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 AMONG OTHER CELEBRATED NAMES, 
 
 THOSE OF TH E 
 
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 AND T H B 
 
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 1790. 
 
 i Cnmtti at .;fttationcr?".K^on. J
 
 K 
 ho 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 X HE Importance of Hiftory^ as 
 an objed: of ftudious Attention, has 
 been fo frequently and forcibly 
 illuftrated by able Pens, that addu- 
 cing other Arguments, or placing 
 the fame in a different point of view, 
 would be fuperfluous and unnecef- 
 fary ; when employed to elucidate 
 Public Concerns, and record the 
 Affairs of Nations, it may be emi- 
 nently ufeful to the Statefman and 
 Philofopher ; but certainly does not 
 A 3 come 
 
 A 6''\iTf\ir^r^r*
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 come fo immediately home to the con- 
 cerns and feelings of Mankind, as > 
 that particular Branch of it which 
 develops the fources of indivi- 
 dual A£lion, and traces the foot- 
 fleps of eminent Characters through 
 all the varied gradations from Ob- 
 fcurity to Fame. 
 
 Almofl infinite are the /advan- 
 tages of Biography; but here, too, 
 we have been anticipated by "John- 
 son," who Enumerates them with 
 equal force, perfpicuity and truth : 
 It aroufes to Emulation, by fhewing 
 the Rewards attendant upon appli' 
 cation and Genius, and holding 
 
 up
 
 PREFACE- 
 
 up to View the moft fplendid and 
 attradive Examples, and at the 
 fame time furniflies the means 
 of Fuccefs, by putting us in pof- 
 feflion of the Experience of for* 
 mer Candidates, thereby fmooth- 
 ing the path to the favoured Goal. 
 In other language. Biography un- 
 folds the motives and fources of 
 Human Condud, and difplays the 
 minute and hidden Springs that fet 
 the Machine in A£lion, and trace 
 every Movement at all calculated to 
 produce an Effed. 
 
 Modern
 
 Vi PREFACE, 
 
 Modern Biography mufl, of 
 neceflity, be peculiarly interefting ; 
 it is natural to feel more delight in 
 perufing the Lives of thofe who are 
 eminent in our own Days, and who 
 ' are Objects of Diftinftion in the 
 Circle in which we ourjelves movey 
 than we can poflibly receive from 
 the recorded Exploits of thofe of 
 remoter Ages, who have neither by 
 Age, Country, or Connexion, any 
 Claim upon our AfFeclions ; and of 
 all the variety of Characters that 
 engage the attention of the Hijlo- 
 rian, not any are more interefting 
 
 or
 
 PREFACE. Vii 
 
 or ufeful than thofe of Statesmen, 
 and Lawyers. 
 
 Thefe are only very imperfeSi Sketches 
 of great Originals^ for which the 
 Writer Is fenfible of (landing much 
 in need of an Apology ; but which, 
 he trufts, the Reader will rea- 
 dily afford him, when he confiders 
 the Novelty and Difficulty of the 
 Talk he has undertaken. Every 
 Man is anxious to know fomething 
 of thofe great Characters who pre- 
 lide, and are eminently diftinguifhed 
 by their Eloquence and Wifdom in 
 our Courts j but the impediments 
 
 in
 
 Viil IP R E F A C E. 
 
 in the way of collecting this kind 
 of information, with any degree of 
 authenticity, are great, and in many 
 inftances, infuperable ; and, there is 
 great delicacy required in accompa- 
 nying ajcertained faSiSy with the ob- 
 fervations they offer in reafoning up- 
 on them. 
 
 The Author of thefe fheets has 
 collefted what information he gives 
 the Public with great care and dili- 
 ^ gence, and, he hopes, drawn his in- 
 ferences with the Pencil of Truth 
 and Candour : He has freely avail- 
 ed himfelf of all Cotemporary 
 
 Periodical •*-4-,
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 Periodical Publications that could 
 throw any light upon his Subject^ 
 but where he has borrowed, has ge- 
 nerally, he believes, acknowledged 
 the obligation. 
 
 London, June 22, 
 1790.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 ^he Right Honourable Edward Lord 
 
 ThurloWy Lord High Chancellor^ 
 
 &c I 
 
 The Right Honourable the Earl of 
 
 Mansjieldy 29 
 
 The Right Honourable the Earl of 
 Camden y Lord Prejident of the 
 Council, , 59 
 
 The
 
 Xli CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 the Right Honourable the Earl of 
 
 Bathurfty '73 
 
 ^he Honourable Sir Richard Pepper 
 
 Arden, Majler of the Rolls, 83 
 
 ^he Right Honourable Loyd Kenyon^ 
 Lord Chief Jujiice of the Court 
 of King* s Bench, 93 
 
 ^he Honourable Sir Francis Buller, 
 Bart, one of the fudges of the 
 Court of King* s Bench, 103 
 
 ne Honourable Sir Najh Grofe, Kt. 
 one of the fudges of the Court of 
 King* s Bench, 113 
 
 The
 
 CONTENTS, Xlil 
 
 Page. 
 T!he Honourable Sir William Henry 
 
 AJhurJly one of the yudges of the 
 
 Court of King's Bench, 119 
 
 The Right Honourable Alexander Lord 
 Lough borough y Chief fujlice of 
 the Court of Common Fleas, ..... 129 
 
 The Honourable Sir Henry Gouldy Kt. 
 one of the fudges of the Court of 
 Common PleaSy 139 
 
 The Honourable Sir John Heathy Kt, 
 one of the fudges of the Court of 
 
 Common Pleas, 14? 
 
 The
 
 XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 the Honourable Sir John Wilfon^ Kt. 
 one of the Judges of the Court of 
 Common PleaSy 153 
 
 ne Honourable Sir James Eyre^ Kt, 
 Lord Chief Baron of the Court 
 of Exchequer, ., 161 
 
 *The Honourable Sir Beaumont Hot ham, 
 Kt. one of the Barons of the 
 C'ourt of Exchequer, .,,, 169 
 
 The Honourable Sir Richard Perryn, 
 Kt. one of the Barons of the 
 Court of Exchequer, 175 
 
 rhe
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Pags. 
 
 ^be Honourable Sir Alexander Thomp^ 
 Jon, Kt. one of the Barons of the 
 Court of Exchequer i8i 
 
 ^he Honourable Sir Archibald Macdo* 
 , nald, Kt, Attorney General^ 
 
 &c 189 
 
 The Honourable Sir yohn Scott, Kt. 
 
 Solicitor General, 197 
 
 Mr, Anflruthery 215 
 
 Chara^er of an Honejl Lawyer, 225
 
 (SBS 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 BDWARD LORD THURLOTT, 
 
 LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR, £^c 
 
 TETRUM, AKTE OMNIA VULTum! 
 
 MONSTRUM, HORRENDUM, INFORME, INCENS !— « 
 
 -Lord Thurlow flands avowedly high 
 in public eftimationand inprofeirionalrank; 
 but as thefe (ketches profefs impartiality 
 and independence for their leading features, 
 we beg leave to be confidered as giving our 
 own opinion, rather than as echoing the 
 
 public voice.* 
 
 Edward 
 
 * Lord Thur low's political charaBer is little known, 
 though his political conduil (fays one of his Biographers) is 
 notorious. There is not a man in England, of any party, 
 lize of underftanding, or political complexion, whofe bufi- 
 nefs, views, or amufemcnts, have led him to fpeculatlons 
 of this kind, that is not firmly perfuaded, and fatisfaftorily 
 3<iformcd, of the fteadinefs, uniformity, and inflexibility 
 
 ©f 
 
 B
 
 ( o 
 
 Edward Thurlow is faid to have de- 
 rived his defcent from the famous Secretary 
 of that name to Oliver Cromwell. 
 His father wa^ an obfcu re Clergyman, pof- 
 feffed of an inconfiderable living at AJh^ 
 fold, in Suffolk. It is a faying of him up- 
 on record, that he could give his children^ 
 nothing more than education, and that Ned 
 would fght his way in the world. This 
 fortunate fon, however, difcovered no very 
 early proofs of diftinguilhed genius, but 
 pofTeffed, even in infancy, the affumed 
 manners of the man, and was haughty, 
 prefumingy churlijk, and overbearing^ At 
 the ufual period, he was admitted of Peter ^ 
 
 houfe, 
 
 of the over-ruling principle that direfts his conduft. 
 Though Earth, Hell, and Heaven were to club their influ- 
 ence, and unite in threatening him with worldly difgrace, 
 future panifhment, and eternal reprobation, they muft 
 carry their threats into aftual execution before they could 
 intimidate him from purfuing the great principle of his 
 nature. 
 
 Si fraBus illabatur orhis 
 
 Impa'vidum ferient ruina. 
 
 Review of Political Chara\9;crs, 8vo.— 1777-
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 Ijoufcy Cambridge, where the hopes entef- 
 tained of his future prdgfefs in hfe Were 
 far from being fanguine : his general de- 
 portment was rude and boiflerous, little 
 calculated (fays one of his Biographers) to 
 conciliate the refped: of the world, and ap- 
 parently without any wifh to obtain it. 
 The early part of his life was marked with 
 many irregularities, exceeding even the 
 bounds of the moil diffipated of the day : 
 his difficulties were of courfe, great, and he 
 is remembered to have extricated himfelf 
 with great addrefs and wonderful confi- 
 dence. His natural powers were always 
 viewed with refpedt, to which indeed they 
 were intitled.* Devoted to a life of pleafure 
 
 and 
 
 * The following account of his Lordlhip was tranfmitted 
 by a very learned and refpeftable Member of the Church, 
 who Is intimately informed of his Lordlhip's charafler, 
 family, and early incidents of life, and one of his moft 
 zealous advocates and admirers : 
 
 *' His fuperiority of abilities (fays he) was difcovered 
 *' very early, both at fchool and college ; they extorted 
 ** fubmiflion from his equals, and imprefled his feaiors 
 
 " witji 
 B 2
 
 ( 4 > 
 
 and diflipation, report has imputed to him 
 not only a contempt of literature, but al- 
 
 moll 
 
 f' with awe. — The following anecdote is told of him : 
 <« Having been abfent from chapel, or committed fome 
 *' other offence which came under the cognizance of the 
 " Dean of the college, the Dean, who, though a man of 
 <* wit, was not remarkable for his learning, fetTnuR- 
 *' LOW, as a puniftiment, a paper in the Speftator to 
 " tranflate into Greek. This he performed extremely 
 *^ well, and in very little time ; but, inftead of carrying 
 " it up to the Dean, as he ought to have done, he 
 *' carried it to the Tutor, who was a good fcholar, and 
 *' a very refpe£l:able charafter. At this the Dean was ex- 
 *' ceedingly wroth, and complained to the Fellows of the 
 ** infult, and infifted that Mr. Thurlow fliouldbe conr 
 ** vened before the Mailers and Fellows, and receive a 
 •' fevere reprimand. They were convened accordingly, 
 ** and the Mailer of the college accofed him of the infult 
 *' above Hated ; to which Thurlow coolly replied. That 
 ** what he had done proceeded not from difrefped to the 
 ** Dean, but merely from motives of pity, an unwillingnefs 
 '* to puzzle him. The irritated Dean ordered him imme- 
 ** diately out of the room, and then Infilled that the Mailers 
 ♦* and Fellows ought Immediately to expel or ruflicatehim. 
 '* This requefl was nearly complied with, when two of the 
 " Fellows, wifer than the reft, obferved, that expelling or 
 *' rufHcatlng a young man for fuch an offence, would per- 
 *' haps do much injury to the college, and expofe it to 
 " ridi«uk j and, th*it as he would foon quit the college of his 
 
 *' ©wn
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 tnofl a total negled: of it, at leaft a degree 
 of indolence in the purfuit, inconfiilent 
 with the attainments of even neceffary 
 knowledge ; but common fame has in this 
 inftance added nothing to her reputation 
 for veracity : his Lordfhip is an admirable 
 claffical fcholar, and attained his know- 
 ledge by the only means knowledge is ac- 
 ceilible — ftudy and application. He dif- 
 fered from others only in the mode of ac- 
 quiring it. He who was every where feen 
 the pidlure of indolence, lolling on the 
 
 noon- 
 
 *' own accord to attend the Temple, It would be better to 
 *' let the matter reft, than irritate him by fuch fevere 
 ** mcafures ; which advice was at length adopted. — One 
 " of the gen' lemen who recommended lenient meafures, 
 " was the prefent njafter, for whom Lord Thurlow has 
 *' procured the Chancellorfhip of the diocefs of Lincoln." 
 
 As a proof of the confctoufnefs ■<fi\\\zt\. the Chancellor. 
 felt of his abilities, long before he was called to the bar, 
 he often declared to his friends, that he would one day be 
 Chancellor of England, and that the tide he would 
 take for his Peerage would be Lord Thurlow of Thur' 
 
 Thurlow
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 noon-day bench, and confidered, almofl: as 
 the Jixture of a cofFee-houfe in the day, 
 regularly retired to the moil intenfe ap^ 
 plication at night. 
 
 tt — __, — His learned toU 
 
 " O'er Books confum'd the midnight oil.'* 
 
 From Cambridge he removed to the Inner 
 temple y where the fame apparent indolence 
 of temper and difpolltion marked his condud;. 
 
 He attended the Bar feveral years unno- 
 ticed and unknown.* The firil caufe in 
 
 which 
 
 Thurlow is the name of a parilh in SufFolk, adjoin- 
 ing Aflifield, which he at that time determined to purchafe. 
 It happened, however, that he had not completed the pur- 
 chafe at the time the Seal was put to his Peerage. 
 
 • When Praftice waited net at Mr. Th up. low's door, 
 but was to ht/olloiued rather as a patron than treated as a 
 client. — When, as a provifion for inftant need, he was 
 compelled to feek the fortuitous fee that a Country Circuit 
 fhould charitably offer, he was often fo improvident as to 
 be caught without the ipeans to place his wants in the di- 
 reft road of probable relief; — for he has, at fuch times, been 
 bereft even of a fufficiency to defray the neceflary expell- 
 ees of the firft ftage ! In thefe dilemmas (if we may credit 
 report), he has had recourfe to expediencies, that a fruit- 
 ful imagination is feldom at a lofs for — expediencies, how- 
 ever, that ofcener do honour to the keadihzn to the char&^er 
 
 Of
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 which he is faid to have diflinguifhed him- 
 felf, was that between Luke Robinson 
 and Lord Winchelsea, which at once 
 gave him reputation and bufinefs. He 
 was foon after pitched upon as managing 
 counfel in the great Douglas Caufe, in 
 which he difcovered ability and addrefs. 
 It was always his aim in practice, to give 
 his oratorical productions more the air of 
 genius than induftry, and they often car- 
 ried the appearance oifpontaneous effufion, 
 although the effort of much pre-meditation 
 and previous labour. Vanity is the ruling 
 paflion of humankind, and we all wifh to 
 
 go 
 
 cf the matter. At one time, when every common fcheme 
 had failed him, he is faid to have liberated himfelf 
 from an awkward embarraflment in a very bold manner. 
 He fent for a ftable-keeper, and requefted a horfe of him on 
 trial, and after a certain allowed proof, if he liked the 
 heaftt he agreed to give for him a ftipulated fum. We be- 
 lieve that our readers are already acquainted with the fe- 
 quel of this bargain. The horfe, to be fure, was difco- 
 rered to be lame, blind, broken-winded, &c. and the man 
 confequently abufed for fitting a Gentleman on fo dcfpi-. 
 cable and dangerous an animal. 
 
 B4
 
 (8 ). 
 
 go forward rather by the impulfe of the 
 wind than the labour of the oar, although 
 attainments by the means of induflry are 
 certainly as honourable, and generally more 
 fuccefsful. 
 
 The morality of a character,* thefe irn- 
 perfecfl iketches profefs no purpofe to de- 
 lineate. — . 
 
 * We are proud of the relation of every good adion, and 
 the following certainly ought not to be omitted : 
 
 The late celebrated Dodor John/on applied by means of 
 the Chancellor to a great Perfonage for an addition of 200I. 
 to his penfjcn of 300I. for one year only, TheDoftor 
 was perfuaded for the eftablifhing, or rather recovery of 
 his health, to vifit the Continent, and this additional fum 
 would enable him to travel with eafe and convenience. 
 The petition was refufed; but the Chancellor, when he ac- 
 quainted the Doflor with the event of his application, told 
 him that he was at full liberty to drav/ on his banker for 
 500I. The following is a Copy of the Doftor's Letter tQ 
 the Chancellor, on his Lordlhip's liberal offer to him ; 
 
 To the Right Honourable Lord Thurlow. 
 
 After a long and not inattentive obfervation of man- 
 kind, the gcneroiity of your Lordlhip's offer raifes in me 
 not lefs wonder than gratitude. Bounty fo liberally bef- 
 
 towed
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 lineate. — The immorality chiefly, wc be- 
 lieve, imputed to the Chancellor, is too 
 frequent a facrifice to the Cyprian God- 
 defs, and thefe arc crimes, which in mercy 
 to mankind, we hope are venial. It is to 
 
 be 
 
 towed I fhould gladly receive, if my condition made it 
 neceffary — for to fuch a mind who would not be proud to 
 own his obligation ? But it has pleafed God to reftore me 
 to fo great a meafure of health, that if I fhould now ap- 
 propriate fo much of a fortune deftined to do good, I 
 could not efcape, from myfelf, the charge of advancing a 
 falfe claim. My journey to the Continent, though I once 
 thought it neceffary, was never much encouraged by my 
 phyficians, and I was very defirous that your Lordftiip 
 fhould be told of it by Sir Joshua Reynolds, as an 
 event very uncertain ; for if I grew much better, I fliould 
 not be ^-illing, if much worfe, I fhould not be able, to 
 ^ligrate. Your Lordfhip was firfl folicited without my 
 knowledge ; but when I was told that you was pkafed to 
 honour me with your patronage, I did not exped to hear 
 pf a refufal ; — yet as I have had no long time to brood 
 hope, and have not refled on imaginary opulence, this cold- 
 reception has been fcarce a difappointment ; and fron) 
 your LoMfhip's kindnefs, I have received a benefit which 
 Only men like you are able to b'-ftow. I fhall now, live 
 Tnihi carior, with a higher opinion of my own merit. 
 I am, my Lord, your Lordfhip's mofl obliged, 
 
 Mpft grateful, and mofl humble Servant, 
 Sept, 1784. Samuel Johnson.
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
 be remembered too, tbat tales of fcandal 
 are ever propagated with malignity pro- 
 portionate to the elevation of the character 
 traduced. 
 
 His arrival at profeflional honours was 
 lirfl announced in 1762, when he was ap- 
 pointed King's Counfely thus emerging at 
 once from legal obfcurity, his abilities 
 being fo little known as a Barrifler, that 
 the appointment excited univerfal aftonifh- 
 ment. Impelled by the moflrefiftlefs ardour, 
 he rufhed intrepidly, and almoft immedi- 
 ately, to the fummit of legal fame; for in the 
 year 1770, we find him advanced under 
 the patronage of the Houfe of Bedford 
 to the poft of Solicitor General, on the re- 
 lignation of Mr. Dunning -, and fucceed^ 
 ing Sir William de Grey as Attorney 
 General in 1 77 1 . 
 
 He was twice elected into Parliament 
 for the Borough of Stafford, 
 
 This
 
 ( .1 ) 
 
 This is the proper place to review his 
 Lordfhip's pretenfions to the rank he holds 
 as a firft-rate Orator and Lawyer, 
 
 He was a powerful and uniform fupport- 
 er of the meafures of Government.* It 
 cannot be denied but he poffelTes ftrong na- 
 tural talents, and quicknefs of apprehen- 
 fion : — His eloquence partakes of his cha- 
 rader; it is bold, explicit, decifive, and in- 
 flexible r 
 
 * Without the graces of elocution, a chofen arrange- 
 pient of words, harmony of voice, ordiverfity of cadence, 
 there is an expreffion of countenance denoting a convidlion 
 of truth, a manner of prefling his arguments, feemingly 
 arifing from the fame fource, accompanied by a certain 
 energy of expreffion which, united, render him moft for- 
 midable and powerful in the line of parliamentary perfua- 
 fion. He often fubftitutes fophiftry for argument, and af- 
 fertion for fa£t ; and in the blipd heat of debate, where 
 the attack and defence is fudden and unforefeen ; where 
 majorities are to be foothed, hurried, mifled, or fumiftied 
 with plaufible apologies for voting agalnft conviftion : 
 where it is the bufinefs of an advocate to conceal, exagge- 
 rate, or explain away ; where the Speaker, from his parti- 
 cular iituation, is far removed from refponfibility ; where 
 few are capable of judging, fewer of detedling, and where 
 the detedlion would be the work of more days than the 
 |i^Oi(ie of parliamentary difcuffion affords hours; Thur- 
 i-ow, to borrow an expreffion of his own, is an orator of 
 thefrji mprej/f9n»
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 flexible: — he delivers his arguments as "Jove 
 directs his bolts, in tones of thunder : con- 
 fident and daring, he rufhes like Achilles 
 into the field, and deals deflrud:ion around 
 his adverfaries more by the ftrength of 
 his arm, the deep tones of his voice, 
 and the lightning of his eye, than by 
 any peculiar felicities of genius, or ele- 
 vated powers of oratory. — He at times 
 combats his opponents with every fpe- 
 cies of argument, from the naked, un- 
 qualified, unfupported flat afTertion, down 
 to the farcaftic joke, ** His fl:yle,howe- 
 ** ver, is often petulant and w^arm, neither 
 •* remarkable for its neatnefs, nor ofFenfive 
 ** for its vulgarity. — His attempts at ridi- 
 *' cule and humour are mean and difagree- 
 ** able; but his words are generally well 
 •* chofen, and his voice clear and flrong. — 
 ** His replies are conflantly acrimonious ; 
 ** he exercifes all the figures of his profef- 
 " fion : his conflrudions of the law are 
 ** artful and malignant, and he becomes 
 ** gradually vehement and furious."* 
 
 His 
 
 *• See Preface to Bdkndenus*
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 His manner has an aJfumeJ. dignity, and 
 an affeBed impreflion of awe, which how- 
 ever decorous upon fome occafions, is cer- 
 tainly improper upon all. Perhaps the na.- 
 tural fable of his face — that dull, difmal^ 
 darky difajlrous countenance, throws an in- 
 voluntary horror round him. — Menace and 
 terror lit enthroned upon his brow — hit 
 whole afpe£i is repellanty and conveys an idea 
 of outrage, — He affed:s to difdain the aid 
 of the Graces, and to command alone by 
 the energy of expreffion, and y^rr^", both 
 in manner and expreffion, is undoubtedly 
 his Lordfhip's fortCy but every qualifica- 
 tion fliould be judged by comparifon. — 
 Asa Speaker in the Houfe of Commons, 
 many were far above him. That /crr^, on 
 which fo much has been faid by his Pane- 
 gyrics, compared witlr the ^re and energy 
 of Fox, is like Satan^s conteftwith Om- 
 nipotence, and like the allufion, leaves 
 comparifon behind it. Where, in the befl 
 of his fpeeches, is the information, the de- 
 sign, the genius, the fplendid conflagration 
 
 of
 
 ( u ) 
 
 of Burke? Where the wit, the clafTicf 
 tafte and corredt nefs oFSheridan ? The 
 records of ParHament will place him, as an 
 orator, far below any of thefe. 
 
 Asa Profeffjonaiyi-axiy he was not heard 
 of, by the fide of Yorke, De Grey, and 
 Grantley j and was always, with great 
 propriety considered inferior, both in and 
 out of ParHament y to his official competi- 
 tors AsHBURTON and Loughborough. 
 
 His unrivalled excellence, is an iron 
 countenance, an inflexible hardihood of 
 feature, an invulnerable, impenetrable af- 
 pedt, that nothing can abaih, no crimfon 
 tinge ; that ftares humanity from the juf- 
 tice-feat, and defies the tear of pity. Cha- 
 rity, it is faid, covers a multitude of fins, 
 and inhumanity implies a depravity of heart, 
 that gives the owner credit for the pofTef- 
 fion of untold Climes. 
 
 In 1778, he was created a Peer by the 
 title of Lord Thurlow, Baron of Ajhjield 
 
 in
 
 m Suffolk^ and advanced to the high digni- 
 ty of hord Chancellory the place befl calcu- 
 lated for the difplay of his abilities. 
 
 As a Speaker of the Houfe of Lords, he 
 has that intrepidity and firmnefs that com^ 
 mands order and regularity in their proceed- 
 ings, and confines debate to the point in 
 agitation. His Lordfhip very properly 
 feels the dignity of his fituation, and will 
 not fuffer the pride of Peerage to invade it's 
 rights. His fpirited and manly reply to the 
 Duke of Grafton, does him honour.* 
 However the ancient and hereditary No- 
 bles may feel on the afcent of Lawyers to 
 the Peerage, it muft be remembered, that 
 they only rife by defert. The man who 
 earns his honours, has the beft right to wear 
 them ; and they certainly fit upon him 
 with a grace feldom obferved in the paflive 
 inheritor. 
 
 ** Vaft in his perfon, bold in his fenti- 
 ** ments, /)owpo//j" in his words, andpow- 
 
 ** erful, 
 
 ^ See Parliamentary Debates.
 
 < i6 ) 
 
 " erful, not fo much in the qualities of 
 «* wifdom, as in the confequence given to 
 ** trifles, he has fecured the prejudices of 
 **, the Upper Houfe. He has obtained all 
 ** that could poflibly be expe6ted by a 
 ** man of mean extradiion, with the aid 
 *' of oratorical abilities. The influence 
 ** ^intusVarriuSy a huge but beafl:ly fellow, 
 •* once obtained amongfl: his fellow-ci- 
 ** tizens, the Chancellor, by fimilar 
 *' attainments, imagines he, has acquired 
 ** in the Britifh Senate. Confident and 
 " fhrewd, his look befpeaks him of fomc 
 *' confequence — 
 
 "A grave fe verity is in his face> 
 , *' And credit in his words." 
 
 He is not an example of mean inflnua-* 
 tion, but Hands (fays an elegant diurnal 
 writer) amidfl the warring factions of the 
 times, like the Chan of the UsBECS, too 
 formidable to be viiited by contumely, tho* 
 too favage to create efleem. 
 
 There
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 There is great fimilitude of character be- 
 tween Lord Thurlow and the late Lord 
 NoRTHiNGTONj* the fame bluntnefs, the 
 
 fame 
 
 * A more fiagular charafter than the late Lord Chancel- 
 lor NoRTHiNGTON has not perhaps been unfolded to mo- 
 dern obfervatlon. He pofleffed confiderable abilities, was 
 an upright judge, and gave fatisfaftion in the high office 
 he enjoyed: in private life he was thevery reverfe of every 
 tWng which would feem to produce dignity in a public fta- 
 tion. In his youth he was a profeffed debatichee, and the 
 fentiments and language of that charader were retained 
 by him to the lateft moment of his exiflerxe. On his re- 
 turn horne from the adminiftrationof juftice, he would not 
 hefitate to fwear at his fervants, and be indecent with his 
 company : — Indeed the ftate-coach was not always confi- 
 dered facred to chafte and decent fpeech, and the uneafinels 
 of that rumbling machine, when his Lordfhip's feet have 
 been tender from the gout, has called forth very ftrong 
 exclamations intheprefenceof the mace and feals. Someof 
 hi? friends have bi'enfo free as to declare they have aftually 
 feen an oath on his lips when he prefided on the woolfack, 
 though it was never known to efcape further. One occa- 
 fibn, however, was marked with language too fexprefjive 
 topafs unnoticed. 
 
 The Speaker, Onslow, who attended with the moft 
 fcrupulous regard, both in public and private, to the dig- 
 nity 
 
 c
 
 ( 1§ ) 
 
 fame difdain of the Graces, and even of de- 
 cency ; the fame intrepidity and apparoit 
 integrity. Art may indeed be concealed 
 under this veil : it is of a fine, but tranfpa^ 
 rent texture; and the difterning eye may 
 difcover through the aperture the decep- 
 tion it conceals. 
 
 The following lines of Shakespere 
 feem not inapplicable to his Lordfhip : 
 
 " This is fome fellow, who having been praifecl 
 ** for bluntnefs, doth afFc6l a faucy rough nefs, and 
 '* conftrains the garb quite from its nature — he can't 
 " flatter — he^ an honeft mind and plain — ^^muft fpeak 
 " truth — an' they •will take it — fo — if not — hes 
 " plain." 
 
 The 
 
 ftityof his chaxadter, was complaining, on his arrival later 
 than ufual at the Houfe of Commons, on fome day of im- 
 portant bufinefs, That he had been Hopped in Parliament- 
 ft^eet, owing to the obftinacy of a carman ; and was told 
 that the Lord Chancellor had experienced a confiderable 
 delay from the fame caufe. " Well, (faid the Speaker) 
 
 *' did
 
 ■ ( '9 ) 
 
 The remaining part of his character, as 
 given in a very excellent periodical publica-* 
 tion, is fo accurate and juft, or at leaft fo 
 exadlly coincides with our ideas, that we 
 fhall conclude our Sketch of his Lordfhip 
 with a tranfcript of it. 
 
 ** The world has done fufficient juftice to 
 tTie characfter of Lord Thurlow, which 
 being exartiined in the detail, may perhaps 
 rather call for fome abatement to the ex- 
 travagant applaufe given it, than to any- 
 additional eulogium. As a Politician^ he 
 feems to fland the faireft chance of defcend- 
 ing to poflerity with reputation, though he 
 probably polTefTes little more than the ufual 
 harrow information belonging to thofe of 
 his profeflion. In his condudt as a Se- 
 nator, he has diftinguifhed himfelf by {o 
 
 decided, 
 
 " did not his Lordfhip Ihew him the Mace, and ftrike him 
 ■•' damb with terror ?" — " No, (it was replied) ** he did 
 •' not ; but he fwore hy God, that if he had been inhis pri- 
 " a/ate coach, he luouU hwve got out and beat the damned 
 •* rafcal to a jelly, ■^—'^* 
 
 Co,
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 decided, {o confident a degree of fupc- 
 riority, that he has received credit for 
 abihties, the exiftence of which may be 
 queftioned without the fmallefl indecency." 
 
 It is certain, that little advantage has 
 arifen to the public from any -of his politi- 
 cal exertions ; and we are yet to learn 
 wherein his talents, as a Legiflator, are to 
 be difcovered. He has, however, a quick- 
 nefs of parts well fuited to public debate, 
 and a cool determined manner, well adapt- 
 ed to obtain an afcendance over imbe- 
 cility, to pufh boldly all advantages, and 
 to fecure a retreat with credit, when op- 
 pofed by fuperior powers. As a Lawyer, 
 his knowledge is inferior to many ; and 
 had his rife depended on his profellional 
 advantages, another muft have now prefi- 
 ded in the Court of Chancery. 
 
 It has been the misfortune of this coun- 
 try, that the legal and political characters 
 have been lately fo blended, that more at- 
 
 tention
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 tention has been paid to the latter than the 
 former, and often at the expence of it. 
 This was not formerly the cafe ; and we 
 pronounce, without hefitation, that the 
 public fuffers by the unnatural union. Let 
 thofe who have been long anxioufly look- 
 ing for decrees in the Court of Chancery, 
 be a{ked their fentiments of a Political 
 Chancellor : They will paint their mifery 
 in fuch colours, as muft convince every im- 
 partial perfon that the fupremacy in the 
 Houfe of Lords, and in the firfl Court of 
 Equity, fhould not be in the fame perfon. 
 — Many lawyers have fuggefted the preva- 
 lence of a fpecies oi indecifion totally incon- 
 £flent with any very comprehenfive know- 
 ledge of jurifprudence, and totally different 
 from the general mode of proceeding in all 
 other fituations. The prad:ifers complain 
 of the petulance and illiberal treatment 
 they frequently meet with* and the furli- 
 nefs and ill -nature which is often to be 
 feen in public ; and thofe who remember 
 the patience, the good humour, and po- 
 C 3 litenefs
 
 ( aa ) 
 
 litcnefs of the Lords Hardwicke and 
 Camden, are perpetually drawing com- 
 parifons hy no means favourable to *Thur- 
 
 LOW, 
 
 * The ingenioue and learned Author of the Preface to 
 Bellendenus having very happily pourtrayed feveral ftriking 
 features in his Lordftiip's charader, has the following con- 
 clufion, which, from an entire coincidence of fentiment and 
 opinion, is here tranfcribed : 
 
 ** If he fhould ever perufe my fentiments of his charac- 
 ter, I would defire him not to Jhake his tremendous head at 
 me ; — the fevere and forbidding manner with which he 
 ever addreffes himfelf to others, will probably excite his 
 indignation when diredled againft himfelf: I care not if he 
 Ihall think me to have fpoken of him with too much bitter- 
 nefs, it is the fair and reafonable confequence of the con- 
 daft that provoked it." 
 
 Anot H E R of his Lordlhip's Biographers has pourtrayed 
 him as follows : 
 
 " In times lefs favourable to genius and freedom, the 
 haughty Barons, and ilill more haughty Bifhops, adminif- 
 teredjuilice to their trembling vaffals. Nobility and prieft- 
 hood were the only criterions of merit, and high birth and 
 the ecclefiaftical tonfure feem to have aflumed a prefcrip- 
 
 tive right over the noble fcience of jurifprudence. In 
 
 this more liberal age hereditary prctenfions are forced tQ 
 give way to perfonal worth, while the fortuitous advanta- 
 ge
 
 ( *3 ) 
 
 ges ariring from fortune anddefcent, maintain but a feeble 
 competition with the nobler endowments of the mind. 
 This pofition is no where better illuftrated than in the pro- 
 feffion of the law,, as feveral of its members, unfupported 
 by any other claim than thofe of their own merit and abi- 
 lities, have, during the prefent century, eimobled them- 
 felves and their pollerity. 
 
 " L:t it be recorded to their honour, that within this 
 period, two of tlje greateft charadters in this lyngdom 
 have rifen from the defies of Attornies ; while, if we be- 
 lieve common report, a third may be literally faid to haye. ' 
 jumped from the loom to the Woolfack. 
 
 *' Edwarp Thurlow,. thefon of a manufadlurer of 
 the city of Norwich, like his great predecefibrs Somers 
 and Hardwicke, burlling from obfcurity by the ftrength 
 of his own genius, like them too, overcame the obftacles 
 of birth and fortune, and fuddenly rofe to the firfl: honours 
 of his profeflion. The finger of the House of Bedford 
 pointed the road to preferment ; and at a time when his 
 cotemporaries were ftruggling with mediocrity, and a fluff 
 gown, the filken robes of a King's Counfel, and the pa- 
 tronage of that illuflrious family, infpired him with no 
 common ambition. The powers of his mind expanding 
 with his hopes, the high offices of Solicitor and Attorney- 
 General, which bound the views of fome men, feemed to 
 him but as legal apprenticefhips, impofed by cuflom, be- 
 fore he could attain to that dignity, which was to give hitn 
 precedence of every lay-fubjeft in the kingdom, not of 
 the Blood Royal. 
 
 ." The people beheld with pleafug| a man fuddqaly 
 emerging from among themfelves, and enjoying the highcfl 
 
 offices 
 
 C 4
 
 i M ) 
 
 ©fRces of the ftatc ; his triumph feemed to be their own. 
 It flattered their paffion to fee plebeian merit coping with 
 ariflocratical pride, and united, but acknowledged worth, 
 conferring, by its participation, luftre on degenerate no- 
 bility. When they faw him, too, fupporting his newly- 
 acquired honours with a dignity which they imagined had 
 only appertained to hereditary grandeur, aiid beheld him 
 in his tqnteft with the head of the Houfe of Grafton, 
 ftating his own merits in competition with ducal honours, 
 and weighing the fair claims of genius and learni g, in op- 
 pofmg the meretricious, though Royal defcent, every good 
 citizen partook of his honeft pride, and participated in 
 his viftory. 
 
 " Seated on the Chancery Bench, the eyes of mankind 
 were fixed upon him. The iron days of equity were 
 thought to be pafled ; and it was fondly expefted, that the 
 epoch of his advancemenc would be the commencement of 
 a golden age. The nation felt that they had long groaned 
 under the dominion of their own Chancellors. The flow- 
 nefs of their proceedings had mouldered infenfibly away, 
 in the pleadings of two centuries, fome of the faireft for- 
 tunes in the kingdom ; and the fubtleties of the civil law 
 had involved, in the voluminous mazes of a Chancery 
 bill, rights and claims, which the municipal courts would 
 have immediately recognized. 
 
 ** At once haughty and indolent by nature ; attached 
 to a party, and diftrafted by politics ; with a mind fitted 
 to difcountenance, abufe, and appal oppreffion, Lor4 
 Thurlow difappoin ted their expedations ; and, by his 
 conduft, forcibly illuftrated that great legal axiom, that 
 the duiies of the^Woolfack and the Chancery are incom- 
 patible. 
 
 "A change
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 »* Aehange of mlniftry taking place, the Chance llok. 
 was fuddenly difmifled ; and the man who had rifen with 
 the approbation of mankind, retired amidft the clamours 
 of the nation. 
 
 ♦' Reftored to his high office by another change,as fudden 
 as his difmiffion had been precipitate, if his inaftivity had 
 been ftill the fame, yet his perfonal conduft feemed to be 
 greatly altered. Exiled from power, he had been taught 
 by retirement what other men have not learned by adver- 
 fity ; and his prefent attention to bufmefs, and politenefs 
 to the gentlemen at the Bar, afforded a happy contrail to 
 his former behaviour, 
 
 *' The charafter of the Chancellor feems to be deve- 
 loped in his countenance, by an outline at once bold, 
 haughty, and commanding. Like Hale, he is negligent 
 of his perfon ; like Yorke, hehas fwervedfrom his party; 
 
 BUT LIKE HIMSELF ALONE, HE HAS EVER REMAIN8D 
 TRUE TO HIS OWN PRINCIPLES. 
 
 *' As an orator, his manner is dignified, his periods are 
 fhort, and his voice at once fonorous and commanding. 
 More nervous than Camden, more eloquent than Rich- 
 mond, more mafculine than Sydney, he is the folc 
 fupport of the Minifter in the Houfe of Peers. Like an 
 infulated rock, he oppofes his fuUen and rugged front to 
 the ftorm of debate, and remains unlhaken by the whirl- 
 >vind of oppofition. 
 
 ** Better acquainted with books than with men, as a 
 politician, his knowledge of foreign affairs is narrow and 
 confined ; he is, however, well informed of the domeftic 
 jind immediate concerns of the empire. Warmly attached 
 
 tf
 
 • ( 26 ) 
 
 (to the prerogative, he brands reform with the name of irnio- 
 vation ; and is fond of urging the wholefome regulations 
 of our ancient laws, irioppofition to the improvements of 
 modern projeftors. 
 
 " H!s attachment to his Sovereign i$ perfonal, and at 
 leall equals his attachmenc to prerogative. Take his own 
 words on a recent and ijnportant occafion : — When I forget 
 my King (faye he) may God forget me /" The fentiment 
 was ftrongly expreffive of the feelings of gratitude. It 
 did honour to Ids heart, and certainly will not injure his 
 preferment. 
 
 ** Asa judge, his refearches are deep, and his deci- 
 fions are confefledly impartial : none of them however, 
 have procured him celebrity. 
 
 ** As a legiflatorj he has as yet acquired no reputation ; 
 and notwithilanding a voluntary profter of his f:rvices has 
 made no alteration in the laws refpeding the imprifonment 
 of infol'vent dehors, whom he has treated with a violence 
 that favours of the rigour of jullice rather than the mild- 
 jiefs of humanity. 
 
 '* His enemies, who hate him with rancour rather than 
 enmity, dare not queftion his integrity, nor can they charge 
 him with any aftion deferving of reproach. His friends, 
 who love him from efteem rather than aiFeftion, avow the 
 greatnefs of his deferts, yet find it difficult to fix his parti- 
 cular merits. In fine, his charafter is ftill negative and 
 undetermined : with powers fitted for any thing, he has as 
 yet done nothing, and although he fcems the wcr.der of the 
 preferit age, will, perhaps, fcarce meet with the notice of 
 pofterlty. 
 
 ♦' His
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 f His great predeceflbrs have erefted the nobleft monu- 
 numcBts to their fame, by attention to the happinefs, 
 the interefts, and the welfare of their fellow-citizens. 
 Lord ChancellorHARDWiCKE planned the bill for abolifh- 
 ing the Heritable Jurifdiftions in Scotland ! Lord Keeper 
 Guildford had a principal hand in the flatuteof Fraud? 
 and Perjuries, of which the Lord Nottingham ob- 
 ferved, *♦ That every line was worth a fubfidy." Lord 
 Chancellor Somers projefted the aft of union betwixt 
 England and Scotland, and a bill to correft fome proceeds 
 ings, both in common law and equity, that were dilatory 
 and chargeable. 
 
 ** Thefe were fervices that; at once claimed and fecure4 
 immortality. 
 
 •* The life, however, of the prefent Chancellor, 
 if it is deftitute of eulogium, is yet not without its moral, 
 as his fuccefs will naturally ftimulate the exertions of induf. 
 try, and invigorate the efforts of genius. But let this cha- 
 rafter teach thofe who dare to confider fuccefsful ambition, 
 not as the end, but as the road only to true greatncfs, that 
 nothing but active worth can form the good citizen, 
 and the great lawyer.'*
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 WILLIAM EARL MANSFIELD. 
 
 Gath'ring his f owing rohe, he feem'd to Jlandj 
 JnaBto /peak, and graceful JlrcUh'd his hand. 
 
 F^fi's TiMPLi or Famx^ 
 
 1 HE Life of the Earl of Mans- 
 field would exhibit a very curious and 
 defirable piece of Profeflional * Biography; 
 
 but 
 
 • A hiodern Biographer being defirous of writing, 
 among others, the Life of Lord Mansfield, entreated 
 his Lordlhip to furnifh materials, in addition to thofe he 
 already had, as he wifhed to perpetuate the memory of fo 
 great a Luminary of the Law. The anfwer given by his 
 Lbrdftiip was as follows :— *' My fuccefs in life is not very 
 remarkable ; my father was a man of rank and fafliion ; 
 early in life I was introduced into the bell company, and 
 my circumftances enabled me to fupport the charaftcr of 
 a mian of fortune. To thefe advantages I chiefly owe my 
 fuccefs ; and therefore my life cannot be very interefting ; 
 but if you wi(h to employ your abilities in writing the life 
 of a truly great and wonderful man io our profeiGon, uke 
 
 tht
 
 ( 3° ) 
 
 but marking only a very faint outline of this 
 exalted Charadter (and weprofefs no more) 
 with fufficient cojnprehenjive propriety, 
 would require a review of every flriking 
 political and legal incident in Parliament, 
 and the Courts of Juftice, during the pre- 
 fent and preceding reigns, and would con- 
 fequently very far tranfcend our limits* 
 Mansfield is a conilellation that has 
 illumined both; equally the pride of 
 Sovereignty in George the Second, and 
 George the Third. 
 
 Genius is of no country, in other words, 
 it is not excluiively confined to any, but 
 found occafionally in all j 
 
 « From Indus fo the Pole.'* 
 
 Lord Mansfield was born in Scot* 
 land.* The goddefs Suada, very early en- 
 throned 
 
 tKelifeof Lord HardwiCke for your objedi ; he was In- 
 deed a wonderful charafter — 'he became Chief Juftice of 
 England and Chancellor, from his own abilirics and vir* 
 tues — for he was the fon of a peafant." 
 
 • He was educated at Weftminfter School ; and went 
 afterwards to Chrift Church College, Oxford, in 1724* 
 
 where
 
 ( 3' ) V 
 
 throned herfelf upon his lips. He gave 
 
 the earliefl indication of a fine genius, 
 
 and of a difpofition to cultivate it by ap- 
 
 plica^tion. It is yet the traditionary tale of 
 
 his country, that, .almofl in infancy, he 
 
 was accuftomed to declaim upon his na- 
 tive 
 
 where he continued many years, and took the degree of 
 Doftorof Laws. In 1728, he made a celebrated Exercife in 
 verfej to which the firfl prize was adjudged. — A very ele- 
 gant piftare of his Lordfliip, as large as life, is over the 
 door in the hall, which is triumphantly Ihewn to all ftran- 
 gers. After a fliort time fpent in travel, he ftudied the 
 Law in Lincoln's-Inn, and was culled to the bar in 1731. 
 He came into fall bufmefs immediately : — there was no in- 
 terval between his firft appearance and his being univerfally 
 reforted to upon all matters of confequence. The ground 
 which fortune had given him, he maintained with great 
 applaufe : he grew every day in reputation, and made a 
 Ihining figure at the bar on every public, folemn, and in- 
 terefting occafion. In November, 1742, he was appoint- 
 ed Solicitor Gene/al. He was member of the Houfe of 
 Commons from that time till he was called to the Houfe of 
 Peers, and took a diftinguifned part in all debates of con- 
 fequence. — In April, 1754, he was made Attorney Ge- 
 neral. — It is ftill remembered, that during the time he held 
 his office, he fucceeded in many caufes, civil and criminal, 
 for the King, and never loft one ; becaufe he made it a 
 rule that the King Ihould always be clearly in the right ; 
 and the moment the cafe appeared doubtful, he threw it 
 "P- In
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 tive mountains, and repeat to the envied 
 winds the moft celebrated fpeeches of 
 Demosthenes and Cicero, not only in 
 their original text, but in his own inimi- 
 table tranflations of them* 
 
 His 
 
 Tn November, 1756, he was appointed Chief Juftice, 
 and immediately after being fworn into office, the Great 
 Seal was put to a patent, creating him Baron of ManS- 
 riELD, in the county of Nottingham, with limitation td 
 the heirs male of his body. From that time the bufinefs 
 cf the Court of King's Bench was immenfe. His Lord- 
 fliip was immediately fworn of the Privy Council, who for 
 many years almoft fingly relied upon him in the deter- 
 mination of all caufes relative to prizes and the planta- 
 tions. The precifion, the impartiality, the confummatc 
 knowledge, the clear difcernment and difpatch with which 
 thefe caufes have been determined, are the admiration of 
 the world ; and though the number has been almoft incre- . 
 dible, the value prodigious, and frequently the moft diffi- 
 cult, arduous, and important, the captors* and all parties 
 concerned, have acquiefced in the juftice> wifdom, and 
 propriety of his determinations. 
 
 His Lordfhip was called to the Cabinet Council of the 
 late King, and of his prefent Majefty, by whom he was 
 created an Earl, in Oftober, 1776. In April, 1757, he 
 was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and was af- 
 terwards one of the Commiffioners of the Great Seal, ana 
 prefided in Chancery, the admiration of the Court and of 
 the World.
 
 . C 33 ) 
 
 His accomplifliments as a gentleman, 
 were not inferior to his acquifitions as a 
 fcholar. He is painted by the great Bri- 
 tifh Bard, as poffefling both in their far- 
 theft extent, as 
 
 ** Equal the injur'd to defend, 
 
 " To charm the Miftrefs, or to fix the Friend." 
 
 His fame will be co-eternal with the Eng- 
 lifh language. Pope has recorded it, and 
 lamented his feceffion from the fervice of 
 the Belles Lettres and the Mufes, to the 
 profeflion of the law, in this memorable 
 line — 
 
 *' Hew fweet an Ovid was in Murray loft !'* 
 
 And had he not been in fome deo^ree forma- 
 lized by the fhackles of a law education, and 
 extended his ftudies to thofe, emphatically 
 called *^ Literce Humanwres/* there is no 
 doubt of his having flood firfl: in that walk of 
 literature. He was the delight and omament 
 of the drawing-room, and his company 
 equally fought by the gay and the fe- 
 rious. A certain fuavity of manners the 
 jnoft polifhed and engaging, accompanied 
 P by
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 hy peculiar charms of coiiverfatlon, ope- 
 rated like the power of the loadftone, tQ» 
 univerfdl attradion. 
 
 Pameinflantaneoufly announced his ** Call 
 to the bar," and diftinguifhed him as unri- 
 valled in oratory, at an sera too, when the 
 followers of the profeffion were Goliahs of 
 ability and power. It was very early after 
 his appearance in his profeflional charadter, 
 that he was employed on an important oc* 
 cafion, at the bar of the Houfe of Com- 
 pions ; where he fo eminently diftinguifli- 
 cd himfelf, that Sir Robert Walpole 
 declared the merit of his fpeech to be fo 
 great, that it almoft appeared to him to be 
 an oration of Cicero. Mr. Pulteney 
 jii the fame inftant rofe to complete the 
 culogium, by obferving, that he not only 
 could imagine the fpeech which had been 
 juft 'delivered was the compofition of Ci- 
 cero, but that the Roman orator had 
 himfelf pronounced it. Thus thefe two 
 ' great men, who hated and oppofed each 
 ether with fo much rancour, in this Jingle 
 
 inJiancQ
 
 { 35 ) 
 
 inffame united, to compofe the moft brilli- 
 ant panegyric, that was, perhaps, ever be- 
 flowed on riling merit. The fplendour of 
 glory which he obtained by his campaigns 
 at the bar, had no parallel. 
 
 In his political oratory J'^ (as a Speaker 
 
 in the Houfe of Commons) if he was not 
 
 without a rival, no one had the honour of 
 
 furpajjing him ; and let it be remembered* 
 
 that his competitor was Pitt. 
 
 The Rhetorician that addrefled himfelf 
 to TuLLY in thefe memorable words, 
 
 • In 1766, he oppofed the meafures of government un- 
 der Lord Rockingham, particularly in the famous quef- 
 tion on the Repeal of the Stamp Aft. The celebrated 
 Proteft which followed the Repeal, was faid to have been 
 drawn up under his Lordfliip's immediate infpeftion, and 
 was looked upon at the time as one of the moll able perform- 
 ances ever entered on the Records of Parliament. In 
 1767 he fupported the Port Duties, propofed in the 
 Houfc by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1770, 
 he fupported the partial repeal of thofe duties, and conti- 
 Utting the duty on tea. 
 
 D2
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 *' T)cmoJthenes tibi pr<^ripuit^ ne primur effefi 
 ** orator ^ T^u illiy ne fohis^* anticipated 
 their application to Mansfield and 
 Pitt. — If the one pofTefled Demosthe- 
 NEAN fire and energy, the other was at 
 leaft a Cicero. Their oratory differed in 
 fpecies, but was equal in merit. There was 
 at leaft no fuperiority on the fide of Pitt. 
 — -Mansfield "S eloquence was not indeed 
 ©fl hat daring, bold, declamatory kind, fq 
 irrefiftibly powerful in the momentary buf- 
 tle of popular affemblies ; but it was poffef- 
 live of that pure and attic fpirit, and feduc- 
 tive power of perfuafion, that delights, 
 inftrudls, and eventually triumphs. It has 
 been very beautifully and juftly compared 
 to a river, that meanders through verdant 
 meads and fiowery gardens, reflecting in 
 it*s chryftal bofom the varied objed:s that 
 adorn '\\.\ banks, and refrefhing the country 
 through which it flows. 
 
 To illuflrate his oratory by example, 
 >vould require voluminous tranfcripts from 
 
 the
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 the records of Parliament** and it is un- 
 neeeflary, as we can appeal to living recoU 
 ledlion. 
 
 When he fpeaks, 
 *rhe air, a charter'^ libertine, is ftill. 
 And the mute wonder lurketh in men's earsi 
 And fteals his fweet and honied fentences. — 
 Hear him but reafon in divinity, 
 . ., , And all-admiring with an inward wifli, 
 ' ■ " • ' You would fuppofe him the moft learned prelate : 
 Hear him debate of commonwealth afFairs, 
 You'd fay it hath been all-in-all his ftudy. 
 Lift his difcourfe of war, and you fhall hear 
 A fearful battle rendered you in mufic. 
 - Turn him to any caufe of policy. 
 
 The Gordian Knot, of it he will uidoofe, . 
 Familiar as his garter. 
 
 ShakbjpeareJ ; 
 
 Having added weight and dignity ta 
 the feats pf Attorney and Solicitor General^ 
 his reputation as a Jpeaker^ a lawyer^ and a 
 politician, elevated him to the Peerage, and 
 thejexalted pofl of Chief yujiice of Eng^ 
 land, , Heafcended to the dignities of ftatc 
 by rapid flrides : they were not beflowed 
 by the caprice of party favour, oraffecflion. 
 They were (as was faid of Pliny) liberal 
 difpenfations of power upon an objedt that 
 knew how to add new luflre to that power, 
 by the rational exertionofhis own. 
 
 Here 
 
 • Seethe parliamentary debates, every whbri.
 
 C 3» ) 
 
 Here we can fpcak of this great mtfi 
 within our own recolledtion ; and however 
 party-prejudices may adopt their different 
 favourites, and each contend in detracting 
 from the merit of the other, it is, we be- 
 lieve, generally underflood, that precedence 
 is allowed to the Earl of Mansfield, 
 as the firft magiflrate that ever (o pre-emi- 
 nently graced that important ftation . The 
 wisdom of his decifions, and unbiaflfed tenor 
 of his public condud:, will be held in vene- 
 ration by the fages of the law, as long as the 
 fpirit of the conftitution, and jufl notic^is of 
 equity continue to have exiflence. No man 
 has in an equal degree, pofTefled that 
 wonderful fagacity in difcovering chicanery 
 and artifice, and feparating fallacy from 
 truth, and fophiflry from argument, fo as 
 to hit the exaB equity of the cafe. He never 
 permitted juflice to htfrangledm the nets 
 of form. 
 
 His memory was afloniiliing j he 
 
 * * never (when fitting upon the bench) 
 
 * • took any notes , or if he did, feldom or ever 
 
 ••confulted
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 •* confulted them." His * references to 
 cxprefTions which fell from him in the 
 courfe of debate, and his quotations 
 from books, were fo faithful, that they 
 might have been faid to have been repeated 
 verbatim. The purpofes to which he em* 
 ployed thefe amazing talents, were flill 
 more extraordinary : if it was the weak 
 part of his opponent's arguments, that hfi 
 referred to, he was fure to expofe its faI-« 
 lacy, weaknefs, or abfurdity in the moft 
 poignant fatire, or hold it up in the mof| 
 ridiculous point of view. If, on the <:on^ 
 trary^ it were a point on which his ad-# 
 verfaries lay their chief ftrefs, he flated 
 the words corredlly, colleded their ob- 
 vious meaning, confidered the force of 
 the feveral arguments that had of might 
 have been raifed upon them, with a 
 precifion that would induce an auditor al- 
 moft to fuppofe that he had previously confi- 
 
 dered the whole, and that his fpeech was the 
 rcfult of much previous fludy and delibera- 
 tion. 
 
 ♦ Sbi Rcvkw of Potittcal Charafters* 8vo. 1777, 
 
 It
 
 ( 40 
 
 , It maybe faid of MansfIeld as crf 
 ViRGrL,* that if he had any faults, they 
 might be confidered in< the famcmanner 
 with thofe of fome eminent fixed ftar, 
 which, if they exifl: afc all, are aboVe the 
 reach of human obfervation. The lumf-' 
 nous aether of his life was not obfcured by 
 any fhade dark enough to be denominated 
 a defe(5t. On account of his defcent, local 
 prejudices and propenlities were imputed 
 to him, and his conduct on that account 
 examined with a microjcopic eyej-f* but the 
 optic through which it was viewed, polTef- 
 fed a party tinge equally odious and deccp-* 
 tivc. 
 
 His political principles were ever confifi-'. 
 ent i and to preferve conjijlency, in fuch fta-- 
 tions and in fuch times as occupied, the 
 life of Mansfield, confiitutc an ordeal 
 ftrongly impreflive of virtue. It has been 
 faid that he wanted fpirit ! Is the uniform 
 
 oppofition 
 
 * See Burton's Claffical Remains, Tit. Virgil. 
 f Siee the cdebrated corroffve Letters of JuNiiry,
 
 ( 41 ) , 
 
 ©ppaiitloh of- popular opinion, and appa* 
 rently.the'.cQ^ijtempt qf it, any proof of 
 the affertion ? His fpeech and condudt in 
 the affair of Wilkes*s outlawry, when 
 popular prejudice ran in torrents, illuftratc 
 e^ch other ; the luftre of his eloquence was 
 fomething more than human ; and the 
 frm integrity of the judge was the emana- 
 ^on of a Divinity.* Here Demosthe* 
 
 ■ NES 
 ii«ii^ ■;£•,■ i . 
 
 I » ExtraB of his LordJJnp^s Speech^ ^c. 
 
 *' If I have ever fupported the King's meafures ; if I have 
 fever afforded any affiftance to Government ;if I havedif- 
 tharged nly duty as a public or private officer, by endea- 
 vouring to pt-eferve pure and perfect the principles of the 
 conftitution ; maintaining unfullied the honour of the 
 courts of juftice, and, by an upright adminiftration ofi 
 Xb give i. due efFcfl to the laws^ I have hitherto done it 
 without any other gift or reward than that mod pleafing 
 arid raoft hbtlourabl^one, the conlcitntioifs coriviclion of do'- 
 itig what was right. I do not affeft to fcorn the opinion of 
 mankind ; I wilh eameftly for popularity ; I will feek 
 arid will have poptilarity ; but I will tell you how I will •fa- 
 tain it ; I will hftve that popularity which /o//o7wi and 
 not that whieh is run after. 'Tis not the app'ailfe of i 
 day, 'ti« not the huzzas of thoufands, that can give a mo- 
 Jnent^s fatisfaftion to a rational being ; that man's mind 
 ttnUl indeed be. a weak one, and his ambition of a moft de< 
 
 pi:av«4
 
 i. A% ) 
 
 MES and TuLLY fhrink from the com^ 
 parifon; here acknowledged fuperiority 
 
 flands 
 
 praved fort, who can be captivated by fuch wretched al- 
 Inrements, or fatisfied with fuch momentary gratifications, 
 I fay with the Roman orator, and can fay it with as much 
 truth as he did, " Ego hoc animo/emperfui, ut invidiam 
 *virtute partam, gloriam, non infamiam, putarem." But 
 threats have been carried further j perfonal violence ha» 
 i)een denounced, unlefs public humour be complied with. 
 I do not fear fuch threats ; I don't believe there is any 
 Teafon to fear them ; \x$ not the genius of the worft of men 
 in the worft of times to proceed to fuch fhocking extr?- 
 inities : but, if fuch an event i(hpuld happen, let it befo^ 
 even fuch an event might be produi^ive of wholefome ef- 
 fefls ; fuch a ftroke might roufe the better part of the na- 
 toon from their lethargic condition to aftate of adivity, to 
 affert and execute the law, and punilh the daring and im- 
 pious hands which had violated it ; and thofe who now fu- 
 pinely behold the danger which threatens all liberty, frpn} 
 the moft abandoned licentioufnefs, might, by fuch an 
 event, be awakened to a fenfe of their fituation, as drunken 
 men are oftentimes ftunned into fobriety . If the fecurity of 
 pur perfons and property, of all we hold dear and valua- 
 ble, are to depend upon the caprice of a giddy multitude, 
 or to be at the difpofal of a mob; if, in compliance 
 with the humours, and to appeale the clamours of thofe, 
 *11 civil and political inftitutions are to be difregaided or 
 overthrown, a. Life, fomewhat more than fixty, is not wortk 
 
 pre-
 
 I 43 ) 
 
 ilands confefifed ; here the exulting Bur-* 
 TON may exclaim — • 
 
 Cedlte Romani, ce;?rte Graii J 
 
 He defpifed (to borrow an exprefiion of 
 his own) that mufhroom popularity that 
 is raifed without merit, and loft without a 
 crime: — be difdained being the flavc of 
 popular impulfe, or to acknowledge the 
 ihouts of a mob for the trumpet of fame. 
 
 Another inftance, at leaft, of great per- 
 fonal courage, was the unpopular maxim 
 that he flruggled to introduce into com* 
 mon acceptation refpecSling the incapacity 
 of juries to determine in cafes of libel fur- 
 ther than the fad; of publication. This 
 dodrine excited a general pcrturbatiori, 
 without, and an extenfive execration within 
 ibors : sl dodrine which divided the opi- 
 nions 
 
 preferving at fuch a pried ; and he can never die too foon^ 
 who lays down his life in fupport and vindication of the 
 policy, the government, and the conftitution of his coun* 
 iry.':
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 nions of men, who were apt, on all other 
 occafions, to coincide with his Lordfhip, 
 and to take his word with as ready cur- 
 rency as the coin of the kingdom.* 
 
 As 
 
 * The conftru^ion that his Iiordfhip endearoured to 
 put on the verdift given by the jury in Woodfall's triali 
 and his condufton the Bench, when an arreft of judgment 
 was moved for, were much reprobated at the time. Lord 
 Chatham's fpeech on the occafion, in Dec. I770, is yet 
 remembered : it ran to this purport : " My Lords, thft 
 verdift given in Woodfall's trial was guilty of printing and 
 fuhlijhing ONLY ; upon which two motions were made in 
 Court, one in arreft of judgment by the defendant's Coun- 
 fel, grounded on the ambiguity of the verdift, the other by 
 the Counfel for the Crown, for a rule upon the defendant 
 to (hew caufewhythe verdift fhould not be entered up, ac- 
 cording to the legal import of the words. On both mo- 
 tions a rule was granted, and, foon after, the matter was 
 argued before the Court of King's Bench. The noble 
 Judge, when he delivered the opinion of the Court upon 
 the verdift, went regularly through the whole of the pro* 
 feedings at Niji Prius, as well the evidence that ha<i 
 been given as his own charge to the jury; This proceed- 
 ing would have been very proper, had a motion been made 
 on either fide for a new trial ; becaufe either a verdidl gi- 
 ven contrary to evidence, or an improper charge by the 
 Judge at NiJi Prim, is held to be a fufficient ground for 
 granting a new trial. But, when a motion is made in ar- 
 
 refl
 
 ( « ) 
 
 As a Speaker in the Houfe of Lords, 
 where was his competitor? The grace of 
 his adion, the fire and vivacity of his 
 looks, arc flill prefent to imagination: and 
 the harmony of his voice yet vibrates in 
 the ear of thofe who have been accuflomed 
 to hften to him, 
 
 His Lordfhip poffeffed the ftrongefl 
 powers of difcrimination : — his language 
 was elegant and perfpicuous, arranged 
 with the happieft method, and applied 
 
 with 
 
 reft of judgment, or for eftabliftiing the verdift, by enter- 
 ing it up according to the legal import of the words, it 
 ;fnuft be on the ground of fomething appearing on the face 
 tf the record \ and the Court, in confidering whether the 
 verdidl Ihall be eftablifhed or not, are fo confined to the 
 record, that they cannot take notice of any thiqg that does 
 not appear on thp face of it ; in legal phrafc, they cannot 
 travel out of the record,. The noble Judge did travel out 
 of the record ; and, I affirm, that his difcourfe was irregu- 
 lar, extra-judicial, and unpreceder^ted. His apparent mo- 
 tive for doing what he knevy to be wrong was, that he 
 might have an opportunity of telling the public extra- 
 judicially, that the other three Judges concurred in the 
 dodrine laid down in his charge.'*
 
 ( 4M 
 
 #ith the utmofl: extent of human inge- 
 nuity. His images were often bold, and 
 always juft; but the charader of his elo- 
 quence is that of being flowing, foft^ de^ 
 hghtftil, and offeEling, His genius, fays a 
 modern writer, is comprehenfive and pe- 
 netrating, and when he judges it ncceffary, 
 he pours forth founds the moft fedud:ive, 
 equally calculated to perfuade and to con- 
 vince. Among his more rare qualifica- 
 tions (fays he), may be added the external 
 graces of his perfon, the piercing eye, the 
 fine-toned voice and harmonious elocution, 
 and that happy arrangement which pof- 
 fefles all the accuracy and elegance of the 
 moft laboured compofitions. He was mo- 
 deft and unaiTuming ; never defcending to 
 perfonal altercation, or replying to per- 
 fonal reflections. He preferved his own 
 dignity, and that of the Houfe over which 
 he had very defervedly, for a great num- 
 ber of years, an uncontrolled and aim oft 
 an unlimited influence. 
 
 His
 
 < 47 ) 
 
 His Lord{liip quitting the profefliong 
 by abdicating his feat * upon the Bench* 
 of which he had been thirty years an il- 
 luftrious ornament, exhibited avery afFedl- 
 ing and awful fcene. We fee the childreit 
 of eloquence taking a laft farewell of their 
 •parent. He retired full of glory ; 'the rays of 
 which lend a luflre to the fhade of his re- 
 treat, and beam forth their fplendor round 
 him.-f- His relinquifhment of office, formfc 
 an important epoch in the annals of Englifh 
 
 jurifprudence* 
 
 • See the letters that pafled between his Lordfliip and 
 theBAR, through Mr. Ekskinb. 
 
 f His Lordfhip is fuppofed immensely rich. Thfi 
 principal part of his property is faid to be invefted ia 
 mortgages, to the amount of 250,000!. in Ireland. 
 
 His Lordlhip fufFcred greatly during the riots of 1780^ 
 for which howevef , he ftbbly refufed all reparation. The 
 following is acopy of his Lordlhip's letter to Mr. Keenb 
 upon the fubjeft, dated 21 ft Auguft, 1780, 
 
 "SIR, 
 
 ** I am extremely obliged to you, for your attention la 
 calling upon me before I went the circuit, and laft Friday 
 «gain iince my return, and in now communicating to me.
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 jurifprudcnce. This great and fuperior per- 
 fpn, the rare endowments of whofe mind 
 Bave To long and fo defervedly fuftained 
 him in the feat of the Chief Criminal 
 Juilice of England, has feen his popula- 
 rity 
 
 by your letter of Saturday, the unanimous vote of the 
 Houfe of Commons of the 6th July, and the reference of 
 the Lords of the Trcafury of the 1 8th July to your Board, 
 anddefiring me to enable you to comply with the order of 
 the Lords of the Treafury ; and fo far as I am concerned, 
 I return you ?ny thinks for your great civility. 
 
 f Befides what is irreparable, my pecuniary lofs is 
 great — I apprehended no danger, and therefore took no 
 precaution ; but how great foever that lofs may be, I think 
 It does not become me to claim or expeft reparation from 
 the ftate. I have made up my mind to bear my misfor- 
 tunes as I ought, with this confolation, that it came from 
 thofe whofe objeft manifeftly was general confufion and 
 deftruflion at home, in addition to a dangerous and compli- 
 cated war abroad. If I ftiould lay before you any ac- 
 count or computation of the pecuniary damage I have fuf- 
 tained, it might feem a claim or expedlation of being in- 
 demnified, therefore you will have no further trouble from 
 ** Your moft obedient, 
 *f Humble fervant, 
 
 ♦f MANSFIELD."
 
 { 49 ) ' 
 
 iity furvive even the rude attacks of jfu^ 
 niusy and bloom anew in the evening of 
 his life. We now view him, like the 
 great luminary of the world, gently de- 
 fcending to the weft, with all his magni- 
 tude, but without his effulgence, diffufing 
 a mild and delightful influence, in ex- 
 change for the luftre of his priftine radi- 
 ance* * The laurel is yet alive upon his 
 
 venerably 
 
 • Others have held a very difFerent opinion of this 
 frreat Charadler, and therefore it is but fair to fubjoin a 
 Jketch drawn fome years back, by a difFerent mafter pofTefled 
 of very difFerent fentiments, and who has laid on his co- 
 lours with a very bold hand : 
 
 ** LordMANSFiELD Is perhaps the only man inEngland 
 whofe capacity never has been difputed. In this refpeft, 
 courtiers and patriots alike have been lavifh in his praife. 
 His talents, notwithflanding, are fomewhat equivocal ; 
 and, if carefully examined, will be found to be below that 
 ftandard at which they have been fixed by a long and vul- 
 gar prefcription. The nervous oratory of Lord Chatham 
 has not unfrequently difconcerted him ; and when oppofed 
 by the cultivated powers of Lord Camden, his agitation 
 difcovered that he dreaded him as a fuperior. Mailer of 
 
 a moll
 
 { so ) 
 
 t 
 
 tcncral)te fcrow, but muft be very fooil 
 tranfplanted from his temple to his tomb. 
 
 It is ndw generally underflood, that 
 fiew Coufts of Juftice, and a Houfe of Par- 
 liament are about being eredted, in lieu of 
 fhat vcn«rable pile \?hich has been the 
 pride of fo many ages. This looks like the 
 
 effedl 
 
 a moft refined plaufibilify, he has been artful enough to 
 acquire a high reputation, and prudent enough to fupport 
 it. But talents like thefe are ever poffeffed by men of 
 confined capacities alone. An impofing manner, an infi- 
 riuating voice, and the quicknefs of his eye, are the chief 
 ingredients of his eloquence : with thefe charms he fafci- 
 nates the unfafpicious, and deceives the undifcerning. 
 Hence his fpeeches, when examined in the clofet, are no 
 longer eloquent ; they do not convince us, they do not 
 yieafe. We are furprifed how we could have heard with 
 applaufe, what we read without approbation. We difco- 
 Ver in them no ingenuity, no ftrength of argument, n» 
 force of thought, no eloquence of expreffion. 
 / 
 " The rapidity with which he pr6ceeded in the decifion 
 of fuits has been afcribed to the acutenefs of his parts f 
 it was a confequence, however, of his experience in bufi- 
 T^efs : and while he ha» been fedaccd by it to pronounce 
 
 fu^icious.
 
 i 5i ) 
 
 ^^fedl o£fympathy, as if the old hall mouril- 
 fed his abfencc, and, unable to furvivc 
 the lofs of fo much eloquence and virtue, 
 
 im- 
 
 fufpicious, and fometimes contradiftory judgments. It will 
 proveafource of fruitful miftake to his fuccefTors. More 
 verfant in the Roman than in the Engliih jurifprudence, 
 he is guided more by general rules of equity than by prin- 
 ciples of law. He is apt to aflume in unpardonable lati- 
 tude in the interpretation of ftatutes, and to decide upon 
 them not as they are, but as he conceives they ought to be j 
 he would fubmit the adls of the legiflature to the difcre- 
 tion of a judge. A favourer of arbitrary power by edu- 
 cation and principle, he is continually oppofing his talents 
 to the interefts of liberty. In a fituation where he might 
 advance the good of his country, he plans its dellruc- 
 tion. While he might preserve the effential parts of the 
 conftitution, he facrifices his integrity to party. While he 
 «ught to be moderate, he is extravagant : his prejudices 
 triumph over his reafon ; his paffions over his duty. H^ 
 fofters by his counfeh the diftraftion of a nation, and gives 
 rife to thofe perpetual Indifcretions that difgrace govern- 
 ment. His hefjtation and irrefolute temper he feems to have 
 communicated to the members of adminiitration : mea- 
 fures are adopted, now daring knd atrocious* now tim^ 
 and fcYupulous ; now marked by the boldell chasyadlers of 
 tyranny, and now wearing the meaneft afpeft of flavery. 
 
 •* A reputation, for which he has been ihdebted to the ex- 
 tent of his wemory, aod to the poffcffion of fiwwy, rather 
 
 E'a
 
 ( 52 ) 
 
 immediately drooped and decayed on re« 
 moval of it's greatcft ornament. 
 
 Confpicuous fcene ! another yet is nigh. 
 More filent far, where Kings and Poets lie ; 
 Where Murray, long enough his country's pride. 
 Shall be no more than Tully or than Hyde. 
 
 thin of folid, parts, muft neceflkrlly decline. . His avidity 
 «f fame will be puniftied by abundance of contempt, and 
 his thirft of power will be quenched by general execration. 
 The favour of his Sovereign will not preferve him from 
 the detellation of the world.'* 
 
 A VERY LITTLE DISINTERESTED AND DIS- 
 PASSIONATE ENQUIRY IS, HOWEVER, SUFFI- 
 CIENT TO OBVIATE THE GROUNDLESS 
 CHARGES WITH WHICH THIS CHARACTER 
 OF HIS LORDSHIP IS SO PREGNANT. 
 
 The moft general charge agalnft Lord Mansfield, as a 
 Judge, has been, that he attempted to change the King's 
 Bench, a Court of Common Law, into a Court of Equity; 
 and that, inlleadof thofe pofitive rules by which the judg- 
 ment of a Court of Law fhould be invariably determined, 
 he has introduced his own notions of e^uitji ^n^/uhjiantial 
 jtiftice. 
 
 Whether this charge be true or falfe. It is certainly the 
 moft fingular that ever was brought againft a common law 
 judge. It has cgnftanUy been ggnfidcred as the reproach 
 
 of
 
 { S3 ) 
 
 cf the men of this order, that they love to adhere to law in 
 oppofition to equity^ that they would rather kill by the 
 letter than fave by the fpirit ; and that they always mur- 
 mur, and fometimes clamour, let reafon determine ever fo 
 rightly, if it determines otherwife than the law directs. 
 
 An example may here be of ufe. The trial of Sir Wil- 
 liam Friend, Sir William Parkyns, and others, on the aflaf- 
 fination plot, came to be heard after the bill for the provi- 
 fion of counfel learned in the law had received the royal 
 aflent, but before the commencement of its operation as a 
 ilatute. 
 
 *' I intreat," faid Parkyns, " that I may have the al- 
 *' lowance of counfel : I have no fldll in indiftments : I 
 " do not underftand thefe matters ; nor what advantages 
 *' may be proper for me to take. The new ftatute wants 
 *' but one day. What is juft and reafonable to-morrow, 
 " furely is juft and reafonable to-day : — and your Lord- 
 " Ihip," addrefling himfelf to the Chief Jultice, "may in- 
 " dulge me in this cafe." 
 
 " But," fays the humane author of the principles ofpc 
 nal laws, " Chief Juftice Holt was too good a yu^ge to 
 '< fuffer the ftubborn maxims of Law to yield to the milder 
 " interpretations of Equity." 
 
 ** We cannot," he replied, " alter the law till law-makers 
 ** direft us : we mud conform to the law as it is at pre- 
 *• fent, not what it will be to-morrow." 
 
 This, as far as I can learn, has been at all times the 
 ^^per of lawyers : they are not only angry when things 
 
 are.
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 are done agalnft forms, but when they are done without 
 them : they hate to have any caufe determined by equity. 
 Why ? — it will perhaps be alked — Not, I prefurne, from 
 any natural averfion to equity, for it would be abfurd to 
 fuppofe a difpofition peculiar to any order ^f men ; but 
 from its tendency to fuperfede law. All orders hate, and 
 ever will hate, whatever tends to leflen the confequence of 
 their profeffion. Divines hate morality, when oppofed to 
 religion ; and phyficans hate regimen, when oppofed to 
 medicine. 
 
 Human nature upon this head is uniform. " Reverence 
 *J yourfelf," is a maxim in phi^ofophy. Now man's fe- 
 cond felf is his profeffion ; nay, in faft, it is often his 
 firft : and no body of men have ever reverenced them- 
 felves more fincerely as an order, than the profeiTors of 
 the law. If Lord-Mansfield therefore has, at times, de- 
 parted from the letter, that he might adhere to the /pirit 
 of the law ; if, in a court of common law, he has occafion- 
 ally judged cafes according to the rules of equityvj or« 
 as his enemies do him the honour to call it, fubjiantialjufs^ 
 tice ; he can only be fuppofed to have afted from a prin- 
 ciple of confcience ; as he could never hope, by fuch a 
 conduft, to rife in the opinion of the bar, while he ex- 
 pofed himfelf to the cenfure of ignorance, malevolence 
 and envy. 
 
 Another charge, and a very weighty one, againft his 
 Lordfliip is, that he meant to deftroy the Liberty of the 
 Prefs, which has been juftly called the Palladium of all 
 the civil, political, and religious rights of an Englifti- 
 man ; and it has been farther faid, that no particular abufe^ 
 
 ough^
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 •ught to produce a forfeiture of this liberty. I fhaU not 
 pretend to determine whether they ought or not ; but if 
 our licentious manners continue, they moft afTuredly w/7/.* 
 for never did an envenomed fcurrility againft every thing 
 facred and civil, public and private, rage throughout any 
 kingdom with fuch a furious and unbridled licence. 
 
 The conftitution of things is fuch, that extremes in- 
 evitably produce extremes. The abufe of any thing nc- 
 ceflarily deftroys its ufe. If a people grow licentious and 
 ungovernable, it is as natural perhaps, as neceflary, for 
 their Rulers to increafe reftraint, as it is for a rider to 
 tighten the reins, in "proportion to the curvetting and un- 
 m^nageablenefs of his horfe, 
 
 A third charge againft Lord Mansfield is, that he in- 
 vaded the conftitutional power of Juries, by confining 
 their judgment to the matter of fa£i, and not fufFering 
 them to touch upon the matter of iaiv. 
 
 Trial by Jury is an eflential part of our conftitution, 
 but many people think it highly abfurd, that fuch perfons 
 as ufuallycompofe a jury fhould be made judges in mattersof 
 law ; and would by all means confine their judgment to the 
 matter of fail. If this, therefore, ftiould be his Lord- 
 flup's opinion, as perhaps it in great meafure is, he is by 
 no means lingular in it. All our law books infift upon 
 vicinity, as the prime and efTential qualification of a jury- 
 man ; that is, that he be chofen out of the neighbourhood 
 where the faft is fuppofed to h^ve been committed : de nji- 
 (ineto, ubi folium fuppojitur, fays Fortefcue : becaufe, as 
 they write, 'vimusfaQa vkini prafumitur fcirty the nearer 
 
 the
 
 { S6 ) 
 
 the fa£t, the more perfeft may be fuppofed his knowledge 
 #f it J but they fay little or nothing of his qualifications in 
 law; and confequently include only half the idea ofa jury-' 
 man, according to thofe who would have him a judge of 
 /aiv, as w^ell as oi fad. «« 
 
 There is a pafTage in Brafton, which feems to fhewj; 
 that in Henry the Third's time, it was the duty of the 
 judge to control the verdift of the jury ; and Lord Cla- 
 rendon declares himfelf pofitively, that the jury are not ■ 
 to judge of the /axy ; and fpeaks contemptuoufly of Hobbes 
 for making them judges of lanu, as well as fa£i. But 
 however Hobbes may have forgot himfelf in the paffage 
 which his Lordlhip cenfures, he elfewhere exprefjly fays, 
 '* That thefe twelve men, the jury, are no court cf equi- 
 " ty or of juftice ; becaufe they determine not what is 
 *« jujl or unjujl, but only whether it be done or not : and 
 *< their judgment is nothing elfe but a confirmation of 
 f* that which is properly the judgment of the wit-' 
 « neffes." 
 
 To thefe refpeftable authorities, I ftiall add that of the 
 great Montefquieu, who relided fome time in England ; 
 and in his admirable work. The Spirit of Laws, fays, ** En 
 ** Angleterre , Us jures decident,Ji Taccufe ejt coupable ou non 
 *' du fait, qui a.ete parte devant eux." — " In England, ju- 
 ries determine whether or not the accufed is guilty of the 
 fa^ brought before them." 
 
 It cannot however be denied, that Little to i/ 
 fays, " If the jury ivill take upon them the knoijuhdge 
 f* of the la'Vi upon the matter ^ they may j" to which 
 
 Lord
 
 ( 57 ) . 
 
 Lord Coke agrees in his comment. on the pafTage : butit. 
 fcems ureafonable that they tvtrJhouU. How is it poffi- 
 ble for uninftrufted, . though honeft, and perhaps fenfible 
 > men, to judge of the nature of crimes and pur.ilhments ?— 
 I know indeed it has been faid, if they are not judges of 
 lazv as well as oi foci, how can thpy pronounce any man 
 guilty or not guilty ? Nothing, in my mind, is more Am- 
 ple, unlefs recourfe be had to quibble. The judge ex- 
 plains the nature of the crime ; the jury confequently 
 know the puniftiment due to it ; the verdift then follows 
 from the competency or incompetency of the evidence, as- 
 diftinftly as if the original conception of the crime had 
 Ijeen their's. I cannot, therefore, fee how Lord Mans- 
 field is reproachable, for confidering Englilh juries in the 
 fame light with the moft refpeftable lawyers of the paft 
 and prefent ages ; or how a conftltutional right can be faid 
 to be invaded, while law is doubtful of its validity, and, 
 xeafon prefcribes its exiftence. 
 
 After having examined the accufations brought againft 
 his Lordftiip in his judicial capacity, let usliften to what is 
 faid of lum in his political one. And here we are told he 
 was a Jacobite, and an abettor of defpotifm. How incon- 
 fiftent are the enemies of this man ! One while they de- 
 fcribe him as of powers tranfcendent, knowing and pervading 
 almoft every thing ; as a being of a fuperior order, inca- 
 pable of erring, unlefs by defign. But lo ! while we con- 
 template this extraordinary perfonage, who furveys the 
 fyftcm of human affairs through the medium of pure rea- 
 fpn, we are fuddenly prefented with a very different kind 
 of figure from that which filled our hearts with awe. The 
 great being difappears, and in his place we difcover a
 
 ( 58 ) 
 
 little vulgar mortal, a dupe to prejudices of the meanefl 
 kind, and to paffions as contemptible as their objefts. — 
 What could Lord Mansfield hope for from the Pretender, 
 whofe image, we are told, he carried fecretly in his borom, 
 whofe perfon, he is faid to reverence and r. ;ore ? Could he 
 <verexpe£tto have been greater in the Court of Charles the 
 Third, than in that of George the Third? Where it is caufe of 
 accufation againfl him, that while hr v.onld bethought to 
 take no Ihare in government, he was in reality the main- 
 fpring of the machine. If his Lordlhip was therefore at 
 the head of the miniftry, as well as at the head of the law. 
 It would puzzle a conjurer to fee what he could get by a 
 revolution ; and to fuppofe a ftatefman to forward fuch an 
 event, without any motives of intereft or ambition, is a 
 ^Oftcei^ too abfurd to deferve an anfwcr, 
 
 THE
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 fhe EARL of CAMDEN* 
 
 -OilM TROJA FUIT ■ F UIT ILLE.— — 
 
 VIRG. 
 
 It is the obfervation of an elegant Hif-» 
 torian, that there is an ultimate point of 
 deprejfioriy as well as of exaltation, when 
 human affairs naturally return in a contrary 
 progrefs, and beyond which they feldom 
 proceed, either in their advancement or 
 decline. — The obfervation applies with 
 equal truth to the human charaBer, and 
 pointedly fo, to the character before us. 
 Viewing the once great Lord Camden in 
 ^lll his prifline glory, we are compelled to 
 
 confefs, 
 
 • Set the accounts given of Lord Camden, in the 
 Review of Parliamentary Charafters, 8vo. 1777. The 
 Koyal Regifter ; and European Magazine.
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 confefs, that antiquity boaftsy^ic;, and mo- 
 dern hiflory none more illuftrious. Per- 
 fedly (killed in the laws and conftitution 
 of his country, equally eminent in wifdom, 
 and eloquent in debate, Camden was 
 once their favoureu champion and defen- 
 der ! -NO W 
 
 * * * * • * 
 
 Charles Pratt, Earl Camden, 
 
 is the eighth fon of Sir John Pratt, Lord 
 
 Chief Juftice of the Court of King's 
 
 Bench in the reign of George the Firft, 
 
 by his fecond Lady, Elizabeth. His 
 
 father died in 1724, leaving this fon an 
 
 infant, and (as is faid) with a flender 
 provifion. 
 
 * 
 
 He received his education at B,ton^ from 
 whence, in 173 1, he was fent to Kings 
 College^ Cambrdiget of which fociety, he 
 became a Fellow. — In i735> betook the 
 
 degree
 
 ( 6i ) 
 
 degree of Batchelor of Arts, arid that of 
 Mafleriniqx^', very foon after which, 
 fixing on the law for his profeffion, he en- 
 tered himfelf a Member of one of the Inns 
 of Court.* 
 
 He pofTeffed a penetrating and lively ge* 
 nius-f- that led him, with eafe, through the 
 mofl abftrufe fludies. — His conception was 
 remarkably quick and clear, and his fine 
 talents highly cultivated* 
 
 After 
 
 * We believe the Middle Temple — When admitted of 
 Lincoln's-Inn, in 1757* he was one of the King's Counfel. 
 
 \ This great man is faid to be particularly fond of amu- 
 fing himfelf with the feiry works of romantic writers ; 
 and that Cklia, Cajfandrat and fimilar produdiions, 
 have been the favourites of his leifure hours. Byj the 
 pedantic and phlegmatic, thefe may be denomitiated 
 puerile and trifling ; but, without entering into a de- 
 fence of the old writers of romance, which are fo fupe-. 
 lior, in point of inftrudlion, to modern novels, I feel a de- 
 gree of admiration of thofe abilities which the barren, 
 dry, and continued purfuits of law erudition cannot fub- 
 due into the duUnefs of profeflional infenfibility, but ftill 
 preferve a real feeling for the flowers of fancy and the 
 1^'orks of genius— JV^p/^ in tht Royal Regifter. 
 
 /
 
 { 6i ) 
 
 After the ufual period of admlflion, fie 
 ,1vas called to the bar, where, for feveral 
 years, his pra6tice was fo inconfiderable, 
 as almoft to produce defpondency ; and it 
 is reported, that he gradually beheld his 
 fmall patrimony mouldering away, with- 
 out hopes of bettering* or even retrieving 
 his circumflances by profeflional exertions : 
 and that fo inadequate was his encourage- 
 ment to his expectations, that he had at 
 one period determined at once to abandon 
 his profeflion and his country. Thefe ob* 
 llacles were, however* happily removed 
 byperfeverance. 
 
 About this period, his fchool-fellow 
 and collegiate friend. Dr. SneydDavies, 
 addreifed his beautiful Poetic Epiftle to him* 
 ^n which, after painting the pleafures of 
 their youthful intercourfe, and the tranfi** 
 tion from that happier period of life to 
 manhood, and its more worldly purfuits, he 
 encouraged him by the examples of Cow-^ 
 PER, TalboTj^Somers, and Yorke* 
 
 Whether
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 Whether this advice, by flimiilating his 
 hopes, added additional elafticity tohispro- 
 feffional purfuits, certain it is, that his di- 
 ligence was foon after noticed and reward- 
 ed ; an4 it is recorded of him, that he con- 
 diided himfelf, through the courfe of great 
 pradice, with the highell credit and repu- 
 tation. 
 
 He was a popular lawyer, and ever for- 
 ward to defend the rights of the people* 
 When Owen was tried for publifhing the 
 cafe of Alexander Murray, ini752# 
 Mr. Pratt was one of his counfel, and 
 fignalized himfelf by a very able conflitu- 
 tional argument on that occalion. 
 
 At the general eled:ion of 1754* he was 
 €hofen member for Downton^ and at this 
 
 period, 
 
 * On a bin being propofed in the Houfe of Commons 
 to extend the benefits of the Habeas Corpus Aft, which 
 however did not pafs, he is fald to have written the pam* 
 phlet intituledi " An Enquiry into the Nature and EfFe<ft 
 of the Habeas Corpus Aft." 8vo. 1755. 
 
 /
 
 ( ^4 ) 
 
 period, he was certainly confidered thei 
 moft rifing advocate at the bar ; at a time 
 too, when feme of the ablefl men then 
 living were exercifing their talents on the 
 fame ground. 
 
 In 1759, Mr. Pratt was chofen Re^ 
 corderoi BathJ^ probably through the in- 
 terefl: of Lord Chatham, (then Mr. 
 t'iTT,) between whom a £rm, lafling, 
 and well-cemented friendfhip feems to 
 have fubfiiled through life. 
 
 In the fame year, he was appointed, at 
 onccy without pafling the ufual gradation, 
 to the office of Attorney General, on the 
 advancement of Lord Northington to 
 the feals. 
 
 * His Lordfhip, fome few years ago, took d very aftive 
 part in the difputes between the fubfcribers to the upper 
 and lower rooms at Bath. He exerted himfelfLiyith un- 
 common ardour in fupport of the latter, to his general in- 
 fluence adding perfonal application ; and not confining his 
 zeal to private fociety, he coniiantly attended the public 
 meetings, where he fuggelled the meafures to be pur- 
 fued. \
 
 In 1760, he was chofen Member for 
 Bath ; and in 176 1 appointed Chief Juf- 
 tice of the Common Fleas ^ and knighted on 
 tlie death of Sir John Willes* It was 
 during his prefidency in this Court, that 
 WiLKES*s cafe came before him for deci- 
 lion ; and his determination will ever dp 
 him honour, asajuft, able, and learned 
 lawyer, and a bold and unbiafTed defender 
 of the rights of the people. In the lau- 
 relled wreath that binds his brow, this is a 
 leaf \S\2X will remain for ever green, to 
 adorn the withered bough. 
 
 In July, 1765, he was advanced to the 
 dignity of a Peer of Great Britain^ by 
 the title of Lord Camden, Baron of Cam^ 
 deny in the County of Kent. 
 
 On the 30th of July, 1766, upon the 
 change of miniftry, formed by Lord 
 Chatham, he was created Lord High 
 Chancellor ; a pofl he alfo held with equal 
 honour to himfelf, and fatisfadion to the 
 F fuitors
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 fuitors and pradifers of the Court, until 
 ^his refignation in the year 1 770 : — but it 
 ought not to pafs unrecorded, that foon 
 after his promotion to this high office, the 
 late celebrated conjiitutional judge was heard 
 to defend, as Chancellory a meafure avow<m 
 edly illegal and unconjlitutional* 
 
 The then Mayor of London (a cornfac- 
 tor,) had alarmed the miniflry with an ac- 
 count of a fhort crop of corn at home, a 
 faikire of the harveft all over Europe, 
 and a rapid exportation under the corn 
 laws. The bufinefs was debated in coun- 
 cil, when the exportation was forbid by royal 
 proclamation. This was confidered as more 
 dangerous than even the cafe oijkip-'moneyt 
 as an attack on the conftitution, and an 
 invafion of the laws. His Lordlhip de- 
 fended the meafure on the ground oi Jlate 
 ?j£cejjity i and, upon this occalion, not 
 only fixed the exercife of the Royal prero- 
 gative in the firft Magiftrate, but endea- 
 voured to inveft him wiihthtoption^ when, 
 and ON WHAT OCCASIONS (with theadvicc 
 
 of
 
 C 67 ) 
 
 of the privy council) that prerogative might 
 be exercifed, in contradidion to the known 
 laws of the land, and the acknowledged 
 principles of the conftitution. 
 
 In the year 1770, difapproving themca- 
 fures of adminiftration refpecfling America, 
 he re/igned,* and from this period, became 
 the Warm and determined enemy of that 
 fyftem, which was fo fatally purfued du- 
 ring the adminiftration of Lord North. 
 
 Difmifted from his rank and office, he 
 retired with the fame dignity with which 
 he had fuftained it ; proving that he had 
 once more virtue than his enemies,, and, 
 confequently, more honour ; that he had 
 once univerfal fame and admiration — the 
 dupe of no minijlery nor the /upper ter of 
 any meafure of which the obje£l was not the 
 intereji of his country, 
 
 . No 
 
 • It has been laid, he did not voluntarily quit his official 
 ftation, but (in lefs courtly phrafe) was turned out— for 
 an antiminifterial vote. This was fpiritedly afferted by 
 Lord Chatham, but denied by admMuftration. 
 
 Fa
 
 (• 68 ) 
 
 No nian is more amiable in private 
 life ; and, when removed from the buftlc 
 of pubhc bufinefs, his many fecial virtues 
 Ihine in the luflre of private excellence. 
 
 There is nothing lukewarm in this Noble- 
 man's temper : on whatever fideheengages, 
 he difcovers the energy of his feelings, and 
 the force of his under {landing. The 
 rebellion in America, was, perhaps, firll 
 fanned into flame by his fubtlt, jine-fpun 
 arguments in favour of the colonifls. — 
 Prom the warmth of his heart, and the 
 vigour of his abilities, his capacity to fup- 
 port his friends, bears an equal propor- 
 tion to the power of attacking his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 He oppofed in the Houfe of Lords, 
 fome legal opinions pronounced in the 
 Court of King's Bench, on the dodrinc 
 of libels, and on other conflitutional 
 fiibje<^s, in which he was fupported 
 
 by
 
 ( 69 ) 
 
 by his great and noble friend the Earl of 
 Chatham. 
 
 On the 17th of March, 1782, he was 
 appointed Frefident of the Council, 3. poft 
 which herefignedin 1783, but has finc» 
 refumed, and yet retains. 
 
 He was equally able as a lawyer and an 
 advocate. All his fpeeches have a fweet 
 fimplicity, an exquifite grace, a clearnefs, 
 and (to borrow an expreflion of Sir Wm. 
 Jones, fpeakingof Lysias, the Grecian 
 orator) a tranfparency, which is more eafily 
 conceived than defined, admired than imi- 
 tated, and which is analogous to graceful- 
 nefs in motion, and melody in a feries of 
 founds. — Wq Jtmplifes every thing, and 
 delivers his opinions with a plainnej's that 
 captivates while it enlightens, fo that if 
 l^ruth Ihould afTume a human voice and 
 form, fhe could ufe no other language.* 
 
 His 
 
 • See the learned Prefatory Difcourfe to Sir William 
 Jones's Tranflation of Ifaeus,
 
 ( 7» ) 
 
 His parliamentary abilities aire unqiief- 
 tionably great, and he is, perhaps, fupe- 
 rior to every one but Fox, in depth of 
 reafoning and logical definition. He never 
 leaves his antagonift an opening ; and, if 
 he ever addrefTes the paflions, it is through 
 the medium of argument. He would be 
 no match for Fox or Demosthenes in 
 haranguing a popular aflembly, but he 
 would equal them in an Areopagus. He 
 is fond of firft principles, of which he 
 never lofes fight. His ftyle is cool, deli- 
 berate and perfuafive : his volubility, choice 
 of language, and flow of ideas, are inex- 
 hauftible ; neither is his judgment any way 
 inferior to his oratory. 
 
 The human mind is pained in contrafiing 
 the meridian fplendor of this once luminous 
 charadler with its prefent dujky declenjion. 
 He, who was the champion of liberty, the 
 friend of Chatham, and the competitor 
 of Mansfield; he, who once fhunned 
 no public quellion, and who was, confe- 
 
 quently,
 
 ( 7» ) 
 
 ^uently, followed by the admiration and 
 gratitude of the kingdom, feems now ex- 
 
 i crting only the languid remains of elo- 
 quence, and exhaufting the dregs of wif- 
 dom, impregnated with the weaknefs of 
 dotage, as if carelefs of the glory that 
 
 Jhouid have concluded the career of his 
 earlier fame.
 
 TH£ RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 ribe EARL of BAr HURST 
 
 Goodman Verges, Sir, fpeaks a little on the matter ; 
 an old man. Sir, a«d his wits ire not fo blunt as, God help 
 I would defire they were ) but in faith, as honeft as the 
 (kin between his brows.— 
 
 Gratiano fpeaks an infinite deal of nothing— his reafbns 
 are as twd griaitts of wheat hid in two bufliels of chaff; yoil 
 fhall feek all day ere you find them, and then they are not 
 worth the fearch-^*- 
 
 Shak)Sspsar£, 
 
 J. F general report be entitled to any credit, 
 we may boldly write down, that the Earl 
 of Bathurst became a great charadler 
 perforce — he was nurfed in a political hot- 
 bed, and raifed per fas aut nefas. Nothing 
 lefs than the fame necelTity introduces his 
 
 Lordfliip's
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 Lordfhip*s name in the fame page with 
 thofc illuftrious perfonages, which it is the 
 purpofe of this volume to pourtray. 
 
 The Earl of Bathurst, asthefe- 
 gifter proclaims, is defcended of an illuftri- 
 ous family ; his father was the much cele-« 
 brated nobleman whom Pope, in his tune- 
 ful numbers, fo highly, fo elegantly, and fo 
 juftly panegyrifed; and Swift, in fpight 
 of his fatyrical vein, and almoft in con- 
 tradidlion of his nature, condefcended to 
 praifc. The old earl was commonly known 
 under the accepted defcription of one of 
 ^egn Ann*s Peers , who, like fome of later 
 date, fprung up in an abundant and unex- 
 ped:ed crop, in a fingle night. If, how- 
 ever, they had all owned the fame preten- 
 fions with his Lordfhip, we fhould have 
 fuppofed that the batch of new-made lord- 
 lings would have efcaped a general name, 
 which oftener originates from contempt, 
 ther than a more ennobled principle. 
 
 The
 
 • ( 75 ) 
 
 The prefent Earl of Bathurst, by 
 the force of natural conclufion, muft be 
 underftood to have received an education 
 liberal as his birth j for he who is fond of 
 the learned, by an undeniable axiom, muft 
 be equally attached to the arts which they 
 profefs. 
 
 At a very early period he was endued 
 with the Toga forenJjSy and, much fooner 
 than is common, exchanged the rough 
 bombazeen for the more light and filken 
 robe, that is the fure indication of profefli- 
 onal advancement. He travelled all the 
 jlages of the law, with a rapidity that great 
 power and intereft can alone, in the fame 
 
 degree, accelerate. His profeflional 
 
 chara(!ter in his feveral official iituati- 
 ons, was never prominently confpicuous 
 till that wonderful day, when he leapt 
 at once into the foremofl feat of the law. 
 
 Every individual member of the profef- 
 fion flood amazed j but Time, the great re- 
 
 concikr
 
 ( 76 ) , 
 
 coftcilerof ftrange events, conciliated mat- 
 ters even here. It was feen, that the noble 
 Earl was called upon from high authority 
 to fill an important office, which no other 
 could be conveniently found to occupy. 
 Lord Camden had retired without any 
 abatement of rooted difguft, far beyond the 
 reach of perfuafion to remove. The great 
 Charles Yorke, the unhappy vidlim of 
 an unworldly fenfibility, had juil refigned 
 the feals and an ineftimable life together : 
 "where could the eye of adminiftration be 
 direded ? The rage of party ran in torrents 
 of fire. The then Attorney and Solicitor 
 General were at the moment thought ineli- 
 gible — perhaps too, the noble lord, then at 
 the head of affairs, and who was yet untried^ 
 had a policy in not forwarding //"^/^/r^w- 
 dent abilities to obfcure his own. Every 
 fuch apprehenfion vanifhed upon the pre- 
 fent appointment — Ths man could raife no 
 fenfation of envy as a rival, or fear as an 
 enemy. 
 
 He
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 He was made Chancellor m 1771 ; and 
 on retiring from his fituation in 1778, to 
 make way for the prefent legal Atlas, was 
 appointed Lord Prefident of the Council. 
 
 He never entered the chancery court with 
 a firm, dauntlefs flep. The daring Thur- 
 Low, and the wary Wedderburne, fre- 
 quented the haunts that he was equally ne- 
 ceffitated daily to purfue, under a dread of 
 their formidable talents. — Thefe great men 
 ftood conftantly oppofed to each other, 
 and it required the eye and nerve of a maf- 
 tertoparry their oratorical affaults. Skilled 
 equally to attack and to defend, it required 
 the finefl intellect, and that inceffantly upon 
 the ftretch of exertion, to balance their 
 powers, and preferve the fcale of equity 
 from unfair preponderance j a tafkto which 
 he was fo unequal, that it has been averred 
 by the wits, that even an old woman had 
 fufficient ability to vanquifh his lordfhip 
 
 in
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 in his own court.* In this recorded faying, 
 thefbitand it's determination concerningthe 
 ground on which he built the houfe at 
 Hyde-park Corner, is evidently glanced 
 at. — 
 
 As a fpeaker of the houfe of lords, and 
 viewing him in a political light, this ac- 
 count muft, from circumfiarices, be nfecef- 
 farily fhort. Such as had the fortune to be- 
 hold his Lordfhip prefiding at the table of 
 the Lords, and have witnefTed the fuperior 
 dignity of Mansfield, and the awful afped: 
 of Thurlow's fullen fcowl, in the fame ele- 
 vated chair, will not, (we are perfuaded) 
 to fpeak mildly, pay a bad compliment 
 to the prefent^ in the recollection of 
 faji times : neither has his political life 
 been marked with all the ftubbornnefs of 
 Catonian virtue ; happily for its owner, 
 his difpofition has been more accommoda- 
 ting 
 
 Jugulo ■ 
 
 Suojibi gladios hunc
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 ting and accordant to the temper of modern 
 times. — He has occaiionally taken part 
 with every adminiftration, from the glo- 
 rious days of Lord Chatham, to the 
 prefent degenerate sera of William 
 Pitt. 
 
 He has heen, at different times, the locum 
 tenens of Lord Thurlow, when involun- 
 tary exclamat ion heaves from the heart of 
 every beholder — heu ! (they ligh) 
 
 Quantum mutatus ab illo 
 
 hectore! 
 
 As a private nobleman he has fome good 
 traits: a benevolent heart that we know has 
 been put to the feverell teft. His natural 
 temper is faid to be fordid and penurious ; 
 but there are many of his actions within 
 recollection, which fhould refcue his cha- 
 ra^er from fo ungenerous an imputation. 
 The patronage ^ that his lordfhip afforded 
 the DAWNING talents of Sir William 
 
 JON£S,
 
 ^ ( 80 ) 
 
 Jones,* will ever be an honourable tefli- 
 mony of virtue of this defcription, and 
 ought to plead as an attonement for many 
 political errors. 
 
 • The acknowledgments of Sir William Jones were 
 not wanting, whatever might have been the fervices re- 
 ceived at his Lordfiiip's hands : but take his own words.-— 
 
 ** I check myfelf, therefore, my lord, with reludancc* 
 and abilain from thofe topic ks, to which the overflowing 
 of my zeal would naturally impel me ; but I cannot let 
 flip this opportunity of informing the public, who have 
 !hitherto indulgently approved and encouraged my labours* 
 that, although I have received many fignal marks of friend- 
 (hip from a number of illullrious perfons, to whofe favours 
 I can never proportion my thanks, yet your lordfhlp has 
 been my greateft, my only benefa£ior ; that, without any 
 folicitation, or even requeft on my part, you gave me a 
 fubftantial and permanent token of regard, which you ren- 
 dered ftill more valuable by your obliging manner of giv- 
 ing it, and which has been literally the fple frqit that I 
 have gathered from an incelTant courfe of very painful 
 toil ; that your kind intentions extended to a larger field ; 
 and that you had even determined to reward me in a man- 
 ner the moft agreeable, both to my inclinations an4 to the 
 nature of my ftudies, if an event, which has procured an 
 a-cceffion to your happinefs, could not but conduce to mine, 
 had not prevented the full effefts of your kindnefs. 
 
 "It
 
 ( 8' ) 
 
 ** It might here become me to fupprefs, what I cannot 
 however perfuade myfelf to conceal, that yourlordlhip was 
 pleafed to affign the moft flattering reafons for your inten- 
 tion, and to declare that you defired my promotion, both 
 for my own fake, and for that of the public ; the firft of 
 which motives I afcribe to your candour and the good- 
 nefs of your heart ; thefecond, which I am wholly uncon- 
 fcious of deferving, I can impute only to your Angular 
 benignity and indulgence." 
 
 Fifi, his Epift. Dcdic. tothcTranf. of Is^uc.
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir RICHARD PEPPER ARDEN, Kt, 
 
 MASTER OF THE ROLLS. 
 
 f— — Here am I, in A r d e n more fool I, 
 would I were in a better place ! 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 NON CUICON<^nE DATUM EST, HABERE NASUM. 
 
 XxAPPY is it, that in our Jerious labours, 
 there is fuch a charadter as his which is 
 now our immediate purpofe to purfue. — 
 It ad:s as a viatory refting-place, where it 
 is not only allowable to relax, but, without 
 which, the wearied fpirits would not find 
 themfelves fufficient to fuftain the inceflant 
 fatigues of fo tedious a journey.^ 
 
 G % Sir
 
 ( 84 ) 
 
 Sir Richard Pepper Arden, owes 
 his birth, fpeaking in the language of an^ 
 cient days, to a refpedable Yeoman of 
 the county of Tork^ where the family name 
 and t\\Q^ family feat wiW, moft probably, 
 be remembered to a diftant date, both 
 alike refting upon a very broad foundation. 
 The weighty eftate annexed, will affuredly 
 maintain the laji recolledtion, and the 
 owner of that eftate has taken the befl pofli- 
 ble means, and not unfuccefs fully, to keep 
 alive th& former. Lady Arden 's endea- 
 vours (hould like wife be recorded, as an- 
 xious, in 2ifecondary degree, to aid the per- 
 manent eftablifliment of fo illuftrious a 
 family. 
 
 Sir Richard Pepper Arden, after 
 an ordinary Education in an ordinary York- 
 Ihirefchool, was entered, by the pious care 
 of his father, at T^rinity College y Cambridge ; 
 where his convivial talents have left behind 
 them an impreflion infinitely more durable 
 in academic tablets, than more ufeful and 
 
 valuable
 
 ( 8^ ) 
 
 Valuable accomplifhments. The True 
 Blue Club was accuftomed to obferve him 
 as its chief ornament, and firft fupport. 
 ** Frcefidium^ et dulce decuS,'* 
 
 The laft revifion of the rej^n&ions^ 
 which this old and refpecflable fgciety 
 thought proper to place upon her fellows, 
 was principally made, underthe dircdionof 
 Mr. Arden, — who, while he was form- 
 ing ftatutes, for binding fo confined a circle, 
 probably had little thoughts that he would 
 afterwards be engaged in framing laws for 
 a mighty empire. Perhaps too, it were 
 fafer had he and his friends contented them- 
 felves, to fee his abilities exerted in a 
 fphere, where they were fo early and hap- 
 pily diflinguifhed. — But to return to the 
 path from which we have involuntarily de- 
 viated. 
 
 From the temporary embraces of Alma 
 Mater our recreant knight threw himfejf, 
 at once, into the fajl arms of the law : on 
 
 whofe
 
 < 86 ) 
 
 "wliofe conftant, though hardbofom, he has 
 
 ever fince, uninterruptedly refted. He 
 
 was called to the bar from the Middle Teni" 
 pky and, for a certain time, remained in a 
 privacy, from which his warmeft partizans 
 never once dreamt that he would, in later 
 periods, fo luckily emerge. At the feafons 
 we are fpeaking of, Mr. Arden was much 
 more noted for having than not having a 
 brief. His pradtice was confined to the 
 Court of Chancery, and was exceedingly 
 limited and inconfiderable even as a draftf- 
 man. 
 
 Naturally inclined to fociallife, the per- 
 petual folitude to which Sir Pepper was 
 oppofed, could not but be an afflid:ion to a 
 mind tempered like his. He therefore, 
 with all reafonable and prudential difpatch, 
 fought a conflant companion, and made 
 that companion as infeparable as a wife. 
 Notwithflanding this little flip of his mo- 
 rality, he not long afterwards contrived ta 
 obtain the hand of a woman of fortune 
 
 and
 
 ( 8? ) 
 
 arid diflindion. The Lady he married, is 
 a daughter of Mr. Richard WiLbRa* 
 HAM BooTLE, a gentleman of confider-^ 
 able eftate in Chejhire^ and no lefs intercft 
 in the Houfe of Commons, of which he 
 is an honorary member. 
 
 Men are very apt, in the defperate leap 
 of matrimony i to expofe themfelves to the 
 taunts of their puerile friends, who have 
 «o/, like them, fummoned courage enough 
 to take fo bold a refolution. Sir Pepper 
 efcaped noty on his marriage, the iifual 
 allotment of good-natured raillery, from 
 which he whimfically and dextroufly re- 
 leafed himfeif, fportively obferving, that 
 gentlemen might fay what they pleafed, 
 he was perfectly fatisfied with his new 
 ftate ; for if his immediate views at the' 
 bar were not much mended by his altered 
 life, his chamber pra<5lice would be much 
 more conliderable. This although faid, 
 and probably meant, in jejl^ turned out to 
 beliterally fa^ ; for, from his own and 
 
 acquired
 
 ( 88 ) 
 
 acquired connedlions, he was brought in- 
 ilantly into legal light, and very fhortly 
 lifted into the important office of Attorney 
 General. 
 
 On the appointment of Lord Ken yon 
 to the Chief Jufiicejhip of the King's Bench, 
 by one Chancellor, Sir Pepper was fecu- 
 red in the Mafierjhip of the Rolif by ano- 
 ther, * ^/ed longo proximus intervallo. " They 
 who recoiled: the circumftances that at- 
 tended this nomination, are not, at the 
 fame time, unacquainted with the weight of 
 differences that fo long raged between the 
 two Chancellors previous to the dernier 
 adjuftment of it. Sir Pepper, intheinte- 
 rim, was bandied from the Chancery to the 
 Exchequer^ and from the Exchequer again 
 to Chancery in a very pitiable fufpenfe ; but 
 was at length confirmed in the appointment 
 notorioufly in the teeth of an authority 
 which had often been difputed, but never 
 before vanquiihed. 
 
 In
 
 ( 89 ) 
 
 In his prefent official capacity, Sir Rich- 
 ard Pepper Arden has had Httle op- 
 portunity of diftinguifhing himfelf ; for 
 the Majler of the Rolls is no longer confi- 
 dered as a legal purveyor iox the Lord Charif 
 cellar. The caufe of objedion that exiflied 
 before his eledion to office has not yet, nor, 
 in the general opinion, ever can be remo- 
 ved. It v«as not any political contention 
 that barred the pathway of Sir Pepper to 
 the Rolls, Mr. Pitt's right of interfe- 
 rence in law-diflributions being never ar- 
 gued. Not the appointment y but the ap- 
 pointed, was the objed of refiftance. In 
 the Chancellor s abfence from the court we 
 have, therefore, never been furprifed, that 
 Mr. Juftice Buller fhould have uni- 
 formly filled the temporary feat; which 
 fpcaks, as plainly as a(5tions can, the fen- 
 timents of the firft law authority in this 
 country, refpe(5ting the abilities of the 
 Mafter of the Rolls now being. The Chan^ 
 cellor\ faying' to Mr. Pitt on i\iG quejl ion 
 of merit, not on the merit of the (juejlion, 
 
 was
 
 ( 9° ) 
 
 was as ftrong as ufual, ** I care not»" faid 
 he, ** whom the devil you appoint, fo you 
 ** do not appoint oney who, inftead of 
 ** hghtening my burthen, will heave ye: 
 ** his own damn*d wallet upon my fhoul-* 
 ** ders." 
 
 Sir Pepper, however, had fomc quali- 
 ties, which fcldom fail to recommend 
 themfelves to minifterial favour and pro- 
 tection. In his political harangues he is ne- 
 ver difappointed of a certain number of 
 hearers, who fubfcribe to his opinions as 
 implicitly and as tamely, as to the law of the 
 land. No lefs thzn Jix votes in the Houfe 
 of Commons are reported to be at his beck* 
 As a fenatorial fpeaker, he is little efteemed 
 beyond the aye and the ttegafion that he may 
 alternately announce* 
 
 The private life of Sir Richard Pei<- 
 PER Arden is, in every refped , harmlefs 
 and irreproachable. As a converfationift, 
 he is thought to ftand almoft beyond com- 
 petition J
 
 ( 9' ) 
 
 petition; and with fqme, ftrange as it may- 
 appear, he is reckoned a wit.* Asa mem- 
 ber of the Cabinet, they who introduced 
 him, (hould beft know the purpofes that he 
 was there defigned to fulfiL Momus, we 
 are told, was often called in, by the Celef- 
 tials, to quell the frequent tumults of their 
 debates ; and we do not apprehend that 
 our terreftial councils are much more 
 harmonized than thofe in the upper re- 
 gions. 
 
 • *' And, firange totell! in nature' sfpite provoke 
 *• Hot Ar DE N once to blunder on a joke.^' 
 
 The miracle of a jeft from Sir Richard PEPPEie 
 happened on the occafion of fome refoludoni having pafT- 
 ed between the hours o^ Jix and fe'ven in the morning, for 
 which reafon the then Attorney General (now Sir Richard 
 Pepper Arden, Mailer of the Rolls) facetioufly contend- 
 ed, " That they were entitled to no refpeft, as the Houfe 
 " was then at sixes and sivems."— Any approximatioit 
 to wit in debate being perfeftly unufual with this gentle- 
 man, however entertaining his friends may think him iiv 
 private , the ingenious Author of " Critifcims on the RoU 
 Had" very properly diftinguifhes this memorable attempt 
 by the fame kind of admiration with which poets com- 
 monly
 
 ( 90 
 
 monly mention fome great prodigy, as for inftance of a 
 cow's fpeaking 
 
 Pecudesque locut^ 
 
 Infandum. 
 
 We hope none of our readers will attribute to us the moll 
 diftant intention of any invidious comparifon.
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 LORD KENTON, 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICE of the COURT of KING's BENCH, 
 
 -Labor> omnia vincit 
 
 Jmprobus, 
 
 V1K.GIL* 
 
 Animum rege ; qui niji partt. 
 
 Jmperatt huncf ranis, hunc tu compe/ce catena, 
 
 Horace. 
 
 Rude am I* of ipeech. 
 
 Shakspsars. 
 
 J^ORD Ken YON is another y among nu- 
 merous inftances, to prove almoft the cer-' 
 tainty of a certain degree of legal know- 
 ledge leading to the higheft honours 
 and emoluments of the ftate. — His Lord- 
 ihip's abilities, merely as a lawyer, are ge- 
 nerally
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 ncrallyadmittedj and we readily Tub fcribe to 
 an acknowledgment of great application and 
 unbiafTed integrity. — But here his Lord- 
 fhip's moft partial panegyrifl muft be con- 
 tent to reft his portion of praife. He 
 will fcarce be placed in the fame order of 
 beings with his great predecelTor ; — no one 
 will fay of him 
 
 ** Sequiturquc patrem paflibus aequis." 
 
 To borrow an expreffion of Lord Bo ling - 
 BROKE, ** the comparifon would be pro^ 
 phaning the tombs of the dead,* to raife an 
 altar to the living." 
 
 Lord Ken yon vswxQiy comparatively with 
 the great Earl Mansfield, hold 2ivery 
 i^Jerior Ration in the temple of Fame. 
 
 The lawyers of the Roman ftate feem 
 to have been a people of very little import- 
 ance, detached from their confideration 
 as orators: perhaps the ableft of them 
 ranked lower in public opinion than our 
 
 common 
 
 • Lord Mansfield may be accounted civilly dead.
 
 C 95 ) 
 
 common attornies here. Tully feems to 
 have thought lightly of them : and we may- 
 judge of the degree of eftimatiori fuch a 
 character as Ken yon would have held 
 in the Roman ftate. — The cafe is, how- 
 ever, exadlly the reverfe in England : — 
 the law is here the paramount profellion, 
 to which every thing is referred for deci- 
 fion. It is now what the church was for- 
 merly. The ancient feodal fyftem has in- 
 terwoven into its texture fuch a mafs of 
 abftrufe learning, and branched out doubts 
 and difficulties into fuch numerous fub-di- 
 vifions — the increafe of commerce among 
 a people greedy of opulence and ' power, 
 but jealous of their liberties and rights, 
 guarded by gigantic folios, under the 
 denomination of adls of parliament, in- 
 volved in endlcfs contradictions and fuper- 
 induced innovations — all thefe have toge- 
 ther extended it's fibres almofl to infinity, 
 fo that the profeffors can alone compre- 
 hend them; and they are become, even to 
 the ProfeJforSy a wildernefs. They vege- 
 tate in the ranknefs of our legiflative foil 
 
 in
 
 ( 96 ) 
 
 in a wild luxuriance (apparently without 
 order or connedlion), that threatens to ex- 
 clude all light, and make this wildernefs 
 impenetrable, from its denfity and dark- 
 nefs. If a few falutary herbs take root, 
 they are fo choaked by the exuberance of 
 the furrounding foliage, fo fliaded, fo ob- 
 fcured, as almofl to render them totally 
 inacceflible. 
 
 The Bei?^g whofe habits of life enable 
 him to grope his way through fuch a maze, 
 becomes an important chara(5ter in our 
 courts, and is, in confequence, elected into 
 our fenates, and from thence promoted to 
 the juflice-feat. He often finds his way 
 without the aid of the lynx's eye j that of 
 the mole is, perhaps, better adapted to an 
 atmofphere, where the mo^kf ombre gloom 
 pervades every flep of his progrefs. 
 
 Lord Ken yon was bred under an *at- 
 
 torney, 
 
 * His Lordfliip was horn at Gredlngton, in Flintfliire, 
 North Wales, from whence the title of his barony is taken. 
 
 He
 
 (97) 
 
 torney, from whofe defk he was tranflated 
 tothat of a law agent in town, and was ever 
 diftineuifhed for unwearied attention in the 
 purfuit of his ftudies. — Such an education^ 
 though warranted by fome great and fuc- 
 cefsful examples, may naturally be fup- 
 ppfed to have damped an imagination not 
 at all remarkable for its brilliancy ; but it 
 probably induced that habit of labour and 
 attention which he has retained through 
 life, and to which he muft have been, in 
 a great meafure^ indebted for his prefent 
 exalted Nation. 
 
 Lord Ken yon was, foori after his 
 emancipation from the deflc, entered of 
 the Middle Temple, from which honour- 
 able fociety he was called to the bar. 
 
 Condant application will blunt the 
 keeneil edge, and tire the mofl eager fpirit j 
 
 but 
 
 He was an articled clerk to Mr. Joe Tomkinfon, of 
 Namptwich, in Chefhire, a very eminent attorney, ftill 
 living. 
 
 H
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 but his Lordfhip, during the courfe of 
 many years vaft pradice, feemed an excep- 
 tion to this very natural pofition. — His 
 chief pra<5tice was in the court of Chancery, 
 and, for many years, his chief bufinefs 
 that of a draughtfman ; in which, and in 
 his opinions, he was confidered acute, 
 accurate, and able ; but when occafion 
 called him into court to fupport thcfe opi- 
 -nions and pleadings, although he never 
 failed to difplay a profufion of law learn- 
 ing, and that mofl judicially applied, yet 
 his manner was ungraceful — his language 
 uncouth, awkward, ^unharmonized — and 
 his method and arrangement of facfls, ge- 
 nerally confufed and ill-digefled. 
 
 His Lordfhip pofTefTes all the warmth 
 and vehemence of his country ; and is ea- 
 fily provoked to pailion — a circumftance 
 little calculated to conceal his oratorical 
 defeds. He is in the habit of hurrying 
 his words fo difagreeably together, that 
 his articulation is not only indiflind, but 
 
 fometimes
 
 ( 99 )■ 
 
 fometimes totally unintelligible. He lifps, 
 hefitates» and occafionally ilammers, fo as, 
 for a confiderable paufe, to fufpend all ap- 
 parent poflibility of utterance. Yet, under 
 all thefe defeds (infuperable as they might 
 be imagined), fuch was his weight with 
 the court he addrefled as a counfel, that 
 he was not only heard with patience, but 
 with attention and refped:. ^ 
 
 His profsflional Eminence introduced 
 him to the high port of Attorney General^ 
 and, in confequence, to a feat in the Houfe 
 of Commons,* where he was flill \}cvtmerc 
 lawyer^ had thtfame habits, they^w^ defedls ; 
 but rendered more confpicuous by being 
 difplayed on a theatre lefs calculated for the 
 exertion of his talents in that fcience in 
 which he could alone excel. 
 
 His 
 
 • Heftood candidate for Flint Jhirti againft Sir Robert 
 MosTYK, th&prefent member, and loft it, as it is faid, 
 from the influence of the Dean of 5/. Jfaph^
 
 ( 100 ) 
 
 His Lordjfhip held, at the fame time, 
 the office of Chief yujiice of Chejiery 
 to which he was appointed on the death of 
 Mr. Morton. 
 
 Fortune, it is obferved, is generally fpa- 
 ring, or bountiful in extremes in the dPlri- 
 
 bution of her favours. The Maflerjhip 
 
 of the Rolls next awaited his acceptance i 
 in which office, however, he fat fo fhort a 
 time, that little can be faid of him officially, 
 but his Lordfhipwas, beyond all doubt, /)^- 
 culiarly qualified for that important ftation. 
 
 His early and continued habits of 
 intimacy withj in confequence of pro- 
 feffional fervices rendered to the pre- 
 fent Lord Chancellor, was no inconfi- 
 derable aid to his elevation in the Court of 
 King's Bench.* It is well known, the 
 
 great 
 
 • The late Sir Thomas Dave^jport, then Mr. Da- 
 venport, had been in habits of intimacy with this 
 
 great
 
 ( lOI ) 
 
 great Earl who left his feat was defirous of 
 feeing another in the poffeflion of it ; but 
 that power which could o-^r^ command every 
 thing, was too much in the wane to givQ 
 effed to it's wifhes. 
 
 The high poft his Lordfhip holds, is 
 certainly the befl of all others (unlefs in- 
 deed that of the Majler of the Rolls y for 
 his political and oratorical talents would 
 render him but a forry Chancellor) calcula- 
 ted for the difplay of his talents; as he 
 can there ^\y^ them full exercife in the way 
 they have been invariably and flrenuoufly 
 applied. 
 
 When 
 
 great man, and had flattered himfelf with the hopes of 
 fucceeding to the firft valuable appointment in his power 
 to confer ; but fevcral good things paffing by, the pa- 
 tience and temper of Mr. Davenport wc-e loft. The 
 Chief Jufticelhip of Chejier becoming vacant, he thus 
 fh«rtly wrote to the Chancellor : " Ths Chief Jufticefhip 
 »• of Chefter is vacant. Am I to have ic ?" To which 
 the following laconic and emphatic anfwer was returned ; 
 ** No, Bv God ! Kenyon shall have it."
 
 ( 102 ) 
 
 When occafion calls his Lordfhipinto the 
 Houfe of L^rds on any important debate, 
 where his WJi Prius knowledge cannot 
 avail him, oh I what a falling off is there ! 
 The Chancellor^ black brow lowers tre- 
 mendous, and he is obliged to interpofe the 
 Achillean Jhietl for his protection. 
 
 Lord Ken YON bears the fame compari- 
 fon with the prefent Chancellor^ that Coke 
 did to Bj\C0N ; but let it be remembered, 
 that there is an almojl infinite dijlanceht\.\^ccn 
 both thefe law Nobles, and the illuftrious 
 Names prophaned by-the comparifon. 
 
 THE
 
 THE HONOURABLB 
 
 Sir FRANCIS BULLER, Bart. 
 
 OtMoftbt JUDGES of tbt COURT cf KINGS BENCH, 
 
 ** Our city's inftitntions, and the tenns 
 Of common juftice, y'are as pregnant in. 
 As art and pradice hath enriched any 
 That we remember.——" 
 
 Shakfpeare's Meafure for Meafure. 
 
 X HE great and learned Judge Buller 
 was admitted of the Inner Temple on the 
 8th of February, 1763, and called to the 
 bar after the ufual period of probation ^ from 
 the honourable fociety of the Middle Tem^ 
 ple» from the fame fociety he was alfo 
 made 2i ferjeant, and, almofl immediately 
 
 after,
 
 - ( I04 ) 
 
 after, promoted to the rank of a judge of 
 the Court of King's Bench, 
 
 This is the age o^ young men — we now 
 fee men born ftatefmen and lawyers. They 
 are tranllated almofl: from the cradle to the 
 government of kingdoms, and to pre- 
 Jidency in legiflation. In former times, 
 none but meq advanced in years were per- 
 mitted to affume the dignity of the coif, 
 or to afcend the magifterial bench : a pe- 
 riod indeed, beyond the bloom of manhood^ 
 cuflomarily elapfed before their ^^ call to 
 the bar.** In the inftance before us, vjc 
 fee a judge eminently qualified for the fla- 
 tion he fills, almofl in the bloom of youth, 
 
 Mr. Buller's firfl e?itrc into the pro- 
 feflion, was in the department of fpecial 
 pleading. He fludied under the prefent 
 Judge, then Mr. Ashhurst, and, like 
 Demosthenes, excelled his mafler,* 
 and was always ranked amongft the mofl 
 
 eminent 
 
 * Is^us was the preceptor of the great Athenian orator.
 
 ( I°i- ) 
 
 eminent of the profeffion. His acceflion to 
 bufinefs, as a common law draughtfman, 
 was immediate and immenfe ; his practice 
 as a barrifter was alfo, at firft, considerable, 
 and, in an extremely fhort period, became 
 equal to that of the very firfl-rate lawyers. 
 
 In all that part of pracftice, which puQies 
 a caufe out of its regular courfe, and forms 
 the great bufinefs of the Term, he had 
 no equal; in every motion of confequence, 
 or fpecial argument, he was always engaged 
 either for the plaintiff or defendant ; and 
 here Mr. Buller was perfectly at home. 
 
 Nature defigned him for a lawyer, and 
 he wifely purfued her bias ; for very early 
 in life he feems to have entered into a recog- 
 nizance^ to talk and think of nothing but 
 law ; his knowledge oi praBice and cafes ^ 
 left him without a competitor. He re- 
 fembles the Roman lawyer Sulpitius,* 
 
 and 
 
 • Sulpitius, the great Roman lawyer, is faid to hav« 
 Jfft behind him one hundred and fourfcore volumes on 
 
 law
 
 ( 'o6 ) 
 
 and certainly is the Coke of the prefent 
 age. 
 
 His 'Niji Prius pradice was, indeed, 
 comparatively inconfiderable. The fad: is, 
 Mr. Duller had little fuccefs in his ad- 
 drefs to the paffions, and could not there- 
 fore be eminent in his appeal to a Jury. 
 However Jhrewdly he crofs-examined ; 
 \iowQ.\^x pertinently he pointed his remarks ; 
 howcwerjagacious he might be in the ar- 
 rangement and management of a caufe 
 (from a want, probably, of directing his 
 attention to the embellifhments of ora- 
 tory) he was by no means, Aappy as an ad- 
 vocate, his advocatorial addrefs rather con- 
 veyed the idea oi barking than fpeaking j but 
 excellence does not ered: her banner in 
 every region of the mind ; he fought and 
 found fame jn the recejfes of law learning ; 
 and therefore we arc not to be furprifed, if 
 he was deficient in thofe more fhowy ac- 
 
 compiifhments, 
 
 law fubjefts, of his own compiling. It is extremely pro- 
 bable that Mr. Buller's manufcript colleAions are con- 
 siderably cfa larger bulk, and of a fimilar nature.
 
 ( 1^7 ) 
 
 compliiHments, which were little, or not 
 at all, objeds of his choice or attention. 
 
 If fpecial pleading has any fun-beams^ 
 many others have been lighted up by his. 
 The aftonifhing fuccefs of Judge BuLLER, 
 introduced \htfaJhion of making the ftudy 
 of i\\2Xfcience (if it ought to be dignified 
 by that name)van introdudion to the pro- 
 feflion. 
 
 The eloquence of magijlracy is of a far 
 different kind from that of the advocate; 
 and the fpeeches of this very learned judge 
 from the Bench ^ certainly approach as near 
 perfection as modern example reaches ; 
 it is a model for imitation. 
 
 He poflejGTes great quicknefs of percep- 
 tion; fees the confequences of a /ad:, and 
 the drift of an argument at its firft opening, 
 and can immediately reply to an unfore- 
 feen objedion ; though, perhaps, it may 
 be fometimes fufpeded that his perception 
 is too quick i it has certainly expofed him 
 
 in
 
 ( i°8 ) 
 
 in fome inftances to the charge (whether 
 true or falfe) of impatience and petulance, 
 very indecorous in the characfter of a judge ; 
 it is not enough that the magiflrate on the 
 bench fhould perceive the truth or fallacy 
 of an argument ; it is his duty to proceed 
 with the moft cautious dehberation, 'till, 
 from the arguments of the pleader, or 
 the refult of evidence, he has drawn forth 
 the clearefl: demonftrations that the cafe 
 poffibly admits, and eftablifhed convidlion, 
 by the patient exertion of argumentative 
 reafon. 
 
 It is the general^ as it is the juft profef- 
 fional character of this great lawyer, that he 
 ilates his arguments with the utmofl accu- 
 racy and precifion, reafoning logically, and 
 in a ftyle, which may be deemed the true 
 eloquence of law. Like his prefent Chief, 
 he wasnot calculated to puflihis way in par- 
 liamentary campaigns j but his confummate 
 knowledge rendered him an important 
 acquifition to the Bench. He was the 
 
 ypungeft
 
 ( 109 ) 
 
 youngeft Englifh Judge ever promoted to 
 that rank ; and, growing up, under the Ce^ 
 dar^oi knowledge and eloquence, may 
 juftly now be conlidcred as one of its great- 
 eft ornaments. 
 
 Mr. Justice Duller, if we confider 
 the TRAITS by which his judicial conducSt 
 has been flrongly marked, feems to pofifefs 
 the greateft inflexibility of fentiment and 
 opinion.-f- Like Holt, he is too ftaunch 
 and too fyftematic a Lawyer to fufFer the 
 flubbom and general principles of, law to 
 give way, in any in/lance^ to the milder in- 
 ferences of EQUITY. It cannot, however, 
 be denied or concealed, that the calmnefs 
 of his temper, and the deliberate firmnefs 
 of his condud:, has not in every inftance 
 kept pace with the inflexibility of his judg- 
 ment, and tenacious adherence to general 
 
 maxims. 
 
 * Lord Mansfield. 
 
 t See his charge to the jury in Donnbllan's cafe, 
 AND His memorable opinion, of the r i g h t of the huf- 
 band over the wife, to the exercife of the thumb-Jiick.
 
 ( no ) 
 
 maxims. A ftriking proof of this was ex- 
 hibited at the famous trial of the Dean of 
 St. Afaph, when, after pufhing his oppofi- 
 tion to Mr. Erfkine, even to threats and 
 commands^ he yet fuffered him to fet his 
 authority at open defiance, and proceed in 
 the interrogation y to which he had fo Jirenu- 
 oujly ohjedied. 
 
 The anecdote being remarkable, and 
 eminently calculated to illuftrate this part 
 of the Judge's character, it may not be 
 improper to relate it. 
 
 Mr. Erskine put a queftion to the Ju- 
 ry, relative to the meaning of their ver- 
 di(5l ; Mr. Juftice Buller obje6led to its 
 propriety. The counfel reiterated his quef- 
 tion, and perfifted in demanding an anfwer; 
 the Judge again interpofed his authority in 
 thefe emphatic words : "Sit down, Mr. 
 ** Erfkine; know your duty, or I fhall 
 
 ** be obliged to make you know it." 
 
 Mr. Erfkine, with equal warmth, replied : 
 
 ** I know
 
 ( "' ) 
 
 " I know my duty as well as your Lord- 
 ** {hip knows your duty. I fland here as 
 ** the advocate of a fellow-citizen, and / 
 *• will not Jit down. ^^ The Judge was 
 filent, and the Advocate perfifled in, his 
 queflion. 
 
 Who was legally right, is not intended 
 to be here difcuffed j fince this book treats 
 of the charad:ers of Judges, not of the 
 maxims of law. But it muft readily be 
 allowed, that to proceed to threats, which 
 either he could not, or he was not inclined 
 to carry into execution, was, in fome re- 
 fpec5t, derogatory from that dignity which 
 the reprefentative of Majefly and Juflicc 
 ought carefully to fuftain.
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 JSir NA S H G R O S E, Ku 
 
 One of the JUDGES of the Court of KJNCs BENCH. 
 
 tARCA QUIDEM, SEMPER. TIBI CO*lj| t KH^U 
 
 JuJice ie» nonfordidus auEior 
 Natura, njeriqui. 
 
 Hon. 
 
 Sir NASH GROSE, fon of Edward 
 Grose, Efq. of the city of London, was 
 admitted of Lincoln's-Inn in Trinity term 
 1756, called to the bar in Michaelmas 
 term 1766, made a Serjeant in Eafter 
 term 1774, and a Judge in Hilary term 
 1787; when his Majefty conferred upoa 
 him the honour of Knighthood. 
 
 In Governments conflituted like ours, 
 
 lElevated Situations arefeldom reached, but 
 
 I by
 
 by men of great abilities (if wc cxcep£ 
 the common appendages of Titled Rank) 
 and of all the ways that are open to the re- 
 ception of adtive Genius in the Temple of 
 Fame and Fortune, the Law is beyond all 
 comparifon the moft certain. Honours are 
 obtained in the Army and Navy only by de~ 
 fperate,toilfome and tedious Atchievements, 
 which meet a ver^ uncertainy and generally 
 a very late reward. Pre-eminence in Lite- 
 rature and the Arts, afford a flill more pre- 
 carious recompence, nor can the profciTors 
 of Phyjicy or even the difciples of the 
 Church J Hand in any degree of competition 
 with the much favoured fons of litigation. 
 Liikc vultures- y these are ennobled, from 
 being ahke armed with the moft deadly 
 weapons of terror and deftrudlion. 
 
 Profeflional ability, we believe, alone X2i\{- 
 cd Mr. Grose to the Bench, who, in the 
 courfe of twenty years pra(5tice, eflablifh- 
 cd a profeffional Charadler equally eminent 
 and amiable J — his ihare of bufinefs was, 
 
 confe-
 
 ( "5 ) 
 
 irDhfequently, extenfive.* He was confix 
 dered a found lawyer; and after Glynn 
 took the lead in the Court of Common 
 Pleas, hewasalfo an excellent nifi prius ad- 
 vocate; whichis the more remarkable, from 
 the circumftance of his having fwelled the 
 lift oi f pedal pleaders '^ of whom it is no- 
 torious that very few are tolerable fpeakers. 
 The paucity of exceptions ferves only to 
 confim this as a rule. 
 
 The gi^ateft and moft laboribus Natu- 
 ralifts, in their defcription of animal crea- 
 tion, are obliged to leave numerous fubjedls 
 unnamed, and imperfedly defcrlbed, that 
 can only be clafTed under the general title 
 of ** NON-DESCRiPTS." Of this indefi- 
 nite clafs is the SPECIAL PLEADER, whofc 
 cxiftence cannot be naturally accounted for, 
 
 as 
 
 • If this learned Judge fholild be ever created a Peer, 
 his ar»M will have John Doe and Richard Roe ior/uf. 
 f criers, and his motto, *• abs(^e hoc, hoc !'* 
 
 1 
 
 2(
 
 ( ii6 ) 
 
 as Heaven could defign thefe orders of Be* 
 ings for no poilible purpofe of convenience 
 or utility. We are told, indeed, that the 
 wifdom of the Deity has created nothing /;? 
 vain : The Crocodile and the Tyger^ it is 
 Irue, mayexift as admonitory cautions againft 
 treachery and cruelty: — ihtfpecial pleader* s 
 exigence may be intended by Divine wif- 
 dom for fimilar purpofes, with this addi- 
 tional advantage, that nothing is better 
 calculated flrongly to inculcate the Chrif- 
 tian virtue of patience in both agent and 
 patient. 
 
 A fpecial pleader appears to be of thtfpi^ 
 der kind ; — they alike fpin their web for 
 the deftrudion of weak and unwary prey ;; 
 one murders the little innocent fly that flut- 
 ters in the . funfliine, the other Jiran^ 
 gles juflice in his nets of form ; both 
 are equally pernicious and poifonous.* 
 
 • TULLY,- 
 
 * See Burnett's Life of Lord Hal£, page 4 ; — alfo 
 the addrefs in parliament againft fpecial pleading, 3 Geo, 
 IL — Journals of the Houfe of Commons, \ ith of February 
 
 1730 ; and afterwards in the fame feffiOB. 
 
 I^ord-
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 TuLLY, that terreftrial God of literature, 
 feems to have known fomething of thefe 
 
 fort 
 
 Ler'd Mansfield was an avowed enemy to fpecial 
 pleading ; or, perhaps, more cDrrefUy fpeaking, /o •S'/^zW 
 pleaders ; but it is only fair to acknowl'-dge, that an ther 
 'very great man is a warm advocale for it, — Sir William 
 Jones, in his prefatory difcourfe to the tranf^ation of 
 Jfa:us, thusexprefles himfelf : " I (hall not eafily be induced 
 to wifli for a change of our prefent forms, how intricate 
 foever they may feem to "thofe who are ignorant of their 
 utility. Our fcience of fpecial pleading is an excellent 
 Jogic, it is admirably calculated for the purpofe pf analy- 
 fmg a caufe, of extrafting, like the roots of an equation, the 
 true points in difpute, and referring them, with all imagi- 
 nable fimplicity, to the court or jury ; it is reducible to the 
 ftrifteft rules of pure dialedlic ; and if it were fcienrifically 
 taught in our public feminaries of learning, would fix the 
 attention, give a habit of reafoni: g clofely, quicken the 
 apprehsnfion, and invigorate the underftanding, as rfFec- 
 tually as the famed peripatetic fyftem ; whxh, however 
 ingenious and fubtle, is not fo honourable, Irudable, or pro- 
 fitable, as the fcience in which Littleton exhorts hi5 
 fons to employ their courage and care. It may unqueftion- 
 ably be perverted to very bad puipofes ; but fo may the 
 nobleft arts, and even eloquence itielf, which many yirtii- 
 ous meft have for that reafon denied; there is no lear, how- 
 ever, that either the contralled fiftt as Zeno ufed to call it» 
 or the expanded palm, can do any real mifchief, while theif 
 blows are diredled and reftrained by the fuperintending 
 ^wer of a court.'*
 
 (. 1.8 ) 
 
 fort of men, and he thus defcribes them : — . 
 Lcguleius quidam cautus et acutus^ praeco 
 aBionum, cantor fonntdaruniy ^axc^^sfylla^ 
 bar urn. 
 
 This defcription anfwers to nothing ii^ 
 pr out of nature, but z.f pedal pleader,^
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 ^h WILLIAM HENRT ASHURSr, Kf, 
 
 One of the JUDGES of the COURT ol KINGU BENCH. 
 
 W hy, he ftalks up and down like a peacock, bites his 
 Up with a politic regard, as who fhould fay, there nuerenvit 
 in his head ; and fo there is, but it lies as coUly in him as 
 fire in flint, which will not (hew without knocking. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
 OlR William Henry Ashurst 
 was admitted of the Inner Temple on the 
 1 9 th of January 1750; was called to the bar 
 on the 8th of February 1 754, to the degree 
 of Serjeant in Michaelmas Term 1770; 
 and was almofl: immediately after prcferr 
 red to the dignity of a Judge of the Court 
 of King's Bench. 
 
 Tq
 
 ( ^20 ) 
 
 To a mpft benevolent heart, this learn- 
 f d Judge adds the polilhed manners of the 
 Gentleman, and a degree of profeflional 
 Erudition, that has ever placed him in the 
 firfl rank of Weflminfler Hall. 
 
 Oratory^ Viktpoefryy has its feveral diflind: 
 clafles. The fyn'c poet is not more widely 
 different from the epi'cj than xSx^ forenjic 
 advocate from the fenatorial orator. The 
 idea of Cicero, that no man could be juftly 
 called anorator, unlefs he united^ in ^thigh- 
 ^degree, the powers of instructing, 
 DELIGHTING, and Movi NG ^i^r/^/audiencc, 
 on every fubjedt, may be confidered as the 
 cifiiiion of Rhetorical Quixotifm ; certain it 
 is, that it impHes a variety of charad:er, 
 and a comprehenjion of genius beyond all 
 human attainment, even by minds the moft 
 gifted, and induftry the moft indefatigable. 
 it belonged neither to Demosthenes or 
 TuLLY in ancient times, nor io Fox of 
 thefe. The man whom nature has not 
 calculated to Ihine in a Britifli fenate, may, 
 
 neverthelefs,
 
 ( 121 ) 
 
 ncverthelefs, be a confpicuous, eminent, 
 and fuccefsful charader, in our courts. 
 
 Mr. Justice Ashurst is a man of 
 liberal education and enlarged notions. — 
 His language has no peculiar neatnefs or 
 brilliancy, but it is perfpicuous, pointed; 
 and clear. He reafons logically, and knows 
 well how to winnow the chaff o^ eloquence 
 from argument and law ; and the man of 
 fenfe and candour who ftatcs his arguments 
 with truth, concifenefs, and precifion, and 
 from thence draws the fair and natural 
 dedudlions, will ever have more weight 
 and influence in a court of Englifh judi- 
 cature, than any one can hope to arrive at, 
 by the mere pomp and fplendour of Gre»- 
 cian or of Roman Eloquence. 
 
 As the fun burfts through the thickefl: 
 clouds, fome men difcover their mental * 
 powers under every difadvantage, and the 
 Genius of the L^j-zc^i?/- was, in the prefent 
 inftance, fecn to fl^inc through the obfcure 
 mills of the draughtfman. Special plead- 
 ers
 
 ( 13^ ) 
 
 «rs formerly fumillied only the language 
 of courts, and, like Poets, planned the 
 drama that others were to perform. — How 
 much the cafe is now altered, and how 
 fuccefsfully this branch of ftudy is now 
 cultivated by thofe who wifh to fhine in 
 the moft diftinguiflied departments of 
 legal fcience, both the Bar and Bench bear 
 ample teftimony. 
 
 The fovereignty of Mansfield in the 
 court of King's Bench, was marked by 
 unanimity of opinion amongft the Judges. 
 This court may, poflibly, hereafter be difr 
 tinguiflied by the oppofite extreme ; and 
 .this balance of opinion, may arife from a 
 more equal balance of abilities, 
 
 M^n of enlightened minds, who have 
 underllandiqg enough to perceive a fupc- 
 riority of capacity in a Cotemporary, and 
 who have liberality fufficient to regard it 
 without envy, or difcretion to fhun an 
 unequal competition^ are, it is admitted,,to9 
 
 apt
 
 { 133 *) 
 
 gpt to be eafily convinced by his arguments, 
 jind to yield top implicitly to his opinions. 
 But when the mind is free from any fuch 
 bias, from the efFeds of awe and venera- 
 tion, we fee the judgments of men exert- 
 ing themfelves without prejudice, and may 
 infer, from perfect freedom and indepen- 
 dence of thinking, the natural diverjity oi 
 opinion among mankind. 
 
 And thus far it may be deemed no great 
 national misfortune, that the Bench is not 
 at prefent dignified with any example of 
 xS\2LX.tranfcendant Genius, which, removing 
 every idea of rivalfhip, renders oppoiition 
 of no avail : for when the mofl: upright 
 and enlightened charader is entirely 
 fecured from ^le prying eye of contending 
 adverfaries, fuch is the natural fallibility of 
 human nature, that he will fometimes 
 deviate from the path of redtitude and pro- 
 priety j if not, from the temptation to err, 
 perh:\ps, from the too great Confidence in- 
 fpired by feelings of confcious fuperiority , or 
 
 an
 
 ( 124 ) 
 
 an indolence of mind and temper, gencratecj 
 by the want of ftimulus to exertion. 
 
 It has been obferved, that when men ad-* 
 minifter Juftice in a court of common law, 
 without being control'd by the ilridlnefs of 
 it*s rules, they take on themfelves the of-^ 
 fice of legiflation, and thereby controvert 
 an ejflablifhed maxim of free government. 
 The diftindlion, or rather the feparation of 
 the legiflative power from the executive au-f 
 thority, is certainly what ought to be re- 
 garded with a moft jealous eye ; and every 
 approximation towards breaking down the 
 barrier which our artceftors have fo wifely 
 placed to feparate them, however fpe- 
 cious the pretext, ihould be anxioufly 
 oppofed : fince reafon muft readily per- 
 ceive, that fuch a breach would form an 
 immediate Inlet to Corruption, and fincc 
 the hiftory of Nations furnifhes us with 
 fufficient experience, that fuch will incvi^ 
 tablybe the effedt. 
 
 Written
 
 ( 1^5 ) 
 
 Written law ejiahlijhes the rights both 
 of Prince and People. It's certainty, and 
 the determinate and invariable difcrimina* 
 tions with which it is replete, not only mark 
 the Boundaries between Right and Wrongs 
 but preferves them inviolate, and difFufes 
 general tranquillity by enabling us to judge 
 with certainty, when we Jland within thi 
 limits offecurity. However, therefore, we 
 may admire the wifdom which eftablifhed 
 Courts of Equity to remedy thofe evils which 
 the forms of common law could not 
 reach ; yet we mull: obferve, that the utility 
 of this precaution will not only be loft, 
 when the modes of decifion pra(5lifed in 
 Courts of Equity are adopted in courts of 
 common law, but that this extenfion, to 
 the general fyftem of our jurifprudence, of 
 thole principles, which were only admitted 
 for the remedy of particular defedls, will 
 eventually^ by violating the fettled rules of 
 juftice, inftead of removing partial excep- 
 tions, annihilate the grand diftindlion 
 between law and defpotifm, and leave \ 
 
 us
 
 ( 1^6 ) 
 
 tls expofed, If not to the oppreflion, atleaft 
 to the INSECURITY of arbitrary dominion* 
 Hence ttiight arifea fdurce of confolatiori 
 for the lofs of Mansfield, that would 
 permit lis, with a kind of confolatory reluc- 
 tance, to wupe away the tear of Genius 
 at his Removal, did we not fee him fuc- 
 ceeded by one educated in the Ja^ie ha- 
 bits, and adopting the Ja/fie rules of deci- 
 lion, though unaided by thofe Rays of the 
 Divinity, which had been long accuftomed 
 to illumine the Paths of legal difficulties, 
 and condud: the Suitor by the fafefl and 
 Ihortefl rold, to the Temple of Juflite. 
 
 This fafhionable mode of equitable decl^ 
 Jion, is undoubtedly owing to the introduc- 
 tion of common law Judges, from among 
 thofe, who have been ufed to the Pleadings 
 and Bufinefs of the Courts of Equity. 
 Thefe courts being cjflablifhed for the ex* 
 prefs purpofc of controling the rigour 
 "of the common law, it is natural foT 
 men who are bred in thefe forms, and 
 
 tutored
 
 ( ^27 ) 
 
 tutored In thefe maxims, to retain their rules, 
 and tranfplant their decifions into whatever 
 fituation they may be removed. The ad- 
 Vantage to the fubje<5l has been even hitherto 
 problematical, the future confequences 
 are extremely to be dreaded. When the 
 Court of King*s Bench alTumes legiflation, 
 the learned world may continue to witnefs 
 and admire the Wifdom and Beauty of it's 
 Decifions, ^z^/ the Palladium of the Bri^ 
 tijh Conjlit'ution is removed ^ and liberty ex- 
 ifis no longer.
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 LORD LOUGHBOROUGH. 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICE of the COMMON PLEAS. 
 
 Atqui oculos paulum tellure moratos 
 
 Sujfulit at prcceresj intentatoque refol'vit 
 
 Ora/ono. 
 
 Ovlp. 
 
 X HE life of Lord LoughborougHjW- 
 ;7/^/^/y delineated, would, in point both of 
 variety and importance, take the lead of all 
 biographical produd:ions of the prefent 
 day. His lordfhip has rendered himfelf con- 
 fpicuous in fuch numerous and important 
 fcenes, that our prefcribed limits will not ad- 
 K mit
 
 mit of more than an outline: the 
 
 difficulty of the t'SL{\L\itsm/ele6iion, 
 
 He was educated for the Scotch Bar^ at 
 which he commenced his career as a pleader. 
 In the courfe of his pra6lice in that king- 
 dom, having received an affront from the 
 bench , he quitted it in d ifguft, and came to 
 E?2glandy in a Situation the very reverfe of 
 opulence. 
 
 His pra(flice here was almofl: immedi- 
 ately confiderable j and having been intro- 
 duced into Parliament under the patronage 
 of Lord Bute, the reputation he acquired by 
 his oratorical exertions, in the memorable 
 queftion that was agitated in the Houfe of 
 Commons againfl: Lord ClivCy placed him 
 at the head of his profefhon, in the diredt 
 road to opulence and fame : with how 
 much regularity and affiduity he purfuedit, 
 may be feen from his progreffive ftages to 
 the high pod his lordfhip now holds. His 
 fliare of bulinefs was certainly much fupe- 
 rior to that of his official competitor and 
 
 leader.
 
 ( '3* ) 
 
 leader, Lord Thurlow, to whom he was 
 at leaft equal in ability, and fuperior in 
 diligence. 
 
 His lordlhip \vas admitted of the Inner 
 Temple the 8th of May 1753; called to 
 the barthe 25th of November 1757, (when 
 a king*s counfel) admitted of 'Lincoln'* s 
 Inny Eafter term 1763; made Solicitor 
 General y Hilary term 1771 ; Attorney Ge-' 
 neraly Trinity Term 1 778 j and Chief J uf- 
 tice of the Common PleaSy Trinity term 
 1780, when he was created a Peer by his 
 prefent title. 
 
 The obje(5l of his Lordfliip's ambition 
 feems to have been ** The Seals.** To 
 thefe, his expectations were moft ardently 
 faifed, and his habits of ftudy and prad:ice 
 v/ere regulated accordingly. Nor can it be 
 difputed but that he \se?ninently qualified for 
 the high office of Chancellor, in preference 
 to the prelidency of a court of common 
 law. This indeed was intimated in the 
 Houfe of Commons, upon the very memo- 
 K 2 rable
 
 ( 132 ) 
 
 rable conteft between his Lordftiip and Sir 
 FletcherNorton, for the Chief Juftice- 
 fhip of the common pleas ; a conteft which 
 reminded us of that between Ajax and 
 Ulysses for the fhield of Achilles. It 
 is unneceflary to add, who moft refembled 
 Ulysses, both in fuccefsand eloquence. 
 
 His firft fpeech, as a magiftrate, was 
 upon the occafion of the riots^ on the i oth 
 of July 1780, when he delivered a mojl 
 eloquent Charge to the grand jury convened 
 upon the occafion, in the great hall at St. 
 Margaret's Hill. This Speech juftly pro- 
 cured him the moft elevated reputation for 
 energy, impreffion, and propriety of appli- 
 cation to the unfortunate occafion by which 
 it was called forth, and added (if pofTible) 
 to his fame as an orator. 
 
 Nor is this, by any means, the moft 
 diftinguifhed proof of his great oratorical 
 abilities. His clear, emphatic, and unla- 
 boured harangues, have uniformly confpired 
 
 to
 
 { m ) 
 
 to prove him alike calculated to fliine in 
 deliberative znd judicial eloquence. In fa(3:, 
 he is perfuafive alike in the fenate and in 
 the Courts ; and it is but bare juftice to fay, 
 that his lordfliip is the firft ornament the 
 profeffion can boaft, of the prefent day. 
 
 The charadler of his oratory, is that of 
 being clear, fenfible^ jluent, perfpicuous and 
 injinuating. 
 
 He is the moft plaufible, correcfl, me- 
 thodical fpeaker in either houfe (except 
 Mr. Pitt) : his matter is always judici- 
 oufly feledled and well arranged, carrying 
 with it an air of logical juftnefs, and argu- 
 mentative preciiion. He never rambles 
 from his fubjedl from a want of matter, or 
 becomes difFufe or tedious from a redun- 
 dancy of words. His oratory is uncom- 
 monly chafle, his pronunciation diftin<5t, 
 his emphafis well placed, and his voice 
 (killfully managed : he is fond of detail, 
 and conveys it to his auditors in a clear, 
 
 unem-
 
 ( 134 ) 
 
 unembarrafTed, comprehenfive manner. 
 His language is nervous, technical, point- 
 ed, — and he fpeaks with fo much fluency 
 (avoiding the extremes of rapid utterance 
 and of hefitation, and abfence of mind), 
 that every thing he offers, feems to flow 
 from a thorough knowledge of his fubje(fl:, 
 and the principles of felf-cpnvitlion. 
 
 The patriot if m of a lawyer y is almojl pro- 
 verbially PROBLEMATICAL. 
 
 His lordfhip was firfl: introduced into 
 parliaTntnt through the interefl of Lor4 
 Bute. 
 
 In 1766, he was in the political fuite 
 of the late Mr. Geo. Grenville. 
 
 In 1768, he attraded the public atten- 
 tion in the affair of the Middle/ex Eledlion. 
 His zeal vC^as not confined to the house — • 
 it was perfonal throughout the kingdom. 
 
 On
 
 ( us ) 
 
 On the death of Mr. Grenville, he 
 became the warmeft advocate of Adrnini- 
 ilration; and. for a period of twelve years, 
 m ght be confi iered as the chief fupport of 
 the abominable adminiflration of Lord 
 North. To fupport a Minifter by the 
 refinance q{ fuch a fiege, for fuch a period, 
 againft the cannon of Fox,* and certainly 
 againfl all common reafon and fenfe, is un- 
 queftionably a proof of consummate 
 
 ABILITIES. 
 
 But the capacious mind of Lord LougH'- 
 BO ROUGH is not confined to the talents 
 of the advocate and the lawyer, nor 
 does the fame of the promotion, confequent 
 of \\\s forenjic attainments, bound the no- 
 ble views of this great and elevated charac- 
 ter. His judicial fame is but fecondary to 
 
 that 
 
 • The whole condudl of Admlniftration, refpefting the 
 American war, has been juftly reprobated by all men of 
 every rank of underftanding, in the flrongeft terms, that 
 language can exprefs. 
 
 * Se« Review of Parliamentary Cbarvfleri. 8vo. 1777.
 
 ( 136 ) 
 
 that obtained by his parliamentary cam- 
 paigns. The ohfervation, That lawyers al- 
 ways retain their profeiTional habits, and 
 feltiom Ihine as fenatorial' orators, here 
 meets a fecond exception. His predomi- 
 nant genius can illumine the gloom of law, 
 and give his fpeeches a claflical air and 
 drefs, that would not difgrace the firft pro- 
 dudiions of Greece and Rome, 
 
 He has more judgment than fancy ; and 
 is caution itjelf- — guarded in every thing he 
 fays, and ready to feize every advantage 
 that arifes from the warmth of his antago- 
 nift. To the clearefl: head and moft un- 
 clouded underftanding, he adds corredinefs 
 and method, and the deepefl: (kill in the 
 arts of debate. His great abilities have 
 been improved by ftill greater labour. 
 
 It is true, that his eloquence feldom 
 reaches the heart, but is always i?i his 
 pouer, when he chufes to make exertions ; 
 and we have feen him, at times, poflef > the 
 
 greateft
 
 ( ^37 ) 
 
 greatcft ardour and moft daring political 
 heroifm. His celebrated Philippic pro- 
 nounced againft Dodor Franklin, be^ 
 fore the Privy Council, is not, perhaps, fur- 
 paiTed by thofe of Demosthenes againft 
 Philip, or Cicero againft Antony. 
 
 H^" pofTefled the powers of leading the 
 Houfe of Commons. His fpeeches on the 
 motion made againft Lord Clive ; on the 
 §luebec Prohibitory y2in6. Capture Bills i and 
 on thepropriety of fending his Majesty's 
 Electoral troops to garrifon Gibraltar and 
 Minorca, are all ftrong proofs of his 
 oratorical prowefs. 
 
 He may be confidered as the Chieftain of 
 Oppofition in the Houfe of Lords, where 
 Jie is perhaps without an equal on either 
 fide.
 
 Sir HE^RT GOULD, Kt. 
 
 (he of the JUDGES of the COURT of COMMON FLEAS, 
 
 I am no orator, but a plain blunt man. 
 
 For I have neither wit nor words, 
 
 Adjon nor utterence, nor the power of fpeech 
 
 To ftir mens' blood 1 only fpeak right, o n 
 
 Shakefpeare^% Julius C^sar. 
 
 X HE MEANS by which men are pufhed 
 into office without the recommendation of 
 firft-rate talents, would form a hiftory 
 equally interefting and entertaining ; it 
 would at the fame time exhibit a fpacious 
 
 field
 
 ( HO ) 
 
 field for fpeculation to the moral obferver, 
 and abundant opportunities for the exercife 
 
 of fatirical indignation.- The wifdom 
 
 and integrity, however, of Britifh Judges, 
 are very juftly the boafl of Britain and pe- 
 cuharly the pride of the prefent Reign. 
 
 Sir Henry Gould, is the fon and 
 heir of Mr. David Gould, of Sharpham 
 Parky in the county of Somerfet. He was 
 admitted of the Honourable Society of the 
 M'iddle T'emphy the 1 6th of May, 1728; 
 called to the Bar the 1 4th of June, 1 734 ; 
 made a Bencher the 3d of May, 1 754 ; a 
 Serjeant at Law in Michaelmas term, 1 761 ; 
 and fhortiy after, elevated to the rank of a 
 Judge. 
 
 Mr. Gould, while a Counfel, though 
 not diflinguifhed for brilliancy of talents, 
 or the gifts which conftitute the orator, 
 ranked very refped:ably in the profeffion. 
 Since his elevation to the judicial feat, his 
 
 great
 
 ( i4« ) 
 
 great experience has uniformly added 
 weight to his opinions, and though hisfen- 
 ,timents frequently fland oppofed to thofe 
 of his learned brethren, and- fometimes 
 SINGLY, yet they have always been fup- 
 ported with learning and found arguments, 
 and have been fuch as reflected equal ho- 
 nour on his head and heart. 
 
 As a Counfel, Mr. Gould's bufinefs was 
 confiderable j but we believe, though much 
 employed as a Lawyer^ he was never emi- 
 nent as an Advocate. — Speaking is not his 
 talent — his arguments are more pleafing to 
 the eye, than grateful to the ear — his tones 
 are the reverfe of harmony — and his voice 
 is extremely faint and feeble. Adion he 
 has none ; neither elegance nor energy. 
 The Graces are out of the queflion. — 
 
 His language is the plain, unadorned 
 ftyle of common converfation ; often de- 
 fed ivt
 
 ( 14^ ) 
 
 fedi've in purity and corre(5tnefs, and al- 
 ways deftitute of that warmth and variety,) 
 which charadlerife ardour of charad:er and 
 vigour of conception. His flyle is never 
 glowing, keen, or rapid j it pofTefTes no 
 elevation of fentiment, or warmth of ima- 
 gery ; on the contrary, it is always tedi- 
 ous, circuitous and languid.- His ta- 
 lents are better calculated to lay fiege 
 to the underftanding, than to Jlorm a 
 
 Jury. 
 
 Neither is the fcholar to expedl grati- 
 fication from thebeft of his fpeeches. They 
 have nothing claflical in the compofition ; 
 noVefearches into the antiquities of Attic 
 or Roman legiflation j no embellifhment 
 of argument by learned allu/ioBS, or illuftra^ 
 tions from fcientific refearch — he flicks 
 clofe to RoLLE, LiTTELTON, and Coke ; 
 and his juft praife is, that he is learned in 
 the laws of his country, which he Jfudte^ 
 
 with
 
 ( '43 ) 
 
 wiih labour, and interprets with integrity ^ 
 tempered by the moji amiable of all virtues ^ 
 
 *' HUMANITY." 
 
 The different ' traits m the charad:ers of 
 our eminent lawyers will, perhaps, be bet- 
 ter underftood, by a comparifon with thofe 
 of Greece and Rome. 
 
 With us there 2s^ Attornies , ProEJorsySpe" 
 cial Pleaders^ Conveyancers ^ and Barrijlers, 
 the feveral Branches of whofe Employments 
 are refpedtively diverlified ; and nearly 
 iimilar Varieties, in Rank and Avocation, 
 feem to have exifled among the Profeffors 
 of law in ancient Rome. 
 
 In the early ages of the Roman fenate, 
 the ADVOCATES were not lawyers. Thefe 
 were fucceeded by a fet of men called 
 CoGNiToRES, who had great legal Ikill, 
 and an intimate knowledge of the cuftoms 
 
 and
 
 ( U4 ) 
 
 and pra6tice of the courts. They not only 
 advifed and aflifted the pleaders or counfel, 
 by their advice and information on points 
 of law and pradlice, but were allowed to 
 fpeak in the caufe. Thefe feem, in fome 
 refped:s, to have ftrongly refembled our 
 opening or ajjijiing counfel. They appeared 
 foon after Cneius Flavius publifhed 
 his book oi Appian ABionsy and the For- 
 mula in which they were drawn up. 
 
 f 
 
 At the fame time appeared ,an inferior 
 clafs of Cog NiTORES, called FoRMU LISTS, 
 or practitioners , whofe bufinefs was only 
 to fegulate the order of the procefs, and 
 who neither underftood the law, nor the fpi- 
 rit of it. Thefe gentlemen certainly bear 
 fome refe7nblanee to our attornieSj &c. 
 
 The frf order of the Cognitores 
 were called Patrons, and flood next in 
 rank and confequence to the Frofeffei 
 Orators. 
 
 In
 
 { HS ) 
 
 In this latter clafs it would not be diffi- 
 cult for Mr. Juftice Gould to find a pa- 
 rallel ; he cannot fupport competition with 
 fuch Characfters asCicERO, Hortensius 
 orC^sAR, Antony or Pliny, but to 
 thefe illufirious Orators, a man of Mr. 
 Gould's attainments would have proved 
 a ufeful, and perhaps a necejfary auxiliary.
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir y O H N H EAT H, Knt, 
 
 One <^tbe JUDGES of tie COURT of COMMON PLEAS. 
 
 •Interiam,fi 
 
 Aut vahofiare, aut novi ci<viba jura* 
 
 HOR. 
 
 ■■ Oh ! he's as tedious 
 
 As a tired horfc— 
 
 I am known to be humorous, and to love z 
 drop of hot wine, without one drop of alloying Tiber In. it. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 A HE prefcnt mode o{ calling to the Bar, 
 carries with it a very /W/rroz^j idea: let a man 
 be ever fo able, one way only is this branch 
 of the profeflion acceflible, (namely) — 
 by the mouthy and that, not by fpeaking 
 L 55 but
 
 ( h8 ) 
 
 hut eati;^, A ftranger to Legal Habits and 
 Cuftoms, would bealmoftled to fuppofe, 
 that the feveral Cooks of the Societies pof- 
 feffed the fame art that was in ufe amongft 
 the PiofeJJors of Lapufa, where every viand 
 was impregnated with fcience, fo that 
 commons and cafes were naturally to be di- 
 gefled together. — From him who is about 
 to put on the Civic Gown, the following 
 lines of Horace are not inapplicable : 
 
 Lujijit fatis , edijii fatis, atque bib I ST I, 
 Tempus abire tib'i eft. 
 
 The law in itfelf may not inaptly be 
 confideied as a coy mifrefsy who is tc be 
 tak n by cold covftancy, rather than arrefted 
 by an ardent attack. 
 
 Thegentleman, of whom we are now fpeak- 
 ing, made his introductory bowin i 759, and, 
 atier having fighed through a formulary 
 interval of 16 years, was at length ad-, 
 
 mittedj
 
 ( H9 ) 
 
 mitted, in the moment of caprice, to the 
 lajl favours. — In more ferious language 
 (and that which is better fuited to the gra- 
 vity of the Character attempted to be pour- 
 traycd), Mr. Juftice Heath appears, from 
 the books, to have been admitted of the 
 honourable fociety of the Inner Temple, the 
 3d of May 1 759 ; called to the bar the 25th 
 of June 1762, to the degree of Serjeant at 
 Law in Michaelmas Term 1775, and very 
 foon after to have been made a Judge. — 
 So much for chronological precijion^ 
 
 Arguing here, from effects toe a uses, 
 the fkill of theclofeft Logician, or the moil 
 fubtle Metaphyfician, would be foiled in 
 tracing the chain ofcombination, by which 
 the one is confequently connected with the 
 other ; \\\itAladin% fplendid palace erect- 
 ed in the dark, whofe ftatelinefs was lefs 
 admired than the invifible means of it*s 
 fudden Elevation. 
 
 It
 
 ( '50 ) 
 
 It has been (malicioufly enough) fald» 
 that Mr.'Juftice Heath is indebted to his 
 prefent honorary flation, more to his com- 
 panionable talents, than to any very extra- 
 ordinary legal acquirements ; but a gentle- 
 man may furely be the aflbciate of a Chan- 
 cellor, and owe to him his introduction 
 to a high office, without its warranting an 
 ill-natured iniinuation. The very diftinc- 
 tion of fuch a permitted intercourfe, is, in 
 a certain meafure, a teftimony of abilities; 
 for it could not be fuppofed fo illuflrious a 
 charader would admit to his intimacy an 
 obfcure individual, who owned, in com- 
 mon with thoufands, an infatiable paflion 
 for the grape, and the coarfe joys it is ac- 
 cuftomed to infpire. Such a fuppofition 
 would be as injurious to the patron as the 
 client. 
 
 Mr. Juflice Heath, though confefledly 
 not favoured in any eminent degree by na- 
 ture, has however not negle(5ted to avait 
 himfelf of what is in every man's own 
 power, independent oi original deficiencies. 
 
 Thcr
 
 ( isi j 
 
 irhe candid mind muft rieceflarily allow 
 him no inconfiderable ftore of legal learn- 
 ing, patiently colledted from the lengthened 
 fhelf, trembling under the ponderous pref- 
 liire of voluminous reports. 
 
 Happy is it that there are peculiar pro^ 
 vinces in the law fuitable to the various ca- 
 pacities of it's almofl innumerable pro- 
 feflbrs ; fothat, he who is notexacftly formed 
 for theadtivityof pradtical pleading, maybe 
 fingly provided for in dorrieflic eafe, by 
 emoluments arifing from confidential con- 
 fultations in the chamber. 
 
 Mr. Heath, as a draiightfman in equity, 
 acquired fomc reputation. 
 
 His judicial charadler is free from im- 
 putation ; arid if his decifions have been 
 few and not very important, they have 
 never been difapproved. If the mere dif- 
 chargeof the duties, coupled with the im- 
 portant office which he is appointed to fill, 
 
 be
 
 ( l^a ) 
 
 be the fum of what is required of a Britifh 
 Judge, Mr. Juftice Heath is not only an 
 unexceptionable, but a reputable Delegate 
 of his important Trufl.
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir JOHN WILSON, Ku 
 
 One of the JUDGES of the COURT of COMMON PLEAS. 
 
 -" At eji bonus, ut melior mir. 
 
 Non alius qul/quam ; at tibi amicus, at ingenium ingens, 
 Inculto latet hoc fub corpore ." 
 
 HOR. 
 
 Sir JOHN WILSON, is the only-fon 
 
 of John Wilson, late of Howe, near 
 
 Kendaly in the county of Wejimorelandy and 
 
 was admitted of the honourable Society of 
 
 the Middle Temple the Ci2d of Jan. 1763 ; 
 
 called to the Bar the 7th of Feb. 1766; 
 
 appointed King*s Counfel the 24th of 
 
 April 1782; made a Bencher of the 
 
 above Society the loth of May in the fame 
 
 year; a Serjeant the 6th of Nov. 1786; 
 
 and foon after a Judge of the Court of 
 
 Common Pleas. 
 
 A por-
 
 ( 154 ) 
 
 A Portrait, greatly defedtive IriElegancc* 
 and all the delicate touches of the mafterly 
 pencil,' may yet exhibit the 'flriking and 
 prominent features of a face ; and fuch 
 Portraits are often very highly efteemed. 
 The Delineation of Character may be con- 
 du(5led in a fimilar manner. The moft 
 confpicuous, which are generally the 
 leaft commendable parts of i character, 
 may be fo exhibited, that every one 
 would immediately know the original* 
 and yet, perhaps, the better informed judg- 
 ment would difcover, that all the finer and 
 more amiable traits, in which the heart 
 and judgment of the man are more truly 
 and immediately expreffed, arc entire. 
 
 The former of thefe fpecies of portrai- 
 ture ought never to be tolerated in the ar- 
 tifl, and the latter fhould never be attempt- 
 ed by the man of letters, except iafuch 
 inftances where the preponderance of what 
 is grofs or defective, is fo great as to over- 
 whelm the better endowments from the 
 
 clear
 
 ( '55 ) 
 
 clear eye of difcernment. Mr. Justice 
 Wilson merits to be delienated in a very 
 different manner, and we fhall accordingly 
 endeavour, in the following draught, to 
 trace the finer difcriminations, as well as 
 the coarfer features. 
 
 As a Lawyer, he ftands very high in 
 popular opinion. His great knowledge 
 was alone his introduction to the Bench ; 
 and no man of the profeflion is held in fu- 
 perior eftimation, cither on account of pro- 
 feflional abilities, amiablenefs of manners, 
 or benevolence of heart. He is one of 
 thofe rare and refpedable characters, upon 
 whom the genial gale of penegyric can 
 blow in fecurity, without the remotefl 
 danger from the flirinking blafl of malevo- 
 lence and cenfure, his name is equivalent 
 toRefpedtabilityand Reverence, and meets 
 regard equally in public Hation and pri- 
 vate fbciety^ 
 
 Sir
 
 ( 156 ) 
 
 Sir John Wilson was never,- wc 
 believe, in parliament, and indeed of- 
 fers no ground for obfervation as a political 
 charad:er. He forced his way in life by- 
 dint of application, and the patient exercife 
 of his talents in profeffional purfuits. 
 
 As 2t Speaker^ it muft be confefTed he has 
 little claim to notice. Adion, he has none 
 — his voice is hoarfe and diflbnant — his 
 pronunciation thick and indiftindt — his 
 language is neither of the kind calculated 
 to animate and tranfport, or to conciliate 
 or impofe ! — but it is fuch, as clearly 
 to ftate the meaning of the fpeaker, and 
 confequently to give the force and fubtlety 
 of his arguments a degree of weight. 
 
 While at the Bar, his expreflions were 
 uniformly fuch as ftrongly marked the 
 great deference and refped he thought due 
 to the tribunal he addrefled. 
 
 His
 
 ( '57 ) 
 
 His mode of delivery, far from affixing, 
 is injurious to his language. . It is cold, 
 languid, nervelefs, always monotonous, and 
 often drawling and heavy. It opprefTes the 
 ear with a leaden weight, which even ele- 
 gance of ftyle, and vivacity of Imagination 
 (to which he has no preteilfions), would 
 be inadequate to retnove. 
 
 In argument he is clofe, connedVed, and 
 conclufive J and, indeed. Sir John Wil- 
 son ought rather to be confidered as ^Lfen- 
 fible Speaker, than as an Orator ; be- 
 ing equal to the talk of informing the un- 
 derftanding, though unable to move and 
 influence the paflions. 
 
 He never wantons in the defultoiy ex- 
 curfions of fancy, or fuffers himfelf to be 
 diverted from the point in debate by the 
 
 meteors
 
 ( 158 ) 
 
 meteors of Imagination. He is fond of legal 
 fiibtletie§ anddillind;ions. Indeed, theargu-- 
 ments fuggeiled by, and the language that 
 naturally arifes from fuch difcullions, as The 
 obJItuBion of ancient isjUidoiiu- lights^ and 
 The diverfion of a water-cotirfe^ afford 
 little fcope to genius, or feldom offer,, 
 even to the greateft Orator, opportunities 
 of difplaying the flowing richnefs and va- 
 riegated powers of Eloquence ; and upon 
 fuch ground^ even Demosthenes himfelf 
 would, perhaps, have been inferior to Sir 
 John Wilson. The generality of pro- 
 feffional queftions feem rather to require a 
 certain degree of fubtlety and fagacity, than 
 the brilliancy of Fancy or the arts of Elo- 
 quence. 
 
 As a Counfely he was always heard with 
 attention ; as a fudge^ he commands it. 
 In giving a law-opinion, or in addrefling a 
 Jury from the Bench, his dfcrimination is 
 
 acute.
 
 ( '59 ) . 
 
 acute, corred:, and ingenious ; his le-^rning 
 great, and difplayed by an arrangement 
 clear, regular, and methodical; digefted 
 with judgment, and applied with propri- 
 ety, — from its juftnefs fecuring aflent, and 
 carrying conviction from its force.
 
 I
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 ^/> JAMES Mr RE, Knh 
 
 LORD CHIEF BARON of the Cturt of EXCHEQUER. 
 
 The gentleman Is learned ; a mod rare Ipeiker, 
 To nature none more bound, his training fucb. 
 That he may ftimifh and inftruft great Teachers, 
 And never feek aid out of himfelf. 
 
 Shakespeare's HsK.VIlti 
 
 \lc fits amongft men like a defcended godj 
 
 He hath a kind of honor fets him off — 
 
 More than a mortal feeming, 
 
 Cymbeline, 
 
 1 HE flud/ of the law is one of the 
 hobleftpurfuits of the human mind, and 
 has been held in the higheft eftiniation by 
 the grcateft men of almoft every age and 
 of every civilized country. If it has any 
 
 M where
 
 ( «62 ) 
 
 wlierc pre-eminent Juperiority, it is ill 
 thist where we find men's fituation and 
 confequence in Society, in a great mca- 
 furc fegulated by the degree of their 
 proficiency in it; other knowledge and 
 other talents may conduce to render a man 
 more companionable, more accomplifh- 
 cd, more agreeable and polite, but, 
 without this ejfeniial attatmnent^ they will 
 be found totally inefficient to the piir- 
 pofes of obtaining either Honors or Emo- 
 lument. — It might be expedled too, 
 that a life devoted to the attainment of 
 a fcience fo liberal, would be invariably 
 free from the little prejudices and limited 
 views of other men : that they would look 
 to the Interefis of their country, and of In- 
 dividuals, with the eye of Pl^ilofophy, and 
 only regard them as conducive to the pur- 
 pofes of Morality and the general good. That 
 this, however, is not always the rule of 
 cgndudl to guide that formidable body of 
 men denominated Lawyers — experience 
 very feelingly tells us, and as forcibly evin- 
 ces.
 
 ( 163 ) 
 
 ties, that, like Churchmeriy they are little 
 emulous either of Patriotifm or Virtue — on 
 the contrary, — To defend the Excefles of 
 Authority, and palliate Violations of Li- 
 berty, are, too often, favourite objects 
 both of the Profeflbrs of the Law and 
 Gofpel. 
 
 The Science of Law in it's nature, lays 
 Bo LING BROKE, the moft noble and bene- 
 ficial to mankind, is, in it's debafement, the 
 moft fordid and pernicious. There have 
 been Lawyers that were Orators, Philofo- 
 phers, and Hiftorians ; — there have been 
 Clarendons and Bacons, and notwith- 
 ftanding the venality of prefent times, and 
 the too frequent proftitution of profeflio- 
 nal talents, there are ftill to be found thofa 
 that tefemble them, who rcfle^ft honour 
 on their country, and ciredit to their proj* 
 feflion. Of thefe, orte <ii the moft diftin- 
 guiftied is the Gentleman whofe name 
 Hands prefixed to this imperfedl (ketch* 
 
 M ^ Being
 
 ( «64 ) 
 
 Being very fcantily fupplied with Inform 
 mation and Anecdote relative to the prefer^t 
 Chief Baron, andnotchoofingtorelatep,]^ 
 the flight foundation of anonymous Report, 
 agreat and important Law Charad:er muf}: 
 be confined; to narrow and very unworthy 
 limits. ) 
 
 Mr. Eyre ivas called to, theB^r frornthe 
 honourable Society of Gray*& Iqi>, vnd?r 
 the patronage of the late XJoxd Chip f Barpft 
 Parker, and very foandifliingUi(hed him- 
 felf as a rnan of fuperijor abilities, and fyGji 
 as induced his pronjotion to the high arid 
 honourable iituation of REcaRD:&R;of th^ 
 City of London. He is oiie. of thpfe verijf 
 £ew who had prepared himfelf for the §?<▼ 
 ercife of his profeifion, by climbing^i^p tQ 
 the ^VANTAGE Q|^Q,/UNp of fcicnc^, inftea]^ 
 of groveling b^Io,\yi, JUk^ too iiaany prof^f- 
 fional men, in the dirt of an Attorney*s of* 
 fice, pr a Special Pleader's deflc :— Liber^ 
 fludies, it has been very juflly obferved, by 
 expanding the mind, and opening the re- 
 c^iles of the heart, have a llrong tendency
 
 • ( »65 ) 
 
 to didateaconducl that feldom pays the tax 
 of cenfure. The truth of this obfervation 
 is at leaft verified in the inftance before us. 
 
 As TiCounfeU Mr. Eyre flood foremoft in 
 his profeffion, at a time when the Bar was 
 attended by the moft eminent Names known 
 in legal Biography, As a yudge, he is con- 
 iidered of equal learning and ability with 
 any one that adorns the Bench. His ftyle 
 of fpeaking is the true eloquei?ce of Ma- 
 giftracy. He is nervous and learned, clear, 
 fenfible, and fluent, 
 
 It is an illiberal and wrong idea, that 
 modern Times are ilrangers to Elo- 
 quence; as the common Child of Free- 
 dom, and Knowledge, our Courts of 
 Juftice (though different fromAthenian and 
 Roman Judicatures), abound with examr 
 pies of it's trucft and moft perfed: models; 
 and there is a certain dignity of manner 
 and afpedl attendant upon the words of 
 this learned Lawyer, that their impreflions 
 
 are
 
 ( ^66 ) 
 
 arc equally unrivalM and irrefiftible. The 
 affeBed Dignity, and AJfumption of Venera-- 
 tion and Awe, that fa emphatically charac-? 
 terize the prefent Chancellor, fit with 
 a natural Grace upon the Chief Baron, 
 and forcibly mark the diftindtion between 
 the Dignity that is realy and that which is 
 affumcd. The fhades of difference are 
 ftronger than exift between the Brilliant 
 and the Counterfeit, 
 
 His Lorddiip is admitted to be an able 
 Civilian, — a fpecies of knowledge peculi^ 
 arly adapted to the Court in which he pre- 
 fides j but we believe his ftill more diftin- 
 guifhed Excellence is, a moil comprehenfivq 
 and intimate knowledge of what is deno- 
 minated Crown Law ; and we ought 
 not to omit reminding the reader, 
 in delineating (however faintly), the 
 Character of a great Britiih Judge. — 
 That, the life and liberty of the meaneft 
 Subjedt, is of far greater Importance, than 
 ^ny Queftipn of Property poflibly can 
 be ; and that, the Talents of Tully 
 
 were
 
 ( '6? ) 
 
 weje never more confpicuoufly employed, 
 than in the protedtion of injured Inno- 
 cence, or the Convidion of abandoned 
 Guilt. 
 
 Superior knowledge on this fubj>(5l, 
 was the prominent Feature in the Charadler 
 of the great Lord Hale, with whom 
 the prefent Chief Baron of the Ex- 
 chequer, will, in all refpedls, fupport 
 Competition, by comparifon as a man of 
 Science, and Pre-eminence as a Magi- 
 ^rate.
 
 THE HONOUft^BLB 
 
 Sir BEAUMONT HOTHJM, Knt, 
 
 Cue a/ the EARONS of the COURT of EXCHEQUER. 
 
 Adown the fmooth, fequefter'd vale of life. 
 He kept the noifelefs tenor of his way. 
 
 1 T is the obfervation of a profound andt 
 elegant Writer, That the Periods of Pro- 
 fperity and Peace, however conducive to 
 the Happinefs of a People, are but ill adapt- 
 ed to the views of the Hiftorian, To trace 
 the vvifdom of internal Police, and the gen- 
 tle ftreams of Commerce, flowing into a 
 thoufand different channels of Opulence, 
 may be interefiing to the clofet Philofo- 
 pher, but wants a certain blended infufion 
 pf Spirit, to give it life and conftitution 
 fufficiently vigorous, to carry it'sDcfcent to 
 ^he remote ages of Poflerity. 
 
 The
 
 ( ^1^ ) 
 
 The fame obfervation applies flill morg 
 forcibly to the Biographer. Herodo- 
 tus and Xenophon, Tacitus and Li- 
 VY, would hardly have remained to ani- 
 mate our feelings and excite our enthufi- 
 afm, if they had not been furnifhed with 
 the ^(^/i;^ materials of Wars and civil Com- 
 motions y — ^by bringing all the paffions into 
 play, they furnifh out the lights and (hades 
 of Charadler, and develope the inmoft Re- 
 cefTes of the human Heart — hence, our adr 
 miration and delight on perufingthofe clailic 
 Pages. 
 
 Nature herfelf holds this language.—- 
 The Tempefl exhibits all the variety of the 
 Sublime, to excite Wonder and Emotion. 
 Thebloodis quickened into Circulation, and 
 we feelblended Emotions of Terror and De- 
 light, fo grateful to the mind of Senfibility, 
 that Language reaches no way to the De- 
 fcription, while the milder Beauties of the 
 fereneft Iky are viewed with the mofj tame 
 ;ind torpid Indifference. — The powers of 
 
 Nature
 
 ( 170 
 
 Nature muft be roufed, agitated, called 
 forth energetically, in order to pleafe : even 
 the voice of wifdom is feeble,. languid, and 
 pervdefs, unlefs aided by a certain degree 
 of Enthufiafm. Dedu<5l this ethereal fpi- 
 rit from Hiftorians, Orators, arid Poets, and 
 what do you leave them ? — a mere cnput 
 tnortuuniy the Body indeed remains, but 
 thje Soul takes it*s flight, and vaniihes ia 
 air. 
 
 It remains to the Recorder of Charadler 
 tp lament, that relifh of Satire and In- 
 vective, that poignancy of flavour which 
 quickens the appetite, and renders it fo 
 grateful to the palate of modern Depravity, 
 but vvhich, however fervid may be his love 
 of virtue^ he endeavours in vain to infule 
 into herpraife ; the unattcfnper^d i\vtttt\eh 
 of panegyric induces fatiety and languor — 
 it is taken up with no ardour, perufed 
 with no avidity, and laid down without 
 any regret. The venerable oak never looks 
 io noble as when Eurus agitates her boughs. 
 
 Had
 
 ( ^7^ ) 
 
 —•Had Salluft chofcn for. his fubjed the 
 god-like integrity of CatOy iilftead of the 
 fell profligacy of Catiliney the envious 
 fcythe of Time would, ages fince, have 
 fwept away his fweetly pregnant Sentences, 
 and deprived us of all knowledge of that 
 elegant Hiftorian. 
 
 Under the impreflion of this idea, we 
 detail what few facts have come to our 
 knowledge of Baron Hot ham. 
 
 The virtues of his Heart have contribu- 
 ted to render him univerfally beloved in 
 private Life, and efteemed in his Judi- 
 cial Capacity ; but he does not by any 
 means polTefs that fire and brilliancy of 
 Genius which irrififtibly attaches the no- 
 tice of mankind, and warms the Panegy- 
 rift with the ardour of Enthufiafm. Ba- 
 liON HoTHAM may deferve the whijper oi 
 approbation, but he will never be faluted 
 with the obftreperous Blaft from the Cla- 
 rioft of Fame. 
 
 When
 
 I ^3 ) 
 
 Whenra CounfeI,h^ attended the Chancery 
 "Bax lit'tie known, and although an ad* 
 mirable Scholar, and a well-read Lawyer, 
 yet fp very little diflinguijhed. in Pra<3:ice, 
 that his Elevation to the Bench, not unfrc- 
 quently pi-oduced the mortifying Enquiry, 
 — Who is he ?— What's his name ? 
 
 Baron Hotham is neverthelefs res- 
 1»ECTABLE upon the Bench ; and it has 
 been obferved, that whenever called to the 
 adminiftration of Criminal J uMcc, the Hu- 
 manity, the Solemnity, and impreffive Pa- 
 thos of his Addrefs to Prifoners, has 
 melted the moil obdurate to Contrition and 
 Repentance. 
 
 The Country may be juftly Congratulated 
 onit*s Happincfs, that boaftsfuch Judges as 
 Baron Hotham : — The Feelings of the 
 People would be gratified by hisTranflation 
 to thePrcfidencyof the Court of Chancery, 
 
 for
 
 ( 174 ) 
 
 fbf which Scat he has every necelTkrjf 
 Qualification*, both of Head and Heart, 
 
 * We except that of Speaker of the Houfe of Lords.-— 
 He wants that bow-wow manner, and brazjem 
 FRONT fo neceflary to control the Tumult Of Popular 
 Ai&mblies. 
 
 THE
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir RICHARD PERRTN, Km. 
 
 One of the BARONS efthe COURT of EXCHEQUER. 
 
 jllcandrumqutt HaliumqtUt Noemenaque, Pritanymque 
 
 Virgil. 
 
 He knows full well, who oft purfues the Game, 
 That in a Pack each Hound muft have his Name. 
 
 Translatiok. 
 
 Mr. PERRYN was admitted a ftudent 
 of the Inner Temple, the 27'th of April 
 1746, and called to the bar the 3d July 
 in the following year. 
 
 His Progrefs to Bufinefs was flow, but 
 it was of gradual Increafe ; and although 
 
 confined
 
 ( *7^ ) 
 
 confined to the Court of Chancery, it wisi 
 during the latter years of his prad:ice, fo 
 extenfive, as to enfufc him a Brief in 
 almofl every Caufe and Motion agitated in 
 that Court* 
 
 The reputation that accompanies, or ra-* 
 ther precedes extenfive Practice, recom^ 
 mended him to the Honours of the Pro-* 
 fellion* 
 
 Mr. Perryn was rriade a Serjeant, fri 
 Eafter Term 1 776, and very foon after a 
 Baron of the Exchequer^ 
 
 It is generally iinderftood; by wliatevci' 
 means a man may advance himfelf in life: 
 in other profeflionSj in that of the Law at 
 leaft, that great Practice is an Indication of 
 proportionate Genius and Abilities. — -This 
 however is not always the cafe — Attornies 
 and Solicitors, (the Counfel's befl: Patrons) 
 are not always the beft judges of Merit — • 
 with minds narrowed by an uniform ad- 
 herence
 
 ( 177 ) 
 
 herence to Pradlical Rules and technical - 
 Jargon, they do not always difcriminate be- 
 tween the Pedantry of Profeflional Phrafe- 
 ology, coupled with an oftentatious dif- 
 ply of Reading and real Genius, aided by- 
 profound Erudition. 
 
 Neither are there w^anting other ways^ 
 by which Barrifters may attach the Profef- 
 fors of the mechanical part of the Law 
 to their Intcrefts. 
 
 Great induflry will do much — and, fre- 
 quently, much depends on a fortunate 
 entre f The favourable Decifion of a Caufe 
 at a young Counfel's outfet, the hopes of ^ 
 which feemed defperate, and which yet 
 might chance to owe a fortunate Turn, 
 more to fome unexped:ed Incident than to 
 any merit of it*s Leader, has been known 
 to go farther in advancing a growing Re- 
 putation, than the moft elaborate Science, 
 and great refources of mental Endowments. 
 
 N To
 
 ( '78 ) 
 
 To which of thefe caufes Mr. Perryn's 
 vafl acceffion to bufinefs is to be attri- 
 buted, is left to the Decifion of thofe who 
 Ihall deem the Hiftory of his Life worthy 
 more laborious Refearch : certain it is, 
 that his Talents are by no means ofthefrjl 
 {mpTcJJion I and, notwithftanding the ex- 
 tent of his Bufinefs as a Barrifler, it is well 
 Icnown that he was held cheap by the great 
 Cotemporaries with whom he prad:ifed, 
 particularly fo, by one great Charader 
 in the Court of Chancery. 
 
 His language is poor, infipid, andnerve- 
 lefs J his manner conveys an idea of 
 We^iknefs and Infipidity — his Arguments 
 might be well, and even judicioufly ar- 
 ranged, but carried no weight or force 
 with them. 
 
 Baron Perryn, as 2.yudge, is, we dare 
 fay, pofTefTed of competent Legal Know- 
 ledge : that he is a humane, upright, and 
 
 good
 
 C ^79 ) 
 
 good man, the whole world bears ample 
 teflimony. — In a private capacity he is very 
 much the Gentleman, and Man of 
 Falhion ; perfectly eafy in his deportment, 
 and amiable in his manners. 
 
 Na
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir ALEXANDER THOMPSON, Knt. 
 
 One of the BARONS of tie EXCHEQUER. 
 
 You wear out a good wholefome forenoon in hearing a 
 "Caufe between an orange-wife and a foffet-feller, and then 
 
 adjourn a Controvefy of three-pence to a fecond day of Au« 
 dience. 
 
 ' Shakeip: are's Coriolanus. 
 
 IN every drama fome charaders are intro- 
 duced for the fole purpofe of filling up the 
 fcene, and occupying the little intervals 
 between the exit and enfres of more im- 
 portant Characters. 
 
 On the Theatric Stage it fometimes hap- 
 pens, that thofe necejjary, though unin- 
 terefting Charaders, are decorated with 
 the trappings and parapharnalia of Royal 
 
 and
 
 ( i82 ) 
 
 and Senatorial Dignity, and, in the little 
 Drama here fubmitted to the Public, it 
 mufl: not be wondered, if fome fach per/once 
 make their appearance in the Judicial Robe. 
 
 Mr. Baron Thompson would not, per- 
 haps, fofoon have attained his prefent ele- 
 vated Situation, without fome more power- 
 ful Recommendation than his own Ta- 
 lents; — great Induflry, however, aided 
 by ftrong Claims of nature and Jympathy 
 upon illuftrious Patronage, effedted, in 
 very early life, what many revolving years 
 of Application, affifted by Genius, would 
 not, perhaps, have at ^// accompli fhcd. 
 
 Mr. Thompfon was born at Woolver- 
 hampton,inStafFordfhire, where he was alfo 
 educated. 
 
 In Michaelmas Term 1764, he was 
 admitted of Lincoln's Inn, and called to 
 the Bar in Michaelmas Term 1769. 
 His attendance was, from this period, con- 
 fined'
 
 ( '83 ) 
 
 fined to the Court of Chancery, and his 
 principal bufinefs that of a Draiightfman. 
 The elaborate Forms appropriated to parti- 
 cular cafes among the Greeks and Romans, 
 fhew the fenfe mankind have of the ne- 
 ceflity of written Forms of proceeding in 
 the adminiftration of Civil Affairs ; and he 
 who, from long habit and labour, is be- 
 come expert and dexterous at drawing up 
 thefe Forms, is certain not only of ac- 
 quiring conliderable emolument, but a 
 certain degree of fecondary profeffional 
 reputation, proportionate to his utility. 
 The ability indeed of attending to a long 
 feries of complicated Fads, furveying 
 the whole train of confequences refulting 
 from them, ftating and connecting thefe 
 Fad:s in a clear and confpicuous method, 
 fo as to convince the judgment of their 
 truth, agreement, and confiftency, requires 
 not only flrong natural capacity and clear- 
 nefs of intelled:, but the moft prodigious 
 labour. — A Bill in Chancery, 'tis true, is 
 like no other fpccias of human compofi- 
 
 tion ;
 
 ( i84 ) 
 
 tion ; but it is no refiedion on the foil that 
 weeds grow up with the fruit; it is on thof(r 
 who negle(ft its cultivation.* 
 
 Great experience in this kind of bufi- 
 nefs and the habit of fearching into the 
 Books for Cafes, probably made Mr, 
 Thompfon a ufeful AfTiftant to his Pa- 
 tron, and accelerated his preferment; 
 neither could it fail to give him a cer- 
 tain currency in the profcflion : but the mere 
 Lawyer, without being diilinguifhed by 
 fome powers as a Speaker, can never be a 
 character of confequence. Speech is the 
 diftinguilhing charaderiftic of the human 
 fpecies, and the fphere of its utility is 
 wonderfully enlarged, by thofe who arc 
 in any degree w/T/^^rj" of it. — The meaneft 
 pofTefs it for the common purpofe of fecial 
 intercourfe j but that perfeclion of Speech 
 which lays claim to the name of Elo^ 
 quence^ elevates it's PolTcfTor as much 
 above the reft of his kind, as the faculty 
 
 of 
 
 * See Dialogues on Law, 8vo,
 
 ' ( i8s ) 
 
 of Speech raifes the common herd of man- 
 kind above the other Tribes of animal Na- 
 ture. TheOrator is the Bulwark of the Con- 
 flitution, and the Guardian of Public Tran- 
 quillity, who, by his fway, connects Men 
 into Society, and whilft he oppofes himfelf 
 to the pernicious confequences of Anarchy 
 and Confufion, is beheld with a kind of 
 reverential awe by the fad:ious and am- 
 bitious. — The Orator is the Spring by 
 which every Government is actuated. 
 
 Some indeed have held Eloquence 
 
 rather a meretricious than a meritorious 
 Art, and have not been wanting in afler- 
 tions, That England^ as well as Athens, 
 have feen their wifeft Counfels diffipated 
 by the breath of Oratory ; but it is com- 
 mon for people to fpeak flightly of what 
 they cannot attain — it is the Gift of Hea- 
 ven — a moment's Eloquence is worth an 
 age of Study, and the proof of afcendancy 
 fhould be the Rule to judge of it's Impor- 
 tance. 
 
 It
 
 (186) 
 
 It is, however, unnecelTary to enlarge 
 upon it's utility, where examples are fo 
 numerous ; and, confidering how very far 
 the Name prefixed to the fubjedl of this 
 Ihort Memoir is removed from a// preterit 
 fions to Oratory, it might be inferred to in- 
 iinuate an infult never intended to be con- 
 veyed by thefe Strictures. — het us return 
 from Obfervation to narrate Fa6ls, 
 
 Mr. Thompson was, in Michaelmas 
 Term 1782, made a Mafter in Chancery, 
 a promotion which many eminent Barrif- 
 ters decline, as it generally conveys an 
 idea of what is called laying by on the high 
 Jhelf, It proved otherwife in the inftance 
 before us. — 
 
 In Hillary Term 1786, Mr. Thomp- 
 son was appointed Accountant General ; 
 and in the year following, on the rcfigna- 
 tion of Chief Baron Skynner, made 
 puifne Baron of the Exchequer, and re- 
 ceived the honour of Knighthood. 
 
 Among
 
 ( .87 ) 
 
 Among the Traits of this Judge's Cha- 
 racter, we fhould not forget to particula- 
 rize his gxt2itTmid{fy and Diffidence ^ Qua- 
 lities fo proverbially fingular in the Pro- 
 feflbrs of the Law, and {o inconfiftent 
 with ?.ll the habits of their Lives, that 
 theyalmoft imply a want of intelledual 
 Vigour, proper to difcharge the Duties of 
 theProfeflion : — Fear, in excefs, confounds 
 both underftanding and purpofe. 
 
 Mr. Baron Thompson, is an amiable 
 charader, and perfedly refpedable in pri- 
 vate Life.
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir ARCHIBALD MACDONALD, Knt. 
 
 His Majejlfs ATTORNEY GENERAL 
 
 Too low for a high Praife, and too little for a great Praife. 
 
 # 
 
 Seeft thou not the air of court In thefe enfoldlngs ? 
 Hath not my gait in it the meafure of the court ? 
 I am a courtier cap-a-pee, 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 JlLXOTICS in the «^/^rtf/ world, feldom 
 root fo well in any other as in their own 
 flrata ; but in the 7}ioraI world, we find it 
 diredly the reverfe. We have daily ex- 
 amples of a drudging Scott— zn impatient 
 Irijhman — and even ^.n homely Welshman, 
 
 benefiting
 
 ( 190 ) 
 
 benefiting by tranfplantation ; and we 
 have been particularly led to this reflediion, 
 on clofe contemplation of the fubjed: 
 of this brief Page. Sir Archibald 
 Macdonald would, moft probably, have 
 remained but a weak Jlip from the pa- 
 ternal Tree, perhaps productive of little 
 fruit, nor remarkable for any flriking fo- 
 liage, had he been left to rot or ripen on 
 the barren foil that firft raifed and nur- 
 tured him into exigence. 
 
 Sir Archibald is the fon of Sir 
 Alexander Macdonald, of Slate — . 
 the reprefentative of the Kings and Lords 
 of the Isles — a titleof more y^/^W than /w- 
 ■portance't yet tenacioufly kept up, and vaun- 
 tingly noted in the Archives of the family. 
 The mother of the Attorney General was 
 the Lady Margaret Montgomery, 
 a daughter of the noble house ofEc- 
 
 LINTON. 
 
 The family of Sir Alexander may 
 be juilly efleemed amongft the mofl 
 
 fortunate
 
 ( t9t ) 
 
 fortunate of his country, for every branch of 
 it has been patronized either by natural or 
 acquired favours. Sir James, who af- 
 terwards fucceeded to the Baronetcy of 
 his father, will be univerfally remember- 
 ed as a prodigy of early abilities : but the 
 full blown Flower of Genius failed, in a 
 certain degree, to anfwer the promife 
 of it's firft opening. The fecond fon, 
 Alexander, by dint of application, and 
 the force of merit, was created an Irifli 
 Baron in the year 1776 ; and Sir Archi- 
 bald, of whom we are now fpeaking, 
 has, by a fortuitous turn of circumftan- 
 ces, fucceeded to two the mofl important 
 offices of his Profeflion, — thofe oi Solicitor 
 and Attorney General, 
 
 If we view Sir Archibald's firfl praBice 
 at the Bar, a word fy nonymous with legal 
 Reputation y we fhall find it to have been 
 extremely fcant j — A Fee, now and then^ 
 in Scotch appeals, being the fummit of 
 his Experience, or indeed expedations. 
 
 His
 
 ( 792 ) 
 
 •His latter fuccefs has been owing, like 
 fome others of his Brethren, more to the 
 Tcttticoat than to the Gown, 
 
 Sir Archibald, it mufl be remem- 
 bered, is conned:ed, by marriage, with 
 the Houfe of Stafford, having efpou- 
 fed Lady Gower, a daughter of the pre- 
 fcnt noble Marquis, From the power- 
 ful interefl and influence of fuch an alli- 
 ance, Preferment might naturally be look- 
 ed for, nor has it been looked for in vain* 
 On the firfl vacancy, w^e accordingly ob- 
 ferve Sir Archibald conftituted Soli- 
 citor General j and on the advancement 
 of Sir Pepper Arden, he fucceeded him 
 as Attorney General, 
 
 It had formerly been accepted as a max- 
 im. That thefe great Crown Officers fhould 
 fland forth, as ilrong Miniflerial Holds 
 in the House of Commons ; — but moral 
 and political data, as we have more than 
 in this place obferved, have occalionally 
 
 given
 
 (' ^.9.3 ) 
 
 gK'cti \vay to progrefllve Improvement. 
 Our prefent happy Minifter has learned to 
 condudt the Nation^ if not honourably, 
 with refped: to himferf^ at leaft fafely^ 
 
 WITHOUT ANY SUCH FOREIGN AII>--^Or 
 INDEED ANY AIDfAT ALL r-r^He is thc 
 
 refpcnfible Firfl Lord of the Treafury, and 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer ;'and, befides 
 thefe, generally conceived, Firft Commif- 
 lioner of the Admiralty — the Secretary at 
 War — 'and the Secretary of State — cum 
 
 iRiUtTIS^' ALUS. 
 
 He is the AtHi 6^ i\\i State, and his 
 Conduct fcems to difcover an Ambi- 
 tion of ilanding a/dne, unfupported by any 
 Abilities but his own";* we lliould not 
 be furprifed (having been called to thc 
 
 Bar); 
 
 * In an elegantly written Pamphleti efttitjedj A-RsylEW, 
 OP>THE Politics of Great BritaiUx'TN; 1787;; 
 the fame idea, is thus happily expreffed and enlarged upon : 
 
 Mr. Pitt liimfelf, comprehends alnioft the whole of 
 Adminiftration. — With Atlantean Jfjoulders he fupports the 
 incumbent weight of the Monarchy, and ftands, like 
 
 A J AX, 
 
 o
 
 ( «94 ) 
 
 Bar), if he was alfo to do the bufinefs of 
 the Court of Chancery. Lord North 
 monopolized the abilities of the Kingdom 
 in defence of his Meafures, having enlifled 
 under his Banners the formidable Names of 
 Thurlow, Wedderburne, Norton, 
 
 and 
 
 A J AX, SINGLE AND ALONE, amid Hoftsof furround- 
 irrg Enemies. One, and ontf only Friend, appears deco- 
 rated with the infignia of Legal Dignity, tooppofe, in an- 
 other Houfe, the attacks of Oppofition. Wherever elfe I 
 look, I fee only a vaft Vacuity ; a Vacuity, where no Ta- 
 lents, no Powers of Oratory, no Strength of Intelledl, illn- 
 minate the darknefs, or cheer the gloom ! The names of 
 a Sydney and a Carmarthen, can onlybetranfmitted 
 to fvituie times, by being involved in the illuftrious Train 
 of Pitt, and mull be preferved from Oblivion, by mixing* 
 in his Radiance. They may " purfue the Triumph, and 
 partake the Gale," but never can mingle in thefplendour 
 of Renown : too happy, if their want of ability fcreen them 
 from Inveiligation ; ajENKiNSON and a D u n d a s may, 
 indeed, fupply the defefts of the Cabinet in either Houfe 
 of Parliament : but England was not accuftomed, iti 
 better times, to fee the foreign Interefts of her Crown 
 thus abandoned and thus neglefted, in every Court of Eu- 
 rope, and in every quarter of the Globe. 
 
 It is not fufficient for Men, who aflume and undertake tc 
 conduft the Affairs of Nations, thai they poffcfs Probity 
 
 and
 
 ( 195 ) 
 
 and De Grey, — Who are the Champions 
 
 of Pitt ? risum teneatis ! • 
 
 Sir Richard Pepper Arden, Mr. 
 Bearcroft, and Sir Archibald Mac- 
 DONALD !!!!!!!! 
 
 But to return Sir Archibald 
 
 MACDONALD,asa Lawyer y has given very 
 few Specimens of ftriking Abilities ; as a 
 Speaker in Parliament y fewer ftill; but, as a 
 Private Characler^ no man is more eftima- 
 ble or amiable. 
 
 and good Intentions. Talents and Application mud mark 
 them out from among the Croud of Nobility who furround 
 the Throne, and entitle them to occupy the dangerous 
 Eminences of State : nor, when thefe are wanting, can any 
 adventitious Decorations of Rank, or lUuftrious Birth, be 
 admitted as a compenfation for fuch inherent and incurable 
 Defeas. 
 
 O 2
 
 ) 
 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Sir JOHN SCOTT, Kt, 
 
 His MAJESTY'S SOLICITOR GENERAL. 
 
 Pleafant without fcurrility — witty without afFedation— • 
 audacious without impudence — and learned without 
 opinion. 
 
 ShakespeareV Lovers Labour Lojli 
 
 He hath a profp'rous art 
 
 When he will play with reafon, and difcourfe, 
 An4 well he can perfuade. 
 
 Shakespeare V Meafurefor Meafure. 
 
 IT would be a curious, and by no means 
 a ufelefs gratification, to review the Revo- 
 lutions of Tafte in, the different Periods of 
 Englifli Hiftory, and obferve the very difli- 
 milar Means which varied Manners hold 
 out to the afpiring and ambitious in the 
 Career of Fame. The fame Path that is 
 obftrucfted jn one Age by endlcfs difficulties, 
 is opened by the flattering hand of Invita- 
 tion and Incitement, in another. 
 
 Monkifh.
 
 ( '98 ) 
 
 Monkifh Habits were, in other Times, 
 ^ Prelude to the Statefman*s Robes, 
 — Honours and Emoluments were onlyla- 
 viflied upon Churchmen, and thofe of 
 minds enllaved by the grofs Bigotry pf Mo- 
 naftic Life. Every Department of State 
 was Prieil-ridden i — the Helm of Eng- 
 land has been conducted by the tyran- 
 nic Hand of a Butcher*s Son ! under the 
 Sancftion of thefe Trappings, 
 
 To ibis fucceeded a more liberal Age. 
 Elegance and Refifiement were feen, like the 
 great Luminary of the World, emerging 
 from a Cloud, and burfting through the 
 gloom of Monkifh Jgnorance. Polite and 
 fpeculative Literature fucceeded the dull 
 Jargon of the Schools ; and Poets and 
 Philofophers were called to occupy the firfl 
 Offices of St£^te. 
 
 A fucceeding Revolution dethroned the 
 Mufes, to make way for the Men of Law. 
 The prefent may fairly be denominated the 
 A^e of Lawyers » Formerly Men were 
 
 ivkelmed
 
 ( ^99 ) 
 
 whelmed in the vaffalage of Priefthood.— - 
 Priefts were in tbofe Times a kind of So- 
 licitors in the Chancery of Heaven, in- 
 vefted, however, with all it*s Plenitude of 
 Power on Earth.^ — Lawyers are now, what 
 Priefls were then j and the Tribute paid to 
 them, is as great as Superflition once ren- 
 dered to the Church. 
 
 Men of this Profeflion, without Birth, 
 Family, Connedtions, or Wealth, are daily 
 raifing themfelves to the higheft Dignities 
 of State; and the Characfler, now .under 
 confideration, will probably live to be de- 
 corated with a Commiflion, that will give 
 him Precedence over every Lay Subjed: of 
 the Kingdom. How long the Law may pof- 
 fefs this great Superiority, and the Bar re- 
 main almoft the only Avenue to Wealth 
 and Fame,may be a matter of great fpecula- 
 tiveCuriofity to thePhilofo'phical Obfcrver; 
 but not being diredly pertinent to the Sub- 
 je6t before us, it muft pafs us undifcufTed, 
 while we proceed to narrate what we know, 
 
 or
 
 ( 200 ) 
 
 or have been able to obtain, refpedling Sir 
 John Scott, from the ftrid:efl enquiry.* 
 
 Sir John Scott is the Son ofarefpedl- 
 able Tradefman in 'Newcajile. His elder Bro- 
 ther, Sir Wm. Scott, was bred up in the 
 Practice of the Civil Law Courts, and is at 
 this Time a Dodtor of Laws, and His Ma- 
 jefly's Advocate General, and will, in all 
 probabiUty, rife to the higheft Honours in 
 the Ecclefiaftical Court. Sir John, then 
 Mr. Scott, was admitted a Student of the 
 
 Middle 
 
 • That the Bar will not always maintain their prefent 
 Pre-eminence, may fairly be inferred, not only from pre- 
 ceding Revolutions of National Tafte and Circumftances, 
 but alfo from the Hiftory of other Nations. We may ob- 
 ferve, even in others, the different Degrees of Refpedl 
 in which the Orators, or Pleaders of Caufes, were held at 
 different Periods ; and in Rome, we have ftill more ftriking 
 Examples of the mutability of Profeffional Refpeftability 
 and Opulence. The immediate Succeffors of Cicero 
 found the Bar the moft honourable and. lucrative Profef- 
 fion; but, in the Time of Juvenal and Persius, the 
 Cafe was fo much otherwife, that their Poverty, and the 
 wretched infignificance of their Fees, were become Pro- 
 verbial Reproaches to the luhole Tribe of Orators.
 
 ( 2GI ) 
 
 Middle T'emple of Hillary Term, 1772 j 
 and after fludying with much apphca- 
 tjon, keeping bis Terms regularly, and 
 attending the Court of Chancery with 
 great affiduity during the ufual Seafon of 
 Probation, was called to the Bar in Hillary 
 Term 1776. 
 
 He devoted his attention principally to 
 ^he Pradijce of the Courts of Equity, 
 Indeed, for feveral years after his Call to 
 the Bar, with a Timidity natural to his 
 pharadler, he fhunned, as much as poffible, 
 appearing even at the Chancery Bar as a 
 T leader ; confining himfelf almoft enr 
 tirely to the Bufinefs of a Draughtfman, 
 in which he was reputed extremely able, 
 jind in which he had yafl: Pracflice, 
 
 Many have forced themfelves, in this 
 ProfefTion, into public notice, by refolut^ 
 and perfevering Induftry, which the 
 flxength of their conltitutions have enabled 
 
 then^
 
 ( 202 ) 
 
 them to fupport ; and not a few have fuc-. 
 cceded by means of that Jiorid energy of 
 CharacSfcer, diflinguifhed by the word as- 
 surance ; but Sir John Scott is a fingular 
 inftance, where the Source of Advancement 
 in life is to be traced to great natural 
 Modefty and Feeblenefs of Conftitution, 
 which is too apt to operate as a check 
 upon young Ambition's Wing; and is very 
 rarely, indeed, productive of advantages 
 in the road to Fame and Fortune. Such was, 
 however, the cafe in the prefent inftance ; 
 Mr. Scott, finding his health unequal to 
 Confinement, and the fedantary Life of a 
 Draughtfman, meditated a Change in his 
 Plan of Life; and doing violence to his 
 Feelings, fought the nearer Path to Fame 
 by the Road of Eloquence. 
 
 Th'e Attempt fucceeded far beyond his 
 own hopes, or the Expectations of his 
 
 „Friends, 
 
 As
 
 / 
 
 ( 203 ) 
 
 As a Draughtfman, Mr^ Scott had 
 always diftinguiihed himfelf by the Neat- 
 nefs and Accuracy of his Pen. In his 
 Bills, in his Anfwers, in his Conveyances, 
 every Thing feemed arranged in the mofl 
 correct and orderly Manner, and exprelTed 
 in the neateft and moll appropriate Lan- 
 guage, which the formal Jargon of the Law 
 would admit ; and now, as a Chancery 
 Advocate, the fame Ingenuity, Precifion, 
 and Clearnefs, diftinguilh all his Ple^dr 
 }ngs. 
 
 His Speaking, is of that fubtle, corredt, 
 and deliberate kind, that has more the 
 appearance of written than of oral Elo- 
 quence. He branches forth his Argu- 
 ments into different Heads and Divilions ; 
 and purfues the refpedlive Parts through 
 all their various Ramifications, withfuch 
 methodical Accuracy, that Argument feems 
 to rife out of Argument, and Conclulion 
 from Conclufion, in the mofl regular and 
 natural ProgrefTion j fo that thofe who are 
 not acquainted with his Pradice, would 
 
 fufpeill
 
 ^o4 > 
 
 fufped that he- had.ftudied and prepared 
 his Speeches with the moil dihgent At- 
 tention; while others, who are better ac- 
 quai^ted with the Bufinefs of the Courts, 
 feel their Adniiration and Surprife in- 
 creafed, from the Knowledge that a Man 
 of. his extenfive Bufinefs, fo far from 
 Jludyin^ whaf hejhail/ay, can fcarce find 
 f ime to glance his Eye over the numerous 
 Papers that come befop him, but mufl 
 catch his Knowledge of the Gaufe, not fo 
 much from his Brief,' as from the Opening 
 of the Junior Counfel, and the Arguments 
 advanced on the oppofite Side, 
 
 He is alfo particularly diftinguillied for 
 hisAptitude and Ingenuity in Reply. 
 
 His fyflematjc rnnid feems to metho- 
 (Jize, with inconceivable rapidity, the 
 Arguments of his Opponents. In the 
 fhort fpace of Time between the Plead- 
 ings of his x^dverfary, and his Reply, every 
 Tphing feems digefled and difpofed, and 
 
 his
 
 his Mode of Replication Teems planner! irt 
 the nicefl Order. He will frequently take 
 lip the concluding Argument of his Op- 
 ponent, or, at other times, feize upon 
 fome Obfervation which Had fallen in the 
 middle of the adverfe Speech. -Here he 
 will begin his Attack ; and proceeding by 
 his ufual clear and deliberate Method^ 
 purfue one regular Chain of reafoning; 
 till he has confuted, or at leaft replied f^ 
 every Proportion advanced agaihri hiiri. ' 
 
 Mr. Scott is little known our of the 
 Metropolis, or in />, but as a Chancer}'" 
 Pleader. ^ — The Subtlety "c^f his Metapliy- 
 iical Reafonings are admrrabi V ' 'adapted- to 
 the Practice of -this- Court. ^' '' ''^--'^ 
 
 ^^There iir<&'certai^'Chard6ferSy^ivKo, From 
 being themfelves ^femarkabFj • w^r^f^n)?^ 
 and ajfumirjgy ^afe particularly pleafed 
 in'others^^ith'that Modefty and Diffidence, 
 which give them no Trdiible Ky painful 
 Opp^jfiefoni ^©t • alTuming the Appearance 
 
 of
 
 ( ^o6 ) 
 
 of Competition, by a re folute Adherence to 
 Argument and Difputation. It is there- 
 fore probable, and a variety of Inftanccs 
 fupport the Suppofition, that notwith* 
 ftanding Mr. Scott's acknowledged Ta- 
 lents, he owes his Succefs, in a great 
 meafure, to that Urbanity of Manners 
 and Diffidence, which has avoided, as 
 much as poilible, all Oppofition with th^ 
 Bench. — Be this as it may, the prefcnt 
 Chancellor took very early Notice of him, 
 and gave him his Countenance in Practice, 
 in a way extremely unufual with him. 
 
 One time, in particular, while Mr. Scott 
 was yet but rijing into Notice, the Chan- 
 cellor having been particularly pleafed w^ith 
 his pleading, and having paid him the 
 moft marked Attention during all the 
 time he was fpeaking, defired^ at the 
 breaking up of the Court, to fpeak with 
 him in private ; — however embarrafled with 
 theunexpeded Honour, he inflantly obeyed 
 the Summons, and they retired together. 
 
 The
 
 ( 2^7 ) 
 
 Tiie Chancellor congratulated him on his 
 rifing Merit, and offered him the then va- 
 cant Maflerfhip in Chancery ; at the fame 
 time obferving, that he did not prefs his 
 Acceptance, fince, in all probability, he 
 might in time do better. 
 
 The Office of Mafler in Chancery 
 is looked upon, by the Profeifors of the 
 Law, as a kind of Hospital for Inva- 
 lids, where thofe, whom Connexions, 
 or Application, have reared to a certain 
 Rank, fometimes find a calm and idle retreat 
 for Life, with a comfortable Stipend, and 
 good Accommodation ; but from whence they 
 are feldom called again into more diflin- 
 guilhed Scenes of A<5lion, that lead to the 
 high Offices of State. But Mr. Scott (tho* 
 ^s we have obferved before, much of a 
 Valetudinarian in Conflitution), probably 
 feeling himfelf rather encouraged by this 
 Converfation, to purfue the arduous Path of 
 Fame, than to repofe himfelf in this ob- 
 fcure Retreat, politely declined the Offer, 
 
 and
 
 ( 2o3 ) 
 
 6nd' wifely trufted to his Fortune and' 
 Induftry for the attainment of ftill higher 
 Honours. 
 
 How rriuch this Anecdote rriuft have 
 contributed to raife the young Pleader iri 
 the Opinion of the Profellion, may be 
 ^afily imagined. Certain it is, Mr. Scott 
 had a greater Run of Bufinefs than any 
 Counfel at the Bar. 
 
 In 1783, a Patent of Precedency was 
 granted him, by which he became entitled 
 to all the honours and advantages of the 
 Silk Gown, and ranked with the King's 
 Gounfel. 
 
 Mr. Scott was foori after intro- 
 x3uced into Parliament, having been return- 
 ed for the Borough of Webfyy m Hereford, 
 
 In the commencement of his Career,' aS 
 a Political Chara(5ter, and a Parliartien- 
 tary Speaker, we muit refer to the date of 
 
 Mr/
 
 ( 209 ) 
 
 Mr. Fox's celebrated India Bill ; and up* 
 on this occafion it muft be obferved, that 
 he feems to have foregone the wonted Mo- 
 dejiy of his Charader, by putting himfelf 
 not only in oppolition to Lee, the then At^ 
 torney General^ a Man of acknowledged 
 Abilities, but againft the Britilh De-» 
 MosTHENES, the Champion of Pa- 
 triotifm. 
 
 What were the fpecious Pretexts ori 
 which this Bill was oppofed, what were 
 the Nature of Mr. Scott's Arguments, 
 and what the fate of the Bill itfelf, are To-» 
 pics unneceflary to be here enlarged upon. 
 However unpropitious this Event might be 
 to the Intereft and Welfare of this Country, 
 it was very far from having any ill efFed:s 
 on the Fortune of Mr. Scott. 
 
 Eminence in our Courts, is a fure Con- 
 dudlor to the Path of Promotion ; — ^but it 
 goes no further, oj itfelf^ than to the 
 
 P THRESH-«
 
 ( 4i6 ) 
 
 'THRESH otD of preferment; a certain /)//^* 
 hility and elajlicity of Principky which can 
 wind thro* the mazes of Political Intrigue, 
 and a facility of fhaping Opinions to the Fa- 
 fhionofthe Times, are efTentialRequifites for 
 condud:inghimtotheGoaI.Intheferefpe(5ts, 
 to fpeak plainly, Lawyers are feldom defi- 
 cient ; Their habits of reprefenting which- 
 ever Side they feed upon, as that, which 
 Truth and found Reafon fupport, naturally 
 leads them, in time, to confider Truth and 
 Reafon as only to be found on the fide of 
 Intereft. JFromthis temper of Mind, per- 
 haps many of thofe rapid Advancements to 
 Power and Opulence, which have diflin- 
 guifhed the Barriflers of the prefent Cen- 
 tury may be accounted for ; and perhaps 
 even the forcible Reafoning, and corre(5t 
 Diction of Sir John Scott, might not 
 as readily have fmoothed for him, the Road 
 to his prefent Honours, had not his Princi* 
 pies led him fo readily, and fo zealoufly, to 
 efpoufe the Sentiments of thofe, it had 
 already been determined ihould be advanced 
 
 to
 
 ( ail ) 
 
 to*Adminiftration, and who held the Reiitii 
 of Power at the Diffolution of the lajl Par'^ 
 liament. 
 
 Since the Change produced by the Mea- 
 fure above Jftated, no material alterations 
 have taken place in Cabinet Arrangements, 
 and Sir John Scott \\?is hitherto perfeve- 
 red in a uniformity of Conduct. In the 
 Year 1788, he diflinguifhed himfelf as the 
 illuftrious Father of the Declaratory Bill ^ 
 an explanatory Ad:, of which it may be 
 faid, as it has of many Commentaries upon 
 Homer, that it pointed out Meanings 
 and Interpretations invented long after the 
 Original was digefled, and gave the Au- 
 thors of the Performance, it pretended to 
 elucidate, the Honour (fuch as it was) of 
 Inventions, about which, at the time it was 
 cbmpofcd, they were not bold enough to 
 think, even in their wildeft Dreams. 
 
 The Confequences of this extraordinary 
 
 Meafure, were as advantageous to Mf. 
 
 P % ScoTT^
 
 ( ^^^ ) 
 
 ScoTt, as the Bill itfelf was alarming tcf 
 the Friends of Liberty. The latter, it is 
 true, were left to mourn, inallonifhment^ 
 the fecurity with which Meafures might 
 be introduced by flow, jefuitical and nefa- 
 rious means, that would have inilantly 
 died in the Luftre of open Day, 
 
 Thefe were Services that r>cver go un- 
 rewarded. In 1788, Mr. Scott wat 
 knighted, and made Solicitor General. 
 
 Among the other Pairiotic Meafures of 
 Mr. Pitt's Adminiftration, to the Ho- 
 nour of which Sir John Scott may juilly, 
 in part, lay claim, we mufl: not forget, 
 that in him originated the Legal Dodlrines 
 and Subtleties of the Regency Bill. 
 
 As a Tarliainentary Speaker y Sir John 
 Scott's Merit, is very inferior to his Pro- 
 feffional Ability as a Pleader, The tech- 
 nical Modes of Speech, and the forma- 
 lized Habits of the Courts, attacJj him fa 
 flrongly upon all Occalions, that he can 
 
 laever
 
 ( *'3 ) 
 
 never hope to charm a popular Aflembly, 
 or command the Applaufe of Senates. — - 
 He wants the Warmth and Animation, 
 the bold declamatory Vehemence, that 
 diflinguifh the Senatorial from the Forenfic 
 Orator. 
 
 Sir John Scott always begins in the 
 Houfe of Commons with a low and embar-» 
 raffed Tremulation of Voice, which fub-» 
 fides very gradually, and fometimes not at 
 all. — He is always (hrewd, clear and fen«p 
 lible, but veryfeldom energetic and impref- 
 (ive — never animated. 
 
 As a private Character, Sir John 
 Scott is pcrfedly the Gentleman : eafy, 
 polite, and affable ; neither affuming 
 among his Friends, difficult of Accefs, 
 or faff idioufly refervcd , to Strangers . With 
 the Manners, he alfo blends the Exterior of 
 the Gentleman.
 
 Mr. ANSTR U T H E R. 
 
 Jidfdjfet nova, qua Genitor produxerit u/us : 
 Vehemens ^ Uquidus, furoq^uf Jimillimus amni, 
 fundet opes, Latitimque heabit di'vtte Lingua. : 
 Luxuriantia compefcet ; nimis afperafano 
 Jjevahit cultu ; <virtute carentia toilet : 
 Ludentis fpeciem dabit, ac torquehitur, ut qui 
 Nunc Satyrum, nunc agrejiem, Cyclopa movefur-. 
 
 HoR. Epist^ 
 
 J. HE multifarious Biographer is, in fome 
 particulars, not unlike the Painter. Th? 
 mere catching the identity of ftriking fea- 
 tures, is to both almofl a work of mecha- 
 nic^a eafe ; but to give a varied attitude ^ 
 and a flill rarer charaBer to the pi<5ture, 
 is, to the one and the other, the knotted 
 perplexity (trinoda necessitas) of 
 the art he cultivates, 
 
 The Gentleman of whom we iiow at^ 
 tempt a faint Sketch, will not, we hope, be 
 
 afliamed
 
 ( 2'6 ) 
 
 afliamcd to look on a Portraiture handled 
 with much Faithful/iefsy though with lit- 
 tle Tafle. In one thing, at leaji, we may- 
 take credit — that we fhall not fuffer by the 
 tcft of COMPARISON, as we believe he has 
 not fat to another Artifl:. 
 
 Mr. Anstrutmer is indebted to For- 
 tune for fome accidental Advantages, 
 that might have benefited more, had they 
 fallen elfewhere, than where they did. 
 It may fuit' the booby Heir of a rich 
 Houfe, to have his Wants proyided for, 
 even before he knows that he has any ; 
 but Genius in every Clime, will force 
 to her Neceflities the Tribute of the Alien. 
 
 On the Pride of Birth much might here 
 be arrogated. If to be defcended front 
 one of the oldeft Families of an antient 
 Kingdom, were, in thefe times of happy 
 Illumination, any thing to boafl: — He 
 is the fon of Sir John Anstruther, 
 Bart, of Ayrefhire, in Scotland, who con- 
 nects
 
 { «i7 ) 
 
 nedls with a handfome Rent-Roil, cortti- 
 iderable Parliamentary Interefl. 
 
 At an early age, young Anstruther 
 was recommended to Glafgow, and there 
 to Dr. Millar, the celebrated ProfefTor 
 of Humanity. They who were lucky 
 enough to have brought hither any Ta- 
 lents, might be aflured, at leaft, not to 
 leave the place with lefs Knowledge than 
 they came.— Our 73^ro would, however, have 
 bidden farewell to the Academic Walls, 
 with little increafed Knowledge, but for the 
 inceffant Indufbry of his great Preceptor ; 
 for he is faid to have been the idleft boy of 
 his Clafs. When recalled from Col- 
 lege, he began, however, to feel the Ne- 
 ceflity of an eftablifhed Purfuit, and a fixed 
 • Attention on the profecution of it. Left 
 to himfelf, he did not long hefitate where 
 to determine — but fixed at once on the 
 Study of the Law. 
 
 In
 
 ( 2i8 ) 
 
 In 1774, he was admitted of Lincoln's 
 Inn — and called to the Bar in Hillary Term 
 1779. 
 
 His progrefs in profefTional Avocations, 
 has been more obfervable for the Certainty 
 of the Retainments of what it has o?jce pof- 
 feffed itfelf, than of quick Attainments, 
 Nor can it any way be at all impeached 
 for haying been pufhed by unfair and dif- 
 reputable Practice. 
 
 Mr. Anstruther, in the Declara- 
 tion of his Opinion as a Lawyer^ hJJow ;. 
 but to make ample amends, he is for the 
 moft part, ftire. He is confulted on all 
 great Queftions of Law, arifing in his own 
 Country, and has often evinced, by a 
 large Difplay of local Learning, that a more 
 able Advocate could no where be engaged. 
 Perhaps there is no Branch of Pleading 
 more honourable thari that of Scotch Ap- 
 peals ; more lucrative , it may roundly be 
 faid, there cannot be j and he is not with-. 
 
 ou^
 
 ( ai9 ) 
 
 out a proportionate Divifion of diurnal Bn-m 
 iinefsin the Court, where he is moreefpe- 
 cially called to Practice. 
 
 He had not been long on the Books of 
 Lincoln's Inn, when a Profped: of a Seat 
 in the Houfe of Commons prefented itfelf, 
 too flattering to be refifled. He has been 
 twice returned to Parliament. 
 
 His conduct in the Senate has been uni- 
 form. He conceived an early Attachment 
 to Mr. Fox and his Politics, from which 
 he has never fwerved in all the trying Vi^ 
 cijfttiides of his great Leader's Fortune. 
 He is, to the Party with whom he a6ts, 
 an able Coadjutor. In his Arrangement 
 of public Concerns, in his eafy reference 
 to remote Fad:s, he affords a ufeful, though 
 tacit Affiftance, to his more talkative AfTo- 
 ciates ; nor has he ever hurt the Caufe he 
 ^ifpoufed, when he ventured to rife in fup- 
 pprtofits Merits. 
 
 His
 
 ( aao ) 
 
 His regular Attendance in the Commit* 
 tee of Enquiry into the Affairs of India, 
 not ten years tedious Procefs has been able 
 to appal. To his Indefatigability, may 
 beafcribed the Honour of his being ap- 
 pointed by the Commons of England to 
 lliare in the Management of the Impeach- 
 ment now carrying on, in their Name, 
 againll Warren Hastings, Efq. 
 
 The Speech on the Opening of the 
 Charge entrufled to his Hands, was a 
 grand Specimen of Oratorical Abilities, 
 and difcovered a wonderful PoiTeilion of 
 the Subjedl he was required to illuflrate. 
 Wliere the frefent Lord Chancellor 
 deigns to commend, it may very fairly be 
 prefumcd there is pofitive^Defert ; and his 
 Lordfhip could not with-hold his Appro-^ 
 bation on the Spot. 
 
 His Speeches on the Regency BHU the 
 'Declaratory A5i^ and Mr. PiTT*s India 
 Billy did him equal Honour. 
 
 Mr,
 
 Mr. Anstruther's Oratory is by no 
 fheans shewy. His Chara(fteriftic isfor-^ 
 tible Argument^ conveyed in neai, pointed 
 Language. He is faid to afFeftthe Manner 
 of Lord Loughborough j and if ^Oy i^ 
 certainly an admirable Copy. As far as re- 
 lates to Action, he has fucceeded in the 
 moit exad: Refemblance ; but he v/ho 
 looks for the further Perfcdion oi -3^ Volume 
 of Harmonious Voice, and the happy 
 Energy of Animation, will be difappoint- 
 ed. Whenever Mr. Anstruther devi- 
 ates from the even, didaBic, kind of Speak-^ 
 ingy his communicative Organs fail hint 
 entirely. Sometimes his Voice is thickly 
 choaked ; at others, it utters Sounds dif- 
 cordant, and ungrateful to the Ear of Har-*' 
 tnony. 
 
 In Per/on he is above the common Sta- 
 ture, and rather inclined to ftoop, proba- 
 bly from a fedentaiy Habit. His impaired 
 Health may alfo, we fuppofe, be attribu- 
 ted to the fame Caufe, 
 
 the
 
 ( 222 ) 
 
 irhc concluding Paragraph gives us more 
 Pleafure than all that have forgone ; how- 
 ever in Public Life he rnay be admired 
 of his numerous Partizans; it is far ex- 
 ceeded in the amiabihty and relpe(St of his 
 Private Worth.
 
 Mejfrs. ErSKINE, PiOOT, MiNGAY, fl«//GAR- 
 ftOW, were originally intended to follow the hliQ^'&'SX 
 AND Solicitor General ; hut as a Second Vo- 
 lume (entirely conjined to the great CHARACTERS of 
 the BAR is ready for the Prefs, awaiting the Public 
 judgment upon the present, it is judged better to 
 referve thofe very eminent Names, as a rneans of en- 
 suring a favourablt Reception* 
 
 ^ft€f
 
 After fo much has been /aid of Lawny ers of the pre/em Day, the 
 Infertion of tht foll<ruolngChdraBer from an Old Writefi 
 •Ti/Hiynot, perhaps, be thought impertinent or improper: 
 
 THE 
 
 CHARACTER of an HONEST LAfVTER. 
 By h. g. X<Awoixwy, 
 
 ^'■Jiit'ia cul/brj rigid! Jer^rafcy 'Hctiefll^ ih aifMiuiU l«niif» ' 
 
 A 
 
 Licenfed Aqgufl: Z9»%^76i ,I^9oBr VEstranse. 
 
 N Honell Lawyer is the life-guard of our 
 fortunes, the beft collateral Security for an 
 ^*£ilate : a trufty. Pilot, to (leer one through the 
 dangerous (and oftea times inevitable^ ocean 
 of contention : a true Prieft of Juftice, that 
 neither facrifices to fraud nor covetouf- 
 ncfs; and in this outdoes thofe of a higher func- 
 tion ; that he can make people honeft that are 
 Sermon-proof — -He is an infallible anatomift of 
 Meum and Tuum, that will prefently fearch a 
 caufe to the quick, and find out the peccant hu- 
 mour, the litte lurking cheat, though mafked 
 in never fo fair pretences : one that praftifes
 
 ( 226 ) 
 
 Law,-foas not to forget the Gofpcl^but always 
 wears a Confciencc as well as a Gown ; he weighs 
 the Caufe more than gold ; and if that will not 
 bear the Touch, in a generous fcorn puts back 
 the Fee. 
 
 Though he knows all the Criticifms of his 
 Faculty, and the nice Snapperadocsof Prafticc, 
 yet he never ufes them, unlefs in a defenfive 
 way, to countermine the plots of Knavery ; for 
 he affefts not the devilifli fkill of out-baffling 
 Right, nor aims at the fhameful Glory of making 
 a bad Caufe good ; but with equal contempt hates 
 the Wolve's Study, and the Dog's Eloquence ; 
 and difdains to grow great by crimes, or build 
 hirnfclf a fortune on the fpoil of the opprefled, 
 ■"6r the ruin of the Widow and Orphan. He has 
 more reverence for his Profelfion, than to de« 
 bauch it to unrighteous purpofes; and had ra- 
 ther be dumb, than fuffer his tongue to pimp 
 for injuftice, or club his parts, to bolftcr up a 
 cheat with the Legerdemain of Law-craft. 
 
 He is not faced like jFanuSy to take a retain- 
 ing fee from the Plaintiff, and afterwardsa back- 
 handed Bribe from the Defendant; nor fo dou- 
 ble-tongued, that 'one may purchafe his Plead- 
 ing*
 
 ( 5^7 ) 
 
 ing, and the other at the fame, or a larger price, 
 his Silence; but when he undertakes a bufinefs, 
 he efpoufes it in earneft — and does not fol- 
 low a caufe, but manages it. A mollifying let- 
 ter from the adverfary's potent friend, a noble 
 treat, or the remora of a lufty prefent from 
 thegreat,haveno influence to makehimflacken 
 his proceedings ; for he is fo zealous for his 
 Client's intereft, that you may fooner divorce 
 the fun from the ecliptic, than w^rp him from 
 his integrity ; yet ftill is his patron only ufque ad 
 aras (as far asjuft)j for if once he finds the bu- 
 nefs fmells rank, St, Mark's Treafure, or the 
 Mines of Potoji^ are too fmall a fee to engage 
 him one ftcp further. 
 
 As his profeffion is honourable, fo his edu- 
 cation has been liberal and ingenious ; far dif- 
 ferent from that of fome jilting pettifoggers, 
 and purfe-milkinglaw-drivers, whofe breeding, 
 like a cuckoo's, is in the n-efl of another 
 trade, where they learn wrangling and knave- 
 ry in their own caufes, to fpoil thofe of other 
 men, and, with fwcetencd ingredients of mecha- 
 nic fraud, compound themlclves (though fim- 
 ple enough) fit inftruments for villany. But 
 his greener years were feafoncd with literature^ 
 
 and
 
 ( 325 ) 
 
 and can give better proofs of his univerfity 
 learning, than his reckoning up the Colleges, 
 and boafting his name in the Buttery book : 
 he underftands logic (the method of right rea^ 
 foiling) and rhetoric (the art of per- 
 fuafion), is well feen in hiftory (the free 
 fchool of prudence}, and no ftranger to the 
 ethics and politics of the antients. He is 
 fkilled in other languages befides Declaration 
 Latin and Norman gibberifh : he read Plato and 
 Tidly before he faw Oiithtr Littleton ox the Statute 
 J^ooky and, grounded in the principles of Nature 
 and Cuftoms of nations, came (lotis manibus) to 
 to the ftudy of our common municipal law, 
 which he found to be multorvm annorum opus, a 
 taflv that requires all the nerves of induftry j and 
 therefore employed his time at the Inns of 
 Court, better than in hunting after newfafiiions, 
 ftarting frefh miftreifes, haunting the play- 
 houfes, or acquiring the other little town ac^ 
 eomplifhments, which render their admirers 
 fine men in tlie opinion of lools, but egregi- 
 <5us fops in the judgment of the wife. 
 
 In his ftudy, he traffics not only with the in- 
 fantry of epitomes, abridgments, and diminu- 
 tive colle^ors in decimo-fexto, but draws his 
 
 knowledge
 
 ( 229 ) 
 
 knowledge from the original Iprings, digefting 
 the whole body of the Law in a laborious and 
 regular method, but efpecially aims to be wcU- 
 verfed in the praQ:ice of every Court, and 
 rightly to undcrftand the art of good pleading, 
 as knowing them to be the moft ufeful to unra- 
 vel the knotty intrigues of the caufe, and re- 
 duce it to an iffue ; yet hates to pefterthe Court 
 with Circuities^ Negative PregnaTUSy Departures^ 
 and multiplied Inconveniencics. 
 
 He never goes about with feigned allegations 
 to caft a mift before the eyes of juflice, that 
 (he may miftake her road, and aflign tlite ehild 
 to the wrong mother : endeavours not to pack, 
 a Jury by his intercft to the Under Sheriff; nor 
 to balk an Evidence with a multitude of fuddea 
 enlnaring interrogatories; nor maintains any 
 corrcfpqndence with the Knights of Alfatia, or 
 Ram- Alley Vouchers. He can profecute a Suit 
 in Equity, without feeking to create a whirlpool, 
 where one Order fhall beget another, and the 
 poor Client be fwung round (like a cat before 
 execution) from Decree to Rehearfing, from 
 Report to Exception, and vice verfa, till his for- 
 tunes are fliip-wrccked, and himfelf drowned, 
 for want of white and yellow earth to wade 
 
 through
 
 ( 230 ) 
 
 through on. He never ftudies delays to the 
 Rum of a Family, for the lucre of Ten Groats ; 
 nor, by drilling Quirks, fpins out a fuit more 
 lafling than Bulf, depending a whole revolution 
 of Saturn, and entailed on the third and fourth 
 Generation. He does not play the Empiric 
 with, his Client, and put him on the rack to make 
 him bleed more freely, caftinghim into afwoon, 
 with frights of a judgment, and then reviving 
 him again with a cordial Writ of Error, or the 
 dearElixir of an Injunftion, to keep the bran- 
 gle alive as long as there are any vital fpirits 
 in the pouch. He can fuffer his neighbours 
 to live quiet about him, without perpetual 
 alarms of Aftionsandlnditlmcnts, or conjuring 
 up dormant Titles to every commodious Scat, 
 and making Land fall five years purchafe,mere* 
 ly for lying within ten miles of him. 
 
 He delights to be an Arbitrator, not an Incen- 
 diary, andhas beatus pacijicus ohcnttin his mouth 
 than currat lex. He never wheedles any into 
 endlefs Suits for trifles, nor animates them to 
 undothemfelves and others forDamageFeafant, 
 or infignificant trefpafles pedihus ambulando \ but 
 (as Teliphus* fword was the beft cure for th^ 
 
 V'ouuds
 
 ( 231 ) 
 
 wounds it made) advifcs people to compofe 
 their aflaults and flanders over the fame ale 
 that begot them ; nor does he, in weightier ca- 
 fes, extort unreafonable fees; for v/hatever the 
 foul-chapp'd rabble may fuggeft, a Lawyer's pro- 
 feffion is not mercenary; the money given him 
 is only an honorary gratuity for his advice and 
 trouble,or a grateful acknowledgme/it of ourob- 
 ligations for hi^ well-intended endeavours ; and 
 the old emblem of the bramblefs tearing off the 
 fheep's fleece that run to it for Ihclter in a ftorm, 
 can have no rcfle6lion upon him, whole brain 
 is as aftive, and his tongue as volatile, for a 
 pennylefs pauper, as when oiled with the aurum 
 ^otabile of a dozen guineas. 
 
 In a word, whilft he lives, he is the delight of 
 the Court, the ornament of the Bar, the glory 
 of his profeffion, the patron of innocency, the 
 upholder of right, the fcourge of oppreffion, 
 the terror of deceit, and the oracle of his coun- 
 try; and when death calls him to the Bar of Hea- 
 ven, by a habeas corpus, cum caufis, he finds his 
 Judge his Advocate, nonfuits the devil, obtains 
 a liberate from all is infirmities, and conti- 
 nues ftill one of the Long Robe in Glory,
 
 ( 252 ) 
 
 The AUTHOR'S APOLOOY. 
 THERE are a fort of fpidef-pated animals, 
 that can fuck venom out of the medicinal QoWt 
 ers ; mifchievous Drones ! that have not only 
 left off lauda^ida facere, fed eiiam laudare; fo far 
 from doing any thing praife -worthy themfelvcs, 
 that they cannot endure the deferved encomi- 
 ums of others. If any fuch vermin fhould light 
 upon this innocent lucubration, and endeavour 
 io turn panegyric into fatire, by a left-handed 
 comment, the Author thinks fit to anticipate 
 their malice — that there lives notapcrfonwllofe 
 bread is fraught with a greater veneration for 
 the Profcffion of the Law than himfelf, who 
 had the honourof forae mean education therein s 
 ^But as he knows no true Gamaliel will wrong 
 him with fuch a groundlefs fufpicion, ^o he 
 efteems the difpleafure of griping Caufe -job- 
 bers, and Green Bag-dabblers, below his regard. 
 Itistheir intereft to be offended atthc charafter 
 of an IloneftXawyer, for the very fame reafon, 
 that hard-favoured Ladies hate Handfome 
 Chambermaids; and may well imitate that Daw- 
 ber'spolicy, who, having drawn amoft miferable 
 picture of a cock, hired a boy to pelt away all 
 the live ones from coming near, left people, by 
 comparing, fhould difcern the horrid'uglinefs of 
 his^wn.
 
 THE 
 
 SUBSTANCE 
 
 SPEECH, 
 
 IKT£NS£I> TO BAV£ BEElT 
 
 SPOKEN IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 
 NOVEMBER 22^1803, 
 
 R. WATSON, 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF LANDAFF. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 Printed by Luke Haafard, near Lincoln's-Tnp i!>«Iil^ 
 
 TOR 
 
 1, CADELL Asu W DAVIES, 
 
 180^ 
 
 /
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 It was my full Intention to have delivered 
 the Substance of the following Speech in 
 the House of Lords : but perceiving that, 
 as I proceeded in the consideration of the 
 Subject, I could not comprehend, in a short 
 Speech, all that I wished to observe, and 
 being unwilling to take up the time of 
 the House with my Speculations, I have 
 thought fit, in this way, to give my Senti- 
 ments to the Public. My " Address" to 
 the People of Great Britain in 1798 was 
 thought to do some Good ; and this Pub- 
 lication may, I sincerely hope, be of some 
 
 little
 
 IV ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 littfe Use: but however that may be, I 
 <5ould not rest satisfied with being considered 
 ias a careless, cold, or timid Spectator of 
 the common Danger. 
 
 R. L. 
 
 Calgarth-Park^ 
 Nov"" l8th, 1803.
 
 My Lords, 
 
 IN Obedience to his Majesty's Commands^ 
 and in compliance with my own Sense of 
 Pubhc Duty, I this day appear in my place 
 in the noblest Assembly upon earth, convened 
 by the most gracious Monarch that evpr sat 
 upon a Throne, and required to deliberate 
 upon the most important Subjeqts that ever' 
 occupied your Lordships' attention, or that 
 of any of your predecessors in this House. 
 
 I, my Lords, could have been well content- 
 ed to spend the little remainder of my life* 
 in retirement, and buried in obscurity ; indif- 
 ferent, alike, to the calls of professionalism o- 
 lument^ and professional Ambition : but 1 
 cannot be contented to remain indifferent to 
 the Summons of my Sovereign, in a time of 
 B distress}
 
 ( 2 ) 
 distress ; deaf to the Calls of my Country, 
 when its Eixistence is endangered. — Endan- 
 gered we all know it to be : but where is the 
 dastardly soul (none such, I am confident, is 
 to be met with amongst your Lordships > 
 none such, I hope, is to be met with amongst 
 any of those in whose hearing I now speak) — 
 where is the dastardly soul, "who accompanies 
 his Prospect of Danger, with a Feeling of 
 Despai 
 
 ? 
 
 Without laying claim to any extraordinary 
 degree of courage, any man, of an advanced 
 age, who has well contemplated the short and 
 slippery course of this world's concerns, may 
 acquire such a firmness of rnind, as will enable 
 him to sustain with Stoical fortitude all the 
 vicissitudes of fortune, which may await him ; 
 or, (to speak in language more appropriate, I 
 am sensible, to your Lordships' principles, 
 more consonant to your feelings, as w^ell as to 
 my own,) to acquiesce, with Cliristian resigna- 
 tion, in every Dispensation of Cod. Wha^t 
 Cause can such a man ever have for Terror 
 and Despair ? On such a Man (I here see 
 many such) — Manca ruit semper fortuna. — 
 'i'he worst that can happen to any individual 
 1 ' • amongst
 
 ( 3 ) 
 amongst us is Death ; and he who fears to 
 die in the just Defence of his Country, does 
 not deserve to hve in it. I put the Matter at 
 the very worst, and that worst is nothing : 
 good men do not dread it, brave men do not 
 shun it, wise men hourly think of it ; it terri- 
 jfies none but bad men and cowards. What 
 ground then for our Despair ? our Cause is 
 good, our Conscience on this point is clear — 
 wo are not fighting to plunder other men's 
 property, but to protect our own — we are not 
 fighting to subvert the Liberty of other Na- 
 tions, but to prevent the Yoke of Slavery 
 from being fastened on our necks and on those 
 of our posterity — we are not fighting in con- 
 tempt of National Character, in despite of 
 the Civil Order of the World, in derision of 
 Rehgion, in mockery of Heaven — No ! we 
 are fighting, to preserve this happy Land 
 from Atheism, from Despotism, or Anarchy, 
 from that moral contamination of Principle 
 and Practice, which outrages the very nature 
 of humankind. 
 
 But why speak of the worst, when there is 
 
 little Probability of the worst happening? 
 
 To some, indeed, it must happen; some gallant 
 
 B H Men
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 Men must fall in the noble conflict; but that 
 the Nation will be subdued is not to me a 
 probal)le event. The. events of War, we ac- 
 knowledge it with Humility, and we -have 
 abundant reason to acknowledge it with Gra- 
 titude and Piety, are in the hands of God. 
 Our Duty is to trust the Issue of the Contest 
 to Him, as if we were not concerned in bring- 
 ing it about — but it is our Duty also to exert 
 our own Energy, as if every thing depended 
 on Ourselves. And are we not doing this, in 
 a Manner and to an Extent unheard of in 
 former times, in our own Country, and un- 
 precedented in the most illustrious nations of 
 Antiquity ? 
 
 We read of a Law in Sparta which made it 
 Death for a man to refuse hazarding his life 
 in the Defence of his Country. — We have no 
 such Law ; but we have something a thour- 
 sand times better than such a Law — we have 
 a British Spirit. — ^That Spirit is now roused, 
 it pervades the vyhole Country, it animates 
 the Nobility, Gentry, -Yeomanry, all Ordera 
 and Descriptions of Men, to do that Volunta- 
 rily, which even Spartans were compelled to 
 do by the Fear of Punishment. Every City, 
 
 Town,
 
 ' ( 5 ) 
 
 Town, and Village, from the Land's End to 
 the Orkney Islands, pours forth its voluntary 
 Legions, in Defence of their Country and of 
 their King. t 
 
 Glorious and unexampled on the Surface of 
 the Earth is His Majesty's situation !— Other 
 Princes there are who reign over more exten- 
 sive Regions — other Princes there are who 
 support' their Thrones, in times of Peace, by 
 more numerous Armies; and exercise over thciip 
 Subjects a more unlimited Sway. — But where 
 is the Prince, in Europe, or in the World, 
 who, in the day of Danger, sees himself pro- 
 tected as His Majesty is, by the united Efforts 
 of all His People — by the Persons of those 
 who are able to wield a Weapon ; — by the 
 Prayers of the Aged and of the Sex ;— by the 
 Purses of the Rich ; — -and by the Hearts of 
 All.^ — Surely all this is well— -it does Honour 
 to the King, it does equal Honour to the 
 People. They know for whom and for what 
 they expose their Lives — they know that they 
 are not miserable Conscripts, driven hi chains 
 to be sacrificed on the altar of an ambitious 
 Leader, whom ihey detest ; but Loyal Sub- 
 jects, voluntarily encountering Danger for a 
 
 legal
 
 '( 6 ) 
 legal and beloved Monarch; and not for Ilim 
 only, but for Themselves; for the Preservation 
 of that limited Monarchy, which is the pri- 
 mar}"- Source of all the Blessings they enjoy, 
 as Members of Civil Society, 
 
 Is any one ignorant of these Blessings ? 
 does any one think that he has nothing to 
 fight for, that his Condition is so mean and 
 uncomfortable that, let what will happen, it 
 cannot become worse under any Constitution 
 which may take place ? Mistaken Man ! go 
 and see if thou canst fmd in France — a Trial 
 by Jury — an Habeas Corpus Act — an incor- 
 rupt Administration of Justice — an Equality 
 of Law — a Security of Jiife and Property — a 
 parochial Maintenance for thy Orphans and 
 thy Widow — and for thyself, when Age or 
 Accident shall have unnerved the Arm of 
 Industry ? Blessings these ! which the meanest 
 Englishman so liberally enjoys, that he is apt 
 to overlook them ; which the greatest French- 
 men so eagerly desire, that they will ere long 
 Mrith Swords in their hands demand them. 
 The Soldiery of France, of Holland, Switzer- 
 land, Italy, glutted at length with Slaughter, 
 satiated at length with Plunder, will, ere long, 
 
 begin
 
 ( o 
 
 begin to be ashamed, officers and men, of the 
 part they have acted in this Revolutionary 
 Tragedy of the World ; they will at length 
 make an Atonement for the Mischief they 
 have done, and snap, at once, the despotic 
 Chains j which in a fit of Faction, Passion, and 
 Insanity* they have contributed to impose 
 on their respective Countries. 
 
 But be this as it may, — for there is little cer- 
 tainty in any political prediction, and least of 
 all in mine, — permit me to congratulate your 
 Lordships and the Nation on that Military 
 Ardour which is every where excited. It is 
 every where excited to such a Pitch, that 
 were our Generals commissioned to say to 
 their Troops, as the Jewish Officers were 
 obliged, by the Law of Moses, to say to their 
 Soldiers before they engaged in Battle-— 
 " What man is there that is fearful and faint- 
 " hearted, let him go and retire unto his 
 ** house*' — Not one in an hundred, I think, 
 would retire from their Ranks. 
 
 It has been said of Carthage — that all her 
 Citizens were Merchants, mindful of nothing 
 butof the Acquisition of Wealth: — and it has 
 been said of Rome — that all her Citizens were 
 
 Soldiers,
 
 ( « ) 
 
 Soldiers, mitidful of nothing but of the Acqui* 
 sition of Military Glory. — The Issue of our 
 present Struggle will; I trust, teach all future 
 Historians to say of Britain, thiat She united 
 Characters hitherto esteemed discordant, and 
 incompatible, and combined for her Defence 
 the Strength of Carthage and of Rome— that 
 her Soldiers were Merchants and her Mer- 
 chants were Soldiers. Had Carthage been, 
 after the second Punic War, what G reat Bri- 
 tain now is, the Exclamation of Cato (which 
 our modern Calos, forsooth,- have so vocife- 
 rously adopted) the — dclenda est Carthago-^ 
 would have been considered by the Roman 
 Senate as an impudent Gasconade, unworthy 
 of its Attention. 
 
 Let our Enemies mark the diOerence be- 
 tween Great Britain and Carthage, to say 
 nothing of that between Rome and France. 
 We are not defended, as Carthage was, by 
 Mercenaries, seldom faithful, always un* 
 interested in the Event of AVar, and sparing 
 of their Blood. — We are not supported, as 
 She was, by tributary states, impatient of our 
 \oke, and watching for an Opportunity to 
 throw it off — We are not assisted, as She was, 
 
 by
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 bj Allies, envious of our Prosperity, and se- 
 cretly hoping to benefit themselves by our 
 Downfall — better none than such Allies! — ■ 
 No ! we have no mercenary forces, no tribu- 
 tary states, no alliances; but we have more 
 than an equivalent for them all, — A free 
 Constitution — the Work of Ages! the Wonder 
 of the World! the Wish of surrounding states! 
 the Palladium which our ancestors have 
 committed to our Custody; which, whilst we 
 possess it, will render us invincible, and which, 
 whilst we have Life, we have to a man deter^ 
 mined to defend. 
 
 Europe, already subdued by her Fears, or 
 dishonoured by her Hopes, or maddened by 
 Resentment for, perhaps, some real, for many 
 fancied. Insults on the Ocean — on any sup- 
 position, Europe now stands aloof, leaves us 
 to Ourselves, deserted at our utmost need — 
 So was Corsica left; so was Voland left; and 
 so, if we are conquered, will every European 
 state be left, in its turn, till the gigantic Mi- 
 litary Despotism of One nation shall over- 
 spread the Globe. 
 
 This Idea is so forcibly impressed on my 
 C mind.
 
 ( 19 ) 
 mind, that, were I this day standing in the 
 midst of all the Cabinets of Europe, I would 
 not scruple to exclaim — Infatuated are your 
 Councils! You are all jealous of each othef, 
 all envious of us, all occupied in paltry consi- 
 derations of your own particular Interests, 
 unmindful of the General Safety, blind to th© 
 subtle progress of a mighty power, equal 
 already to the strongest of you, daily in- 
 creasing in strength, and, for a Century past, 
 determined to annihilate you all. — 
 
 AVhat a Frenchman said of the Romans i* 
 so peculiarly characteristic of his Countrymen 
 at this time, that I cannot forbear applying 
 it. " Enemies to the Liberty of all nations ; 
 » " having the utmost contempt for Kings and 
 " Monarchy, they grasped with insatiable 
 '* ambition the conquest of the world, they 
 " seized indiscriminately all Provinces and 
 " Kingdoms, and extended their Empire over 
 " all nations." 
 
 But enouo;h of these tragical forebodino-s. 
 with respect to the mischief impending over 
 other nations: — I beg your Lordships' patience 
 whilst I shortly mention some of the Means 
 
 which,,
 
 ( 11 ) 
 
 which, in addition to our present Exertions, 
 may help to avert the Catastrophe from our-? 
 selves. 
 
 In the first place then, my Lords, I am of 
 Opinion, that the first class of the people, 
 adopting the Division prescribed by a late 
 Act of Parliament, should be called out and 
 taught the use of Arms, not merely as a tem- 
 porary Expedient to answer the present Exi- 
 gency, but annually continued as a permanent' 
 measure of the Executive Government. Un- 
 wise and defective is that Policy, which is 
 occupied in devising Remedies for present 
 Evils, without extending its views lo prevent 
 the Recurrence of Danger. I readily join in 
 the general Praise so justly given to the 
 Volunteers ; but this Commercial Nation 
 ought so far to become a Military Nation, as 
 always to have within itself a Sufficiency of 
 Men ready disciplined for its Defence. This 
 may be completely effected for the present 
 occasion in a short time : and when the 
 Pressure of the present Occasion is removed, 
 it may be established as a permanent Measure 
 m the course of six years, without giving any 
 C ^ sensible
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 sensible Interruption to our Agriculture, our 
 Manufactures, or our Commerce. 
 
 The Population of the Country would an- 
 nually supply, at least, fifty thousand youths, 
 who in the preceding twelve months had 
 attained the seventeenth year of their age; 
 in six years we should have three hundred 
 thousand young men sufficiently instructed 
 in the use of Arms. In the seventh year, 
 fifty thousand of them might be dismissed, as 
 emeriti^ from further Attendance on Military 
 Duty, except when the Country was invaded. 
 Thus by a slight service of a few days annually 
 for six years, the Whole Nation (for no Sub^ 
 stitutes should in this arrangement be al- 
 lowed) would at length become a Nation, not 
 of Warriors, but of peaceful Citizens, of all 
 occupations and denominations, ready to 
 become Warriors, whenever the Safety of their 
 Country should require the Exertion of their 
 Skill and Courage. Neither France alone, 
 nor France with all Europe in her Vassalage, 
 would venture to set a foot on this Island 
 thus prepared to receive them: — Great Bri- 
 tain, single handed, would defy the World. 
 3 I own
 
 ( 13 ) 
 I own I prefer this Militia Rotation, if 1 
 may so call it, which I have submitted to 
 your Lordships' Consideration, not only tp 
 the Volunteering System, but to every other 
 mode of extraordinary Defence. It would 
 not supersede the Standing Army, it would 
 be subsidiary to it, and might greatly assist in 
 recruiting the Ranks of the Regular Forces, 
 and perhaps in diminishing their number. 
 Some Men are apt to speak of every species 
 of Militia Force with contempt; this ha« 
 been always the case. Lord Clarendon in 
 one part of his History speaks in a most 
 disparaging Style of the London Trained- 
 bands : but he is forced to do them Justice 
 in another, where he informs us, that they 
 courageously resisted with their Pikes the 
 Cavalry of Prince Rupeif, though led on by 
 himself, and thereby saved the Army at the 
 battle o£ Newbury. It was by a force of this 
 kind that the Romans first conquered Italy, 
 and then the World. And, in our time, a 
 force of this kind captured a most gallant 
 Army at Saratoga, and thereby acquired 
 Independence for America. 
 
 I forbear, my Lords^ entering into any 
 
 detail
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 detail on this subject ; the very mention of 
 which may appear to some to be a going be- 
 yoi)d my Province. But the— -ne sutor ultra 
 crepidam — the, tractent fabrilia fabri — .the, 
 let Bishops mind their Bibles — these, and 
 sarcasms such as these, from whatever mouth 
 they may proceed, affect not me ; nor ought 
 they to affect any honest Man, who is desi- 
 rous to serve his Country by his Advice. — 
 The Advice may be worth nothing, but your 
 Lordships' Candour will, I am persuaded, 
 suffer the rectitude of the Speaker's Intention 
 to sanctify the imbecility of his Judgment. 
 
 I rely upon that Candour, and proceed to 
 mention a second Mean of extricating the 
 Country from its present Danger, and of pre- 
 serving it from all future Apprehension of 
 Danger. The Mean I recommend is — ^The 
 payment of the National Debt, at least of 
 that part which has been added to it by the 
 seven Years War, by the American War, by 
 the last WW, and by this. 
 
 This would be an Act of Magnanimity 
 worthy of ancient Rome — it would exceed 
 that which Rome itself displayed after the 
 battle of Cannce — S^e expected Hannibal at 
 
 her
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 her Gates, but she did not despair; she re- 
 doubled her means of Defence. — We expect 
 France on our Shores to attack us with her 
 Forces, or to bankrupt us by Expense : — ■ 
 •what does Britain ? she prepares to resist the 
 Forces, and she determines to pay her Debt. 
 France will be thunderstruck at lier own 
 Temerity, in attempting to subdue a Nation 
 possessed of such Resources-: — Europe will be 
 astonished at this noble Sacrifice of Private 
 Wealth to Public Want — America will re- 
 joice in the Vigour of her aged Parent — and 
 DO Nation in the World will dare, for a 
 century to come, to disturb the Peace of a 
 People which would have a fresh Credit for 
 four or five hundred Millions on the Com- 
 mencement of Jlostilities. 1 own the Idea of 
 paying the National Debt swells my heart 
 with patriotic pride — I see this truly Great 
 Nation, instead of being depressed to the 
 earth, instead of succumbing under the weight 
 of its burdens. Erecting itself with firmness 
 and throwing them off; not unjustly trans- 
 ferring them to the backs of the Stock-lrold- 
 ers alone, making them the only Sufferers, 
 but removing them from all. I have some- 
 times
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
 times compared, in my own mind, this Pay- 
 ment of the Debt, to the Removal of one of 
 those enormous heaps of small stones which 
 are not unfrequently met with in the moun- 
 tains of the North ; it would break the hearts 
 of a few Villagers to be ordered to remove 
 them, but if every individual in the Country 
 was ordered fo carry away as large a one as 
 he could easily lift, the work would soon be 
 finished ; no person could be injured by his 
 Share of the Labour, and the Heap would 
 disappear for ever. 
 
 I am not ignorant, My Lords, that he who 
 talks of paying the National Debt is consi- 
 dered as a chimerical Projector of Jmpossibi- 
 hties, a, mere State Empiric, fitter for a seat in 
 the Senate of Utopia than of Britain. My 
 opinion is quite different; and whilst it is 
 my opinion, I am not afraid to declare it, 
 nor ashamed of its Singularity ! The Na- 
 tional Debt is an huge Imposthume growing 
 on the Body Politic ; you may yet lessen it 
 with safety, but if you suffer it to go on in- 
 creasing till it bursts, its rupture will exhaust 
 the strength, if it does not terminate the 
 Existence of the Patient. 
 
 This
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 This measure appears to me not only possi- 
 ble, but easily practicable ; and not only prac- 
 ticable, but highly useful to the State ; and not 
 only highly useful to the State, but profitable 
 to every Individual in it paying Taxes. It 
 would be highly useful to the State, not only 
 from the effect it would have on the Cabinets . 
 of Europe; but from two effects especially, 
 which it would have upon ourselves. — It 
 would check the Luxury of all Ranks ; for 
 though Luxury may, in a Commercial State, 
 be useful to a certain extent, yet it always 
 ends in Ruin when carried too far ; it debases 
 men's minds by teaching them to value things 
 not in themselves estimable ; and it effe- 
 minates their bodies by habituating them to 
 destructive indulj^ences. — It would have ano- 
 ther and a most important effect — it would 
 preserve to the Country the middle Class 
 of its People, whom enormous Taxation is 
 daily reducing to the lowest, or compelling to 
 Emigration, — for miserable at home, and im- 
 potent abroad, will this Nation become, when 
 it shall be composed of none but the very 
 rich and the very poor. 
 
 The payment of the National Debt would, 
 D I have
 
 ( t8 ) 
 
 I have said, be profitable to every Individual 
 paying Taxes — This, at the first view, appears 
 to be a Paradoxical assertion ; but it is as 
 certain a Truth, as that every man is richer 
 "who sells part of his property to pay his 
 debts, than he would be if he made a fresh 
 mortgage upon it every year, by which, in 
 addition to the Interest of his Debt, he would 
 have an attorney's bill to discharge. A con- 
 siderable Portion of the Tax which any man 
 now pays to Government never reaches the 
 Exchequer of the Kingdom. I don't mean,^ 
 by this observation, to cast any imputation of 
 dishonour upon men engaged in the Manage- 
 ment of Taxes, and of the Public Revenue ; 
 they are necessary parts of the great Machine 
 of Government, and are very properly paid for 
 their services ; my wish is, that by paying 
 the Debt and taking off the Taxes imposed 
 for the Payment of the Interest of it, the 
 services of such men might be less wanted. 
 
 I proposed, my Lords, this subject to pub- 
 lic consideration five years ago, in my Address 
 to the People of Great Britain, (of which 
 publication, by the bye, above thirty thou- 
 sand Copies were dispersed in Great Britain 
 
 and
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 «Hd Ireland, with what effect to the Public it 
 becomes not me to say) and I will not trouble 
 jour Lordships with a repetition of what I 
 stated in that Address. One thing only 1 
 think it very important to recommend, if ever 
 the measure itself, or an efficacious approxi- 
 mation to the measure, should be adopted — • 
 that it be extended to every Class and to 
 every Individual in the Kingdom possessing 
 Property, in a just Proportion to what he 
 possesses. The true Principle of Taxation 
 seems to me to be this — ^That every man 
 should pay for the Protection of his Property 
 by the State, in exact Proportion to the 
 Value of the Property protected ; just as 
 Merchants, who risk their goods on board a 
 Vessel, pay an Insurance in Proportion to the 
 Value of the Goods insured.— This is so plain 
 and equitabhe a Principle, that every man is 
 capable of understanding it, and no one is 
 able, on reasonable grounds, to object to it. 
 I at least never yet metwith a person worth an 
 hundred pounds, who, when the question was 
 put to him (and I have put it to many), did 
 not acknowledge it to be perfectly i^ightj that 
 D 2 he
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 he should pay one or two pounds out of his 
 hundred towards the Liquidation of the Na- 
 tional Debt, provided that every man worth 
 an hundred thousand pounds paid one or two 
 thousand pounds for the same purpose. Com- 
 mon people are as acute as their superiors in 
 distinguishing between Justice and Oppres- 
 sion ; and I think so well of human nature 
 in general as to believe, that there is in all 
 chisses such a respect for Justice, that no 
 Statesman need fear to propose to his Coun- 
 try any measure founded on the basis of Jus- 
 tice, and evidently become necessary for the 
 Preservation of the State. 
 
 The Principle here mentioned, is as appli- 
 cable to our present mode of raising the Sup- 
 plies, as it is to the Payment of the National 
 Debt, and were it adopted, the Supplies would 
 be far more abundant. — I have never yet heard 
 a substantial reason given, why the Taxation 
 fchould stop at a property of sixty, or even 
 of ten pounds a year. A man of ten pounds 
 a year is as able to pay (I mean with as little 
 privation of his comforts) t-en shilhngs annu- 
 ally, as a man of five hundred a year is to 
 
 pay
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 pay five hundred shillings. If we trace the 
 matter to the bottom, and speak of Luxuries, 
 as distinguished from Necessaries, we shall 
 find every thing comparatively speaking to be 
 a Luxury. Bread is a Luxury to those who 
 feed on the bark of Trees ; Beer is a Luxury 
 to him whose beverage has been Water; 
 Wine is a Luxury to him whose ordinary be- 
 verage is Beer ; and a Savage in America 
 with a blanket on his shoulders, is a man of 
 Luxury, compared with his neighbour who 
 has none. Our inimitable Bard lias express- 
 ed this Idea in better language than I can 
 use, where he introduces Lear arguing with 
 his daughter about what was needful for his 
 State. 
 
 O, reason not the need : our basest beggars 
 Are in the poorest thing superfluous; 
 Allow not Nature more than Nature needs, 
 Man's life is cheap as beasts. — 
 
 What portion of each man's property may 
 be requisite for the discharge of the National 
 Debt, by Instalments in the course of four 
 or five years, cannot at present, I think, be 
 ascertained with any degree of certainty. I 
 
 have
 
 ( 22 ) 
 have seen calculations of the Property of the 
 Kingdom in Land, Houses, Money, Cattle, 
 Merchandise, &c. ; but the data on which 
 these calculations were founded, were too ar- 
 bitrarily assumed to render the conckisioii 
 unexceptionable. But whether an hundredth, 
 or a fiftieth, or a twenty-fifth part of the 
 whole should be required, I am clearly of 
 opinion that no man of good sense would 
 murmur at the pa3mient of it, when he consi- 
 dered that such payment would not only save 
 the State, but be a pecuniary Saving to him- 
 self. A pecuniary Saving to a man^s self, is a 
 circumstance likely to arrest the attention of 
 . every individual ; though, in truth, the Saving 
 of the Country is an object of more import- 
 ance, as it comprises every other. For if the 
 Country is subdued, its Freedom will be lost ; 
 «nd with its Freedom, will perish its Ingenui- 
 ty, its Industry, its commercial Enterprise, 
 and its martial Spirit — all the copious sources 
 of Domestic Happiness, and of National Con- 
 sequence will be choked up for ever. 
 
 I have yet. My Lords, to beg your indul- 
 gence, whilst I briefly mention two other 
 subjects — they are subjects of great import- 
 ance
 
 ( 23 ) 
 ance and of difticult discussion ; but as 1 
 mean to hint them for Consideration, rather 
 than to press them on the Government for 
 Decision, and have no wish to anticipate pub- 
 lic wisdom on either of them, I must take the 
 liberty to mention them> especially as they 
 have both of them been long and seriously 
 
 considered by me. The two subjects I 
 
 mean to touch upon are, the State of the 
 Catholics in Ireland, and the State of the 
 Dissenters in Eng-land. 
 
 With respect to Ireland, I declared my opi- 
 nion of its situation when the Union was 
 debated in this House. I said then, and I have 
 seen no reason since to change my opinion, 
 that the Union would be more advantageous 
 to Ireland than it would be to Great Britain, 
 and that it would be eminently useful to them 
 both. And notwithstanding the treasonable 
 combinations which exist in Ireland, I be- 
 lieve this to be the opinion of a great majority 
 of the Irish people; and that France will 
 be exceedingly disappointed in her expecta- 
 tions of a general rising of the Catholics in 
 her favour, should She land any forces in that 
 Country. 
 
 One
 
 : ( 24 ) 
 
 One of the most able and active Instigators 
 of Rebellion amongst them, declared, at a 
 time when men are most disposed to disguise 
 nothing, that he deprecated all connexion 
 with France, and I give full credit to his 
 declaration. Whatever might have been the 
 designs of him and others, when thej first 
 united for the purpose of Rebellion, they 
 could not be ignorant of, or insensible to 
 what had happened to Holland, Switzerland, 
 Italy, — to every Country which had received 
 the Fraternal Embrace of France — they could 
 not but know, that it chilled, like the embrace 
 of Death, those whom it touched; that it 
 stiffened with horror and suspicion all the 
 mild charities, and paralysed all the noble 
 energies of social life. What was it then that 
 moved these unhappy men to undertake so 
 wicked and so dangerous an enterprise? 
 Was it a mistaken sense of honour (to speak 
 of it in the gentlest terms) ? Did they wish 
 to render themselves illustrious, by rendering 
 their country independent, and unconnected 
 with us or any other nation ? Wild Ambition ! 
 Idle Expectation ! Improvident Policy ! which 
 aimed at an Object not attainable, in the 
 S , present
 
 ' ( 25 ) 
 
 present state of Europe, and disadvantageous 
 to Irelandj if attained. Did they unite to 
 redress the grievances under which they 
 imagined their Country laboured ? They 
 ought to have remembered, that Ireland has 
 been treated with more indulgence (I do not 
 say with more than She deserved) but with 
 more indulgence during the present Reign^ 
 than during any other equal period of time 
 since her connexion with Great Britain; and 
 they ought particularly to have considered 
 that the Union was intended (and its inten- 
 tion will, I do not doubt, be finally accom* 
 plished) to remove every shadow of grievance 
 which remained. 
 
 One circumstance in the situation of Ireland 
 has always appeared to me an hardship, and 
 that hardship still remains undiminished. 
 I have always thought it an hardship, that a 
 great Majority of the Irish People should be 
 obliged, at their own expence, to provide 
 religious Teachers for themselves and their 
 families* I have the copy of a letter, in my 
 possession, to the Duke of Rutland when 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in which I pressed 
 Upon his consideration, the propriety of 
 
 E making
 
 { 26 ) 
 
 making a provision for the Catholic Bishops 
 and Clergy in that Country ; and I have been 
 assured by men, well acquainted with the 
 temper of the Irish, that had such a measure 
 been then judiciously adopted, a Rebellion 
 would have been avoided, and Ireland would 
 long ago have been tranquillized. Whether 
 the time for trying such a mean of tranquil* 
 lization be now so passed that it cannot be re- 
 called, I know not; but whether it be so passed 
 or not, the measure itself, being founded in 
 Justice, is not unworthy the Consideration of 
 Government. I love, my Lords, to have 
 Politics j on all occasions, founded on substan- 
 tial Justice, and never on apparent temporary 
 Expedience, in violation of Justice; and it does 
 appear to me to be just^ — ^That the religious 
 'I'e^achers of a large IVIajority of a State 
 should be maintained at the Public Ex- 
 pence. 
 
 If you would make men gOod subjects^ 
 deal gently with their Errors; give them 
 time to get rid of their Prejudices; and 
 especially take care to leave them no just 
 Ground for Complaint. Men may for a 
 time be inflamed by Passion, or may mistake 
 1 their
 
 ( 27 ) 
 their Pertinacity for a Virtue, or may be 
 misled by bad Associates ; but leave them no 
 just Ground of Complaint, and their aberra- 
 tions from rectitude of public conduct will 
 never be lasting ; Truth and Justice, though 
 occasionally obstructed in their progress, 
 never fail at length to produce their proper 
 effect. 
 
 Justice, I think, may be done to the 
 Catholics, without Injustice being done to 
 the Protestants. — The protestant Clergy may 
 continue to possess the Tithes of the Country ; 
 and the catholic Clergy may be provided for 
 from the public Exchequer of the Empire. 
 I see no danger which -would arise to the 
 established Church from some such arrange- 
 ment as this ; and it would, probably, be 
 attended with the greatest advantage to the 
 State. We think the Catholics to be in an 
 Error; they think the same of us; both 
 ought to reflect that, every Error is not a 
 criminal Error, and that their Error is the 
 greatest, who most err against Christian 
 Charity. 
 
 If any one should contend that this is not 
 the time for Government to make Conces- 
 
 £ 3 sions
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 sions to Ireland, — I wish him to consider 
 whether there is any time in which it is im-^ 
 proper for either Individuals or Nations to 
 do Justice, any season improper for extin- 
 guishing , animosity, any occasion more suit' 
 able than the present, for putting an end to 
 heart-burnings and internal discontent. I 
 should be as averse as any man from making 
 Concessions to an Enemy invading the 
 Country; but I would do much to gain a 
 cordial Friend to assist me in driving him 
 back ; — and such a Friend, I am confident, 
 Ireland will become. 
 
 I come to the last point — the Case of the 
 Dissenters. — I am well aware that on this 
 point I differ in opinion from men whom I 
 esteem; but without arrogating to myself, 
 without allowing to others, any infalKbility of 
 Judgment, I am anxious, in this Crisis of our 
 Fate, to speak my whole mind. What I 
 presume to recommend is-r»A Repeal of the 
 Test and Corporation Acts — as a Mean of 
 combining together, in the oords of mutual 
 amity and confidence, the whole Strength and 
 Spirit of the Country. It has been said that 
 the Dissenters constitute above a fifth part of 
 
 the
 
 ( 29 ) 
 the population of the Kingdom; I do not think 
 tliem to be so numerous ; but I am convinced 
 that they are too loyal to be treated with Dis- 
 trust at any time, and too numerous to be soured 
 by neglect at this time. I am far from insi- 
 nuating that the Dissenters want to be bribed 
 to their Duty by the repeal of the Test Act; 
 no, my Lords, Churchmen and Dissenters of 
 every denomination, are equally Zealous in 
 the Common Cause^ — they seem to me to 
 emulate the patriotism of the Patricians and 
 Plebeians at Rome; who, for five hundred 
 years, waged an eternal War of Words about 
 their respective Rights, Claims, Oppressions, 
 Privileges,- — but when their Country was in 
 Danger, when an Enemy invaded their Terri- 
 tory, they laid aside their Disputes ; their only 
 Contention then was, which of them could 
 show the greatest Courage in repulsing the 
 Enemy of them both. 
 
 I have never had any design, any wish, 
 my Lords, to gain the good-will of the Dis- 
 senters, by becoming a Champion in their 
 Cause — much less have I any inchnation to 
 provoke the Ill-will of Churchmen, and the 
 Disesteem of my Brethren, by a forward 
 
 display,
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 display, or a froward retention, of an Opinion 
 opposite to their's. I may be wrong in 
 thinking thai the repeal of the Test Act 
 M^ould in no degree endanger the Safety of 
 either the Church or State; but whilst I do 
 think so, I should act a timid, interested, 
 dishonourable, part, if 1. concealed my Senti- 
 ments. 
 
 I will mention to your Lordships an anec- 
 dote respecting this matter ; for the truth of 
 which I pledge my Honour, and, in doing 
 that I hope I may be permitted to expect full 
 credit from the House. When the Dissenters, 
 a second time, petitioned Parliament for the 
 Repeal of the Test Act, I called, accidentally, 
 upon Lord Cainckii^ then President of the 
 Council; and, in the course of conversation, 
 asked him this plain question, suggested by 
 the alarm which had been taken by som^ 
 Churchmen — " Does your Lordship see any 
 " danger to the Church of England from the 
 "repeal of the Test Act?" — He answered, 
 with an eagerness peculiar to himself when 
 his mind was determined — " None whateveF."/ . 
 — If then I err in this matter, I err with the 
 late Lord Camden; and though I had not 
 
 rather
 
 ( 31 ) 
 
 leather err with him, than be right with others; 
 yet I neither wish for, nor know where to- 
 find, a better Supporter of my Sentiment. 
 
 The general good sense df the Age has 
 freed itself from many Opinions on Rehgion 
 and Government, which disturbed the minds 
 of our Fathers. The Church does not now 
 lay claim to Tithes as due by any other Law 
 than the Law of the Land-^She does not 
 pei'secute Dissenters, whom she cannot per- 
 suade — She denounces no Anathema against 
 Schismaticks — nor arrogates to herself alone 
 the Title of — The true Church. — Passive 
 Obedience to bad Kings^ the Divine Right of 
 all Kings, and indefeasible Succession, are 
 tenets now maintained by few. These, and 
 similar doctrines concerning Church and 
 State, which occasioned so much trouble to 
 Government, and mischief to the People,, in 
 several preceding Reigns, have in the Reign 
 of George IIL expired with what gave 
 support to most of them — Jacohitism — They 
 have been buried, I trust, for ever^ in the 
 same grave with the Pretender. 
 
 If a degree of bitterness, my Lords, against 
 Dissenters be still subsisting in the minds of 
 
 some
 
 ( 32 ) 
 some Laymen — if the Church have still 
 amongst its members, a few whose zeal against ' 
 Non-conformists of every denomination is 
 violent; — if the vulgar be still capable of 
 being incited, by the Cry of the Church's 
 Danger, to commit enormities shocking to 
 Humanity, and disgraceful to Civil Policy; 
 yet the Legislature of this Kingdom has, in 
 several Instances^ shown a more liberal policy 
 towards those w^ho cannot in conscience coh- 
 form to the established Church* This libe* 
 rality will daily increase, if those who are the 
 objects of it in any part of tlie Empire con- 
 tinue to deserve it. The Dissenters want 
 not my advice ; they will permit me however 
 to observe, that a firm attachment to the Civil 
 Constitution as settled at the Revolution, 
 Moderation towards the Church, Loyalty 
 tt^wards the King, and a peaceable Deport* 
 ment towards all, are irresistible weapons by 
 which they will at length subdue all opposi* 
 tion to their claims. This opposition springs 
 not, I am certain, from any feelings of Perse-^ 
 cution or Intolerance in our Governors ; but 
 it springs in some well-meaning men, from 
 the fears and jealousies, to which timid tem- 
 pers
 
 . ( 33 ) 
 
 pers are peculiarly subject, when any Innova- 
 tion is proposed ; in others it arises from an 
 apprehension, that there may be a renewal of 
 the troubles, and ruin of the Church and State, 
 which took place in the reign of Charles I.; 
 notwithstanding the great diversity between 
 the circumstances of the Country then and 
 now, in many respects, and in particular in 
 the Throne being filled by the House of 
 Brunswick, and not by that of Stuart. We 
 none of us have now any thing to fear from 
 the arbitrary Exactions of a Monarch, or 
 from the Ecclesiastical Tyranny of an Arch- 
 bishop. The prudent and dispassionate 
 among the Dissenters in England, and 
 among the Catholics both in England and 
 Ireland, who consider how difficult it is for 
 Non-conformists, as well as for Churchmen, 
 and in truth how difficult it is for all men, to 
 get the better of Prejudices implanted by 
 education, and rooted by reflexion, will rather 
 wonder that so much has been done for them, 
 than indulge a petulant discontent, as if they 
 had suffered an indignity in being denied any 
 tiling. 
 
 I know, my Lords, that I have been 
 F accused
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 accusc^d of being a Republican, of being a 
 ^ Presbyterian, of being I know not what sort 
 of dangerous thing, that was to be watched, 
 intimidated, undermined, depressed. I have 
 scorned (too haughtily, perhaps, for my Inte- 
 rest) but I have through life scorned to repel 
 open Calumny, to counteract secret Misre- 
 presentation, by Words ; leaving it to the 
 World and to Posterity (if Posterity shall 
 ever inquire after me) to form a Judgment 
 of my Principles and Charactej from my 
 Actions. I have no partiality for Presbyte- 
 rianism, I prefer Episcopacy to it. I have no 
 partiality for Republicanism, thinking it worse 
 than Despotism ; and Despotism, your Lord- 
 ships will think with me, is worse than Death. 
 I have no partiality for either Catholics, or 
 protesting Catholics, or dissenting Protestants, 
 as such ; but I have a partiality for'J Vuth, and 
 Moderation, and Justice, and the Safety of 
 the Country : and its Safety will at all times be 
 best secured by the hearty Union and Con- 
 currence of all its Membei's in its defence. 
 The Age for excessive Jealousies, for exclusive 
 Privileges, for domineering Pretensions, for 
 narrow Prii^ciples of Legi^Ution and Govern- 
 7 . ment.
 
 ( 35 ) - 
 
 ment, is over ; and happy, my Lords, will 
 that People be, whose Rulers seasonably ad- 
 vert to the Change which the '* greatest of 
 all Innovators — ^Tinie" insensibly operates in 
 the Circumstances of the World. 
 
 If, my Lords, I should differ in Opinion 
 from any, or from all, of your Lordships, on 
 any, or oi> all, of the four points on which I 
 have spoken, I certainly shall lament such dif- 
 ference as a misfortune ; but at the same time 
 I must confess, that even a fore-knowledge 
 of that difference would not have deterred 
 me from speakmg \—liberavi animam meam — 
 and it is impossible that there ever can occur 
 to any of us an occasion of greater necessity, 
 to form our Opinions with due Consideration, 
 and to deliver them with Sincerity. 1 have 
 spoken with Confidence, but not, I hope, with 
 Arrogance-— with Confidence, because my 
 mind was made up; without Arrogance, be- 
 cause I am extremely sensible, that the fallibi- 
 lity of Judgment which belongs, in some de- 
 gree, to most men, belongs, in a great degree, 
 to myself. I am ashamed, my Lords, to speak 
 of the personal Service of a iMan in his 67th 
 year; he could render none to his Country. 
 P 2 Yet
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 Yet if the last Extremity should arrive, we 
 must all pf us do what we can. All profes- 
 sional Immunities must give way to Public 
 Necessity; all Exemptions from Military 
 Duty inust cease. — They ceased in Corsica, 
 when, at the Call of their Country, five 
 hundred Priests took up arms to resist Gallic 
 Oppression — They ceased in ancient Rome, 
 vyhenever the Romans were threatened, as we 
 are now, with a GaUic Invasion ; and they 
 must cease with Us, before we cease to be an 
 Independent People. 
 
 . Allow me, my Lords, before I sit down, to 
 say a word or two on what appears to me to be 
 the true Cause of our commencing this War, 
 I am the more disposed to do this from oh- 
 ser\dng, that this Cause has been much kept 
 out of sight, as if we were ashamed to produce 
 it ; whereas it appears to me so reasonable 
 and just a Cause, that I wish all the World 
 to know it. 
 
 My Alma Mater, My Lords, and I trust 
 the revered Alma Mater of many of your 
 Lordships, has, for near a Century past, been 
 in the habit of strengthening the intellectual 
 faculties of her Sons by the severity of Mathe- 
 matical
 
 ( 3r ) 
 
 xnatical Discipline — She has been blamed for 
 this; butjl presume to say, not wisely blamed ; 
 for at the same time that She engages them in 
 the recondite researches of Mathematical 
 Science, She permits and exhorts them to try 
 their strength, in the investigation of the most 
 subtle questions of Morality and Jurispru- 
 dence, When I was a Soph at Cambridge 
 forty-five years ago, I maintained in the Phi-r 
 losophical Schools a Question, on the Truth of 
 which depends the Justice of this War, and 
 the Fate of Europe. The Question was this 
 — Jtire Gentium arma recte sumuntur, ad im- 
 minuendam cre^centeinpotentiam,qu(Z nimium 
 auctanocere posset. — ^The great Gro^/ws posi- 
 tively deifies this doctrine ; and I now consi- 
 der my having undertaken to maintain it, in 
 opposition to his authority, to have been a 
 mere piece of youthful temerity ; or, to speak 
 most favourably of it, of pardonable vanity. 
 But I have since met with an authority 
 greater than that of Grotius ; which (though 
 it does not excuse my temerity, for I did not 
 then know of it) entirely satisfies me, that the 
 doctrine I then maintained was true. The 
 authority I allude to is not less than that of 
 
 the
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 the " greatest of mankind/' — It is so full to 
 the purpose of justifjdng the War we have 
 commenced, and such a Warning to Europe, 
 that I will beg leave to quote it, from his — 
 Essay of Empire — *' Princes should be per- 
 petually upon the Watch, that none of their 
 Neighbours do overgrow so (whether by 
 increase of Territory, or by embracing of 
 Trade, or by nearer approaches, and tlie 
 like) as to become more able to annoy them 
 than they were before. And this is gene- 
 rally the work of standing counsels to 
 foresee and hinder. Certainly during that 
 Triumvirate of Kings (Henry the Eighth 
 of England, Francis the First of France, 
 " and Charles the Fifth of Spain) there \i as 
 ' such a vigilance among them, that none of 
 
 * the three could win a span of Ground but 
 ' the other two would straightway balance it, 
 
 * either by consideration, or, if need were, by 
 
 * War. Neither is the Opinion of some 
 
 ' of the School-men to be received, That a 
 ^ War cannot justly be undertaken, but upon 
 
 * a precedent injury or provocation. For 
 
 * iheve is no question, but a just fear of an 
 ' imminent danger, though there be no blow 
 
 << given,
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 " given, is a competent and lawful Cause of 
 « a War." 
 
 The Jealousy respecting the increase of the 
 power of France, which, as Lord Bacon has 
 oijserved, a6luated the Councils of Henry 
 Vlll. was a prominent feature in the Politics 
 of his daughter Elizabeth. There is a remark" 
 able passage in proof of this in Sully s Memoirs. 
 — When that minister, by order of his Master 
 Henry IV. had an interview with Queen Eli- 
 zabeth at Dover, she plainly said to him, " If 
 the Kins: of France, mv brother, should be 
 desirous of making himself the Proprietary, or 
 €ven only the feudal Seignior of the United 
 Provinces, I do not conceal from you that the 
 attempt will excite my utmost Jealousy." What 
 would this Princess have said had she witnessed 
 that colossal aggrandizement of France, which 
 it is our misfortune to behold } She would have 
 called upon all the Powers of Europe to unite 
 i>n reducing it ; and, had She found the 
 Powers of Europe as deaf to her exhortations 
 as they are to ours. She would have done 
 what a Monarch, as beloved as herself, (and 
 none was ever more beloved,) is now doing- 
 She would have called out her Own People, 
 
 and
 
 ( 40 ) 
 fend relied, under God, on their Loyalty arid 
 Bravery for Success. 
 
 1 acknowledge, My Lords, that the Insult 
 offered to our Sovereign in the person of his 
 Ambassador; that the repeated Menaces of 
 Invasion ; that the Tergiversation respecting 
 Malta ; that these and other similar In- 
 juries might, if on representation persevered 
 in, be esteemed just Causes of War ; yet I 
 entirely rely on the Truth of the Thesis I have 
 mentioned, as a sufficient Ground of just and 
 honourable A^ffression. 
 
 Contumelious Language is a disgrace only to 
 him who uses it, and is best answered by 
 Silence and Contempt ; slight Injuries are 
 fitter to be settled by diplomatic Negotia- 
 tion, than avenged by the Force of Arms; 
 but an increasing Power is to be reduced 
 before it becomes too strong ; for the History 
 of all Ages and Countries informs us, that 
 when an overgrown nation has the Means, it 
 seldom wants the Will to oppress its Neigh- 
 bours. France makes no Secret of her Will ; 
 we are justified in preventing her from ac- 
 quiring the Means. 
 
 Some.
 
 ( 41 ) 
 
 Some of your Lordships are old enough to 
 remember the time, when, in the latter part 
 of the Reign of George II. immense prepara- 
 tions were made bv France at Toulon, at 
 Bi'csty and in every other Port of that King- 
 dom, for the Invasion of this. The alarm of 
 the Nation was extreme ; Government was 
 panic-struck ; the Militia was called out, and 
 German Auxiliaries were brought into the 
 Country to defend it. I shall never forget 
 the phrenzy of joy which seized the whole 
 Nation, when news was brought — that Bos- 
 cawen had destroyed the Toulon fleet, — And 
 when news was brought, three months af- 
 terwards,— that Hawke had destroyed the 
 Brest fleet. 
 
 Without disturbing the ashes of the dead, 
 without distressing the modesty of the living, 
 by comparisons, may I not be allowed to 
 state my firm Expectation, that the Com- 
 manders of the Fleets which now watch the 
 Motions of the Enemy at Toulon, at Breft, 
 and in every other part of the World where 
 they are to be found, will, on no distant day, 
 aftbrd their Country equal causes for similar 
 Triumph and Exultation ? There is not an 
 
 G Admiral,
 
 ( +2 ) 
 Admiral, an Officer, a Sailor, in the British 
 Navy, who does not burn with Impatience 
 to have an Opportunity of attacking the 
 Enemy ; — who is not ready to exclaim with 
 Macduff, 
 
 Within my sword's length set him, if he *scape 
 Then Heav'n forgive him too. 
 
 The Navy will think itself unfortunate, if 
 not dishonoured, should the Safety of the 
 Country be left to the protection of the 
 Army alone. The Army, though it unites 
 with the whole Nation in a just estimate of 
 the Skill and Courasre of the Navv, is eager 
 to gather unfading laurels, from finishing 
 what the Navy may, by some unlucky chance, 
 be obliged to leave undone. 
 
 The preparations of France may, for ought 
 I know, my Lords, be greater now than they 
 were in 1 759 ; but I am certain of this, that 
 there never was a time, in the history of Great 
 Britain, when our preparations were so exten- 
 sive, when the Nation was so united within it- 
 self, its spirit so high, its sense of danger so 
 strong, its indignation so roused, its detesta- 
 tion of French principles, French cruelties, 
 
 French
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 French rapacity, FrcHch ambition, so general 
 and sincere as at this moment. 
 
 We have not, it must be confessed, and I 
 am proud to confess it, a few thousands of 
 Hessians and Hanoverians to defend us — but 
 we have a whole nation of loyal and brave 
 Subjects in Arms. — It is not in my power to 
 animate the Country, nor do I speak so 
 warmly of our preparations with any view to 
 attempt it; as a plain man I plainly speak 
 my mind. I know that the whole Country, 
 from the Throne to the Cottage, is animated 
 with the noblest xVrdour ; and I know too, 
 that if there is a man in the Empire whom 
 the Occasion does not animate, in vain will 
 you attempt, by the most ardent words, to 
 warm the frigid cowardice or disaffection of 
 such a man's heart. 
 
 The occasion is extraordinary ; and we 
 meet it, as we ought to do, with extraordinary 
 Resolution and Exertion. A successful In- 
 vasion, had it ever been accomplished during 
 the Monarchy of France, would have been 
 terminated by, perhaps, a disadvantageous 
 Peace ; but we ihould have retained .our Rank 
 G 2 in
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 in the scale of Nations. A successful Invasion 
 by the Republic of France (Heaven avert so 
 great an evil !) will never be terminated but 
 in complete national Degradation, in public 
 Bankruptcy, and individual Beggary. This 
 limited Monarchy, the Glory of Civilized So- 
 ciety! will be overthrown — our aged Monarch 
 (God protect him !) and his numerous Sons, 
 will be buried, such is the acknowledged bra- 
 very of his race ! in the last Ruins of their 
 native land — ^Your Rank, my Lords, by 
 which, for the benefit of all, you are now dis- 
 tinguished from the rest, will be heard of no 
 more — ^The landed Gentry will be obliged to 
 become Farmers, and be compelled, by un- 
 heard of, unthought of, Exactions, to give up 
 the lamented produce of their own lands and 
 of their own labour, to feed the Luxury of a 
 foreign Country — The Farmers will be made 
 Labourers, and the Labourers will be made 
 Slaves — And, in addition to all these Cala'mi- 
 ties, the youth- of every class will be made 
 Co?iscfipts—a.Tid dragged from their Country 
 and their Fathers' House, to fight the battles 
 of violent and unjust Ambition in every part 
 3 of
 
 ( 45 ) 
 of the world. — Sooner than all this should 
 happen, I would say (did Christianity permit 
 such a wish) may the Fate of the Saguntines 
 become the fate of Britons I — 
 
 Such, my Lords, would be the -final event of 
 a successful Invasion of this Country by the 
 Republic of France. I have in some degree 
 described it, but I do not in any degree ex-^ 
 pect it ; I expect the direct contrary. My 
 Hope and my firm Expectation, is, that, in- 
 stead of Success, the Enemy will experience 
 Defeat; instead of Triumph, Disgrace and 
 Ruin — that, under the good providence of 
 God, the Arms of Great Britain will not only 
 preserve our own Independence, but be instru- 
 mental in exciting the Spirit of other Nations 
 to recover theirs, and eventually contribute to 
 the establishing the true Liberty, and pro- 
 moting the true Prosperity, of France itself — 
 but on this subject I forbear. — 
 
 And now, illustrious Peers of this mighty 
 Empire ! Venerable Fathers of our most ve- 
 nerable Church ! I beseech you, individually, 
 to pardon me, if in the Warmth of my zeal 
 for the Public Safety (never more endangered 
 
 than
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 than at present !) any Expression has escaped 
 me unworthy the Dignity of your Rank to 
 hear, unbecoming the Decorum of my Station 
 to utter. Little more can be expected by 
 the Country from a man of my age, except 
 from his Prayers; and mine ftiall never be 
 wanting for its Preservation, and for Peace 
 among Mankind. 
 
 FINIS* 
 
 Luke Hanfard, Printer, Great Tarnftile, Liacoln's-Inn Fields.
 
 tX-;'*- 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 . Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
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 MAY 0;ii988„

 
 
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