King, to emigrants, and 
 perfons guillotined, aiad nearly another third, as having 
 belonged to the church, leave the people as much bur- 
 dened as ever. They who wifh to know the ftate of 
 taxation in Spain, may perufe the book referred to in 
 the margin*. I Ihall only mention the following par^ 
 ticulars. In Madrid, the King receives one third of the 
 rent of every houfe. Corn, cattle, and all the produce 
 of the earth pays a heavy duty, every time that it is fold,, 
 according to its Aralue., And. in fome places, (for all pla- 
 ces in Spain are not taxed alilc?,) a duty of four per cent* 
 is levied upon all cattle brought into theii; cities for 
 Tovfnfend^'s journey, particularly va, ii. p. 155, 1.89.
 
 ( s ) 
 
 flaughter ; and at certain feafons of the year much more. 
 Thefe are only a few examples of the taxes that our 
 neighbours pay. Have we the fame reafon to complain 
 as they have ? 
 
 Taxes are not, in reality, fo burdenfome, as many 
 people are apt to imagine; the longer they are continu- 
 ed, they become the lighter, till they ceafe to be any 
 burden at all. This may be thought a bold aflertion; 
 but it is capable of demonftration. Let the land-tax be 
 an inftance. Suppofe it fixed, at a real two {hillings 
 in the pound, and rendered permanent. In that cafe, 
 when a man buys an eftate, he knows what it muft pay 
 to Government, he buys it with that burden upon it, and 
 the price is diminifhed accordingly. It is plain, that if 
 it is worth 27 years purchafe with that burden, it would 
 be worth 30 without it. One tenth of every eftate really 
 belongs to Government; this he does not purchafe, but 
 only the nine parts, that belonged to the former proprie- 
 tor. The fame is the cafe with him that fucceeds to it, a& 
 his father's heir. He is heir only to the nine parts that 
 were his father's; Government is not dead, and there- 
 fore continues to inherit it's own tenth part. The only 
 burden, therefore, that lies upon the proprietor of the. 
 eftate, is that of gathering in the two (hillings of yearly 
 rent that belongs to Government, along with his own 
 eighteen, and paying it in to the colleftor of the land-tax. 
 The fame may be faid of the houfe-tax, the window-tax,^ 
 and all otliers, that affct heritable property. 
 
 With regard to duties on merchandife, the cafe is ftill 
 more favourable to the trader. Suppofe, for inftance, 
 the duty on'tobacco to be is. and 3d. per pound, and that 
 it cart be imported from America at pd. The man who,
 
 ( 12^ ) 
 
 enters upon that branch of bufmefs knows it : and it is 
 the fame thing to him, as if he paid nothing but the impor- 
 tation price; witli only the two following differences. 
 Firjl^ There is a difference to the nation at large : in re- 
 gard that five eights of the money continues in the 
 country, whereas, in the other cafe, the whole would go 
 to America. Secondly^ There is a confiderable advantage 
 to the trader himfelf. Suppofe a man imports a cargo 
 of a hundred thoufand pound weight -, he pays for the 
 whole, duty included, ten thoufand pounds. He regu- 
 lates his felling price, fo as to make 5 per cent, profit, 
 upon the money laid out, and his clear gain is L. 500. 
 But if the duty was taken off, and he was only to pay 
 the importation price, he would have his whole cargo 
 for L. 3750. And his profit at the above rate of 5 per 
 cent, would be no more than L. 187 : 10. Thus all the 
 burden lying upon the merchant is only that of being a 
 falor for Government, to gather in the duty from his 
 cuflomers, and pay it to the proper oflicer. And for 
 this faftorage, he is paid L.*3i2 : 10. be fides the ad- 
 vantage of having much more money paffing thr9ugh 
 his hands. Every perfon acquainted with figures, will 
 find the above calculation jufl; and therefore, the argu- 
 <nient conclufive. The fame argument will hold, with 
 relation to every tax upon articles of trade or manufac- 
 ture; unlefs the tax raifes the price fo as to leffen the 
 demand. 
 
 But does not all this fall upon the confumer ? 
 " Though the landed gentleman and the merchant do, 
 not feel the burden, the poor labourer does, and the 
 community at large." ^No doubt, taxations laid upon 
 commodities-* muft fall upon xh& confumer; but we
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 fhould advert, that that confumer is often a foreigner. 
 Many of thofe goods, that have paid duties , to Govern- 
 ment are exported. Perhaps a drawback is allowed, 
 and, in fo far Government itfelf pays the duty. If there 
 is no drawback, the exporter hopes for a profit^ at leaft 
 equal to what he would have made, by felling his goods 
 at home: otherwife he would not give himfelf the trou- 
 ble. "Wherever he carries his goods, and whoever be- 
 comes the purchafer, he is refunded for the duty he paid 
 at home. Thus all the world affifts us in paying our 
 taxes: the burden of them falls ultimately upon the peo- 
 ple in Turkey, in Ruflia, in America, and in the Eaft- 
 Indies, as well as upon ourfelves. And till we fcnowi 
 what proportion of fuch commodities is exported, it is. 
 impoflible to compute what fhare of the burden lies upon 
 the people at home. 
 
 Not only does our fyftem of taxation raife the price 
 of thofe commodities that are taxed; it tends to lower 
 the value of money, and fo to raife the price of things 
 tliat pay no duty, almoH'in the fame proportion with 
 tilings that do. He that deals in articles not taxed, con- 
 liimes a part of thofe things tliat are. To enable him 
 to purchafe thefe, he advances his price too; and, in- 
 ftead of being a lofer, he gains, upon the whole. Even 
 the price of labour is raifed, almoft in the fame propor- 
 tion with things that pay duty, and the labourer and the 
 mechanic are in better circumftances than if there were 
 no taxes to pay. 
 
 The wifdom of our Legiflature appears in this, that, 
 as far back, at leaft, as my remembrance carries me, 
 they have impofed few taxes that afFed the poor, or 
 thofe in the lower ranks of life. The produce of the
 
 ( 128 ) 
 
 ground is not taxed: and very few of the nece^aries of 
 life. A labouring man, who earns fourteen or fifteen 
 pounds a year; and lays it out upon the maintenance of 
 his family, if they are content to live upon the produce 
 of the country, and to be clad, as their fathers were^ 
 in their own manufalure, may live without paying five 
 {hillings to Government, diredlly of indireftly, through 
 the year; whereas his income is confiderably better than 
 it would have been, if there had been fewer taxes to pay. 
 If people, in any rank of life, will enjoy luxuries, it is 
 reafonable that they pay for them. Thus it appearSj 
 that though taxes newly impofed mull be burdenfome; 
 becaufe they take from the people fo much of what was 
 formerly their own; yet the longer they continue, they 
 become the lighter-: and, in procefs of time, they ceafe 
 to be a burden at all. The people, indeed, have money 
 among their hands that is not theif own, and muft h6 
 paid to Government. But they know it: and it is no 
 more hardfhip to them, than it is to the farmer to pay 
 his rent. Yea, as the farmer expefts a pfofit to him*, 
 felf, proportioned to the tent that he pays; fo the peopk 
 really enjoy a profit upon their induftty, in proportion td 
 the taxes they pay. ' 
 
 This reafoning may not be readily comprehended hf 
 fome: and others will find it fo different ffom what 
 they have been accuftomed to hear, that demon (Iratiorl 
 itfelf will not convince them of its juftice. But let us 
 appeal to experience. A perfon who remembers the 
 ftate of the country fifty years ago, and compares it with 
 the prefent, will eafily perceive, that the increafe of taxesi 
 inftead of producing a proportionable increafe of po- 
 verty and wretchednefs, has been accompanied with ant
 
 ( 129 ) 
 
 Increafe of wealth, and of its ufual concomitants^ pride 
 and luxury. The hind or the ihepherd now lives better 
 than tlie farmer did then. And the farmer now keeps 
 a better houfe than was then kept by the lord of the 
 manor. I well remember the time when fixpence a 
 day, without viluals, was confidered as good wages for 
 B labouring man: now, in the fame part of the country, 
 a (hilling is thought but moderate. If a labourer then 
 paid 5s. a year to Government, it is furely eafier for him 
 now to pay ten: for ftill he has double of what he then 
 had to live upon. Meal, which is the principal food of the 
 poor in Scotland, was feldom below is. 6d. the ftone, at 
 that time; and now it is little more than 2s. And the 
 cafe is much the fame with other things, which are ne- 
 ceflary to poor families : fo that the man who, in thofe 
 days, could maintain three perfons by his labour, will 
 now maintain four with the fame eafe, if they are pleaf- 
 cd to live now as they did then. It admits not of a 
 doubt, that labouring peopl, both in town and country, 
 now live in a better houfe, wear better clothes, feed on 
 a better diet, and fpend more in diffipatlon, than their 
 fathers did at that time. If this is not owing to the in- 
 creafe of taxes; it is, at lead, a demonftrative evidence, 
 that thefc; taxes have not made us poorer than we were ; 
 and that w are as able to bear them as our fathers were 
 to bear one hflf of them. 
 
 But, fuppofing our taxations to be as burdenfome as 
 Aey are faid to be, no change of Government could 
 make them lighter. The revenue of Britain amounts 
 to about fourteen millions yearly. Of thefe, one goes 
 to the civil lift, of which we fpoke already, and four to 
 ^c maintenance of the fleet and army, in time of peace. 
 
 S
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 No conficlerable part of this can be faved. And if any 
 perfon who will take the trouble to read the reports of 
 the commiflioners of public accounts, and to confider 
 what Parliament has done in confequence of them, he will 
 be convinced, that oeconomy is much more attended to 
 in thefe matters, tlian it was fome years ago. Thefe 
 five millions would be no burden to the nation, if we 
 had no more to raife. But the other nine millions go 
 all to pay the interefl of the national debt. And a di- 
 minution of that debt, is the only habile method to di- 
 minifh the burdens of the people. A fcheme for that 
 purpofe, perhaps the beft that human wifdom could de- 
 vife, has already been adopted by Government: and hi- 
 therto its fuccefs has more than anfwered expectation. 
 If it continues to be purfued, as I hope It will, many 
 now alive, may yet fee the national debt, immenfe as it 
 is, paid off. But it mufl be done gradually; and con- 
 fequently, we can only be relieved from our burdens by 
 degrees. 
 
 It may be objected that "new wars will always in- 
 " creafe our debt, more than it will be diminifhed 
 " by the above-mentioned fcheme." But It is de- 
 monftrated, with perfedl certainty, that if the fyftem 
 of an accumulating fund, which the Legiflature adopted 
 a few years ago, had been adopted at the Revolution, it 
 would have paid the expences of all the wars fince, and 
 left the nation without a farthing of debt. It follows, 
 therefore, that at the end of another century, if our wars 
 are not more expenfive than thofe of the lafl, and the 
 fyftem of the accumulating fund is adhered to, we fhall 
 not be more in debt than at prefent. 
 
 It is true, that a Parliament, or a Convention made
 
 ( 131 ) 
 
 up of fools, atheifts, or public robbers, might, with one 
 ftroke of a pen, abolifh all the national debt, and fet the 
 people free from all the taxes which are neceflary to pay 
 the intereft of it. But malice itfelf could not devife a 
 meafure fo ruinous to the nation. A private man who 
 becomes bankrupt, while he is able to pay his debts, is 
 juftly confidered as one of the word of villains. And 
 what could the world think of that nation, which fhould 
 follow his example? Who would ever truft us again, 
 if again we (hould need to borrow ? Or how fliould we 
 anfwer to the Judge of all the earth, for fuch a breach 
 of public faith, fuch an aft of difhonefty and fraud, as 
 the world never yet witnefled, till France fhewed 
 them lately the example? Not only would the pub- 
 lic creditors, both at home and abroad, be ruined j but 
 all credit would be ruined with them, all property funk 
 to nothing, and every individual in the nation reduced 
 to beggary. The value of land would be reduced to a 
 mere trifle. A whole eflate might be purchafed for lefs 
 than what is now it's yearly rent: and none would be 
 found to buy it. Trade and manufaftures would ceafc; 
 for no man would be able to carry them on, becaufc 
 none would have confidence to truft another. Tradef- 
 men and labourers would neither have work nor wages* 
 One private bank, in a remote corner of Scotland (at 
 Air) failed a few years ago, and how many, in different 
 parts of Britain, were ruined by that means? A few 
 private houfes have failed, fince the month of April 1 793, 
 and how many have felt the fliock? The South Sea 
 fcheme is not yet forgotten: but though all the property 
 that ever belonged to the South Sea company, had been 
 funk in the pacific ocean, what was that to the finking
 
 ( 132 ) 
 
 of almaft three hundred millions, now In the Britifh 
 funds? Though the whole ifland were fwallowed up by 
 the fea, and all the inhabitants call naked upon the deferts 
 of America, it wo^ld fcarcely prove a greater calamity. 
 
 Nothing can be more reafonable, than that all who 
 enjoy the proteclion of Government, (hould contribute, 
 according to their ability, for its fupport. And the be- 
 nefits that we derive from the Britifh Government, are 
 more than a compenfation for all the taxes we pay. Are 
 we not indebted to Government, for the prefervation 
 and fecurity of all that we poflefs ; and all that we hold 
 dear in the world? Our perfons, our wives, our chil- 
 dren, our liberty, and all our property, if it were not for 
 the interference of Government, would foon become a 
 prey to the lawlefs and difobedient; and probably fome 
 of thofe men, who are now moft diligent in telling us, 
 that we are opprefTed by Government, a thing that we 
 iliould never have fufpe<fted, if they had not told us, would 
 then become our plunderers, and oppreflbrs indeed, 
 Tlie time is not yet diftant, when in many parts of our 
 country, we were obliged to pay contributions to public 
 robbers, who lived by fpoil and rapine, for the fafety of 
 what they were pleafed to leave us. And {hall we think 
 it an hardfhip, to pay, at leaft, an equal proportion, for 
 the fupport of that Government, under whofe wings we 
 dwell fafely, every one in quiet pofleflion of his paternal 
 inheritance, or of the fruits of his own induftryj or to 
 exprefs it in tlie language of the prophet, we divelly eve- 
 ry man under his vine, and under his ^g-tree, and none to 
 Viake us afi^atd?
 
 ( 133 ) 
 
 ESSAY VIII. 
 
 On the PRESENT War, and the Stagnation 
 of Credit, as conneded with it. 
 
 T? VERY man who has either the reafon or the feel- 
 -"-' ings of humanity, will be convinced, without argu- 
 ments, that war is a bad thing: and ought to be avoided, 
 as long as it can be avoided, without incurring a greater 
 evil. Every Chriflian, in Britain, or in Europe, will 
 carneftly defire a fjpeedy termination of the prefent war, 
 and pray for it. He will even look forward, with ar- 
 dent longing, and with a lively hope, to that blefled pe- 
 riod, when nation will no more lift up fword againft na- 
 tion, neither ihafl tliey learn war any more. But it 
 muft be allowed, both by Chriftians an<i others, that 
 there are fome cafes, when war is both lawful and ne- 
 ceflary. And after all the outcry that is made againft 
 the prefent war, and all the fcurrilous abufe that has 
 been poured out upon Government, for engaging in it, 
 and for continuing it, I am perfuaded, tliat if ever Bri- 
 tain, fince (lie became one nation, was engaged in any 
 war, that could be juftified, upon the principles of juf- 
 tice, of policy, of religion, or even of necefllty, the pre-^ 
 fent is that war. 
 
 This war was neceiTary, to maintain inviolate the 
 public faith, and fulfil thofe treaties, by which the na- 
 tion has been bound, for almoft two centuries back. It 
 has long been known to all Europe, that by the treaty 
 of 1609, whereby the Dutch were fet free from the-
 
 ( 134 ) 
 yoke of Spanifli defpotlfm, and acknowledged an inde- 
 pendent (late, the navigation of the Scheldt and the 
 Meufe, was given up to them. And this treaty was 
 guaranteed, both by France and England. It is as well 
 known, though it has not been known fo long, that the 
 French Convention, on the 21ft of Nov. 1792, fent an 
 order to their General, enjoining him, to take every mea- 
 fure, for opening a free navigation of the Scheldt and 
 the Meufe: and that this order was executed, to the ut- 
 moft of their power. If France, becaufe fhe changed 
 her Government, thought herfelf free from thofe en- 
 gagements, by which the nation had fo long been bound, 
 furely that was no fufikient reafon, why Britain (hould 
 violate her faith in the fame manner; If the treaties of 
 nations are not binding, individuals may likewife violate 
 their obligations, affoon as they have it in their power: 
 and then the foundations of all focial intercourfe are 
 diflblved. Our patriots acknowledge, that by this mea- 
 fure, the trade of Amfterdam would have been ruined j 
 <* but," fay they, " the merchants of Amfterdam would 
 *< have removed to Antwerp, and their trade would 
 " have followed them." This is juft as if the Conven- 
 tion (hould alfo take pofleflion of the navigation of the 
 Thames; and then tell us, "We do you no injury: to 
 be fure we ruin the trade of London; but what of 
 ** that? Your merchants have only to come over to Pa- 
 <* ris, and there they may find that trade, which they 
 canno longer carry on in their own country." 
 
 " But that antiquated treaty was inconfiftent with 
 <* the rights of man, and therefore, is not to be regard- 
 " ed. Are not all rivers free ? Has not every nation, 
 and evry perfon an equal right to the element of wa-
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 ter, to ufe and occupy It as he pleafes ?" Perhaps it may 
 appear fo by the new philofophy; but mankind, hither- 
 to, has never thought fo : nor has the pralice of nations 
 been ever conformable to that dodlrine. Rivers, while 
 they continue within the territories of any ftate, have e- 
 ver been confidered as belonging to that ftate, and fub- 
 jel to that authority by which it is governed, as much 
 as the land on either fide of them. Yea, alk any pri- 
 vate gentleman, through whofe eftate a river flows, and 
 he will tell you, that he confiders the fifliing on that river, 
 and every other advantage that can be derived from it, 
 as his property, in the fame manner as the adjacent 
 fields, unlefs barred by previous contraft. How would 
 Britnin take it, if the Convention fhould tell her, that 
 they have the fame right as fhe has, to the navigation 
 of die Forth or the Thames? Will the French allow to 
 Holland an equal right with themfelves, to navigate the 
 Seine and the Loire? Are not narrow feas, as well as 
 rivers, confidered as fubjedi to thofe ftates, whofe domi- 
 nions lie on both fides of them ? Does not the King of 
 Denmark levy a toll on all fhips that pafs the Sound? 
 Have ever any of the nations of Europe demanded it as 
 their right, that the Turks fhould open the navigation of 
 the Straits of the Dardanelles? And was it not after a 
 long and bloody ftruggle, that Ruflia obtained a fhare in 
 the navigation of the Black Sea? "Why then (hould not 
 the people of Holland have the fame right to the naviga- 
 tion of their own rivers. And if Britain has engaged to 
 defend that right, how could (he fee it invaded, and fit 
 ftill? 
 
 But," fay they, die Dutch were not afking our 
 **froteciion in t^hat caufe: and furely it was foan
 
 ^ i3<5 ) 
 
 < enough, to enter Into a war on their account, when 
 they applied to us for that purpofe." And, pray, who 
 told you that they did not apply? Are all the fecret ne- 
 gociations of the courts and cabinets of Europe to be 
 found in the Edinburgh Gazetteer? Suppofing that they 
 did not apply to us, that was no fufficient reafon why 
 we fhould not have given them affiftance. Should I, 
 in pafllng through the ftreets, come up to a puny repub- 
 lican, of four feet high, engaged with fome brawny arif- 
 tocrat, who held him by the throat with the one hand, 
 ^d was ready to knock out his brains with the other; 
 would it be my duty to pafs on, without attempting to 
 refcue him, on pretence that he did not call out to me for 
 affiftance? Should I do fo, he would probably never 
 call out more. This was precifely the cafe, between 
 France and Holland. The Dutch, taken by furprife, 
 Snd in a ftate of confufion among themfelves, knew that 
 they were no match for France. They protefted againft 
 the invafion of their rights: but they durft do no more, 
 till they had a profpel of fome efFeftual affiftance. And 
 if Britain had not ftept in to her relief, it is probable, 
 diat Holland had been an 86th department of France, 
 before ftie could have made a formal demand of the fti- 
 poilated affiftance. 
 
 The war was proper, and necelTary, to prcferve the 
 balance of power in Europe. Was it ever confidered 
 as unwarrantable, for King William or Queen Anne, 
 to make war upon France, with a view to rcrlrain the 
 ambition of Lewis XIV. and put a fliop to the conquefts 
 he projefted ? And was it not as dangerous to Europe, 
 for a French Convention to acquire univerfal dominion, 
 as if it had been a French Monarch? They faid, indeed.
 
 ( >37 ) 
 
 tticy meant not conqueft, but fraternity. But was not 
 their fraternization a real couqueft, whatever name 
 they gave it ? "Would not France have received a greater 
 accelEon of ftrength, by the fraternization of the Auftrian 
 Netlierlands, had it continued, than fhe would if Lewis 
 had conquered them ? Were they not of more ufe to 
 France, when enjoying the privileges of native citizens, 
 than they would have been, if kept under by force, as a 
 conquered people ? Had the Convention any better right 
 to make them citizens by an armed force, than Lewis had 
 to make them his fubjedls? Or had Britain, or the other 
 allied powers, lefs reafon to prevent France from becoming 
 a too powerful neighbour, becaufe, inftead of being enfla- 
 ved by one tyrant, (he was ridden by a whole Convention ? 
 Our own fafety required that Britain fliould engage in 
 the prefent war. I (hall fay little of the danger, to which 
 we were expofed, through the attempts of French emif- 
 faries, to per\'ert the minds of the Britilh people, and to 
 excite them to fubvert the Government. That fuch at- 
 tempts were made has been denied; and from the na- 
 ture of the thing, it muft be difficult to prove it : though, 
 I believe, never any perfon denied it, but fuch as were, 
 either directly or indiredlly, under their influence. Nei- 
 ther fhall I fay much of thofe congratulatory addrefles, 
 that were fent to the French Convention, by clubs or fo- 
 cieties, in London, Rochefter, Dundee, and other part? 
 of Britain, or the prefents of cannon, and other military 
 implements, that were made themj becaufe no cogni* 
 zance has ever been taken of thefe things by any court 
 ofjuftice: though, I have no doubt, that if fuch things 
 had happened in fome former periods, the authors of 
 them would have bee^ fubjecled to the penalties of 9. 
 
 7
 
 ( ^38 ) 
 
 premunire*. But the reception given to thefe addrelfef: 
 in France, was a clear evidence, that they wiihed, and- 
 even expefted the fraternization of Britiih fubjefts, as 
 well as of our allies on the continent. Nor (hall I inGft 
 upon Dumourier's declaration, that after over-running 
 Holland, he won^d dine in London by a certain day. 
 That was only the raving of a man, whofe brain was turn- 
 ed by a tenrporary fuccefs. But all thefe things, taken" 
 together, afford, at lead, a ftrong prefumption, that Bri- 
 tain had reafon to arm in her own defence. 
 
 But we ha^'e much ftronger evrdence of this, than alF 
 thefe afford. Did not the French Convention, on the 
 19th of November 1792, adopt a' decree, by which they 
 declared, " in the nanre of the French nation, thatsthey 
 *' will grant fraternity and afriftan:;e to all thofe people, 
 " who wifh^ to procure liberty?" And what was- this, 
 but that they would afTift all difcontented perfons, to 
 throw off fubjedlion to the Governments under which 
 they lived, Ift every nation; and particularly in Britain, 
 where they well knew how many had been rendered dif- 
 contented, by the fcandalous writings of fome of them- 
 felves I Was not the decree propofed by Camboit\ adopt- 
 ed by t!ie Convention, and fent to their Generals by ex- 
 traordinary couriers, Dec. 15th', 1792, a plain declara- 
 tion of war, againft' aU Kings, and againft all people who 
 fhould' fubmit to them, or fo much as negociate with 
 them? Their -words are, " The French nation declares, 
 that it will confider as enemies-, all thofe' people, who 
 ** refufing liberty, fhall enter into accommodation, or 
 " negociation with their tyrants." And we know, that;, 
 
 The Legiflature have, at length, found it neceflary to put a flop to* 
 thefe pradiccsj by the traitcrous correfpondcrce bill.
 
 ( '39 > 
 
 ^ith them, as well as with their friends among ourfelvcs, 
 'Kings and tyrants are fynonymous terms. Had Britain 
 Hood aloof, and fuiFered them to go on, as .they were 
 doing at that time, what muft have been the confe- 
 ^uence ? They had picked a quarrel with Holland, 
 tliough (he had no King, about tlie navigation of her ri- 
 vers. . As Ii)on as that had beei fettled to their mind, 
 they would have had a fimilar quarrel with Britain, a- 
 bout the navigation of the open feas j for tliey fay, that, 
 by the navigation adi, Britain has tyrannized over 
 Trance, ever fince it was made. And their addreflers in 
 Britain would have made them v^ry welcome} perhaps 
 it would not have been long, when they would have 
 ient them an invitation, to come over .and deliver us 
 from a hereditary Monarch, tliat cod the nation a million 
 annually, and to eftablifh among us that fort of liberty 
 .and equality which now fubfills among themfelves. 
 
 ^* Yes," fay our Democrats, " That was the true 
 " caufe of the war. The Court of Britain, and all the 
 " Courts of Europe, were afraid, that if the Prench 
 ^ fliould fucceed, all the people of Eurojpe would Tiavc 
 ** followed their example: liberty and equality would 
 ** have triumphed every where, and Kings and tyranny 
 << would have become extinft." Yes, fay we again, 
 .3nd, though there had been no other jCaufe for it, the 
 war is juft and neceflary. The extindlion of Kings is 
 the deftruclion of the Britifli Conftltution: and French 
 liberty and equality include anarchy, defpotifm, maf- 
 facre, atheifm, and every abomination. To prevent the 
 entry of thefe among us, and to preferve our Conftltu- 
 tion, I truft Britons will ever confider as a fufficicnt caufcj 
 for going to war with all the world. 
 
 T 2
 
 ( MO ) 
 
 ' Sympathy for the French themfelves called aloud upon 
 Britain to enter into the war. All Europe faw, that tlic 
 whole French nation, from the King to the meaneft pea- 
 fant^ had embraced the Conftitution of 1 79 1 . All whofe 
 eyes were not blinded with prejudice faw, that the Jaco- 
 bin Club, and tlie #ommune of Paris foon became weary 
 of that Conftitution, and were determined upon the ex- 
 tinftion of royalty. Whatever they or their Conven* 
 tion fay to the contrary, every impartial perfon knows, 
 that this was the true fpring of the horrors of the 20th 
 of June, the loth of Auguft, and the 3d of September*. 
 When the National Aflembly prudently difTolved them- 
 felves, and called a general Convention, Europe faw with 
 aflonilhment, men chofen into that Convention, from the 
 dregs of the people, of the moft infamous characters, 
 the moft depraved morals, and the moft abandoned prin- 
 ciples. We faw thefe men adopting the views of the 
 mob, and of the Jacobines, overturning the Conftitution 
 \>y the roots, murdering their King, confifcating the pro- 
 perty of their fellow-fubjefts, and dooming them to pe- 
 Yilh by martial Jaw, for no other crime, but flying their 
 country to fave their life. We have feen them abolifh- 
 ing Chrifl;ianity; giving their fanCtion to polygamy, a- 
 dultery, and inceft j deftroylng all true liberty, all fecuri- 
 ty for life or property, and all law but their own wiTl} 
 and butchering almoft one half of their own number, 
 without ever a perfon being chofen to fill up the places 
 which have fo become vacant. Wc have feen revolu- 
 tions following upon revolutions, maflacres upon mafla- 
 cres, and France turned into a common fhambles for the 
 
 * See Moore's journal during a reGdence in France, lately published.
 
 ( MI ) 
 
 human fpecies. All this while, no man ^urft open 
 mouth, or breathe a whifper, againft tlie ruling party. But 
 can it be fuppofed that a whole nation b fo far infatuated 
 as to approve of fuch meafures? It is manlfeft that they 
 do not: as appears from the frequent ijifurrekions, and 
 pretended plots againft the Republic. Is it fit that Britain, 
 or any generous nation, fhould fit ftill, and not lend her 
 afliftance, to deliver that people, from the infernal clutches 
 ef fuch a band of robbers ? 
 
 " But what has Britain to do with the internal Go- 
 vemment of France? Has not that nation the fame 
 " right as any other, to regulate their own Government; 
 " and to give it what form they pleafe?" A people who 
 have no Government among them, have, no doubt, a right 
 to fet up what form of Government they pleafe : and it 
 tnufl be confefled, that France is very nearly in that con^ 
 dition. But how fliall the French people choofe a form 
 of Government for themfelves, in their prefent diftra<l- 
 cd ftate ? The lad thing tliat could be called the deed of 
 that nation, was the acceptance of the Conftitution of 
 1791. A hereditary limited Monarchy was the Govem- 
 ment that the nation tlien chofe. That choice Bri- 
 tain made no objcdlions to. She continued her con- 
 necl:ions with France, from the firft Revolution to tlic 
 loth of Attgufl 1792, without ever taking notice of her 
 change of Government, or any of her internal tranfac- 
 tions. But the Gk)vemment of France was totally over- 
 turned, on that day of horrors, by an armed mob from 
 the fuburbs of Paris. And every thing has been ma- 
 naged, fince that day, hy the influence of that mob, and 
 according to the will of their leaders. Till the voice of 
 the nation can be heard, Britain, and all the reft of the
 
 < Ml ) 
 .v/orld, have a right to confider the Conflitution of ijgi, 
 as a {landing deed: and in attempting to reftore fuch a 
 Monarchy as was fettled by that deed, Britain is only 
 fupporting the choice of that nation againft a favagc 
 banditti, by whom the nation are kept in cruel bondageu 
 The Court of Britain always difclaimed any intention of 
 meddling with the internal affairs of France, and conti- 
 nues to difclaim it. In the King's fpeech, at the opening 
 of the Parliament, Dec. 13^1, 1792, he fays, " I hav<? 
 uniformly abftained from any interference, with re- 
 fped to the internal affairs of France." And in hi 
 late declaration he ftill exprefles the fame fentiments. 
 In Lord Hood's negociations with the inhabitants of 
 Toulon, no mention is made, on either fide, of reftoring 
 abfolute Monarchy. They exprefs their unanimous 
 wifh " to adopt a Monarchic Government, as it wa$ 
 originally, hy the Conjiituent AJfembly of 1789." And 
 nipon that condition his Lordftiip takes them under the 
 protelion of Britain. Durfl: he have done fo, if he had 
 not known, that it would be agreeable to his mafter? 
 Or has ever the Court found fault with him oji that ac- 
 trount? Britain, I hope, will not lay down her arms, till 
 forae fort of Government is eftablifhed in France, ia 
 which fhe can confide, and with which fhe can treat, 
 in fome hope ;that public faith will be kept. In t;reat- 
 ing with the prefent Convention fhe can have no fuch 
 hope. When that Copvention met, tlie Girondiji party 
 prevailed, and Danton and his Mountain were held is 
 contempt. Now this lafl fadlion is the whole Conven- 
 tion-, the other have all either fuffered by the guillotine, or 
 are now in prifon, waiting their turn of that ufeful in- \ 
 ftrument. Were a treaty now concluded with the Con- |
 
 YCntion, another faction may rife up, Danton, Rote* 
 fpierre, and Legendre may likewife expiate their crime* 
 on a fcafFold, all that they have done may be difclaimed,. 
 an J Britain may be forced to arm herfelf anew*. But, 
 that ever our Court intended, to reftore abfolute Monar- 
 chy, or by force to oblige France to receive any form of 
 Gk>vernment whatever, no hnpartial man will believe. 
 
 But, aMrat^ing from all this, Britain was laid under 
 an abfolute neceflity of entering into the prefent war, in 
 order to repell the hoftilities of the French, ancl defend 
 herfelf againft their attacks. Britain took no part in 
 tlie campaign of 1792. Nor had fhe any fixed purpofd 
 of entering into the diipute, tiil the Con\'ention forced 
 her to it, by an aluah declaration of war, both againft 
 Britain and Holland, and ^n embargo laid upon all our 
 fliips in their pMfts, on the ift of Feb. 179'^. All this 
 was accompanied with a moft infolent attempt, to de- 
 tach the people of Britain from the Government, and 
 excite them to take their part againft it: in that they 
 declared themfelves in a ftate of. war, not with the Bri- 
 ti(h nation, but with the King of Englandy and the StadU 
 holder of the United Provinces. Would the friends of the 
 people really have wilhed Britain to fit ftill, and fee her 
 fliips taken, her trade ruined, her country invaded, her 
 Government fubverted, one half of her fubjets frater- 
 nized, that is, made fubjefts of France, and the other 
 half profcribed, without taking any meafures to prevent 
 it ? Surely if Adminiftration had taken fuch a courfe^ 
 they wpuld have deferved all the execrations, with whioh 
 our pfeudo-patriots load them. 
 
 Since the above was written, Dinton Robcfpjerrc and a nuxnboc 
 f hit part J, have alfo fuffcred by the guiilotiac
 
 ( 144 ) 
 
 But, though France was firft in declaring war, Bri- 
 f* tain was the real aggreflbr: as we had for fome time 
 before purfued meafures hoftile to France, and plain- 
 ** ly fhewed our intention of making war upon her." 
 So fpeak our Democrats: and they mention chiefly 
 three things, as indicating fuch an intention, ift. The 
 recalling of our ambaflador , after the loth of Auguft. 
 But our ambaffador was fent to the court of France, as 
 Handing upon the Conflltution of 1 79 1 . On that fatal 
 day, the Government of France was difTolved: and the 
 ambaflador's commiflion expired of courfe. The King 
 might have fent him new credentials, but to whom? 
 The National Aflembly had feafonably diflblved them- ' 
 felves. The prefent Convention was called, not for the 
 purpofe of adminiflration, nor yet properly for legifla- 
 tion, but merely to fettle the form of Government, and 
 give France a new Conftitution ; fo that, excepting 
 that, all that they have done has been mere ufurpation. 
 To whom, then, fhouM Britain have fent an ambaflador, 
 fince Lord Gower's recall? 2d, Britain's refufing to 
 acknowledge, or to treat with tlieir ambaflador, is men- 
 tioned as anotlier aft of hoftility. But the fame reafons 
 that juftify the former ftep, ferve alfo to juftify this. If 
 we could not fend an ambafllidor to them, furely nei- 
 ther could we receive one from them. Yet, though he 
 was not received in a public character, he was fuffered 
 to remain in London, till the fhocking news arrived of 
 the King's murder. His papers- were received : and an- 
 fwers were given into his hand, in v/hich Britain made 
 'known her demands, and the terms on which fhe was 
 willing to continue in peace, even with the Convention. 
 And all the anfwer we received was the above declara-
 
 ( MS ) 
 
 tron oF war. 3d, the Alien Bill has been reprefentcd 
 as an act of hoftility, which France had ground to rc- 
 fent. But, in that cafe, all other nations had the fame 
 provocation; for no hard{hip was laid upon French ci- 
 tizens, more than upon other foreigners. It was the 
 opinion of fome of our heft lawyers, that fuch an act 
 was needlefs; becaufe, without it, Adminiftration had 
 power to have done all that it enaled. Imlced, it 
 would feem, that foreigners were fubj2cted to little more 
 hardfhip by that at, than Britifli fubjecls are liable to by 
 cxifting laws. I am no Frenchman-, but I filfpett:, that 
 if I fhould appear in London, or even in Edinburgh, and 
 not be able to give' account of myfelf, or' of the bufi- 
 nefs upon which I came, I would be liable to be punifh- 
 ed as a vagrant. It will not be denied, that the rcafon' 
 of pafling that at, was tlie danger to which the nation 
 was expofed, frofn the attempts of French emiflaries, to 
 fpread feditious principles, and to excite fcditious prac- 
 tices, among the people. And I know it has been faid 
 that this danger was imaginary, and no fuch attempts 
 were made. But, if it was fo, why (hould the Conven- 
 tion, or their friends in Britain, have refented the mea- 
 fare? For they were only perfons of the above defcrip- 
 tion, tliat could fufFer any hardfhip by it ; uakfs it was 
 a hardftiip to tell who they were, and whence they came. 
 How it came to be aflcrted, tiiat this war was under- 
 taken by the Combined Powers, in fupport of the Popilh 
 religion, I cannot underftand; unlefs it be, that tlie 
 leaders of the faflion hope, by that means, to engage on 
 tlieir fide, fome zealous Proteftants, who wo ild other- 
 wife have taken no part in tlie caufe. All t!ie world muft 
 know, that religion lus never b.cn meutioncd iu tlie 
 
 U
 
 ( 146 ) 
 
 quarrel. And if it had, all the world fees, that It is not 
 Popery^ but Chrijlianity^ to which the Convention have 
 declared themfelves enemies. 
 
 As to what tliey fay, about putting an end to the 
 war, and withdrawing our troops, now that the inva- 
 fions of the Freitch are repelled, and they driven back 
 into their own country, it fcarcely deferves an anfwer. 
 If any farmer in the country fhould find his neighbour's 
 cattle among a field of his corn, which they had com- 
 pletely deftroyed, would he content himfelf with driving 
 them over the march, and go home and leave them there 
 without a keeper? Would he not expedl both fome re- 
 paration for the damage, and fome fecurity that they 
 would not come back? The application is obvious. 
 If the combined armies were withdrawn, a month 
 would not pafs, when the French armies would be back 
 where they were this time laft yearf. Did ever our 
 friends hear of any war, that was deferted in that man- 
 ner, or was ended any otherwife than by a treaty of 
 peace? And what nation, that has any regard, either to 
 her dignity or her credit, will enter into any treaty with 
 a band of murderers? 
 
 What is thought the ftrongeft objection againft the 
 prefent war, is drawn from its fuppofed influence upon 
 credit in the nation; and the ftagnation of trade and 
 jnanufalures, that it is faid to have occafioned. It 
 muft be allowed that every war niuft afFel trade: as it 
 muft raife the price of infurance, and oblige trading fhips 
 to wait for convoys. Nor will it be denied that the pre- 
 fent war may have contributed fomething to the fudden 
 
 t A certain proof of this wc have in the prefent ftate of Flandefs, 
 July 5th, 1794.
 
 ( 147 ) 
 ihock fuftained by credit and by trade in this country 
 fince its commencerrtent. Since the eftablilhment of 
 the commercial treaty with France, a number of our 
 inerchants and manufacturers have had large commif- 
 fions from that country. When the war broke out, fuch 
 demands ceafed of courfe: they wanted their money for 
 what they had fent over, and probably will never reco- 
 ver it. But many of our remittances from France were 
 in goods. And we might have goods from tliem, that 
 were not paid for, at the commencement of the war, as 
 well as they had from us. No man, that knows any 
 thing of the extent of our trade, can believe, tliat fuch 
 a {hock as credit has fuftained, could ever have proceed- 
 ed from a total ftoppage of all the intercourfe that ever 
 we had with France. And evidence may be produced, 
 fufficient to fatisfy any unbiafled mind, that the failures 
 which have taken place among us, were not owing, in 
 any great degree, to the war; but to other caufes, which, 
 in a very (hort time, would have produced the fame ef- 
 fect, though we had continued to enjoy profound peace. 
 My rcafons for thinking fo are the following. 
 
 ill, A committee appointed by the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, to enquire into the caufes of thefe failures, gav^ 
 this as the refult of their inquiries. This committee 
 was not all taken from one fide of the houfe: there 
 were among them members in the oppofition, as well 
 as members in the intereft of Government. Some of 
 them were men as much acquainted with matters of~ 
 trade, as any in the nation. And they doubtlefs had 
 means of information, that no private perfon can have. 
 Much credit, therefore, muft be due to their report, on 
 that head. 
 
 U 2
 
 C 148 ) 
 
 id, Such failures were not confined to Britain , btrt! 
 took place, to an equal extent, in other countries, that 
 had no concern in the war. Did we not hear of one 
 houfe in Warfaw, that failed for no lefs a fum than 
 three millions (lerling, about the fame time when our 
 own failures began ? And Poland, at that time, had nei- 
 ther war nor difturbance, nor any profpeft of either. 
 Were there not likewife capital failures in Venice, Ge- 
 noa, and other trading places? ' And every perfon con^ 
 cerned in trade can tell, that he knows as little whom to 
 trull, among his correfpondents abroad, as among thofe 
 ^t home. How could our going to war produce fuch 
 effeds aniong al* the nations of Europe? 
 
 3d, Our failures took place, and that almoft to the 
 whole extent, before it was polTible that credit could be 
 afFedled by the war. Before the American war com- 
 menced, our trade with that country was much more 
 extenfive than ever our trade with France has been : and 
 an immediate (lop was put to it, by their non-importa-p 
 tion agreements. The American war hurt our trade 
 more than any other war ever did. But the effedls of 
 it were fcarcely felt, till the year 1 779, four years after , 
 it began*, when France and Spain had joined the con- 
 federacy a2;ainft us. Laft year, the failures began within 
 ten days after the war was refolved upon. If our trade 
 fupported rtfelf during four years of the mod difiiftrous 
 war that ever Britain faw, how can any man believe 
 that it could have fuffered fo much by this war, within 
 a few months, during which we had nothing but a train ^ 
 of unexampled fuccefs ? 
 
 4th, The war with France continues: nor is there 
 any more appearance of its coming to an end, than there
 
 ( 149 ) 
 was when it firft commenced. Yet the , country b al- 
 ready beginning to recover from the (hock it fuftained. 
 Credit begins to be re-eftabliihd : trade revives apace: 
 many of the hands, that had been difcharged by manu- 
 facturers in different places, are again employed: our 
 ftaple commodities, particularly wool and cattle, are ri- 
 fmg in their prices; and there is reafon to hope, that, in 
 a little time, our fituation, in this refpedl, will be equal 
 to what it was before. Now, is it probable, that this 
 fliould be the cafe while the war continues, if the war 
 had been the fole caufe of the failures; or if it had any 
 confidcrable influence upon them? 
 
 There is all reafon to think, tliat the true caufe 
 of moft: of thefe failures, was tlie very flourifliing 
 ftate of our manufacflures and trade. Multitudes, in 
 that line, ftretched themfelves beyond their capital, in 
 hopes of growuig fuddenly rich. When demands came 
 to be made upon them, that they did not expe<^, they 
 coukl not anfwer them. Tliey were therefore under 
 the neceflity of giving up their affairs, into the hands of 
 their creditors. Their goods were, of courfe, fold be- 
 low value, and their creditors were lofers; tliough per- 
 haps, if time had been allowed them, they might have 
 fatisfied all demands, and had a confiderable furplus. 
 People in trade were connefted with one another: one 
 failure produced two or three more; and fo on, till our 
 papers were filled with bankruptcies. Trade and ma-, 
 nufaclures were at a fland: not becaufe there was no 
 demand, but becaufe confidence was gone, and no man 
 knew whom he might truft. But, as foon as things 
 come to fettle, and it is known who may be depended 
 pnj trade and manufalures, and pubiic confidence, wilj.
 
 ( 150 ) 
 
 be reflored to their former ftate, v/hether the war cort- 
 tinues or not. And every one will, at length, be con- 
 vinced, that the war was no principal caufe of the ftag- 
 nat^on. 
 
 It is almoft unneceflary to mention the malrcious in- 
 fmuation of fome, that thefe failures were purpofely 
 brought about by Government, partly by means of the 
 war, and partly by the bank of England's refufmg t(f 
 difcount bills ; in order to break the fpirit of die people; 
 and prevent their making thofe efforts in the caufe o 
 liberty, that they otherwife would have done. Is it cre- 
 dible that Government would have firft ruined credit of 
 purpofe, and then given five millions to fupport it? I 
 will not fay, that the whole was a manceuvre of thofe in 
 oppofition to Government; who*, by an unneceffary run 
 upon private banking houfes, brought about thofe fai- 
 lures of purpofe, that they might bring an odium upon 
 the war, and upon the meafures of Government. Though 
 the one aflertion would be quite as probable as the o- 
 then 
 
 -Since the w^ar was to take place, and likewife the ftag- 
 nation of trade, it was a happy circumftance, both for 
 Government and for the country, that they took place at 
 one and the fame time. On the one hand, if the manu* 
 failures had been in a flourifhing ftate, and all hands 
 employed. Government would have found no fmall ^diffi- 
 culty in procuring the necefFary recruits for the war. On 
 the other hand, had the ftagnation of trade happened in 
 the time of peace, multitudes of people, that had been 
 employed in the manufaftures, when deprived of work> 
 would have wanted the means of fubfiftence and either 
 muft have ftarved, or become an ufelefs burden on the
 
 ( ^s ) 
 
 country. Now many of thefc have an opportunity of 
 i)joying the means of life, and of being ufeful to their 
 country by enlifting in the army. Thus has the provi- 
 dence of God made the one of thefe evils an antidote 
 againft the oiher. 
 
 It is likewife urged againft the prefent war, that it is 
 impoffible it can be fuccefsful. * The French,' we are 
 told, ' poflefs incredible refources. They have plenty 
 
 * of money: all tlieir men, from i6 to 60 years of age, 
 
 * are in a ftate of requifition, trained to arms, ready 
 to join their forces, and filled with enthufiafm in the 
 
 * caufe. The Combined Powers have as yet made very 
 
 * little progrefs in France: and it will never be in their 
 
 * power to fubdue 25 millions of people.' What the 
 
 fuccefs of this or any other war may be, muft depend 
 
 upon the fovereign difpofals of the Lord of Hojls; and can 
 
 neither be forefeen nor predi<^ed bjr*' men. But if we 
 
 judge by human probability, the Combined Powers have 
 
 no reafon to defpair of fuccefs. Of the 25 millons of 
 
 people, of whom France boafted, not one fourth could 
 
 ever be, at one time, capable to bear arms. Of thefe, 
 
 how many have perifhed, within thefe two years, by the 
 
 war, by maflacres, and by the guillotine? How many 
 
 are in a ftate of baniftiment, and taking part with the 
 
 Allies.^ And how many would willingly take part a- 
 
 gainft the Convention, if they durft ? Money indeed has 
 
 not yet failed them; but it is drawn from pillage and 
 
 confifcation, the plunder of private property, and the 
 
 ruin of every real fource of public wealth. This fund 
 
 of rapine, great as it is, will foon be exhaufted; and where 
 
 vill they find a new fupply ? ^Their expences, if ac-
 
 ( 152 ) 
 counts from themfelves may be credited, amounts to ii 
 millions flerling per month, or 144 millions in one yean 
 Surely all the property that they have left in France will 
 j>ot long fupply them at that rate. 
 
 It is true, they can raife multitudes of men, hy forcing 
 ^11 that are able to bear arms to be voluttteers in the caufe. 
 But the Combined Powers can likewife arm the Peafan- 
 try in their refpedtive countries, if reduced to that necef- 
 fity: Some of them have already begun to do fo; and 
 furely there are not more men in France, than in all thofc 
 countries together. If all their men were employed in the 
 war, who will cultivate the ground? And who will fabri- 
 cate their clothes and implements of war ? A famine muft 
 neceflarily enfue: and their armies, as well as the -^o- 
 men and children left at home, muft perifli for want^ 
 How far they are already verging towards this condition, 
 themfelves beft know* But if it is not fo, in a very con- 
 fiderable degree, the world is much deceived. 
 
 If we may judge of future fuccefs by what is paft, we 
 have ftill good reafon to hope. Since Britain entered, in- 
 to the war, the Conventionifts have been driven ou^ of 
 Holland and Flanders j the allied armies have penetrated 
 into France, and taken a number of their fortified places. 
 We have deftroyed their naval force in the Mediterranean, 
 and taken the whole ifland of Corfica, except Calvi, 
 which, if not taken, is now clofely befieged. We have 
 taken all that they pofFefled in the Eaft-Indies; and ail 
 their Weft-India Iflands. In thefe fuccefles Britain has 
 had a principal Ihare, and Britain is like to reap the prin- 
 cipal advantage; as all their pofTefllons in the Eaft and 
 Weft Indies, have been fubdued by our arms, and are iA
 
 ( ii3 ) 
 
 ur pofleflion*. Some of the allied armies have, now 
 ai)d then, received a check: and when was there ever a 
 war, where the fucccfs was all on one fide? But, for 
 fundry centuries back, there has been no inilance of equal 
 fuccefs in fo fliort a time. 
 
 If our fuccefs had been lefs, that is no reafon why we 
 Ihould defert the caufe. Events muft be left to an all- 
 governing Providence; and we all know that Divine Pro- 
 yidence often permits wicked men to have fuccefs in fin. 
 Neither is that party always fuecefsful in the ifiue, that 
 had moft fuccefs in the beginning of a war. The chil- 
 dren of Benjamin were fiiccefsful in two battles, againft 
 all the other tribes of Ifrael; and in the third, tliey were 
 almoft exterminated f. And every one verfed in the 
 Britilh Hiftory knows, that, in moft of our contefts witli 
 France, France was fuecefsful in the beginning, though, 
 in the iffue, Britain was triumphant. It is not by the 
 profpedl of fuccefs, but the juftice of the caufe, that 
 our judgment fliould be formed. And when the con- 
 duct and complexion of the prefent rulers of France are 
 confidered, ratlier than Britain fliould enter into any 
 treaty or alliance with them, every true friend of order, 
 of juftice, of religion, or of his country, would wifti 
 to have war with them, as Jfrael had with Amaleky from 
 generation to generation* 
 
 To all this may now be added the memoraVle vlftory obuined at 
 fca by Lord Howe, on the firft day of June, 1794; when Gx of theil" 
 Ihips of the line were takeo, and one, if not more, dcQroyed. 
 
 f Judges, chap. xx.
 
 ( ^54 > 
 
 C O N C L U SI O N. 
 
 .J. HE foregoing Eflays were written in the months of 
 December 1 79^3, and January 1 794. The delay of their 
 publication has been owing to various circumflances, ii> 
 which the Public are not int^refted. The changes that 
 hrtve taken place both at home and abroad may have dimi- 
 nifhed the force, or perhaps obfcured the meaning of fomc 
 exprefiibns, which contained an allufwii to the date of 
 affairs at that tim. But nothing has happened tending 
 to invalidate any part of the reafoning-, on the contrary^ 
 every new occurrence has ferved to confirm It. 
 
 Though the puniftiments inflifted upon fome of the 
 ringleaders of fe<^ition, ought to have awed their abet- 
 tors into quietnefs, and feemed for a time to have done 
 fo; it now appears, that they have only ferved to render 
 them more daring j. and their machinations, though more 
 fecretly carried on, have become more dangerous than 
 ever. The difcoveries lately made hy Government are 
 not yet fo public, as to warrant a difcuflron of them in 
 this place; but, from what is univerfally known, the 
 following things are as manifeft as noon-day: i/?, That 
 our Britifli Conventionifls did not mean to feek Reform 
 in any Conftitutional way; but their Reform, whatever 
 it was, muft have been accompliflied by force. 2d/y, That 
 what they aimed at was not merely a Reform of the Houfe 
 of Commons,, but a total fubverfion of the Conftitution ; 
 by fubftituting a Genvention in place of all the three
 
 I 15; ) 
 
 "branches of the Legiflature; and vefting in it <hc whole 
 power of the nation, both Legiflative and Executive. 
 In a word, it was, to have Britain reduced to the fame 
 condition with France. 3<//y, That they did not mean 
 to attempt the execution of their infernal plan, by a 
 manly and open declaration of war againft their Country, 
 or againtt tlie ruling Powers, but by a fudden infurre<Slion, 
 and maflacre of all whom they confidered as hoftile to 
 tiieir defigns, or capable of oppofing them with effeft. 
 Of "this we have a fufficient proof, in the form of the 
 weapons with which they had begun to provide them- 
 felves. They were fo conftru61:ed that a perfon might 
 conceal theia, in his bofom, or in his pocket, till the 
 moment when tliey were to be ufed. And had not Pjo- 
 Tidence brought to light their plot, it is more than pro- 
 bable, that the friends of good order and Government, 
 might have been murdered in the ftreets, or in their own 
 feoufes, before they had fufpedled any danger. Blejfed 
 be the Lord, nvho hath not given us a prey to their teeth. 
 
 It will not furprife any one, and Ltruft it will convince 
 very few, that tliefe intentions are rtill difclaimed by 
 tliat party, and even denied by fome in Parliament, who, 
 though they now difclaim mcmberfliip in thefe focieties, 
 have never appeared great enemies to their meafures. But 
 4t is curious to obferye how thofe men have always deni- 
 ed that any thing dangerous to the Conftitution was in- 
 tended by thefe focieties: and now, when incontrovertible 
 evidence of the fact is laid before Parliament, they at- 
 tempt to turn all into ridicule, by faying that nothing is 
 jiow difcovered, but what was known fix months ago. 
 If they knew fix months ago, of the treafonable practices, 
 which are now come to light, how can they be anfwer- 
 X 2
 
 ( ^$6 ) 
 
 able to tkeir ovm confciences, to God, or to their coun- 
 try, for concealing them lb long? 
 
 It is equally curious -to hear thepi arguing that, be- 
 caufe the feverities hitherto ufed have not been fufhcient 
 to reftrain fuch praftices, therefore no further feverities 
 ought to be ufed; but Government fliould now try what 
 lenity and forbearance will do. Is not this the fame, 
 as if a man who is council for a criminal, before a court 
 of juftice, fliould deliver himfelf in the following man- 
 ner? " All the rigour of the lav/s made againft robbery 
 ** and murder, an'd all the feverity excrcifed, in the exe- 
 *< cution of thefe laws, have never yet been able to prc- 
 ** vent the comraiflion of thofe crimes. Inftead, tlierefore, 
 of a more vigorous execution of the laws, the proper 
 *' method for abolifliing fuch crimes, will be to difannul 
 " all laws againft them, to fufFer criminals to enjoy 
 ** impunity, and to give an univerfal toleration to murder 
 and robbery." Men who argue in this manrjer arc 
 furely reduced to their laft ihift. 
 
 Friends, Countrymen, A^d Fellow Christians. 
 
 Permit me, as a true friend of the people, a lover of the 
 peace and order of fociety, a fervant and ambaflador of the 
 Prince of peace, to addrefs you in the words of truth and 
 fobernefs. Have fio fel/oivjhip with the unjriiitfti} works of 
 darinefs; nor fufFer yourfelves to be impofed upon by 
 the goad words ^ and fair fpeeches of men that lie in wait to 
 deceive. The political Conflitution, under which you 
 have the happinefs to live, is the beft that human wif- 
 dom ever yet devifcd. The privileges that you enjoy, 
 under its protection, are fuch as no other nation under 
 heaven pofTefTes. The evils to which you are fubjeCl aj.c
 
 ( 157 ) 
 eommon to mankind every where: no Government can 
 prevent them. While men continue to be finners, and 
 while a juft and holy God is the fupreme Judge of all the 
 earth> it will never be poflible to fet mortals free from 
 thofe miferies which fm brings along with it. You may 
 change one mifery for another: or, by ftruggling againft 
 them, you may render your miferies more heavy; but ne- 
 ver, in tliis world, can you hope for exemption from the 
 common evils of life. But why fhould thefe be imputed 
 to the Government under which you live? We may ap- 
 peal to you, in behalf of Government, as Samuel did to 
 the people of Ifrael in his own behalf: Whofe ox, or 
 whofe afs have they taken? whom have they defrauded? 
 whom have they opprefled? Can you foberly lay your 
 hand on your heart, and fay, that you have fufFered any 
 thing, in your perfon, in your property, in your liberty, 
 or in your juft rights, by their hands? 
 
 The fpecious names of liberty, equality, and the rights 
 of men, are employed, by defigiung men, to feduce you 
 into pradlices fubverfive of all liberty, and of the moft 
 valuable rights both of God and man. Divine Provi- 
 dence has now pulled off the mafic, by which your fe. 
 ducers attempted to cover their defignsj and it is plain 
 that they aim at nothing lefs than the total fubverfion of 
 the Britilh Conftitution; and the introdulion of a Repub- 
 lican Government, upon the model of that (if Govern- 
 ment it can be called,) which now fubfifts in France. 
 But if that could be efFedled without bloodflied, and with 
 the free concurrence of the whole nation, the whole na- 
 tion would foon repent of the change. A mere Republican 
 Government, in a great nation, muft neceflarily be the 
 Government of a few demagogues; who, having botli the
 
 ( 158 ) 
 
 Icgiflative and executive power in their hands, can be 
 fubjedl to no controul; but the liberty and the property 
 of every perfon in the nation, muft be fubje^t to their 
 arbitrary difpofal. 
 
 But you will be fatisiied, that the great body of the 
 nation are againft this change: and if ever the fchemes 
 of our pretended Reformers are executed, it muft be 
 through a deluge of blood, and after the moft violent 
 convulfions, through all the horrors of civil war, and 
 thofe new horrors which France has invented. We alfo 
 muft have our Revolutionary Tribunals, our maflacres, and 
 our guillotines. Our land muft be uncultivated , our trade 
 and manufa3:ures muft ceafe; and pinching famine will 
 confume the few whom the fword could not deftroy. 
 Can you think of imbruing your hands in the blood of 
 your friends or brothers, of your fathers, or your own 
 children ? Can you lead thofe to the fcafFold, with whom 
 you once joined fweet counfel as you went to the houfe 
 of God in companies? All this you muft refolve on, if 
 you will adhere to thefe defpcrate men, and join in the 
 profecution of their fchemes. You have no alternative 
 left, unlefs to be yourfelves put to death for refufmg to 
 go all lengths with them. 
 
 That political enthufiafm, by which the minds of 
 ibme are influenced, may perhaps carry them through 
 all this: they may outbrave the juftice of their country; 
 they might alfo meet death with a confidence worthy of 
 a better caufej but that enthufiafm will carry them no 
 further. It has been clearly proved, that feditious and 
 treafonable praftices are as' contrary to the law of God, 
 as they are to the laws of men. And after fufFering all 
 the punifliments human laws can inflid, they muft an-
 
 ( 5? ) 
 
 we^ for the fame crimes before the dread tribunal o 
 God. There, the films of prejudice will fall from their 
 eyesj therr baftard courage will forfake tliemj and their 
 own confcience will ratify the juft fentence, which the 
 Judge of all the earth will pronounce againft them. If 
 they die glorying in their crimes, they muft die impenitentj 
 and there is no place for repentance in the other world. 
 Seditiofis are enumerated, by the Spirit of God, among 
 the works of the flefti*. Traitorsy are in the black lift of 
 thofe fmners, whofe appearance in the world fhall makc^ 
 the laft days perilousf. And murderers fhall infallibly 
 have their part in that lake, which burneth with fire and 
 brimftone. 
 
 If in the great day of final reckoning, you fhall be 
 found to have been guilty of any of thefe crimes, and to- 
 have died without repentance, all the world fhall not 
 be able to hide you from the face of him that fitteth on 
 the throne y norto fcreen you from the -wrath of the Lamb. 
 
 Permit me, tiierefore, to intreat, to befeech, and even 
 to conjure you, as you love the peace of fociety, the 
 fafety of your families, or the prefervation of your own 
 lives ; as- you defur* the profperity of the church, or the 
 glory of him who purchafed her with hfe own blood; as 
 you wiflx to efcape the juft judgment of God, and to 
 enjoy the approbation of the great Mafter at his comings 
 as you value thofe immortal fouls, which if they be loft 
 tlie gain of a whole world will profit you nothing; that 
 you fuffer not yourfelv^s to be feduced into practices 
 which muft prove ruinous to all thefe. If you have al- 
 ready been feduced, count it your glory to break your 
 letters, and return to the way of duty; and, for the time 
 * CaL . ao. \ Tim. iii. 4.
 
 ( t6o ) 
 
 to coriie, inftead of hearkening to thofe filthy dreariierjfi 
 ivho defile the Jlejhy defpife dominion^ and /peak evil of dig*' 
 nitiesy give a praftical attention to the words which the 
 Holy Ghoft teacheth, and quietly fubmit yotirfehes to 
 every ordinance of man for the Lord's fake, whether it be tt 
 the King as fupreme, or to Governors, as unto them who are 
 fent by him, for the ptinifjment of evil doers, and for the praife 
 of them that do ivell ; for fo is the ivill of God. If your will 
 is obftinately fet in oppofition to his will in this refpeiH;, 
 think not that ever you can harden yourfelf againft him 
 and profper-, for he that rcfijleth the power, reffieih the 
 ordinance of God; and they that reffi, fhall receive to them" 
 felves damnation. If you will perfift in evil courfes, to the 
 difturbance of the public peace, that fame power, which 
 would otherwife be the minfler of God to you for good, fhall 
 prove the inftrument of divine vengeance againfl you > for 
 be beareth not the f word in vain. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
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