STACK ANNEX AN s ADDRESS 061 575 T0 THE People of Great Britain. BY R. WATSON, LORD BISHOP OF LANDAFF. ELEVENTH EDITION. ilifornia ;ional * Llity PRINTED FOR K. FAULDER, NEW BOND STREET, BY COOPER AND GRAHAM, WILD COURT, LINCOLN'S-INK FIELDS. 1798. {Price One Shilling^ # Atf ADDRESS TO THE People of Great Britain, &c. &c. ~My fello w- country men > fctttinWnts- Xvhich I flialli, in this drefs, tafce the liberty' of ftatittg to you on- forne in te re fling points, wM,- I hope,- meet with your candid? attention ; if riot from theii* worth, from the confide ration thatf they atfe- the fentiments of an Md^pendent Aian. I aitt- neither the frieftd 1 oi< energy of any parep i&< the ftat^; slftd art! fo far an itiipraclicafel* naaii, thdt on all' public que&ions 1 of iiAfoit- ancel will follow the didlat?e&of rn^ovvh- indi- vidual judgement. No favour which* P could- receive from this or from any adminiftratibft*- would induce me to fupport meafures which I difliked; nor will any negleft-I may exp- 2067583 ,,...,": [ 1 rience impel me to oppofe meafures which I approve. A new fyftem of finance has this year been introduced ; and I fairly own it has my approbation as far as it goes. It has given great difcontent to many,; but it has given none to me. I lament, as every man muft do, the neceffity of impofing fo heavy a bur- then on the community ; and, with a family of eight children, I mall feel its preffure as much as moft men : but I am fo far from cenfuring the minifter for having done fo much, that I iincerely wim he had done a great deal more. In the prefent fituation of Great Britain, and of Europe, palliatives are of no ufe, half-meafures cannot fave us. Inftead of calling for a tenth of a man's in- come, I wim the minifter had called for a tenth or for fuch other portion of every man's whole property as would have enabled him not merely to make a temporary provision for the war, but to have paid off, in a few years, the whole or the greateft part of the national debt. ' , t 3 A million a year has been wifely fet apart for the reduction of the debt; and had we continued at peace, its operation would have been beneficially felt in a few years : but, in our prefent circumflances, and with an ex- pectation of the recur rency of war at fhort periods, it is not one, two or three millions a year> that can preferve us from bank- ruptcy. We had better ftruggle to effect the extinction of the debt in five years than in fifty, though our exertion, during the (hotter period, fhould be proportionably greater. A nation is but a collection of individuals united into one body for mutual benefit ; and a national debt is a debt belonging to every individual, in proportion to the property he poflefles; and every individual may be juftly called upon for his quota towards the liqui- dation of it. No man, relatively fpeaking, will be either 1 richer or poorer by this 1 pay- ment being generally made, for riches and poverty are relative terms : and when all the members of a community are proportionably reduced, the relation between the individuals, as to the quantum of each man's property, B 2 [ 4 ] remaining unaltered, the individuals them- ftlves will feel no elevation or depreffion in the fcale of fociety. When all the founda- tions of a great building fink uniformly, the fymmetry of the parts is not injured; the p refill re on each member remains as it was ; no rupture is made: the building will not be fo lofty, but it may ftand on a better bottom. It does not require an oracle to inform us (though an oracle has faid it) that riches have been the ruin of every country; they banifh the fimplicity of manners, they corrupt the morals, of a people, and they invite invaders. If we pay the national debt, we may not live quite fo luXurioufly as we have done; but this change will be no detriment either to our virtue as men, or to our fafety as mem- bers of fociety. . I confider the property of men united in. fociety fb far to belong to the (late, that any portion of it may be juftly called for by the legiflature, for th promotion of the common good; and it is. .jthen moft equitably called for, when ; all individuals, pofleffing property of any kind, contribute in proportion to their ; t 5 i pofleffions. This is a principle fo obviouflyjuft, that it is attended to as much as poffible in every fcheme of finance ; and it would be the univer- fal rule of taxation, in every country, could the property of individuals be exactly afcertained. Much objection is made to the obliging men to difcover the amount of their property; but I have never heard a fufficient reafon in fup- port of the objection. I can fee a reafon why merchants, tradefmen, contractors, money- jobbers, who deal in large fpeculatidns on credit, and without an adequate capital, mould be unwilling to difclofe their property; but 1 do not fo clearly fee what mifchief would arife to the community if they were obliged to do it. The value of every man's landed property is eafily known.; the value of his monied property in the funds is known; and his monied property in mortgages and bonds might as ealily be known, if an act of parlia- ment was pafTed, rendering no mortgage or bond legal which was not regiftered. The greateft difficulty would be in afcertaining the value of flock in trade: but a jury of B 3 neighbours co-operating with the probity of merchants and manufacturers, and that regard for character which generally diftinguimes men in bufinefs, would fettle that point. I have lately converfed with a variety of men, in different ftations, and in different parts of the kingdom, and have fcarcely met with one among the landed gentry, and with none among the manufacturers, tradefmen, farmers, and artificers of the country, who has not declared that he had much rather pay his portion of the principal of the na- tional debt, than be harrafled with the taxes deftined for the payment of the intereft of it. This is true patriotifm, and good fenfe ; and were we in our prefent circumftances to difcharge the whole, or the greateft part of the national debt, all Europe would admire our magnanimity ; and France herfelf would tremble at the idea of fubjugating fo high- fpirited a people. The minifter, I am perfuaded, is too en* lightened not to have confidcred this fubject ; and objections may have occurred to him, [ 7 ] which have not occurred to me. I have ventured to {rate it for general confederation ; that it may not be quite new, if we mould at-Jength be compelled to have recourfe to fuch an expedient. There would be fome difficulty in afcertaining every man's pro- perty ; but where there is a willing mind to remove difficulties, they are feldom infur- mountable. The modifications which the bill for increafing the affefled taxes has un- dergone, are numerous, and in general judi- cious ; and are a proof that the moft per- plexing difficulties yield to impartial and de- liberative wifdom. One modification has not been noticed ; at leaft, I have not feen it ftated in fo clear a manner as it might be ftated ; and I will mention it, as not undeferving attention, if the bufinefs mould ever be refumed in ano- ther form, Permanent income arifes either from the rent of land, or from the intereft of money, or from an annuity. The annuitants are very numerous in the kingdom. Poflef- fors of entailed eftates, widows with join- tures, the biihops and clergy, the judges and B 4 [ 8 J poffeflbrs of patent places during life, the officers of the army and navy, and many others under different denominations, fupport themfelves upon property terminating with their lives. The lives of pofleflbrs of annui- ties may, taking the old and the young to- gether, be worth twelve years purchafe. An annuitant then, who has an income of lool. and no other property, is worth 1 200!. ; fo that in paying a tenth of his income, he pays an hundred and twentieth part of his whole property. A perfon poffefled of an income of lool. arifing from a property of 2000!. let out at an intereft of 5!. per cent, in paying a tenth of his income, pays a two hundredth part of his property. A perfon pofleffing an income of lool. arifing from land, in paying a. tenth of his income, pays (eftimating land at thirty years purchafe) a three hundredth part of his property. Men under thefe dif- ferent defcriptions pay equally, though their properties are unequal in the proportion of fix, ten, and Much objection alfo has on all hands been made to the touching of the funds by taxation : [ 9 ] but I own that I do not fee any fufficient reafon why property in the funds may not be as juftly as any other property fubjeft to the difpofal of the legiflature. I make this ob fervation with perfect impartiality; for a con- fiderable part of the little property I poflels is in the funds. Parliament has pledged the nation to the payment of the intereft of the money which has been borrowed, till the principal is paid off; but when the debt is become fo great, that the rental of the king- dom will fcarcely pay the intereft of it, I do not fee any breech of contract, any want of equity, in the legiflature of the country fay- ing to the public creditor the poflefibrs of land are giving up a tenth or a twentieth part of all they are worth for the public fervice ; the pofleflbrs of houfes, of (rock in trade, of mortgages and bonds, are doing the fame thing what reafon can be given why you mould be exempted ? You plead the faith of Parliament. Be it fo ! Parliament preferves its faith with you ; for if Parliament mould with one hand pay you your principal, it might lay hold of it with- the other, and make you as liable as other men porTefling money, to pay your proportion ; and does it not come to the fame thing, whether your whole prin- cipal is paid, and a portion of it is taken back again, or whether your principal is dimi- nifhed by that portion, and you receive the ftipulated intereft, till the remainder is dif- charged ? Frederick II. in fpeaking of France about twenty years ago, obferved, that there were three things which hindered France from re-affuming that afcendancy in the affairs of Europe which fhe had poflefled from the time of Henry IV.- the enormity of her debt exhaufted refources and taxes multiplied in an exceffive manner, The two lafl are the offspring of the firft ; but the monarch's ob- fervation is applicable to every other nation under the fame circumftances, and to our- felves as well as to others. If we pay our debt by judicious inftallments, we (hall nei- ther run the riik of the government being bro- ken up> as it was in France, by the difcontents of the people, and an inability to go on ; nor {hall we cripple our commerce by the high price of labour and provifions; nor mall fe i " 1 we be depopulated by emigrations to America or France ; but we mall preferve the impor- tance we poflefs in Europe, and renovate the ftrength and vigour of the body politic. But I will no detain you longer on this point, there is another, of great importance, to which I wifti to turn your intention. Whatever doubts 1 formerly entertained, or (notwithftanding all 1 have read or heard on the fubject) may ftill entertain, either on the juftice or the neceffity of commencing this war in which we are engaged, I enter- tain none on the prefent neceflity and juftice of continuing it. Under whatever circum- ftances the war was begun, it is now become juft ; fince the enemy has refufed to treat, on equitable terms, for the reftoration of peace* Under whatever circumftances of expediency or inexpediency the war was commenced, its continuance is now become neceffary ; for what neceffity can be greater than that which arifes from the enemy having threatened us with deftruction as a nation ? Here I may, probably, be told that, allow- ing the war to be jufl, it is ftill not neceflary, but perfectly inexpedient. I may have it rung in my ears that the French are an over- match for us, that it is better to fubmit at once to the moft ignominious terms of peace than to fee another Brennus weighing out the bullion of the Bank, and infulting the mifery of the nation with a " woe to the van- quifhed." I admit the conclufion of the al- ternative to be juft, but I do not admit the truth of the principle from which it is derived I do not admit that the French are an over- match for us. I am far enough from afTecling knowledge in military matters; but every man knows that men and money are the finews of war, and that victory in the field is achieved by the valour of troops and the ikill of commanders. Now in which of thefe four particulars is France our fuperior ? You will anfwer at once, me is luperior in the number of men. The po- pulation, I know, of the two countries has been generally eilimated in the proportion of [ 3 3 three to one : but though this mould be ad- mitted to have been the true proportion of the population, and of the men capable of bearing arms, in the beginning of the war, I think it is not the true proportion at pre- fent. Both countries have loft great num- bers ; but France, inftead of lofmg three times, has, I apprehend, loft above ten times as many men as we have done ; fo that the proportion of men capable of bearing arms remaining in France, compared with what Great Britain can furnifh, does not, I am perfuaded, exceed that of two to one. And, were there even a bridge over the channel, France durft not make an incurfion with half her numbers. She knows how ready her neighbours would be to revenge the injuries they have fuftained, -how ready her own citizens would be to regain the bleffings they have loft, could they once fee all her forces occupied in a diftant country. France, I re- peat it, were there even a bridge from Calais fo Dover, could- rrot fend int& the field' as, many men as we could oppofe agamft -feUK "' But, it may be urged, all the men in France [ '4 ] are foldiers No; fome are left to till the ground, fome to fuftain the languors of her commerce, fome to perifh in prifon, deploring the mifery of their country. So many, 1 ac- knowledge, are become foldiers in France, that we mu ft, in a great degree, imitate her example. Every man who can be fpared from the agriculture, the manufactures, and the commerce of the country, muft become a foldier, if we mean to face the enemy in a proper manner, if empire or fervitude are to be fairly fought for. As to money, I need not enter into any comparative difcuffion on that head. France has no means within herfelf of providing for her armies She intends to fend them into this country either that ihe may pay them, as flie has done in Italy, by plunder, or, in the true fpirit of defpair, cancel her debts, by facrincing the perfons of her foldiers. With refpect to the valour of the French troops, I have nothing to objecl:. I know it is a favourite opinion with many, that the French are now what their anceftors were in [ '5 1 the time of Caefar ; " that in the frft onfet " they are more than men, but in thefeconJ " lefs than women." But it appears to me, I muft confefs, that in this war the French have fuftained with courage many onfets : praife is due to the galantry even of an enemy. But if I were aiked, whether an equal number of Englilhmen would beat thcfe conquerors of Italy, I would anfwer, as an Englifh ambaffador anfwered a King of Pruffia, when, at a review of his forces, he aiked the ambaffador, " whether he " thought that an equal number of Englifh- " men could beat his Pruffians." - " 1 can- " not tell, (replied the ambaffador) whether 44 an equal number would beat them ; but I " am certain half the number would try." I have the firmeft confidence that fifty thou- fand Englimmen, fighting for their wives and children, for their liberty and property, as individuals, for the independence and confti* tution of their country, would, without he- iitation, attack an hundred thoufand French- men. As to the relative flull of tbe commanders, it would ill become me to give any opinion [ '6 ] upon that point. If I were to admk that the French generals are not inferior to our own in martial ability, yet in the local knowledge of the country, and in the corre&nefs and fidelity of the information they will receive, ours will certainly have the advantage. But if the French are not our fuperiors, either in men or money, in the valour of their foldiers, or the ikill of their commanders, what have we to apprehend,, mould we be forced to fight them on our own ground ? A thoufand evils, no doubt, attend a country becoming the feat of war, to which we are Grangers, and to/ which, through the good providence of God, and the energy of our navy, we mall long, I trait, continue Gran- gers. But mould the matter happen other- wife, mould the enemy, by any untoward accident, land their forces, I fee no* reafon why we mould defpair of our country,, if we are only faithful to ourfelves, if, forgetting:, all party animoiity, we fland collected as> one- man againft them. Many honeft men, I am feufible,- have i'f li [ 7 ] been alarmed into a belief, tbat were the French to invade this country, they would be joined by great numbers of difcontented men. This is not my opinion. That they would be joined by a few. of the worft men in the country, by thieves and robbers, and outcafts of fociety, is probable enough ; but that any individual, pofTeffing either property or character, that any refpectable body of men, would fo far indulge their difcontents, as to ruin their country and themfelves, in gratifying their refentment, is what nothing but experience can convince me of. if; f I have heard of a DirYenter in Yorkfhirej (a man of great wealth and eftim-ation), who, on the lafl rejection of the petition for the repeal of the teft-a6b, declared that he would go all lengths to carry his pointbut I con* lider this declaration as made during the irri- tation of the moment, and as oppoiite to the general principles of that body of men. The Difienters have on trying occafions {hewn their attachment to the houfe of Brunfwick and the principles of the revolution ; and I fhould think myfelf guilty of calumny, if I [ '8 ] ihould fay that they had in any degree aban- doned either their attachment or their prin- ciples, or were difpofed to join the invaders 'of their country. There is another fet of men whom it feems the famion of the day to reprefent as enemies of the ftate, to ftigmatize as re- publicans, levellers, jacobins. But vul- gar traduction of character, party-coloured reprefentation of principle, make no im- preffion on my mind; nor ought they to make any impreffion on yours. The moft refpedtable of thofe who are anxious for the reform of parliament have not, in my judge- ment, any views hoilile to the conflitution. They may, perhaps, be miftaken in believ- ing an effectual reform practicable, without a revolution; but few of them, I am per- fuaded, would be difpofed to attain their ob- ject with fuch a confequence accompanying it ; and fewer flill would wifh to make the experiment under the aufpices of a French invader. There may be fome real republicans in the [ '9 ] kingdom; their number, I am convinced, is extremely fmall; and they are, probably, republicans more in theory than practice; they are, probably, of the fame fentiments with the late Dr. Price, who, being afked a few months before his death, whether he really wifhed to fee a republic eflablimed in England, anfwered in the negative. " He " preferred," (he faid,) " a republican ** to a monarchical form of government, " when the conftitution was to be formed " anew, as in America; but, in old efta- " blifhed governments, fuch as England, he " thought the introduction of a republic " would coft more than it was worth, would 41 be attended with more mifchief than ad- " vantage." I have a firm perfuafion that the French will find themfelves difappointed, if they expect to be fupported in their expedition by the difcontented in this country. They have already made a trial; the event of it (hould lower their confidence; the Welch, of all denominations, rufhed upon their Gal- lic enemies, with the impetuofity of ancient C 2 Britons; they difcomfited them in a mo- ment; they covered them with mame, and led them into captivity. The common peo- ple in this fortunate ifland, enjoy more li- berty, more confequence, more comfort of every kind, than the common people of any other country ; and they are not infenfible of their felicity ; they will never erect the tree of liberty. They know it by its fruit ; the bit- ter fruit of flavery, of contempt, oppreffion and poverty to themfelves, and probably to their pofterity. If Ireland is the object of invafion, France may flatter herfelf, perhaps, with the expec- tation of being more favourably received there than in Great Britain : but I trull: me will be equally difappointed in both countries, I mean not to enter into the politics of Ire- land; but, confidering her as a fifrer king- dom, I cannot wholly omit adverting to her fituation. I look upon England and Ireland as two bodies which are grown together, with different members and organs of fenfe, but nourifhed by the circulation of the fame blood: whilft they continue united they will live and profper; but if they fuffer them- felves to be feparated by the force or cunning of an enemy; if they quarrel and tear them- felves afunder, both will inftantly perim. Would to God, that there were equity and moderation enough among; the nations of the o o earth, to fuffer frnall ftates to enjoy their independence; but the hiftory of the world is little elfe than the hiftory of great ftates facrificing fmall ones to their avarice or am* bition ; and the prefent defigns of France, throughout Europe, confirm the obfervation. If Ireland fo far liftens to her refentment (however it has originated) againft this king- dom; if (he fo far indulges her chagrin againft her own legiflature, as to feek for redrefs by throwing herfelf into the arms of France, fhe will be undone, her freedom will be loft, flie will be funk in the fcale of nations; inftead of flou riming under the pro- teftion of a fifter that loves her, fhe will be fettered as a (lave to the feet of the greateft defpot that ever affli&ed human kind to the feet of French democracy. c 3 Let the mal-contents in every nation ot Europe look at Holland, and at Belgium. Holland was an hive of bees ; her fons flew on the wings of the wind to every corner of the globe, and returned laden with the fweets of every climate. Belgium was a garden of herbs, the oxen were ftrong to labour, the fields were thickly covered with the abund- ance of the harveft. Unhappy Dutchmen ! You will {till toil, but not for your own comfort; you will ftill collect honey, but not for yourfelves; France will feize the hive as often as your induftry (hall have rilled it. Ill-judging Belgians ! you will no longer eat in fecurity the fruits of your own grounds ; France will find occaiion, or will make oc- cafion, to participate largely in your riches; it will be more truly faid of yourfelves than of your oxen, " you plough the fields, but not for your own profit !" France threatens us with the payment of what me calls a debt of indemnification ; and the longer we refift her efforts to fubdue u, the larger (he fays this debt will become; and fhe tells us, that all Europe knows that this debt muft be paid one time or other And does me think that this flourifh will frighten us? It ought to move our contempt, it ought to fire us with indignation, and, above all, it ought to inftruft every man amongft us what we are to expect, if through fupinenefs, cowardice, or divifion, we fuffer her mad attempt to prove fuccefsful. She may not murder or carry into flavery the in- habitants of the land ; but under the pre- tence of indemnification, (he will demand millions upon tens of millions ; me will beg- gar every man of property ; and reduce the lower orders to the condition of her own pea- fants and artificers black bread, onions, and water. France wifhes to feparate the people from the throne ; me inveighs, in harm language, againft the King, and the cabinet of Saint James' ; and fpeaks fairly to the people of the land. But the people of the land are too wife to give heed to her profeflions of kindnefs. If there be a people in Europe on whom fuch practices are loft, it is ourfelves. All our people are far better educated, have far jufter c 4 notions of government, far more fhrewdnefs in detecting the defigns of thofe who v*ould mhlead them, than the people of any other country have, not excepting Swifter! and it- felf. There is no caufe to fear that French hypocrify fhould be fuperior to Britifh faga- city. Let France approach us with the cou- rage of a lion, or with the cunning of a fox, we are equally prepared to meet her ; we can refift her arms, and we can expofe her ar- tifice. France reproaches us with being the ty- rants of the ocean; and we all remember the armed neutrality, which was entered into by the maritime ftates of Europe during the American war. It originated, as was faid, from our a flu mi ng a dominion on the feas, which the law of nations did not allow. I cannot enter into the difculfion of this quef- tion here ; and it is lefs neceflary to do it any where, as it has been ably difcurled many years ago. I fincerely hope the accufation againft us is not juft ; for no tyranny either can be, or ought to be lading. I am an utter enemy to all dominion founded in mere [ 25 ] power, unaccompanied with a jufl regard to the rights of individuals or nations. Conti- nental {rates, however, ought to make fome allowance for our zeal in claiming, and our energy in maintaining, a fuperiority at lea ; our infular fituation gives us a right which they cannot plead ; they have fortrefles for their defence againil their enemies ; but fleets are the fortrefles of Great Britain. We wifh to preferve our fuperiority at fea for our own advantage, but other nations are not uninterefted in our doing it. If by the voluntary affiftance of Spain and Holland, by the conftrained concurrence of what was Ve- nice, by the improvident acquiefcence of Ruffia, Sweden, Denmark, and the other naval powers of Europe or America, the tri- dent of the ocean (for fome one nation mufl poflefs it) fhould be transferred from Great Britain to France, they will all have caufe to lament its having exchanged its mafler. They may at prefent think otherwife, and be pleafed with the profpect of our humilia- tion (I fpeak not this as if I thought that humiliation would happen, for no man has an higher confidence in our navy than I have) but I fpeak it with a prophetic warn- ing to thole nations, that they may fee the error of their politics before it becomes im- poffible to retrieve it. If France becomes as great by fea as me is become by land, Eu- rope will have no hope, but that her chains may be light. The channels of commerce, were they open alike to the enterprize of all nations, are fo numerous and copious in the four quar- ters of the globe, that the induftry of all the manufacturers in Europe might be fully em- ployed in fupplying them. America is dou- bling her numbers, and will for many years wantfupplies from the manufactories of Great Britain. Africa will in time civilize her mil- lions, and afford for centuries a market for the commodities of all Europe. What folly is it then in civilized, what wickednefs in chriftian flates, to be engaged every ten or twenty years in dcftroying millions of men, for the protection or the acquisition of arbi- trary monopolies ? There frill remains another fubjecl: which I am mofl anxious to recommend to your fe- rious contideration the attempts of bad men to rob you of your religion. It is now fomewhat more than feventy years, lince certain men who efteemed them- felves philofophers, and who, unquefHon- ably, were men of talents, began in diffe- rent parts of the continent, but efpecially in France and Germany, to attack thechrif- tian religion. The defign has been carried on by them and others, under various deno- minations, from that time to the prefent hour. In order to accomplim their end, they have publimed an infinity of books, fome of them difYmguiflied by wit and ridi- cule, unbecoming the vaft importance of the fubjecl:, and all fluffed with falfe quotations and ignorant or defigned mifreprefentations of fcripture, or filled with objections againft human corruptions of faith, and for which Chriftianity cannot be accountable. A fimilar attempt, I have reafon to believe* has for fome years been carrying on amongft [ 28 ] ourfelves, and by the fame means. Irreligious pamphlets have been circulated with great induftry, fold at a fmall price, or given away to the loweft of the people, in every great town in the kingdom. The profane ftyle of thefe pamphlets is fuited to the tafte of the wicked, and the confident affertions which they contain are well calculated to impoie on the underftanding of the unlearned ; and it is among the wicked and the ignorant that the enemies of religion and government are endeavouring to propagate their tenets. It is here fuppofed that the enemies of re- ligion are alfo the enemies of government ; but this muft be underftood with fome reftriclion. There are, it may be faid, many deifts in. this country, who are fenfible of the advan- tages of a regular government, and who would be as unwilling as the moil orthodox be- lievers in the kins;dom, that our own mould O 7 be overturned this may be true but it is true alfo, that they who wifli to overthrow the government are not only, generally fpeak- ing, unbelievers themfelves, but that they found their hopes of fuccefs in the infidelity of the common people. They are fenfibLe that no government can long fubfift, if the bulk of the people have no reverence for a fupreme being, no fear of perjury ; no ap- prehenfion of futurity, no check from con- fcience ; and forefeeing the rapine, devafta- tion, and bloodmed, which ufually attend the iaft convulfions of a ftate ftruggling for its political exigence, they wim to prepare proper actors for this dreadful cataftrophe, by brutalizing mankind ; for it is by religion more than by any other principle of human nature, that men are diftinguimed from brutes. The mafs of the people has, in all ages and countries, - been the mean of effectuating great revolutions, both good and bad. The phyfical ftrength of the bulk of a nation is irrefiftible, but it is incapable of feif-direction. It is the inftrument which wife, brave, and virtuous men ufe for the extinction of ty- ranny, under whatever form of government it may exift ; and it is the inflrument alfo, which men of bad morals, defperate fortunes, and licentious principles, ufe for the fubver- fion of every government, however ju{t in its origin, however equitable in its admint- ftration, however conducive to the ends for which fociety has been eltablimed among mankind. It is againft the machinations of thefe men, lecret or open, folitary or afTo- ciated, that I with to warn you ; they will firft attempt to perfuade you that there is no- thing after death, no heaven for the good, no hell for the wicked, that there is no God, or none who regards your actions ; and when you (hall be convinced of this, they will think you properly prepared to perpetrate every crime which may be neceflary for the furtherance of their own defigns, for the gra- tification of their ambition, their avarice, or their revenge. No civil, no ecclefiaftical conftitution can be fo formed by human wifdom as to admit of no improvement upon an increafe of wif- dom ; as to require no alteration when an al- teration in the knowledge, manners, opi- nions, and circumftances of a people has taken place. But men ought to have the modefty to know for what they are fitted, and the difcretion to confine thek exertions to [ 3' ] fubjedts of which they have a competent knowledge. There is perhaps little difference in the ilrength of memory, in the acutenefs of dif- cernment, in the folidity of judgement, in any of the intellectual powers on which know- ledge depends, between a ftatefman and a manufacturer, between the moft learned di- vine and a mechanic : the chief difference sonfifts in their talents being applied to dif- ferent fubjects. All promote both the public good, and their own, when they ad within their proper fpheres, and all do harm to themfelves, and others, when they go out of them. You would view with contempt a flatefman, who fhould undertake to regulate a great manufactory without having been brought up to bufmefs; or a divine, who fhould become a mechanic without having learned his trade ; but is not a mechanic, or manufacturer, ftill more mifchievous and ri- diculous, who affects to become a ftatefman, or to folve the difficulties which occur in divinity? Now this is precifely what the men I am cautioning you againft wim you to do they harangue you on the diibrders of our constitution, and propofe remedies; they propound to you fubtilties in metaphyfics and divinity, anddefireyou to explain them; and becaufe you are not prepared to do this, or to anfwer all their objections to our govern- ment, they call upon you to reject religion, natural and revealed, as impoftures, and to break up the conftitution of the country, as an enormous mafs of incurable corruption. No one, I truft, will fufpecl: the writer of contending that great abufes in church or ftate ought to be perpetuated, or of wi-ming that any one dogma of our holy religion fhould not be difcuffed with decent freedom (for the more religion is tried, the more it will be refined ;) but he does contend that the faith of unlearned chriftians ought not to be fhaken by lies and blafphemies ; he does contend that it is better to tolerate abufes, till they can be reformed by the coun- fels of the wifeft and the beft men in the kingdom, than to fubmit the removal of them to the frothy frequenters of ale-houfes, to the difcontented declaimers againft our eftablimment, to the miferable dregs of the nation who feek for diflin&ion m public E 33 ] confufion. An ancient fabrick may bj mere force be defaced and thrown down; but it requires the knowledge and caution of an architect to beautify and repair it. You are fenfible that the moil ingenious piece of me- chanifm may be fpoiled by the play of a child, or broken to pieces by the blow of an ideot or a madman ; and can you think that the machine of government, the mofl Inge- nious and complicated of all others, may not at once be defpoiled of all its elegance, and deprived of all its functions, by the rude and bungling attempts of the unfkilful to amend its motion ? I have not time to lay before you the rife and progrefs of that infidelity with refpecl: to revealed religion of that fcepticifm with re- fpecl: to natural religion of that infanity with refpedl: to government, which have, by their combined influence overwhelmed with calamity one of the mightieft ftates in Eu- rope, and which menace with deftru&ion every other. I have not time to (hew you by detailed quotations from the writings of the French and German philofophers that D [ 34 ] the fuperftition of the church of Rome made them infidels that a mifapprehenfion of the extent of human knowledge made them fcep- tics and that the tyranny of the continental governments made them enemies of all go- vernment, except of that filly fyftem of de- mocratic liberty and equality, which never has had, nor ever can have a permanent efta- bli foment amongft mankind. Though I cannot, in this fhort and general addrefs, enter fully or deeply into thefe mat- ters, I may be allowed to fay to thefe philo- fophers how has it happened that men of your penetration, in munning one vice, have fallen, like fools, into its oppolite? Does it follow that Jefus Chriil: wrought no mira- cles, becaufe the church of Rome has pre- tended to work many ? Does it follow that the apoftles were not honed men, becaufe there have been priefts, bimops and Popes who were hypocrites ? Is the chriftian reli- gion to be ridiculed as more abfurd than pa- ganifm, to be vilified as lefs credible than mahometanifm, to be reprefented as impious and abominable, becaufe men, in oppofitiou to every precept of Chrift, and to every prae- [ 35 ] tice of the apoftles, have worshipped images, prayed to dead men, believed in tranfubftan- tiation, granted indulgencies, erected inqui- fitions, and roafted honeft men alive for not complying with their fuperftition? With refpedt to natural religion, I would fay to them you complain that you cannot comprehend the creation of the univerfe, nor the providence of God; and is this your want of ability to become as wife as your maker a reafon for doubting whether there ever was a creation, and whether there is a providence? What mould you think of a neft of reptiles, which, being immured in a dark corner of one of the loweft apartments of a magnifi- cent houfe, mould affect to argue againft the houfe having ever been built, or its being then taken care of. You are thofe reptiles with refpect to your knowledge of the time when God created, and the manner in which he frill takes care of the world. You cannot, you tell us, reconcile the omnifcience of God with the freedom of man is this a reafon for your doubting of the freedom which you feel you poffefs, or of the power of God to under- [ 36 ] ftand the nature of what he has made? You cannot comprehend how it is poffible for an im- material being to be acted upon by material organs of fenfe will you therefore deny the exigence of your foul as a fubftance diftindt from your body? do you not perceive that it muft equally furpafs your underfbmding how matter, acting upon matter, can produce any thing but motion ; can give rife to per- ception, thought, will, memory, to all thole intellectual powers, by which arts and fcien- ces are invented and indefinitely improved ? With refpect to goverment, I would fay to them admitting that there is a natural equa- lity amongft mankind, does it follow that there may not be, or that there ought not to be, an inftituted inequality? Admitting that men, before they enter into fociety, are free from the dominion of each other, does it fol- low that they may not voluntarily relinquiih the liberty of a ftate of nature, in order that they may enjoy the comfort and obtain the fecunty of a {late of fociety ? Can there be no juft government, becaufe there is and has been much oppreffion in the world, no poli- [ 37 1 tical freedom in Great Britain, becaufe there was, during the monarchy, little in France; where there is, probably, itill lefs than there was? Does it follow that there ought to be no difttnctions in fociety, with refpect to rank or riches, becaufe there are none in a ftate of nature ; though nature herfelf has made a great difference amongft the individuals cf our fpecies as to health, ftrength, judgment, genius, as to all thofe powers which, either in a ftate of nature or fociety, neceflarily be- come the caufes and occafions of the fupe- riority of one man over another ? Does it follow that rich men ought to be plundered, and men of rank degraded, becaufe a few may be found in every ftate who have abufed their pre-eminence, or mifapplied their wealth ? In a word, does it follow that there ought to be no religion, no government, no fubordina- t\on amongft men, becaufe religion may de- generate into fuperfKtion, government into tyranny, and fuhordination into flavery r As reafonably might it be argued, that there ought to be no wine, becaufe fome men may become drunkards ; no meat, becaufe fome men may become gluttons ; no air, no fire, no water, becaufe thefe natural fources of general felicity may accidentally become in- ftruments of partial calamity ? He who perufes with attention the works of thofe foreigners, who for the laft feventy or eighty years have written againft revealed or natural religion, and compares them with the writings of ourEnglifh deifts towards the end of the laft and the beginning or middle of the prefent century, will perceive that the former have borrowed all their argmments and o objections from the latter ; he will perceive alfo that they are far inferior to them in learn- ing and acutenefs, but that they iurpafs them in ridicule, in audacity, in blafphemy, in mif- reprefentation, in all the miferable arts by which men are wont to defend a bad caufe ; they furpafs them too in their mifchievous endeavours to difleminate their principles amongft thofe who, from their education, are leafl qualified to refute their fophiftry. Juftly may we call their reafoning fophiftry, fiace it was not able to convince even them- [ 39 1 felves. One of the moft eminent of them, (Voltaire) who had been a theift, a materia- lift, a difbeliever of a future flate all his days, aflced with evident anxiety a few years before his death, Is there a God fuch as men fpeak of? Is there a foul fuch as people ima- gine ? Is there any thing to hope for after death ? He feems to have been confident in nothing, but in his hatred of that gofpel which would have enlightened the obfcurity in which he was involved, and at once diffipa- ted all his doubts. As to his notions of go- vernment, he appears to have been as un- fettled in them as in his religious fentiments ; for though he had been one of the moft zea- lous apoftles of liberty and equality, though he had attacked monarchical governments in all his writings with great bitternefs, yet he at laft confeifed to one of the greateft princes then in Europe, " that he did not love the go- vernment of the loweft orders that he did not wifli the re-eftablimment of Athenian democracy." Such are the inconfiftencies of men who, by their profane difputation againft religion, University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. duals; ft go- juillity igainft >verty, f thefe " God : them protec- ire any mercy \ Let ifuafion DU will I world gofpel of you eafy in e men, by declaiming againf!: defects in our conftitu- tioti, or abufes in government, betray you into an opinion that were the prefent order of things overturned, a better might, by their counfels, be eftablifhed ; for, by their coun- [41 A 000 037 899 fels, you would either be plundered of your property, or compelled to become their ac- complices in impiety and iniquity. See what has happened in France to all orders, to the common people as well as to the nobility. " The little ringer of their republic has be- " come thicker, more oppreffive to the whole 16 nation, than the loins of their monarchy; " they were chaftifed with whips, they are *' chaftifed with fcorpions." I am not altogether infenfible of the dan- ger I may have incurred, (mould matters come to extremity) by thus publicly addref- iing my countrymen. I might have con- cealed my fentiments, and waited in retire- ment, till the ftruggle had been over, and the iffue known ; but 1 difdain fafety accom- panied with di (honour. When Hannibal is at the gates, who but a poltroon would liften to the timid counfels of neutrality, or attempt to fcreen himfelf from the calamity coming on his country, by fkulking as a vagabond amid the mountains of Wales or of Weft- moreland ? I am ready, and I am perfuaded that I entertain a juft confidence in faying, have difturbed the confciences of individuals; who, by their fenfelefs railing again ft go- vernment, have endangered the tranquillity 'of every nation in Europe ! And it is againft fuch men I warn you. Are any of you opprefled with poverty, difeafe, and wretchednefs? Let none of thefe men beguile yd\i of your belief that " God '* is, and that he is the rewarder of them " that diligently feek him," " the protec- " tor of them that truft in him." Are any of you afflicted in mind, defpairing of mercy through the multitude of your fins ? Let none of thefe men dagger your perfuafion that the gofpel is true ; for therein you will read that " Jefus Chrift came into the world " to fave finners" repent, and the gofpel will give you confoiation. Are any of you profperous in your circumftances, and eafy in your confciences ? Let none of thefe men, by declaiming againfl defects in our coniHtu- tion, or abufes in government, betray you into an opinion that were the prefent order of things overturned, a better might, by their counfels, be eftablifhed ; for, by their coun- [41 A 000 037 899 fels, you would either be plundered of your property, or compelled to become their ac- complices in impiety and iniquity. See what has happened in France to all orders, to the common people as well as to the nobility. ** The little finger of their republic has be- " come thicker, more oppreffive to the whole " nation, than the loins of their monarchy; tc they were chaftifed with whips, they are " chaftifed with fcorpions." I am not altogether infenfible of the dan- ger I may have incurred, (mould matters come to extremity) by thus publicly addref- fing my countrymen. I might have con- cealed my fentiments, and waited in retire- ment, till the ftruggle had been over, and the iffue known ; but I difdain fafety accom- panied with di (honour. When Hannibal is at the gates, who but a poltroon would liften to the timid counfels of neutrality, or attempt to fcreen himfelf from the calamity coming on his country, by fkulking as a vagabond amid the mountains of Wales or of Weft- moreland ? I am ready, and I am perfuaded that I entertain a juft confidence in faying, that hundreds of thoufands of loyal and honeft men are as ready as I am, to hazard every thing in defence of the country. I pray God to influence the hearts of both fides to good will, moderation, and peace: to grant to our enemy grace to return to a due jfenfe of piety and a belief in u'ncorrupted ..ChriiTian^ty ; and to imprefs our own minds with a ferious fenfe of the nectifity of fo re- penting of our fins, and fo reforming our lives, as may enable us to hope for his pro- teclion againft all enemies, foreign and do- meflic. R. LANDAFF. London, _, Jan. 20, 1798 Univers: Soutl Lib: