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 VINDICIM GALLICJE. 
 
 DEFENCE 
 
 FRENCH REVOLUTION 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 ENGLISH ADMIRERS, 
 
 AGAINST THE ACCUSATIONS OF 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. EDMUND BURKE ; 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 SOME STRICTURES ON THE LATE PRODUCTION 
 
 OF 
 
 MONS. DE CALONNE. 
 
 By JAMES MACKINTOSH, 
 of Lincoln's inn, esquire. 
 
 THE FOURTH EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, 
 
 PATERNOSTER -ROW. 
 
 2 :'_ 1 - 1 1 x 79 2 -
 
 .DC 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 HAD 1 forcfccn the fize to which the following volume 
 ivas to grow, or the obflaclcs that were to retard its 
 completion, J Jhould probably have fljrunk from the undertaking \ 
 and perhaps I may now be fuppofed to owe an apology for of' 
 fering it to the Public, after the able and majlerly Publications 
 to which this controverfy has given occafion. 
 
 Afany parts of it bear internal marks of having been written 
 fome months ago, by allujions to circumjlances which are now 
 changed ; but as they did not affett the reafoning, I was not 
 folicitous to alter them. 
 
 For the latenefs of its appearance, I find a confolation in the 
 knowledge, that refpcclable Works on the fame fubjefi are fill 
 txpetled by the Public ; and the number of my fellow- labourers 
 or.ly Juggcjls the rcfieftion that too many minds cannot be em- 
 ployed on a controverfy fo immenfe as to pre fait the mojl various 
 ajpetls to different underfandings, and fo important, that the 
 more correil flatemcnt of oyiefatl, c> the more fucccfsful illuf- 
 tration of one argument, will at leaf refcue a book from tit 
 imputation of having been written in vain. 
 
 Little Ealing, Middlefex, 
 April 26, 1 79 1. 
 
 ADVER-
 
 ADVERTISEMENT to the THIRD EDITION. 
 
 / NOFF ' prefcnt the following Work to the 
 
 Public a third time, rendered, I hope, lefs unworthy of their 
 
 favor. - Of Literary Criticifm // does not become me to 
 
 quejlion thejujlice, but Moral Animadverfion I feel it due ts 
 
 my fc If to notice. 
 
 'The vulgar clamor which has been raifed with fuch malig- 
 nant art againjl the friends of Freedom, as the apojllcs of turbu- 
 lence and f edition, has not even f pared the obfeuriiy of my name. 
 To f rangers I can only vindicate myfelf by defying the authors 
 of fuch clamors to dif cover one paffage in this volume not in the 
 highejl degree favorable to peace andjlab'e government. Thofe 
 to whom I am known would, I believe, be fow to impute any 
 fentiments of violence to a temper which the partiality of my 
 friends muji confefs to be indolent, and the hojlility of enemies 
 will not deny to be mild. 
 
 I have been accufed, ^valuable friends, of treating with un- 
 generous levity the misfortunes of the Royal lamily of France. 
 "They will not hoxve-cer fappofe me capable of deliberately vio- 
 lating the faerednefs of mifcry in a palace ;r a cottage \ and I 
 fncerely lament that Ifnouldhave been betrayed into exprejpons 
 .ubich admitted that conjiruc'iim. 
 
 Little Ealing, Augufl 28, T 7 g T ,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE late opinions of Mr. Burke fur- 
 niihed more matter of aftcnimment to 
 thofe who had diftantlvobferved, than to thofe 
 who had correctly examined the fyftem of his 
 former political life. An abhorrence for abftract 
 politics, a predilection for ariftocracy, and a 
 dread of innovation, have ever been among the 
 moil: facred articles of his public creed. It 
 was not likely that at his age he mould aban- 
 don to the invaiionof audacious novelties, opi- 
 nions which he had received Co early, and 
 maintained fo long, which had been fortified 
 bv the applaufe of the great, and the aflent of 
 the wife, which he had dictated to fo many 
 illuftrious pupils, and fupported againll: io 
 many diitinguifhed opponents. Men who 
 early attain eminence, repofe in their flril 
 
 A creed,
 
 ( H ) 
 
 creed. They neglect the progrefs of the hu- 
 man mind fubfequent to its adoption, anal 
 when, as in the preientcafe, it has burfr. forth 
 into action, they regard it as a transient mad- 
 nefs, worthy only of pity or derifion. They 
 miflake it for a mountain torrent that will 
 pafs away with the ftorm that gave it birth. 
 They know not that it is the ftream of hu- 
 man opinion in omne volubilis avum, which 
 the acceflion of every day will fwcll, which 
 is dcflined to fweep into the fame oblivion 
 the refi fiance of learned fophiftry, and of 
 powerful oppreluon. 
 
 But there jflill remained ample matter of 
 aflonimment in the Philippic of Mr. Burke. 
 Ke might deplore the fanguinary excefles he 
 might deride the vilionary policy that feemcd 
 to him to tarnifli the luftre of the Revolution, 
 but it was hard to have fnppofed that he 
 mould have exhaufted againft it every epithet 
 of contumely and opprobrium that language
 
 ( m ) 
 
 can furnifhto indignation ; that the rage of his 
 declamation mould not for one moment have 
 been fufpended ; that his heart mould not be- 
 tray one faint glow of triumph, at the fplendid 
 and glorious delivery of fo great a people. All 
 was invective the authors, and admirers of 
 
 the Revolution every man who did not 
 
 execrate it, even his own moil enlightened 
 and aecomplifhed friends, were devoted to 
 odium and ignominy. 
 
 This fpeech did not iioop to argument the 
 whole was dogmatical and authoritative ; the 
 caufe feemed decided without dilcuition ; the 
 anathema fulminated before trial. But the 
 ground of the opinions of this famous fpeech, 
 which, if we may believe a foreign journalifr, 
 will form an epoch in the hiftory of the eccen- 
 tricities of the human mind, was impatiently 
 expected in a work foon after announced. 
 The name of the author, the importance of 
 the lubject, and the angularity of his opinions, 
 
 A 2 all
 
 ( iv ) 
 
 all contributed to inflame the public curiofity, 
 which though it languifhed in a fubfequenfc 
 delay, has been revived by the appearance, 
 and will be rewarded by the perufai of the 
 work. 
 
 It is certainly in every refpect a perform- 
 ance, of which to form a correct eftimate, 
 would prove one of the mo ft arduous efforts 
 of critical (kill. " We fcarcely can praife it, 
 " or blame it too much." Argument every 
 where dextrous and fpecious, fometirnes grave 
 and profound, cloathed in the moft rich and 
 various imagery, and aided by the moil pa- 
 thetic and picturefque defcription, fpeaks the 
 opulence and the powers of that mind, of 
 which a^e has neither dimmed the diicern- 
 merit nor enfeebled the fancy, neither repref- 
 fed the ardor, nor narrowed the range. Vi- 
 rulent encomiums on urbanity, and inflamma- 
 tory harangues againft violence ; homilies of 
 moral and religious myfticifm, better adapted 
 
 to
 
 ( v ) 
 
 to the amufement than to the conviction of an 
 
 incredulous age, though they may roufe the 
 languor of attention, can never be dignified 
 by the approbation of the under (landing. 
 
 Of the Senate and people of France, his 
 language is fuch as might have been expected 
 to a country which his fancy has peopled only 
 with plots, aiTaflinations, and maflacres, and 
 all the brood of dire chimeras which are the 
 offspring of a prolific imagination, goaded by 
 an ardent and deluded feniibility. The glimpfes 
 of benevolence, which irradiate this gloom of 
 invcCTive, ariie only from generous illufion, 
 from miiguided and mifplaced companion 
 his eloquence is not at leifure to deplore the 
 fate of beggared artizans, and famifhed pea- 
 sants, the victims of fufpended induftry, and 
 languishing commerce. The feniibility which 
 iccms feared by the homely miferies of the 
 vulgar, is attracted only by the fplendid Sor- 
 rows of royalty, and agonizes at the ilen- 
 A 3 deref:
 
 ( vi ) 
 
 dereft pang that aflails the heart of fottifhnefs 
 cr proftitution, if they are placed by fortune 
 on a throne. 
 
 4 
 
 To the Engliili friends of French freedom, 
 his language is contemptuous, illiberal, and 
 fcurrilous. In one of the ebbings of his fervor, 
 he is difpofed not to difpute " their good in- 
 Ci tentions." But he abounds in intemperate 
 fallies, in ungenerous inclinations, which 
 wifdom ought to have checked, as ebullitions- 
 of pailion, which genius ought to have dii- 
 dained, as weapons of controversy. 
 
 The arrangement of his work is as lingular 
 as the matter. Availing himfelf of all the 
 privileges of cpifcolary effufion, in their ut- 
 moft latitude and laxity, he interrupts, dif- 
 mifTes, and relumes argument at pleafure. 
 His inbject is as exteniive as political fcience 
 
 his allufions and excurfions reach almoft 
 
 every resfion of human knowledge. It muft 
 
 be
 
 ( vii ) 
 
 be confefled that in this mifcellaneous and de- 
 lultory warfare, the fuperiority of a man of 
 genius over common men is infinite. He can 
 cover the moff. ignominious retreat by a bril- 
 liant allufion. He can parade his arguments 
 with mafferly generalfhip, where they are 
 ftrong. He can efcape from an untenable 
 pofition into a fplendid declamation. He can 
 lap the mod; impregnable conviction by pathos, 
 and put to flight a hofr. of fyllogyfms with a 
 fheer. Abfolved from the laws of vulvar me- 
 thod, he can advance a group of magnificent 
 horrors to makea breach in our hearts, through 
 which the mod undifciplined rabble of argu- 
 ments may enter in triumph. 
 
 Analyfis and method, like the difcipline and 
 armour of modern nations, correct in fome 
 rneafure the inequalities of controverfial dex- 
 teritVs and level on the intellectual field the 
 giant and the dwarf. Let us then analyfe the 
 production of Mr. Burke, and difminmg what 
 A 4 is
 
 ( viii ) 
 
 is extraneous and ornamental, we fhall diicover 
 certain leading quefrions, of which the deci- 
 fion is indifpenfible to the point at hTue* 
 
 The natural order of thefe topics will dic- 
 tate the method of reply. Mr. Burke, availing 
 himfelf of the indefinite and equivocal term, 
 Revolution, has altogether reprobated that 
 tranfaclion. The firfl queftion, therefore, 
 that arifes, regards the general expediency and 
 
 neceffitv of a Revolution in France. This is 
 
 .- 
 
 followed by the difcuflion of the compofition 
 and conduct of the National Aflembly, of the 
 popular exceffes which attended the Revolu- 
 tion, and the New ConfHtution that is to 
 refult from it. The conduct of its Englifh 
 admirers forms the lair, topic, though it is with 
 rhetorical inverfion firft treated by Mr. Burke, 
 as if the propriety of approbation mould be de- 
 termined before the difcuflion of the merit or 
 demerit of what was approved. In perfuance 
 
 of
 
 ( xi ) 
 
 of this analyfis, the following feclions will 
 comprife the fubftance of our refutation. 
 
 SecT:. I. The General Expediency and Necef- 
 fity of a Revolution in France. 
 
 II. The Compoftion and Character of the "Na- 
 tional Jlfembly considered. 
 
 III. The Popular Excejfes which attended, or 
 followed the Revolution. 
 
 IV. The new Conjlitution of France. 
 
 V '. TheConducl of its Englijh Admirer sji fifed. 
 
 With this reply to Mr. Burke will be 
 mino'led fome ftrictures on the late publication 
 of M. Calonne. That miniiter, who has for 
 fome time exhibited to the eyes of indignant 
 Europe the inecbele of an exiled robber living 
 
 in
 
 ( x ) 
 
 in the roll fplendid impunity, has, with an 
 effrontery that beggars invective, affumed in 
 
 his work the tone of afflicted patriotifm, and 
 delivers his polluted Philippics as the oracles 
 of perfecuted virtue. 
 
 His work is more methodical than that of 
 his coadjutor, Mr. Burke*. Of his financial 
 calculations it may be remarked, that in a work 
 profclTedly popular they afford the ftrongefl 
 prefumption of fraud. Their extent and in- 
 tricacy feem contrived to extort afTent from 
 
 * It cannot be denied that the produclion of M. Calonne 
 is, " eloquent, able," and certainly very " infrructive" in 
 what regards his own character and defigns. But it con- 
 tains one infhnce of hiflorical ignorance fo egregious, that I. 
 cannot reiift quoting: it. In his Ion"' difcuffion of the pre- 
 venfions of the Affembly to the tit!:: of a National Conven- 
 tion, he deduces the origin of that word from Scotland, 
 where lie inf/rms us, p. 328, " On lui donna le nom dc 
 Convention Lcoffoife, le rcfultat de fes deliberations fut 
 anpelle Covenant, &: ceux qui Tavoient foufcrit ou qui y ad- 
 heroient Covenanter* ' /" 
 
 public
 
 ( xi ) 
 
 public indolence, for men will rather be- 
 lieve than examine them. His inferences are 
 fo outrageoufly incredible, that mod men of 
 ienfe will think it more fafe to truft their own 
 plain conclufions than to enter fuch a laby- 
 rinth of financial fophifhy. 
 
 The only part of his production that here 
 demands reply, is that which relates to gene- 
 ral political queftions. Remarks on what he 
 has offered concerning them will naturally 
 find a place under the correfponding lections 
 of the Reply to Mr. Burke. Its moft impor- 
 tant view is neither literary nor argaimcnta- 
 tive. It appeals to judgments more deciiive 
 than thofe ofcriticiim, and aims at wielchn^ 
 weapons more formidable than thofe of logic. 
 It is the manifefto of a Counter Revolution, 
 and its obvious object is to inflame cverv paf- 
 (ion and interefc, real orfuppofel, that V 
 received any mock in the cftabliihment of 
 freedom. He prober the h-leedino; wounds or
 
 ( *" ) 
 
 the princes, the nobility, the prieflhood, and 
 the great judicial ariftocracy. He adjures one 
 body by its dignity degraded, another by its 
 inheritance plundered, and a third by its au- 
 thority deftroyed, to repair to the holy banner 
 of his philanthropic ciulade. Confident in the 
 protection of all the monarchs of Europe, 
 whom he alarms for the fecurity of their 
 thrones, and having infured the moderation of 
 a fanatical rabble, by giving out among them 
 the favage war-whoop of atheifm, he already 
 fancies himfelf in full march to Paris, not to 
 re-inflate the depofed defpotifm (for he dif- 
 claims the purpofe, and who would not truft. 
 fuch virtuous difavowals ! \) but at the head 
 of this army of priefls, mercenaries and fana- 
 tics, to dictate, as the tutelar genius of France. 
 the efTablifhment of a juft and temperate free- 
 dom, obtained without commotion and with- 
 out carnage, and equally hoftile to the inte- 
 rfiled ambition of dema;02;ues and the law- 
 h ib authority of kings, 
 
 Crufades
 
 ( xiii ) 
 
 Crufades were an efrervefcence of chivalry, 
 and the modern St. Francis has a knight for 
 the conduct of thefe crufaders, who will con- 
 vince Mr. Burke, that the a?e of chivalry is 
 not pail, nor the glory of Europe gone for 
 ever. The Comte d'Artois*, that fcyon wor- 
 thy of Henry the Great, the rival of the Bay- 
 ards and Sidneys, the new model of French 
 Knighthood, is to ifTue from Turin with ten 
 thoufand cavaliers, to deliver the peerlefs and 
 immaculate Antonietta of Auftria from the 
 durance vile in which me has lo Ions: been 
 immured in the Thuilleries, from the fvvords 
 of the difcourteous knights of Paris, and the 
 fpells of the fable wizards of democracy. 
 
 * Ce digne rcjeton dn grand Henri Calonnc, p. 413. Un 
 'jiGitvcau modHc de la Cbevalerie Fr&ncoife. Ibk!. p. 114.
 
 flNDICIJE GALLICjE, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ^he General Expediency and Neajjity of a 
 Revolution hi France. 
 
 T is aflerted in many paffages * of Air. 
 Burke's work, though no where with 
 that preciiion which the importance of the ai- 
 iertion demanded, that the French Revolution 
 was not only in its parts reprehensible, but 
 in the whole was abfurd, inexpedient, and 
 unjuft; vet he has no where exactly informed 
 us what he underftands by the term. The 
 French Revolution, in its moll: popular icnfc^, 
 perhaps would be underflcod in England to 
 
 ' :1 r. : l^li 23 ; 2 43> an ^ many otl:cr paffages. 
 
 coniill
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
 confifl of thofe fplendid events that formed the 
 prominent portion of its exterior, the Parifian 
 revolt, the capture of the Baftile, and the 
 iubmiffion of the Kins;. But thefe memorable 
 events, though they flrengthened and accele- 
 rated, could not conftitute a Political Revo- 
 lution. It muir. have been a change of Go- 
 vernment, but even limited to that meaning, 
 it is equivocal and wide. 
 
 It is capable of three fenfes. The King's 
 recognition of the rights of the States Gene- 
 ral to a fhare in the legiflation, was a change 
 in the actual government of France, where 
 the whole legiflative and executive power had, 
 without the fhadow of interruption, for nearly 
 two centuries been enjoyed by the Crown ; 
 in that fenfe the meeting of the States-Gene- 
 ral was the Revolution, and the 5th of May 
 wasitsaera. The union of the three Orders in 
 one afTcmbly was a moil important change in 
 the forms and fpirit of the legiflature. This 
 
 too
 
 ( K ) 
 
 too may be called the Revolution, and the 
 23d of Jnne will be its sera. This bodv, 
 thus united, are forming a new Conftitution. 
 This may be alfo called a 'Revolution, becaufe 
 it is of all the political changes the moil: im- 
 portant, and its epoch will be determined by 
 the concluiion of the labours of the National. 
 Affembly. 
 
 Thus equivocal is the import of Air. Burke's 
 exprefuons. To extricate them from this 
 ambiguity, a rapid furvey of thefe events will 
 be neceiTary. It will prove too the faircft 
 and mod forcible confutation of his arru- 
 meats. It will bed; demondrate the necef- 
 fity and jufiice oi all tree fucceflive changes 
 in the State of France, which formed the 
 mixed mafs called the Revolution. It will 
 difcriminatc legiflative acls from popular ex- 
 ceffes, and diiiinguim tranfient confulion 
 from permanent eftablilhment. It will evince 
 the futility and fallacy of attributing to the 
 
 B confpiracv
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 conlpiracy of individuals, or bodies, a Revo* 
 lution which, whether it be benificial or inju- 
 rious, was produced only by general caufes, 
 where the moil confpicuous individual pro- 
 duced little real effect. 
 
 The Constitution of France refembled in 
 
 the earlier fiages of its progrefs the other Go- 
 thic governments of Europe. The hiflory 
 of its decline and the caufes of its extinction 
 are abundantly known. Its infancy and youth 
 were like thofe of the Englifh government. 
 The Cbar,:p dc Mars, and the V, r ittenagcmot+ 
 the tumultuous aiTem-elies of r dc conquerors, 
 were in both i t untnes m ! :ed down into re- 
 prcid lUlUvc oou.es. nut tne cluwiiraii or the 
 feu ' . ' ' .:.- / ha] :; in LYance before 
 Commerce :. ! elevate ! any other clais of ci- 
 t',x r , iut: ".. e, its power .' \ i Ivcd on 
 
 \\'v;\\ the co; ! '.) of the 
 e - !'s ( : tn.c states 
 
 v. ;. .',; ..-'..;-.'.. "... !' . 111 1 . roj i liailtiCc'. 
 
 The;..
 
 ( *9 ) 
 
 Their momentary re-appearance under Henry 
 [II. and Louis XIII. icrved only to illuftratc 
 their indgniricance. Their total difufe fpeedily 
 fucceeded. 
 
 The intrufion of any popular voice was not 
 likely to be tolerated in the reign of Louis 
 XIV. a reign which has been fo often cele- 
 brated as the zenith of warlike and literary 
 fplendor, but which has always appeared to 
 me to be the confummation of whatever is 
 afflicting and degrading in the hiftory of the 
 human race. Talent feemed, in that reign, 
 robbed of the confcious elevation, of the erect 
 and manly port, which is its nobleft afiociate 
 and its lure ft indication. The mild purity of 
 Fenelon*, the lofty fpirit of Bofiuct, the maf- 
 culinc mind of Boileau, the fublime fervor 
 of Corncille, were confounded by the conta- 
 
 " And Cambray, worthy of a happier doom, 
 
 : - The virtuous flave of Lads and of Rome." 
 
 B 2 gioa
 
 ( 2= ) 
 
 gion of ignominious and indifcriminate ferti- 
 lity. It feemed as if the " reprefentative 
 " majefry" of" the genius and intellect of 
 man were proftrated before the mrine of a 
 fanguinary and diffolute tyrant, who prac- 
 tifed the corruption cf Courts without their 
 mildnefs, and incurred the guilt of wars with-' 
 out their glory. His highefl praife is to have 
 fupported the ftage trick of Royalty with 
 effect ; and it is furelv difficult to conceive 
 any character more odious and deipicable, 
 than that of a puny libertine, who, under the 
 frown of a ftrurnpet, or a monk, ifTues the 
 mandate that is to murder virtuous citizens, 
 to delolate happy and peaceful hamlets, to 
 wring agonizing t ears f r0 m widows and or- 
 phans. Heroifm has a fpleudor that almofi: 
 atones for its exceffes ; but what (hall we think 
 of him, who, from the luxurious and daftardly 
 fecurity in which he wallows at Verfailles? 
 i fiiies with calm and cruel apathy his orders 
 to butcher the Proteftants of Languedoc, or 
 
 to
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 to lay in allies the villages of the Palatinate ? 
 On the recollection of fuch fcenes, as a fcho- 
 lar, I blufh for the proftitution of letters; as 
 a man, I blufh for the patience of humanity. 
 
 But the defpotiim of this reign was preg- 
 nant with the great events which have figna- 
 lizecl our age. It foftered that literature which 
 was one day deifined to deftroy it. Its pro- 
 fligate conquefts have eventually proved the 
 acquifitions of humanity; and the ufurpations 
 of Louis XIV. have ierved only to add a 
 larger portion to the great body of freemen. 
 The fpirit of its policy was inherited by the 
 fucceeding reign. The rage cf conqueft, re- 
 prefTed for a while by the torpid delpotiim of 
 Fleury, burn 1 forth with renovated violence in 
 the latter part of the reign of Louis XV. 
 France, exhaufted alike by the misfortunes of 
 one war and the victories of another, groaned 
 under a weight of imooft and debt, which it 
 equally difficult to remedy or to endure. 
 B 3 The
 
 ( 2a ) 
 
 The profligate expedients were exhautled by 
 which fuccefiive Minifiers had attempted to 
 avert the great crilis, in which the credit and 
 power of the government mull; perifh. 
 
 The wife and benevolent admmifTration of 
 M. Turgot, though long enough for his glorv, 
 was too fhort, and perhaps too early for thofe 
 falutary and grand reforms which his genius 
 
 J O vj 
 
 had conceived, and his virtue would have ef- 
 fected. The afpcct of purity and talent fpread 
 a natural alarm among the minions of a Court,, 
 and ihey caiily iucceeded in the expulllon of 
 fuch rare and obnoxious intruders. 
 
 The magnificent ambition of M. clc Ver- 
 gennes, the brilliant, profufe and rapacious ca- 
 reer of AT. de Calonnc, the feeble and irrefo- 
 lute violence or M. Brienne, all contributed 
 their mare to iwell this financial embarrafY- 
 r riant. The ccjiat, or inferiority of the re- 
 .--. : .'. to toe expenditure, at length rofe to 
 
 the
 
 ( *3 > 
 
 the enormous fum or" 115 millions of livres, 
 or about 4,750,000/. annually*. This was a 
 difproportion between income and expence 
 with which no government, and no individual, 
 could lone; continue to exiit. 
 
 In this exigency there was no expedient 
 left, but to guarantee the ruined credit of 
 bankrupt defpotifm by the (auction of the na- 
 tional voice. The States General were a dan- 
 gerous mode of collectino; it. Recourfe was 
 therefore had to the Aflembly of the Not- 
 
 j, a mode well known in the hiftory of 
 France, in which the King fummoned a 
 number of individuals, {elected, at his difcre- 
 
 '" For this we have the authority ot M. de Calonne him- 
 felf. See his late publication, page 56. This was the account 
 prefented to the Notables in April, 1 7C7. I le, indeed, makes 
 fome- deductions on account of part of this cL fu.i being cx- 
 pirable. But this is of no confequence to our purpole, 
 vvhich is to view the influence ot the prcfiiit urgency, the 
 political, not the finrincial (late oi' the queflion. 
 
 B t tion,
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 tion, from the mafs, to adviie him in great 
 emergencies. They were little better than a 
 popular Privy Council. They were neither 
 recognized nor protected by law. Their pre- 
 carious and fubordinate e:;iitence hung on the 
 nod of defpotiim. 
 
 The..' were called together by M. Calorme, 
 
 who Iras now the inconfiirent arrogance to 
 
 boaft of the fchemes which he laid before 
 
 them, as the model of the AfTembly whom 
 
 he trainees. He propofed, it is true, the 
 
 equalization of import, an;! the abolition of the 
 
 pecuniary exenw:dons of the Nobility and 
 
 C\, - ;i /; :.. .1 the diilcrcnce between his fyftem 
 
 and' t:. at or the Mlemlfiy, is onlv in what 
 
 make." fa: lole dntmeaon in human actions 
 
 lis cud. Jth would have clei'troyed the privi- 
 
 ' ..: Orders, as (fallacies to defpotifm. T'hev 
 
 have denroyed them, as derogations from 
 
 frcv-dom. The o i oi b;s plans was to fa- 
 
 ef sac Vifccil oj-^ieiiiOn. The motive of i 'heirs
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 is to fortify general liberty. They have levelled 
 all Frenchmen as men he would have level- 
 led them all as flaves. 
 
 The Aflembly of the Notables, however, 
 foon give a memorable proof, how dangerous 
 are all public meetings of men, even without 
 legal powers of controul, to the permanence 
 cfdefpotifm. They had been aflemblcd bv 
 M. Calonnc to admire the plausibility and 
 fplendour of his fpcculations, and to veil the 
 extent and atrocity of his rapine. But the 
 fallacy of the one, and the profligacy of the 
 other, were detected with equal eafe. Illuf- 
 trious a:id accomplished orators, who have 
 fincc found a nobler Iphere for their talents, 
 hi .1 more free and powerful Aflembly, cx- 
 pofed this plunderer to the Notables. Detefted 
 bv the Nobles and Clergy, of whole privi- 
 ieees he had fu7s;cftcd the abolition ; under- 
 mined in the favour of the Queen, bv his 
 e.t;.:ck on one of her favourites (Bretcuil) ; 
 
 expo led
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 exposed to the fury of the people, and dreading 
 the terrors of judicial profecution, he fpeedily 
 fought refuge in England, without the recol- 
 lection of one virtue, or the applaufe of one 
 party, to confole his retreat*. 
 
 Tin:." did the Notables deitroy their creator 
 Little appeared to be done to a iuperficia 
 obferver ; but to a diicerning eye, all was 
 done; for the dethroned authority of Public 
 opinion was restored. The Succeeding Mini- 
 itc;-;--, uniiiftructed by the example of their 
 prcdcceiTers, by the deftruclion of Public 
 dit, and tlic iermentation of the popular 
 :rdnd, hazarded meafures of a frill more pre- 
 I offerou? and ] erilous defcription. The ufur- 
 ,,.;! :i oi 1 >mc (hare in : hc Sovereignty by the 
 iV.:-] lament o; Pari; hatl become popular arid 
 .;,.'. e, oceanic :. tendency was iiieful, 
 
 " . '" >or. t-?o, C\ :. torn. i. p. i^-
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 and its exercife virtuous. That body had, as 
 it is well known, claimed a right, which, in 
 fact, amounted to a negative on all the acts of 
 the Kins;. They contended, that their re- 
 sifterinp" his Edicts was necefiarvto irive them 
 force. They would, in that cafe, have pof- 
 fefled the lame marc of legiflation with the 
 King of England. 
 
 It is unneceflary to defcant on the hiftorical 
 fallacy, and political incxpediencv, of doc- 
 trines, which ihould veft in a narrow arifto- 
 cracy of lawyers, who had bought their 
 places, fuch extenfive powers. It cannot be 
 denied that their refinance had often proved 
 ialntaiy, and was forae feeble check on the 
 capricious wantonncis of defpotic exaction. 
 But the temerity of the Miniiter now afiigned 
 them a more important part. They refuted 
 to regifter two edicts for the creation of im- 
 ports. They averred, that the power oi im- 
 paling taxes was vcfted onlv in the National 
 
 Reprefentatives,
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 Reprefentatives, and they claimed the imme- 
 diate convocation of the States General of the 
 kingdom. The Miniifer banifhed them to 
 Troyes. But he loon found how much the 
 French were changed from that abject and 
 frivolous people, which had io often endured 
 the exile of its magiilrates. Paris exhibited 
 the tumult and clamour of a London mob. 
 
 The cabinet, which could neither advance 
 nor recede with iafety, had recourfe to the 
 expedient of a comoiiliory re Qiil ration. The 
 Duke of Orleans, and the magiflrates who 
 protected again ft this execrable mockery, were 
 exiled or impriioutd. But all thefe hacknied 
 expedients of defbotiim were in vain. Thefe 
 frxuggles, which merit notice only as they 
 illuflrate the progreihve energy of Public opi- 
 nion, were followed by events full lefs equi- 
 vocal. Lcitrcs dc Cachet were illucd ao;ainft 
 M. M. d'Eprcfmenil ^ Goejiard. They took, 
 rcfuce in the faiichaary of juilice, and the Par- 
 liament
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 liament pronounced them under the fafeguard 
 of the law and the King. A deputation was 
 fent to Verfailles, to intreat his Majefty to 
 liften to (age counfels. Paris expected, with 
 impatient folicitude, the refult of this deputa- 
 tion : when towards midnight, a body of 2000 
 troops marched to the palace were the Par- 
 liament were ieated, and their Commander, 
 entering into the Court of Peers, demanded 
 his victims. A loud and unanimous acclama- 
 tion replied, " We are all (TILprefmenil ^ 
 ii GocjlardV Thcfe masillrates lurrendered 
 themfelves, and the fatellite of defpotifm led 
 them off in triumph, amid the execrations of 
 an aroufed and indignant people, 
 
 Thcfe fpc cracks were not without their ef- 
 fect. 1 he i-jirit of refinance fnread daily over 
 France. The intermediate commiflion of the 
 States of Bretagnc, the States of Dauphine. 
 and many other public bodies, began to affume 
 a new and menacing tone. The Cabinet cl i T- 
 
 iolved
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 folved in its own feeblenefs, and M. Neckar 
 was recalled. That Miniiter, probably up- 
 right, and not illiberal, but narrow, pufillani- 
 mous, and entangled by the habits of detail* 
 in which he had been reared, pofTeiTed not 
 that erect and intrepid fpirit, thole enlarged 
 and original views, which adapt themfelves to 
 new combinations of circumftances, and fway 
 in the great convulfions of human affairs. 
 Accuflomcd to the tranquil accuracy of com- 
 merce, or the elegant amufements of litera- 
 ture, he was, " called on to ride in the whirl- 
 wind, and direct, the florin." He feemed fu- 
 perior to his privacy while he was limited 
 
 * The late celebrated Dr. Adam Smith, always held this 
 opinion of Neckar, whom he had known intimately when 
 a Banker in Paris. He predicted the fall of his fame when 
 his talents fhould be brought to the toft, and always empha- 
 tically' laid, " He is hut a man of detail." At a time when 
 the commercial abilities oi Mr. Eden, the prefent .Lore- 
 Auckland, were the theme of profufe eulogy, Dr. Smith 
 characterized him in the lame words,
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 to it, and would have been adjudged by hiftoi) 
 equal to his elevation had he never been ele- 
 vated *. The reputation of few men, it is 
 true, has been expofed to lb ieverc a tefl ; 
 and a generous obferver will be difpofed to 
 fcrutinize lefs rigidly the claims of a Statef- 
 man, who has retired with the applaufe of no 
 party, who is detefted by the ariilocracy as 
 the instrument of their ruin, and defpifed by 
 the democratic leaders for pufillanimous and 
 fluctuating policy. 
 
 But had the character of M. Neckar pof- 
 feffed more originality or deciiion, it could 
 have had little influence on the fate of France, 
 The minis of men had received an impulfe. 
 Individual aid and individual opposition were 
 equally vain. His views, no doubt, extended 
 only to palliation ; but he was involved in a 
 
 ' Alajor Privato zilfus dam prlvatas fait & omnium con- 
 /-./.< iitpax Imperil n'.fi ImpcraJJct. Tac, 
 
 11 ream
 
 ( r- ") 
 
 ftream of opinions and events, of which no 
 force could refill: the cun-ent, and no wifdoni 
 adequately predict the termination. He is re- 
 prefented by M. Calonne as the Lord Sunder- 
 land of Louis XVJ. feducins; the Kins: to de- 
 ftroy his own power. But he had neither ge- 
 nius nor boldnefs for fuch deiigns. 
 
 To return to our rapid furvey. -The Au- 
 tumn of 1788 was peculiarly diftinguimed by 
 the enlightened and difmterefled patriotifm 
 of the States of Dauphine. They furnimedj 
 in many refpecls, a model for the future Se- 
 nate of France. Like them they deliberated 
 amidft the terrors of minifterial vengeance and 
 military execution. They annihilated the ab- 
 iurd and deftruclive defiincliou of Orders, the 
 three cilates were melted into a Provincial Af- 
 fembly; and they declared, that the right of 
 impofing taxes refided ultimately in the States 
 General of France. They voted a deputation 
 to the King to folicit the convocation of that 
 
 Aflembly*
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 AfTembly. They were emuloufly imitated by 
 all the provinces that ftill retained the fhadow 
 of Provincial States. The States of Lan* 
 guedoc, of Vela)-, and Vivarois, the Tiers 
 Etat of Provence, and all the Municipalities 
 of Bretagne, adopted fimilar reiolutions. In 
 Provence and Bretagne, where the Nobles 
 and Clergy, trembling for their privileges, 
 jnd the Parliaments for their jurifdiction, at- 
 tempted a feeble refinance, the fermentation 
 was peculiarly ih'ong. Seme eiHmate of the 
 fervor of public fentiment may be formed 
 from the reception of the Count de Mirabeau 
 in his native Province, where the BurgefFes 
 of Aix affirmed him a body-<rnard, where the 
 citizens of Marfeilles crowned him in the 
 theatre, and where, under all the terrors of 
 defpotifm, he received as numerous and tu- 
 multuous proofs of attachment as ever were 
 beftowed on a favourite by the enthufiafm of 
 the moft free people. M. Caraman, the Go- 
 vernor of Provence, was even reduced to im- 
 
 C plore
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 plore his interposition with the populace, to 
 appeafe and prevent their exceffes. The con- 
 teffc in Bretasme was more violent and fan<nii- 
 nary. It had preferved its independence more 
 than any of thofe Provinces which had been 
 united to the Crown of France. The Nobles 
 and Clergy polTefTed almoft the whole power 
 of the States, and their obilinacy was fo great* 
 that their Deputies did not take their feats in 
 the National AfTernbly till an advanced period 
 of its proceedings. 
 
 The return of M. Neckar, and the recall 
 of the exiled magiftrates, reftored a momen- 
 tary calm. The perfonal reputation of the 
 Miniuer for probity, re-animated the credit of 
 France. But the finances were too irreme- 
 diably embarrafled for palliatives ; and the 
 fafcinating idea of the States General, pre- 
 fented to the public imagination by the un- 
 v. arv zeal of the Parliament, awakened re- 
 collections of ancient freedom, and nrofpects 
 
 of
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 of future Splendor, which the virtue or po- 
 pularity of no Minifter could banifh. The 
 convocation of that body was rcfolved but 
 many difficulties respecting the mode of 
 electing and conftituting it remained, which 
 a fecond Affembly of Notables was Summoned 
 to decide. 
 
 The Third Eftate demanded representatives 
 equal to thofe oS the other two orders jointly. 
 'They required that the number mould be re- 
 gulated by the population of the diftricts* 
 and that the three Orders mould vote in one 
 Affembly. All the Committees into which 
 the Notables were divided, except that of 
 which Monsieur was PreSident, decided 
 againft the Third Eflate in every one of theSe 
 particulars. They were ftrenuoufly Supported 
 by the Parliament oS Paris, who, too late 
 SenSible of the Suicide into which they had 
 been betrayed, laboured to render the Affem- 
 bly impotent, when they were unable to pre- 
 
 C 2 vent
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 vent its meeting. But their efforts were in 
 vain. M. Neckar, whether actuated by re- 
 flect for juftice, or ambition of popularity, or 
 yielding to the irrefiflible torrent of public 
 fentiment, advifed the King to adopt the pro- 
 portions of the 'Third EJiate in the two firft 
 particulars, and to leave the laft to be decided 
 bv the States General themfelves. 
 
 Letters patent were accordingly ifTued on 
 the 24th of January, 1789, for affembling 
 the States General*, to which were annexed 
 regulations for the detail of their elections. 
 In the conftituent afTemblies of the feveral 
 provinces, bailliages, and conftabularies of 
 the kingdom, the progrefs of the public 
 mind became frill more evident. The Clergy 
 and Nobility ought not to be denied the 
 praiie of having emuloufly facrificed their pe- 
 
 * Lettre du Roi pour la convocation des Etats Generaux 
 & reglemcnt pour 1'execution des Iettres de convocation,, 
 donnc le 24 Janvier, 1789. 
 
 cuniary
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 cuniary privileges. The inftructions to the 
 
 Reprefentatives breathed every where a fpirit 
 
 of freedom as ardent, though not fo liberal 
 
 and enlightened, as that which has fmce pre- 
 
 fided in the deliberations of the National Af- 
 
 fembly. Paris was eminently confpicuous. 
 
 The union of talent, the rapid communica- 
 
 > 
 
 tion of thought, and the frequency of thofe 
 numerous afTemblies, where men learn their 
 force, and compare their wrongs*, ever make 
 a great capital the heart that circulates emo- 
 tion and opinion to the extremities of an em- 
 pire. No fooner had the convocation of the 
 States General been announced, than the 
 batteries of the prefs were opened. Pamphlet 
 fucceeded pamphlet, furpafiing each other in 
 boldnefs and elevation; and the advance of 
 Paris to li^ht and freedom wac greater in 
 three months than it had been in almoft as 
 many centuries. 
 
 * Coift < iriji , .: isi .-.:./ f>: -clinch accendere. Tac. 
 
 C v Doctrines
 
 ( 3') 
 
 Doctrines* were univerfally received in. 
 May, which in January would have been 
 deemed treafonable, and which in March 
 were derided as the viiions of a few deluded 
 fanatics. 
 
 It was amid this rapid difFunon of light, 
 and increafing fervor of public fentiment, 
 that the States General of France affembled 
 at Verfailles on the 5th of May, 1 789 ; a day 
 which will probably be accounted by pofte- 
 rity one of the moil memorable in the annals 
 of the human race. Any detail of the parade 
 
 * The principles of freedom had long been underftood 8 
 perhaps better than in any country of the world, by the 
 phiiofophers of France. It was as natural that they fhoukl 
 have been more diligently cultivated in that kingdom than 
 in England, as that the feience of medicine fhould be Mi 
 understood and valued among fimple and vigorous, than 
 among luxurious and enfeebled nations. But the progrefs 
 which we have noticed was among the lefs inftructed part of 
 fociety, 
 
 and
 
 ( 39 
 
 and ceremonial of their Afiembly would be 
 totally foreign to cur purpofe, which is not 
 to narrate events, but to fcize their fpirit, and 
 to mark their influence on the political pro- 
 orefs from which the Revolution was to arife. 
 The preliminary operation neceffary to confli- 
 tute the Afiembly gave rife to the fir ft great 
 
 JO o 
 
 queftion The mode of authenticating the 
 commifiions of the Deputies. It was con- 
 tended by the Clergy and Nobles, that ac- 
 cording; to ancient ufage, each Order mould 
 feparatelv fcrutinize and authenticate the com- 
 mifiions of its own Deputies. It was argued 
 by the Commons, that, on general principles, 
 all Orders, having an equal intereft. in the 
 purity of the national reprefentative, had an 
 equal right to take cognizance of the authen- 
 ticity of the commifiions of all the members 
 who compofe it, and therefore to fcrutinize 
 them in common. To the authority of pre- 
 cedent it was anfvvered, that it would eftablifh 
 too much : for in the ancient States, their ex- 
 ( ' i animation
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 amination of powers was Subordinate to the 
 reviiioii of Royal Commiflaries, a fubje&ion 
 
 too degrading and injurious for the free and 
 vigilant fpirit of an enlightened age. This 
 controversy involved another of more magni- 
 tude and importance. If the Orders united hi 
 this fcrutiny, they were likely to continue 111 
 one Afiembly ; the feparate voices of the two 
 fir ft Orders would be annihilated, and the im- 
 portance of the Nobility and Clergy reduced 
 to that of their individual fuffragcs. 
 
 This great Revolution was obvioufly medU 
 tatcd by the leaders of the Commons. They 
 were Seconded in the Chamber of the No- 
 blelTe bv a minority eminentlv diftingaufhed 
 for rank, character, and talent. The ohiure 
 and ufeful portion of the Clergy were, from 
 their Situation, acceffible to popular fentiment, 
 and naturally coaieiccd with the Commons.' 
 Many who favoured the dhijion of the Legis- 
 lature in the ordinary arrangements of Go- 
 vernment,
 
 ( 4i ) 
 
 yerament, were convinced that the grand and 
 radical reforms, which the fituation of France 
 demanded, could only be affected by its union 
 as one A (Terribly*. So many prejudices were 
 to be vanquished, fo many difficulties to be 
 furmounted, fuch obftinate habits to be extir- 
 pated, and fo formidable a power to be re- 
 
 * 111 n'eft pas douteux que pour aujourd'hui, que pour 
 *' cctte premiere tenue une Ciiambre Unique n'ait ete 
 " preferable & peut-etre nccejfaire. II y avoit tant Jc diffi- 
 ** cultes a furmonter, tant de prejuges a vaincre, tant de 
 *' facrifices a faire, de fi vieilles habitudes a deraciner, une 
 l ' puifTance fi forte a contenir, en un mot, tant a detruire & 
 *' prefque tout a crccr" " Ce nouvel ordre de chofes que 
 c ' vcus avez fait eclore, tout cela vous en etes bien furs n'a 
 '' jamais pu naitre que dela reunion de tuutes les perfonnes, 
 *' de tons le fentiments, 6c de tous les cceurs." Difcours 
 de M. tally Tolcndahl a CAjJcmblee Rationale, 3 1 Aout, 
 
 1789, dans fes Pieces Jujlifieanfs, p. 105 6. This pal- 
 
 fage is in more than one refpedt remarkable. It fully evinces 
 the convi&ion of the Author, tbat changes were neceffary 
 great enough to delerve the name of a Revolution ; and, 
 confidering the refpecl of Mr. Burke for his authority, 
 ought to have weight with him. 
 
 filled,
 
 ( 4* ) 
 
 lifted, that there was an obvious neceffity to 
 concentrate the force of the reforming body. 
 In a great Revolution, every expedient ought 
 to facilitate change. In an eflablimed Go- 
 \-ernment, everv thing; ought to render it dif- 
 ficult. Hence the divifion of a Ligiflature, 
 which in an eilablifhed Government, may 
 give a beneficial frability to the laws, mufr, 
 in a moment of Revolution, be proportionally 
 injurious, by fortifying abufe and unnerving 
 reform. In a Revolution, the enemies of 
 freedom are external, and all powers are there- 
 fore to be united. Under an eftablifhment 
 her enemies are internal, and power is there- 
 fore to be divided. 
 
 But befides this general confideration, the 
 flate of France furniihed others of more lo- 
 cal and temporary cogency. The States Ge- 
 neral, acting by feparate Orders, were a body 
 from which no fubftantial reform could be 
 hoped. The two nrft Orders were interefted 
 
 in
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 %i\ the perpetuity of every abufe that was to 
 be reformed. Their pofTeflion of two equal 
 and independent voices muff, have rendered 
 the exertions of the Commons impotent and 
 nugatory, and a colluhon between the Af- 
 lembly and the Crown would probably have 
 limited its illufive reforms to fome forry pal- 
 liatives, the price of financial difembarrafT- 
 ment. The flate of a nation lulled into com- 
 placent fervitude by fuch petty conceffions, 
 is far more hopelefs than the ftate of thofe 
 who groan under the mofr. galling hope of 
 defpotifm, and the condition of France would 
 have been more irremediable than ever. Such 
 reafonings produced an univerfal conviction, 
 that the quefHon, whether the States General 
 were to vote individually, or in Orders, was 
 a quefHon, whether they were or were not to 
 produce any important benefit. Guided by 
 thefe views, and animated by public fupport, 
 the Commons adhered inflexibly to their prin- 
 ciple of incorporating the three Orders. They 
 
 adopted
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 adopted a provifory organization, but ftudi- 
 oufly declined whatever might feem to fup- 
 pofe legal exiftence, or to arrogate conftitu- 
 tional powers. The Nobles, lels politic or 
 timid, declared themfelves a legally confti- 
 tuted Order, and proceeded to difcufs the 
 great objects of their convocation. The Clergy 
 affected to preferve a mediatorial character, 
 and to conciliate the difcordant claims of the 
 two hoftile Orders. The Commons, faithful 
 to their fyftem, remained in a wife and maf- 
 terly inactivity, which tacitly reproached the 
 arrogant afiumption of the Nobles, while it 
 left no pretext to calumniate their own con- 
 duel; ; gave time for the encreafe of popular 
 fervor, and diiTreffed the Court by the delay 
 of financial aid. Several conciliatory plans 
 were propofed by the Minifter, and rejected 
 by the haughtinefs of the Nobility and the 
 policy of i'r: Commons. 
 
 Thus
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 Thus parTed the period between the 5th of 
 May and the 12th of June, when the popular 
 leaders, animated by public lupport, and con- 
 fcious of the maturity of their iehemes, af- 
 iumed a more refolute tone. 
 
 The Third Efhte commenced the fcrutiny 
 of commiflions, iummc:?cd the Nobles and 
 Clergy to repair to the Hall of the States 
 General, and reielved that the abfenceofthe 
 Deputies of feme diftricls and claiTes of citi- 
 zens could not preclude them, who formed 
 the reprefentatives of ninety-fix hundred parts 
 of the nation, from conltituting thcmfelves 
 into : National Affcmbly. 
 
 Thefc deciiive meafures betrayed the de- 
 figns of the Court, and fully illuftrate that 
 bounty and liberality for which Lewis XVL 
 Iras been io idly celebrated. That feeble 
 Prince, whofe public character varied with 
 every fluctuation in his Cabinet, the mftru- 
 
 ment
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 ment alike of the ambition of Vcrgennes, the 
 prodigality of Calonne, and the oftentatious 
 popularity of Neckar, had hitherto yielded to 
 the embarrafTment of the finances, and the 
 clamor of the people. The cabal that re- 
 tained its afcendant over his mind, permitted 
 conceflions which they hoped to make vain, 
 and flattered themfelves with frnfr rating, by 
 the context, of ftru soling Orders, all idea of 
 
 'JO O ' 
 
 fubftantial reform. No fooner did the Al~ 
 fembly betray any fymptom of activity and 
 vigor, than their alarms became confpicuous 
 in the Roval conduct. The Comte d'Artois, 
 and the other Princes of the Blood, publiihed 
 the boldeft manifestoes againft the Aflembly; 
 the credit of M. Neckar at Court declined 
 everv dav ; the Rovalifts in the Chamber of 
 the Noblcffe fpoke of nothing lcfs than an 
 impeachment of the Commons for high-trea- 
 fon, and an immediate difioiution of the States ; 
 a vaft military force and a tremendous artillery 
 were collected from all parts of the kingdom 
 
 towards
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 towards Verfailles and Paris, and under thefe 
 menacing and inaufpicious circumflances, 
 the meeting of the States General was pro- 
 hibited by the King's order till a Royal Sef- 
 fion, which was deflined for the 2 2d but 
 held on the 23d of June. The Commons, 
 on repairing to their Hall on the 20th, found 
 it inverted with foldiers, and themfelves ex 4 
 eluded from it by the point of the bayonet. 
 They were fummoned by their Prelldent to 
 a tennis -Court, where they were reduced to 
 hold their affembly, and which they rendered 
 famous as the fcene of their unanimous and 
 memorable oath, never to feparate -till they 
 had atchieved the regeneration of France, 
 
 The Royal Se/Jion thus announced, corre- 
 fponded with the new tone of the Court. Its 
 exterior was marked by the gloomy and fero- 
 cious haughtinefs of defpotifm. The Royal 
 puppet was now evidently moved by different 
 perfons from thole who had prompted its 
 
 1 pecCii
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 fpeech at the opening of the States. He pro-' 
 bably fpoke both with the fame fpirit and the 
 fame heart, and felt as little firmnefs under 
 the cloak of arrogance, as he had been con- 
 fcious of fenfibility amidft his profefiions of 
 affection. He was probably as feeble in the 
 one as he had been cold in the other ; but his 
 language is fome criterion of the fyflemofhis 
 prompters. 
 
 This fpeech was diitinguiihcd by infultiflg 
 Condeiceniion and oftentatious menace. He 
 fpoke not as the Chief of a free nation to its 
 fovereio;n Leeiflaturc, but as a Sultan to his 
 Divan. He annulled and prefcribed delibera- 
 tions at pleafure. He affected to reprefent 
 his will as the rule of their conduct, mid his 
 bounty as the fource of their freedom. Nor 
 was the matter of his harangue lefs injurious 
 than its manner was offentive. Inftcad of 
 containing any conceffion important to public 
 hbertv, it indicated a relapfe into a more lofty 
 
 defpotifni
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 defpotifm than had before marked his preten- 
 fions. Tithes, feudal, and feignorial rights, 
 he confecrated as the moft inviolable pro- 
 perty ; and of Lettres de Cachet themfelves, 
 by recommending the regulation, he obvi- 
 oufly condemned the abolition. The diitinction 
 of Orders he confidered as effcntial to the 
 Conflitution of the kingdom, and their pre- 
 ient union as only legitimate by his permif- 
 fion. He concluded with commanding them 
 to feparate, and to affemble on the next day 
 in the Halls of their refpective Orders. 
 
 The Commons, however, inflexibly ad- 
 hering to their principles, and conceiving 
 themfelves conftituted as a National Affem- 
 bly, treated thefe threats and injunctions with, 
 equal neglect. They remained afTembled in 
 the Hall, which the other Orders had quitted, 
 in obedience to the Royal command ; and 
 when the Marquis de Breze, the King's Maf- 
 ter of Ceremonies, reminded them of his 
 
 D Majefty's
 
 ( 50 ) 
 Majefty's orders, he was anfwered by M. 
 Eaiii:, with Spartan energy, " The Nation 
 " affembled has no Orders to receive." 
 They proceeded tapafs refclutions declaratory 
 of adherence to their former decrees, and of 
 the perfonal inviolability of the members. 
 The Royal Seffion, which the Ariftocratic 
 party had expected with iuch triumph and 
 confidence, proved the ievereir. blow to their 
 caufe. Forty-nine members of the Nobility, 
 at the head of whom was M. de Clermont 
 Tonnerre, repaired on the 26th of June to 
 the Affembly*. The popular enthuliafm was 
 inflamed to iuch a degree, that alarms were 
 either felt or affected, for the fafety of the 
 Kins:, if the Union of Orders was delayed. 
 The union was accordingly reiolved on, and 
 
 * It defcrves remark, ihrt in this number were Noble - 
 n 1 ti w ;>" have ever been ccniidered as of the moderate party. 
 Of the. j mav be mentioned M. M. Lally, Viricu, and 
 Clermont To:mene, none of whom certainlv can be ac- 
 ,- fed of democratic enthufiafm. 
 
 the
 
 ( 5' ) 
 
 the Duke of Luxemburg, Proficient of the 
 Nobility, was authorized by his Majeily to 
 announce to his Order the requeft. and even 
 command of the King, to unite themfelves 
 with the other Orders. He remonftrated with 
 the King on the fatal confequences of this ftep. 
 The Nobility, he remarked, were not fighting 
 their own battles, but thofe of the Crown. 
 The iupport of the Monarchy was infcperably 
 connected with the divifion of the States Ge- 
 neral. Divided, that body was fubject to the 
 Crown united, its authority was fovereign, 
 and its force irrefiftible*. The King was 
 not, however, maken by thefe considerations, 
 and on the following day, in an official letter 
 to the Preiidents of the Nobility and Clerg-y, 
 he notified his pleaiure. A gloomy and re- 
 
 Thefe remarks of M. tie Luxemburg are equivalent 
 to a thoufand defenfes of the Revolutionists again ft Mr. 
 Burke. Thev unanfwerably prove that the divifion of 
 Orders was Supported only as necefTary to pal fy the efFcrts of 
 the Legislature againft the Defpotifm. 
 
 D 2 luchnt
 
 ( 5* ) 
 
 luctant obedience was yielded to this man- 
 date, and the union of the National Repre- 
 fentatives at length promifed fome hope to 
 France. 
 
 But the general fyftem of the Government 
 formed a fufpicious and tremendous contraft 
 with this applauded conceffion. New hordes 
 of foreign mercenaries were fummoned to 
 the blockade of Paris and Verfailles, from 
 the remoteft provinces ; an immenfe train of 
 artillery was difpofed in all the avenues of thefe 
 cities ; and feventy thoufand men already in- 
 verted the Legiflature and Capital of France, 
 when the laft blow was hazarded ao-ainft. the 
 public hopes, by the ignominious banifhment 
 of M. Neckar. Events followed the moll: 
 unexampled and memorable in the annals of 
 mankind, which hiftory will record and im- 
 mortalize, but, on which, the object of the 
 political rcafoner is onlv to fpeculate. France 
 was on the brink of civil war. The Prq- 
 
 vincc^
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 vinces were ready to march immenfe bodies 
 to the refcue of their Reprefentatives. The 
 Courtiers and their minions, Princes and 
 Princefles, male and female favorites, crowded 
 to the camps with which they had inverted 
 Verfailles, and ftimulated the ferocious cruelty 
 of their mercenaries, by carefles, by largefTes, 
 and by promifes. Mean time the people of 
 Paris revolted, the French foldiery felt that 
 they were citizens, and the fabric of Defpo- 
 tifm fell to the ground. 
 
 Thefe foldiers, whom pofterity will cele- 
 brate for patriotic heroifm, are ftigmatized by 
 Mr. Burke as " bale hireling deferters," who 
 fold their King for an increafe of pay*. 
 
 * Mr. Burke is fanctioned in this opinion by an autho- 
 rity not the mofr. reipectable, that of his late countryman 
 Count Dalton, Commander of the Auftrian troops in the 
 Netherlands. In September, 1789, he addreffed the Regiment 
 dc Llgne, at BrurTels, in thefe terms, " J'efpere que vous 
 '* n'imiterex jamais ces laches Francois qui ont abandonne 
 " Ieur Souverain !" 
 
 D 3 This
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 This portion he every where afTerts or infl- 
 nuates ; but nothing fccms more falfe. Had 
 the defection been confined to Paris, there 
 might have been fome fpecioufnefs in the ac- 
 cufation. The Exchequer of a faction might 
 have been equal to the corruption of the 
 guards. The activity of intrigue might have 
 feduced by promiie, the troops cantoned in 
 the neighbourhood of the capital. But what 
 policy, or fortune, could pervade by their 
 agents, or donatives, an army of 150,000 
 men, difperfed over fo great a monarchy as 
 France. The fpirit of refiftance to uncivic 
 commands broke forth at once in every part 
 of the empire. The garrifons of the cities 
 of Rennes, Bourdeaux, Lyons, and Grenoble, 
 refufed, almofl at the fame moment, to refill 
 the virtuous infurreclion of their fellow citi- 
 zens. No largefTes could have feduced, no 
 intrigues could have reached i'o vail and di- 
 vided a body. Nothing but fympathy with 
 the national fpirit could have produced their 
 
 noble
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 noble di (obedience. The remark of Mr. 
 Hume is here moil applicable, that what de- 
 pends on a flw may be often attributed to 
 chance (fcci'et clrcumftances) but that the ac- 
 tions of great bodies muff, be ever afcribed to 
 general caufes. It. was the appreheniion of 
 Montejquieu, that the fpirit of increafing ar- 
 mies would terminate in converting Europe 
 into an immenfe camp, in changing our arti- 
 zans and cultivators into military lavages, and 
 reviving the age of Attila and Genghis. 
 Events are our preceptors, and France has 
 taught us that this evil contains in itfelf its 
 own remedy and limit. A domeftic army can- 
 not be increafed without increafing the num- 
 ber of its ties with the people, and of the 
 channels by which popular fentiment may 
 enter. Every man who is added to the army is 
 a new link that unites it to the nation. If ail 
 citizens were compelled to become foldiers, 
 all foldiers mull of ncceflity adopt the feelings 
 of citizens, and the defpots cannot increase their 
 
 D 4 army
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 army without admitting into it a greater 
 number of men interested to deftroy them. 
 A fmall army may have fentiments different 
 from the great body of the people, and no in- 
 tcreft in common with them, but a numerous 
 foldiery cannot. This is the barrier which 
 Nature has oppofed to the increafe of armies. 
 They cannot be numerous enough to enflave 
 the people, without becoming the people it- 
 felf. The effects of this truth have been hi- 
 therto confpicuous only in the military defec- 
 tion of France, becaufe the enlightened fenfe 
 of general interefr. has been fo much more 
 diffufed in that nation than in any other de- 
 fpotic monarchy of Europe. But they mufl 
 be felt by all. An elaborate difcipline may for 
 a while in Germany debafe and brutalize 
 foldiers too much to receive any imprefiions 
 from their fellow men artificial and local in- 
 ftitutions are, however, too feeble to refill: the 
 energy of natural caufes. The conftitution 
 of man furvives the tranfient fafhions of def- 
 
 potifm,
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 potifm, and the hiftory of the next century 
 will probably evince on how frail and totter- 
 ing a bails the military tyrannies of Europe 
 ftand. 
 
 The pretended feduction of the French 
 troops by the promife of the increafed pay, i-s 
 in evcrv view contradicted by facts. This in- 
 creafe of pay did not originate in the Af- 
 fembly. It was not therefore any part of 
 their policy It was prefcribed to them by the 
 inftructions of their conftituents, before the 
 meeting: of the States*. It could not there- 
 fore be the project of any cabal of demagogues 
 to feduce the army ; it was the decifive and 
 unanimous voice of the nation, and if there 
 was any confpiracy, it mufr. have been that 
 f the people. What had the demagogues 
 
 * I appeal to M. Calonne, as an authority beyond fuf- 
 picion on this iubje6t. See his Summary of the Caihcrs, ot 
 
 in illusions. Art 73. " L' Augmentation de la Pale du 
 ' Scldat." Calonne, p. 390, 
 
 to
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 to offer. The foldiery knew that the States 
 mud, in obedience to their inftruetions, in- 
 creafe their pay. An increafe of pay there- 
 fore, was no temptation to fell their King, for 
 of that they felt themfelves already fecure, as 
 the national voice had prefcribed it. It was 
 in fact a neceflary part of the fyflem which 
 was to raife the army to a budy of refpectable 
 citizens, from a gang of mendicant ruffians. 
 
 It mufl infallibly operate to limit the in- 
 creafe of armies in the north. This influence 
 has been already felt in the Netherlands, 
 which fortune feems to have reftored to 
 Leopold, that they might furnifh a fchool 
 of revolt to German foldicrs. The Auftrian 
 troops have there murmured at their compa- 
 rative indigence, and fupported their plea for 
 increafe of pay by the example of France. 
 The fame example mull operate on the other 
 armies of Europe. The folicitations of armed 
 petitioners mufl be heard. The indigent de- 
 
 fpots
 
 ( 59 ) 
 fpots of Germany and the North will feel a 
 limit to their military ra^e, in the fcantinefs 
 of their Exchequer. They will be compelled 
 to reduce the number, and increafe the pay 
 of their armies, and a new barrier will be op- 
 pofed to the progrefs of that depopulation and 
 barbarifm, which philofophers had dreaded 
 from the rapid increafe of military force. 
 Thefe remarks on the fpirit which actuated 
 the French armv in their unexampled, mif- 
 conceived, and calumniated conduct, are pe- 
 culiarly important, as they ierve to illuftrate 
 a principle, which cannot too frequently be 
 p relented to view, that in the French Revo- 
 lution all is to be attributed to General caufes 
 influencing the whole body of the people, and 
 fllmoil nothing to the fchemes and the afcen- 
 riant of individuals. 
 
 But to return to our rapid (ketch. It was 
 at the moment of the Parifian revolt, and of 
 the defection of the army, that the whole 
 
 power
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 power of France devolved on the National 
 Affembly. It is at that moment, therefore, 
 that the difcufiion commences, whether that 
 body ought to have re~efrablifhed and re- 
 formed the Government which events had fab- 
 verted, or to have proceeded to the emibliih- 
 ment of a new Constitution, on the general 
 principles of reafon and freedom. The arm 
 of the ancient Government had been palfied, 
 and its power reduced to formality, by events 
 over which the Affembly poiTefTed no con- 
 troul. It was theirs to decide, not whether 
 the monarchy was to be iubverted, for that 
 had been already effected, but whether, from 
 its ruins, fragments were to be collected for 
 the re-conilrucuon of the political edifice. 
 
 Thev had been affembled as an ordinary 
 Legiflature under exilting laws. They were 
 transform ; 1 by thefe events into a National 
 Convention, and vefled with powers to 
 oreanize a Government. It is in vain that 
 
 their
 
 ( 6i ) 
 
 their adverfaries conteft. this affertion, by ap- 
 pealing to the deficiency of forms'*. It is in 
 vain to demand the les:al inftrument that 
 changed their Conflitution, and extended 
 their powers. Accurate forms in the convey- 
 ance of power are prefcribed by the wifdom 
 of law, in the regular administration of 
 States. But great Revolutions are too im- 
 menfe for technical formality. All the fanc- 
 tion that can be hoped for in fuch events, is 
 the voice of the people, however informally 
 and irregularly exprelTed. This cannot ' be 
 
 This circumftanee is fhortly ftated by Mr. Burke, 
 v ' I can never eonfider this Affembly as any thing elfe than 
 *' a voluntary afibciation of men, who have availed them- 
 ** felves of circum fiances to feize upon the power of the 
 " State. They do not hold the authority they exercife un- 
 ' 4 der any Conftitutional law of the State. They have de- 
 *' parted from the inftru&ions of the people that fent them, 
 t; &c." Burke, p. 242 3. The fame argument is treated 
 by M. Calonne, in an expanded memorial of 44 pages* 
 apainit the pretentions of the Affembly to be a convention, 
 with much unavailing ingenuity and labour,- See his Work 
 from p. 314 to 358.
 
 ( & ) 
 
 pretended to have been wanting in France* 
 Every other fbecies of authority was annihi- 
 lated by popular acts, but that of the States 
 General. On them, therefore, devolved the 
 duty of exercifing their unlimited* truit, ac~ 
 
 * A diflin&ion made by Mr. Burke between the abftraSt 
 and moral competency of a Legiflature (p. 27) has been 
 much extolled by his admirers. To me it feems only a 
 novel and objectionable mode of diflinguiming between a 
 right and the expediency of ufing it. But the mode of illus- 
 trating the distinction is far more pernicious than a mere 
 novelty of phrafe. This moral competence is iubject, lays 
 our author, to " faith, juftice, and fixed fundamental po- 
 " licy." Thus illuftrated, the diftinction appears liable tc a 
 double objection, It is falfe that the abfratl competence of 
 a Legiflature extends to the violation of faith and juftice. 
 It is falfe that its motet:, competence does not extend to the 
 mofr fundamental policy, and thus to confound fundamental 
 policy with faith and juftice, tor tl ^ fake of Stigmatizing 
 innovators, is to flab the vitals of morality. There is only 
 one maxim of policy truly fundamental the good of the go- 
 verned and the (lability ot that maxim, rightly underftcod, 
 demonstrates the mutability of all policy that is Subordinate 
 to it. 
 
 cording
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 cording!: to their heft views of general intereft. 
 Their enemies have, even in their invectives, 
 confefled the fubfequent adherence of the 
 people, for they have inveighed againft it as 
 the infatuation of a dire fanaticifm. The au- 
 thority of the Aflembly was then flril con- 
 ferred on it by public confidence, and its acts 
 have been fince ratified by public approbation. 
 Nothing can betray a difpofition to puny and 
 technical fophiirry more lirongly, than to ob- 
 ferve with M. Calonne, that this ratification, 
 to be valid, ought to have been made by 
 France, not in her new organization of mu- 
 nicipalities, but in her ancient divifion of 
 bailliages and provinces. The fame indivi- 
 duals act in both forms. The approbation of 
 the men legitimates the Government. It is of 
 no importance, whether they are affembled 
 as bailliages, or as municipalities. If this 
 latitude of informality, this fubjection of laws 
 to their principle, and of Government to its 
 iource, are not permitted in Revolutions,
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 how are we to juftify the afTumed authority 
 of the Englifh Convention of 1688 ? " They 
 *' did not hold the authority they exercifed 
 '* under any conftitutional law of the State." 
 They were not even legally elected , as, it muft 
 be confefTed, was the cafe with the French Afc 
 fembly. An evident though irregular ratifi- 
 cation by the people, alone legitimated their 
 acts. Yet they pofTefTed, by the confeffion of 
 Mr. Burke, an authority only limited by pru- 
 dence and virtue. Had the people of Eng- 
 land given injirudlions to the Members of that 
 Convention, its ultimate meafures would pro- 
 bably have departed as much from them as the 
 French AiTembly have deviated from thofe of 
 their conflituents, and the public acquiefcence 
 in the deviation would, in all likelihood, have 
 Veen the fame. 
 
 It will be conferTed by any man who has 
 confidered the public temper of England at 
 the landing of William, that the majority of 
 thofe inftructious would not have proceeded 
 
 to
 
 ( &5 ) 
 
 to the deposition of James. The firft afped 
 of thefe great changes perplexes and intimi- 
 dates men too much for juft views and bold 
 refolutions. It is by the progrefs of events 
 that their hopes arc emboldened, and their 
 views enlarged. 
 
 This influence was felt in France. The 
 people, in an advanced period of the Revolu- 
 tion, virtually recalled the inftrucf.ions by 
 which the feeblenefs of their political infancy 
 had limited the power of their Reprefenta- 
 tives ; fjr they {auctioned acts by which thofe 
 inirrucdons were contradicted. The forma- 
 lity of inftructions was indeed wanting in 
 Englaud, but the change of public ientiment, 
 from the opening of the Convention to its ul- 
 timate decition, was as remarkable as the 
 contrail: which, has been io oltentatioufly 
 dif,;laved bv M. Calonne, between the dc- 
 
 L.J 
 
 crecs of the National AiTembly and the frit 
 inilri;..: ;, :), of their conftitucnts* 
 
 E Ti
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 Thus feeble are the objections againfr. the 
 authority of the Aflembly. 
 
 We now refume the confideration of its 
 exercife, and proceed to enquire, whether they 
 ought to have reformed, or deftroyed their 
 Government ? The general queftion of inno- 
 vation is an exhaufted common-place, to 
 which the s;eniu3 of Mr. Burke has been able 
 to add nothing but iplendor of eloquence and 
 felicity of illuitration. It has long been fo 
 notoriouily of this nature, that it is placed by 
 Lord Bacon among the fportive contefts which 
 are to exercife rhetorical (kill. No man will 
 fupport the extreme on either fide. Perpe- 
 tual change and immutable eflabliihment are 
 equally indefenfible. To defcend therefore 
 from thefe barren generalities to a more near 
 view of the queftion, let us flate it more pre- 
 cifelv. J fas the Civil Order m France corrigi- 
 ble, or zvas it necejjary to deftroy it ? Not to 
 mention the extirpation of the feudal fyflem, 
 
 ayd
 
 ( 67 ) 
 
 and the abrogation of the civil and criminal 
 code, we have firfl to confider the deftruction 
 of the three great corporations, of the Nobility, 
 the Church, and the Parliaments. Thefe 
 three Ariftocracies were the pillars which in 
 fact formed the Government of France. The 
 queflion then of forming or dejlroying thefe 
 bodies is fundamental. There is one general 
 principle applicable to them all adopted by 
 the French Legiflators that the exigence of 
 Orders is repugnant to the principles of the facial 
 union. An Order is a legal rank, a body of men 
 combined and endowed with privileges by law. 
 There are two kinds of inequality, the one 
 perfonal that of talent and virtue, the fource 
 of whatever is excellent and admirable in fo- 
 ciety the other that of fortune, which mult 
 exift, becaufe property alone can ftimulatc to 
 labour ; and labour, if it were not neceffary 
 to the exigence, would be indifpenfible to the 
 happinefs of man. But though it be necef- 
 fary, yet, in its excefs it is the great malady 
 
 E ? ot
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 of civil fociety. The accumulation of that 
 power which is conferred by wealth in the 
 1 lands of the few, is the perpetual fource of 
 oppreflion and neglecT: to the mais of man- 
 kind. The power of the wealthy is farther 
 concentrated by their tendency to combination^ 
 from which, number, difperiion, indigence 
 and ignorance equally preclude the poor. The 
 wealthy are formed into bodies by their pro- 
 feflions, their different degrees of opulence 
 (called ranks,) their knowledge, and their 
 fmall number. They necedarily in all coun- 
 tries adminifter government, for they alone 
 have Ikill and leifure for its functions. Thus 
 circumftanced, nothing can be mere evident 
 than their inevitable preponderance in the po- 
 litical fcale. The preference of partial to 
 general interests is however the created of all 
 public evils. It mould therefore have been 
 the olveel of all laws to reprcll, tins malady, 
 but it has been their perpetual tendency to 
 
 aggravate it. j\ot content with the mevit- 
 
 *n 
 
 k
 
 ( (") ) 
 
 able Inequality of fortune, thev have fuperad- 
 ded to it honorary and political distinctions. 
 Not content with the inevitable tendency of 
 the wealthy to combine, thev have embodied 
 them in chiles. Thev have fortified thole 
 confpiracies again It the general iiitercit, 
 which they ought to have rcfifted, though 
 they could not diiarm. Laws, it is find, can- 
 not equalize men. No. But o right they for 
 that reafbn to aggravate the ineoualitv which 
 they cannot cure ? J ,a\\ s cannot infplre un- 
 mixed Patriotifm But ought they for that 
 reafon to foment that co> pvat'io n f'y'rii which 
 is its molt ratal enemy : All nrofefhonal com- 
 binations, laid Air. Burke, in one of his late 
 fpeeches in Parliament, are dangerous in a free 
 State. Arguing on the lame principle, the 
 National Afiembly has proceeded further. 
 They have conceived that t 1 ne laws ought to 
 ' 'cciic no inequality o\ combination, to rear - 
 uize all onlv in their capacity of citizens, and
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 to offer no am" fiance to the natural preponder- 
 ance of partial over general interefl. 
 
 But betides the s;eneral fource of hoftilitv 
 to Orders, the particular circumftances of 
 France prefented other objections, which it 
 is necefTary to confider more in detail. 
 
 It is in the fir ft place to be remarked, that 
 all the bodies and inftitutions of the kingdom 
 participated the fpirit of the ancient Govern- 
 ment, and in that view were incapable of alli- 
 ance with a free Conflitution. They were 
 tainted by the defpotiim of which they were 
 members or inflruments. Abfolute monar- 
 chies, like every other conftftent and perma- 
 nent government, aiTnrrdate every thing with 
 which they are connected to their own ge- 
 nius. The Nobility, the priefthood, the Judi- 
 cial Ariftocracy, were unfit to be members of a 
 free government, becaufe then- corporate' cha- 
 racier had been formed under arbitrary efiab- 
 
 lifhments.
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 lifhments. To have preferved thefe great 
 corporations, would be to have retained the 
 feeds of reviving defpotifm in the bofom of 
 freedom. This remark may merit the atten- 
 tion of Mr. Burke, as illuftrating an important 
 difference between the French and En^lifh 
 Revolutions. The Clergy, the Peerage, and 
 Judicatures of England, had in fome degree 
 the ientiments infpired by a Government in 
 which freedom had been cclipfqd, but not ex- 
 tinguifhed They were therefore qualified to 
 partake of a more ftable and improved liberty. 
 But the cafe of France was different. Thefe 
 bodies had there imbibed every fentiment, 
 and adopted every habit under arbitrary power. 
 Their prefervation in England, and their de- 
 ilruclion in France, may in this view bejuf- 
 tified on fimilar grounds. It is abfurd to re- 
 gard the Orders as remnants of that free con- 
 ilitution which France, in common with the 
 other Gothic nations of Europe, once enjoyed. 
 Nothing remained of thefe ancient Orders 
 
 E 4 but
 
 ( 72 ) 
 
 but the name. The Nobility were no longer 
 thole haughty and powerful Barons, who en- 
 : . : 1 the. people and dictated to the King. 
 - ae ( v-lofiaftics were no longer that Prieft- 
 hoc:, before whom, in a benighted and fu- 
 je. ititious age, all civil power was impotent 
 :\\d mute. They have both dwindled into de- 
 pendents on the crown. Still lefs do the opu- 
 lent and enlightened Commons of France re- 
 ferable its icivile and bewared nooulace in the 
 
 JO J- 
 
 fixteenth century. Two Hundred years of un- 
 interrupted exercife had legitimated abfolute 
 authority as much as prescription can confe- 
 crate ufurpation. The ancient French Confti- 
 tution was therefore no farther a model than 
 that of any foreign nation, which was to be 
 judged of alone by its utility, and poiTelTed in 
 no refpeel the authority of eftablifhment. It 
 had been fucceeded by another Government, 
 and if France were to recur to a period ante- 
 cedent to her fervitude for legiflative models, 
 (he might as well afcend to the a;ra of Clovis 
 
 or
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 or Charlemagne, as be regulated by the pre- 
 cedents of Henry III. or Mary of Medicis. 
 All thefe forms of government exifted only 
 hijiorlcaily. 
 
 Thefe obfervations include all the Orders. 
 
 Let us confe'er each of them fuccefiively. 
 The devotion of the Nobility of France to 
 the Monarch was iiifpired equally by their 
 fentiments, their interefts, and their habits. 
 " The feudal and chivalrous fpirit of fealty," 
 io long the prevailing paflioii of Europe, was 
 ftill nourilhcd in their bofoms by the military 
 fentiments from which it flrft arofc. The ma- 
 jority of them had flill no profeffion but war. 
 no hope but in Royal favor. The youthful 
 and indigent Idled the camps ; the more onu- 
 lent and mature partook the fplendor and 
 bounty of the Court : But they were equally 
 dependents on the Crown. To the plentitude 
 of the Royal power were attached rhofc im- 
 menfe and magnificent privileges, which dU 
 
 vided
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 vided France into diftinct nations ; which ex- 
 hibited a Nobility monopolizing the rewards 
 and offices of the State, and a people degraded 
 to political he lot if m*. Men do not cordially 
 refign luch privileges, nor quickly difmifs the 
 fentiments which they have infpired. The 
 odentatious facrifice of pecuniary exemptions 
 in a moment of general fermentation is a 
 wretched criterion of their oenuine feelings. 
 They afrected to bellow as a gift, what thev 
 would have been fpeedily compelled to aban- 
 don as an uiurpatlon, and they hoped by the 
 facriiice of a part to purchafe fecurity for the 
 reft. They have been moil: juftly ftated to he 
 a band of political janljJaries*-\ far more valu- 
 able to a Sultan than mercenaries, becaufe at- 
 tached to him by unchangeable interefr. and in- 
 deliable fentiment. Whether any reform could 
 have extracted from this body a portion which 
 
 * I fay />5/./T.i/iacontradiflinclioii to civil, for in the latter 
 (en(c the 'affertion would have been untrue. 
 
 L See Mr. Rous's excellent c ' Thoughts on Government." 
 
 might
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 might have entered into the new confutation 
 is a queflion which we fhall coniider when 
 that political fyftem comes under our review. 
 Their exigence, as a member of the Legifla- 
 turc, is a queflion diiHncT: from their prefer- 
 vation as a Separate Order, or great corpora- 
 tion, in the State. A fenate of Nobles might 
 have been cftablifhed, though the Order of 
 the Nobilitv had been deftroyed, and England 
 would then have been exactly copied. But it 
 is of the Order that we now fpeak, for we 
 are now confideriiig the deilruclion of the old 
 not the formation of the new Government. 
 The fuppreflion of Nobility has been in Eng- 
 land moil abfurdly confounded with the pro- 
 hibition of titles. The union of the Orders 
 in one Alterably was the firfl flep towards 
 the deiiruction of a ie^iflative Nobilitv. The 
 abolition of their feudal rights, in the memo- 
 rable fefiion of the 4th of Auguit, 1789, may 
 be regarded as the fecond. They retained 
 after theie meaiures no diitinctioii but what 
 
 was
 
 ( 7* ) 
 
 was purely nominal, and it remained to be de- 
 termined what place they were to occupy in 
 the new Confutation. That queftion was 
 decided by the decree of the 2 2d of Decem- 
 ber, in the fame year, which enacted, that 
 the Electoral AfTembiies were to be compofed 
 without any regard to rank, and that citizens 
 of all Orders were to vote in them indifcrimi- 
 nately. The distinction of Orders was de- 
 ftroyed by this decree, the Nobility were to 
 form no part of the new Conftitution, and 
 they were {tripped of all that they had enjoy- 
 ed under the old Government, but their titles. 
 
 Hitherto all had paffed unnoticed, but no 
 fooner did the AfTembly, faithful to their 
 principles, proceed to extirpate the external 
 figns of ranks, which they no longer tolerat- 
 ed, then all Europe refounded with clamours 
 againft their Utopian and levelling madnefs. 
 The incredible* decree of the 19th of June, 
 
 * So called by M. Calonnc. 
 
 I 790^
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 1 7 9 j f r ^ e f u PP rc ffitt of titles, is the object 
 of all thefe invectives, yet without that mca- 
 fure the Ailemblv would ccrtainlv have been 
 guilty of the groiTeir. inconfiftency and abfur- 
 ditv. An untitled Nobility forming a mem- 
 ber of the State, had been exemplified in iome 
 Commonwealths of antiquity. Such were 
 the Patricians in Rome. But a titled Nobi- 
 bility, without legal privileges, or political 
 exiftence, would have been a monfler new 
 in the annals of legiflative abfurdity. The 
 power was poflefled without the bauble by 
 the Roman Ariftocracy. The bauble would 
 have been reverenced, while the power was 
 trampled on, if titles had been fpared in 
 France. A titled Nobility, is the moil un- 
 diluted progeny of feudal barbarifm. Titles 
 had in all nations denoted offices, it was referv- 
 ed for Gothic Europe to attach them to ranks, 
 yet this conduct of our remote anceftors ad- 
 mit;; explanation, for with them offices were 
 hereditary, and hence the titles denoting them 
 
 became
 
 ( 7* ) 
 
 became hereditary too. But we, who have 
 rejected hereditary office, retain an ufage to 
 which it gave rife, and which it alone could 
 
 juftify. 
 
 So egregioufly is this recent origin of titled 
 Nobility mifconceived, that it has been even 
 pretended to be necefTary to the order and 
 exigence of focietv : A narrow and arrogant 
 bigotry, which would limit all political re- 
 mark to the Gothic States of Europe, or ef- 
 tablifh general principles on events that oc- 
 cupy fo fhort a period of hiftory, and manners 
 that have been adopted by fo (lender a portion 
 of the human race. A titled Nobility, was 
 equally unknown to the fplendid Monarchies 
 of Alia, and to the manly fimplicity of the 
 ancient Commonwealths'*. It arofe from 
 
 Ariflocratic bodies did indeed cxift in the ancient world, 
 hut title* were unkuown. Though they poffeiTed political 
 privileges, yet as they did not affect the manners, they had 
 not the fame inevitable tendency to taint the public cha- 
 racter
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 the peculiar circumftances of modern Europe, 
 and yet its neceiTity is now creeled on the ba- 
 ils of univerfal experience, as if thefe other 
 renowned and polifhed States were effaced 
 from tiie records of hiilory, and baniihed from 
 the iociety of nations. " Nobility is the Co- 
 rinthian capital of polifhed ftates." The au- 
 guft fabric of iociety is deformed and encum- 
 bered by fuch Gothic ornaments. The maiTy 
 Doric that fuftains it is Labour, and the 
 iplendid variety of arts and talents that folacc 
 and embellifh life, form the decorations of its 
 Corinthian and Ionic capitals. 
 
 Other motives befides the extirpation of 
 feudality, difpofed the French Leeiilature to 
 the fuppreffion of titles. To give liability 
 
 rater as titular diftincYions. Thefe bodies too being in 
 general open to property, or office > they are in no reipect tc 
 be compared to the Nobles of Europe. They might affect 
 the forms of free Government as much, but they did not in 
 the lame proportion im'ure the Spirit of Freedom. 
 
 t
 
 ( So ) 
 
 to a popular Government, a democratic cha- 
 racter mufr. be formed, and democratic fenti- 
 ments infpired. The fentiment of equality 
 which titular dift.incT.ions have, perhaps, more 
 than any other caufe, extinguimed in Europe, 
 and without which democratic forms are im- 
 potent and lhort-lived, was to be revived : a 
 free Government was to be eftablifhed, by 
 carrying the fpirit of equality and freedom 
 2 nto the feelings, the manners, the mo ft 
 familiar intercourfe of men. The badges of 
 inequality, which were perpetually infpiring 
 fentiments adverfe to the fpirit of the Govern- 
 ment, were therefore deftroyed : Drftiiuitions 
 which only lerved to unfit the Nobility for 
 obedience, and the peo|"ie for freedom; to 
 keep alive the difconte.it of the one, and to 
 perpetuate the fervility of the other ; to de- 
 prive the one of the moderation that links 
 them into citizens, and to rob the other of 
 the fpirit that exalts them into free men. A 
 finple example can alone diipel inveterate pre- 
 judices.
 
 ( Si ) 
 
 judices. Thus thought our ancestors at tiic 
 Revolution, when they deviated from the fuc- 
 ceflion, to deftroy the prejudice of its fanctity. 
 Thus alio did the Le<riflators of France feel, 
 when by the abolition of titles, they gave a 
 mortal blow to the flavifh prejudices which 
 unfitted their country for freedom. It was 
 a practical aflcrtion of that equality which had 
 been confederated in the Declaration of Rights, 
 but which no abftxacl: afiertion could have 
 conveyed into the fpirits and the hearts of men. 
 It proceeded on the principle that the lecurity 
 of a revolution of government can only arife 
 from a revolution of character. 
 
 To thefe reafonings it has been oppofed, that 
 hereditary diftinclions are the moral treafu're 
 of a State, by which it excites and rewards 
 public virtue and public fervice, which, with- 
 out national injury or burden, operates with 
 refiitlefs force on generous minds. To this I 
 anfwer, that of ferfonal diflinctions this de- 
 
 F fcriptioa
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 fcription is moft true, but that this moral 
 treafury of honour is in fact impoverifhed by 
 the improvident profufion that has made them 
 hereditary* The poffeilion of honours by that 
 multitude, who have inherited but not ac- 
 quired them, engroffes and depreciates thefc 
 incentives and rewards of virtue. Were they 
 purely perfonal, their value would be doubly 
 enhanced, as the pofieffors would be fewer 
 while the diftinction was more honourable, 
 Perfonal diftinctions then every wife State 
 will cherim as its. fureft and nobleft refource, 
 but of hereditary title, at leafl in the circum- 
 flances of France*, the abolition feems to have 
 been j uft and politic. 
 
 The fate of the Church, the fecond great 
 corporation that fuftained the French defpo- 
 
 * 1 have been groffly mifunderfrood 'bv thofe who have 
 fuppofed this qualification an affumed or aiFeted referve. I 
 believe the principle only as qualified by the circumjianccs of 
 different nations. 
 
 tifm,
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 tifm, has peculiarly provoked the indignation 
 of Mr. Burke. The diffolution of the Church 
 as a bodv, the refumDtion of its territorial 
 revenues, and the new organization of the 
 Prifthood, appear to him to be dictated by 
 the union of robbery and irreligion, to glut 
 the rapacity of Stock-jobbers, and to gratify 
 the hoiiilitv of Atheifte. All the outrages 
 and profcriptions of ancient or mordern tyrants 
 vanifh, in his opinion, in the comparifon with 
 this confifcation of the property of the Gallican 
 Church. Principles had, it is true, been on 
 this fubject explored, and reafons had been 
 urged by men of genius, which vulgar men 
 deemed irreiiflible. But with thefe reafons 
 Mr. Burke will not deign to combat. " You 
 do not imagine, Sir," fays he to his corref- 
 pondent " that I am going to compliment this 
 inferable defer ipt ion of perfons with any long 
 difcuiTlon r * What immediately follows 
 
 * The Abbe Maury, who is not lefs remarkable for the 
 fury of eloquent declamation, than for the inept parade of hif- 
 
 F 2 torical
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 this contemptuous pafTage is fo outrageoufly 
 ofFenfive to candor and urbanity, that an ho- 
 nourable adverfary will difdain to avail him- 
 fclf of it. The pafTage itfelf, however, de- 
 mands a paufe. It alludes to an opinion of 
 which / tru/i Mr. Burke did not know the 
 origin. That the church-lands were national 
 property was not fir ft afferted among the 
 "Jacobins, or in the Palais Royal. The author 
 of that opinion, the mafter of that wretched 
 
 torical erudition, attempted in the debate on this fubject to 
 trace the opinion higher. Bafe lawyers, according to him, 
 had infmuated it to the Roman Emperors, and againfr. it was 
 pointed the maxim of the Civil Law, " Omnia tenes Cafar 
 bnpcrlo fed non dominlo." Louis XIV. and Louis XV. 
 had, if we may believe him, both been affailed by this 
 Machiavelian do&rine, and both had repulfed it with mag- 
 nanimous indignation. The learned Abbe committed only 
 one miituke. The defpots of Rome and France had indeed 
 been poifoned with the idea that they were the immediate 
 proprietors of their lubjecls' eftates. That opinion is execra- 
 ble and flagitious, and it is not, as we fliall fee, the doctrine 
 of the French Legiflators. 
 
 description
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 defcription of perfons, whom Mr. Burke dif- 
 dains to encounter, was one whom he misrht 
 have combated with glory, with confidence of 
 triumph in victory, and without fear or fhame 
 in defeat. The author of that opinion was 
 Turgot ! a name now too hio-fi to he ex- 
 alted by eulogy, or deprefTed by invective. 
 That benevolent and philofophic Statefman 
 delivered it in the article Fondation of the 
 Encyclopedic, as the calm and difinterefted 
 opinion of a fcholar, at a moment when he 
 could have no view to palliate rapacity, or 
 prompt irreligion. It was no doctrine con- 
 trived for the occafion by the agents of ty- 
 ranny; it was a principle difcovered in pure 
 and harmlefs fpeculation, by one of the bell, 
 and wifefl of men. I adduce the authority of 
 Turgot, not to oppofe the arguments (if there 
 had been any) but to counteract the iniinu- 
 ations of Mr. Burke. The authority of his 
 aiTertions forms a prejudice, which is thus to 
 be removed before we can hope for a fair au- 
 
 K 3 dience
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 dience at the bar of reafon. If he infmuates 
 the flagitioufnefs of thefe opinions by the fup- 
 pofed vileneis of their origin, it cannot be unfit 
 to pave the way for their reception, by align- 
 ing to them a more illuftrious pedigree. 
 
 But difmiffing the genealogy of doctrines, 
 let us examine their intrinfic value, and liften 
 to no voice but that of truth. " Are the lands 
 " occupied by the Church the Property of its 
 " Members ?" Various considerations prefent 
 themfelves, which may elucidate the fubjecl:. 
 
 I. It has not hitherto been fnppofed that 
 any clafs of Public fervants are proprietors. 
 They are falaried* by the State for the per- 
 formance of certain duties. Judges are paid 
 for the distribution of juftice; Kings for the 
 execution of the laws ; Soldiers, where there 
 
 * " Us font oufularies, ou meridians, ou voleurs." They 
 ore either falariedy cr beggars^ or robbers was the expreffion 
 of M. Mirabeau refpeVing the Pricflhood. 
 
 is
 
 ( 8 7 ) 
 
 is a mercenary army, for public defence ; and 
 Priefts, where there is an eftablimed religion, 
 for public inftruction. The mode of their 
 payment is indifferent to the queftion. It h 
 generally in rude ages by land, and in culti- 
 vated periods by money. But a territorial 
 pen/ton is no more property than a pecuniary 
 one. The right of the State to regulate the 
 ialaries of thofe fervants whom it pays in 
 money has not been difputed. But if it has 
 chefen to provide the revenue of a certain portion 
 of land for the j alary of another clafs of fervants , 
 wherefore is its right more difputable, to re- 
 fume that land, and to eitablifh a new mode 
 of payment ? In the early hiftory of Europe, 
 before fiefs became hereditary, great landed 
 eftates were bellowed by the Sovereign, on 
 condition of military fervice. By a limilar 
 tenure did the Church hold its lands. No man 
 can prove, that becauie the State has intruded 
 its ecclefiaftical fervants with a portion of land, 
 as the fource and lecurity of their penfions^ 
 
 F x thev
 
 ( 83 ) 
 
 they are in any refpect more the proprietors of 
 it, than the other fervants of the State are of 
 that portion of the revenue from which they 
 are paid. 
 
 II. The lands of the Church poilefs not the 
 mod fimple and indifpenhble rcquiftes of pro- 
 perty. They are not even pretended to be 
 held for the benefit of thofe who enjoy them. 
 This is the obvious criterion between private 
 property and a penfion for public iervice. The 
 defoliation of the firft is avowedly the comfort 
 and happinefs of the individual who enjoys it; 
 as he is conceived to be the fole judge of this 
 happinefs, he pofTefTes the moft unlimited 
 rights of enjoyment, alienation, and even 
 abufe : But the lands of the Church, deftined 
 for the fupport of public fervants, exhibited 
 none of the characters of property They were 
 inalienable, becaufe it would have been notlefs 
 abfurd for the Priefthood to have exercifed 
 fuch authority over thefe lands, than it would 
 
 bv
 
 ( 8 9 } 
 
 be for feamen to claim the property of a fleet 
 which they manned, or foldiers that of a for- 
 trefs they garrifoned. 
 
 III. It is confefled that no individual Prieft 
 was a proprietor, and it is not denied that his 
 utmoft claim was limited to a poffeffion for 
 life of his ftipend. If all the Priefta, taken 
 individually, were not proprietors, the Prieft- 
 hood, as a body, cannot claim any fuch right. 
 For what is a body, but an aggregate of indi- 
 viduals, and what new right can be conveyed 
 by a mere change of name ? Nothing can ib 
 forcibly illuflrate this argument as the cafe of 
 other corporations. They are voluntary afib- 
 ciations of men for their own benefit. Every 
 member of them is an abfolute fharer in their 
 property, it is therefore alienated and inherited. 
 Corporate property is here as facred as indivi- 
 dual, becaufe in the ultimate analvfis it is the 
 fame. But the Prieithood is a Corporation, 
 r;mIowed by the country, and deftined for the 
 
 benefit
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 benefit of other men. It is hence that the 
 members have no feparate, nor the body any 
 colkdlve y right of property. They are only 
 entrufted with the admlnijlration of the lands 
 from which their Ja/aries are paid*. 
 
 IV. It is from this laft circumftance that 
 their legal femblance of property arifes. In 
 charters, bonds, and all other proceedings of 
 law, they are treated with the fame formali- 
 ties as real property. " They are identified, " 
 fays Mr. Burke, " with the mafs of private 
 property ;" and it muff, be confeffed, that if 
 we are to limit our view to form, this lan- 
 guage is correct. But the repugnance of thefe 
 formalities to legal truth proceeded from a 
 very obvious caule. If efrar.es arc veiled in the 
 
 This admits a familiar illuftration. If a land-holder 
 cbuies to pay his fteward for the collection of his rents, by 
 permitting him to poffeis a farm gratis, is he conceived to 
 have reugned his prcpatv in the farm ? The cafe is precifel? 
 
 i\ ni'ar. 
 
 Clergy,
 
 ( 9' ) 
 
 Clergy, to them moil: unqueftionably ought 
 to be entrufted the protection of thefe eftates 
 in all contefts at law, and actions for that pur- 
 pofe can only be maintained with facility, {im- 
 plicit v, and effect, by the fcfton of their being 
 proprietors. Nor is this the only cafe in 
 which the fpirit and the forms of law are at 
 variance reflecting property. Scotland, where 
 lands ftill are held by feudal tenures, will af- 
 ford us a remarkable example. There, if we 
 extend our views no further than legal forms, 
 Xhtfuperior is to be regarded as the proprietor, 
 while the real proprietor appears to be only a 
 tenant for life. Such is the language of the 
 charter by which he obtains a legal right to 
 his eftate. In this cafe, the vafial is formally 
 ftript of the property which he in fact enjoys. 
 In the other, the Church is formally inverted 
 with a property, to which in reality it had no 
 claim. The argument of prefcription will ap- 
 pear to be altogether untenable, for pre/crip- 
 tion Implies a certain period during which the 
 
 rights
 
 ( r- ) 
 
 rights of property had been exercifed, but in the 
 cafe before us they never were exercifed, be- 
 caufe they never could be fuppofed to exilr. 
 It muft be proved that thefe poiTefnons 
 were of the nature of property, before it can 
 follow that they are protected by prefcription, 
 and to plead it is to take for granted the quef- 
 tion in difpnte. If they never were property, 
 no length of time can change their nature.* 
 
 * There are pcrfons who may not relifh the mode of rea- 
 soning here adopted. They contend that property, being 
 the creature of civil fociety, may be renamed by that Public 
 will which created it, and on this principle they juftify the 
 National AflTembly of France. But fuch a juftification is 
 adverfe to the principles of that AflTembly , for they have 
 confecrated it as one of thefirft maxims of their Declaration 
 of Rights, that the State cannot violate property, except in 
 cafes of urgent ncceflitv, and on condition of previous in- 
 demnification. This defence too will not juftify their felec- 
 tion of Church property, in preference of all others, for re- 
 fumption. It certainlv ought in this view to have fallen 
 equally on all citizens. The principle is beftdes falfe in the 
 extreme to which it is affumed. Property is, indeed in fome 
 fenfe created by an act of the Public will ; but it is by one 
 
 of
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 V. When the Britiih Iflands, the Dutch 
 Republic, the German and Scandinavian 
 States, reformed their ecclefiaftical eftablifh- 
 meats, the howl of facrilege was the only ar- 
 mour by which the Church attempted to pro- 
 tect its pretended property. The age was too 
 tumultuous and unlettered for difcufions of 
 ab {tract jurifprudence. The clamour of fa- 
 crilege ieems, however, to have fallen into 
 early contempt. The treaty of Weftpha- 
 lia fecularized many cf the molt opulent be- 
 
 of thofc fundamental adis which confHtute fociety. Theory 
 proves it to be efiential to the focial flate. Experience 
 proves that it has, in Tome degree, exifted in every age and 
 nation of the wcild. But thofe public acts which form 
 and endow corporations, are fubfequent and fubordinate. > 
 They are onlv ordbiary expedients of legiflation. The pro- 
 perty of individuals is eftablifhed en a getural principle , which 
 feeros coeval with civil fociety itfelf. Bat ladies are inflxu- 
 ments fabricated by the Legislator for a fpeclfic purpofe, 
 which ought to be preferred while they are beneficial, 
 amended when they are impaired, and rejected when they 
 become ufelefs or injurious. 
 
 nefices
 
 ( 9+ ) 
 
 nefices of Germany, under the mediation 
 and guarantee of the firft Catholic Powers 
 of Europe. In our own ifland, on the abo- 
 lition of epifcopacy in Scotland at the Revo- 
 lution, the revenues of the Church peace- 
 ably devolved on the Sovereign, and he de- 
 voted a portion of them to the fupport of the 
 new eftablimment. When, at a frill later 
 period, the Jefuits were fupprefTed in moll 
 Catholic Monarchies, the wealth of that for- 
 midable and opulent body was every where 
 feized by the Sovereign. In all thefe memo- 
 rable examples no traces are to be difcovered 
 of the pretended property of the Church. 
 The falaries of a clafs of Public fervants are, 
 in all thefe cafes, relumed by the State, when 
 it ceafes to deem their fervice, or the mode of 
 it, ufeful. It is in none of them recognized 
 as property. That claim, now fo forcibly 
 urged by M. Calonne, was probably little re- 
 fpe&ed by him, when lie lent his agency to 
 the deftruclion of the Jefuits with fuch pecu- 
 liar
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 liar activity and rancor. The facrednefs of 
 their property could not llrongly imprefs him, 
 when he was inftrumental in degrading the 
 members of that renowned and accomplifhed 
 Society, the glory of Catholic Europe, from 
 their fuperb endowments to fcanty and beg- 
 garly penilons. In all thefe contefts, the in- 
 violability of Church poffemons was a princi- 
 ple that never made its appearance. A mur- 
 mur of facrilege might, indeed, be heard 
 among the fanatical or interefted few : But the 
 religious horror in which the Priefthood had 
 enveloped its robberies, had long been dispel- 
 led, and it was referved for Mr. Burke to re- 
 new that cry of facrilege, which, in the dark- 
 nefs of the Sixteenth century, had rcfounded 
 in vain. No man can be expected to oppofe 
 arguments to epithets. When a definition of 
 facrilege is given, confident with good logic 
 and plain Englifh, it will be time enough to 
 difcufs it. Till that definition (with the Greek 
 Calends) comes, I mould as foon difpute about 
 
 the
 
 ( 06 ) 
 
 the meaning of facrilege as about that of herefy 
 or witchraft. 
 
 VI. The whole fubject is indeed fo evident, 
 that little diverlity of opinion could have arifen, 
 if the quefHon of church property had not 
 been confounded with the claims of the pre* 
 fent incumbents. The diftinetion, though 
 neither ftated by Mr. Burke nor M. Calonne, 
 is extremely iimple. The State is the pro- 
 prietor of the Church revenues, but its faith, 
 it may be faid, is pledged to thofe who have 
 entered into the Church, for the continu- 
 ance of thofe incomes, for which they aban* 
 doned all other purfuits. The right of the 
 State to arrange at its pleafure the revenues 
 of any future Priefb may be confeiTed, while 
 a doubt may be entertained, whether it is 
 competent to change the fortune of thofe to 
 whom it has folemnly promifed a certain in- 
 come for life. But thefe diftinct fubjedls 
 have been confounded, that fympathy with 
 
 differing
 
 ( 97 ) 
 
 fuffering individuals might influence opinion 
 on a general queftion, that feeling for the 
 degradation of its hierarchy might fupply the 
 place of argument to eftablifh the property of 
 the Church. To confider this iubject dif- 
 tinclly it cannot be denied, that the mildeft, 
 the moft equitable, and the mofh ufual expe- 
 dient of polimed States in periods of emer- 
 gency, is the reduction of the falaries of their 
 fervants, and thefupprejjion of juperfluous places. 
 This and no more has been done regarding 
 the Church of France. Civil, naval, and 
 military fervants of the State are fubjeel to 
 fuch retrenchments in a moment of difficulty. 
 They often cannot be effected without a 
 wound to individuals* ; neither can the re- 
 form of a civil office, nor the reduction of a 
 regiment : But all men who enter into the 
 public fervice muff do fo with the implied 
 condition of fubjecling their emoluments, 
 
 This is precifely the cafe of ii damnum ubfqut injuria" 
 
 G and
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 and even their official exigence, to the exi- 
 gencies of the State. The great grievance of 
 fuch derangements is the (hock they give to 
 family fentiments. This is precluded by the 
 compulfory celibacy of the Romifh Church ; 
 and when the debts of the Clergy are incor- 
 porated with thofe of the State, and their fub- 
 iiilence infured by moderate incomes, though 
 fenfibilitv mav, in the leafc retrenchment, 
 find fomewhat to lament, juftice will, in the 
 whole of theie arrangements, diicover little 
 to condemn. To the individual members of 
 the Church of France, whole hopes and en- 
 joyments have been abridged by this reiiimp- 
 tion, no virtuous mind will refufe the tri- 
 bute of its fympathy and its regrets. Every 
 man of humanity mud with, that public ex- 
 igencies had permitted the French Legifla- 
 ture to fpare the income of prefent incum- 
 bents, and more efpecially of thole whom 
 they rtill continued in the difcharge of active 
 functions. .But thefe fentiments imply no 
 
 for row
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 furrow at the downfall of a great Corporation, 
 the determined and implacable enemy of free- 
 dom ; at the conversion of an immenfe pub- 
 lic property to national ufe, nor at the reduc- 
 tion of a fcrvile and imperious Priefthood to 
 humble utility, as the moral and religious in- 
 structors of mankind. The attainment of 
 thefe great objects confole us for the portion 
 of evil that was, perhaps, infeparable from 
 them, and will be juftly admired by a poste- 
 rity too remote to be moved by thefe minute 
 afflictions, or to be afflicted by any thing but 
 their general fplendor. The enlightened ob- 
 iervcr of an age thus distant will contemplate 
 with peculiar afroniShment, the rife, progrefs* 
 decay, and downfall * of fpiritual power in 
 Christian Europe. It will attract his atten- 
 
 * Did we not dread the ridicule of political prediction, it 
 would not feem difficult toafiign its period. Church power 
 (unlets Come Revolution, aufpicious to Prieftcraft, fhould 
 replunge Europe in ignorance) w r ill certainly net furvivft 
 rite nineteenth century. 
 
 G 2 tion
 
 tion as an appearance which ftands alone iij 
 hiftory. Its connection in all ftages of its pro- 
 grefs with the civil power will peculiarly oc- 
 cupy his mind. He will remark the unpre- 
 fuming humility by which it gradually gained 
 the favour and divided the power of the Ma- 
 gistrate; the haughty and defpotic tone in 
 which it afterwards gave law to Sovereigns 
 and fubjects ; the zeal with which, in the firfl 
 defpcrate moments of decline, it armed the 
 people againft the Magistrate, and aimed at 
 re-eftablifhing fpiritual defpotifmon the ruins 
 of civil order ; and the afylum which it at 
 laft found acrainft the hostilities ofreafonin 
 the perogatives of temporal defpotifm, of 
 which it had fo long been the implacable foe. 
 
 The firfl: and laft cf thele periods will prove, 
 that the Priefthocd are fervilely devoted when 
 they are weak. The fecond and third, that 
 they are dangeroufly ambitious when ftrong. 
 In a ftate of feeblenefs, they are dangerous to 
 
 liberty ;
 
 ( 10! ) 
 
 liberty; pofteffed of power, they are danger- 
 ous to civil government itfelf. But the laft 
 period of their progrefs will appear peculiarly 
 connected with the ftate. of France. There 
 was no protection for the opulence and ex- 
 igence * of the European Priefthood in an 
 enlightened period, but the Throne. It 
 formed the onlv bulwark a^ainft the inroads 
 of reafon : for the fu perdition which once 
 formed their power was gone. Around the 
 Throne therefore they rallied. To the Mo- 
 narch thev transferred the devotion which 
 had formerly attached them to the Church, and 
 the fierceneis of prieflly -j- zeal was fucceed- 
 ed in their boioms by the more peaceful fenti- 
 ments of a courtly and polifhed fervility. Such 
 is, in a greater or lefs degree, the prefent condi- 
 tion of the Church in every nation of Europe ; 
 yet France has been reproached for the diiTolu- 
 
 * I always underftand their corporate exiflcnce. 
 f Odium Thcobjgicam. 
 
 G 3 tion
 
 ( i2 ) 
 
 tion of fuch a body. It might as well be 
 maintained, that in her conquefls over defpo- 
 tifm, the ought to have fpared the itrongefl 
 fortrefTes and moll: faithful troops of her ad- 
 verfary. Such in truth, were the corpora- 
 tions of the Nobility and the Church. The 
 National Affembly enfured permanence to 
 their eflabliuSments, by difmantling the for- 
 treffes, and difbanding the troops of their van- 
 quished foe. 
 
 In the few remarks that are here made on 
 the Nobility and Clergy of France, we con- 
 fine ourfelves ftrictly to their political and 
 collective character. Mr. Burke, on the con- 
 trary, has grounded his eloquent apology 
 purely on their individual and moral character. 
 This however is totally irrelevant to the ques- 
 tion, for we are not difcuiling what place 
 they ought to occupy in focicty as individuals, 
 but as a body. We are not confiderinsr the 
 demerit of citizens whom it is lit to nuniih. 
 
 but
 
 ( *3 ) 
 but the fpirit of a body winch it is politic to 
 diflfolve. We are not contending that the 
 Nobility and Clergy were in their private ca- 
 pacity bad citizens, but that they were mem- 
 bers of corporations which could not be pre- 
 fer ved with fecurity to public freedom. 
 
 The Judicial Ariftacracy formed by the 
 Parliaments, fecms ilill lefs fufceptible of 
 union with a free Government. Their fpirit 
 and claims were equally incompatible with 
 liberty. They had imbibed a fpirit conge- 
 nial to the authority under which they had 
 acted, and fuitable to the arbitrary genius of 
 the laws which they had difpen fed. They re- 
 tained thole ambiguous and indefinite claims 
 to a fliare in the legiflation, which the fluc- 
 tuations of power in the kingdom had in fome 
 degree countenanced. The fpirit of a corpora- 
 tion \\ a> from the fmaiinefs of their numbers 
 more concentrated and vigorous in them than 
 in the Nobles and Clergy ; and whatever arif- 
 G 4 tocratic
 
 ( I0 3 ) 
 
 tocratic zeal is laid to the charge of the Nobi- 
 lity, is imputable with tenfold force to the en- 
 nobled Magiftrates, who regarded their recent 
 honors with an enthufiafm of vanity, infpired 
 by that bigotted veneration for rank which is 
 the perpetual character of upftarts. A free 
 people could not form its tribunals of men 
 who pretended to any controul on theLegifla- 
 ture. Courts of Juftice, in which feats were 
 legally purchafed, had too long been endured : 
 Judges who regarded the right of difpenfing 
 jufrice as a marketable commodity, could nei- 
 ther be fit organs of equitable laws, nor fuit- 
 able magiflrates for a free State. It is vain 
 to urge with Mr. Burke the pafl fervices of 
 thefe judicial bodies. It is not to be denied 
 that Montcfquieu is correct, when he ftates, 
 that under bad Governments one abufe often 
 limits another. The ufurped authority of 
 the Parliaments formed, it is true, fome bul- 
 wark againft the caprice of the Court. But 
 when the abufe is deflroyed, why prefervethe 
 
 remedial
 
 ( I0 4 ) 
 
 remedial evil? Superftition certainly alleviates 
 the defpotiim of Turkey ; but if a rational 
 Government could be erected in that empire, 
 it misfht with confidence dilclaim the aid of 
 the Koran, and defpife the remonfrrances of 
 the Mufti. To iuch eftablifhments, let us 
 pay the tribute of gratitude for pafr benefit; 
 but when their utility no longer exifts, let 
 them be canonized by death, that their ad- 
 mirers may be indulged in all the plenitude of 
 pofthumous veneration. 
 
 The three Ariftocracies, Military, Sacer- 
 dotal, and Judicial, mav be confidered as hav- 
 ing formed the French Government. They 
 have appeared, fo far as we have confidered 
 them, incorrigible. Ail attempts to improve 
 them would have been little better than (to 
 uie the words of Mr. Burke) " mean repara- 
 tions on mighty ruins." Thevwere not per- 
 verted by the accidental depravity of their 
 members. They were not infected by any 
 
 traniient
 
 ( io 5 ) 
 
 traniient pailion, which new circumftances 
 would extirpate. The fault was in the efTence 
 of the inftitutions themfelves, which were 
 irreconcileable with a free Government. But 
 it is objected, thefe inftitutions might have 
 been gradually reformed''-''. The fpirit of 
 Freedom would have iilently entered. The 
 progreflive wiidom of an enlightened nation 
 would have remedied, in procefs of time, their 
 defects, without convulfion. 
 
 To this argument I confidently anfwer, 
 that thefe injiitutiens would have deflroyed 
 Liberty, before Liberty had cor re tied their 
 Spirit. Power vegetates with more vigour 
 after thefe gentle primings. A {lender reform 
 amufes and lulls the people ; the popular en- 
 thufiafm fubfides, and the moment of effec- 
 tual reform is irretrievably loft. No impor- 
 tant political improvement was ever obtained 
 
 * See Mr. Burke's Reflexion?, p. 24852. 
 
 in
 
 ( 106 ) 
 
 in a period of tranquillity. The corrupt in- 
 tereft of the Governors is io ftrong, and the 
 cry of the people lo feeble, that it were vain 
 to expect it. If the effervefcence of the po- 
 pular mind is differed to pais away without 
 effect, it would be abiurd to ex peel from lan- 
 guor what enthuiiafm has not obtained. If 
 radical reform is not, at fuch a moment, pro- 
 cured, all partial changes are evaded and de- 
 feated in the tranquility which fucceeds*. 
 The gradual reform that ariies from the pre- 
 fiding principle exhibited in the fpecious the- 
 ory of Mr. .Burke, is belied by the experience 
 of all ages. Whatever excellence, whatever 
 freedom is difcoverable in Governments, has 
 been infilled into them bv the fhock of a 
 
 * " Ignore-t-on que e'eft en attaquant, en renverfant tous 
 les abu? a la tois, qu'on peut efperer de s'en voir delivre (ans 
 retour que lesreformes lentes ex partielles ont tcujourshui 
 y\x ne ricn reformer : enfin que l'abus que 1'on conlcrvc 
 il.'vriit l'nppui 2c bientot le reftaurateur de tousceux qu'on 
 : : avoir detruits." AdrcJJc aux Francois par /' ' Eveauc 
 tun I I FcjYicr 1790. 
 
 revolution,
 
 ( ioS ) 
 
 revolution, and their fubiequent progrefs has 
 been only the accumulation of abufe. It is 
 hence that the moft enlightened politicians 
 have recognized the neceffity of frequently re- 
 calling Governments to their jirjl principles ; a 
 truth equally fuggefted to the penetrating in- 
 tellect of Machiavel, by his experience of the 
 Florentine democracy, and by his refearch 
 into the hiflory of ancient Commonwealths. 
 Whatever is good ought to be purfued at 
 the moment it is attainable. The public 
 voice, irrefifrible in a period of convulfion, is 
 contemned with impunity, when dictated by 
 that lethargy into which nations are lulled by 
 \\\o, tranquil courfe of their ordinary affairs. 
 The ardor of reform languifhes in unfup- 
 ported tedioufnefs. It perifhes in an impo- 
 tent flruggle with adverfarics, who receive 
 new ftrength from the progrefs of the day. 
 No hope of great political improvement (let 
 us repeat it) is to be entertained from tran- 
 quility,
 
 ( io 9 ) 
 
 quility*, for its natural operation is to 
 llrcno-then all thofe who are interefted in 
 perpetuating abufe. The National Affembly 
 ieized the moment of eradicating the corrup- 
 tions and abufes which afflicted their country. 
 Their reform was total, that it might be 
 commenfurate with the evil, and no part of 
 'it was delayed, becaufe to fpare an abufe at 
 fuch a period was to conlecrate it ; becaufe 
 the enthunafm which carries nations to fuch 
 enterprizes is fhort-lived, and the opportunity 
 of reform, if once neglected, might be irrevo- 
 cably fled. 
 
 But let us afcend to more general princi- 
 ples, and hazard bolder opinions. Let us 
 grant that the Hate of France was not fo 
 
 * The only apparent exception to this principle is the 
 cafe where Sovereigns make important concefiions tqappeafe 
 ihfcontent, and avert convulfion. This, however, rightly 
 underftood, is no exception, for it arifes evidently from the 
 fame caufes, acting at a period lets advanced in the progrefs 
 of popular interpofition, 
 
 defperately
 
 ( no ) 
 
 defperately incorrigible. Let us fuppofe that 
 changes far more gentle, innovations far lefs 
 extenfive, would have remedied the grofTer 
 evils of her Government, and placed it aim oft 
 on a level with free and celebrated Conftitu- 
 tions. Theie conceffions, though too large 
 for truth, will not convict the AfTembly. By 
 what principle of reafon, or of juftice, were 
 they precluded from afpiring to give France a 
 Government lefs imperfect:, than accident had 
 formed in other States ? Who will be hardy 
 enough to affert, that a better Conftitution 
 is not attainable than any which has hitherto 
 appeared : Is the limit of human wifdom to 
 be eftimated in the fcience of politics alone? 
 by the extent of its prefent attainments r Is 
 the moft lublime and difficult of all arts, the 
 improvement of the fecial order, the allevia- 
 tion of the miferies of the civil condition of 
 man, to be alone ftationary, amid the rapid 
 progrefs of every other art, liberal and vul- 
 gar, to perfection ? Where would be the 
 
 atrocious
 
 ( III ) 
 
 atrocious guilt of a grand experiment, to as- 
 certain the portion of freedom and happinefs, 
 that can be created by political inftitutions ? 
 
 That guilt (if it be guilt) is imputable to 
 the National AfTembly of France. They are 
 acculed of having rejected the guidance of ex- 
 perience, of having abandoned themfelves to 
 the illulion of theory, and of having; facri- 
 ilced great and attainable good to the mapiri- 
 iicent chimeras of ideal excellence. If this 
 accufation be juft, if they have indeed aban- 
 doned experience, the balls of human know- 
 ledge, as well as the guide of human action, 
 their conduct deferves no longer anv ferious 
 argument ; and if (as Mr. Burke more than 
 once inlinuates) their contempt of it is 
 avowed and oftentatious, it was furely un- 
 worthy of him to have expended lb much 
 genius againft fo prepofterous an infanity. 
 But the explanation of terms will diminish 
 our wonder Experience may, both in the 
 
 arts
 
 ( "2 ) 
 
 arts and in the conduct of human life, be re- 
 garded in a double view, either as finifhing 
 models, or principles. An artift who frames 
 his machine in exact, imitation of his prede- 
 ceiTor, is in the firji fenfe faid to be guided by 
 experience. In this fenfe all improvements 
 of human life, have been deviations from ex- 
 perience. The fir ft vifionary innovator was 
 the favage who built a cabin, or covered him- 
 felf with a rug. If this be experience, man is 
 degraded to the unimproveable level of the 
 inftinctive animals But in the fecond ac- 
 ceptation, an artift is faid to be guided by ex- 
 experience, when the infpection of a machine 
 tlifcovers to him principles, which teach him 
 to improve it, or when the comparifon of 
 many both with refpect to their excellencies 
 and defects, enables him to frame another 
 more perfect machine, different from any he 
 had examined. In this latter fenfe, the Na- 
 tional AfTembly have perpetually availed 
 themfelves of experience. Hiliory is an im- 
 
 menfe
 
 ( "3 ) 
 
 meufe collection of experiments on the nature 
 and effect of the various parts of various Go- 
 vernments. Some inftitutions are experimen- 
 tally afcertained to be beneficial ; fome to be 
 mo ft indubitably deftructive. A third clafs, 
 which produces partial good,'obvioufly poiYefs 
 the capacity of improvement. What, on fuch 
 a furvey, was the dictate of enlightened ex- 
 perience ? Not furely to follow the model of 
 any of thofe Governments, in which thefe 
 inftitutions lay indifcriminately mingled; but, 
 like the mechanic, to compare and generalize; 
 and, guided equally by experience, to imitate 
 and reject'. The procefs is in both cafes the 
 fame. The rights and the nature of man are 
 to the Legiflator what the general properties 
 of matter are to the Mechanic, the iirft guide, 
 becaufe they are founded on the wideft expe- 
 rience, hi the fecond clafs are to be ranked 
 obfervations on the excellencies and defects of 
 thofe Governments which have exifted, that 
 teach the conftrudtion of a more perfect ma- 
 tt chine
 
 ( H4 ) 
 
 chine. But experience is the basis of 
 all. Not the puny and trammelled expe- 
 rience of a State/man by trade, who trembles 
 at any change in the tricks which he has been 
 taught, or the routine in which he has been 
 aceuftomed to move, but an experience liberal 
 and enlightened, which hears the tefHmony 
 of ages and nations, and collects from it the 
 general principles which regulate the mecha- 
 nifm of fociety. 
 
 Legiilators are under no obligation to retain 
 a constitution, becaufe it has been found " /o- 
 " hrably to anfvver the common purpofes of 
 is Government." It is abfurd to expecl, but it 
 is not abfurd to purfue perfection. It is ah- 
 (urd to acquiefce in evils, of which the re- 
 medy is obvious, becaufe they are lefs grievous 
 than thole which are endured by others. To 
 iuppoie the focial order is not capable of im- 
 provement from the progrefs of the human 
 iHiderftanding, is to betray the inconfiftent 
 
 abfurditv
 
 ( "5 ) 
 
 abfurdity of an arrogant confidence in our at- 
 tainments, and an abject diitruft of our powers. 
 If indeed the fum of evil produced by political 
 inftitutions, even in the leaf! imperfect Go- 
 vernments, were fmall, there might be fome 
 pretence for this dread of innovation, this hor- 
 ror at remedy, which has raifed fuch a cla- 
 mour over Europe : But, on the contrary, in 
 an eftimate of the fources of human mifery, 
 after granting that one portion is to be attri- 
 buted to difeafe, and another to private vices, 
 it might perhaps be found that a third equal 
 part arofe from the oppreflions and corruptions 
 of Government, difguifed under various forms. 
 All the Governments that now exifr. in the 
 world f except the United States of America) 
 have been fortuitoufly formed. They are the 
 produce of chance, not the work of art. They 
 have been altered, impaired, improved and de- 
 ftroyed by accidental circumftances, beyond 
 the forefight or controul of wifdom. Their 
 parts thrown up againft prefent emergencies 
 H 2 formed
 
 ( "6 ) 
 
 formed no fyilematic whole. It was certainly 
 not to have been prefumed, that thzfe for- 
 tuitous Governments mould have furpaffed the 
 works of intellect, and precluded all nearer 
 approaches to perfection. Their origin with- 
 out doubt furnifhes a ftrong prefumption of an 
 oppofite nature. It might teach us to expect 
 in them many difcordant principles, many 
 jarring forms, much unmixed evil, and much 
 imperfect good, many inftitutions which had 
 long furvived their motive, and many of 
 which reafon had never been the author, nor 
 utility the object. Experience, even in the 
 befl of thefe Governments, accords with fuch 
 expectations. 
 
 A Government of art, the work of legifla- 
 tive intellect:, reared en the immutable bails 
 of natural right and general happinefs, which 
 mould combine the excellencies, and exclude 
 the defects of the various conflitutions which 
 chance had fcattcred over the world, inftead 
 
 of
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 of being precluded bv the perfection of any 
 of thofe forms, was loudly demanded by the 
 injuftice and abfurdity of them all. It was 
 time that men Ihould learn to tolerate nothing 
 ancient that reafon does not refpect, and to 
 fhrink from no novelty to which reafon may 
 conduct. It was time that the human powers, 
 fo long occupied by iubordinate objects, and 
 inferior arts, ihould mark the commencement 
 of a new aera in hiftory, by giving birth to the 
 art of improving government, and increafing 
 the civil happinefs of man. It was time, as 
 it has been wifely and eloquently faid, that 
 Legiflators, inftcad of that narrow and daf- 
 tardly coafihig which never ventures to lofe 
 light of ukige and precedent, ihould, guided 
 by the polarity of reafon, hazard a bolder na- 
 vigatioii, : ncl dii cover, in unexplored regions, 
 the trcaiure of public felicity. 
 
 The talk of the French Legiilators was, 
 
 however, leis hazardous. The philosophers of 
 
 il 3 Europe
 
 ( "8 ) 
 
 Europe had for a century difcufTed all objects 
 of public ceconomy. The conviction of a 
 great majority of enlightened men had, after 
 many controverfies, become on moft queftions 
 of general politics, uniform. A degree of 
 certainty, perhaps nearly equal to that which 
 fuch topics will admit, had been attained. 
 The National AfTembly were therefore not 
 called on to make difcoveries. It was fuffi- 
 cient if they were not uninfluenced by the opi- 
 nions, nor exempt from the fpirit of their 
 age. They were fortunate enough to live in 
 a period when it was only necenary to affix 
 the flamp of laws to what had been prepared 
 by the refearch of philofophy. They will 
 here, however, be attacked by a futile com- 
 mon-place. The moll ipecious theory, it will 
 be laid, is often impracticable, and any at- 
 tempt to transfer fpeculative doctrines into 
 the practice of States is chimerical and frantic. 
 1{ by theory be underflood vague conjecture, 
 the objection is not worth diicuflion; but if 
 
 by
 
 ( "9 ) 
 
 by theory be meant inference from the moral 
 nature and political ftate of man, then I af- 
 fert, that whatever fuch theory pronounces 
 to be true, mull be practicable, and that 
 whatever on the fubject is impracticable, mufl 
 be falfe. To refume the illuflration from the 
 mechanical arts Geometry, it may be jufrly 
 faid, bears nearly the fame relation to mecha- 
 nics that abftrat reafoning does to politics*. 
 The moral forces which are employed in poli- 
 tics are the pafrTons and iuterefts of men, of 
 which it is the province of metaphyfics to 
 teach the nature and calculate the flrength, 
 as mathematics do thofe of the mechanical 
 powers. Now fuppofe it had been mathema- 
 tically proved, that by a certain alteration in 
 
 * I confefs my obligation for this parallel to a learned 
 friend, who though fo juftly admired in the republic of let- 
 ters for his excellent writings, is ft ill more fo by his friends 
 for the rich, original, and mafculine turn of thought that 
 animates his converfation. But the Contlnuator of " the 
 " Hiftory of Phillip III." little needs my praife. 
 
 II 4 the
 
 ( 120 ) 
 
 the ftructure of a machine, its effecl: would be 
 increafed four-fold* would an inftructed me- 
 chanic hefitate about the change ? Would he 
 be deterred, becaufe he was the frf to difco- 
 ver it ? Would he thus facrifice his own ad- 
 vantage to the blindnefs of his predecefTors, 
 and the obfiinacy of his cotemporaries ? Let 
 us fuppofe a whole nation, of which the ar- 
 tizans thus rejected theoretical improvement. 
 Mechanics might there, as ajctencc, be mofl 
 profoundly underftood, while as an art, it 
 exhibited nothing but rudenefs and harbarifm. 
 The principles of Newton and Archimedes 
 might be taught in the fchools, while the ar- 
 chiteclure of the people might not have 
 reached beyond the cabins of New Holland, 
 or the (hip-building of the Efquimaux. In a 
 Urate of political fcicnce fomewhat fimilarhas 
 Europe continued for a great part of the 
 eighteenth century *. 
 
 * Mechanics, becaufe no pa.Tion or interc-ft is concerned 
 in the perpetuity of abufe, always yield to fcientific im- 
 provement.
 
 ( 1*1 ) 
 
 All the great queilions of general politics 
 had, as we have remarked, been nearly decided, 
 andalmoit. all the decilions had been hofrile to 
 eftablifhed inftitutions yet thefe inftitutions 
 (till flourillied in all their vigour. The fame 
 man who cultivated liberal fciencc in his ca- 
 binet was compelled to adminiiler a barba- 
 rous jurifprudence on the bench. The fame 
 Montesquieu, who at Paris reafoncd as a 
 philofopher of the eighteenth, was compelled 
 to decide at Bourdeaux as a maeaftrate of the 
 fourteenth century. The apoftles of toleration 
 andtheminiitersof the Inquifition were cotem- 
 poraries. The torture continued to be praclif- 
 
 provement. Politics, for the contrary rcafon, always refill 
 it. It was the remark of Hobbes, that if any intereft or 
 pafllon v.'ere concerned in difputingthe theorems of geome- 
 trv, different opinions would be maintained tegarding them. 
 It has actually happened 'as if to ju r tify the remark of that 
 
 it man) that under the administration of Turcot.; 
 
 ",.7// reform^ grounded en a rr.athcmaiical demovjlra'.'w 
 !ci tiled as -j':jhnar\ . So much for the iagc prc- 
 
 ; ;;ei!cc ot practice to thcorv. 
 
 ed
 
 ( 122 ) 
 
 cd in the age of Beccaria. The Baflile de- 
 voured its victims in the country of Turgot. 
 The criminal code, even of nations in which 
 it was the mildeil, was oppreffive and favage. 
 The laws reflecting religious opinion, even 
 where there was a pretended toleration, out- 
 raged the moll: evident deductions of reafon. 
 The true principles of commercial policy, 
 though they had been reduced to demon ftra* 
 tion, influenced the councils of no State. 
 Such was the fantaflic fpectacle prefented by 
 the European nations, who, philofophers in 
 theory, and barbarous in practice, exhibited 
 to the obferving eye two oppofite and incon- 
 fiftent afpects of manners and opinions. But 
 fuch a State carried in itfeif the feeds of its 
 own dedructioti. Men will not Ions: dwell 
 in hovels, with the model of a palace before 
 their eyes. 
 
 A State approaching to it in fome meafure 
 #xiir.ed indeed in the ancient world. But the 
 
 art
 
 ( I2 3 ) 
 
 art of Printing had not then provided a chan- 
 nel by which the opinions of the learned pafs 
 infenfibly into the popular mind. A bulwark 
 then exifled between the body of mankind 
 and the reflecting; few. Thev were diiHncl: 
 nations, inhabiting the fame country, and the 
 opinions of the one (I fpeak comparatively with 
 modern times) had little influence on the 
 other. But that bulwark is now levelled with 
 tRe ground. The convictions of philofophy 
 infinuate themfelves by a flow, but certain 
 progrefs, into popular fentiment. It is vain 
 for the arrogance of learning; to condemn the 
 people to ignorance by reprobating fuperficial 
 knowledge The people cannot be profound, 
 but the truths which regulate the moral and 
 political relations of man, are at no great 
 diftance from the lurface. The great works 
 in which diicoveries are contained cannot be 
 read by the people ; but their lubftance pafles 
 through a variety of minute and circuitous 
 channels to the (hop and the hamlet. The* 
 
 converiion
 
 ( "4 ) 
 
 converfion cf thefe works of unproductive 
 fplendor into latent ufe and unobferved ac- 
 tivity, refembles the procefs of nature in the 
 external world. The expanfe of a noble lake, 
 the courfe of a majeftic river, impofes on the 
 imagination by every irnprefiion of dignity and 
 fublimity. But it is the moiilure that infenii- 
 bly arifes from them, which, gradually ming- 
 ling with the foil, nourishes all the luxuriancy 
 of vegetation, fructifies and adorns the furfaee 
 cf the earth. 
 
 It may then be remarked, that though libe- 
 ral opinions fo long exifted with abufive eftab- 
 lifhments, it was not natural that this ftate of 
 things mould be permanent. The philofophers 
 of antiquity did not, like Archimedes, want 
 a fpot on which to fix their engines, but they 
 wanted an engine to move the moral world. 
 The prefs is that engine, which has iubjected 
 the powerful to the wife, by spverning the 
 opinion of mankind. The difcuflion of Great 
 
 truths
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 truths has prepared a body of laws for the 
 National Aflcmbly. The diffufion of political 
 knowledge has almoji prepared a people to re- 
 ceive them, and good men are at length per- 
 mitted to indulge the hope, that the miferies 
 of the human race are about to be alleviated ; 
 that hope may be illufive, for the grounds of 
 its enemies are ftrons;, the folly and villainy 
 of men. Vet they who entertain it will feel 
 no fhame in defeat, and no envv of the trium- 
 phant prediction of their adverfaries. Msher- 
 culc malim cum Platone errare. Whatever be 
 the ultimate fate of the French Revolutionifls, 
 the friends of freedom mnft ever coimder 
 them as the authors of the greater!: attempt 
 that has hitherto been made in the caufe of 
 man. They never can ceafe to rejoice, that 
 in the long catalogue of calamities and crimes 
 which blacken human annals, the year 1789 
 prefents one fpot on which the eye of huma- 
 nity may with complacence dwell, 
 
 SECTION
 
 ( "6 ) 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Of the Ccmpofit'ion and Characicr of the 
 NATIONAL AS8EMBLT. 
 
 VENTS are rarely feparated by the 
 Hiftorian from the character oi thefe 
 who are confpicuous in conducting them. 
 From it alone they often receive the tinge 
 
 which determines their moral colour. 
 
 What is admired as noble pride in Sully, 
 would be execrated as intolerable arrogance 
 
 o 
 
 in Richlieu. But the degree of this in flu- 
 
 o 
 
 ence varies with the importance of the events. 
 In the ordinary affairs of State it is great, 
 becaufe in fact they are only of importance to 
 poftet-ity. as they illuftrate the characters, of 
 whofe who have acted diflinguifhed parts on the 
 
 theatre
 
 ( I2 7 ) 
 
 theatre of the world. But in events, which 
 themfelves are of immenfe magnitude, the 
 character of thofe who conduct fhem becomes 
 of far lefs relative importance. No ignominy 
 is at the prefent day reflected on the Revo- 
 lution of 1688 from the ingratitude of 
 Churchill, or the treachery of Sunderland. 
 The purity of Somers, and the profligacy of 
 Spencer are equally loft in thefplendor of that 
 great traniaction, in the fenfe of its benefits, 
 and the admiration of its juftice. No moral 
 imprefiion remains on our mind, but that 
 whatever voice fpeaks truth, whatever hand 
 eftablifhes freedom, delivers the oracles and 
 difpenfes the gifts of God. 
 
 If this be true of the depolition of James 
 II. it is for more ib of the French Revolu- 
 tion. Among many circumftances which dif- 
 tinguiihed that event, as unexampled in hif- 
 tory, it was none of the lead: extraordinary, 
 that it might truly be faid to have been a 
 
 Revolution
 
 ( *8 ) 
 
 Revolution without Leaders. It was the 
 effect of general caufes operating on the 
 people. It was the revolt of a nation enlight- 
 ened from a common fource. Hence it has 
 derived its peculiar character, and hence the 
 merits of the molt confpicuous individuals- 
 have had little influence on its progrefs. 
 The character of the National Aflembly is of 
 fecondary importance indeed. But as Mr. 
 Burke has expended io much invective againfr. 
 that body, a few firictures on his account of 
 it will not be improper. 
 
 The reprefentation of the third eflate was, 
 as he juitly fhtes, compofed of Lawyers, Phy- 
 ficians, Merchants, Men of Letters, Trades- 
 men and Farmers. The choice was indeed 
 limited by necefiity, for except men of thefc 
 ranks and profellions, the people had no objects 
 of election, the Army and the Church being 
 
 engroiTed by the Nobility. " No veflige 
 
 cf the landed intcrcil of the country appeared 
 
 in
 
 ( i2 9 ) 
 
 *' in this representation." For an obvious 
 reafon Becaufe the Nobility of France, like 
 the Gentry of England, formed almoft exclu- 
 fr/ely the landed mterefr. of the kingdom. - 
 Thefe profeffions then could only furnifh Re- 
 prefentatives for the T'iers Etat. They form 
 the majority of that middle rank among whom 
 almoft all the fenfe and virtue of fecietv re- 
 fide. Their pretended incapacity for political 
 affairs is an arrogant fiction of Statefmen 
 which the hiftory of Revolutions has ever be- 
 lied. Thefe emergencies have never failed to 
 create politicians. The fubtle counfellors of 
 Philip II. were baffled by the Burgomafters of 
 Amfrcrdam and Leyden. The opprefiion of 
 England fummonecl into exiftence a race of 
 Statefmen in her Colonies. The lawyers of 
 Bofton, and the planters of Virginia, were 
 transformed into minifters and negociators, 
 who proved themfelves inferior neither in 
 wifdom as legifiators, nor in dexterity as po- 
 liticians. Thefe facts evince that the powers 
 
 J of
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 of mankind have been unjuftly depreciated, 
 the difficulty of Political affairs artfully mag- 
 nified, and that there exifts a quantity of ta- 
 lent latent among men, which ever rifes to 
 
 the level of the great occafions that call it 
 forth. 
 
 But the predominance of the profeffton of 
 the law, that profeflion which teaches men 
 ts to augur mif-government at a diilance, and 
 " fnufF the approach of tyranny in every 
 " tainted breeze,"* was the fatal fource from 
 which* if we may believe Mr. Burke, have 
 arifen the calamities of France. The majo- 
 rity of the Third Eflate was indeed compofed 
 of lawyers. Their talents of public fpeaking, 
 and their profeffional habits of examining 
 queflions analogous to thofe of politics, ren- 
 dered them the moft probable objects of popu- 
 lar choice, efpecially in a dejpotic country, 
 where political {peculation was no natural 
 
 * Mr, Burke's Speech on American Affairs, 1775. 
 
 amuiement
 
 ( '3* ) 
 
 arhufernetit for the leifure of opulence. But 
 it does not appear that the majority of them 
 confifted of the unlearned, mechanical mem- 
 bers of the profeffion*. From the lift of the 
 States General, it fhould feem that the majo- 
 rity were provincial advocates, a name of very 
 different import from country attorneys, and 
 whofe importance is not to be eftimated by 
 purely JLngUJJo ideas. 
 
 All forenjtc talent and eminence is here con- 
 centered in the capital. But in France, the 
 inftitution of circuits did not exift. The pro- 
 vinces were imperfectly united, their laws va- 
 rious, their judicatures diftincT:, and almoft in- 
 dependent. Twelve or thirteen Parliaments 
 formed as many circles of advocates, who 
 nearly emulated in learning and eloquence the 
 Parifian Bar. This difperfion of talent was in 
 
 * See an accurate lift of them in the Supplement to the 
 ^Journal de Paris, 31ft of May, 1789, 
 
 I % fome
 
 { I 3 2 ) 
 
 forne refpecl: alio the neceflary effect of the 
 immenfity of the kingdom. No liberal man 
 will in England beftowon thelrim and Scot- 
 tish bar the epithet provincial with a view of 
 degradation. The Parliaments of many Pro- 
 vinces in France, prefented as wide afield for 
 talent as the Supreme Courts of Ireland and 
 Scotland. The Parliament of Rermes, for 
 example, difpenfed juflice to a Province which 
 contained two million three hundred thoufand 
 inhabitants* ; a population equal to that of 
 fome reipeclablc kingdoms of Europe. The 
 Cities of Bordeaux, Lyons, and Marfeilles, 
 furpafs in wealth and population Copenhagen, 
 Stockholm, Peterlburg, and Berlin. Such 
 were the theatres on which the Provincial 
 Advocates of France pnrfued profefTionai fame. 
 A general Convention of the Britim empire 
 would yield perhaps asdiltinguiihed a place to 
 
 *' See a Report of the Population of France to the Na- 
 tional Affembly, by M. Biron de la Tour, Engineer and 
 
 Geographer to the King, 1790. 
 
 CuilRAN
 
 ( .^3 ) 
 
 Curran and Erskine, and the other emi- 
 nent and accomplished barriffers of Dublin and 
 Edinburgh, as to thofe of the capital. And 
 on the fame principles have the Thourets and 
 Chapellcrs of Rouen, and Rennes, acquired as 
 great an afcendant in the National AfTembly 
 as the 'Targets and Camus' $ of the Parifian bar. 
 
 The proof that this "faculty" influence, as 
 Mr. Burke chufes to phrafe it, was not injuri- 
 oufly predominant, is to be found in the de- 
 crees of the Aliembly refpecling the judicial 
 Order. It mull: on his fyitem have been their 
 object to have eftabliihed what he calls " a 
 " litigious Confrutution.'' The contrary has 
 fo notorioully been the cafe, all their decrees 
 have lo obvioufly tended to lefien the impor- 
 tance of lawyers, by facilitating arbitrations, 
 bv the adoption or juries, bv diminiihins the 
 expence and tediouineis or iuits, by the de- 
 flruclion of an intrk. to and barbarous jurii- 
 prudence, and by the iimplicity introduced 
 
 1 3 into
 
 ( '34 ) 
 
 into all judicial proceedings, that their fyftem 
 has been accufed of a direct tendency to extin- 
 guifh the profemon of the law. A fyflem 
 which may be condemned as leading to vifi- 
 onary excefs, but which cannot be pretended 
 to bear very ftrong marks of the fuppofed af- 
 cendant of " chicane." 
 
 To the lawyers, befides the parochial cler- 
 gy, whom Mr. Burke contemptuoufly ftiles 
 66 Country Curates* " were added, thofe No- 
 blemen whom he fo feverely ftigmatizes as 
 deferters from their Order. Yet the deputation 
 of the Nobility who firft joined the Commons, 
 and to whom therefore that title bell: belongs, 
 was not compofed of men whom defperate 
 fortunes and profligate ambition prepare for 
 civil confufion. In that number were found 
 the heads of the mofl ancient and opulent fa- 
 milies in France, the Rochefoucaults, the 
 
 *' It is hardly necefiary to remark that Cure means Rcflo>\ 
 
 RiohlieuSj,
 
 C 13S ) 
 
 Richlieus, the Montmorencies, the Noailles. 
 Among them was M. Lally, who has receiv- 
 ed fuch liberal praife from Mr. Burke, and it 
 will be difficult to difcover in one individual 
 of that body any interefl adverfe to the prefer- 
 vation of order, the fecurity of rank and wealth. 
 
 Having thus followed Mr. Burke in a very 
 fhort fketch of the clafTes of men who com- 
 pofe the AfTembly, let us proceed to confider 
 his reprefentation of the fpirit and general 
 rules which have guided it, and which, accord- 
 ing to him, have prefided in all the events of 
 the Revolution. " A cabal of philofophic 
 " Athcifts had confpired the abolition of Chrif- 
 " tianity. A monied intereft, who had grown 
 " into opulence from the calamities of France, 
 *' contemned by the Nobility for their origin, 
 <e and obnoxious to the people by their exac- 
 " tions, fought the alliance of thefe philofo- 
 " phers, by whole influence on public opinion 
 " they were to avenge themfelves on the No- 
 I 4 li bility,
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 c; bility, and conciliate the people. The Athe- 
 " ills were to be gratified with the extirpation 
 <s of religion, and the Stock-jobbers with the 
 " fpoils of the Nobles and the Church. The 
 " prominent features of the Revolution bear 
 " evidence of this league of impiety and ra- 
 " pine. The degraded eftablimment of the 
 " Church is preparatory to the abolition of 
 " Chrirlianity, and all the financial operations 
 <c are defigned to fill the cotters of the monied 
 Ci capltalijls of Paris." Such is the theory of 
 Mr. Burke respecting the ipirit and character 
 of the French Revolution. To feparate the 
 portion cf truth that gives plaufibility to his 
 fhtement from the falfehood that inverts it 
 with all its horrors, will however neither be 
 a tedious nor a difficult talk. 
 
 The commercial, or monied intereff, has 
 
 in all nations cf Europe (taken as a body} 
 
 been lefs prejudiced, more liberal, and more 
 
 intelligent, than the lauded gentry. Their 
 
 views
 
 c 137 ) 
 
 views are enlarged by a wider interconrfe with 
 mankind, and hence the important influence 
 cf commerce in liberalizing the modern world. 
 We cannot wonder then that this enlightened 
 clafs of men ever prove the mod ardent in the 
 caufe of freedom, the mod zealous for politi- 
 cal reform. It is r v ot wonderful that philoso- 
 phy mould find in them more docile pupils ; 
 and liberty more active friends, than in a 
 haughty and prejudiced ariflocracy. The Re- 
 volution in 1688 produced the fame diviiion 
 in England. The monied intereft Ions; form- 
 ed the ftrength of JVhiggifm, while a majo- 
 rity of the landed gentlemen long continued 
 zealous Tories. It is not unworthy of remark, 
 that the pamphleteers of Toryiim a ecu fed the 
 Whigs of the lame hcirility to religion of 
 which Mr. Burke now iuppofes the exiltence 
 in France. They predicted the deitruclion of 
 the Church, and even the downfall of Chris- 
 tianity itfelf from the influx of Heretics, In- 
 fidels, and Atheilts, which the new Govern- 
 ment
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 ment of England prote&ed. Their pamphlets 
 have perifhed with the topic which gave them 
 birth, but the talents and fame of Swift 
 have preferved his, which furniih. abundant 
 proof of this coincidence in clamour between 
 the enemies of the Englifli, and the detractors 
 of the French Revolution. 
 
 That the philofophers, the other party 
 in this unwonted alliance between affluence 
 and literature, in this new union of authors 
 and bankers, did prepare the Revolution by 
 their writings, it is the glory of its admirer? 
 to avow*. 
 
 * Mr. Burke's remark on the Englifli Free-thinkers is 
 Unworthy of him. It more refembles the rant by which 
 Priefls inflame the languid bigotry of their fanatical adher- 
 ents, than the calm, ingenuous and manly criticifm of a 
 philofopher and a fcholar. Had he made extenfive enqui- 
 ries among his learned friends, he muft have found many 
 who read and admired Collins's incomparable trat on 
 Liberty and Neceflity. Had he looked abroad into the 
 world, he would have found many who ftill read the pbi- 
 
 lofophical
 
 ( *39 ) 
 
 What the fpeculative opinions of thefe 
 philofophers were on remote and myflerious 
 questions, is here of no importance. It is not 
 as Atheifts, or Theiits, but as political rea- 
 foners, that they are to be confidercd in a po- 
 litical Revolution. All their writing, on the 
 fubjects of metaphyfics and theology, are fo- 
 reign to the queftion. If RouiTeau has had 
 any influence in promoting the Revolution, 
 it is not by his Letters from the Mountain, but 
 by his Social Contrail. If Voltaire contributed 
 to fpread liberality in France, it was not by 
 his Philofophical Dictionary, but by his De- 
 fences of 'Toleration. The obloquy of their 
 Athcifm (if it exifted) is pcrfonal it does not 
 belong to the Revolution, for that event could 
 
 fophical works of Bolingbroke, not as philofophv, but as 
 eloquent and fplendid declamation. What he means by 
 " their fucceffors," 1 will not conjecture. I will not fup- 
 " pofethat, with Dr. HuRD,he regards David Hi' me as 
 c ' a puny dialectician from the north ! !" vet it is hard to 
 understand him in any other fenfe. 
 
 neither
 
 '( 140 ) 
 
 neither nave been promoted nor retarded by 
 abflracr, difcullions of theology. The fuppofi- 
 tion of their confpiracy for the abolition of 
 Chrifrianity, is one of the moil extravagant 
 chimeras that ever entered the human imagi- 
 nation. Let us grant their infidelity in the 
 fulled: extent. Their philofophy mud have 
 taught them that the paffions, whether ra- 
 tional or irrational, from which religion 
 arifes, could be eradicated by no human power 
 from the heart of man. Their incredulity 
 muff have made them indifferent what parti- 
 cular mode of religion might prevail. Thefe 
 philofophers were not the Apoftles of any 
 new Revelation that was to fupplant the faith 
 of Chriit. They knew that the heart can on 
 this fubjecl bear no void, and thev had no in- 
 tereff in fubftituting the Vedam, or the Koran 
 for the Gofpel. They could have no reafon- 
 able motives to promote any revolution in the 
 popular faith. Their purpofe was accomplish- 
 ed when the Prieffhood was difarmed. What 
 
 ever
 
 ( Hi ) 
 
 ever might be the freedom of theii private 
 fpeculations, it was not againfl religion, but 
 againft the Church, that their political hofti- 
 lity was directed. 
 
 But, fays Mr. Burke, the degraded pen* 
 fionary eflablifhment, and the elective confri- 
 tution of the new Clergy of France is fufrlci* 
 ent evidence of the defign. The Clergy are 
 to be made contemptible, that the popular re- 
 verence for religion maybe cieilroyed, and the 
 way thus paved for its abolition. It is amuf- 
 ing to examine the different afpects which 
 the fame object prefents to various minds. 
 Mr. Hume vindicates the policy of an opu 
 lent eftabliihment, as a bribe which purchafes 
 the ufeful inactivity of the Priefthood. They 
 have no longer, he fuppofes, any temptation 
 to court a dangerous dominion over the minds 
 of the people, becaufe they are independent of 
 it. Had that philofopher been now alive, he 
 mud on the fame principle have remarked, that 
 
 an
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 an elective Clergy and a fcantily endowed 
 Church, had a far greater tendency to produce 
 fanaticifm than irreligion. If the priefls de- 
 pend on the people, they can only maintain 
 their influence by cultivating thofe paffions 
 in the popular mind, which gave them an af- 
 cendant over it. Their only influence is 
 through the religious paffions. To inflame 
 thefe paffions is their obvious ambition. Priefls 
 would be in a nation of fceptics contemptible, 
 in a nation of fanatics omnipotent. It has 
 not therefore been more uniformly the habit 
 of a Clergy that depends on a court, to prac- 
 tife fervility, than it would evidently be the 
 intereft of a Clergy that depends on the peo- 
 ple to cultivate religious enthufiafm. Scanty 
 endowments too would flill more difpofe 
 them to feek a confolation for the ab fence of 
 worldly enjoyments, in the exercife of a flat- 
 tering authority over the minds of men.- 
 
 Such would have been the view of a philofo- 
 pher who was indifferent to Chriflianity, on the 
 
 new
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 new ConfHtution of the Gallican Church, 
 He never would dream of rendering religion 
 unpopular by devoting her minifters to acti- 
 vity, contemptible by compelling them to pu- 
 rity, or unamiable by diverting her of invi- 
 dious fplendor. He would have feen in thefe 
 changes the feeds of enthufiafm and not of 
 laxity. But he would be confoled by the re- 
 flection, that the dhTolution of the Church 
 as a corporation had broken the ftrength of 
 the priefthood, that religious liberty without 
 limit would difarm the animofity of feels, and 
 the diffufion of knowledge reftrain the extra* 
 vagances of fanaticifm. 
 
 I am here only confidering the eftablifh- 
 ment of the Gallican Church as an evidence 
 of the fuppofed plan for abolifhing Chriftia- 
 nity. I am not difcuffing its intrinsic me- 
 rits. 1 therefore perfonate a philofophic 
 
 Infidel, and it appears that he muft. have dif- 
 cerned the tendency of this plan to be dire&ly 
 
 the
 
 ( 144 ) 
 
 the reverfe of that conceived by Mr. Burke, 1 
 * There is a fact, which though little known, 
 amounts almoft to a proof of the iblidity of 
 thefe {peculations. It is in truth rather a fa- 
 natical than an irreligious fpirit \> inch dictates 
 the organization, of the Church of France. A 
 Janfeniftica! party was formed in the Parlia- 
 
 *" The theory of Mr. Burke on the fubject of Religious . 
 Efbbli fti merits, I am utterly at a lofs to comprehend. He 
 will not adept the impious reafoning of Mr. Hume, nor 
 dees he fuppofe with Warburton any " alliance between 
 " Church and State," for he feems to conceive them to be 
 ori " - 1 T y the fune. When he or his admirers translate his 
 ftateiiituts (Reflations, p. 145 6) into a feries of propo- 
 fitioi Vc exprelied m prccife and unadorned Englifh, they may 
 become the proper objects of argument anddifcuffion. In 
 their prefent flate th.ey irrdiftibly remind one of the obfer- 
 vat-k ii3 1 f Lord Bacon. " Pugnax enim philofonhiae genus 
 tc & fw}>hifiicum illaqueat intelle6lum at iilud alterum 
 " I'hav.tafticum iX-tumidum et quart poctlcum magis blandlluf 
 " intellects;. Inert enim homini quajdam intelleclus am-< 
 " bitio non minor <;uam voluntatis praefertim mingeniis aids 
 *< ci chvatis." Nov. Org. XLV. 
 
 merits
 
 ( '45 ) 
 
 mcnts of that kingdom by their loiig hoitili- 
 ties with the Jefuits and the See of Rome. 
 Members of this party have in the National 
 A (Terribly, by the fupport of the inferior 
 Clergy, acquired the afcendant in eeclefiafli- 
 cal affairs. Of this number is M. Camus. 
 The new conftitution of the Church accords 
 exactly with their dogmas*. The Clergy 
 arc, according to the;r principles, to notify to 
 the Bifhop of Rome their union in doctrine, 
 but to recognize no fubordination in difci- 
 pline. The fpirit of a dormant feet thus re- 
 vived in a new fhr.pe at fo critical a period, 
 the unintelligible fubleties of the Bifhop of 
 Tprcs thus influencing the ihfritutions of the 
 eighteenth century, might prefent an ample 
 field of reflexion to an enlightened obferver 
 of human affairs. But it is fufneient for our 
 
 * See the ipeech of M. Syeyes on Religious Liberty, 
 where he reproaches the EcclefiafHcal Committee with 
 abating the Revolution tor the revival of Port RcytJ, the 
 famous Janfemjllcal Seminary, See ajfo M. Co^*DORCT 
 
 fu*- " Injtrufiion Pnbl'ique. 
 
 K pnrpofe
 
 ( H6 ) 
 
 purpofe to obferve the facl, and to remark 
 the error of attributing: to the hoftile defi^ns 
 of atheiim what in ib <rreat a degree has 
 arifen from the ardour of religious zeal. 
 
 The eftablifhment of the Church has not 
 furnimed any evidence of that to which Mr, 
 Burke has attributed fo much of the fyftem 
 of the National AiTemblv. Let us examine 
 whether a fhort review of their financial ope* 
 rations will fupply the defeat. 
 
 * To the gloomy fiatement of French 
 finance offered by M. Calonne, let us oppofe 
 
 * It may be remarked, that on the fubject of finance I 
 have declined all details. They were not neceiTary to my 
 purpofe, whiJi was to conhder the AfTembly's arrangements 
 of revenue, more with a view to their supposed politi- 
 cal profligacy, than to their financial talents. I confine 
 mvfelf, therefore, to general remarks, and this 1 do with the 
 greater pleafure, becauic I know the ability with which the 
 iubject will be treated by a gentleman, whom general faga- 
 ciry ?nd accurate knowledge of France finance, peculiarly 
 
 ' ioi t xp.jj'm .>; to the public tlic errors of Mr. Burke.
 
 ( '47 ) 
 
 the report of M. de la Rochefoucault, from 
 the Committee of Finance on the 9th of Dec. 
 1796, which from premifes that appear indif- 
 pu table, infers a confiderable Jurplus revenue 
 in the prefent year. The purity of that dif- 
 tinguiihed perfon has hitherto been arraigned 
 by no party. That underflanding muft be of 
 a lingular conftrudHon which could hentate 
 between the Ducdela Rochefoucault and M. 
 Calonne. But without 11 fin g this argumentum 
 ad verecundiam, we are to remark, that there 
 are radical faults, which vitiate the whole 
 calculations of that minifter, and the confe- 
 quent reafonings of Mr. Burke. They are 
 taken from a year of confufion, of lanffuifhing - 
 and diflurbed induilry, and abfurdly applied 
 to the future revenue of peaceful and flou- 
 rifhing periods. They are taken from a year 
 in which much of the old revenue of the 
 State had been deftroved, and d urine: which 
 t\ic AlTembly had fcarcely commenced its 
 (cheme of taxation. It is an error to aflert 
 K 3 that
 
 ( i*8 ) 
 
 that the AfTembly had deftroyed the former 
 oppreffive taxes, which formed fo important 
 a fource of revenue. Thefe taxes perifhed in 
 the expiring ftruggle of the ancient Govern- 
 ment. No authority remaining in France 
 could have maintained them. Calculations 
 cannot fail of being moll: grofsly illufive, 
 which are formed from a period when fo 
 many taxes had failed before they could be 
 replaced by new impofr, and when productive 
 induftry itfelf, the fource of all revenue, was 
 itruck with a momentary pnlfy*. Mr. Burke 
 difculTes the financial merit of the Aflembly 
 before it had begun its fyflem of taxation. It 
 is premature to examine their general fcheme 
 
 * Mr. Burke exults in the deficiency confeffed by M. 
 VernetofS millions fterling, in Auguft, 1790. He follows 
 it with an invective againft the National AfTembly, which 
 one fimple reflexion would have repreiTed. The fuppreflion 
 of the gabclle alone accounted for almoft a half of that defi- 
 ciency ! Its produce was eft i mated at 60 millions of livres, 
 or about two millions and a half fterling. 
 
 Of
 
 ( H9 ) 
 
 of revenue, or to eftabliih general maxims on 
 the furvey of a period which may be confi- 
 dered as an interregnum of finance. 
 
 The only financial operation which may be 
 regarded as complete is their emiffion of of- 
 fignats the eftabliih ment of a paper money, 
 the representative of the national property, 
 which, while it facilitated the fale of that 
 property, mould iupply the abfence of fpecie 
 in ordinary circulation. On this, as well as 
 moil: other topics, the predictions of their 
 enemies have been completely fallifcd. They 
 predicted, that no purchafers would be found 
 hardy enough to truft their property on the 
 tenure of a new and infecure eftablifhment. 
 But the national property has in all parts of 
 France been bought with the greatefr. avidity. 
 They predicted that the effimate of its value 
 would prove exaggerated ; but it has fold 
 uniformly for double and treble that estimate. 
 They have predicted that the depreciation of 
 K 3 the
 
 ( '50 3 
 
 the ajjignats would in effe& heighten the: 
 price of the neceffaries of life, and fall with 
 the moil cruel feverity on the moil: indigent 
 clafs of mankind : The even has however 
 been, that the aflignats, fupported in their 
 credit by the rapid fale of the property which 
 they reprefented, have kept almoff. at par, 
 that the price of the neceffaries of life has 
 lowered, and the fufterings of the indigent 
 been considerably alleviated. Many millions 
 of affignats, already committed to the flames, 
 form the moft unanfwerable reply to the ob- 
 jections urged againfl them*. 
 
 Many purchafers, not availing thcmfelves 
 of that indulgence for gradual payment, 
 which in fo immenfe a fale was unavoidable, 
 have paid the whole price in advance. This 
 has been peculiarly the cafe in the Northern 
 Provinces, where opulent farmers have been 
 
 '' At this moment nearly enc-tbinf. 
 
 the
 
 ( '5' ) 
 
 the chief purchafers ; a happy circumftance, 
 if it only tended to multiply that mo ft ufeful 
 and refpectable clafs of men, who are proprie- 
 tors and cultivators of the ground. 
 
 The evils of this emifiion in the circum- 
 ftances of France were trail dent ; the bene- 
 ficial effects permanent. Two great objects 
 .were to be obtained by it, one of policy, and 
 another of finance. The fir ft was to attach 
 a great body of Proprietors to the Revolution, 
 on the liability of which depended the fecu- 
 rity of their fortunes. This is what Mr. 
 Burke terms, making them accomplices in 
 confiscation, though it was precifely the po- 
 licy adopted by the Engliih Revolutionifts, 
 when they favoured the growth of a national 
 debt, to intercft a body of creditors in the 
 permanence of their new eftablifhment. To 
 render the attainment of the other great ob- 
 ject, the liquidation of the public debt, im- 
 probable, M. Calonne lias been reduced to Co 
 K i erofs
 
 ( *5* ) 
 
 grofs a mifreprefentation, as to flate the pro- 
 bable value of the national property at only 
 two milliards j (about 83 millions fbrline) 
 though the belt calculations have rated it at 
 more than double that fum. There is every 
 probability that this immenfe national eftate 
 will fpeedily difburden France of the greateft 
 part of her national debt, remove the load of 
 impoft. under which her induftry has groaned, 
 and open to her tha f . career of profperity for 
 which me was fo evidently dedined by the 
 bounty of Nature. With thefe great benefits, 
 with the acquittal of the public debt, and the 
 ftability of freedom, this operation has, it 
 muft be confeiTed, produced feme evils. It 
 cannot be denied to have promoted, in feme 
 degree, a fpirit of gambling, and it may give 
 an undue afcendant in the municipal bodies to 
 the agents of the paper circulation. But thefe 
 evils are fugitive. The moment that witneiTes 
 the extinction of a/fignats, by the complete 
 fale of the national lands, mufl terminate 
 
 them :
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 them; and that period, our pail: experience 
 renders probable, is not very remote. There 
 was one general view, which to perfons con- 
 versant in political economy, would, from the 
 commencement of the operation have appear- 
 ed decifive. Either the afEmats were to re- 
 tain their value, or they were net. If they 
 retained their value, none of the apprehended 
 evils could arife from them. If they were dif- 
 credited, every fall in their value was a new 
 motive to their holders to exchange them for 
 national lands. No man would retain depre- 
 ciated paper who could acquire folid property. 
 if a cieat portion of them were thus employed, 
 the value of thofe left in circulation mufr. 
 immediately rile, both becaufe their number 
 
 ; diminifhed, and their lecurity become 
 more obvious. The fall of their value mufk 
 have haftened the iale of the lands, and t; 2 
 iale of the lanes muft have remedied the fall 
 
 their value. The failure, as a mediam of 
 lation, muft have improved th.em a? an. 
 
 1. 
 
 lnhriunent
 
 ( *54 ) 
 
 initrument of fale; and their fuccefs as an 
 initrument of fale muft in return have reftor- 
 ed their utility as a medium of circulation. 
 tfhh action and re-action was inevitable, 
 though the flight depreciation of the ajfignats 
 had not made its effects very ccnfpicuous in 
 France, 
 
 So determined is the oppofition of Mr. 
 Burke to the: ilures f the AiTembly 
 
 which regard the finances of the Church, that 
 even monaflic inftitutions have in him found 
 an advocate. Let us difcufs the arguments 
 which he urges for the prefervation of thefe 
 monuments of human madnefs. In fupport 
 of an opinion Co lingular, he produces one 
 mora/ and one commercial reafon*. " In mo- 
 :; naitic inftitutions," in his opinion, " was 
 kC found a great power for the mechanifm 
 - of politic benevolence."" To deftroy any 
 
 * Burke, p. 232 41. 
 
 ei tower
 
 ( 155 ) 
 
 '' power growing wild from the rank produo 
 " tive force of the human mind, is almofr. 
 " tantamount, in the moral world, to the 
 " deftruction of the apparently active proper- 
 " ties of bodies in the material." In one 
 word, the fpirit and the inflitutions of mona- 
 chifm were an mftrument in the hand of the 
 Le^iilator, which he oucrht to have converted 
 to ibme public ufe, I confefs myfclf fo far 
 to mare the blindnefs of the National Af- 
 fembly, that I cannot form the moil: remote 
 conjecture concernin" the various ufes which 
 " have fuesrefted thcmfelves to a contriving 
 " mind." But without expatiating on them, 
 let us attempt to conflruct an aniwer to his 
 argument on a broader bafis. The moral 
 powers by which aLegiflator moves the mini 
 of man are his paflions; and if the infane fa- 
 naticifm which fir ft peopled the deferts of 
 Upper Egypt with anchorites, ftill exifted in 
 Kurope, the Legiflator muft attempt the di- 
 lion of a fpirit which humanity forbad him 
 
 to
 
 ( '56 ) 
 
 to perfecute, and wifdom to neglect, But mo- 
 nadic infritutions have for ages furvived the 
 fpirit which gave them birth. It was not 
 neceffary for any Legiflature todeflroy " that 
 <4 power growing wild out of the rank pro- 
 " duclive force of the human mind," from 
 which monachifm had arifen. It was like 
 all other furious and unnatural pa (lions, in its 
 nature tranfient. It langruifhed in the dif- 
 credit of miracles and the abfence of perfe- 
 cution, and was gradually melted down in the 
 funihine of tranquillity and opulence fo long 
 enjoyed by the Church. The foul which ac- 
 tuated monachifm had fled. The ikeleton 
 only remained to lead and deface fociety. 
 The dens of fanaticifm, where they did not 
 become the recedes of fenfuality, were con- 
 verted into the flyes of indolence and apathy. 
 The moral power therefore no longer exifted, 
 for the fpirit by which the Legislator could 
 alone have moved thefe bodies was no more. 
 The product of fanaticifm was therefore not 
 
 fit
 
 ( "57 ) 
 
 fit to be the inftrument of wifdom. Nor had 
 any new fpirit fucceeded which might be an 
 inftrument in the hands of legiflative fkill. 
 Thefc fhort-lived phrenzies leave behind 
 them an inert product, in the fame manner 
 as, when the fury and fplendor of volcanic 
 eruption is pad for ages, there {till remains a 
 mais of lava to encumber the foil, and de- 
 form the afpecl of the earth*. 
 
 Th 
 
 * It is urged by Mr. Burke, as a fpecies of incidental 
 defence of monachifm, that there are many modes of in- 
 duftry, from which benevolence would rather refcue men 
 than from menaftic quiet. This muft be allowed, in one 
 view, to be true. But, though the laws muf permit the 
 natural progrefs which produces this fpecies of labour, does 
 it follow, that they ought to create monaflic feclufion? ]s 
 the exiftence of one fource of mifery a reafon for opening 
 another ! Becaufe noxious drudgery muft be tolerated, are 
 we to fanftion compulfory inutility ? Infbnces of fimilav 
 bad reafoning from what focietv muft fufftr to what ihe ought 
 to cnaft, occur in other parts of Mr. Burke's production. 
 Vy"e in England, he fays, do not think .io,CCO a year 
 
 worfe
 
 ( '58 ) 
 
 The fale of the monaftic eftates is alfo ques- 
 tioned by Mr. Burke on a commercial princi- 
 ple. The fum of his reafoning may be thus 
 expreiTed. The furplus product of the earth 
 forms the income of the landed proprietor* 
 That furplus the expenditure of fome one 
 muft difperfe, and of what import is it to fo- 
 ciety, whether it be circulated by the expence 
 of one landholder, or of a fociety of monks* 
 A very fimple ftatement furnimes an unan- 
 fvverable reply to this defence. The wealth 
 of fociety is its flock of productive labour* 
 There muft, it is true, be unproductive con- 
 fumers,but the fewer their number the greater 
 
 wcrfe in the hands of a Bifhop than in thofe of a Baronet or 
 a 'Squire. Exceffive inequality is inboth cafes an enormous 
 evil. The laws miift permit property to grow as the courfe 
 of things effer. it. But ought they to add a new factitious 
 evil to this natural and irremediable one ? They cannot avoid 
 inequality in the income of property, becaufe they muft per- 
 mit property to diftribute itfclf. But they can remedy ex- 
 ceffivc inequalities in the income of office, becaufe the in- 
 come and the office are their clfcaturcs, 
 
 (all
 
 ( '59 ) 
 
 (dlt things clfe being the fame) muit be the opu- 
 lence of a State. The pofTefiion of an eftatc 
 by a fociety of monks eftabliihes, let us fup- 
 pole forty, unproductive confumers. The pof- 
 feilion of the fame eftate by a fmgle landhol- 
 der only necefTarily produces one. It is there- 
 fore evident there is forty times the quantity 
 of labour fubtracted from the public flock, in 
 the firft cafe, that there is in the fecond. If 
 it be objected that the domeflics of a land- 
 holder are unproductive, let it be remarked 
 that a monaftry has its fervants, and that thofe 
 of a lay proprietor are not profejfionally and 
 perpetually unproductive, as many of them 
 become farmers and artizans, and it is to be 
 obferved above all, that many of them are 
 married. Nothing then can appear on a plain 
 commercial view of the lubject more evident 
 than the diftinction between lay and monkifh 
 landholders. It is furely unnecefTary to ap- 
 peal to the motives which has every where 
 produced flatutes of Mortmain, the neglected 
 
 eftate
 
 ( t66 ) 
 
 eftate in which the land of ecclefiaftical cor- 
 porations is iuftered to remain, and the infi- 
 nite utility which arifes from changes of pro- 
 perty in land. The face of thofe countries 
 where the transfers have heen molt rapid, will 
 fufficiently prove their benefit. Purchafers 
 feldom adventure without fortune, and the 
 novelty of their acquisition infpires them 
 with the ardor of improvement* 
 
 No doubt can be entertained that theeftates 
 poffeffed by the Church will encreafe im* 
 rnenfely in their value. It is vain to fay that 
 they will be transferred to Stock-jobbers. Si- 
 tuations, not names, are to be confidered ill 
 human affairs. He that has once tailed the in- 
 dolence and authority of a land-holder, will 
 with difficulty return to the comparative fer- 
 vility and drudcrerv of a monied capitalifl. 
 But ihoulcl the ufurious habits of the imme~ 
 diatc purchakr be inveterate, his fon will im- 
 bibe the fentiments of a landed proprietor from' 
 
 his
 
 ( 16' ) 
 
 his birth. The heir of the ftock -jobbing 
 Alpheus may acquire as perfectly the habits of 
 an active improver of his patrimonial eftate, as 
 the children of Cincinnatus, or Cato. 
 
 To aid the feeblenefs of thefe arguments, 
 Mr. Burke has brought forward a panegyri- 
 cal enumeration of the objects on which mo- 
 nadic revenue is expended. On this mafter- 
 piece of fafcinating and magnificent eloquence 
 it is impoflible to be lavifh of praife. It would 
 have been quoted by Qui ntili an as a fplen- 
 did model of rhetorical common-place. But 
 criticifm is not our object, and, all that the 
 difplay of fuch powers of oratory can on fuch 
 a fubject fuggeft, is what might perhaps have 
 ferved as a characterise motto to Mr. Burke's 
 production. 
 
 AdJiJit invalid* robur Facundia caufa* 
 
 SECT,
 
 ( 162 ) 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Popular Exceffes which attended the Revo* 
 lution. 
 
 i""^HAT no great Revolutions can be ac- 
 complifhed without exceffes and mife- 
 ries at which humanity revolts, is a truth 
 which cannot be denied. This unfortunately 
 is true, in a peculiar manner, of thoie Revolu- 
 tions, which, like that of France, are ifrictly 
 popular. Where the people are led by a fac- 
 tion, its leaders find no difficulty - in the re- 
 eitabliihment of that order, which muff be 
 the object of their willies, becaufcit is thefole 
 fecurity of their power. But when a general 
 movement of the popular mind levels a def- 
 potifm with the ground, it is far lefs eafy to 
 
 reflrain
 
 '( i3 ) 
 
 feflrain cxccfs. There is more refentment 
 to fatiate and lefs authority to controul. The 
 paiiion which produced an effect fo tremen- 
 dous, is too violent to fubfide in a moment 
 into fcrenity and fubmiffion. The fpirit of 
 revolt breaks out with fatal violence after its 
 object is defrroyed, and turns againfl the or- 
 der of freedom thofe arms by which it had 
 fubdued the ftrength of tyranny. The attempt 
 to punljh the fpirit that actuates a people, if it 
 were juff, would be in vain, and if it were 
 pofjible, would be cruel. They are too many 
 to be punimed in a view of juftice, and too 
 ftro7i? to be punimed in a view of policy. The 
 oflentation of vigor would in fuch a cafe 
 prove the difplay of impotence, and the rigor 
 of juftice conduct to the cruelty of extirpa- 
 tion. Xo remedy is therefore left but the 
 progrefs of inftruction, the force of perfuafion, 
 the mild authority of opinion. Thefe reme- 
 dies, though infallible, are of flow operation; 
 2nd in the interval which elapfes before a 
 
 L z calm
 
 ( i4 ) 
 
 calm iucceeds the boifterous moments of a 
 Revolution, it is vain to expect that a people, 
 inured to barbarifm by their oppreffors, and 
 which has ages of oppreffion to avenge, will 
 be punctiiioufly generous in their triumph, 
 nicely difcriminative in their vengeance, or 
 cautioufly mild in their mode of retaliation. 
 ' They will break their chains on the heads 
 " of their opprefibrs*. 
 
 Such was the ftate of Fiance, and fuch 
 were the obvious caufes that gave birth to 
 fcenes which the friends of freedom deplore 
 as tarnifhing her triumphs. They fee/ thefe 
 evils as men of humanity. But they will not 
 beftow the name on that wemanim and com- 
 plcxional fenfibility, towards which, even in 
 the {till intercourle of private life, Indulgence 
 h mingled with love. The only humanity 
 
 * The eloquent exprefnon of Mr. Cttrran in the Par- 
 liament of Ireland, reipedling the Revolution. 
 
 which,
 
 C '65 ) 
 
 which, in the great affairs of men, claims 
 their refpecl:, is that manly and expanded hu- 
 manity, which fixes its ileady eye on the ob- 
 ject of general happinefs. The fenfibility 
 which fhrinks at a prefent evil, without ex- 
 tending its views to future good, is not a vir- 
 tue, for it is not a quality beneficial to man- 
 kind : It would arreft the arm of a Surgeon 
 in amputating a eanerened limb, or the hand 
 of a Judge in figning the fentence of a parri- 
 cide. I do not fay, (God forbid!) that a 
 crime may be committed for the profpect of 
 good. Such a doctrine would (hake morals to 
 their center. But the cafe of the French Re- 
 volutioniifs is totally different. Hasanv mo 
 ralift ever pretended, that ive are to decline the 
 purfult of a good which our duty prejcrlbed to 
 us, becaufe we for ef aw that fame partial and in- 
 cidental coil would ar if from it ? This is the 
 true view of the queftion, and it is only by 
 this principle that we are to effimate the re- 
 
 I, 3 fponiibility
 
 ( 166 ) 
 
 fponfibility of the leaders of the Revolution 
 for the excelTes which attended it. 
 
 If any of thefe leaders had crimes in con- 
 templation for the attainment of their purpofe, 
 I abandon them to merited obloquy and exe- 
 cration. The man who would erec"l freedom 
 on the ruins of morals, imderftands nor loves 
 neither. But the number againft whom this 
 charge has ever been injinuated, is fo imall, 
 that fuppofing (what I do not believe) its 
 truth, it only proves that corrupt and ambi- 
 tious men will mix with great bodies. The 
 qneftion with refpedt to the reft, is reducible 
 to this ' : ' Whether they were to abftain. 
 " from eftabli filing a free Government, be- 
 " caufe they forefaw that it could not be ef- 
 c< fecled without confufion and temporary di- 
 " ftrefs Whether they were to be deterred 
 " from purfuing that Conftitution which 
 Ci they deemed be ft for their country, by the 
 
 " profpccl
 
 ( i7 ) 
 
 cc profpect of partial and tranfient evils, or to 
 *' be confoled fortheie calamities by the view 
 " of that happinefs to which their labours 
 " were to give ultimate permanence and diffu- 
 *' (ion r" A Minifter is not conceived to be 
 guilty of fyftematic immorality, becaufe he 
 balances the evils of the mo ft juft war with 
 that national fecurity that is produced by the 
 reputation of fpirit and power; nor ought the 
 Patriot, who balancing the evils of tranfient 
 anarchv with the inelTimable o;ood of eftab- 
 lifhed liberty, finds the laft preponderate in the 
 fcale. 
 
 Such, in fact, have ever been the reafon- 
 insrs of the leaders inthofe infurrections which 
 have prefer ved the remnant of freedom that 
 ftill exifts amono; mankind. Holland, Ens:- 
 land, America, muft have reafoned thus, and 
 the different portions of liberty which they 
 enjov, have been purchaied by the endurance 
 of far greater calamities than have been fuf- 
 
 L 4 lered
 
 ( 1 68 ) 
 
 fered by France. It is unneceffar y to appeal 
 to the wars which for almoir. a century af> 
 flicted the Low Countries. But it may be 
 necelTary to remind England of the price me 
 paid for the eilablifhment at the Revolution. 
 The difputed fucceffion which arofe from that 
 event, produced a deft.ruct.ive civil war in Ire- 
 land, two rebellions in Scotland, the confer 
 quen.t {laughter and banishment of thoufands 
 of citizens, with the wideft confifcation of 
 their properties ; not to mention the continen- 
 tal connections into which it plunged England, 
 the foreign wars in which it engaged us, and 
 the neceffity thus impofed upon us of main- 
 taining a {landing army, and accumulating an 
 enormous public debt*. 
 
 * Yet this was only the combat of reafon and freedom 
 againft one prejudice, that of hereditary right, whereas the 
 French Revolution is, as has been fublimely faid by the 
 Bishop ofAutun, " Le premier combat qui fe foit jamais 
 " livrce entre Tous les Principes et toutes les Ek.- 
 * s ?.euks! AddreJJc aux Franccis, 1 1 Feu. 1790. 
 
 The
 
 ( i 9 ) 
 
 The freedom of America was purchafcd 
 by calamities ft ill more inevitable. The au- 
 thors of the Revolution muft have forefeen 
 them, for they were not contingent or re- 
 mote, but ready in a moment to burft on their 
 heads. Their cafe is moil fimilar to that of 
 France, and bell: anfwers one of Mr. Burke's 
 moft triumphant arguments. They enjoyed 
 fame liberty, which their oppreflbrs did not 
 attack. The object of refinance was conceded 
 in the progrefs of the war.' But like France, 
 after the concemons of her King, they re- 
 fufed to acquiefee in an imperfect liberty, 
 when a more perfect one was within their 
 reach. They purfued what Mr. Burke, 
 whatever were his then fentiments, on his 
 prefent fyitem, muft reprobate as a fpecula- 
 tive and ideal good. They fought their be- 
 loved independence through new calamities, 
 through the prolonged horrors of civil war. 
 
 " Their rehTrance," from that moment , 
 
 " was againft concefiion. Their blows were 
 
 li aimed
 
 ( I JO ) 
 
 " aimed at a hand holding forth Immunity 
 " and favours." Events have indeed juftified 
 that noble refinance. America has emerged 
 from her ftruggle into tranquillity and free- 
 dom, into affluence and credit. The authors 
 of her Conftitution have conftrucled a great 
 permanent experimental anfwer to the fo- 
 phifms and declamations of the detractors of 
 liberty. 
 
 But what proportion did the price me paid 
 for fo Great Meiling bear to the transient 
 misfortunes which have afflicted France ? - 
 The extravagance of the comparifon mocks 
 every unprejudiced mind. No feries of 
 events in hiflory have probably been more 
 widely, malignantly, and fyftematically ex- 
 aggerated than the French commotions. An 
 enraged, numerous and opulent body of 
 exiles, difperfed over Europe, have poiTefled 
 thcrafelves of every venal prefs, and filled 
 the public ear with a perpetual buz of the 
 
 crimes
 
 ( 17* ) 
 
 crimes and horrors that were acling in 
 France*. Inftead of entering on minute 
 fcrutiny, of which the importance would 
 neither expiate the tedioufhefs, nor reward 
 the toil, let us content ourfelves with oppos- 
 ing one general fact to this ho ft offalfe- 
 hoods. No commercial houfe of importance has 
 failed in France fince the Revolution I How 
 is this to he reconciled with the tales that 
 have been circulated. As well might the 
 transfers of the Royal Exchange, be quietly 
 executed in the ferocious anarchy of Gondar, 
 
 * The manazuvres of M. Calonne, in England, arc too 
 obvious from the complexion of fome Engliih prints. He 
 informs us, that he had it once in contemplation to have 
 inferted in a note at the end of his work extracts from the 
 public papers in all the nations of Europe, demonftrating 
 the general horror in which the French Revolution was 
 held. This note would have been the more amufmg, as 
 probably all thefc paragraphs were compo fed, and tranfmittcd it 
 thefe papers by M. Calonne hlmfelf: who would thus be the 
 lell-crcated organ of the voice of Europe. 
 
 and
 
 ( I/* ) 
 
 and the peaceful opulence of Lombard-Jireet, 
 flourifii amidft hordes of Galla and Agows. 
 Commerce, which fhrinks from the breath of 
 civil confufion, has refilled this tempeft, and 
 a mighty Revolution has been accomplished 
 with lefs commercial derangement than could 
 arife from the bankruptcy of a fecond rate 
 houfe in London, or Amfterdam. The ma- 
 nufacturers of Lyons, the merchants of Bour- 
 deaux and Marfeilles, are filent amidft. the la- 
 mentations of the Abbe Maury, M. Calonne, 
 and Mr. Burke. Happy is that people whofe 
 commerce flourimes in Ledgers, while it is 
 bewailed in orations, and remains untouched 
 in calculation, while it expires in the pictures 
 of eloquence. This unqueftionable facl, is 
 on a iuch a iubject worth a thoufand arsfu- 
 ments, and to any mind qualified to judge, 
 muff, cxpoie in their true light thofe execra- 
 ble fabrications, which have founded fuch a 
 *' fenfelefs yell" through Europe. 
 
 But
 
 ( i/3 ) 
 
 But let us admit for a moment their truth, 
 and take as a fpecimen of the evils of the 
 Revolution, the number of lives which have 
 been loft in its progrefs. That no poffihility 
 of cavil may remain, let us furpafs in an ex- 
 aggerated eftimate the utmoft audacity of 
 falfehood. Let us make a ftatement, from 
 which the moil frontlefs hireling of Calonne 
 would mrink. Let us for a moment fup- 
 pofe, that in the courfe of the Revolution 
 20,000 lives have been loft. On the compa- 
 rifon of even this lofs with parallel events in 
 hiftory, is there any thing in it from which a 
 manly and enlightened humanity will recoil ? 
 Can it be compared with the {laughter that 
 eftablifhed American freedom, or with the 
 fruits of the En^lim Revolution? But this 
 comparifon is an injuftice to the argument. 
 Compare it with the expenditure of blood 
 by which in ordinary wars fo many perni- 
 cious and ignoble objects are fought. 
 
 Compare it with the blood fpilt by Eng- 
 land
 
 f 174 ) 
 
 land in the attempt to fubjugate America, 
 and if fuch be the guilt of the Revolutionifts 
 of France, for having, at the hazard of this 
 evil, fought the eftablifhment of freedom, 
 what new name of obloquy fhall be applied to 
 the Miniflcr of England, who with the cer- 
 tainty of a deftruclion fo much greater, at- 
 tempted the eftablifhment of tyranny ? 
 
 The illufion which prevents the effect 
 of thefe comparifons, is not peculiar to Mr. 
 Burke. The maflacres of war, and the 
 murders committed by the fword of jus- 
 tice, are difguifed by the folemnities which 
 invcfl them. But the wild jullice of the 
 people has a naked and undifguifed horror. 
 Its flighted exertion awakens all our indigna- 
 tion, while murder and rapine, if arrayed in 
 the gorgeous difguife of ads of State, may 
 with impunity flalk abroad. Our fentiments 
 are reconciled to them in this form, and we 
 forget that the evils of anarchy mufl be mort- 
 
 lived,
 
 ( '75 ) 
 
 lived, while thofe of defpotic government arc 
 fatally permanent. 
 
 Another illufion has particularly in England 
 favored the exaggeration of the exiles. We 
 judge of France by our own lituation. This 
 is to view it through a falfe medium. We 
 ought to judge of it by a comparifon with 
 nations in fimilar arcumpanccs. With us 
 " the times may be moderate*, and therefore 
 " ought to be peaceable :" But in France the 
 times were not moderate, and could not be 
 peaceable. 
 
 Let us correct that illuiion of moral op- 
 tics which makes near objecls fo difpro 
 portionately large. Let us place the fcene 
 of the French Revolution in a remote age, or 
 in a diftant nation, and then let us calmly aik 
 our own minds, whether the moil reafonable 
 fubjec"t of wonder be not its unexampled mild- 
 
 * Junius, 
 
 nefs.
 
 ( 176 ) 
 
 nefs, and the fmall number of individuals 
 crufhed in the fall of fo vafr. a pile. 
 
 Such are the general reflexions fugerefted 
 by the difordcrs of the French Revolution. 
 Of thefe, the firft. in point of time as well as 
 of importance, was the Parifian infurrection 
 and the capture of the Baflile. The mode in 
 which that memorable event is treated by 
 Mr. Burke, is worthy of notice. It oc- 
 cupies no conipicuous place in his work. 
 It is onlyobfcurely and contemptuoufly hinted 
 at as one of thofe examples of iuccefsful re- 
 volt, which have foitered a mutinous fpirit 
 in the foldiery. " They have not forgot the 
 * e taking of the King's Castles in Paris 
 *' and at Marfeilles. That they murdered 
 u with impunity in both places the Gover- 
 *' nors has not efcaped their minds." (Burke, 
 p. 3078.) Such is the courtly circumlocu- 
 tion by which Mr. Burke defigns the Baftile 
 the Kind's Cajile at Paris, Such is the igno- 
 minious
 
 C l 77 ) 
 
 minious language in which he fpeaks of the 
 fummary juftice executed en the titled ruffian 
 who was its Governor ; and fuch is the ap- 
 parent art with which he has thrown into the 
 back ground invective and afperity, which if 
 they had been prominent, would have pro- 
 voked the indignation of mankind. 
 
 " J e f dls " *" a y s Mourner, ill the lan- 
 guage of that frigid and fcanty approbation 
 that is extorted from an enemy, " quil eft 
 1 i des circonftances qui legltiment rinfurrctlion, 
 " ? je mets dans ce ?iombi~e celles qui ont cause 
 Li lefiege de la Bajlille" (Expose de Mounter , 
 p. 24.) But the admiration of Europe and of 
 pofterity, is not to be eftimated by the penu- 
 rious applaufe of M. Mounier, nor rcpreffed 
 by the infiduous hoitility of Mr. Burke. It 
 will correfpond to the fplendor of an insurrec- 
 tion, as much ennobled by heroifm as it was 
 juflified by neceffity, in which the citizens 
 of Paris, the unwarlike inhabitants of a vo- 
 M luptuous
 
 ( i;8 ) 
 
 luptuous capital, liftening to no voice but 
 that of the danger which menaced their re- 
 prefentatives, their families, and their coun- 
 try, animated, inftead of being awed, by the 
 hojfts of difciplined mercenaries that inverted 
 them on every fide, formed themfelves into 
 an army, attacked with a gallantry and fuc- 
 cefs equally incredible, a fortrefs formidable 
 from its ftrength, and tremendous from its 
 defoliation; diipelled every hoftile project, 
 and changed the deftiny of France. To pal- 
 liate or excufe luch a revolt, would be abject 
 treachery to its principles. It was a cafe in 
 which revolt was the dictate of virtue, and 
 the path of duty ; and in which fubmiilion 
 would have been the moil daitardly bafenefs, 
 and the fouleft crime. It was an action not 
 to be excufed, but applauded ; not to be par- 
 doned, but admired. I ihall not therefore 
 defcend to vindicate acts of heroifm, which 
 hiitory will teach the remoteft. pofterity to 
 revere, and of which the recital is deftined to 
 
 kindle
 
 ( *79 ) 
 
 kindle in unborn millions the holy enthu- 
 fiafm of Freedom. 
 
 Commotions of another defcription early 
 followed the Revolution, partly arifing from 
 the general caufes before ftated, and partly 
 from others of more limited and local opera- 
 tion. The peafantry of the provinces, buried 
 for lo many ages in the darknefs of fervitude, 
 faw, indiftinctly and confufedly, in the fir ft 
 dawn of liberty, the boundaries of their duties 
 and their rights. It was no wonder that they 
 mould little underftand that freedom which fo 
 long had been remote from their views. The 
 name conveyed to their ear a right to reject 
 all reilraint, to gratify every refentment, and 
 to attack all property. Ruffians mingled with 
 the deluded peafants, with hopes of booty, 
 and inflamed their ignorance and prejudices, 
 by forged acts of the King and the AiTembly 
 authorizing their licentioufnefs. From thefe 
 circum trances arofe many calamities in the 
 M 2 provinces,
 
 ( 'So ) 
 
 provinces. The country houfes of many gen- 
 tlemen were burnt, and fome obnoxious per- 
 fons were affaflinated. But one may without 
 excefiive fcepticifm doubt, whether they had 
 been the mi/deft majlers whofe chateaux had 
 undergone that fate. Perhaps the peafants 
 had oppreffions to avenge, thole filent grind- 
 ing oppreflions that form almoft the only in- 
 tercourie of the rich with the indigent; 
 which though lefs flagrant than thofe of Go- 
 vernment, are perhaps productive of more in- 
 tolerable and diffuiive mifery. 
 
 But whatever was the demerit of thefe ex- 
 cefTes, they can by no torture of reafon be 
 imputable to the National Afiembly, or the 
 leaders of the Revolution. In what manner 
 were they to reprefs them \ If they exerted 
 againft them their own authority with rigor, 
 'they muft have provoked a civil war. If they 
 invigorated the police and tribunals of the de- 
 pofed Government, befides incurring the ha- 
 zard
 
 ( i8i ) 
 
 zard of the fame calamity, they put arms into 
 the hands of their enemies. Placed in this di~ 
 lemma, they were compelled to expecT: a flow 
 remedy from the returning ferenity of the 
 public mind, and from the progrefs of the 
 new Government towards confidence and vi- 
 
 gor 
 
 A degree of influence exerted by the people, 
 far more than would be tolerated by a firm 
 Government, or could exift in a flate of tran- 
 quillity, muit be expected in the crilis of a 
 
 * If this fhtement be candid and exact, what {hall we 
 think of the language of Mr. Burke, when he fpeaks qf 
 the Assembly as " autholzing treafons, robberies, rape. - ;, 
 " affaliinations, (laughters, and burnings, throughout all 
 " their harraffed land." P. 58. In another place he groupes 
 together the lcgillative extinction of the Order of Nobles 
 with the popular excciTes committed againft individual N..O- 
 blemen, to load the Affembly with the accumulated oblo- 
 quy. See p. 2CO. A mode of proceeding more remarkable 
 for ccntrovtTii.il dexterity than for candor. 
 
 M 3 Revolution
 
 ( i8 ) 
 
 Revolution which the people have made.* 
 They have too recent experience of their own 
 ftrensth to abftain at once from exerting: it. 
 Their political paffions have been agitated by 
 too fierce a ftorm to regain in a moment that 
 ferenity which would expect with patient 
 acquiefcence the decrees of their Reprefenta^ 
 tives. From an inflamed multitude, who had 
 felt themfelves irrefiftible, and whofe fancy 
 annexed to the decifion of every political ques- 
 tion the fate of their freedom, an undue in- 
 terposition in the proceedings of the Legifla- 
 ture was to have been expected. The pafllons 
 which prompt it are vehement ; the arguments 
 which prove its impropriety are remcte and 
 refined. Too much, therefore, of this inter- 
 polation was at fuch a conjuncture inevitable. 
 It is without doubt a great evil, but it is irre- 
 mediable. The fubmiflion of the people in a 
 period of tranquillity, degenerates into a liflr 
 lefs and torpid negligence of public affairs, 
 and the fervor which the moment of Revolu- 
 tion
 
 ( i3 ) 
 
 tion infpires, necefTarily produces the oppofite 
 extreme. That, therefore, the conduct of 
 the populace of Paris fhould not have been the 
 moft decorous and circumfpect reflecting the 
 deliberations of the AfTembly, that it fhould 
 be frequently irregular and tumultuous, was, 
 in the nature of things, inevitable. But the 
 horrible picture which Mr. Burke has drawn 
 of that " ftern neceffity" under which this 
 " captive" AfTembly votes, is neither juflirled 
 by this concefiion, nor by the ftate of facts. 
 It is the overcharged colouring; of a fervid 
 imagination. Thole whom he alludes to, as 
 driven away by aflaiiins, M. M. Lally and 
 Aiounier, might, furely, have remained with 
 perfect iafety in an AiTembly in which fuch 
 furious invectives are daily bellowed forth 
 with impunity againft the popular leaders. 
 No man will deny, that that Member of the 
 Minority enjoyed liberty of ipeech in its ut- 
 moft plenitude, who called M. Mirabeau " Ls 
 " plus vil de tons les ajfzjji-ns" is The tc iocs 
 M A of
 
 ( 1*4 ) 
 
 f of the lamp-poft and bayonet" have hither- 
 to been vifionary. Popular fury has hitherto 
 fpared the muft furious declaimers of Arifto- 
 cracy, and the only decree^ fo far as I can dif- 
 cern, which has even been pretended to have 
 been materially influenced by the populace, is 
 that reflecting the prerogatives of war and 
 peace. That tumult has frequently derogated 
 from the dignity and decorum which ought to 
 diftinguifh the deliberations of a legiflative 
 AfTembly, is not to be denied. But the only 
 important queflion regards the effecl of thefe 
 tumults on their decifions. That their debates 
 have been tumultuous, is of little importance, 
 if their decifions have been independent. 
 Even in the queflion of war and peace, " the 
 *' hjghefl bidder at the auction of popula- 
 " rity*" did not fuccecd. The fchcme of 
 M. Mirabtau, with few amendments, pre- 
 vailed, while the more " fplendidly popular'* 
 
 * Burke, p. 353. 
 
 proportions,
 
 { '85 ) 
 
 proportions, which vefted in the Legiflature 
 alone the prerogative of war and peace were 
 rejected. 
 
 We are now conducted by the courfe of 
 thefe ftrictures to the exceftes committed at 
 Verfailles on the 5th and 6th of October, 
 1789. After the molt careful perufal of the 
 voluminous evidence before the Chatelet, of 
 the controverfjal pamphlets of M. iM d'Or- 
 leans and Mounier, and of the official report of 
 M. Chabroud to the AiTembly, the details of 
 the affair fecm to me fo much involved in ob- 
 fcurity and contradiction, that they afford 
 little on which a candid mind can with con- 
 fidence pronounce. 
 
 They afford, indeed, to frivolous and pue- 
 rile adverfaries the means of convicting Mr. 
 Burke of fome minute errors. Monf. JMJo- 
 wandre, the centmel at the Queen's-gate, it 
 is true, furvives, but it is no Ids true, that 
 
 he
 
 ( 186 ) 
 
 he was left for dead by his aflaffins. On the 
 companion of evidence, it feems probable, that 
 the Queen's chamber was not broken into, 
 " that the afylum of beauty and Majejiy was 
 " not profaned*. But thefe flight corrections 
 palliate little the atrocity, and alter not, in 
 the leaft, the general complexion of thefe fla- 
 gitious fcenes. 
 o 
 
 The moft important queftion which the 
 fubjeel: prefents is, whether the Pariiian popu- 
 lace were the inflruments of confpirators, or 
 whether their fatal march to Verfailles was a 
 fpontaneous movement, produced by real or 
 chimerical apprehenfions of plots againft their 
 
 * The cxprciTion of M. Cliabroud. Five witnefles aflert 
 that the ruffians did not break into the Queen's chamber. 
 Two give the account followed by Mr. Burke, and to give 
 this preponderance its due force, let it be recollected, that 
 the whole proceedings before the Chatclct were ex parte, 
 Sec Procedure Criminclle fait au Chatclct dc Paris, &c. deux 
 Parties. Paris, 1790. 
 
 freedom.
 
 ( x7 ) 
 
 freedom. I confefs that I incline to the latter 
 opinion. Natural caujes feem to me adequate 
 to account for the movement. A Icarcity of 
 provii'ion is not denied to have exiiledin Pans. 
 The dinner cf the body- guards might furclv 
 have provoked a people more tranquil than 
 thofe of a city fcarce recovered from the 
 fhock of a great Revolution. The maledic- 
 tions poured forth again il the National Aflem- 
 bly, the infults offered to the patriotic cock- 
 ade, the obnoxious ardor of loyalty difplayed 
 on that occafion, might have awakened even 
 the jealouly of a people whole ardor had been 
 iatcd by the long enjoyment", and whole 
 alarms had been quieted by the ice lire poi- 
 feilion of liberty. The efcape of the King 
 would be the infallible iignal of civil 'war 
 the expofed fituation of the Royal rehdence 
 was therefore a fource of perpetual alarm. 
 'I hefe cauies, operating on that credulous lea- 
 i rciy \\ Inch is the malady of the Public mind 
 w limes of civil coufulion, which ices hoitility 
 
 and
 
 c I ) 
 
 and eonfpiracy on every iide, feem fufficient 
 to have actuated the Parifian populace. 
 
 The apprehenfioiis of the people in fuch a 
 period torture the moil: innocent and frivolous 
 accidents into proofs of fanguinary plots. 
 Witnefs the zi'ar of con/piracies carried on by 
 the contending; factions in the reiern of Charles 
 the Second. The boldnefs with which fuch 
 charges are then fabricated, and the facility 
 with which they are credited, form indeed, in 
 the mind of a wife man, the ftrongefl: pre- 
 fumptions againfr. their truth. It is in peru- 
 fing the hiftory of fuch a period, that his fcep- 
 ticifm refpecting conspiracies is the mod vigi- 
 lant. The refearch of two centuries has 
 not, in England, been able to decide difputes 
 which thefe accufations have produced. The 
 participation of Queen Mary in Babington's 
 Plot againfr. Elizabeth, is frill the fubjecl of 
 controverfy. We, at the prefent day, difpute 
 about the nature of the connection which fub- 
 
 fifted
 
 ( s 9 ) 
 
 fitted between Charles the Firtt and the Ca- 
 tholic infurgents of Ireland. It has occupied 
 the labour of a century to feparate truth from 
 falfehood in the Rye-houfe Plot, to diftinguifh 
 what both the friendfhip and enmity of co- 
 temporaries confounded ; the views of the 
 leaders from the fchemes of the inferior con- 
 fpirators, and to difcover that Ruflel and Syd- 
 ney had, indeed, confpired a revolt, but that 
 the underlings alone had plotted the aiTaffina- 
 tion of the Kincr. 
 
 o 
 
 It may indeed be faid, that ambitious leaders 
 availed themfelves of the inflamed ttate of 
 Paris, that by falfe rumours, and exaggerated 
 truths, they ttimulated the revenge, and in- 
 ereafed the fears of the populace ; that their 
 emiifaries, mixing with the mob, and con- 
 cealed by its confufion, were to execute their 
 flagitious purpofes ; that confpiracy was thus 
 joined to popular madnefs, and fanatics, as 
 ufual, were the dupes of hypocritical leaders. 
 
 Such
 
 ( *9 ) 
 
 Such is the accufation which has been made 
 againft M. d'Orleans and M. Mirabean. Their 
 defence is not impofed on the admirers of 
 the French Revolution. The Revolution is 
 not ftigmatized, if its progrefs has not been 
 altogether exempt from the interpofition of 
 profligate ambition, from which who can 
 guard any of the affairs of men ? Their caufe 
 is foreign from that of Revolution, and to be- 
 come the advocate of individuals , were to for- 
 get the dignity of a difcuffion that regards the 
 rights and interefts of an emancipated nation. 
 Of their guilt, however, 1 will be bold to 
 fay, evidence was not collected by the malig- 
 nant activity of an avowedly hoilile tribunal, 
 which, for a moment, would have fufpended 
 their acquittal by an Engiifh Jury. It will 
 be no mean teilimony to the innocence of M. 
 jvfh'abcan, that an opponent, not the mild- 
 eft in his enmity, nor the moil candid in his 
 judgment, confefTed, that he faw no feri- 
 ous ground of accufation againfr. him. 
 
 j avoue,
 
 ( '9 1 ) 
 
 K 
 
 J'avoue" 'fays the Abbe Maury, u que je ne 
 vois aucune 
 " Mirabeau*.' 
 
 " yow aucune Imputation grave contre M. de 
 
 One circumftance of repulfive improbability 
 is on the face of the project attributed to 
 them, that of intimidating the King into a 
 flight, that there might be a pretext for ele- 
 vating the Duke of Orleans to the office of 
 Regent. But the King could have had no 
 rational hopes of efcapingf, for he muft have 
 traverfed 200 miles of a country guarded by 
 a people in arms, before he could reach the 
 neareft frontier of the kingdom. The object 
 of the confpiracy then was too abfurd to be 
 purfued by confpirators, to whom talent and 
 iagacity have not been denied by their ene- 
 mies. That the popular leaders in France 
 
 * Difcours de M, l'Abbe Maury dans I'AfTemblee Na 
 tionale, 1 O&obre, 1790, 
 
 f The circumstances of his late attempt fanclion this 
 reafoning. 
 
 did,
 
 ( *9* ) 
 did, indeed, defire to fix the Royal refidence 
 at Paris, it is impoffible to doubt. The name, 
 the perfon, and the authority of the King* 
 would have been moft formidable weapons 
 in the hands of their adverfaries* The peace 
 of their country, the liability of their freedom* 
 called on them to ufe every meafure that could 
 prevent their enemies from getting poiTeffion 
 of that " Royal Figure." The name of the 
 King would have fan&ioned foreign powers in 
 fupporting the ariftocracy. Their mterpoli- 
 tion, which now would be hoflility againfl the 
 King and kingdom, would then have been 
 only regarded as aid againfl: rebellion. The 
 name of the King would fafcinate and inflame 
 the people of the provinces. Againfl: all thefe 
 dreadful confequences, there feemed only one 
 remedy, the residence of the King at Paris* 
 Whether that reiidence is to be called a capti- 
 vity, or by whatever other harm name it is to 
 be defigned, I will not hefitate to affirm, that 
 the Parliament of England would have merited 
 
 the
 
 ( *93 ) 
 
 the gratitude of their country, and of poste- 
 rity, by a limilar prevention of the efcape of 
 Charles I. from London. The fame acl 
 would have given Stability to their limitations 
 of kingly power, prevented the horrors of civil 
 war, the defpotifm of Cromwell, the relapfe 
 into fervitude under Charles II. and the cala- 
 mities that followed the fubfequent Revolu- 
 tion. Fortunate would it have been for Eng- 
 land, if the perfon of James II. had been re- 
 tained while his authority was limited. She 
 would then have been circumstanced as France 
 is now; where the odium ofperfonal mifcon- 
 duel; would have kept alive a falutary jealouiy 
 of power, the prejudices of perjonal right 
 would not have been provoked to hoftility 
 againft the Constitution, nor the people com- 
 pelled to entruft their new Sovereign with 
 exorbitant Strength to defend their freedom 
 and his contended throne. Such is the general 
 view which a calm furvey may fugged: of the 
 6th October. The march to Verfailles feems 
 
 N to
 
 ( 194 ) 
 
 to have been the fpontaneous movement of an 
 alarmed populace. Their views, and the fug- 
 geftions of their leaders, were probably bound- 
 ed by procuring the King to change his refi- 
 dence to Paris, but the collifion of armed mul- 
 titudes terminated in unforefeen excefTes and 
 execrable crimes. 
 
 In the eye of Mr. Burke, however, thefe 
 crimes and excefTes aflume an afpecl far more 
 important than can be communicated to them 
 by their own infulated guilt. They form, in 
 his opinion, the crifis of a Revolution, far 
 more important than any change of Govern- 
 ment; a Revolution, in which the fentiments 
 and opinions that have formed the manners 
 of the European nations are to perifh. " The 
 " age of chivalry is gone, and the glory of 
 " Europe extinguished for ever.'* He follows 
 this exclamation by an eloquent eulogium on 
 chivalry, and by gloomy predictions of the fu- 
 ture ftate of Europe, when the nation that has 
 
 been
 
 ( *95 ) 
 
 been ib long accu domed to give her the tons 
 in arts and manners is thus debafed and cor- 
 rupted. A caviller might remark that ages* 
 much more near the meridian fervor of chi- 
 valry than ours, have witneffed a treatment 
 of Queens as little gallant and generous as 
 that of the Parifian mob. He might remind 
 Mr. Burke, that in the age and country of 
 Sir Philip Sidney, a Queen of France, whom 
 no blindnefs to accomplishment, no malignity 
 of detraction could reduce to the level of 
 Maria Antonietta, was, by " a nation of men 
 " of honour and cavaliers," permitted to lan- 
 guish in captivity and expire en a fcaftold ; 
 and he might add, that the manners of a 
 country are more furely indicated by the iyf- 
 tematic cruelty of a Sovereign, than bv the 
 licentious phrenzy of a mob. He might re- 
 mark, that the mild lyftem of modern man- 
 ners which furvived the mafTacres with which 
 fanaticifm had for a century defolated, and 
 almoft barbarized Europe, might, perhaps, 
 
 N 2 refift
 
 ( is* ) 
 
 refift the mock of one day's excefles commit- 
 ted by a delirious populace. He might thus, 
 perhaps, oppofe fpecious and popular topics to 
 the declamation of Mr. Burke. 
 
 But the fubjecl: itfelf is, to an enlarged 
 thinker, fertile in reflexions of a different na- 
 ture. That fyftem of manners which arofe 
 among the Gothic nations of Europe, of which 
 chivalry was more properly the effufion than 
 ths fource, is without doubt one of the mod 
 peculiar and interefting appearances in human 
 afrairs. The moral caufes which formed its 
 character have not, perhaps, been hitherto 
 investigated with the happieft fuccefs. But 
 to confine ourfelves to the fubjecl: before us. 
 Chivalry was certainly one of. the moil pro- 
 minent features and remarkable effects of this 
 fyftem of manners. Candor nuift confefs, 
 that this lingular inftitution is not alone ad- 
 mirable as a corrector of the ferocious ages in 
 which it flourifhed. It contributed to polish 
 
 and
 
 C 197 > 
 
 and {often Europe. It paved the way for that 
 diffiifion of knowledge and extenfion of com- 
 merce which afterwards, in fome meafure, 
 fupolanted it, and gave a new character to 
 manners. Society is inevitably progreffive. 
 In Government, commerce has overthrown 
 that " feudal and chivalrous fyftem" under 
 whole ihade it firft grew. In religion, learn- 
 ing has fubverted that fuperftition whole opu- 
 lent endowments had fir ft foftered it. Pecu- 
 liar circumftances foftened the barbarilm of 
 the middle aires to a degree which favoured 
 the admiflion of commerce and the growth of 
 knowledge. Theie circumftances were con- 
 nected with the manners of chivalry; but the 
 fentiments peculiar to that inftitution could 
 only be preferved by the fituation which gave 
 them birth. They were therefore enfeebled 
 in the pro ere Is from ferocity and turbulence, 
 and almoft obliterated by tranqu llity and re- 
 finement. But the auxiliaries which the man- 
 ners ol chivalry had in rude ages reared, ga- 
 
 N 3 thercd
 
 f 198 ) 
 
 thercd ftrength from its weaknefs, and flou* 
 rimed in its decay. Commerce and difFufed 
 knowledge have, in fact, fo compleatly af- 
 fumed the afcendant in polifhcd nations, that 
 it will be difficult to difcover any relics of 
 Gothic manner s^ but in a fantaftic exterior, 
 which has furvived the generous illufions that 
 made thefe manners fplendid and feductive. 
 Their dlretl, influence has long ceafed in Eu- 
 rope*, but their hidiredl influence, through 
 the medium of thofc caufes, which would not 
 perhaps have exifted, but for the mildnefs 
 which* chivalry created in the midft of a bar- 
 barous age, {Kll operates with encreafing vigor. 
 The manners of the middle age were, in the 
 mod: lingular fenfe, compulfory. Enterpriz- 
 ing benevolence was produced by general 
 fierccnefs, gallant courtefy by ferocious rude- 
 
 v " Thofc elfin charms that held in magic night 
 " Our elder fame, and dimm'd our genuine light, 
 " At length diffolve in Truth's meridian ray." 
 
 nefs,
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 nefs, and artificial gcntlcnefs refitted the tor- 
 rent of natural barbarifm. But a lefs incon- 
 gruous fyftem has fucceeded, in which com- 
 merce, w hich unites men's interefts, and 
 knowledge, which excludes thofe prejudices 
 that tend to embroil them, preient a broader 
 bails for the liability of civilized and benefi- 
 cent manners. 
 
 Mr. Burke, indeed, forbodes the moft fa- 
 tal confequences to literature from events, 
 which he fuppofes to have given a mortal 
 blow to the fpirit of chivalry. I have ever 
 been protected from fuch apprehenfions by 
 my belief in a very fimple truth, that diffufed 
 knowledge immortalizes itfelf. A literature 
 which is confined to a few, may be deftroyecl 
 by the maflacre of fcholars and the conflagra- 
 tion of libraries ; but the dirfuied knowledge 
 of the preient day could only be annihilated 
 by the extirpation of the civilized part of 
 mankind. 
 
 N 4- Far
 
 ( 20Q ) 
 
 Far from being hofKIe to letters, the French 
 Revolution has contributed to ferve their 
 caufe in a manner hitherto unexampled in hif- 
 tory. The political and literary progrefs of na- 
 tions has hitherto been the fame ; the period of 
 their eminence in arts has alfo been the aera of 
 their hiftorical fame ; and no example occurs in 
 which great political fplendor has been fubfe- 
 quent to the JJuguJlan age of a people. Pre- 
 vious to the year 1789, this might have been 
 confidered as a maxim to which hiftory fur- 
 nished no exception. But France, which is 
 deftined to refute every abject, and arrogant 
 doctrine that would limit the human powers, 
 prefents a new fcene. There the mock of a 
 Revolution has infufed the ardor of juvenile 
 literature into a nation tending to decline. 
 New arts are called forth when all feemed to 
 have palled their zenith. France enjoyed one 
 Auguflan age, foftered by the fovor of defpo- 
 tifm. She feems about to witnefs another, 
 created by the energy of freedom. 
 
 In
 
 ( 201 ) 
 
 In the opinion of Mr. Burke, however, fhe 
 is advancing by rapid ftrides to ignorance and 
 barbarifm*. " Already," he informs us, 
 " there appears a poverty of conception, a 
 " coarfenefs and vulgarity in all the proceed- 
 " ings of the AfTembly, and of all their in- 
 " ftructors. Their liberty is not liberal. Their 
 " fcience is prefumptuous ignorance. Their 
 " humanity is favage and brutal." To ani- 
 madvert on this modeft and courteous pic- 
 ture belongs not to the prefent fubjecT: ; and 
 impreffions cannot be difputed, more eipe- 
 cially when their grounds are not ailigned. 
 All that is left is, to declare oppofite impref- 
 fions with a confidence authorized by the ex- 
 ample. The proceedings of the National 
 AiTernbly of France appear to me to contain 
 models of more iplendid eloquence, and ex- 
 amples of more profound political refearch, 
 than have been exhibited by any public body 
 
 ' Burke, p. 1 1 8. 
 
 in
 
 ( 202 ) 
 
 in modern times. I cannot therefore augur, 
 from thefe proceedings, the downfall of phi- 
 lofophy, or the extinction of eloquence. 
 
 Thus various are the afpects which the 
 French Revolution, not only in its influence 
 on literature, but in its g-eneral tenor and fpi- 
 rit, prefents to minds occupied by various 
 opinions. To the eye of Mr. Burke, it exhi- 
 bits nothing but a fcene of horror. In his 
 mind it infpires no emotion but abhorrence of 
 its leaders, commiferation of their victims, 
 and alarms at the influence of an event which 
 menaces the fubverfion of the policy, the 
 arts, and the manners of the civilized world. 
 Minds who view it through another medium 
 are filled by it with every fentiment of ad- 
 miration and triumph of admiration due 
 to fplendid exertions of virtue, and of tri- 
 umph infpired by widening profpects of hap- 
 r ? n e f q . 
 
 Nor
 
 C 203 ) 
 
 . Nor ought it to be denied by the candor of 
 philofophy, that events fo great are never {0 
 unmixed as not to prefent a double afpec~t to 
 the acutenefs and exaggeration of contending 
 parties. The fame ardor of paflion which 
 produces patriotic and legiilative heroifm be- 
 comes the fource of ferocious retaliation, of 
 villonary novelties, and precipitate change. 
 The attempt were hopelefs to encreafe the 
 fertility, without favouring the rank luxu- 
 riance of the foil. He that on fuch occaiions 
 expects unmixed good, ought to recollect, 
 that the ceconomy of Nature has invariably 
 determined the equal influence of high paf- 
 fions in giving birth to virtues and to crimes. 
 The foil of Attica was remarked by anti- 
 quity as producing at once the moll delicious 
 fruits and the moli virulent poifons. It is 
 thus with the human mind ; and to the fre- 
 quency of convulfions in the ancient com- 
 monwealths, they owe thole examples of 
 fanguinarv tumult and virtuous heroifm, 
 
 which
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 which diftinguifh their hiftory from the mo- 
 notonous tranquillity of modern States. The 
 paffions of a nation cannot be kindled to the 
 
 degree which renders it capable of great at- 
 chievements, without endangering the com- 
 miflion of violences and crimes. The re- 
 forming ardor of a Senate cannot be inflamed 
 fufficiently to combat and overcome abufes, 
 without hazarding the evils which arife from 
 legiflative temerity. Such are the immutable 
 laws, which are more properly to be regarded 
 as libels on our nature than as charges againft 
 the French Revolution. The impartial voice 
 of Hiftory ought, doubtlefs, to record the 
 blemiihes as well as the glories of that great 
 event, and to contrail the delineation of it 
 which might have been given by thefpecious 
 and temperate ^foryifm of Mr. Hume, with 
 that which we have received from the repul- 
 five and fanatical invectives of Mr. Burke, 
 might frill be amufing and inftruclive. Both 
 thefe crreat men would be adverfe to the Re- 
 
 volution ;
 
 ( 20 5 ) 
 
 volution ; but it would not be difficult to di- 
 flinguim between the undifguifed fury of an 
 eloquent advocate and the Well diffembled 
 partiality of a philofophical Judge. Such 
 would probably be the difference between Mr. 
 Hume and Mr. Burke, were they to treat on 
 the French Revolution. The paflions of the 
 latter would only feel the exceiTcs which had 
 difhonoured it ; but the philofophy of the for- 
 mer would inflrucl him, that the human 
 feelings, raifed by fuch events above the level 
 of ordinary fituations, become the fource of 
 a guilt and a heroifm unknown to the ordi- 
 nary affairs of nations ; that fuch periods are 
 only fertile in thofe fublime virtues and fplen- 
 did crimes, which fo powerfully agitate and 
 in te reft the heart of man. 
 
 SECT,
 
 ( zc6 ) 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 New Conjiitution of France*. 
 
 DifTertation approaching to complete* 
 nefs on the new Conilitution of France 
 would, in fact, be a vaft fyltem of political 
 fcience. It would include a developement of 
 the principles that regulate eveiy portion of 
 Government. So immenfe an attempt is little 
 fuited to our prefent limits. But fome remarks 
 on the prominent features of the French fyf- 
 tem are exacted by the nature of our vindica- 
 tion. They will confifl chiefly ofa defence of 
 
 * I cannot help exhorting thofe who defire to have accu- 
 rate notions on the fubjecr. of this feiEtion, to perufe and 
 fludy the delineation of the French Conflitution, which 
 with a correclnefs fo admirable, has been given by Mr, 
 
 Christie, 
 
 their
 
 ( 2 7 ) 
 
 their grand Theoretic Principle, and their 
 mo ft important Practical Institution. 
 
 The principle of theory which has actuated 
 the Legiflators of France has been, that the 
 object of all legitimate Government is the 
 afTertion and protection of the Natural 
 Rights of Man. They cannot indeed be 
 abfolved of fome deviations * from the path 
 prefcribed by this great principle ; few indeed 
 compared with thole of any other body of 
 whom hiftory 'has preferved any record ; but 
 too many for their own glory, and for the 
 happinefs of the human race. This principle, 
 however, is the balls of their edifice, and if 
 it be falfe, the ftruclure muft fall to the 
 ground. Againft this principle, therefore, 
 Mr. Burke has, with great judgment, directed 
 his attack. Appeals to natural right are, ac- 
 
 * I particularly allude to their Colonial policy ; but I 
 think it cand'ul to fay, that 1 fee in their full force the diffi- 
 culties of that embarrafllng bufinefs, 
 
 cording
 
 ( 2o8 ) 
 
 cording to Hm, inconfiftent and prepofterous. 
 A complete abdication and furrender of all na- 
 tural right is made by man in entering into 
 Society, and the only rights which he retains 
 are created by the compact which holds to- 
 gether the fociety of which he is member. 
 This doctrine he thus explicitly aflerts. 
 * The moment," fays he, 44 you abate any 
 4 thins; from the full rights of men each to 
 ' govern himfelf, and fuffer any artificial po- 
 4 fitive limitation on thole rights, from that 
 4 moment the whole organization of fociety 
 ' becomes a coniideration of convenience." 
 Burke, p. 89. " How can any man claim under 
 4 the conventions of civil fociety rights which 
 4 do not fo much as fuppofe its exigence 
 4 Rights which are abfolutely repugnant to 
 4 it?" Ibid. p. 83. To the fame purpofe is 
 his whole reafoning from p. 86 to p. 92. To 
 examine this doctrine, therefore, is of funda- 
 mental importance. To this effect it is not 
 neccffary to enter on atiy elaborate refearch 
 
 into
 
 ( 20 9 ) 
 
 into the metaphyficai principles of politics and 
 ethics. A full difcuflion of the fubjecl would 
 indeed demand fuch an inveftjgation*. The 
 origin of natural rights muft have been illus- 
 trated, and even their exiftence proved againft 
 fome theories. But fuch an enquiry would 
 have been inconfiftent with the nature of a 
 publication, of which the object was to en- 
 force conviction on the people. We are be- 
 fides abfolved from the neceffity of it in a 
 controverfy with Mr. Burke, who himfelf re- 
 cognizes, in the mod ample form, the exift- 
 ence of thofe natural rights* 
 
 '& j 
 
 : It might, perhaps, not be difficult to prove, that far 
 from zfurrendcY) there is not even a diminution of the natural 
 rights of men by their entrance into Society. The exiftence 
 of fome union, with greater or lefs permanence and perfec- 
 tion of public force for public protection {the ejfence of Go- 
 vernment) might be demonftrated to be coeval, and co-ex- 
 tended with man. All theories therefore, which fuppofe 
 the atlual exijlence of any ftate antecedent to the fociai^ 
 J-nigh?: be convicted of futility and faliehocd, 
 
 O Granting
 
 ( 210 ) 
 
 Granting their existence, the difcufllon is 
 moit. The only criterion by which we can 
 edimate the portion of natural right furren- 
 dered by man on entering into fociety is the 
 object of the furrender. If more is claimed 
 than that object exacts, it becomes not an ob~ 
 ject^ but a pretext. Now the cbjecl for which 
 a man religns any portion of his natural fove- 
 reignty over his own actions is, that he may 
 be protected from the abufe of the fame domi- 
 nion in other men. No greater facrifice is 
 therefore necefiary than is prefcribed by this 
 object, the refignation of powers that in their 
 exercife might be injurious to another.. No- 
 thing, therefore, can be more fallacious than 
 to pretend, that we are precluded in the fociai 
 flate from any appeal to natural right*. It re- 
 
 " Trouver une forme deliberation qui defende & pro- 
 4< tege de toute la force commune la perfonne 3c les biens 
 " de chaque aiTocie, h par laquellc chacun s'uniffant a tous 
 " yiobcljje pov.rtant qti'a lul-mcme <Jj r (fie ait jfi fibre qiiau- 
 ,; paravant?" RoufTcau du Contrac Social, livre i. chap. vi. 
 
 I am
 
 mains in its full integrity and vigor, if we ex- 
 cept that portion of it which men mutually 
 facrifice for protection againfteach other. They 
 
 I am not intimidated from quoting Rouffeau by the 
 derifion of Mr. Burke. Mr. Hume's report of his literary 
 iecret feemsmoft unfaithful. The fenhbility, the pride, the 
 fervor of Ills character, are pledges of his fincerity ; and had 
 he even commenced with the fabrication of paradoxes, for 
 attracting attention, it would betray great ignorance of hu- 
 man nature to fuppofe, that in the ardor of conteff, and the 
 glory of fuccefs, he mud not have become the dupe of his 
 own illufionSj a convert to his own impoilure. It is indeed not 
 improbable, that when rallied on the eccentricity of his pa- 
 radoxes, lie might, in a moment of gay effufion, have fpoken 
 of them as a fport of fancy, and an experiment on the cre- 
 dulity of mankind. The Scottim. philofopher, inaccemble 
 to enthufiafm, and little fufceptible of thofe deprefTions and 
 elevations, thofe agonies and raptures, fo familiar to the warm 
 and wayward heart of P^oufleau, neither knew the fport into 
 which, he could be relaxed by gaiety, nor the ardor into 
 which he could be exalted by paflion. Mr. Burke, whofe 
 temperament is fo different, might have experimentally 
 known fuch variation, and learnt better to difcrimkiate be- 
 tween ciluiion and deliberate opinion. 
 
 O % do
 
 ( 212 ) 
 
 do not furrender all ; that is not exacted by 
 the object they have in view ; and whatever 
 Government, under pretence of that furrender 
 of natural rig-fit which is made for mutual 
 fecurity, aflumes more than that object rigo- 
 rdiifly prefcribes, is an ufurpation fupported by 
 fophiltrv, a defpotifm varnimed by illufion. 
 It follows from this principle, that the fur- 
 render of right mud be equal in all the mem- 
 bers of fociety, as the object is to all precifely 
 the fame. In effect, fociety, infread of de- 
 ftroying, realizes and iubflantiates equality, 
 In a ftate of nature, the equality of right is 
 an impotent theory, which inequalities of 
 frrength and (kill every moment violate. It 
 is called into energy and effect only by fociety. 
 As natural equality is not conteited, and that 
 the fum of right furrendcred by every indivi- 
 dual is equal, it cannot be denied that the 
 remnant fpared by the focial compact mufl be 
 equal alfo. Civil inequalities, or, more cor- 
 rectly, civil diftinction, mull exiitin the focial 
 
 boclv,
 
 ( 21 3 ) 
 
 body, becaufe it mulr. poiTefs organs deftined 
 for different functions. But political inequality 
 is equally incontiftent with the principles of 
 natural right and the object of civil inftitution*. 
 
 Men retain a right to a fhare in their own 
 Government, becaufe the exercife of the right 
 by one man is not inconiiftent with its pof- 
 feflion by aiiother^w-hi'dl is evidently the only 
 cafe where the furrender of a natural right 
 can be exacted by fociety. 
 
 This doctrine is not more abftraclly evi- 
 dent than it is practically important. The 
 flighted deviation from it legitimates every 
 tyranny. It the only criterion of Govern- 
 
 : " Bat as to the flnre of power, authority and direc- 
 *' tion which each individual ought to have in the manage - 
 " ment of .1 tlatL, tint I mufr deny to he among the direel 
 *' ori ifinal r; rhtscl man in civil focietv." This is evidently 
 denying the cxiftence of what lias been called political^ in 
 contradiilinclicn to :lvit liberty. 
 
 O 3 meats
 
 ( *'4 ) 
 
 meats be the fuppofed convention which forms 
 them, all are equally legitimate, for the 
 only interpreter of the convention is the ufage 
 of the Government, which is thus prepofle- 
 rcufly made its own fcandard. Governors 
 mufr, indeed, abide by the maxims of the 
 Conflitution they adminifter ; but what the 
 Conflitution is, mult be on this fy flem imma- 
 terial. The King of France it does not, in- 
 deed, permit to put out the eyes of the Princes 
 of the Blood, nor the Sophi of Perfia to have 
 recourfe to kttrcs de cachet. They muff ty- 
 rannize by precedent, and opprefs in reverent 
 imitation of the models confecrated by the 
 ufage of defpotic predeceflors. But if they 
 adhere to thefe, there is no remedy for the 
 oppreiTed, fince an appeal to the rights of Na- 
 ture were treafon againft the principles of the 
 fecial union. If, indeed, any offence againft 
 precedent, in the kind or degree of opprefTion, 
 be committed, this theory may (though moil: 
 incontinently) permit reilftance. But as long 
 
 as
 
 ( *>5 ) 
 
 as the forms of any Government are pre- 
 served, itpoiTefTes, In a view of ju 'ft ice, (what- 
 ever be its nature) equal claims to obedience. 
 This inference is irrefiftible, and it is thus evi- 
 dent, that the doctrines of Mr. Burke are 
 doubly refuted by the fallacy of the logic which 
 fupports them, and the abfurdity of the con.- 
 clufions to which they lead. 
 
 They are alfo virtually contradicted by the 
 laws of all nations. Were his opinions true, 
 the language of laws fhould be permijjive, not 
 rejlricHive. Had men furrendered all their 
 rights into the hands of the magiftrate, the 
 object of laws fhould have been to announce 
 the portion he was pleafed to return them, not 
 the part of which he is compelled to deprive 
 them. The criminal code of all nations con- 
 fids of prohibitions, and whatever is not pro- 
 hibited by the law, men every where conceive 
 themfelves entitled to do with impunity. 
 They act on the principle which this language 
 
 O a, of
 
 ( 216 ) 
 
 of law teaches them, that they retain rights 
 which no power can impair or infringe, which 
 Tire not the Boon of fociety, but the attribute 
 of their nature. The rights of magiftrates and 
 public officers are truly the creatures of So- 
 ciety. They, therefore, are guided, not by 
 what the law does not prohibit, but by what 
 it authorizes or enjoins. Were the rights of 
 citizens equally created by locial inftitution, 
 the laneuag-e of the civil code would be fimi- 
 lar, and the obedience of fubjects would have 
 the fame limits. 
 
 This doctrine, thus falfe in its principles, 
 abfurd in its conclufions, and contradicted by 
 the avowed fenfe of mankind, is even aban- 
 doned bv Mr. Burke himfelf. He is betraved 
 into a confeflion directly repugnant to his ge- 
 neral principle. " Whatever each man can 
 " do without trefpafling on others, he has a 
 " right to do for himfelf, and he has a 
 li right to a fair portion of all that fo 
 
 ii ciety.,
 
 ( 2i; ) 
 
 ^ ciety, with all its combinations of (kill and 
 44 force, can do for him." Either this right 
 is universal, or it is not. If it be univerfal, it 
 cannot be the offspring of convention, for 
 conventions mud: be as various as forms of 
 government, and there are many of them 
 which do not recognize this right, nor place 
 man in this condition of jufr. equality. All 
 Governments, for example, which tolerate 
 flavery neglect this right : for a flave is neither 
 entitled to the fruits of Irs own induftry, nor 
 to any portion of what the combined force 
 and (kill of fociety produce. If it be not uni- 
 verial, it is no right at all, and it can onlv be 
 called a privilege accorded by fome Govern- 
 ments, and with-held by others. I can dif- 
 cern no mode of efcanine; from this dilemma, 
 but the avowal that thcie civil claims are the 
 remnant of thole metaahvfic rights which Air. 
 Burke holds in inch abhorrence, but which it 
 jecms the more natural object of fociety to 
 protect than deftroy. 
 
 But
 
 ( "8 ) 
 
 Bat it may be urged, that though all ap- 
 peals to the natural rights of men be not pre- 
 cluded by the fecial compact, though the inte- 
 grity and perfection in their civil ftate may the' 
 oretlcally be admitted, yet as men unqueftion- 
 ably may refrain from the exercife of their 
 rights, if they think their exertion unwife : 
 and as Government is not a fcientific fubtlety, 
 but a practical expedient for general good, all 
 recourfe to thefe elaborate abftractions is frivo- 
 lous and futile, and the grand queftion in Go- 
 vernment is not its fource, but its tendency ; 
 not a quefrion of right, but a coniideration of 
 expediency. Political forms, it may be added, 
 are only the means of enluring a certain por- 
 tion of public felicity. If the end be confef- 
 fedly obtained, all difcuffion of the theoretical 
 aptitude of the means to produce it is nugatory 
 and redundant. 
 
 To this I anfvver, jirft, that fuch reafoning 
 will prove too much, and that, taken in its 
 
 proper
 
 ( 2i9 ) 
 
 proper extent, it impeaches the great fyftem 
 of morals, of which political principles form 
 only a part. All morality is, no doubt, founded 
 on a broad and general expediency " Ipja 
 " utilitas jufti probe mater & equi, may be 
 fafely adopted, without the refer ve dictated by 
 the timid and inconftant philofophy of the 
 Poet. Juflice is expediency, but it is expe- 
 diency, (peaking by general maxims, into 
 which reaibn has concentrated the experience 
 of mankind. Every general principle of juf- 
 tice is demonstrably expedient, and it is this 
 utility alone that confers on it a moral obliga- 
 tion. But it would be fatal to the exigence 
 oi morality, if the utility of every particular 
 act were to be the fubject of deliberation in the 
 mind of everv moral agent. A general moral 
 maxim is to be obeyed, even if the inutility is 
 evident, becaufc the precedent of deviating 
 more than balances aiiv utility that may exiii 
 in the particular deviation. Political firft prin- 
 ciples are of this defcription. They are only 
 
 moral
 
 ( 220 ) 
 
 moral principles adapted to the civil union of 
 men. When I affert that a man has a right 
 to life, liberty, &c. I only mean to anun- 
 ciate a moral maxim founded on general 
 intereji, which prohibits any attack on thefe 
 pofTeffions. In this primary and radical fenfe, 
 all rights, natural as well as civil, ariie from 
 expediency. But the moment the moral edi- 
 fice is reared, its bails is hid from the eye for 
 ever. The moment thefe maxims, which 
 are founded on an utility that is paramount and 
 perpetual, are embodied and confecrated, they 
 ceafe to yield to partial and fubordinate expe- 
 diency. It then becomes the perfection of 
 virtue to conlider, not whether an action be 
 ufefui, but whether it be right. 
 
 The fame neceflity for the fubflitution of 
 general maxims exifls in politics as in morals. 
 Thefe precife and inflexible principles, which 
 yield neither to the feduttions of paffion, nor 
 the fu sgeflioii of intercft, ought to be the 
 
 guide
 
 ( 221 ) 
 
 guide of public as well as private morals. 
 Acting according to the natural rights of men, 
 is only another expremon for acting according 
 to thofe general maxims of focial morals 
 which prefcribe what is right and jit in human 
 intercourfe. We have proved that the focial 
 compact does not alter thcfe maxims, or de- 
 ftroy thefe rights, and it inconteftibly fol- 
 lows, from the lame principles which guide 
 all morality, that no expediency can juflify 
 their infraction. 
 
 The inflexibility of general principles is, 
 indeed, perhaps more neceiTary in political 
 morals than in any other clafs of actions. If 
 the confideration of expediency be admitted, 
 the queftion recurs, who are to judge of it ? 
 They are never the many whofe interefl is at 
 ftake : They cannot judge, and no appeal to 
 them is hazarded. They are the few, whofe 
 interefl is linked to the perpetuitv of oppref- 
 fion and abufe. Surelv that Judge ought to 
 
 be
 
 ( 222 ) 
 
 be bound down by the ftricteit. rules, who is 
 undeniably interefted in the decifion ; and he 
 would fcarcely be efteemed a wife Legiflator, 
 who mould veft in the next heir to a lunatic 
 a difcretionary power to judge of his fanity or 
 derangement. Far more necelfarv then is the 
 obedience to general principles, and the main- 
 tenance of natural rights, in politics than in 
 the morality of common life. The moment 
 that the ilendereft infraction of thefe rights is 
 permitted for motives of convenience ; the bul- 
 wark of all upright politics is loft. If a fmall 
 convenience will juftify a little infraction, a 
 greater pretended convenience will expiate a 
 bolder violation. The Rubicon is pair. Ty- 
 rants never feek in vain for fophifts. Pre- 
 tences are multiplied without difficulty and 
 without end. Nothing, therefore, but an in- 
 liexible adherence to the principles of general 
 right can preferve the purity, confiftency, 
 and {lability of a ^rcc State. 
 
 We
 
 ( 22 3 ) 
 
 We have thus vindicated the firft theoreti- 
 cal principle of French legiflation. The doc- 
 trine of an abfolute furrender of natural rights 
 by civil and focial man, has appeared to be 
 deduced from inadequate premiles ; and to 
 conduct to abfurd concluiions, to fanctify the 
 moil: atrocious defpotifm, to outrage the moil; 
 avowed convictions of men, and, finally, to be 
 abandoned, as hopelefsly untenable by its au- 
 thor. The exiftence and perfection of thefe 
 rights being proved, the fir ft duty of law- 
 givers and magistrates is to afTert and protect 
 them. Moft wifely and aufpicioufly then did 
 France commence her regenerating labours 
 with a folemn declaration of thefe facred, in- 
 alienable, and imprefcriptible rights a decla- 
 ration which muft be to the citizen the moni- 
 tor of his duties, as well as the oracle of his 
 rights; by a perpetual recurrence to which 
 the deviations of the magiftrate are to be 
 checked, the tendency of power to abufe cor- 
 rected, and every political proportion (being 
 
 compared
 
 ( 224 ) 
 
 compared with the end of fociety) correctly 
 and difpaffionately eftimated. Thefe declara- 
 tions of the rip-hts of men originated from the 
 juvenile vigor of reaion and freedom in the 
 new world, where the human mind was un- 
 incumbered with that vail mats of ufasfe and 
 prejudice, which io many ages of ignorance 
 had accumulated, to load and deform fociety 
 in Europe. France learned this, among other 
 leflons, from America ; and it is perhaps the 
 only expedient that can be devifed by human 
 wifdom to keep alive the public vigilance 
 again ft the uiurpation of partial interefts, by 
 perpetually prefenting the general right and 
 the general intereft to the public eye. Thus 
 far I truit will be found correct the fcientific 
 principle which has been the Polar Star, by 
 the light of which the National Aflembly of 
 France has hitherto navigated the veiTel of the 
 State, amid fo many tcmpefls howling de- 
 duction around them on excry fide. 
 
 There
 
 C 5 ) 
 
 There 'remains a much more extenfive and 
 complicated enquiry, the confideration of their 
 political inftitutions. As it is impofiible to 
 examine all, we muft limit our remarks to 
 the mo ft important. To fpeak then generally 
 of their Conftitution, it is a preliminary re- 
 mark, that the application of the word De- 
 mocracy to it is fallacious and illufive. 
 
 If that word, indeed, be taken in its etylomo- 
 gicalfenfe, as the power of the people, it is a 
 Democracy, and fo is all legitimate Govern- 
 ment. But if it be taken in its hiftorical 
 fenfe, it is not fo, for it does not refemble 
 thole Governments which have been called 
 Democracies in ancient or modern times. In 
 the ancient Democracies there w r as neither re- 
 presentation nor divifion of powers. The 
 rabble legiflated, judged and exercifed every 
 political authority. I do not mean to deny 
 that in Athens, the Democracy of which hif- 
 tory has trail fmitted to us the moil monu- 
 ments, there did exift fome feeble controls. 
 
 P But
 
 C 226 ) 
 
 But it has been well remarked, that a multi- 
 tude, if it was compofed of Newtons, mull 
 be a mob. Their will muffc be equally un- 
 wife, unjuft, and irrefiftible. The authority 
 of a corrupt and tumultuous populace has in- 
 deed by the bed writers of antiquity been re- 
 garded rather as an Ochlocracy than a Demo- 
 cracy, as the defpotifm of the rabble, not the 
 dominion of the people. It is a degenerate 
 Democracy. It is a febrile paroxyfm of the 
 focial body, which mull: fpeedily terminate in 
 convalefcence ordiffolution. 
 
 The New Conflitution of France is almofr. 
 directly the reverfe of thefe forms. It veils 
 the legislative authority in the Reprefentatives 
 of the people, the executive in an hereditary 
 Firil: Magiftrate, and the judicial in Judges, 
 periodically elected, unconnected either with 
 the Legilhture or with the executive Magif- 
 trate. To confound fuch a conflitution with 
 the Democracies of antiquity, for the purpofe 
 
 of
 
 ( i2 7 ) 
 
 of quoting hitlorical and experimental evi- 
 dence againft it, is to recur to the inofl: paltry 
 
 and mallow arts of iophitlry. In difcuf- 
 
 fing it, on the prefent occafion, the mil 
 qucftio 1 that ariies regards the mode of con- 
 flicting the Lcgiflature, and the firft divifion 
 of this queftion, which conliders the right 
 of furrrage, is of primary importance in 
 Commonwealths. Here I moft cordially asree 
 with Mr. Burke * in reprobating the impotent 
 and prepoflerous qualification by which the 
 Aflembly have dhfranchifed every citizen who 
 does not pay a direct contribution equivalent 
 to the price of three days labour. Nothing 
 can be more evident than its inefficacy for any 
 purpofe but the diiplay of inconli fteney, and 
 the violation of juflice. But thefe remarks 
 were made at the moment of diicuflion in 
 France, and the plan f was combated in the 
 
 * P. 257-3, 
 f For the hiftory of this decree, the 27th and 29th days 
 or" O^obcr, 1709, fee the Prods verbaux of theic days. 
 
 P % See
 
 ( 228 ) 
 
 AfTembly with all the force of reafon and elo- 
 quence by the moft confpicuous leaders of the 
 popular party. M. M. Mirabeau, Target, and 
 Petion, more particularly difhinguifhed them- 
 felves by their oppofition. But the more timid 
 and prejudiced members of the democratic 
 party ilirunk from fo bold an innovation in 
 political fyftems, as justice. They fluctu- 
 ated between their principles and their preju- 
 dices, and the ftruggle terminated in.anillu- 
 flve compromife, the conftant refource of fee- 
 ble and temporizing characters. They were 
 content that little practical evil mould in fact 
 be produced. Their views were not fuffici- 
 ently enlarged and exalted to perceive, that 
 the inviolability of principles is the 
 Palladium of virtue and of freedom. The mem- 
 bers of this defcription do not, indeed, form 
 the majority of their party ; but Ariflocratic 
 
 S->e alto tit;.- Journal de Pa) is, No. 301, &: Lcs Revolutions 
 
 ii: Puiis, No. 17, p. 73, & [cq. Thcfc authorities amply 
 
 coiToborato the affertions of the text. 
 
 minority,
 
 ( 229 ) 
 
 minority, anxious for whatever might difho- 
 nor or embarrafs the Aflembly, eagerly coa- 
 lefced with them, and ftained the infant Con- 
 ftitution with this abfurd usurpation. 
 
 An enlightened and refpeclable antagonift 
 of Mr. Burke has attempted the defence of 
 this meafure. In a letter to Earl Stanhope, 
 p. 78 9, it is contended, that the ipirit of 
 this regulation accords exadlly with the prin- 
 ciples of natural juftice, becaufe even in an 
 unfocial ftate, the pauper has a claim only on 
 charity, and he who produces nothing has no 
 right to mare in the regulation of what is 
 produced by the induftxy of others. But 
 whatever be the juftice of disfranchifing the 
 unproductive poor, the argument is, in point 
 of fact, totally mifapplied. Domcftic fervants 
 are excluded by the decree of the ArTembly, 
 though they fubfift: as evidently on the pro- 
 duce ot their own labour as any other clais of 
 men in fociety ; and to them therefore the ar- 
 
 P 3 gument
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 gument of our acute and ingenious writer is 
 
 totally inapplicable*. But it is the con Tola-* 
 
 tion of the confident friends of freedom, that 
 
 this abufe muft be fbort-lived. The fpirit of 
 
 reafon and liberty, which has atchieved fuch 
 
 mighty victories, cannot long be refilled by 
 
 this puny foe. The number of primary elec_ 
 
 tors is at prefent fb great, and the importance 
 
 of their lingle votes fo proportionally little, 
 
 that their intereft in refitting the extenfion of 
 
 the right cf furFrage is infignificaiitly fmall. 
 
 Thus much have I fpoken of the ufurpation 
 
 of the rights of fufFrage with the ardor of an- 
 
 xious affection, and the freedom of liberal 
 
 admiration. The moment is too ferious for 
 
 * It has been very jufUy remarked, that even on the idea 
 of taxation, all men have equal rights of election. For the 
 man who is too poor to pay a direct contribution to the State, 
 flill pays a tax in the increafed price of his food and cloaths. 
 It is befidcs to be obferved, that life and liberty are more fa- 
 cred than property, and that the right of fuffiage is the only 
 fhield that can guard them. 
 
 compliment,
 
 ( 23 1 ) 
 compliment, and I leave untouched to the 
 partizans of defpotifm, their monopoly of 
 blind and fervile applaufe*. 
 
 I muft avow, with the fame franknefs, 
 equal difapprobation of the elements of terri- 
 tory and contribution which enter into the 
 proportion of Reprefentatives deputed by the 
 various portions of the kingdom. Territorial 
 or financial reprefentationf, is a monftrous 
 
 * c< He who freely magnifies what has been nobly done, 
 and fears not to declare as freely what might have been 
 done, better gives you the beft covenant of his fidelity. His 
 higheft praife is not flattery, and his plained advice is praife." 
 Ml LTOn's Arco-pag.tica. 
 
 f Montefquieu, I think, mentions a federative Republic 
 in Lycia, where the proportion of Reprefentatives deputed 
 by each State was in a ratio compounded of its population and 
 contribution. There might be fome plaufibility in this in- 
 ftitution among confederated independent States, but it is 
 grofily abfurd in a Commonwealth, which is vitally One. 
 In fuch a ftate, the contribution of all being proportioned to 
 their capacity, it is relatively to the contributors equal, 
 
 P 4 and
 
 ( 2 3 2 5 
 
 relic of ancient prejudice. Land or money 
 cannot be reprefented. Men only can be re- 
 prefented, and population alone ought to re^- 
 gulate the number of Rcprefcntatives which 
 any diflridt delegates. 
 
 The next consideration that prefents itfelf 
 is, the nature of thofe bodies into which the 
 citizens of France are to be organized for the 
 performance of their political functions. In 
 this important part of the fubject, Mr. Burke 
 has committed fome fundamental errors. It 
 is more amply, more dexteroufly, and more 
 correctly treated by M. de Calonne, of whofe 
 work this difcuflion forms the moft intereft- 
 ing part. 
 
 The AITemblies into which the people of 
 France are divided, are of four kinds. Prima- 
 ry, Municipal, Electoral, and Adminiftrative. 
 
 and if it can confer any political claims, they mult derive 
 from it ecjual rights. 
 
 To
 
 ( *33 ) 
 To the Municipalities belong the care of 
 preferving the police, and collecting the reve- 
 nue within their jurifdiction. An accurate 
 idea of their nature and object may be formed 
 by fuppofing the country of England uniformly 
 divided, and governed, like its cities and 
 towns, by magiftracies of popular election. 
 
 The Primary Affemblies, thefirft elements 
 of the Commonwealth, are formed by all the 
 citizens, who pay a direct contribution, equal 
 to the price of three days labour, which may 
 be averaged at half a Crown Englim. Their 
 functions are purely electoral. They fend Re- 
 prefentatives directly to the AlTembly of the 
 Department, in the proportion of one to every 
 hundred active citizens. This they do not 
 through the medium of the diftrict, as was 
 originally propofed by the Conftitutional Com- 
 mittee, and has been erroneouily ftated by 
 Mr. Burke. They lend, indeed, Representa- 
 tives to the Affembly of the diftrict, but it is 
 
 the
 
 ( 234 ) 
 
 the object of that AfTembly hot to depute 
 electors to the department, but to elect the 
 adminiftrators of the diftrict itfelf. 
 
 The Electoral Affemblies of the Depart- 
 ments, formed by the immediate delegates of 
 the people in their primary Affemblies, elect 
 the Members of the Legislature, the Judges, 
 the Administrators, and the * Bifhop of the 
 Department. 
 
 The Mmintjlrators are every where the or- 
 gans and inftruments of the Executive Power. 
 As the provinces of France, under her an- 
 cient Government were ruled by Governors, 
 Intendants, &c. appointed by the Crown, fo 
 they are now governed by thefe adminiiTra- 
 tive bodies, who are chofen by the Electoral 
 AfTemblies of the Departments. 
 
 * Every Department is an Epifcopal See. 
 
 Such
 
 ( *3S ) 
 
 Such is die rude outline of that elaborate 
 organization which the French Lesfillature 
 have formed. Details are not neceffary to 
 mv purpoie ; and I the morechearfully abftain 
 from them, becaufe I know that they will be 
 fpeeclily laid before the Public by a perfon far 
 more competent to deliver them with precifi- 
 on, and illuftrated with a very correct and inge- 
 nious chart of the New Conititution of France. 
 
 Aeainfr. the arrangement of thefe Aflem- 
 blies, many fubtle and fpecious objections are 
 firmed, both bv Mr. Burke and the exiled Mi- 
 nifter of France. The fir ft and moil: formi- 
 dable is, "The fuppofed tendency of it tc 
 " difmerr/ber France into a body of confede- 
 " rated Republics." To this objection there 
 are ieveral unanswerable replies. But before 
 I ftate them, it is neceffary to make one di- 
 fhnction. Thefe feveral bodies are, in a cer- 
 tain ienfe independent, in what regards lub- 
 ordinate and interior regulation. But they 
 
 are
 
 ( 2 3 6 ) 
 
 are not independent in the fenfe which the 
 objection fuppofes, that of pofleffing a feparate 
 will from that of the nation, or influencing, 
 but by their Reprefentatives, the general fyf- 
 tem of the State. Nay, it may be demon- 
 flrated, that the Legiilators of France have 
 folicitoufly provided more elaborate precau- 
 tions againft this difmemberment than have 
 been adopted by any recorded Government. 
 
 The firfl circumftance which is adverfe to 
 it is the minutenefs of the parts into which the 
 kingdom is divided. They are too fmall to 
 poiTefs a feparate force. As elements of the 
 fecial order, as particles of a great political 
 body, they are fomething : but as infulated 
 States, they would be impotent. Had France 
 been moulded into great maiTes, each of them 
 might have been ftrong enough to claim a fe- 
 parate will ; but divided as me is, no body of 
 citizens is confeious of furficient flrength to 
 feel their fentiments of any importance, but 
 
 as
 
 ( 2 37 ) 
 
 as conftituent parts of the general will. Sur- 
 vey the Adminiftrative, the Primary, and the 
 Electoral Aflemblies, and nothing will be 
 more evident than their importance in indivi- 
 duality. The Municipalities, furely, are not 
 likely to arrogate independence. A 48000th 
 part of the kingdom has not energy fuffi- 
 cient for feparate exigence, nor can a hope 
 arife in the Aflembly of fuch a {lender com- 
 munitv of influencinsr, in a direct and dictato- 
 rial manner, the counfels of a great State. 
 Even the elecloral Aflemblies of the Depart- 
 ments do not, as we (hall afterwards Ihew, 
 poflels force enough to become independent 
 confederated Republics. 
 
 Another circumftance, powerfully hoftile 
 to this difmemberment, is the detraction of 
 the ancient provincial diviiion of the kins- 
 dom. In no part of Mr. Burke's work have 
 his arguments been chofen with fuch infeli- 
 city of ielection as in what regards this fub-
 
 C 238 ) 
 
 jecl 1 . He has not only erred, but his error is 
 the precife reverfe of truth. He reprefents 
 as the harbinger of diicord what is, in fact, 
 the inftrument of union. He miftakes the 
 cement of the edifice for a fource of inftability 
 and a principle of repulfion. France was, 
 under the ancient Government, an union of 
 Provinces, acquired at various times, and on 
 different conditions, differing in confritution, 
 laws, language, manners, privileges, jurifdic- 
 tion, and revenue. It had the exterior of 3 
 fimple Monarchy, but it was in reality an ag- 
 gregate of independent States. The Monarch 
 was in one place King of Navarre, in another 
 Duke of Brittany, in a third Count of Pro- 
 vence, in a fourth Dauphin of Vienne. Under" 
 thefe various denominations, he poffeffed, at 
 lean: nominally, different degrees of power, 
 and he certainly exercifed it under different 
 forms. The mafs cempofed of thefe hetero- 
 geneous and difcordant elements, was held 
 together by the comnreffing force of defpotifm. 
 
 When
 
 ( *39 ) 
 
 When that compreffion was withdrawn, the 
 provinces muft have refumed their ancient 
 independence, perhaps in a form more abfo- 
 lute than as members of a federative Repub- 
 lic. Every thing tended to infpire provincial 
 and to extinguish national patrictifm. The 
 inhabitants of Bretagne, or Guienne, felt 
 themfelves linked together by ancient habi- 
 tudes, by congenial prejudices, by limilar 
 manners, by the relics of their Conftitution, 
 and the common name of their country ; but 
 their character as members of the French Em- 
 pire, could only remind them of long and ig- 
 nominious fubjeOion to a tyranny, of which 
 they had only felt the ftrength in exaction, 
 and bleiTed the lenity in neglect. Thefe 
 caufes muft have formed the provinces into 
 independent Republics, and the deflruction 
 of their provincial exiflence was indifpenfible 
 to the prevention of this difmemberment. It 
 is impoflible to deny, that men united by no 
 previous habitude, (whatever may be faid of 
 
 the
 
 C *4 ) . 
 
 the policy of the union in other refpecls) are 
 Iefs qualified for that union of will and force, 
 which produces an independent Republic, 
 than provincials on whom every circumftance 
 tended to confer local and partial attraction, 
 and a repulfion to the common center of the 
 national fyftem. Nothing could have been 
 more inevitable than the independence of 
 thofe great provinces, which had never been 
 moulded and organized into one Empire ; and 
 we may boldly pronounce, in direct oppofi- 
 tion to Mr. Burke, that the new diviiion of 
 the kingdom was the only expedient that 
 could have prevented is diimemberment into 
 a confederacy of fovereign Republics. 
 
 The felicitous and elaborate divifion of 
 powers, is another expedient of infallible ope- 
 ration, to prcferve the unity of the body po- 
 litic. The Municipalities are limited to mi- 
 nute and local adminiftration. The Primary 
 Ajjcmblles folely to elections. The AJjemblles
 
 ( 241 ) 
 
 bf the DiftriB to objects of administration and 
 control of a fuperior clafs ; and the AJJembliei 
 of the Departments i where this may be the 
 mod apprehended, pofTefs functions purely 
 electoral. They elect Judges, Legislators* 
 Administrators, and Miniflers of Religion, 
 but they are to exert no authority legislative, 
 admmifr.rative, or judicial. In any other ca- 
 pacity but that of executing their electoral 
 functions, in voting an addrefs, an instruction, 
 or a cenfure, they are only Simple citizens*. 
 
 * Compare thefe remarks with the reafoning of M. Ca- 
 Jonne under the head, li hie faut-il penfer de Petabliffcment 
 " perpetuel de 83 AJJemblees, compos ies chacune de plus 600 
 '* citcyens, chargees de ckoix des LcgiJIatcurs Suprcmes, dii 
 " cholx des Admbujlratcurs Provinciaux, du cho'tx des "Juges, 
 ** du cholx des Prmcipaux Min'ifircs du Cu/te, Iff ayant en 
 ii conference Ic droit de fe mettre en acllvlte tontes fols & 
 ** quanta ?" The objeclion which we are combating is 
 dated with great prccifion by M. de Calonne, from p. 358 
 to p. 372 of his work. The difcuffion mufr. be maturely 
 weighed by every reader who would fathom the legiflatioa 
 f Fiance. 
 
 Q_ But
 
 ( IV ) 
 
 But whatever clanger might be apprehended 
 from the afTumption of powers by thefe for- 
 midable Affemblies, the depofitaries of fuch 
 extenfive electoral powers are precluded by 
 another circumftance, which totally difquali- 
 fies and unnerves them for any purpofe but 
 that for which they are created by the Con- 
 ftitiition. They are biennially renewed, and 
 their fugitive nature makes fyftematic ufur- 
 pation hopelefs. What power, indeed, could 
 they poffefs of dictating to the National Af- 
 fembly*, or what interelt could the members 
 of that Aflembly have in obeying the man- 
 
 * I do not mean that their voice will not be there re- 
 fpecled. That would be to fuppofe the Legislature as info- 
 lently corrupt as tiiat of a neighbouring Government of 
 pretended freedom. I only mean to aflert, that they cannot 
 poffefs fuch a power as will enable them to dictate inftruc- 
 tions to their Rcprcfentatives as authoritatively as Sovereigns 
 do to their Embafiadors ; which is the idea of a confederated 
 Republic. 
 
 dates
 
 ( 2 43 ) 
 
 dates of thofe who held as fugitive and pre- 
 carious a power as their own ; not one of 
 whom might, at the next election, have 
 a furTrage to beftow ? The fame probability 
 gives the provincial Adminiftrators that por- 
 tion of independance which the Conftitution 
 demands. By a ftill ftronger reafon, the 
 Judges, who are elected for fix years, muft 
 feel themfelves independent of conftituents 
 whom three elections may fo radically and 
 completely change. Thefe circumftances 
 then, the minutenefs of the divifions, the dif- 
 folution of provincial ties, the elaborate di- 
 ftribution of powers, and the fugitive con- 
 ftitution of the Electoral AfTemblies, feem to 
 form an infuperable barrier againft the af- 
 lumption of fuch powers by any of the bo- 
 dies into which France is organized, as 
 would tend to produce the federal form. 
 Thus the fir ft great argument of Mr. 
 Burke and Monsieur de Calonne feems 
 Qj{ to
 
 C 244 ) 
 
 to be refuted in principles, if not in the ex-< 
 panhon of detail. 
 
 The next objection that is to be confidered 
 is peculiar to Mr. Burke. The fuh 'ordination 
 of elections has been regarded by the admirers 
 of the French lawgivers as a mailer-piece of 
 legiflative wifdom. It feemed as great an im- 
 provement on reprefentative Government, as 
 reprefentation itfelf was on pure Democracy. 
 No extent of territority is too great for a po- 
 pular Government thus organized ; and as the 
 Primary AfTemblies may be divided to any 
 degree of minutenefs, the mofl per feci: order 
 is reconcileable with the wideft difFufion of 
 political right. Democracies were fuppofed 
 by philofophers to be neceuarily fmall, and 
 therefore feeble ; to demand numerous Af- 
 femblies, and to be therefore venal and tu- 
 multuous. Yet this great difcovery, which 
 gives force and order in lo high a decree to 
 popular Governments, is condemned and de- 
 rided
 
 ( 2 45 ) 
 
 rided by Mr. Burke. An immediate connec- 
 tion between the rcprefentative and the pri- 
 mary constituent, he conliders as eflential to 
 the idea cf reprefentation. As the electors in 
 the Primary AiTemblies do not immediately 
 elect their lawgivers, he regards their rights 
 of furfrage as nominal and illufory*. It will 
 in the fir ft inftance be remarked, from the 
 Statement which has already been given, that 
 in ftating three interpofed elections between 
 the primary electors and the Legislature, Mr. 
 Burke has committed a moil important error 
 in point of fact. The original plan of the 
 Constitutional Committee was indeed agree- 
 able to the ftatement of Mr. Burke. The 
 Primary AiTemblies were to elect Deputies to 
 the Diitrict, the District to the Department, 
 
 * P. 27c 2. ' For what are thefe Primary Electors 
 " ccmplimenteJ, or rather mocked with a choice ? They 
 " can never know any thing of the qualities of him that 
 " is to ferve them, nor lias he any obligation to fervc 
 them " 
 
 Qs3 an d
 
 ( 246 ) 
 
 and the Department to the National AfTem- 
 bly. But this plan was forcibly and fuccefs- 
 fully combated. It was reprefented as tending 
 to introduce a vicious complexity into the 
 Government, and, by making the channel 
 through which the national will paiTes into 
 its public acts fo circuitous, to enfeeble its 
 energy under pretence of breaking its vio- 
 lence. It was accordingly radically changed. 
 The feries of three elections was ilill preferv- 
 cd for the choice of provincial Adminiftrators, 
 but the Electoral" AfTemblies in the Depart- 
 mcntSy who are the immediate condituents of 
 the Legiflature, are directly chofen by the 
 Primary JlJJcmblies, in the proportion of one 
 
 elector to every hundred active citizens*. 
 
 But 
 
 * For a charge of fuch fundamental inaccuracy agamft 
 Mr. Burke, the Public will mod juftlyand naturally expect 
 the higheft evidence. I do therefore boldly appeal to the 
 Deer tt fur la nowvelk Dlvifion du Royaumr, Art. 17. to the 
 Proccs Verbal of the Afierably for the 22d Dec. ] 789. It 
 
 tuis
 
 ( 2 47 ) 
 
 But to return to the general queftion, 
 which is perhaps not much affected by thefe 
 details. I profels I fee no reafon why the 
 right of election is not as fufceptible of dele- 
 gation as any other civil function, why a ci- 
 tizen may not as well delegate the right of 
 choofmg law-givers, as that of making laws. 
 Such a gradation of elections, fays Mr. Burke, 
 excludes reiponfibility and fubftantial election, 
 fince the primary electors neither can know, 
 nor brins: to account the members of the Af- 
 fembly. 
 
 this evidence demanded any collateral aid, the authority of 
 M. Calomic (which it is remarkable that Mr. Burke mould 
 have overlooked) corroborates it inoft amply. '* On ordonpe 
 " que chacune de ces Aflembiees (Primaires) nommera un 
 " Electeur a railbn de ico citoyens uciifs." Calonne, 
 p. 300. ' CY-- cinquantes mille Electeurs (des Departe- 
 *' moits) choiiis de deux ans en deux ans paries AssEM- 
 " blees Primaires." Id. ibid. The Ex-Minifter, in- 
 deed, is rarely to be detected in any departure from the fe- 
 licitous accuracy of profeffional detail. 
 
 Q 4 This 
 
 D
 
 ( 248 ) 
 
 This argument has (confidering the pecu- 
 liar fyftem of Mr. Burke) appeared to me to 
 be the moil fingular and inconfiflent that he 
 has urged in his work. Reprcfentation itfelf 
 mull be confefTed to be an infringement on 
 the moil perfect liberty, for the bell organized 
 fyflem cannot preclude the poffibility of a 
 variance between the popular and the repre- 
 Jentative will. Refponfibility, flriclly and ri- 
 goroufly fpeaking, it can rarely admit, for 
 the fecrets of political fraud are fo impene- 
 trable, and the line which feparates corrupt 
 decifion from erroneous judgment toindifcer- 
 nibly minute, that the cafes where the De- 
 puties could be made properly reiponfible are 
 too few to be named as exceptions. Their 
 difmijjion is all the punimment that can be in- 
 flicted, and all that the bed Conftitution can 
 attain is a high probability of unifon between 
 the conilituent and his deputy. This feems 
 attained in the arrangements of France. The 
 electors of the Departments are fo numerous, 
 
 and
 
 ( 2 49 ) 
 
 and fo popularly elected, that there is the 
 higheft probability of their being actuated iu 
 their elections, and re-eleSlions, by the fenti- 
 ments of the Primary AlTemblies. They 
 have too many points ef contact with the ge- 
 neral mafs to have an infulated opinion, and 
 too fugitive an exiftence to have a feparate in- 
 terest. It is befides to be remarked, that they 
 come immediately from among the people, 
 with all their opinions, and predilections, and 
 enmities, to their elective functions ; and it is 
 furely improbable, that, too fhortly united for 
 the acquisition of a corporation fpirit, they 
 mould have any will or voice but that of their 
 constituents. This is true of thofe cales 
 where the merits or demerits of candidates 
 Qiay be fnppofed to have reached the Primary 
 AlTemblies. In thole far more numerous 
 caies, where they are too obicure to obtain. 
 that notice, but by the polluted medium of a 
 popular canvas, this delegation is ftill more 
 evidently wife. The peafant, or artizan, who 
 
 is
 
 ( 2 5 ) 
 
 is a primary elector, knows intimately men 
 among his equals, or immediate fuperiors, who 
 have information and honefty enough to chufe 
 a good reprefentative. But among this clafs 
 (the only one which he can know fufficiently 
 to judge) he rarely meets with any who have 
 genius, leilure, and ambition for that fituation 
 themfelves. Of the candidates to be electors 
 in the Department, he may be a difintercfted, 
 deliberate, and competent judge. But were 
 " he to be complimented, or rather mocked,'* 
 with the direct right of electing to the legis- 
 lative body, he mull, in the tumult, vena- 
 lity, and intoxication of an election mob, 
 give his fufFrage without any pojfibk juft 
 knowledge of the fituation, character, and 
 conduct of the candidates. So unfortunate^ 
 falfe, indeed, fecms the opinion of Mr. Burke, 
 that this arrangement in the French Consti- 
 tution is the only one that fubftantially, and 
 in good faith, provides for the exercife of de- 
 liberate difcrimination in the conflituent. 
 
 The
 
 ( *5 ) 
 
 The hierarchy of elections was obtruded on 
 France by neceffity. Had they rejected it, 
 they had only the alternative of tumultuous 
 electoral AfTemblies, or a tumultuous Legis- 
 lature. If the primary electoral AfTemblies 
 were to be io divided as to avoid tumult, their 
 deputies would be fo numerous as to make 
 the National AfTembly a mob. If the number 
 of electoral AfTemblies were reduced accord- 
 ing to the number of deputies that ought to 
 conftitute theLegiflature, each of them would 
 be numerous enough, on the other hand, to 
 be alio a mob. I cannot perceive that pecu- 
 liar unftnefs which is hinted at by Mr. 
 Burke* in the right of perjoiial choice to be 
 delegated. It is in the practice of all States 
 delegated to great officei's, who are entrufted 
 with the power of nominating their fubordi- 
 
 " Of all the powers to be delegated by thofe who have 
 cc anv real means of judging;, the molt peculiarly unfit is 
 ct .\liat relates to a perfonal choice." Burkl, p. 271. 
 
 nate
 
 nate agents. It is in the moil: ordinary affairs 
 of common life delegated, when our ultimate 
 reprefentatives are too remote from us to be 
 within the fphere of our obfervation. 
 
 It is remarkable that M. Calonne, addref- 
 iing his work to a people enlightened by the 
 mafterly difcuffions to which thefe fubjedls 
 have given rife, has not, in all the fervor of 
 his zeal to criminate the new inftitutions, 
 hazarded this objection. This is not the only 
 inflance in which the Ex-Minifter has fhewn 
 more refpect to the nation whom he addreiTes, 
 than Mr. Burke has paid to the intellect and 
 information of the Englifh Public*. 
 
 Thus 
 
 Though it may, perhaps, be foreign to the purpofe, I 
 cannot help thinking one remark on this topic interefting. 
 ft will illuflxate the difference of opinion between even the 
 Ariftocratic party in France and the rulers of England. 
 M. Calonne* rightly Mates it to be the unanimous Injhudlon 
 
 * Colonne, p, 383.
 
 C 2 S3 ) 
 
 Thus much of the elements that are to ge-> 
 tterate the Lesfiflative body. Concerning that 
 body, thus conflituted, various queftions re- 
 main. Its unity or divifion will admit of much 
 difpute, and it will be deemed of the greater! 
 moment by the zealous admirers of the En- 
 glim Conftitution, to determine, whether any 
 femblance of its lesnflative organization could 
 have been attained by France, if good, or 
 ought to have been purfued by her, if attain- 
 able. Nothing; has been afTerted with more 
 confidence by Mr. Burke than the facility 
 
 of France to her Reprefentatives, to enal the equal admif- 
 fibility of all citizens to public employ! England adheres 
 
 to the Tefl A 61 ! The arrangements of M. Neckar for 
 
 elections to the States General, and the fcheme of M. M. 
 Mounier and Lally Tolcndahl for the new Conftitution, 
 included a reprefentation of the people nearly exal. Yet 
 
 the idea of it is regarded with horror in England ! The 
 
 higheft Ar'ijlocrates of France approach more nearly to the 
 creed of general liberty than the mo ft popular politicians of 
 England, of which thefe two circumftances are fignal 
 proofs. 
 
 with
 
 ( 254 ) 
 
 with which the fragments of the long fub- 
 verted liberty of France might have been 
 formed into a Britiih Conftitution *. But of 
 
 this 
 
 * To place this opinion in a Wronger point of light, I 
 
 have collected the principal pafTages in which it is announced 
 
 or insinuated. " In your Old States vou poffeffed that 
 
 " variety of parts, correfponding with the various defcrip- 
 
 " tions of which your community was happily compofed." 
 
 Burke, p. 50. " If diffident cf yourfelves, and not clearly 
 
 *' the almofr. obliterated Conftitution of vour anceflors, fee- 
 
 " ing you had looked to your neighbours in this land, who 
 
 *' had kept alive the principles and models of the old com- 
 
 " mo; 1 , law of Europe, meliorated and adapted to the prefent 
 
 " fhte." Id. p 53. " Have they never heard of a Mo- 
 
 " narchy directed by laws, controled and balanced by the 
 
 " great hereditary wealth and hereditary dignity of a nation, 
 
 " and both again controled by a judicious check from the 
 
 *' reafon and feeling of the people at large, acting by a fuit- 
 
 " able and permanent organ?" Id. p. 184. And in 
 
 the ia.r.e page he reprcfents France as a nation which had 
 
 " it in its choice to obtain fuch a Government with eafe, 
 
 il or rather to confirm it zvhrn afiualiy pojjejjcd." " I nraft 
 
 Sw think fuch a Government well deferved tohaveits excel- 
 
 t< ! 
 
 itnaes
 
 '( 2 55 ) 
 
 this general pofition he has neither explained 
 the mode, nor defined the limitations. No- 
 thing is more favourable to the popularity of 
 a work than thefe lofty generalities, which 
 are light enough to pafs into vulgar currency, 
 and to become the maxims of a popular creed. 
 Touched by definition, they become too fim- 
 ple and preciie for eloquence, too cold and ab- 
 ftract for popularity. But exhibited as they 
 are by Mr. Burke, they gratify the pride and 
 indolence of the people, who are thus taught 
 to fpeak what gains applaufe, without any ef- 
 fort of intellect, and impofes filence, without 
 any labour of confutation ; what may be ac- 
 quired without being ftudied, and uttered 
 without being understood. Of this nature 
 are thefe vague and confident afTertions, which 
 
 " lencies heightened, its faults corrected, and its capacities 
 improved into a Britifli ConfKtution," Id. p. 225. The 
 precifc queftion at iffue is, whether the ancient Government 
 <jf France poffefled capacities which could have been im- 
 proved into a Britifh Conftitution 3 
 
 without
 
 ( 5<S ) 
 
 Without furnifhing any definite idea, afford a 
 ready jargon for vulgar prejudice, flattering to 
 national vanity, and fanclioned by a diftin- 
 guifhed name. It is neceflary to enquire with 
 more precifion in what manner France could 
 have affimilated the remains of her ancient 
 Confritution to that of the Englifh Legifla- 
 ture. Three modes only feem conceivable. 
 The prefervation of the three Orders diftincT:. 
 The union of the Clergy and Nobility in one 
 upper Chamber, or fome mode of {"electing 
 from thefe two Orders a body like the Houfe 
 of Lords in England. Unlefs the infinuations 
 of Mr. Burke point to one or other of thefe 
 fchemes, I cannot divine their meaning. The 
 firft mode (the three Orders fitting in feparate 
 houfes with equal privileges) would neither 
 have been congenial in fpirit nor fimilar in 
 form to the Constitution of England. To 
 convert the Convocation into an integrant 
 and co-ordinate Member of our Legislature, 
 would give it fome femblance of the ftruc- 
 
 ture z
 
 ( *57 ) 
 
 fure ; bat it would be a faint one. It would 
 be neceffary to arm our Clergy with an im- 
 menfe mafs of property, rendered frill more 
 formidable by the concentration of great por- 
 tions in the hands of a few, to conftitute it in 
 effect the fame body with the Nobility, by 
 granting them the monopoly of great bene- 
 fices, and to beflow on this clerico-military 
 ariftocracy, in its two fhapes of Priefthood and 
 Nobilitv, two feparate and independent voices 
 in Legiflation. This double body, from its 
 neceffary dependence on the King, muft ne- 
 ceiTarily have in both forms become the or" 
 sun of his voice. The Monarch would thus 
 poffefs three negatives, one avowed and difuf- 
 ed, two latent and in perpetual activity on the 
 Jingle voice which impotent and illufive for- 
 mality had yielded to the Third Eftate. Such 
 and much more mull the Parliament of Eng- 
 h n d become before it could in any refpecl re- 
 femble the divifion of the French Legislature, 
 according to thofe ancient Orders which 
 
 R formed
 
 ( * 5 8 > 
 
 formed the Gothic afTemblies of Europe. So 
 monrlrous did the arrangement appear, that 
 even under the reign of Defpotifm, the fecond 
 plan was propofed by M. Calonne* that the 
 Clergy and Nobility mould form an Upper 
 Houfe, to exercife conjointly with the King 
 and the Commons the Legillative Authority. 
 It admits, however, of the cleared proof, that 
 inch a Confritution would have been diame- 
 trically oppofite in its fpirit and principles to 
 the Engliih Government. This will at once 
 be evident from the different deicription of 
 the body of Nobles in France and England, 
 
 * See his Lettre an Roi Qth February, 17489. See alfa 
 
 Sur d'Etat de France, &c. p. 167. It was alio, as we are 
 
 informed by M. Calonne, fuggefted in the Gahiers of the 
 
 Nobility of A fit z and Montargls. It is worthy of incidental 
 
 remark, that the proportion of fuch radical changes even 
 
 by the Nobility, is an ineonteftiblc evidence of the general 
 
 conviction that a revolution or total change in the Govern- 
 ed 
 
 ment was ncceffary. It is therefore an unanfwerable reply 
 to Mr. Burke and M. Calonne. 
 
 Id
 
 ( 2 59 ) 
 
 la England they are a fmall body, united to 
 the inafs of the people by innumerable points 
 of contact, receiving from it perpetual new 
 infulions. and returning; to it. imdiftino-uifhed 
 and unprivileged, the majority of their chil- 
 dren. In France they formed an immenfe 
 in filiated ca/l, feparated from fociety by every 
 barrier that prejudice or policy could raife, 
 receiving few plebeian acceflions, and pre- 
 cluded, by the indelible character of nobility, 
 the equal patrimony of all their children, 
 from the pofubility of their mofl remote de- 
 fcendants being reftored to the general mafs. 
 The Nobles of England are a Senate of 200. 
 The NoblefTe of France were a tribe of 
 2CO, oco. Nobility is in England only here- 
 ditary, fo far as its profefTed object, the fup- 
 port of a hereditary Senate demands. It is 
 therefore defcendible only to one heir. No- 
 bility in France was as widely inheritable as 
 its real purpofe, the maintenance of a privi- 
 R 2 leged
 
 ( 6b ) 
 
 leged eajl, prefcrihed. It was therefore ne-* 
 ceiTarily defcendible to all male children* 
 
 There are other points of contrail: frill more 
 important. The NoblelTe of France were at 
 once formidable from their immenie body of 
 property , and dependent from the indigence of 
 their Patrician rabble of cadets, whom honour 
 infpired with fertility, and fervility excluded 
 from the? path to independence. They in fact 
 poffeffed fo large a portion of the landed pro- 
 perty, as to be juflly, and almoft exclufively 
 confidered as the landed intereft" of the king- 
 dom. To this formidable property were added 
 the revenues of the Church, monopolized by 
 the Children. The younger branches of thefe 
 opulent families had in general no patrimony 
 but their honours and their fword. They 
 were therefore reduced to feek fortune and 
 diflinclion in military dependence on the 
 Crown. If they were generous, the habits. 
 
 of
 
 ( *6 ) 
 
 of military fervice devoted them, from loyalty. 
 If they were prudent, the hope of military 
 promotion devoted them, from interefl, to 
 the King. How immenfe therefore and lrre- 
 fiflible would the Royal influence have been 
 in electors, where the majority of the voters 
 were the fcrvants and creatures of the Crown ? 
 What would be thought in England of a 
 Houie of Lords, which, while it reprefented 
 or contained the w hole landed interefl: of the 
 kingdom, mould necefTarily have a majority 
 of its members feptennially or triennially no* 
 initiated by the King. Yet it would flill yield 
 to the French Upper Houfe of M. Cahnne ; 
 for the monicd and commercial interefls of 
 England, which would continue to be repre- 
 fented by the Commons, are important and 
 formidable, but in France they are compara- 
 tively iniignihcant. It would have been a 
 Government where the Ariflocracy could 
 have been flrong only againfl the people, im- 
 potent againfl the Crown. The fecond ar- 
 R ? rangement
 
 ( 262 ) 
 
 rangement then is equally repugnant to the 
 theory of the Britifh Conftitution as the firft. 
 There remains only fome mode of (election 
 of a body from amidfr. the Nobility and Clergy 
 to form an Upper Houfe, and to this there 
 are infuperable objections. Plad the right of 
 thus forming: a branch of the Lesrifiature bv a 
 Jingle act of prerogative been given to the 
 Kins;, it mud have ftrengthened his influence 
 to a degree terrible at any period, but fatal in 
 the moment of political reform. Had any 
 mode of election by the Provinces, or theLe- 
 giflature, been adopted, or if they had been 
 vefred with any control on the nomination of 
 the Crown, the new dignity would have been 
 fou?Lt with an activity of corruption and in- 
 trigue, of which, in fuch a national convul- 
 fion, it is impoiTible to eftimate the danger. 
 No general principle of feLction, fuch as that 
 of opulence or antiquity, would have remedied 
 the evil, fo\- the excluded and degradedNohles 
 would n_el the principle, that nobility is the 
 
 equal
 
 ( 26S ) 
 
 equal and inalienable patrimony of all. Bv 
 the abolition of nobility, no nobleman was 
 degraded, for to degrade is to lower from a 
 rank that continues to exilt in fociety. No 
 man can be degraded when the rank he pofTef- 
 fed no longer exifts. But had the rank of no- 
 bility remained in the mode of which we have 
 been fpeaking, the great body of the Nobles 
 would indeed, in a proper and penal fenCe, 
 have been degraded, the new diirnitv of their 
 former Peers would have kept alive the me- 
 mory of what they once poiTefTed, and pro- 
 voked them to entcrprizes far more fatal than 
 rcicntment of an indignity, that is at lead: 
 broken by divition, and impartially inflicted 
 on the greateil and mod obicure. 
 
 So evident indeed was the impoflibility of 
 what Mr. Burke fuppofes attainable with fuch 
 eafe, that no parry in the AiTcmbly fuggelted 
 the imitation of the En dim model, the 
 
 P. a fvflem
 
 I 264 ) 
 
 fyftem of his oracles in French politics*. M f 
 M. Lally and Mourner, approached more near 
 to the Constitution of the i\merican States. 
 They propofed a Senate to be chofen for life 
 by the King, from a certain number of can- 
 didates to be offered to his choice by the pro? 
 vincesf. This Senate was to enjoy an abfo- 
 lute negative on legiflative acts, and to form 
 the great national court for the trial of public 
 delinquents. In effect, fuch a body would have 
 formed a far more vigorous Ariflocracy than 
 
 ^ " De quelle maniere fera compofe le Senat ? Sera-t-il 
 " forme de ce qu'on appelle aujourd'hui la Nobleffe 6c le 
 " Clerge ? Ncn sans doute. Ce feroit perpetuer cette 
 " reparation d'Ordres, cette efprit de corporation qui eft le 
 " plus ^rand ennemi de 1'efprit Public." Pieces "Jujl'ificat'ifs 
 de M. Lally Tolcndahl, p. 121. 
 
 f Apres avoir examine & balance tous les inconveniens 
 :c de chaque parti pcutetre trouvera t-on que faire nominer 
 " les Scnateurs par le Roi, fur la prefentation des pro> inces, 
 " 6c ne les faire nominer qu'avie feroit encore le moyen ie 
 tc plus propre a concilier tous les interets. Id. p. 124. 
 
 the
 
 C ^5 ) 
 
 the English Peerage. The Litter body only 
 preferves its dignity by a wife diiufeofits 
 power. Potentia ad impotentiam abufi would 
 otherwife be defcriptive of their fate. But 
 the Senate of M. Mounier would be an Ari- 
 ficcracv moderated and legalized, which, be- 
 caufe it appeared to have lets independence, 
 would in facl be emboldened to exert more. 
 Deriving their rights equally with the Lower 
 Houfe from the people, and veiled with a 
 more dignified and extcnuve truft, they would 
 neither fhrink from the conflict with the 
 Commons nor the King. The permanence 
 of their authority mud give them a iupcrio- 
 ritv ever the former; the fpecioufncls of 
 their cautc over the latter : and it feems pro- 
 ble, that they mud have terminated in fub- 
 jugatmg both. Thole who fuppole that a 
 Senate for Lie might not be im cited bv the 
 corporation ipirit, may confider the ancient 
 kcaturcs of France, who were as keenlv 
 
 actuated
 
 ( 266 ) 
 
 actuated by that fpirit, as any body of heredi- 
 tary Nobles that ever exifted. 
 
 But to quit the details of thefe fyftems a 
 queftion arifes for our confideration of a more 
 general and more difficult nature Whether a 
 jimple reprefentative Leg/fature, or a Confiitu- 
 tlon of mutual controul, be the be ft form ofGo- 
 vernment* f To examine this queftion at 
 length is inconfiftent with the object and li- 
 mits of the prefent publication (which al- 
 ready grows infenfibly beyond its intended 
 fize) but a few general principles may be 
 hinted, on which the decifion of the queftion 
 perhaps chiefly depends. 
 
 i. It will not be controverted, that the ob- 
 ject of a reprefentative Lcgifiature is to col- 
 
 * This quefrion, translated into familiar language, may 
 perhaps be thus expieflTed, " Whether the vigilance of the 
 " mq/ier, or the fqiiuhblcs of the fervaiits, be the beft fecur'ity for 
 
 SJ fait!. fn< -faz-icc;-" 
 
 lea
 
 ( *7 ) 
 
 left the general will. To accord with this 
 principle, there muft be the fame unity in 
 the representative as in the original will. 
 That will is one. It cannot therefore, with- 
 out folecifm, he doubly reprefented. The 
 facial body fuppofes a perfect unity, and no 
 man's will can have two diicordant organs. 
 Any abfolute* negative oppofedto the national 
 will, decisively fpoken by its Reprefentatives, 
 is radically null, as an uflirpation of popular 
 fovereignty. Thus far does the abftract. prin- 
 ciple of a reprefentative Government con- 
 demn the diviiion of the Legiilature. 
 
 2. All bodies pofTeifed of effectual control 
 have a tendency to that great evil, which all 
 laws have hitherto foitcred, though it be the 
 end of Legislation to repreis, the preponde- 
 
 * The fufpenjtve veto veiled in the French King is only 
 an appeal to the people on the conduct of the Reprefenta- 
 tives. The voice of the people clearly fpoken, the negative 
 
 ccafes. 
 
 ranee
 
 ( 263 ) 
 
 ranee of partial interefts. The fpirit of cor- 
 poration infallibly ieizes every Public body, 
 . and the creation of every new AiTembly cre- 
 ates a new, dextrous, and vigilant enemy td 
 the general intereft. This alone is a fufficient 
 object-ion to a controling Senate. Such a body 
 would be molt peculiarly acceffible to this con- 
 tagious fpirit. A representative body itfclf 
 can only be preferved from it by thofe fre- 
 quent elections which break combinations, 
 and infufe into it new portions of popular f^n- 
 timents. Let us grant that a popular AiTem- 
 bly may fometimes be precipitated into unwife 
 decision by the feductions of eloquence, or the 
 raere of faction. Let us grant that a control- 
 ing Senate might remedy' this evil, but let 
 us recollect, that it is better the Public inter ejl 
 Jhouldbe occafionally m'iftaken than fyjle math ally 
 oppofed. 
 
 3. It is perhaps fufceptible of proof, that 
 thefe Governments of balance and control 
 
 have
 
 ( 26 9 ) 
 
 have never exifted but in the virion of theo- 
 ries. The faircfr. example will be the Confti- 
 tution of England. If it can be proved that 
 the two members of the Legiflature, who are 
 pretended to control each other, are ruled by 
 the fame clafs of men, the control mull be 
 granted to be imaginary. That opnofition of 
 interefr, which is fuppofed to preclude all con- 
 fpiracy againft the people, can no longer exifL 
 That this is the flate of England, the mofl: 
 fuperficial obfervation mufr. evince. The 
 great proprietors, titled and untitled, polfefs 
 the whole force of both Houfes of Parliament 
 that is not immediately dependent en the 
 Crown. The Peers have a great influence in 
 the Houfe of Commons. All political par- 
 ties are formed by a confederacy of the mem- 
 bers of both Houfes. The Court party, by 
 the influence of the Crown, acting equally in 
 both, fupported by a part of the independent 
 Ariftocracy. The oppofition by the remain- 
 der of the Ariftocracy, whether Commoners 
 
 or
 
 C 270 ) 
 
 or Lords. Here is every fymptorn of collu- 
 {ion: No veftige of control. The only cafe 
 indeed, where it could arife, is where the in- 
 tereft of the Peerage is diftincl: from that of 
 the other great proprietors. But thefe fepa- 
 rate interefts are few and paltry, and have 
 eflabli (lied fo feeble a check, that the hiftory 
 of England will not afford one undisputed ex- 
 ample of this vaunted control. 
 
 The rejection of the Peerage Bill of George 
 the Firil is urged with great triumph by De 
 Lolme. There it feems the Commons re- 
 jected the bill, purely actuated by their fears, 
 that the Ariftocracy would acquire a ftrength 
 from a limitation on the number of Peers, de- 
 ftructive of that balance of power which forms 
 the Conftitution. It is unfortunate that poli- 
 tical theories do not conililt the hifiory as well 
 as the /tf/ftrof legiflative proceedings. It is a 
 matter of perfect notoriety, that the rejection 
 of that bill was occafioned by the feceffionof 
 
 Sir
 
 ( 2 7* ) 
 
 Sir Robert f then Mr.) Walpolc from the Ca* 
 binet, and the oppofition of him and his party 
 to it was merely as a minifterialmeafure. The 
 debate was not guided by any general legifla- 
 tive principles. It was limply an experiment 
 on the ltxength of two parties contending for 
 power. The readear will no doubt feel a high 
 reverence for the ConfHtutional principles of 
 that Parliament, when he is informed that to 
 it we owe the Septennial Adtl 
 
 In fact, if fuch a check exiited in much 
 greater force, it would be of little importance 
 to the general queftion. " Through a diver- 
 " fity of members and interefts," if we may 
 believe Mr. Burke, " general Liberty 
 " had as many fecurities as there were fepa- 
 " rate views in the feveral Orders." And if 
 by general Liberty be underftood the 
 power of the collective body of thefe Orders., 
 the pofition is undeniable. But if it means, 
 what it ought to. mean, the liberty of man- 
 kind.
 
 ( *?* ) 
 
 kind, nothing can be more falfe. The higher; 
 clafs in fociety, whatever be their names, of 
 Nobles, Bifhop>, judges, or poffeffors of 
 landed and commercial wealth, have ever been 
 united by a common view, far more powerful 
 than thofe petty repugnancies of intereft. to 
 which this variety of description may give rife. 
 Whatever mav be the little conflicts of eccle- 
 fiaflical with fecular, of commercial with land- 
 ed onulence, they have one common intereft 
 
 L J 
 
 to preferve, the elevated place to which the 
 fecial order has rai fed them. There never was, 
 or will be, in civilized fociety, but two grand 
 interefts, that of the Rich and that of the 
 Poor. The differences of intereft among the 
 feveral claffes of the rich will be ever too lien-* 
 der to nreclude their confpiracy ao;ainft man- 
 kind. In the mean time the privileges of 
 their feveral Orders will be guarded, and Mr. 
 Burke will decide that general Liberty is 
 fecure !* It is thus that a Poliih Palatine ha- 
 rangues in the Diet on the liberty of Poland, 
 
 without
 
 ( 2/3 ) 
 
 without a blufh at the recollection of his 
 bondfmen. It is thus that the Affembly of 
 Jamaica, amidft the flavery and fale of Men, 
 profanely appeal to the principles of freedom. 
 It is thus that Antiquity, with her pretended 
 political philofophy, cannot boaft one philofo- 
 pher who queftioned the julYice of fervitude, 
 nor with all her pretended public virtue, one 
 philanthropic who deplored the mifery of 
 ilaves. 
 
 One circumftanCe more remains concern- 
 ing" the Legiflature the excluiion of the 
 King's Minifters from feats in it. Thisfe/f* 
 denying Ordinance 1 mud: unequivocally difap- 
 prove. I regard all disfranchljement as equally 
 unjuft in its principle, destructive in its ex- 
 ample, and impotent for its pretended purpofe. 
 The prefence of Miniflers in the AfTembly 
 Would have been of great utility in a view of 
 bufinefs, and perhaps, by giving publicity to 
 their opinions, favourable on the whole to 
 
 S Public
 
 ( 2 /4 ) 
 
 Pbulic Liberty. To exclude them from the 
 Legiflature, is to devote them to the purpofes 
 of the Crown, by giving them no inter eft in 
 the Conftitution. The fair and open influ- 
 ence of Minifters was never formidable. It is 
 only that indirect and fecret influence which 
 this exclufion will perhaps enable them to 
 practife with more impunity and fuccefs. It 
 is alfo to be obferved, that it is equivalent to 
 an exclufion of all men of fuperior talent from 
 the Cabinet. The object of liberal ambition will 
 be a feat in the Supreme AfTembly ; and no 
 man of genius will accept, much lefs purfue, 
 branded and degraded offices, which banifh 
 him from the natural fphere of his powers. 
 
 Of the Plan of Judicature formed by 
 the AfTembly, I have not yet prefumed to 
 form a decided opinion. It certainly ap- 
 proaches to an experiment, whether a code of 
 laws can be formed fufficiently fimple and in- 
 telligible to fuperfede the necefTity of lawyers 
 
 by
 
 ( *75 ) 
 
 by profeflion** Of all the attempts of the Af-> 
 fembly, the complicated relations of civilized 
 fociety feem to render this molt, problematic 
 cal. They have not, however, concluded 
 this part of their labours, and the feeblenefs 
 attributed to the elective judicatures of the 
 Departments may probably be remedied by the 
 dignity and force with which they will in veil: 
 the two high national tribunals (ha Cour de 
 CaJJation & la Haute Cour Nationale) which 
 they are about to organize-)-. 
 
 On the fubject of the Executive Magi- 
 stracy, there is a preliminary remark, 
 
 * The fexennial election of the Judges is ftrongly and ably 
 oppofed by M. Calonne, p. 294, chiefly on the principle, 
 that the {lability of judicial offices is the only inducement to 
 men to devote their lives to legal ftudy, which alone can 
 iorm good magi ft rates. 
 
 f I have on this fubject read with much pleafure and 
 mftruction, the profound and ingenious, though perhaps oc 
 cafionally paradoxical remarks of Mr. BenTHAM. 
 
 S z which
 
 ( *7 ) 
 
 which the advocates as well as the enemies 
 of the Revolution have too much neglected. 
 The AfTembJy have been accufed of violating 
 their own principles by the affumption of exe- 
 cutive powers, and their advocates have 
 pleaded guilty to the charge. It has been for- 
 gotten that they had a double function to per- 
 form. They were not only to erect a new 
 Constitution, but they were to guard it from 
 deftruction. Hence a necefTary aflumption of 
 executive powers in the crifis of a Revolu- 
 tion. Had fuperflitious tendernefs for the 
 principle confined them to theoretical erec- 
 tions, which the breath of power was every 
 dav deftrovinsr, thev would indeed have me- 
 rited thole epithets of viiionaries and enthu- 
 fiafts with which they have been loaded. To 
 judge, therefore, of the future executive ma- 
 gi ftiacy of France by its prefent ftate, is ab- 
 iurd. We mull not, as has been jufty ob- 
 ferved, milrake for the new political edifice 
 what is only the fcaffblding necefTary to its 
 
 erection.
 
 ( *71 ) 
 
 erection. The powers of the firft magiftratc 
 are not to be eftimated by the debility to 
 which the convulfions of the moment have 
 reduced them, but by the provifions of the 
 future Conftitution. 
 
 The portion of power with which the King 
 of France is inverted, is certainly as much as 
 pure theory demands for the executive magi- 
 strate. An organ to collect the Public will, 
 and a hand to execute it, are the only necef- 
 fary conftituents of the focial union. The 
 popular reprefentative forms the firfl ; the 
 executive officer the fecond. To the point 
 where this principle would have conducted 
 them, the French have not ventured to pro- 
 ceed. It has been afTerted by Mr. Burke, 
 that the French Kin s: has no negative on 
 laws. This, however, is not true. The mi- 
 nority who oppofcd any fpecies of negative in 
 the Crown was only ioo, when 800 mem- 
 bers were prefent in the AlTcmbly. The 
 
 S 3 King
 
 ( ^ ) 
 
 King pofTefTes the power of with -holding his 
 afTent to a propofed law for two fucceffive 
 AfTemblies. If it is propofed by the thirds his 
 afTent, indeed, becomes neceiTary. This 
 fpecies of fufpenfr/e veto is with great fpe- 
 cioufnefs and ingenuity contended by M. 
 Neckar to be more efficient than the obfolete 
 negative of the Englifh Princes*. A mild 
 and limited negative may, he remarked, be 
 exercifed without danger or odium, while a 
 prerogative, like the abfolute veto, mud: (ink 
 into impotence from its invidious magnitude. 
 It is too great to be exercifed, and mufr, as it 
 has in England, be tacitly abandoned by dif- 
 ufe. Is not that negative really efficient, 
 "which is only to yield to the national voice, 
 fpoken after four years deliberation, and in 
 two fucceflive elections of Reprefentatives ? 
 What Monarch of a free State, I will be bold 
 
 * Rapport fait an Roi clans Ton Confeil, par le premier 
 Miniftre des Finances, a Verfailles, le u Sept. 17S9. 
 
 to
 
 ( 2 79 ) 
 
 to afk, could with decency or impunity op- 
 pofe a negative the mod unlimited in law to 
 the public fentiment, thus explicitly and con- 
 stantly exprefTed ? The moil abfolute veto 
 muft, if the people perfift, prove eventually 
 fufpenfive. A fufpenfive veto is therefore 
 equivalent to an abfolute one, and being of 
 lefs invidious exercife, confers more real power. 
 " The power of remonftrance*," fays Mr. 
 Burke, " which was anciently vefted in the 
 " Parliament of Paris, is now abfurdly en- 
 " trufted to the executive magistrate.'* One 
 might have fuppofed that this was a power 
 
 * The negative pofTciTcd by the King of France is pre- 
 -cifely double of that which is en trufted to the Affembly. 
 He may oppofe his will to that of his whole people for four 
 years of the term of two Legiflatures, while the oppofition 
 of the Affembly to the general voice can only exift for tzva 
 years, when a new election annihilates them. So inconfi- 
 dcrately has this prerogative been rcprefented as nominal. 
 The whole of this argument is in fome mcafurcflrf' bominem 9 
 for 1 myfelf am dubious about the utility of any ipecies of 
 Royal veto, abfolute or fufpenfive. 
 
 S 4. of
 
 ( 2 8o ) 
 
 of remcnftrance like that of the Parliament 
 of Paris to the Legi/lature. It is however, 
 as we have feen, a power of a very different 
 defcription, a power of remonftrating to the 
 people againfl their Reprefentatives, the only 
 fhare in legiflation (whether it be nominally 
 ahfolute, or nominally limited) that a free 
 Government can entruft to its fupreme ma- 
 giftrate*. 
 
 On the Preragative of War and Peace, 
 Mr. Burke fohas fhortly, and M. Calonne % 
 at great length, arraigned the fyftem of the 
 AfTembly. 
 
 In the Conftitution of France, war is to be 
 declared by a decree of the Legiflature, on 
 the proportion of the King. He poffefles ex- 
 clufively the initiative. It cannot originate 
 
 * Burke, p. 301. 
 <\ Burke, p. 295 6. 4 Calonne, p. 1)0 200. 
 
 with
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 with any member of the Legiflature. The 
 firft remark fuggefled by this arrangement is, 
 that the difference between it and the theory 
 of the EnglifhConftitutionis purely nominal. 
 That theory fuppofes an independent Houfe 
 of Commons, a rigorous refponfibility, and 
 an effective power of impeachment. 
 Were thefe in any refpect realized, it is per- 
 fectly obvious, that a decilion for war mull: in 
 every cafe depend on the deliberation of the 
 Legiflature. No Minifier would hazard ho- 
 ftilities without the fanction of a body who 
 held a fword fufpended over his head ; and, 
 as this theory fuppofes the I Joule of Com- 
 mons perfectly uninfluenced by the Crown, 
 the ultimate decifion could in no reipecr. de- 
 pend on the executive magifrrate, and no 
 power remains to him but the initiative. 
 The forms indeed, in the maioritv of cafes, 
 aim at a femblance of the theory. A Royal 
 mefTagc announces imminent hollilities, and 
 a Parliamentary addrefs of promifed iupport, 
 
 re-
 
 ( ^2 ) 
 
 re-echoes the meflage. It is this addrefs alone 
 which emholdcns and authorizes the Cabinet 
 to proceed in their meafures. The Royal 
 mefTage correfponds to the French initiative ; 
 and if the purity of our practice bore any 
 proportion to the fpecioufnefs of our theory, 
 the addrefs would be a decree of the Legifla- 
 ture, adopting the proportion of the King. 
 No man therefore, who is a fincere and en- 
 lightened admirer of the Engiifh ConfHtu- 
 tion, as it ought, and is pretended to exifi y 
 can confidently reprobate an arrangement, 
 which differs from it only in the moll: frivo- 
 lous circumflances. To fpeak of our practical 
 Government would be an outrage on com- 
 mon fenfe. There no trace of thofe difcor- 
 dant powers which are iuppofed in our theo- 
 retical Conflitution remains. The mofl beau- 
 tiful fimplicity prevails. The fame influence 
 determines the executive and legiflativc 
 power. The fame Cabinet makes war in the 
 name of the King, and fanctions it in the 
 
 nam*
 
 ( ^3 ) 
 
 name of the Parliament. But France, defti- 
 tute of the cement which united thefe jar- 
 ring powers, was reduced to imitate our theory 
 inftead of our practice. Her Exchequer was 
 ruined. She could not, therefore, adopt this 
 admirable fvftem. 
 
 Supposing however, but not granting, that 
 this formidable prerogative was more abridged 
 in France than it is by the theory of our Go- 
 vernment, the expediency of the limitation 
 remains to be confidered. The chief objec- 
 tions are its tendency to favour the growth of 
 foreign factions, and to derogate from the 
 promptitude fo neceffary to military fuccefs. 
 To both thefe objections there is one general 
 anfwer. They proceed on the fuppofition of 
 the frequency of wars. They both fuppofe, 
 that France will retain part of that political 
 fyftem which fhc has difclaimed. But if fTie 
 adheres with good faith to her declarations, 
 war mult become to her io rare an occurrence, 
 
 that
 
 f 284 ) 
 
 that the objections become insignificant. 
 Foreign Powers have no temptation to pur- 
 chafe factions in a State which does not in- 
 terpofe in foreign politics; and a wife nation, 
 which regards victorious war as not lefs fa- 
 tally intoxicating to the victors, than widely 
 deftructive to the vanquished, will not fur- 
 render their probability of peace from the 
 dread of defeat, nor purchafe the hope of 
 victory by provisions for facilitating war. 
 France, after having renounced for ever the 
 idea of conqueir., can, indeed, have no fource 
 of probable hoftility but her colonies. Co- 
 lonial pofTefTions have been fo unanfwer- 
 ably demonftrated to be commercially ufe- 
 lefs, and politically ruinous, that the convic- 
 tion of philofophers cannot fail of having, in 
 due time, its effect on the minds of enlight- 
 ened Europe, and delivering the French Em- 
 pire from this cumbrous and deftructive ap- 
 pendage. 
 
 But
 
 But even were the exploded villainy that 
 has obtained the name of politics to be re- 
 adopted in France, the objections would ftill 
 be feeble. The firft, which muft be confef- 
 fed to have a fpecious and formidable air, 
 feems evidently to be founded on the hiftory 
 of Sweden and Poland, and on feme facts in 
 that of the Dutch Republic. It is a remark- 
 able example of thofe loofe and remote analo- 
 gies by which fophifts corrupt and abufe hif- 
 tory. Peculiar circumftances in the fituation 
 of thefe States difpofed them to be the feat of 
 foreign faction. It did not arife from war 
 being decided by public bodies, for if it had, 
 it muft have exifted in ancient Rome and 
 Carthage in modern Venice, and Switzer- 
 land in the republican Parliament of Eng- 
 land, and in the Congrefs of the United 
 States of America. Holland too, in her bet- 
 ter and more vigorous days, was perfectly 
 exempt from this evil. No traces of it ap- 
 pear in her hiftory till the age of Charles IL 
 
 and
 
 { 286 ) 
 
 and Louis XIV. when, divided between Jeci- 
 loufy of the commerce of England and dread 
 of the conquefts of France, me threw her- 
 felf into the arms of the Houfe of Orange, 
 and forced the partizans of freedom into a 
 reliance on French fupport. In more recent 
 periods, domeftic convulfions have more fa- 
 tally difplayed her debility, and too clearly 
 evinced, that of that fplendor which me 
 gained from the ignorant indolence of the 
 world, fhe now only retains the fhadow, by 
 the indulgence and courtefy of Europe. The 
 cafe of Sweden is with the utmofr. facility 
 explicable. An indigent and martial people, 
 whether it be governed by one or many de- 
 fpots, will ever be fold by its tyrants to the 
 enterprizes of opulent ambition ; and recent 
 fa els have proved, that a change in the Go- 
 vernment of Sweden has not changed the 
 ft i pen diary fpirit of its military fyftcm. Po- 
 land is an example frill lefs relevant. There 
 an independent anarchy of defpots naturally 
 
 league
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 league themfelves variouily with foreigft 
 Powers. Yet Ruffian force has done more 
 than Ruffian gold; and Poland has fufTered 
 jftill more from feeblenefs than venality. No 
 analogy can be fuppofed to exift between thefe 
 cafes and that of France. I hazard the iffue 
 of the difcuffion on one plain point. All the 
 Powers of Europe could not expend money 
 enough to form and maintain a faction in their 
 intereft in France. Let us fuppofe it poffible 
 that the Legiflature of this vaft and opulent 
 kingdom could once be corrupted ; but let us 
 recollect, that a feries of Legiflatures, collected 
 by the moft extenhVely popular election, are to 
 be in fucceffion purchafed, to obtain any per- 
 manent afcendant, and it will be evident, that 
 Potofi would be unequal to the attempt. If 
 we confider that their deliberations are con- 
 ducted under the detecting eye of a vigilant 
 and enlightened people, the growth of foreign 
 factions will appear ftill more chimerical. All 
 the States which have been quoted were poor, 
 
 therefore
 
 ( 2 88 ) 
 
 therefore cheaply corrupted ; their Govern-* 
 merit was an Ariftocracy, and was therefore 
 only to be once bought ; the people were ig- 
 norant, and could therefore be fold by their 
 Governors with impunity. The reverfe of 
 thefe circumftances will fave France, as they 
 have faved England, from this " woril of 
 " evils." Their wealth makes the attempt 
 difficult ; their difcernment makes it hazard- 
 ous ; their fhort truft of power renders the 
 object worthlefs, and its permanence impof- 
 fible. That fubjecting the decifion of war to 
 the deliberations of a popular aiTembly will, 
 in a great meafure, derogate from its energy, 
 and unnerve it for all deflructive purpofes, I 
 am not difpofed to deny. France muft, how- 
 ever, when her conititution is cemented, be, 
 in a defenjive view, invincible ; and if her Go- 
 vernment is unfitted for asforrefiicn, it is little 
 wonder that the Affembly fnoulcl have made 
 no provifion for a cafe which their principles 
 do not fuppofe. 
 
 But
 
 ( **9 ) 
 
 This is the lad important arrangement re* 
 fpecting the executive power which Mr. 
 Burke has conlidered, and it conducts us to a 
 fubjec~l of infinite delicacy and difficulty, which 
 has afforded no fmall triumph to the enemies 
 of the Revolution the Organization 
 of t pie Army. It muff be confeffed, that 
 to conciliate an army of a hundred and fifty 
 thouiand men, a navy of a hundred mips of 
 the line, and a frontier guarded by a hundred 
 fortrefTes, with the exigence of a free Go- 
 vernment, is a tremendous problem. It can- 
 ?iot be denied, that hiftory affords no exam- 
 ple in which fuch a Public force has not re- 
 coiled on the State, and become the ready in- 
 itrument of military ufurpation. And if the 
 State of France were not perfectly unexam- 
 pled, and to which thefe hifforical arguments 
 are not therefore applicable or pertinent, the 
 inference would be inevitable. An armv, 
 with the fentiments and habits which it is 
 the fyftem of modern Europe to infpire, is not 
 X only
 
 C 290 ) 
 
 only hoftile to freedom, but incompatible with 
 it. A body of men pofTefTed of the whole 
 force of a State, and fyftematically diverted 
 of every civic fentiment, is a monfter that no 
 rational polity can tolerate, and every circum- 
 ftance clearly lhews it to be the object of 
 French legiflation to deftroy it, not as a body 
 of armed citizens but as an Army. This 
 is wifely and gradually to be effected. Two 
 grand operations conduct to it arming the 
 people, and unfoldiering the army*. The firfl 
 of thefc meafures, the formation of the muni- 
 cipal army, certainly makes the nation inde- 
 pendent of its military fervants. An army of 
 tour millions can never be coerced by one of 
 a hundred and fifty thoufand ; neither can 
 they have a feparate fentiment from the body 
 of the nation, for they are the fame. Whence 
 the horror of Mr. Burke at thus arming the 
 
 -* To ufe the language of M. Calonne, c; armant k pen- 
 " %lc & popular'ifant Varm^eP 
 
 natio?i y
 
 ( *9 l ) 
 
 nation, under the title of a municipal army 9 
 has arifen, it is even difficult to conjecture. 
 Has it ceafed to be true, that the defence of a 
 free State is only to be committed to its citi- 
 zens ? i\re the long opposition to a fbnding 
 army in England, its tardy and jealous admif- 
 fion, and the perpetual clamor (at length illu- 
 fively gratified) for a militia, to be exploded, 
 as the grofs and uncourtly fentiments of our 
 unenlightened ancestors ? The AfTembly have 
 put arms into the hands of the citizens, and 
 by that means have for ever precluded both 
 their own defpotifm and the ufurpation of 
 the army. " They murr. rule," fays Mr. 
 Burke, ' by an army." If that be their fyf- 
 tem, their policy is Hill more wretched than 
 he has reprefented it. Fo r they fyftemati- 
 cally ftrengthen thofe who are to be govern- 
 ed, while they fyftematically enfeeble their 
 engine of Government. They fortify the 
 people, and weaken the army. They reduce 
 them f elves and their army to dependence on 
 T 2 the
 
 ( 2 92 ) 
 
 the nation, whom alone they ftrengthen and 
 arm. A Military Democracy, if it means a de- 
 liberative body of foldiers, is the moft execrable 
 of tyrannies ; but if it be underftood to denote 
 a popular Government, where every citizen 
 is difciplined and armed, it mud then be pro- 
 nounced to be the only free Government 
 which retains within itfelf the means of pre- 
 iervation. 
 
 The profeffed foldiers, rendered impotent 
 to any dangerous purpofe by the ftrength of 
 the municipal army, are by many other cir- 
 cumftances invited to throw off thofe abject 
 and murderous habits which form the perfec- 
 tion of a modern foldier. In other States the 
 foldiery were in general disfranchifed. They 
 were too poor to be citizens. But in France 
 a great part may enjoy the full rights of 
 citizens. They are not then likely to facri- 
 fice their fuperior to their inferior capacity, 
 nor to elevate their military importance by 
 
 committing
 
 ( 2 93 ) 
 
 committing political filicide. They feel 
 themfelves fervile as foldiers, they are con- 
 scious of beins; fovereig-n as citizens. That 
 difFufion of political knowledge among them, 
 which is ridiculed and reprobated by Mr. 
 Burke, is the only remedy that could have 
 fortified them againfr. the fedu&ion of an af- 
 piring Commander. That alone will teach 
 them, that in lending themfelves to his views, 
 they fubmit themfelves to his yoke ; that to 
 deftroy the liberty of others, they muff, facri- 
 fice their own. They have, indeed, gigan- 
 tic ftrength, and they may crufh their fellow 
 citizens, by dragging down the locial edifice, 
 but they muff themfelves be overwhelmed 
 by its fall. The Desfotism of Armies is 
 the Slavery of Soldiers. An army 
 cannot be ftrong enough to tyrannize, that is 
 not itfelf cemented by the moil abfolute inte- 
 rior tyranny. The difFufion of thefe great 
 truths will perpetuate, asthev have produced, 
 a Revolution in the character of the French 
 T 3 ioldicTv.
 
 ( 2 94 ) 
 
 foldiery. They will therefore, in the fenfe 
 of defpotic difciplinarians, ceafe to be an army ; 
 and while the foldiers afTume the fentiments 
 of citizens, and the citizens acquire the 
 difcipline of foldiers, the military character 
 will be difrufed, and the military profeflion 
 annihilated. Military fervices will be the duty 
 of all citizens, and the trade of none*. To 
 this object their fyftem evidently and inevi- 
 tably tends. If a feparate body of citizens, 
 as an army, is deemed necefTary, it will proba- 
 bly be formed by rotation. A certain period 
 of military fervice will be exacted from every 
 
 * Again I mud encounter the dcrifion of Mr. Burke, 
 by quoting the ill-fated citizen of Geneva, whofe life was 
 embittered by the cold friendfhip of a Philofopher, and 
 xvhcfe memory is profcribed by the alarmed enthufiafm of 
 an orator. 1 hhall prefume to recommend to the perufal of 
 every reader his tract entitled, " Conf: derations fur le Gou- 
 4 verncment dc Po/cgne, &c." more efpecially what regards 
 the military fyftem. Oeuvres de RcuJ/eau, Geneve, 1782, 
 tome ii. p. 381 397. It may be proper to remark, that 
 my other citations from RoufTeau are from the fame edition. 
 
 " citizen.
 
 ( 2 95 ) 
 
 citizen, and may, as in ancient Republics, be 
 made a neceiTary qualification for the purfuit 
 of civil honors. In the prefent ftate of 
 France, the national guard is a fufficient bul- 
 wark againft the enemy, mould it relapfeinto 
 its ancient habits ; and in its future ftate, no 
 body fufceptible of fuch dangerous habits 
 feems likely to exift. ' Gallos quoque in bel- 
 " lis JioruiJJe audivimus" may indeed be the 
 fentiment of our children. The glory of hero- 
 ifm, and the fplendor of conqueft, have long 
 enough been the patrimony of that great nation. 
 It is time that it mould feck a new glory, and a 
 new fplendor, under the made of freedom, in 
 cultivating the arts of peace, and extending 
 the happinefs of mankind.- Happy if the ex- 
 ample of that " Manifefto of Humanity" which 
 has been adopted by the Legiflators of France 
 into their conftitutional code, made an ade- 
 quate impreffion on furrounding nations. 
 
 Tune genus humanum pofitis fibi confulat armis 
 In que vicem gens omnis amet. 
 
 T 4 SECT
 
 C 2 9 6 ) 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 ILngliJh Admirers vindicated. 
 
 IT is thus that Mr. Burke has fpoken of 
 the men andmeafures of a foreign nation, 
 where patriotifm could neither excufe his pre- 
 pofFeffion nor afperity; where no duty nor 
 feeling ought to preclude him from adopting 
 the feelings of difinterefted poiterity, and af- 
 fuming the difpafiionate tone of a philofopher 
 and a hiftorian. What wonder then that he 
 fhould wanton ftill lefs temperately in all the 
 eloquence and virulence of an advocate againll 
 fellow-citizens ? to whom he attributes the 
 flagitious purpofe of fHmulating England to 
 the imitation of fuch enormities. The Revo- 
 lution and Conftitutional Societies, and Dr. 
 Price, whom he regards as their oracle and 
 
 guide,
 
 C 297 ) 
 
 guide, are the grand objects of his hoflility. 
 For them no contumely is too debating, no 
 invective is too intemperate, no imputation 
 too foul. Joy at the downfall of defpotifm is 
 the indelible crime, for which no virtue can 
 compensate, and no punifhment can atone. 
 An inconnftency however betrays itfelf not 
 unfrequently in literary quarrels. He affects 
 to defpife thofe whom he appears to dread. 
 His anger exalts thofe whom his ridicule 
 would vilify ; and on thofe whom at one mo- 
 ment he derides as too contemptible for re- 
 fentment, he at another confers a criminal 
 eminence, as too audacious for contempt. 
 Their voice is now the importunate chink of 
 the meagre fhrivelled infects of the hour, now 
 the hollow murmur, ominous of convulfions 
 and earthquakes, that are to lay the fabric of 
 Society in ruins. To provoke againfr. the doc- 
 trines and per fons of thefe unfortunate Soci- 
 eties this florin of execration and derifion, it 
 was not Sufficient that the French Revolu- 
 tion
 
 ( *9 ) 
 
 tion mould be traduced, every record of Eng- 
 lish policy and law is to be diftorted. 
 
 The Revolution of 1688 is confeiTed to have 
 eflablimed principles by thofe who lament 
 that it has not reformed inftitutions. It has 
 fanclif ed the theory, if it has not infured the 
 practice of a free Government. It declared, 
 by a memorable precedent, the right of the 
 people of England to revoke abufed power, to 
 frame the Government, and beftow the 
 Crown. There was a time, indeed, when 
 fome wretched followers of Filmer and Black- 
 wood lifted their heads in opposition. But 
 more than half a century had withdrawn them 
 from public contempt, totheamnefty and ob- 
 livion which their innoxious ftupidity had 
 pur chafed. 
 
 It was referved for the latter end of the 
 eighteenth century to conftrue thefe innocent 
 and obvious inferences into libels on the Con- 
 
 ftitution
 
 ( 299 ) 
 
 (Htution and the laws. Dr. Price has afferted 
 (I prefume without fear of contradiction) 
 that the Houfe of Hanover owes the Crown 
 of England to the choice of their people, that 
 the Revolution has eitablifhed our right " to 
 *' choofe our own Governors, to cafhier them 
 " for mifconduct, and to frame a Govern- 
 " ment for ourfelves." The f.rft proportion, 
 fays Air. Burke, is either falfe or nugatory. 
 If it imports that England is an elective Mo- 
 narchy, " * it is an unfounded, dangerous, 
 illegal and unconstitutional pofition." " f If 
 it alludes to the election of his Majefty's an- 
 ceftors to the Throne, it no more legalizes 
 the Government of Eng-land than that of other 
 
 o 
 
 nations, where the founders of dynafties have 
 generally founded their claims on fome fort 
 of election." The firft member of this dilem- 
 ma merits no reply. The people may cer- 
 tainly, as they have done, chufe hereditary 
 
 * Page 17. f P. 19, 
 
 rather
 
 ( 3 00 ) 
 
 rather than elective Monarchy. They may 
 elecl a race inftead of an individual. Their 
 right is in all thefe cafes equally unimpaired. 
 It will be in vain to compare the pretended 
 elections in which a council of Barons, or an 
 army of mercenaries, have impofed ufurpers 
 on enflaved and benighted kingdoms, with 
 the folemn, deliberate, national choice o 1688. 
 It is, indeed, often expedient to faction thefe 
 deficient titles by fubfequent acquiefcence. It 
 is not among the projected innovations of 
 France to revive the claims of any of the pos- 
 terity of Paramond and Clovis, nor to arraign 
 the ufurpations of Pepin or Hugh Capet. 
 Public tranquillity thus demands a veil to be 
 drawn over the fuccefsful crimes through 
 which Kings have fo often waded to the 
 Throne. But wherefore mould we not exult, 
 that the Supreme Magiftracy of England is 
 free from this blot ; that as a direct emanation 
 from the Sovereignty of the people, it is as le- 
 gitimate in its origin as in its adminiftration. 
 Thus underflood, the pofiticn of Dr. Price is 
 
 neither
 
 ( 3 01 ) 
 
 neither falfe nor nugatory. It is not nugatory, 
 for it honourablv diftinguifhes the Enplifh 
 Monarchy among the Governments of the 
 world ; and if it be falfe, the whole hiftory of 
 our Revolution mufl be a legend. The fact 
 was fhortly, that the Prince of Orange was 
 elected King of England, in contempt of the 
 claims, not only of the exiled Monarch and 
 his fon, but of the Princeffes Mary and Anne, 
 the undifputed progeny of James II. The title 
 of William III. was then clearly not fucccjfion \ 
 and the Houfe of Commons ordered Dr. Bur- 
 net's tract to be burnt bv the hands of hang- 
 man, for maintaining that it was conqucjl. 
 There remains only election^ for thefe three 
 claims to Royalty are all that are known 
 among men. It is futile to urge, that the 
 Convention deviated only [tenderly from the 
 order of fucceffion. The deviation was indeed 
 flight, but it deflroyed the principle, and 
 eftablifhed the right to deviate, the point at 
 iflue. The principle that juftiiled the eleva- 
 
 of
 
 ( 3 0z ) 
 
 tion of William III. and the preference of the 
 pofterity of Sophia of Hanover to thofe of 
 Henrietta of Orleans, would equally, in point 
 of right, have vindicated the election of Chan- 
 cellor JerTeries or Colonel Kirk. The choice 
 was, like every other choice, to be guided by 
 views of policy and prudence, but it was a 
 choice frill. 
 
 From thefe views arofe that repugnance 
 between the conduct and the lan;ua;e of the 
 Revolutionifts, of which Mr. Burke has 
 availed himfelf. Their conduct was manly 
 and fyflematic. Their language was conci- 
 liating and equivocal. They kept meafures 
 with prejudice which they deemed necefTary 
 to the order of fociety. They impofed on the 
 grolTnefs of the popular underftanding, by a. 
 fort of compromife between the Conftitutioil 
 and the abdicated family. " They drew a 
 " a politic well-wrought veil," to life theex- 
 preflion of Mr, Burke, over the glorious 
 
 fcene
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 icene which they had acted. They affected 
 to preferve a femblanceof fucceffion, to recur 
 for the objects of their election to the pofterity 
 of Charles and James, that refpect and loyalty 
 might with lefs violence to public fentiment 
 attach to the new Sovereign. Had a Jacobite 
 been permitted freedom of fpeech in the Par- 
 liaments of William III. he might thus have 
 arraigned the Act of Settlement " Is the Ian- 
 " guage of your ftatutes to be at eternal war 
 " with truth ? Not long ago you profaned 
 " the forms of devotion by a thankfgiving, 
 " which either means nothing, or infmuates 
 ** a lie. You thanked Heaven for the prefer- 
 " vation of a King and Queen on the 'Throne 
 " of their ancejiors'y an expreffion which ei- 
 " ther was fingly meant of their defcent, 
 " which was frivolous, or infmuated their 
 " hereditary right, which was falfe. With 
 " the fame contempt for confiftency and 
 " truth, we are this dav called on to fettle 
 * the Crown of England on a Princefs of 
 
 " Ger-
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 4e Germany* " becaufe" (he is the grand* 
 " daughter of James the Firft. If that be* 
 " as the phrafeology infinuates, the true and 
 il Jolc reafon of the choice, confiflency de- 
 " mands that the words after " excellent''* 
 *' fhould be omitted, and in their place be 
 <c inferted " Victor Amadens, Duke of Savoy, 
 " married to the daughter of the moft excel- 
 iX lent Princefs Henrietta, late Dutchefs of 
 " Orleans, daughter of our late Sovereign 
 "Lord Charles I. of glorious memory.'" 
 " Do homage to loyalty in your actions, 
 * or abjure it in your words avow the 
 " grounds of your conducl, and your man* 
 " linefs will be refpected by thofc who de- 
 <c teft your rebellion." What reply Lord 
 Somers, or Mr. Burke, could have devifed 
 to this Philippic, I know not, unlefs they 
 confefTed that the authors of the Revolution 
 had one language for novices and another for 
 adepts. Whether this conducl: was the fruit 
 of caution and confummate wifdom, or of a 
 
 narrow,
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 narrow, arrogant, and daftardly policy, which 
 regarded the human race as only to be go- 
 verned by being duped, it is ufelefs to enquire, 
 and might be prefumptuous to determine. 
 But it certainly was not to be expected, that 
 any controverfy mould have arifen by con- 
 founding their principles with their pretexts. 
 With the latter the pofition of Dr. Price has 
 no connexion ; from the former, it is an infal- 
 lible inference. 
 
 The next doctrine of this obnoxious fei* 
 mon that provokes the indignation of Mr. 
 Burke, is, that the Revolution has eftablifhed 
 *' our right to cafhier our Governors for mif- 
 " conduct." Here a plain man could have 
 forefeen fcarcely any diverfity of opinion. 
 To contend that the denofition cf a Kins; for 
 the abuie of his powers did not eftablim a 
 principle in favour of the like depofition, 
 when the like abufe mould ao;ain occur, is 
 certainly one of the mod arduous enterprizes 
 U that
 
 ( 3 o6 ) 
 
 that ever the heroiim of paradox encountered. 
 He has, however, not neglected the means 
 of retreat. " No Government," he tells us, 
 ti could fraud a moment, if it could be blown 
 " down with any thing fo loofe and indefinite 
 " as opinion of mifccnducl." One might fup- 
 pofe, from the dexterous levity with which 
 the word mifconducl: is introduced, that the 
 partizans of Democracy had maintained the 
 expediency of depofing Kings for every frivo- 
 lous and venial fault, of revolting againft a 
 Monarch for the choice of his titled or unti- 
 tled valets, for removing his footmen, or his 
 Lords of the Bedchamber. It would have been 
 candid in Mr. Burke not to have diflembled 
 what he mud: know, that by mijeondutt was 
 meant that precife fpecies of mifconducl: for 
 winch James II. was dethroned A Con- 
 spiracy AGAINST THE LIBERTY OF HIS 
 
 Country. 
 
 Nothing- can be more weak than to urge 
 the Conjlitutknal hrcfponftbility of Kings or 
 
 Parliaments,
 
 3/ > 
 
 Parliaments. The law can never fuppofe 
 them refponfible, becaufe their refponfibility 
 fuppofes the diffolution of fociety, which is 
 the annihilation of law. In the Govern- 
 ments which have hitherto exided, the power 
 of the magiflrate is the only article in the 
 focial compact. Deftroy it, and loeiety is 
 diiTolved. A legal provision for the refpon- 
 fibility of Kan ;v s would infer, that the autho- 
 rity of laws could co-exiil with their deftruc- 
 tion. It is becaufe they cannot be legally and 
 conftitutionally, that they mud be morally 
 and rationally refponfible. It is becaufe there 
 are no remedies to be found within the pale of 
 fociety, that we are to feek them in nature, 
 and throw out parchment chains in the face 
 of our oppreflbrs. No man can deduce a pre- 
 cedent of law from the Revolution, for law 
 cannot exift in the difTolution of Govern- 
 ment. A precedent of rcafon and jufticc 
 only can be eftablifhcd on it ; and perhaps 
 the friends of freedom merit the mifreprefen- 
 
 U 2 tat ion
 
 C 38 ) 
 
 tation with which they have been oppofed, for 
 j-ruftmg their caufe to fuch frail and frivolous 
 auxiliaries, and for feeking in the profligate 
 practices of men what is to be found in the 
 facred rights of Nature. The fvilem of law- 
 vers is indeed widely different. They can 
 only appeal to ufage, precedents, authorities, 
 and ftatutes. They difplay their elaborate 
 frivolity, their perfidious friendihip, in dif- 
 rraciti<r freedom with the fantaftic honor of 
 a pedigree. A plead ; at the Old Bailey, who 
 would attempt to arrsravate the guilt of a rob- 
 ber, or a murderer, by proving that King John, 
 or King Alfred, punifhed robbery and mur- 
 der, would only provoke deriilon. A man who 
 mould pretend that the reafon why we had 
 ri~ht to property is, becaufe our anceflors 
 enjoyed that right 400 vears ag-o, would be 
 iufrlv contemned. Yet fo little is plain fenfc 
 heard in the myilerious nonfenfe which is the 
 cloak of political fraud, that the Cokes, the 
 'liJackftoncs, and Burkes, fpeak as if our right 
 
 to
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 to freedom depended on its poffefTion by our 
 anceftors. In the common cafes of morality 
 we would blufh at fuch an abfurdity. No 
 man would juftify murder by its antiquity, 
 or ftio-matizc benevolence for heincr new. 
 The genealogift who mould emblazon the 
 one as coeval with Cain, or ftigmatize the 
 other as upftart with Howard, would be dis- 
 claimed even by the mod frantic partizan of 
 Ariftocracy. This Gothic transfer cf genea- 
 logy to truth and jufticc is peculiar to politics. 
 The exiftence of robbery in one age makes 
 its vindication in the next ; and the champions 
 of freedom have abandoned the ftrong hold of 
 right for precedent, which, when the mo ft 
 favorable, is, as might be expected from the 
 ages which furnifh it, feeble, fluctuating, par- 
 tial, and equivocal. It is not becaufe we 
 have been free, but becaufe we have a right 
 to be free, that we ought to demand freedom. 
 Juftice and liberty have neither birth nor 
 race, youth nor age. It would be the lame 
 U ^ abfurdity
 
 ( 3 10 ) 
 
 abfurdity to affert, that we have a right to 
 freedom, becaufe the Englishmen of Alfred's 
 rci2;n were free, as that three and three are fix, 
 becaufe they were fo in the camp of Genghis 
 Khan. Let ns hear no more of this ignoble 
 and ignominious pedigree of freedom. Let us 
 hear no more of her Saxon, Daniih, or Nor- 
 man anceffors. Let the immortal daughter of 
 Reafon, of Juftice, and of Gcd, he no longer 
 confounded with the fpurious abortions that 
 have ufurped her name. 
 
 But, fays Air. Burke, we do not contend 
 that right as created by antiquarian refearch. 
 We are far from contending that pofTeflion 
 legitimates tyranny, or that fact ought to be 
 confounded with right. But (to {trip Mr. 
 Burke's eulogies on Engliih wiklom of their 
 declamatory appendage) the imprefiion of an- 
 tiquity endears and ennobles freedom, and 
 fortifies it by rendering it auguft and vene- 
 rable in the popular mind. The illufion k 
 
 ufeful.
 
 r 3" ) 
 
 ufeful. The expediency of political impoflure 
 is the whole force of the argument ; a prin- 
 ciple odious and fufpectcd to the friends of 
 freedom, as the grand bulwark of fecular and 
 fpiritual defpotifm in the world. To pro- 
 nounce that men are only to be governed by 
 delufioii is to libel the human underftanding, 
 and to confecrate the frauds that have elevated 
 Defpots and Muftis, Pontiffs and Sultans, on 
 the ruin of degraded and opprefTed huma- 
 rity. But the doctrine is as falfe as it is odi- 
 o.is. Primary political truths are few and 
 fimple. It is eafy to make them undcritood, 
 aid to transfer to Government the lame en- 
 lightened felf-interefc that preiides in the 
 o.her concerns of life. It may be made to be 
 rdpecled, not becaufe it is ancient, or becaulc 
 il is facred, not becaufe it has been eftabluhed 
 ly Barons, or applauded by Priefls, but be- 
 aufe it is uieful. Men may eailly be in- 
 irucled to maintain rights which it is their 
 f.tcrcjl to maintain, and duties which : -t is 
 V i their
 
 ( 3* ) 
 
 their hitereji to perform. This is the only 
 principle of authority that does not violate juf- 
 tice and infult humanity : it is alfo the only 
 one which can pofTefs {lability. The various 
 fafhions of prejudice and factitious fentiment 
 which have been the bails of Governments, 
 are inort-lived things. The illufions of chi- 
 valry, and the illufions of fuperftition, which 
 give fplendor or fanctity to Government, are 
 in their turn fhccceded by new modes of opi- 
 nion and new fyflems of manners. Reafor: 
 alone, and natural fentiment, are the denizen; 
 of every nation, and the cotemporan.es cf 
 every age. A conviction of the utility of Go- 
 vernment affords the only ftable and honor- 
 able iecurity for obedience. 
 
 Our anccftors at the Revolution, it is true 
 were far from feeling the full force of tbefc 
 fublime truths ; nor was the public mind o: 
 Europe, in the feventeenth century, {u[Ti- 
 eicntly enlightened and matured for the grand 
 
 enterprizf;.
 
 ( 3 l 3 ) 
 
 entcrprizes of legiflation. The fcience which 
 teaches the rights of man, the eloquence that 
 kindles the fpirit of freedom, had fir ayes 
 been buried with the other monuments of the 
 wifdom and relics of the genius of antiquity. 
 But the revival of letters fir ft unlocked only 
 to a few the facred fountain. The necefiary 
 labors of criticifm and lexicography occupied 
 the earlier fcholars, and fome time elapfed 
 before the fpirit of antiquity was transfufed 
 into its admirers. The firft man of that pe- 
 riod who united elegant learning; to original 
 and mafculine thought was Buchanan*, and. 
 
 It is not a little remarkable, that Buchanan puts into 
 the mouth of his antagonift, Maitland, the fame atarms 
 for the downfall of literature that have been excited in the 
 mind of Mr. Burke by the French Revolution. We can 
 fmile at fuch alarms on a retrofpecl: of the literary hiftory of 
 Europe for the 17th of iS centuries ; and fliould ourcontro- 
 verllcs reach the enlightened fcholars of a future age, they 
 will probably, with the fame rcafon, fmile at the alarms of 
 Mr. Burke. 
 
 he
 
 ( 3'4 ) 
 
 he too feems to have been the firft fcholar 
 who caught from the ancients the noble flame 
 of republican enthufiafm. This praife is me- 
 rited by his neglected, though incomparable 
 tract, De Jure Regni, in which the principles 
 of popular politics, and the maxims of a free 
 Government, are delivered with a preciiion, 
 and enforced with an energy, which no for- 
 mer age had equalled, and no fucceeding has 
 furpafTed. But the lubfequent progrefs of the 
 human mind was flow. The profound views 
 of Harrington were derided as the ravings of 
 a viiionary ; and who can wonder, that the 
 frantic loyalty which deprelTed Paradife Loll, 
 mould involve in ignominy the eloquent apo- 
 logy of Milton* for the people of England 
 
 again ft 
 
 "' " Pefllme cnim vel natma vel legibus comparatmn 
 
 " forct ii arguta fcrvitus, libertas mutaeflfet; & haberent 
 
 *' tvranni qui pro fe dicercnt, ncn haberent qui tyrannos 
 
 " dcbcllare pofiur.t : Miierum cffet ii hsec ipfa ratio quo 
 
 " utimur Dei munere non multo plura ad homines confer- 
 ee yj ;
 
 ( 3'S ) 
 againft a feeble and venal pedant. Sidney " by 
 " ancient learning, to the enlightened love of 
 ci ancient freedom warmed," taught the prin- 
 ciples which he had fealed with his blood; and 
 Locke, whofe praife is lefs that of being bold 
 and original, than of being temperate, found, 
 lucid, and methodical, deferves the immortal 
 honor of having- fyftematized and rendered 
 popular the doctrines of civil and religious li- 
 berty. In Ireland, Molyneux, the friend of 
 Locke, produced the " Cafe of Ireland" a pro- 
 duction of which it is fufficient praife to fay, 
 that it was ordered to be burnt by a defpotic 
 
 ' ; vandos, libeiandos, er quantum natura flrt inter se 
 " a:c>i t andos quam ad opprimendos et fub unius Imperio 
 ' male perdendos arguments fuppe ditaret. Causam itaque 
 (i Prr.CHKR?aMAM hue certc nViucia lieti aggrediamur ; il- 
 " line frauciem, iallaciam, ignorantiam atque barbreriem ; 
 li hinc lucem, veritatcm rationem et ieculorum omnium 
 ' fuulin atque doctrinam nobis cum flare.'' 
 
 Jwnnli M'dtom Dcfaifcs Popidl Anglican: c.pud Opera, 
 Lorn, 2, p. 238. Ed. Loud. 173S. 
 
 Parliament
 
 ( 3'6 ) 
 
 Parliament ; and in Scotland, Andrew Flet- 
 cher, the fcholar of Algernon Sidney, main- 
 tained the caufe of his defcrted country with 
 the force of ancient eloquence, and the dignity 
 of ancient virtue. 
 
 Such is a rapid enumeration of thofe who 
 had before, or near the Revolution, contri- 
 buted to the diffufion of political light. But 
 their number was fmall, their writings were 
 unpopular, their dogmas were profcribed. 
 The habits of reading had only then begun to 
 reach the great body of mankind, whom the 
 arrogance of rank and letters has ignomini- 
 ou fly confounded under the denomination of 
 the vulgar. Many caufes too contributed to 
 form a pow crful Tory intereft in England. 
 The remnant of that Gothic fentiment, the 
 extinction of v hich Mr. Burke Co pathetically 
 deplores, which engrafted loyalty on a point 
 of honor in military attachment, formed one 
 r :.[', as hich may be called the 'Toryifm oj 
 
 Chlvahy,
 
 ( 3*7 )' 
 
 Chivalry. Doctrines of a divine right in 
 Kings, which arc now too much forgotten 
 even for fuccefsful ridicule, were then fup- 
 ported and revered. This may be called the 
 Toryifm of Superjlition. And a third fpecies 
 arofe from the great transfer of property into 
 an upftart commercial interefr, which drove 
 the ancient gentry of England, for protection 
 againft its inroads, behind the Throne. This 
 may be called the 'Tory if tn of Landed Arijh- 
 cracy*. Religious prejudices, outrages on 
 
 * Principle is refpec"table, even it its miflakes, and thefe 
 Tories of the Iaft century were a party of principle. There 
 were accordingly among them men of the moll elevated 
 an 1 untainted honor. Who will refufe that praife to 
 Clarendon and Southampton, Ormond and Montrofe r - 
 But Toryifm, as a party of principle, cannot now exift hi 
 England; for the principles on winch, we have (ecu it to he 
 founded, exifc no more. The Gothic fentiment is effaced, 
 the fuperftition is exploded, and the landed and commercial 
 interefts are completely intermixed. The Toryifm or th.e 
 pre font day can only arife from an abject fpirit or a corrupt 
 h-earr. 
 
 natural
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 natural fentiments, which any artificial fyflenl 
 is too feeble to withftand, and the ftream of 
 events which bore them along to extremities 
 which no man could have forefeen, involved 
 the Tories in the Revolution, and made it a 
 truly national act. 
 
 But their repugnance to every fhadoW o r 
 innovation was invincible. Something the 
 Whigs may be fuppofed to have conceded for 
 the fake of conciliation, but ftw even of their 
 leaders, it is probable, had grand and liberal 
 views. What indeed could have been ex- 
 pected from the delegates of a nation, in 
 which, a few years before, the Univerfity of 
 Oxford, renrefentmc; the national learning; 
 
 7 A O O 
 
 and wifdom, had, in a iolcmn decree, offered 
 their congratulations to Sir George Mackenzie 
 (infamous for the abufe of brilliancy and ac- 
 complifhment to the mod fervile and pro- 
 fligate purpefes) as having confuted the abo- 
 minable doctrines of Buchanan and Milton, 
 
 and
 
 ( S l 9 ) 
 
 and dcmonflratcd the divine rights of Kings to 
 tyrannize and oppreis mankind ! It mufl be 
 evident, that a people which could thus, by 
 the organ of its moil: learned body, proflrate 
 its reaibn before fuch execrable abfurdities, 
 was too young for legislation. Hence the ab- 
 furd debates in the Convention about the pal- 
 liative phrafes of. abdicate, defert, &c. which 
 were better cut ihort by the Parliament of 
 Scotland, when they ufed the correct and 
 manly expreihon, that James II. had for- 
 feited the Throne. Hence we find the 
 Revolutioniirs perpetually belying their po- 
 litical conduct by their legal phrafeologv. . 
 Hence their impotent and illufive reforms, - 
 Hence their neglect, of fore fight ' in not pro- 
 viding 
 
 * This progrefs of Roval influence from a difputed die- 
 cefTion lias, in fat, moil fatally taken place. The Proteftant 
 fucccmon was the fuppofed means of preferring our liber- 
 tics, and to that means the end lias been mou deplorably fa- 
 criheed. The Whigs, the fmcere, though timid and partial 
 
 friends
 
 ( 3 20 ) 
 
 viding bulwarks againft the natural tendency 
 of a difputed fucceffion to accelerate moft ra- 
 pidly the progrefs of Royal influence, by ren- 
 dering it neceflkry to ftrengthen :'c much the 
 pofieflbr of the Crown againft the pretender 
 to it, and thus partially facriflcing freedom to 
 the very means of preferring it. 
 
 But to elucidate the queftion more fully, 
 *' let us liften to the genuine oracles of Re- 
 " volution policy;" not to the equivocal and 
 palliative language of their (tatutes, but to the 
 nnreftraincd efFufion of fentiment in that me- 
 
 friends cf freedom, were forced to cling to the Throne as 
 the anchor of liberty. To preferve it from utter fhipwreck, 
 thev were forced to yield fomething to its protestors. Hence 
 a national debt, a feptennial Parliament, and a (landing 
 army. The avowed reafon of the two laft was Jacobitifm. 
 Hence the unnatural Coalition between Whiggifm and 
 Kings during the reigns of the two hrft Princes of the 
 Houfc of Hanover, which the pupillage of Leicefter-houfe 
 fo totally broke. 
 
 morable
 
 ( 3 21 ) 
 
 inorable conference between the Lords and 
 Commons, on Tuefday the 5th of February, 
 1688, which terminated in eftablifhing the 
 prefent Government of England. The To- 
 ries, yielding to the torrent in the perfonal 
 exclufion of James II. refolved to embarrafs 
 the Whigs, by urging that the declaration of 
 the abdication and vacancy of the Throne, 
 was a change of the Government, pro hac 
 vice, into an- elective Monarchy. The infe- 
 rence is irrefiitible, and it mini be confefled^ 
 that though the Whigs were the better citi- 
 zens, the Tories were the more correct logi- 
 cians. It is in this conference that we fee the 
 Vv hig leaders compelled to difclofe fo much 
 of thole principles, which tendernefs for pre- 
 judice, and reverence for ufage, had influenced 
 them to diilemble. It is here that we mall 
 difcover fparks kindled in the colliiion of de- 
 bate fufEcient to enlighten the " politic 
 " gloom" in which they had enveloped their 
 meafures. 
 
 X If
 
 ( 3 22 ) 
 
 If there be any names venerable among the 
 confKtutional lawyers of England, they are 
 thole of Lord Somers and Mr. Serjeant May- 
 nard. They were both confpicuous managers 
 for the Commons in this conference, and the 
 language of both will more than fanctify the 
 inferences of Dr. Price, and the creed of the 
 Revolution Society. My Lord Nottingham, 
 who conducted the conference on the part of 
 the Tories, in a manner mod honorable to 
 his dexterity and acutenefs, demanded of the 
 Managers for the Commons, " Whether they 
 44 mean the Throne to be lb vacant as to null 
 46 the fucceflicn in the hereditary line, and 
 i4 fo all the heirs to be cut off? which we 
 44 .'the Lords) fav, will make the Crown 
 44 ekElive" Maynard, whofe argument al- 
 ways breathed much of the old republican fpi- 
 rit, replied with force and plainnefs, <4 It is 
 44 not that the Commons do fay the Crown 
 44 of England is always and perpetu- 
 -' Ai.r.Y elective, but it is neccffary there 
 
 44 be
 
 ( 3 2 3 ) 
 
 li be a fupply where there is a defect." It 
 is impoflible to miftake the import of thefe 
 words. Nothing can be more evident, than 
 that by the mode of denying that the Crown 
 
 Was ALWAYS AND PERPETUALLY ELEC- 
 TIVE, he confefTes that it was for the then 
 exigency eletlive, In purfuance of his argu- 
 ment:, lie ufes a comparifon ftrongly illuftra- 
 tive of his belief in dogmas anathematized by 
 Mr. Burke. " If two of us make a mutual 
 " agreement to help and defend each other 
 " from any one that lhould ailualt us in a 
 " journey, and he that is with me turns upon 
 tc me, and breaks my head, he hath un- 
 " doubtedly abdicated my ailiftance, and re- 
 *' voked." Sentiments of the Kingly office, 
 more irreverent and correct, are not to be 
 found in the moil profane evangelift that dif- 
 graces the Demoratic canon. It is not un- 
 worthy of incidental remark, that there were 
 then perfons who felt as great horror at no- 
 velties, which have fince been univerfally re- 
 X 2 ceived,
 
 ( 3 2 4 ) 
 
 ceived, as Mr. Burke now feels at the <c rights 
 " of men." The Earl of Clarendon, in his 
 ftxiclures on the fpeech of Mr. Somers, faid, 
 " I may fay thus much in general, that this 
 " breaking the original contract is a language 
 " that has not long been ufed in this place ; 
 t; nor known in any of our law-books, or 
 " Public records. It is fprung up but as taken 
 " from fome late authors, and thofe none of 
 " the befk received!" This language one 
 might have fnppofed to be that of Mr. Burke. 
 It is not however his ; it is that of a Jacobite 
 Lord of the 17th century ! 
 
 The Tories continued to perplex and inti- 
 midate the Whigs with idea of eledion.* 
 Maynard again replies, " The word elective is 
 " none of the Commons word. The provi- 
 ci fion muft be made, and if it be, that will not 
 * ' render the k ingdom perpetually elec t i ve." 
 If it were nccefiary to multiply citations to 
 prove, that the Revolution was to all intents 
 
 and
 
 ( 3 2 5 ) 
 
 and purpofes an e/eclion, we might hear Lord 
 Nottingham, whofe diftinction is peculiarly 
 applicable to the cafe before us. " If," fays 
 he, " you do once make it elective, I do not 
 " fay you are always bound to go to ekclion y 
 " but it is enough to make it fo, if by that 
 " precedent there be a breach in the heredi- 
 " tary fucceffion." The reafoning of Sir 
 Robert Howard, another of the Managers for 
 the Commons, is bold and explicit. " My 
 " Lords, you will do well to confider; have 
 " you not yourfelves limited the fuccefTion, 
 6i and cut off fome that might have a line of 
 Ci right? Have you not concurred with us in 
 li our vote, that it is inconiiftent with our 
 " religion and our laws to have a Papifr. to 
 * l reign over us ? Muji we not then come to 
 *' an election, if the next heir be a Papifl?" 
 The precife fact which followed. But what 
 tends the mod ftrongly to illuftrate that con- 
 tradiction between the exoteric and efoteric 
 doctrine, the legal language, and the real 
 X 3 principles,
 
 ( 3*6 ) 
 
 principles, which forms the bails of this whole 
 argument, is the avowal of Sir Richard 
 Temple, another of the Managers for the 
 Commons " We are in as natural a capacity 
 " as any of our predeccfTbrs were to provide 
 *' for a remdy in fuch exigencies as this." 
 Hence it followed infallibly, that their pofte- 
 rity to all generations would be in the fame 
 ** natural capacity " to provide remedy for 
 exigencies. But let us hear their Statutes. 
 There " the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
 " and Commons, do, in the name of all the 
 fi people of England, moll: humbly and faith- 
 6C fully fubmit themfehes, their heirs and pofe- 
 *' rit y f or ever " & c Here is the triumph 
 of Mr. Burke a folemn abdication and re- 
 nunciation of right to change the Monarch or 
 the Confritution ! His triumph is increaled by 
 this ftatutory abolition of the rights of men 
 being copied from a fimilar profeffion of eter- 
 nal allegiance made by the Parliament of Eli f 
 ^abeth ! It is difficult to conceive any thing 
 
 mors
 
 ( 3 2 7 ) 
 
 more prepofterous. In the very act of exer- 
 cifins; a risrht which their anceftors had abdi- 
 cated in their name, they abdicate the fame 
 right in the name of their pofterity. To in- 
 creafe the ridicule of this legiflative farce, 
 they impofe an irrevocable law on their pofte- 
 rity, in the precife words of that law irrevo- 
 cably impofed on them by their anceftors, at 
 the moment when they are violating it. The 
 Parliament of Elizabeth fubmit themfelves 
 and their pofterity for ever. The Convention 
 of 1688 fpurn the fubmifTion for themfelves, 
 but re-enact it for their pofterity. And after 
 fuch a glaring inconfiftency, this language of 
 ftatutory adulation is ferioufly and triumphant- 
 ly brought forward as " the unerring oracles 
 *' of Revolution policy .'* 
 
 Thus evidently has it appeared, from the 
 
 conduct and lancrua^e of the leaders of the 
 
 Revolution, that it was a depojition and an 
 
 election ; and that all language of a contrary 
 
 X 4 tendency,
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 tendency, which is to be found in their acts, 
 arofe from the remnant of their own preju- 
 dice, or from conceffion to the prejudice of 
 others, or from the fuperiicial and prefump- 
 tuous policy of impofing auguft illufions on 
 mankind. The fame fpirit regulated, the 
 fame prejudices impeded their progrefs in 
 every department. "They acted," fays Mr. 
 Burke, " by their ancient States." They did 
 not Were the Peers, and the members of a 
 diiTolved Houfe of Commons, with the Lord- 
 Mayor of London, &c. convoked by a fum- 
 mons from the Prince of Orange, the Parlia- 
 ment of England ? -No. They were neither 
 lawfully elected nor lawfully aflembled. But 
 they affected a femblance of a Parliament in 
 their convention, and a femblance of heredi- 
 tary right in their election. The lubfequent 
 act of Parliament is nugatory ; for as that 
 Lesriflature derived its whole exigence and 
 authority from the Convention, it could not 
 return more than it had received, and could 
 
 not
 
 ( 3 2 9 ) 
 
 not therefore legalize the adls of the body 
 which created it. If they were not previoufly 
 legal, the Parliament itfelf was without legal 
 authority, and could, therefore, give no legal 
 fanction. It is therefore without any view to 
 a prior, or alluflon to a fubfequent Revolu- 
 tion, that Dr. Price, and the Revolution So- 
 ciety of London, think themfelves entitled to 
 conclude, that abufed power is revocable, and 
 corrupt Governments ought to be reformed. 
 Of the iirft of thefe Revolutions, that in 
 1648, they may, perhaps, entertain different 
 feiitiments from Mr. Burke. They will con- 
 fefs that it was debafed by the mixture of 
 fanaticifm ; they may lament that hiflory has 
 fo often proftituted her ungenerous fuffrageto 
 fuccefs, and that the Commonwealth was ob- 
 lcured and overwhelmed by the fplendid pro- 
 fligacy of military ufurpation. But they can- 
 not arrogate the praife of having been the 
 firfl: to maintain, nor can Mr. Burke fupport 
 
 his
 
 ( 33 ) 
 bis claim to have been the fir ft who reprobat- 
 ed, Jince that periods the audacious herefy of 
 popular politics. The prototype of Mr. Burke 
 is not a lefs notorious perfonage than the pre- 
 deceflbr he has affigned to Dr. Price. Hiftory 
 lias prefer ved fewer memorials of Hugh Peters 
 than of Judge Jeffries. It was the fortune of 
 that luminary and model of lawyers to fit in 
 judgment on one of the fanatical apoftles of 
 Democracy. In the prefent ignominious oh- 
 fcurity of the feci in England, it may be ne- 
 cefTary to mention that the name of this cri- 
 minal was Algernon Sidney. He had, it is 
 true, in his time acquired fome renown : He 
 was celebrated as the hero, and deplored as 
 the martyr of freedom. But the learned ma- 
 giftrate was above this " epidemical fanati- 
 " cifm." He inveighed againft his peftilential 
 dogmas in a fpirit that deprives Mr. Burke's 
 invective againft Dr. Price of all pretenfions 
 to originalitv. An unvarnifhed ftatement will 
 
 fo
 
 ( 33 l ) 
 
 fo evince the harmony both of the cul- 
 prits and the accufers, that remark is fuper- 
 fluous 
 
 Algernon' Sidney. 
 
 (Indictment again/? him,) 
 
 11 And that the aforefaid 
 Algernon Sidney did make, 
 compofe and write, or caufe 
 to he made, compofed and 
 written, a certain falle, fcan- 
 cialous and feditious libel, in 
 which is contained the fol- 
 lowing Engllfh words 
 
 " The Pozver originally in the 
 Ci people is delegated to the 
 *' Parliament He (mean- 
 '* ing the King) is fubject 
 " to the laws of God, as he 
 " is a man, and to the people 
 *' that made him z King, in- 
 *' afmuch as he is a King." 
 And in another place of 
 the faid libel he fays, " We 
 t; may therefore take away 
 " Kings without breaking 
 " any yoke, or that is mack* 
 *' a yoke, which ought not 
 *' to be one, and the injury 
 ie therefore is making or im- 
 *' poling, and there can be 
 * l none in breaking it/'Scc. 
 
 Doctor Price. 
 
 His Sermon. 
 
 '* We have a right to 
 chufeourown Governors, to 
 cailiier them tor milconducT:, 
 and to frame a Government 
 for ourfelves." 
 
 Thus
 
 ( 33* ) 
 
 Thus we fee the harmony of the culprits. 
 The one is only a perfpicuous and preoife 
 abridgment of the other. The harmony of 
 the Judges will not be found lefs remarkable. 
 Mr. Burke, " when he talks as if he had 
 44 made a difcovery, only follows a prece- 
 " dent.'* 
 
 Judge Jeffries' 
 Charge to the Jury. 
 
 " The King, it fays, is re- 
 fponiible to them, and he is 
 only their truftce. He has 
 misgoverned, and he is to 
 give it up, that they may be 
 all Kings themfelves. Gen- 
 tlemen, I muft tell you, I 
 think I ought, more than 
 ordinarily to prefs this on 
 you, hecaufe I know the 
 misfortunes of the late un- 
 happy rebellion ; and the 
 bringing of the late bleffed 
 King to the fcaffold was fir it 
 begun by fuch kind of prin- 
 ciples*. 
 
 Mr. Burke. 
 
 " The Revolution Society 
 chufes to affert, that a King 
 is no more than the fir ft Ser- 
 vant of the Public, created 
 by it, and refponfible to it." 
 " The fecond claim of the 
 Revolution Societv is ca- 
 fliiering the Monarch for 
 mifconduct," p. 37. " The 
 Revolution Society, the he- 
 roic band of fabricators of 
 Governments, ele6lors of So- 
 vereigns," p. 98. " This 
 fermon is in a ftrain which 
 has never been heard in this 
 kingdom in any of the pul- 
 pits which are tolerated or 
 encouraged in it fince 1648." 
 
 * Trial of Algernon Sidney for High Treafon. State 
 Trials, vol. ill. page 71c, & feci. 
 
 Thus
 
 C 333 ) 
 
 Thus does Mr. Burke chaunt his political 
 Cong in exact unifon with the ftrains of the 
 venerable Magiftrate ; they indict the fame 
 crimes ; they impute the fame motives ; they 
 dread the fame confequences. 
 
 The Revolution Society felt, from the 
 great event which they profeffedly comme- 
 morated, new motives to exult in the emanci- 
 pation of France. The Revolution of 1688 
 deferves more the attention of a philofophcr 
 from its indirect influence on the progrefs of 
 human opinion, than from its immediate ef- 
 fects on the Government of England. In the 
 hrft view, it is perhaps difficult to eftimate 
 the magnitude of its effects. It fanctified, as 
 we have feen, the general principles of free- 
 dom. It gave the fir ft example in civilized 
 modern Europe of a Government which re- 
 conciled a femblance of political, and a large 
 portion of civil liberty with liability and 
 peace. But above all, Europe owes to it the 
 
 ineftimable
 
 ( 334 ) 
 
 incftimable bleilmg of an afylum for freedom 
 of thought. Hence England became the pre- 
 cept refs of the world in philofophy and free- 
 dom. Hence arofe the fchool of fages, who 
 unfhackled and emancipated the human mind ; 
 from among whom iflued the Lockes, the 
 Rouileaus, the Turgots, and the Franklins, 
 the immortal band of preceptors and bene- 
 factors of mankind. They filently operated 
 a grand meral Revolution, which was in due 
 time to meliorate the focial order. They had 
 tyrants to dethrone more formidable than 
 Kings, and from whom Kings held their 
 power. They wreited the fceptre from fu- 
 perfrition, and dragged prejudice in triumph. 
 They defrroyed the arfenal whence defpotifm 
 had borrowed her thunders and her chains. 
 Thefe grand enterprizes of philofophic he- 
 roifm muft have preceded the reforms of civil 
 Government. The Coloflus of tyranny was 
 
 undermined, and a pebble overthrew it. 
 
 From thisprogrefs of opinion arofe the Ame- 
 rican
 
 ( 23< 5 
 
 rican Revolution, and from this, mo ft unquef- 
 tionably the delivery of France. Nothing, 
 therefore, could he more natural, than that 
 thole who, without blind bigotry for the 
 forms, had a rational reverence for the prin- 
 ciples of our anccftors, {hall rejoice in a Re- 
 volution, where thefe principles, which Eng- 
 land had fo lonsr fuftered to repofe in imno- 
 tent abftraction, were called forth into energy, 
 expanded, invigorated, and matured. If, as 
 we have prefumed to fuppofe, the Revolu- 
 tion of 1688 may have had no fmall mare in 
 accelerating that progrefs of light which has 
 dilTolved the prejudices that fupportcd defpo- 
 tifm, they may be permitted, hefides their 
 exultation as friends of humanity, to indulge 
 fome pride as Englishmen. 
 
 It muft be confefled thr.t our anccftors in 
 1688, confined, in their practical regulations, 
 their views folely to the urgent _abufe. They 
 puniihed the ufurper without meliorating the 
 
 Government,
 
 ( 33<5 ) 
 
 Government, and they profcribed ufurpations 
 without correcting their fource. They were: 
 content to clear the turbid ftream, inftead of 
 purifying the polluted fountain. They merit, 
 however, veneration for their atchievements, 
 and the moil: ample amnefly for their defects, 
 for the fir/I were their own, and the Lft are 
 imputable to the age in which they lived. 
 The true admirers of the Revolution will par- 
 don it for having fpared abufive eftabiimments, 
 only becaufe they revere it for having eilab- 
 lifhed grand principles. But the cafe of Mr- 
 Burke is different ; he deifies its defeats, and 
 derides its principles; and were Lord Somers 
 to liften to fuch mifplaced eulogy, and tor- 
 tured inference, he might juftly lay, " You 
 " deny us the only praifc we can claim, and 
 " the only merit you allow us is in the fa- 
 44 crinces we were compelled to make to pre- 
 *' judice and ignorance. Your glory is our 
 " fhame." Reverence for the principles, and 
 pardon to the defects of civil changes, which
 
 ( 339 ) 
 arife in ages partially enlightened, are the 
 plain dilates of common- fen fe. Admiration 
 of Magna Charta does not infer any refpect 
 from villainage. Reverence for Roman patri- 
 otiim is not incompatible with defoliation of 
 llavery ; nor does veneration for the Revolu- 
 tionifrs of 1688 impofe any blindnefs to the 
 grofs, radical, and multiplied abfurdities and 
 corruptions in their political fyftem. The 
 true admirers of Revolution principles cannot 
 venerate inftitutions as fagc and effectual pro- 
 tedtion of freedom, which experience has 
 proved to be nervelefs and illufive. " The 
 " practical claim of impeachment," the 
 vaunted refponfibility of Minifters, is the moll: 
 forry juggle of a political empiricifm by 
 which a people were ever attempted to be lul- 
 led into fervitude. Stat.- proiecutions in free 
 fhtes have ever either languilhed in impotent 
 and defpifed tedioufnefs, or burft forth in a 
 florin of popular indignation, that at once 
 overwhelms its object, without difcrimyiation 
 
 Y of
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 of innocence or guilt. Nothing but this irre- 
 filtible fervor can deftroy the barriers within 
 which powerful and opulent delinquents are 
 fortified. If this fervor is not with imminent 
 hazard of equity and humanity gratified in the 
 moment, it fubfides. The natural influence 
 of the culprit, and of the accomplices inte- 
 refled in his impunity, refumes it place. As 
 thefe trials are neceflarily long, the facts which 
 produce conviction, and the eloquence which 
 rouzes indignation, being effaced from the 
 Public mind by time, by ribaldry and fo- 
 phiffry, the fhame of a corrupt deciiion is ex- 
 tenuated. Every fource of obloquy or odium 
 that can be attached to the obnoxious and in- 
 vidious character of an accufcr, is exhaufled 
 by the profufe corruption of the delinquent. 
 The tribunal of Public opinion, which alone 
 preicrves the purity of others, is itielf pol- 
 luted, and a people wearied, difgufted, irri- 
 gated, and corrupted, fuller the culprit to re- 
 tire
 
 C 341 ) 
 
 tire in impunity * and fplcndor. Damnatus 
 inani judicio quid enim fa/vis infamin nummis. 
 Such has ever been the ftate of things, when 
 the force of the Government has been fuffi- 
 cient to protect the accufed from the firfr. ebu- 
 lition of popular impetuofity. The Demo- 
 cracies of antiquity prefented a fpeclacle di- 
 rectly the reverfe ; but no hiftory affords any 
 example of a juft medium. State trials will 
 always either be impotent or oppreffive, a per- 
 fection or a farce. Thus vain is the fecurity 
 of impeachment, and equally abfurd, furely, 
 is our confidence in " the control of Parlia- 
 ments," in their prefent Conftitution, and 
 with their remaining powers. To begin with 
 the laft. They polTefs the nominal power of 
 impeachment. Not to mention its difufe in 
 
 * Part of this defcription is purely hiftorlcal. Heaven 
 forbid that the fequel fliould prove prophetic. When this 
 'ubjciSr. prefents Mr. Burke to mind, I muft fay, Talis 
 cum/Is at:nam nojicr cjjes. 
 
 Y 2 the
 
 ( 342 ) 
 
 the cafe of any Minifter for more than feventy 
 years, it is always too late to remedy the evil, 
 and probably always too weak to punifh the 
 criminal. They pofTefs a pretended power of 
 with-holding fupplies. But the fituation of 
 fociety has in truth wrefted it from them. 
 The fupplies they muft vote, for the army 
 muft. have its pay, and the Public creditors 
 their intereft. A power that cannot be exer- 
 cifed without provoking mutiny, and pro- 
 claiming bankruptcy, the blindeft bigot can- 
 not deny to be purely nominal. A practical 
 fubflitute for thefe theoretical powers exifted 
 till our days in the negative exercifed by the 
 Houfe of Commons on the choice of the Mi- 
 nifter of the Grown. But the elevation of Mr, 
 Pitt eftablimed a precedent which extirpated 
 the laffc jhadow of popular control from the 
 Government of England 
 
 Olim vera fides 
 Sulla Mario que receptis libertatis obit 
 Pompeio rebus ademuto nunc & fidta perif. 
 
 But
 
 ( 343 ) 
 But in truth, the force and the privileges of 
 Parliament are almoft indifferent to the peo- 
 ple, for it is not the guardian of their rights, 
 nor the organ of their voice. We are faid to 
 be unequally reprefented. This is one of thofe 
 contradictory phrafes that form the political 
 jargon of half-enlightened periods. Unequal 
 freedom is a contradiction in terms. It ought 
 not to be called freedom, but the power of 
 fome, and the flavery of others the oppref- 
 fion of one portion of mankind by another. 
 The law is the deliberate reafon of all, 
 guiding their occafional will. Reprefentation 
 is an expedient for peacefully, fvftematically, 
 and unequivocally collecting this univerfal 
 voice. So thought and fo fpoke the Edmund 
 Burke of better times. " To follow, not to 
 " force the Public inclination, to give a di- 
 " re&ion, a form, a technical drefs, and a 
 " fpecific fanCtion to the general fenfe of the 
 " community is the true end of Legiflature.'* 
 Burke s two Letters to Gentlemen in BrifloU 
 
 V 3 PS'
 
 ( 344 ) 
 
 page 52. There fpoke the correfpondent of 
 Franklin*, the Champion of America, the 
 enlightened advocate of humanity and free- 
 dom !- If thefe principles be true, and they 
 are fo true that it feems almoll: puerile to re- 
 peat them, who can without indignation hear 
 the Houfe of Commons of England called a 
 popular reprefentative ? A more infolent and 
 prepofterous abufe of language is not to be 
 found in the vocabulary of tyrants. The cri- 
 terion that diftinguifhes laws from dictates, 
 freedom from fervitudc, rightful Government 
 from ufurpation, the law being an exprejjion of 
 the general will, is wanting. This is the 
 grievance which the admirers of the Revo- 
 lution in 1688 defire to remedy according to 
 its -principles. This is that perennial fource of 
 corruption which has increaied, is increaiing 
 and ought to be diminifhed. If the general 
 
 * Mr. Burke has had die honor of being traduced for 
 correfponding, during the American war, with this great 
 man, becaufe he was a R(bc! ' 
 
 intereft
 
 ( 345 ) 
 
 interefl is not the object of our Government, 
 it is, it rauft be, becaufe the general will docs 
 not govern. We are boldly challenged to 
 produce our proofs; our complaints are af- 
 ferted to be chimerical, and the excellence of 
 our Government is inferred from its beneficial 
 effects. Moil unfortunately for us, molt, un- 
 fortunately for our country, thefe proofs are 
 too ready, and too numerous. We find them 
 in that " monumental debt," the bequeft of 
 waitcful and profligate wars, which already 
 wrings from the peafant fomething of his 
 hard-earned pittance, which already has pu- 
 nifhed the induflry of the ufeful and upright 
 manufacturer, by robbing him of the afylum 
 of his hcufe, and the judgment of his peers, 
 to which the madnefs of political Quixotifm 
 adds a million for every farthing that the pomp 
 of .Miniiterial empiricifm pays, and which 
 menaces our children with convul lions and 
 calamities, of which no age has icen the pa- 
 rallel. We find them in the black and bloody 
 Y 4 Roll
 
 ( 346 ) 
 
 Roll of perfecuting ftatutes that are flill fuf- 
 fered to ftain our code ; a lift fo execrable, 
 that were no monument to be preferved of 
 what England was in the eighteenth century 
 but her ftatute book, me might be deemed 
 ftill plunged in the deepeft gloom of fuperfti- 
 tious barbarifm. We find them in the igno- 
 minious exclusion of great bodies of our fel- 
 low citizens from political trufts, by teffe 
 which reward falfhood and punifh probity, 
 which profane the rites of the religion they 
 pretend to guard, and ufurp the dominion of 
 the God they profefs to revere. We find them 
 in the growing corruption of thofe who admi- 
 nifter the Government ; in the venality of a 
 Ilouie of Commons, which has become only a 
 cumbrous and expenfive chamber for regifter- 
 ing Minifterial edicts in the increafe of a No- 
 bility arrived to a degradation, by the profu- 
 sion and proftitution of honors, which the 
 mofc zealous partizans of Democracy would 
 have fpared them. We find them, above 
 
 all,
 
 ( 347 ) 
 ALL, in the rapid progrefs which has been 
 made to {ilence the great organ of Public opi- 
 nion, the Prefs, which is the true control on 
 Minifters and Parliaments, who might elfe, 
 with impunity, trample on the impotent for- 
 malities that form the pretended bulwark of 
 our freedom. The mutual control, the well- 
 poiied balance of the feveral members of our 
 Legiflature, are the vifions of theoretical, or 
 the pretext of practical politicians. It is a 
 Government, not of check, but of confpiracy 
 a confpiracy which can only be repreiTed by 
 the energy of popular opinion. 
 
 Thefe are no viiionary ills, no chimerical 
 apprehenfions. They are the fad and fober 
 reflections of as honeft and enlightened men 
 as any in the kingdom; nor are they allevi- 
 ated by the torpid and liftlels fecurity into 
 which the people feem to be lulled Summum 
 oilum jorenfe ?ion quiejcentis Jed Jenefenth ci- 
 vitatis. It is in this fatal temper that men 
 
 become
 
 ( 348 ) 
 
 become diffidently debafed and embruted to 
 link into placid and polluted fervitude. It 
 is then that it may molt, truly be faid, that 
 the mind of a country is (lain. The admirers 
 of Revolution principles naturally call on 
 every aggrieved and enlightened citizen to 
 confider the fourcc of his oppreffion. If pe- 
 nal ftatutes hang over our Catholic brethren*, 
 
 * No body of men in any State that pretends to freedom 
 have ever been fo infolently opprefTed as the Catholic Ma- 
 jority of Ireland. Their caufe has been lately pleaded by 
 an eloquent Advocate, whofe virtues might have been fup- 
 pofed to have influenced my praife, as the partial dictate or 
 friendfliipj had not his genius extorted it as a ftrict tribute 
 to juftice. 1 perceive that he retains much of that admira- 
 tion which we chcrifhcd in common by his claffical quota- 
 tion refpecting Mr. Burke 
 
 Ssli qu'-ppe vacat,Jiudiifque adiifque earentl 
 Ilumanttm lugere genus 
 
 See " The Constitutional Interests of Ireland 
 with rcfpecl to the Popery Laws." P. IV. Dublin, 
 79 J - 
 
 U
 
 ( 349 ) 
 If" teft acts outrage our Proteftant fellow-ci- 
 tizens, if the remains of feudal tyranny are 
 frill Suffered to exifr. in Scotland, if the prefs 
 is fettered, if our right to trial by jury is 
 abridged, if our manufacturers are profcibed 
 and hunted down by excise, the reafon of all 
 thefe opprefiions is the fame. No branch of 
 the Legislature reprefents the people. Men 
 are oppreffed, becaufc they have no Share in 
 their own government. Let all thefe claffes 
 of oppreffed citizens melt their local and par- 
 tial grievances into one great mais. Let them 
 ceafe to be fuppliants for their rights, or to 
 fue for them like mendicants, as a precarious 
 boon from the arrogant pity of ufurpers. Until 
 the Legiflature fpeaks their voice, it will op- 
 prefs them. Let them unite to procure luch 
 a reform in the reprelentation of the people, 
 as will make the Houfe of Commons their 
 rcprefentatives. If diimiffing all petty views 
 of obtaining their own particular ends, they 
 unite for this great object, they mull lucceed. 
 
 The
 
 ( 35 ) 
 The co-operating efforts of fo many bodies of 
 citizens mult awaken the nation, and its voice 
 will be fpoken in a tone that virtuous Gover- 
 nors will obey, and tyrannical Governors mult 
 dread. It is impoffible to fuppofe the exift- 
 ence of fuch infolent profligacy as would af- 
 fect to defpife the national voice, if it were 
 unequivocally fpoken. 
 
 This tranquil and legal reform is the ulti- 
 mate object of thofe whom Mr. Burke has fo 
 foully branded. In effect this would be am- 
 ply fufficient. The powers of the King and 
 the Lords have never been formidable in 
 England, but from difcords between the 
 Houfe of Commons and its pretended condi- 
 ments. Were that Houfe really to become 
 the vehicle of the popular voice, the privi- 
 leges of other bodies, in opposition to the 
 fenfe of the people and their reprefentatives, 
 would be but as duft in the balance. From 
 this radical improvement all fubaltern reform 
 
 would
 
 ( 35' ) 
 
 would naturally and peaceably arife. We 
 dream of no more, and in claiming this, in- 
 ilead of meriting the imputation of being 
 apoftles of fedition, we conceive ourfelves en- 
 titled to be confidered as the moil: fincere 
 friends of tranquil and ftable Government.- 
 We defire to avert revolution* by reform ; fub- 
 verfion by correction. We admonim our Go- 
 vernors to reform, while they retain the force 
 to reform with dignity and fecurity ; and 
 we conjure them not to wait the moment, 
 which will infallibly arrive, when they mail be 
 obliged to fupplicate that people, whom they 
 opprefs and defpife, for the flenderefr. pittance 
 of their prcfent powers. 
 
 * Let die Governors of all States compare the convulfiou 
 which the obftinacy of the Government provoked in France, 
 with the peaceful and dignified reform which its wifdom 
 effected in Poland. The moment is important, the di- 
 lemma inevitable, the alternative awful, the leffan mofl in* 
 ftru&ive ! 
 
 The
 
 ( 35* ) 
 
 The grievances of England do not now, 
 we confefs, juftify a change by violence; but 
 they are in a rapid progrefs to that fatal ftate, 
 in which they will both juftify and produce 
 it. It is becanfe we fincerely love tranquil* 
 freedom, that we earneftly deprecate the mo- 
 ment when virtue and honor mall compel 
 us to feek her with our fwords. Are not they 
 the true friends to authority who defire, that 
 whatever is granted by it " mould lime as a 
 " gift of her bounty and beneficence, rather 
 " than as claims recovered againfr. a ftrug- 
 " sling litigant ? Or, at leait, that if her 
 " beneficence obtained no credit in her con- 
 " cefiions, they mould appear the falutary 
 " provifions of wifdom and forefight, not as 
 " things wrung with blood by the cruel gripe 
 " of a rigid neceffitvf." We defire that the 
 political light which is to break in on England 
 
 * Manus Ii2ec inimtca Tyrannis 
 
 Enfe petit placklam fub libcrtate quietcm. 
 f Burke's Speech at Briftol, page 13. 
 
 mould
 
 ( 353 ) 
 
 ihould be " through well-contrived and well- 
 " difpofed windows, not through flaws and 
 " breaches, through the yawning chalms of 
 " our ruin*." 
 
 Such was the language of Mr. Burke 
 in cafes nearly parallel to the prefent. But 
 of thofe who now prefume to give fimi- 
 lar counfels, his alarm and abhorrence are 
 extreme. They deem the " prefent times,*' 
 favorable " to all exertions in the caufe of 
 " liberty." They naturally muft. Their 
 hopes in that great caufe are from the deter- 
 mined and according voices of enlightened 
 men. The mock that destroyed the defpotifm 
 of Fiance has widely diiperfed the clouds 
 that intercepted reafon from the political and 
 moral world ; and we cannot fuppofe, that 
 England is the only fpot that has not been 
 reached by this " flood of light" that lias burl! 
 upon the human race. We might lU^pofe 
 
 * Burke', Speech at 2: ; iU ; p. 15. 
 
 too,
 
 ( 554 ) 
 
 too, that Englishmen would be (named out of 
 their torpor by the great exertions of nations 
 whom we had long deemed buried in hope- 
 lefs fervitude. Thus far we might be par- 
 doned for thinking the prefent moment pecu- 
 liarly aufpicious to exertions in the caufe of 
 freedom. 
 
 But nothing can be more abfurd than 
 to afTert, that all who admire wifh to zW- 
 tate the French Revolution. In one view 
 there is room for diverfity of opinion among 
 the warmeft and wifefl friends of freedom, as 
 to the portion of Democracy infufed into the 
 Government of France. In another, and a 
 more important one, it is to be recollected, 
 that the conduct of nations is to vary with the 
 circumftances in which they are placed. - 
 Blind admirers of Revolutions take them for 
 implicit models. Thus Mr. Burke admires 
 that of 1688 ; but we, who conceive that we 
 pay the purcft homage to the authors of that 
 
 Revolution,
 
 ( 353 < 
 
 Revolution, not in contending for what they 
 then did, but for what they now would do, 
 can feel no inconfiftency in locking en France, 
 not to model our conduct, but to invigorate 
 the fpirit of freedom. We permit ourfelves 
 to imagine how Lord Somers, in the light 
 and knowledge of the eighteenth century, 
 how the patriots of France, in the tranquil- 
 lity and opulence of England, would have 
 acted. We are not bound to copy the conduct 
 to which the lad were driven by a bankrupt 
 Exchequer and a diffolved Government, nor to 
 maintain the cftabliihments, which were fpared 
 by the fir it in a prejudiced and benighted age. 
 Exact imitation is not neceffary to reverence. 
 We venerate the principles which prefided in 
 both events, and we adapt to political admira- 
 tion a maxim which has lone; been received 
 in polite letters, that the only manly and libe- 
 ral imitation is to fpeak as a great man would 
 have Ipoken, had he lived in our times, and 
 been placed in our circumftances, 
 
 Z But
 
 ( 354 ) 
 
 But let us hear the charge of Mr. Burke. 
 
 " Is our Monarchy to he annihilated, with 
 
 44 all the laws, ail the tribunals, all the an- 
 
 44 cient corporations of the kingdom ? Is 
 
 44 every land-mark of the kingdom to be done 
 
 44 away in favour of a geometrical and arith- 
 
 44 metical Confritution ? Is the Houfe of 
 
 *" Lords to be ufelcfs? Is Epifcopacy to be 
 
 44 aboliihed?" and, in a word, is France to 
 
 be imitated : Yes ! if cur Governors imitate 
 
 her policy, the State muit follow her cataf- 
 
 trophe. Man is ever v where Man impri- 
 
 [nee] grievance ; 'ill at length have vent, and 
 
 t lie frorm of popmar painon will find a feeble 
 
 obfracle in the folemn imbecility of human 
 
 'ui:litutions. But who are the true friends to 
 
 the order of Government, the prerogative of 
 
 r : :v Monarch, the fplendor of the hierarchy, 
 
 and the dignity o: the peerage ? Thofe mofr. 
 
 certalnlv who inculcate, that to with-hold re- 
 
 form is to fiimulate convullion ; thofe who 
 
 admonifh all to whom honor, and rank, and 
 
 d^gniry,
 
 ( 355 ) 
 
 dignity, and wealth are dear, that they can 
 only in the end preferve them by conceding, 
 while the moment of concefTion remains; 
 thole who aim at draining away the fountains 
 that feed the torrent, initead of oppoling puny 
 barriers to its courfe. 
 
 " The beginning's of confufion in Ens;- 
 " land are at prefent feeble enough, but with 
 ic you wc have {ecu. an infancy ftill more 
 " feeble growing by moments into a ftrengtli 
 " to heap mountains upon mountains, and 
 
 " to wage war with Heaven itfelf. 
 
 " Whenever our neighbour's houfc is on fire, 
 * 4 it cannot be amifs for the engines to play 
 6< a little upon our own." This language, 
 taken in its mofr. natural fenfe, is exactly 
 what the friends of reform in England would 
 adopt. Every gloomy tint that is added to the 
 horrors of the French Revolution by the tra- 
 gic pencil of Mr. Burke, is a new argument 
 5n fupport of their claims, and thofe only are 
 Z z the
 
 ( 356 ) 
 
 the real enemies of the Nobility and the 
 Priefthood, and other bodies of men that fuf- 
 fer in fuch convulflons, who Simulate them 
 to unequal and defperate conflicts. 
 
 Such are the fentiments of thofe who can 
 admire without fervilely copying recent 
 changes, and can venerate the principles with- 
 out fuperftitioufly defending the corrupt re- 
 liques of old Revolutions. 
 
 " Grand i welling fentiments of liberty," 
 fays Mr. Burke, " I am lure I do not defpife, 
 " Old as I am, I flill read the fine raptures of 
 " Lucan and Corneille with pleafure.'* Long 
 may that virtuous and venerable age enjoy 
 fuch pleafures. But why mould he be indig- 
 nant that " the showing ientiment and the 
 " lofty fpeculation mould have paffed from 
 44 the fchools and the clofet to the Senate," 
 and no longer ferving " to point a moral or 
 " adorn a tale," mould be brought home to 
 
 the
 
 ( 357 ) 
 the bufinefs and the bofoms of men. The 
 fublime genius whom Mr. Burke admires, and 
 who fung the obfequies of Roman freedom, 
 has one fentiment, which the friends of liberty 
 in England, if they "are like him condemned 
 to look abroad for a free government, mufl 
 adopt 
 
 Redituraque nunqunm 
 
 Li eert as ultra Tigrim Rhenunv uc rcceffit 
 Et totks nobis JUGU.LO cruaefita negatur ! 
 
 Z 3 SECTION
 
 ( 353 ) 
 
 III IMF"- 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Speculations on the probable Confequencss of the 
 French Revolution in Europe. 
 
 F" (5 ^IIEPvE is perhaps only one opinion about 
 -H- the French Revolution in which its 
 friends and its enemies agree. They both con- 
 ceive that its influence will not be confined to 
 France ; they both predict that it will produce 
 important changes in the general irate of Eu- 
 rope. This is the theme of the exultation of 
 Its admirers, this is the fource of the alarms of 
 its detractors. It were indeed difficult to lup- 
 pofe that a Revolution fo unparaleMed mould 
 take place in the moft renov. ned of the Euro- 
 pean nations, without fpreading its influence 
 throughout the Chriftian Commonwealih ; 
 
 connected
 
 ( 359 ) 
 
 connected as it is by the multiplied relations 
 of politics, by the common intereir. of com- 
 merce, by the wide intcrcourfe of curionty and 
 of literature, by umiiar ait;, and by congenial 
 manners. The channels by which theprevailing 
 fentiments of France rnav cater into the other 
 nations of Europe, arc io obvious and lb nu- 
 merous, that it were unneceilary and tedious, 
 to detail them, but I may remar , as among 
 the molt confpicuous, a central iituation, a 
 predominating language, an authority almofc 
 levillairce in tlie ceremonial c: tae private ::i- 
 ei coin iC Oi liiC. i iiv lC L.nu man Oi-uci c^e^e^ 
 nmic facilitate toe c-iiiUiion o* rrcncli polities 
 among tee n- i ': : .-.ring nations, but it \\ III 
 bejuil'ly rcmaihud, tliat their ciiecl mull: in a 
 Great meaiure depend on the /lao/'/tv of tl 
 Revolution. The iepnrciuon <,f <vj fccfior- 
 ablc r:i'dt would iirencvtheu all the srovcni- 
 
 i 
 
 incuts ot Ivarcpe ; trie vuw ot a iplcnuai .:. - 
 
 ':/": would be the ("glial of iniiirrcclion to 
 
 Z j. their
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 their fubjecb. Any reafonings on the influ- 
 ence of the French Revolution may therefore 
 be fuppoied to be premature until its perma- 
 nence be afcertained. Of that permanence 
 my conviction is firm, but I am feniible that 
 in the field of political prediction, where ve- 
 teran fagacity* has fo often been deceived; it 
 becomes me to harbour with diftxuft, and to 
 propoie with diffidence a conviction influenced 
 by partial entnufiafm, and perhaps produced 
 by the inexperienced ardor of youth. The 
 moment at which I write is peculiarly critical 
 (Auguft 25th, 1 79 1 .) The invafion of France 
 is now ipoken of as immediate by the exiles 
 and their partizans ; and the confederacy of 
 
 * Witncfs the memorable example of Harrington, 
 who published a demonftration of the impoilibility of re- 
 eftablifhing monarchy in EnglandyZv month* before the rc- 
 itoratlwii of Charles II. Religious prophecies have ufu- 
 ally tire ineftimable convenience of relating to a diftant fu- 
 turity. 
 
 defpot^
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 defpots* Is announced with new confidence ; 
 but notwithstanding thefe threats, I retain 
 my doubts whether the jarring interefts of the 
 European courts will permit this alliance to 
 have much energy or cordiality; and whether 
 the cautious prudence of defpots will fend 
 their military flaves to a fchool of freedom in 
 France; but if there be doubts about the like- 
 lihood of the enterprize being undertaken, 
 there can be few about the probability of its 
 event. Hiftory celebrates many conquefts of 
 obfeure tribes, whofe valor was animated by 
 cnthufiafm, but fhe records no example where 
 
 * The malignant hoftility difplayedagainft French free- 
 dom by a perfidious Prince, who occupies and dishonors 
 the throne of Gust avus Vasa, cannot excite our wonder, 
 though it may provoke our indignation. The Perjloncr 
 of French deipotifm could not rejoice in its deft ruction, 
 nor could a monarch, whole hoafied talents have hitherto 
 been confined to perjury and ufurpation, fail to he wounded 
 bv the eftablifhmeiit of freedom ; tor freedom demands sre- 
 nhis, not intrigue ; wifdom, not cunning. 
 
 foreign
 
 ( 3<S* ) 
 
 foreign force has fubjugated a powerful and 
 gallant people, governed by the moil impe- 
 rious paliion* that can fway the human 
 breafr. Whatever wonders fanaticifm has per- 
 formed, may be again effected by a paflion as 
 
 * May I be permitted to irate how the anceftors of a na- 
 tion now ftigmatized for fervility, felt this powerful fenti- 
 ment. The Scottifli nobles, contending for their liberty un- 
 der Robert Bruce, thus fpoke to the Pone, " Nonpugna- 
 *' ynus propter dtvitias honorcs, ant dignltates fed propter Li- 
 " BERTATEM iantummodo qiiam nemo bonus riifi ' Jimul cum 
 " vita amitth /" iN or was this fentiment confined to the 
 /^agnates, for the fame letter declares the afTent of the 
 Commons: li Totaque Communitas Recxi Sco- 
 " ti.-e ; " Reflecting on the various fortunes of my coun- 
 try, 1 cannot exclude from my mind the comparifon 
 between its prefent reputation and our ancient character 
 " icrrarum ci libcriaih extremes" nor can I forget the ho- 
 norable reproach againf: the Sccttifn name in the character 
 ofBuciiANAN' by Thuanus, who remarks of that illuftri- 
 ous fcholar " Lilert.itccLXTi inn' ATA in regiumfajllgiitm 
 v ' ace-hlzr" This melancholy retrofpeci is however relieved 
 by the hope that a gallant and enlightened people will not 
 be :: w in renewing the ara of fuch reproaches. 
 
 ardent,
 
 ( 363 ) 
 
 ardent, though not fo tranftory, becaufe it is 
 functioned by virtue and reaibn. To animate 
 patriotifm, to iilcnce tumult, to baniih divi- 
 
 iion, would be the only effects of an invafion 
 . he prefcr.t ftate cf France. A people aban- 
 doned to its own inconstancy, have often 
 courted the voice which thev had thrown off; 
 but to oppofe foreign hofiility to the cnthu- 
 fiafm cr a nation, can enly have the effect 
 of adding to it ardor, and confrancy, and 
 force. Thefe and fmilar views mud offer 
 themfelves to the European cabinets, but 
 perhaps they perceive themfelves to be placed 
 in io peculiar a fituation, that exertion and in- 
 activity are equally perilous. If they fail in 
 the attempt to cvuih the infant liberty of 
 France, the ineffectual effort ivill recoil on 
 their own Government-, and haiten their de- 
 ftruclion. If they tamely fuffer a fchool* of 
 
 freedom 
 
 The moil important ma!xrhi!s for the phil ' ?phy or 
 .ory arc collected horn rc.narl.s 0:1 the ccbu .',.'. cA the 
 
 kluations
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 freedom to be founded in the centre of Europe, 
 they mud fb'eiee the hofts of difciples that 
 are to IiTuc irom it for the iubverfion of their 
 defpotifm. 
 
 They cannot be blind to a fpecies of danger 
 which the hiflory of Europe reveals to them 
 in legible characters. They fee, indeed, that 
 the negociations, the wars, and the revolu- 
 tions of vulgar policy, pafs away without 
 leaving behind them any veftige of their tran- 
 
 fituations and fentiments of din-ant periods, and it may be 
 curious as well as inftrucYive, to prefent to the Reader the 
 topics by whic'i the Calonnes of Charles I. were in- 
 fr.rucr.ed, to awaken the jealoufy and folicit the aid of the 
 European Courts. Ci A dangerous combination of his Ma- 
 " jefty's fubjecls have laid a defign to diflblve the Monarchy 
 " and frame of Government becoming a dangerous prece- 
 " dent to all the Monarchies of Chriilendom, if attended 
 il with fuccefs in tlieir defign." 
 
 King Charles, Ps Injlruftions to his Minifter in Den- 
 viarkyin Ludlow's Memoirs, vol. Hi. p. 257. 
 
 fitorv
 
 ( 365 ) 
 
 iitory and ignominious operation. But they 
 mult remark, that befides this monotonous vil- 
 lainy, there are caies in which Europe, actu- 
 ated by a common paffion, has appeared as one 
 nation. When a fociety of nations are io 
 clofely united as to referable the union of the 
 provinces of a State, the propagation of fen- 
 timent is indeed inevitable, and the European 
 annals already afford fufflcient evidence of its 
 effect. The religious pafiion animated and 
 guided the fpirit of chivalry Hence arofe the 
 Crufades. " A nerve was touched of exquifite 
 " feeling, and the fenfation vibrated to the 
 " heart of Europe*." In the fame manner 
 the Reformation gave rife to religious wars, 
 the duration of which exceeded a century and 
 a half. Both examples prove the cxiftence of 
 t\\?X fympatby, by the means of which a great 
 paffion, taking its rife in any conhderable State 
 of Europe, mull circulate through the whole 
 
 * Lxiboon, 
 
 Chriilian
 
 ( 366 ) 
 
 Christian Commonwealth. Illuiion is, how- 
 ever, tranfient, and truth is immortal. The 
 epidemical fanaticifm of former times was 
 fhort- lived, for it could only flourim in the 
 eclipfe of reafon. But the virtuous enthu- 
 iiafm of liberty, though it be like that fanati- 
 cifm contagious, it is not like it traniitory. 
 
 But befides the facility with which we have 
 feen a common paflion to be difFufed in Eu^ 
 rope, there are other circurnfbmces which en- 
 title us to expect, that the example of France 
 will have a mighty influence on the fubjects 
 cf defpotic Governments. The Gothic Go- 
 i 'cr um 'ents of Europe have lived their time, 
 Man, and for ever! is the fage exclamation of 
 Mr. Hume. Limits are no lefs rigoroufly pre- 
 ferred bv Nature to the as;e of Governments 
 than to that of individuals. Whether it be 
 owing to our flcklenefs or our vvifdom, to the 
 inflexibility or the imperfection of our inili- 
 tntions, or to the combined operation of thefc 
 
 various
 
 ( 3&7 ) 
 
 various caufes, certain it is, that the wide 
 furvey of hifrory discovers with as much clcar- 
 nefs, the growth, the decay, and the diflb- 
 lution of Governments, as the narrow view 
 of perfonal experience can remark the pro- 
 grefs and the death of individual man. The 
 heroic Governments of Greece yielded to a 
 body of jcgiflative republics. They were in 
 their turn (wallowed up by the conquefts of 
 Rome. That great empire itfelf, under the 
 fame forms, pafTed through various modes of 
 Government. The fir ft ufurpers concealed it 
 under a republican difguife ; their fuccefiors 
 threw off the mafic, arid avowed a military 
 dcipotiim. The empire expired in the ofren- 
 tatious feeblenefs of an Aiiatic monarchy*. 
 
 ' See this progrefs Hated bv the conclfe ph-icibphy of 
 Mon rzQL"iEU, and iilufirated bv the copious elonuence of 
 Gip.eon. r ] h - repuMX .;. O 1 ;:' o e.xencis from Augujlus 
 to .S:Lvr,7y. The militarv defpr^ifrn r :ov f. -;; to Die- 
 cL:'m". The A'.\:-z c Su'tarif 'p '-.:- Jiocletz...* to the 
 final extinction of the Roman name. 
 
 It
 
 C 3^3 ) 
 
 It was overthrown by favages, whofc rude In- 
 {litutions and barbarous manners have, until 
 our days, influenced Europe with a perma- 
 nence refufed to wifer and milder laws. But, 
 unlefs hiftorical analogy be altogether delufive, 
 the deceafc of the Gothic Governments cannot 
 be diftant. Their maturity is long pafr, and 
 fymptoms of their decrepitude are rapidly ac- 
 cumulating. Whether they are to be fuc* 
 ceeded by more beneficial or more injurious 
 Governments may be doubted, but that they 
 are about to perifh, we are authorized to fup* 
 pofe, from the ufual age to which the Go- 
 vernments recorded in hillory have arrived. 
 
 There are alfo other preemptions furnifhed 
 by hiftorical analogy, which favour the flip- 
 pofition that legijlativc Gcvc?-nments are about 
 to fuccced the rude ufurpations of Gothic 
 Europe. The commonwealths which in the 
 fixth and feventh centuries before the Chris- 
 tian sera were erected on the ruins of the he* 
 
 roth
 
 ( 369 ) 
 
 role monarchies of Greece, are perhaps the 
 only genuine example of Governments truly 
 legijlative recorded in hiftory. A clofe infpec- 
 tion will, perhaps, difcover fome coincidence 
 between the circumftance which formed 
 thefe Governments and thofe which now in- 
 fluence the ftate of Europe. The Pheniciah 
 and Egyptian colonies were not like Our colo- 
 nies in America, numerous enough to fubdue 
 or extirpate the native favages of Greece. 
 They were, however, fufficiently numerous 
 to infh uct and civilize them. From that alone 
 could their power be derived. To that there- 
 fore were their efforts directed. Imparting the 
 arts and the knowledge of polifhed nations to 
 rude tribes, they attracted, by avowed fupe- 
 riority of knowledge, a fubmiffion neceiTary 
 to the effect of their legiflation ; a fubmiffion 
 which impoftors acquire from fuperftition, and 
 conquerors derive from force. An age of le- 
 giflation fuppofes a great inequality of know- 
 ledge between the legiflators and thofe who 
 A a receive
 
 ( 37 ) 
 receive their inftitutions. The iVfiatic Colo- 
 nics, who firfl fcattered the feeds of refine- 
 ment, pofTefTed this Superiority over the Pe 
 lafglc hordes, and the legiflators who in fub- 
 fequent periods organized the Grecian com- 
 monwealths, acquired from their travels in 
 the poliftied States of the Eafl, that reputation 
 of fuperior knowledge, which enabled them 
 to dictate laws to their fellow-citizens. Let 
 ns then compare Egypt and Phenicia with 
 the enlightened part of Europe, feparated as 
 widely from the general mafs by the moral 
 difference of instruction, as thefe countries are 
 from Greece by the phyfical obftacles which 
 impeded a rude navigation. We muft difcern, 
 that when philofophers become legiflators, 
 they are colonics from an enlightened coun- 
 try reforming the institutions of rude tribes. 
 The prefent moment indeed refembles with 
 wonderful exaclnefs the legislative age of 
 Greece. The multitude have attained Stiffi- 
 cient knowledge to value the fuperiority of 
 
 enlightened
 
 ( 37 1 ) 
 
 enlightened men, and they retain a Sufficient 
 confcioufnefs of ignorance to preclude rebel- 
 lion againft their dictates. This is the precife 
 jftate in which the human mind is equally by 
 difcernment and deference prepared for legis- 
 lation. This is the prefent condition of Eu- 
 rope. Philofophers have long remained a di- 
 ftinct nation in the midfi of an unenlightened 
 multitude. It is only now that the conquefls 
 of the prcfs are enlarging the dominion of 
 reafon, as the veiTels of Cadmus and Cecrops 
 fpread the arts and the wifdom of the Eall: 
 amons; the Pelafeic barbarians*. 
 
 * The fubjed of this argument merits a more ample il* 
 luftration. Profound and ingenious philofophers have even, 
 quefhoned the exiftence of Grecian Legislation. No com- 
 petent judge will refufe thefe epithets to Professor Mil- 
 lar. But this important fubjeft, and more efpecially the 
 fimilarity between the kgiflative age of Greece and the pre- 
 fent condition of Europe, I referve for a more undifturbed 
 kifure ; for a reflection and refearch which may enable mc 
 to reafon with more force, and entitle me to decide with 
 more confidence. 
 
 A a % Thefe
 
 J/- J 
 
 Thefe general caufes, the unity of the Eu- 
 ropean Commonwealth, the decrepitude on 
 which its fortuitous governments are verging, 
 and the fimilarity between our age and the 
 only recorded period when the afcendant of 
 philofophy dictated laws, entitle us to hope 
 that freedom and reafon will be rapidly pro- 
 pagated from their foil re e in France. But 
 there are not wanting fymptoms of their 
 probable progrefs, which juftify the fpecu- 
 lation. The fir ft lymptoms which indicate 
 the approach of a contagious difeafe are the 
 precautions adopted againft it. The flrft marks 
 of the probable progrefs of French principles 
 are the alarms betrayed by deipots. The Courts 
 of Europe feem to look on France, and to ex- 
 claim in their defpair - 
 
 H'mc Populum late Regem bclloque fuperbum 
 \ ertfurum excidio Libyce 
 
 The Courts of Europe have in Various 
 modes paid the homage of their fears to the 
 
 French
 
 ( 373 ) 
 French Revolution. The King of Spain al- 
 ready ieems to tremble for his throne, though 
 it be erected on fo firm a bafis of general ig- 
 norance and triumphant prieftcraft. By ths 
 expuliion of foreigners, and by fubje cling the 
 entrance of travellers to fuch multiplied re- 
 lfraints, he feeks the prefervation of his def- 
 potifm in a vain attempt to convert his king- 
 dom into a Ba/lile, and to banifh his fubjects 
 from the European Commonwealth. The 
 Chinefe Government has indeed thus main- 
 tained its permanency, but it is infulated by 
 nature more effectually than by policy. Let 
 the Court of Madrid recall her AmbafTadors, 
 fhut up her ports, abandon her commerce, 
 lever every tie that unites her to Europe ; the 
 effect of fuch mallow policy muft be that of 
 all ineffectual rigors (and all rigors fTiort of 
 extirpation are here ineffectual) to awaken re- 
 flection, to ifimulate enquiry, to aggravate 
 
 difcontent, and to provoke convuliion. 
 
 There are no longer Pyrenees, laid Louis XIV. 
 A a 3 on
 
 ( 374 ) 
 
 on the acceffton of his grand fori to the Spa- 
 nifh throne. There are no longer Pyrenees, 
 exclaim the alarmed ftatefmen of Aranjuez> 
 to protect our defpotifm from being confumed 
 by the Sun of Liberty. 
 
 The alarms of the Pope for the little rem- 
 nant of his authority naturally increafe with 
 the probability of the diffufion of French prin- 
 ciples. Even the mild and temperate Arifto- 
 cracies of Switzerland feem to apprehend the 
 arrival of that period, when men will not be 
 content to owe the benefits of Government to 
 the fortuitous character of their Governors, 
 but to the intrinfic excellence of its conftitu- 
 tion, Even the unfuccefsful flruggle of Liege, 
 and the Theocratic infurrection of Brabant, 
 have left behind them traces of a patriotic 
 party, whom a more favorable moment may 
 call into more fuccefsful action. The defpotic 
 Court of the Hague are betraying alarms that 
 the Dutch Republic may yet revive. The 
 
 Stadh
 
 ( 375 ) 
 
 Stadtholderlan Government, fupported only 
 by the terror of foreign arms, naturally dreads 
 the deftruc"tion of a Government odious and 
 intolerable to an immenfe majority of the 
 people. 
 
 Every where then are thofe alarms dis- 
 cernible, which are the mod: evident Symp- 
 toms of the approaching downfall of the Eu- 
 ropean defpotifms. But the impreflion pro- 
 duced by the French Revolution in England, 
 in an enlightened country, which had long 
 boafted of its freedom, merits more particular 
 remark. Before the publication of Mr. Burke, 
 the public were not recovered from that afto- 
 niihment into which they are plunged by un- 
 exampled events, and the general opinion 
 could not have been collected with precifion. 
 But that performance divided the nation into 
 marked parties. It produced a controverfy, 
 which may be regarded as the trial of the 
 French Revolution before the enlightened and 
 A a 4 independent
 
 ( 37* ) 
 
 independent tribunal of the Englifh public.^ 
 What its decifion * has been, I (hall not pre* 
 iume to decide ; for it does not become an 
 advocate to announce the decision of the 
 Judge. But this I may be permitted to re- 
 mark, that the conduct of our enemies has 
 not refembied the ufual triumph of thofe who 
 have been victorious in the war of reafon. 
 Inftead of the triumphant calmnefs that h 
 
 '-' Thofe who doubt the fervice done bv Mr. Burke to 
 bis caufe may be pkafed with this pafTage of Milton. 
 ** Magnam a rcgibus iniifTe te gratiam omnes principes et 
 ferrarum Dominos demeruifle Defenfrone hac reeia te forts 
 puta? Salmr.fi ; cum i Hi n bona fua remquc foam ex veri- 
 tute potius qua.n ex adulationibus tuifvelfcnt csltimare riemi- 
 neai te pejus, odiffe, neminem a fe ]ongius abigere, atque 
 arcere debeant. Dura enim regiam poteftatem in immen- 
 fum rxtollas aumenes cadem opera omnes fere populos fer- 
 vitut'.s "iuse nee opinatae ; eoque vehementius impellis ut 
 . cternum ilium quo fe ejfc liber os. ihanttcr fomhlabant repeats 
 f.xcutiant." 
 
 Milton, Jjef. Pop. Anglic, apud opera, torn. u. p, 266. 
 Fj.Lond. 1738. 
 
 ever
 
 C 377 ) 
 
 ever infpired by confeious fuperiority, they 
 have betrayed the bitternefs of defeat, and the 
 ferocity of refentment, which is peculiar to 
 the black revenge of detected impoilure, 
 Prieftcraft and Toryifm were fupported only 
 by literary advocates of the mofl miferable de- 
 icription*. But they were abundantly fup- 
 ported by auxiliaries of another kind. Of the 
 two great clafTes of enemies to political re- 
 form the interested and the prejudiced 
 the activity of the firft ufually fupplies 
 what may be wanting in the talents of the 
 laft*)-. Judges forgot the dignity of their 
 
 * A Doctgp. Cooper, or a Doctor Tatham, can- 
 not be fo infatuated as to dream, that even their academical 
 titles can procure them the perufal, not to mention the re- 
 futation of men of fenie. The infolence of the latter pedant 
 had, indeed, nearlv obtained him the honor of a caftigation, 
 which would have made him for ever fick of political con- 
 rroverfv ! 
 
 f- Both are admirably delineated by Hei.vetius. 
 
 tc Entre ceux-ci il en eft qui, naturellement portes a 
 c ' vrai, ne font ennemis des veritcs nouvelles, que parce 
 
 " qu'ik
 
 ( 377 ) 
 
 function, Priefts the mildnefs of their reli- 
 gion ; the Bench, which mould have fpoken 
 with the ferene temper of juilice ; the Pulpit, 
 whence only fhould have iffued the healing 
 founds of charity, were proftituted to party 
 purpofes, and polluted with invective againft 
 freedom. The churches refounded with lan- 
 guage at which Laud would have fhuddered, 
 and Sacbeverell would have blufhed ; the mofl: 
 
 " qu'ils font parefTeux, et qu'ils voudroient fe fouftraire a 
 ** la fatigue d'attention neceffa ire pour les examiner. 
 
 " II en eft d'autres qu'animent des motifs dangereux & 
 *' ceux-ci font plus a craindre : ce font des homines dont 
 " l'efprit eft depourvu de talents &c Fame de vei tus : incapa- 
 " bles dc vues elevees et neuves, ces dernierscroientque leur 
 * c conilderation tient au refpecl imbecille ou feint qu'ils 
 *' afneheni pour toutes les opinions & les erreurs recues : 
 " furieux contre touthomme qui vcut en ebranler l'Empire, 
 " ils ARMENT contre lui les pajfions & les prejuges memes 
 "qu'ils meprisent & ne cefTent d'efFaroucher les foible* 
 " efprits par le mot de nouyeaute 7" 
 
 The laft paflhge muft be explained byfome Warwjck- 
 shire Commentator ! 
 
 profane
 
 ( 373 ) 
 
 profane companions between the duty to the 
 Divinity and to Kings, were unblufhingly 
 pronounced ; flattery to Minifters was mixed 
 with the folemnities of religion, by the fer- 
 vants, and in the temple of God. Thefe pro* 
 fligate proceedings were not limited to a {ingle 
 fpot. They were general over England, In 
 many churches the French Revolution was 
 exprejjly named! In a majority it was the con- 
 ftant theme of invective for many weeks be- 
 fore its intended celebration. Yet thefe are 
 the f peaceful paftors, who io fincerely and 
 meekly deprecate political fermons* ! 
 
 * Thefe are no vague aceufations. A fenmn vvai 
 preached in a parifh church in Afiddlrfex on the 3nniveifaiy 
 of the reftoration of Charles U. in which eternal pu- 
 nishment was denounced againft political disaffec- 
 tion ! Perfonsfor whofe difcernment and veracity I can be 
 refponfible. were among the indignant auditors of this in- 
 fernal homily. 
 
 Nor
 
 ( 57* ) 
 
 Nor was this fufficient. The groffhefs of 
 the popular mind, on which political invec- 
 tive made but a faint impreffion, was to, be 
 roufed into action by religious fanaticifm, the 
 moft intractable and domineering of all de- 
 fr.rucl.ive paflions. A clamor which had for 
 half a century lain dormant was revived. Xhe 
 Church was in danger I The fpirit of perfe-* 
 cution againft an unpopular feci: was artfully 
 excited, and the friends of freedom, whom it 
 might be odious and dangerous profefTedly to 
 attack, were to be overwhelmed as Diffenters. 
 That the majority of the advocates for the 
 French Revolution were not (6, was, indeed, 
 fufEciently known to their enemies. They 
 were well known to be philofophers and friends 
 of humanly , who were fuperior to the creed 
 of any feci, and indifferent to the dogmas of 
 any popular faith. But it fuited the purpofe of 
 their profligate adverfaries to confound them 
 w:rh Diffenters. and to animate againft them 
 
 the
 
 ( 379 ) 
 
 the fury of prejudices which they themfelves 
 defpifed. 
 
 The diffufion of thefe invectives produced 
 thole obvious and inevitable effects, which it 
 may require fomething more than candor to 
 fuppofe not forefeen and defired. A banditti, 
 who had been previoufly ftimulated, as they 
 have fince been excufed and panegyrized by 
 incendiary libellifts, wreaked their vengeance 
 on a Philosopher, illuftrious by his talents 
 and his writings, venerable for the fpotlefs 
 purity of his life, and amiable for the unof- 
 fending fimplicity of his manners. The ex- 
 ceffes of this mob of churchmen and hyalifls 
 are to be poorly expiated by the few mifguid- 
 ed victims who are facriHced to the ven- 
 geance of the law. 
 
 We are, however, only concerned in thefe 
 facts, as they are evidence from our enemies of 
 
 the
 
 ( 3* ) 
 
 the probable progrefs of freedom. The pio- 
 bability of that progrefs they all confpire to 
 prove. The briefs of the Pope, and the 
 pamphlets of Mr. Burke*, the edicts of the 
 
 * The only thing that I recolleft to have the air of argu- 
 ment in the two laji pamphlets of Mr. Burke is, the rea- 
 foning againft the right of a majority to change a Govern- 
 ment. Whatever be the plaufibility or dexterity of this 
 reafoning, its originality will be beft eftimated by the follow- 
 ing paflage of a profane philosopher ! 
 
 *' The controverfies that arife concerning the rights 
 " of the people proceed from the equivocation of the 
 " word. The word people has two fignifications. In one 
 " fenfe it fignifieth a number of men diftinguifhed only by 
 " the place of their habituation, as the people of England, 
 '* or the people of France, which is no more than the mul- 
 4C titudc of thofe particular perfons inhabiting thefe regions, 
 " without confideration of any covenants or contracts be* 
 " tween them. In another fenfe it fignifieth aperfon civil, 
 ** either one manor one council, in the will whereof is 
 " included and involved the will of every individual. Such 
 " as do not diftinguifh between thefe twofenfes do ufually 
 ' attribute fuch rights to a dijjolved multitude as belong 
 * only to the people virtually contained in the body of the 
 *' Commonwealth or Sovereignty." 
 Sec Hobbes' 77;/>5j,p. 170, et fecj. edit. i2mo. Lond. 1684.
 
 ( 38i ) 
 
 Spanifh Court, and the mandates of the Spa- 
 nish inquifition, the Birmingham rioters, and 
 the Oxford graduates, equally render to Li- 
 berty the involuntary homage of their alarm. 
 
 FINIS.
 
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