THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 Ex Libris 
 
 SIR MICHAEL SADLER 
 
 ACQUIRED 1948 
 
 WITH THE HELP OF ALUMNI OF THE 
 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION 
 
 V 

 
 
 

 
 LETTER 
 
 Young Gentleman 
 
 O F 
 
 OXFORD.
 
 T O A 
 
 Young Gentleman 
 
 O F 
 
 X F O R D. 
 
 By EDWARD BENTH A M, B. D. 
 
 Fellow of ORIEL COLLEGE. 
 
 There is a 'Time to keep Silence, and a Time 
 to SPEAK. ECCLES. iii. 7. 
 
 The SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for S. B i R T and M. S E N E x ; and J. 
 FLETCHER and J. B A R R E T T, in Oxford. 
 
 MDCCXLIX.
 
 Advertifement. 
 
 J*f may not be improper to affure 
 the Reader^ that the Occafion of 
 putting together thefe Reflexion^ which 
 are now revifed and offer d to the 
 Public^ was entirely diftinSt from 
 the late treafonable Difturbance in 
 Oxford. With a View however to 
 this) as well as the Affair with which 
 he was himfelf more particularly con- 
 cerned^ the Writer of them did not 
 think it misbecame him^ to provide 
 fome Antidote for the UJe of his Pu- 
 pih) whenever an Attempt jhould 
 be made to tamper with their Prin- 
 ciples^ and withdraw them from their 
 Obedience to the Laws of the Land. 
 
 *fhe Situation of quiet Men con- 
 flantly rejiding in the Univerjity^ 
 often keeps them ignorant of what 
 is faid or thought of this Place in 
 the World \ as indeed they fometimes 
 
 are 
 
 8103CO
 
 ( vi ) 
 
 are of what paffes in the very Place 
 itfelf. No Wonder then, if they are 
 not forward to believe that y in faEi^ 
 dif advantageous Reports prevail con- 
 cerning it) and are therefore per- 
 haps too backward in purfuing the 
 MeafureS) which Prudence might re- 
 commend to be taken in order to its 
 Welfare and Reputation. 
 
 'There are however Seafons in which 
 
 j 
 
 the moft modeft Man may find him- 
 felf under a Neceffity of declaring 
 his Sentiments in the moft pullick 
 manner , (how little foever he may aim 
 at) or value the Character of a Wri- 
 ter on Subjects of this Nature] mere- 
 ly to do yuftice to Himfelf and to 
 
 *?hofe with whom he is concerned. 
 
 Such Jeems to be the prefent JunElure^ 
 more especially with refpeEl to thofe^ 
 who are entrufted with the Education 
 of young Gentlemen in the Univerjity of 
 Oxford. 
 
 A LET-
 
 A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 T O A 
 
 Young Gentleman, 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 Am forry to find that your Attention hath 
 been taken up with a Set of Notions, 
 very different from thofe which I, and 
 every one that wifhes you well, would 
 have recommended to you. Methinks if you 
 find in yourfelf fo ftrong a Turn for Politicks, 
 as you feem to have, thofe of Greece or Rome 
 might yet a while afford fufficient Scope for 
 your Diligence and Curiofity. For when 
 young Perfons, before they have fufficiently 
 formed their Judgment by thefe and the like 
 Models, and have moreover improved it by 
 fome Knowledge of the World, enter too deep- 
 ly into the Confederation of our National Con- 
 cerns, the wretched Spirit of Party-Zeal fel- 
 dom fails to enflame their Imaginations, and 
 
 betray
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 betray them into various Extravagancies ; fuch 
 as they may perhaps in vain repent of in their 
 maturer Years : It feldom is, or indeed can be, 
 indulged without negleding the more impor- 
 tant Bufinefs of other Studies, upon which their 
 Reputation, and Fortunes, and future Happi- 
 nefs greatly depend. And I appeal to your 
 own Obfervation, whether the young Politi- 
 cians of your Acquaintance do in Fadl figna- 
 lize themfelves by any valuable Accomplifli- 
 ment, or indeed by any thing fo much as talk- 
 ing fawcily of their Superiors, and dogmatizing 
 upon what they do not underftand. 
 
 Had your Politicks gone no further than 
 barely to determine who, or what Men were 
 fitteft to be employed in the Adminiftration of 
 National Affairs, a Perfon.of Your Age would 
 certainly have gone out of his proper Sphere, 
 and have been very impertinent even in fo 
 doing. 'Tis your Duty to reverence Authority 
 in whatever Hands you find it placed, to avoid 
 giving Offence to it, and to recommend your- 
 felf to its Efteem and Regard by improving 
 your Mind with ufeful Learning, and fitting 
 yourfelf to do your Duty in that State unto 
 which you may be called hereafter. 
 
 But how much more ridiculous is it for 
 you to adventure to call in Queftion the Laws 
 of your Country, and that upon a Subject fo 
 delicate in its Nature, that few eftablifh'd Go- 
 vernments
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 vernments but our own, would fuffer it even 
 to be calmly debated in Theory with Impu- 
 nity ? The Law hath already precluded your 
 Enquiry, and determined where your Alle- 
 giance is due : Under that Law you were born ; 
 it hath hitherto afforded you Protection ; to it 
 therefore, by all the Ties of Nature and Gra- 
 titude, is your Duty pre-engaged. 
 
 And tho' the Mildnefs of our Conftitution 
 is fuch that it doth not rigoroufly exact from 
 all its Subjects that Activity of Service in 
 its Support, which is expected in other Coun- 
 tries, yet furely in Juftice to itfelf it can- 
 not but reftrain the Attempts of thofe who 
 ignorantly or malicioufly endeavour to fub- 
 vert it. 
 
 You would do well therefore to confider 
 ferioufly, that, 
 
 * If any Jhall endeavour advifedly or dirett- 
 
 1 fy y to hinder any Perfon y whofiall be next in 
 
 c Succeffion to the Crown for the Time being y 
 
 <e (according to the Limitation by the i and 2 
 
 " W. & M. Self. 2. C. 2 . and the 12 W. III. 
 
 C. 2.) be is guilty of Higb-Treafon. And 
 
 c thofe that malicioujly and direftly affirm the 
 
 <c fame by Preaching, or advifed. Speaking foall 
 
 < incur a Praemunire. i and 2 Anne, C. 17. 
 
 " By the * 3 W. III. C. 3. To have Cor- 
 
 f refpondence or keep Intelligence with the pre- 
 
 c tended Prince cf Wales, or knowingly ivitb 
 
 B any
 
 l ' any 'Per/on employed by him, or to pay Money 
 " Jor his Ufe, is High-Treafon. 
 
 " By the 4 Anne, C. 8. 6 Anne, C. 7. 
 " Whofoever Jhall advifedly and direflly, by 
 " writing or printing , maintain that the pre- 
 " tended Prince of Wales, or any other > hatb 
 " any Right to the Crown otherwise than by the 
 " i & 2 W. and M. Seff. 2, C. 2. and the 
 " 12 W. III. C. 2. Or, that the Kings of this 
 " Realm by the Authority of Parliament cannot 
 " make Laws to limit and bind the Crown as to 
 <c the Defcent and Government thereof, Jhall be 
 " guilty of HighrTreafon. 
 
 <( Nay, (to ufe the Words of a judicious 
 <c J- Lawyer) when one doth know, that a- 
 " nother hath committed any Sort of Trea- 
 " fon, and doth not reveal it to the King, or 
 <c his Privy-Council, or to fome Magiftrate, 
 " that the Offender may be fecured, and 
 " brought to Juftice, this bare Knowledge 
 " and Concealment was High-Treafon at 
 <f Common Law. To know and ajj'ent with 
 " any outward Acl, that fliews an Approtar 
 " tion of it, makes it High-Treafon ; as where 
 *' one, having Notice of a Meeting of Con- 
 " fpirators againft the Government, goes into 
 " their Company and conceals it, 
 
 Mifdemeanours, ariflng from contemptuous 
 and undutiful Behaviour to the King, are hei- 
 
 f Wood"* loftitut. Com. Law. /. 406. 
 
 nous
 
 nous Offences ; and, though attended with 
 Circum fiances of lefs Deliberation, fubject the 
 Perfons guilty to * Penalties, of fuch a Na- 
 ture as often fixes a lafting Mark of Infamy on 
 the Offender. , 
 
 And now, what Equivalent have any jovial 
 Set of Companions to give you in Return, for 
 running fo dangerous a Rifque in attending 
 them thro' the feveral Stages of their treafon- 
 iible Frolicks ? No, " all Equivalents you dif- 
 u dain, and leave to the fervile Herd of 
 
 " Court-Dependants: 'Tis downright Ho- 
 
 " nefty that prompts You ; a Regard to Juf- 
 <c tice, and an Abhorrence of Ufurpation upon 
 " the Rights of an injured Prince/' But what 
 great Proof of your own Honefty is it to appro 
 priate that Character to yourfelves ? And how 
 low, how unbecoming your liberalEducation 
 is it to take Pleafure in villifying and calumnia- 
 ting Your Betters ? 
 
 But further, not to infift on the apparent 
 Want of Modefty, Candor, and Difcretion, when 
 Perfons of Your Years treat the moft folemn 
 and repeated Decifions of a whole Nation, and 
 more efpecially their own Country, with fo 
 much Arrogance and Contempt ; > nor to 
 fhew you diftincllyj how infinitely the Pre- 
 fumption at firft View lies in this Cafe againft 
 the private Opinion of yourfelf and the felecl: 
 
 * Such as Pillory, Whipping, &c. 
 
 B 2 Company
 
 ( 12 
 Company of your Friends ; and how im- 
 
 poffible it is, without long Experience, Ob* 
 fervation and Reflexion, to attain that real Cer- 
 tainty, or even well-grounded Conviction of 
 the Juftice of your Caufe, which alone can 
 warrant your Talking and Acting in this Man- 
 ner and how eafily Perfons warm with the 
 
 Conceit, that they are purfuing an honeft, 
 difinterefted Plan may be miftaken ; Not to 
 infift, I fay, on thefe Things ; If you are 
 actuated with an honeft Principle of Publick- 
 Spirit and Zeal for Juftice, fome Juftice is cer- 
 tainly due to the Society whereof you are a 
 Member ; And your Regard to this Part of 
 the Publick (for the Welfare of which Your 
 Friends upon all Occafions affect to fliew the 
 warmeft Concern) ought in all Reafon to mo- 
 derate your Zeal, and not fufFer it to expofe the 
 Univerlity to the Refentment of thofe higher 
 Powers, who will be naturally led to cenfure 
 it, as having been deficient in the Exercife of 
 fome material Act of Inftrudtion or Difcipline ; 
 as either permitting or conniving at a direct In- 
 fult upon that Government on which the very 
 Being of the Univerfity depends. 'Tis cer- 
 tain that a very confiderable Number of wife 
 and good Men in the Nation have been and 
 are faithful Subjects to the prefent Eftablifh- 
 ment. Your Friends will not deny that many 
 fuch were fo to Queen Anne y whofe Right 
 and Title to the Crown was the very fame with 
 that of his prefent Majefly, Any reafonable 
 
 and
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 and modert Man therefore will, I think, 
 readily conclude that your Political Notions 
 are not fo notoriouily and evidently true, as 
 to juftify your extravagant Declarations ; im- 
 prudent with regard to yourfelf, and injurious 
 to other People. 
 
 Not that I would be underftood to endea- 
 vour to ftifle your Spirit of Difaffection by 
 the meer Weight of Authority, or to frighten 
 you out of your Scruples by a fervile Dread 
 of the Punimments abovementioned : No ; I 
 am ready to enter with you into the Reafon 
 of the Cafe j and defire you to attend to no- 
 thing but the genuine Dictates of Common - 
 Senfe and Equity. 
 
 But here I muft obferve that there is a 
 flrange Inconfiftency in your political Prin- 
 ciples a ftrong Prefumption that they are 
 
 not really founded in Reafon. For, let me 
 afk you. 
 
 Do you not almoft appropriate to yourfelf and 
 Party the Character of Patriots and Men of 
 Spirit, confcious of a Dignity inherent in your- 
 felves as Englijbmfrt t Friends to the Liberties of 
 your Country, and jealous of its Rights ? You 
 would, I know, refent the Imputation of the 
 contrary Character, and talk of thofe who 
 differ from you as a Pack of mean degenerate 
 Scoundrels.- But, on the other Hand, 
 
 Do
 
 ( 
 
 Do you not at the fame Time confider 
 yourfelf as the rightful Subject and Vaflal of 
 One whofe only Claim to your Subjection is 
 his being: the Lineal Defcendant of a Perfdn 
 
 c? 
 
 formerly inverted with Royal Power ? One 
 
 who has never exercifed that which is the 
 only rational Foundation of Civil Power, the 
 giving Protection to yourfelf or your Parents ; 
 and who can have no Right to your Service 
 and Obedience, unlefs you were really born in 
 a State of more abject Slavery than was ever 
 yet felt in any Part of the World, and are at 
 this Time the abfolute Property of a foreign 
 Mafter j becaufe his fuppofed Anceftors at fome 
 former Time had a Dominion over Yours ; a 
 Dominion You think, unalienable and inde- 
 feanble, how arbitrarily and oppreflively foever 
 They may have behaved ? How inconfiftent is 
 this Account of things with the former ! 
 
 If upon Principles of common Senfe you 
 infift that reafonable Creatures have a Right to 
 be dealt with in a reafonable Way, you muft 
 admit that they have a Right to throw off 
 that Dominion when it is exercifed unreafon- 
 ably. And this Conceffion will bring you 
 round to the Principle on which we juftify 
 the Revolution ; namely, that as the King by 
 Inheritance hath a Right to govern, fo the 
 Subject hath a Right to the Law as the com- 
 mon Meafure of Royal Authority and his own 
 
 Obedience. And accordingly the Law hath 
 
 been
 
 f 15 ) 
 
 been conftantly recognized as fuch by Englijh 
 Kings in the Oath taken by them at their 
 Coronation. 
 
 Kings indeed are but Men ; and our Religion 
 certainly recommends the Exerciie of Charity 
 towards them, whenever we confider their 
 Failings : Their Province has Difficulties of a 
 peculiar Kind, which demand our Candor: 
 There is a Reverence due to the Superiority of 
 their Stations ; and this ought to reftrain us 
 from being over forward to believe evil Re-* 
 ports concerning them : And if we have but 
 common Modeity, we mall be difpofed to 
 make fome further Allowance from the Con- 
 fideration of our own Ignorance and Mifappre- 
 henfions : And I muft add, that a prudential 
 Regard for our own, and the common Wel- 
 fare, mould teach us how very unfafe, how very 
 troublefome it may prove, to bring Matters to 
 an open Quarrel, upon every, I will not fay, 
 pretended, but, real Grievance. 
 
 But the Evils under K. James II. if any Cre- 
 dit is to be given to the Reports of Hiftory, 
 were adjudged by our Anceflors to be intolera- 
 ble : He had, in repeated Inftances, made di- 
 rect Attempts to bereave us of our Religion 
 and Liberties, and fo far unhinged the whole 
 Frame of the Government, as to find himfelf 
 utterly difabled from exercifing it any longer : 
 And having violated the fundamental Laws of 
 
 this
 
 ( 16 
 
 this Kingdom, and having withdrawn himfelf 
 out of it, carrying away with him his pretend- 
 ed Son, an Infant fix Months old, He abdi- 
 cated the Government. 
 
 Finding the Nation in this State, the Great 
 Council, like Wife Men, turned the Exercife 
 of Government out of its old Channel no fur- 
 ther than the Neceffity of the Cafe required. 
 They waited on the next * Heir by Blood, 
 and put the Nation under Her's, and her 
 Husband's Protection. " This Method of pro- 
 " ceeding, you fay, in fettling the Govern- 
 " ment was new and unprecedented." And 
 in a good Meafure it was ; though by no 
 Means altogether : as our Hiftory will fhew 
 you. But fo was the Occafion. Our Mu- 
 nicipal Laws were made for the common 
 Courfe of Things ; They have been wifely fi- 
 
 * In the fame manner by ic, 13. W. III. C. 2. The Crown, 
 in default of IfTue of the Princefs Anne of Denmark and King 
 William III. refpe&ively, was fettled upon the Princefs Sophia, 
 the neareft P rote ft ant Branch of the Royal Family, and the Heirs 
 of her Body, being Proteftants. She was Grand-Daughter to 
 King "James I. and Grandmother to his p-.efent Majeity. This 
 Settlement was afterwards confirmed, and further fecured by the 
 Laws under Queen Anne. See p. 8. 
 
 The Neceffity of this Limitation of the Crown to Proteftants 
 appears from hence ; that the Popifh Religion, while it fubjedls 
 the Confcience of the Prince to the Pope and his Emiflaries, 
 hath a natural Tendency to enflave t;e Nation itielf to a foreign 
 Power and Jurifdiclion. Not to mention the other Inconvenien- 
 ces, which in Faft arofe from King James IPs profefling the 
 Popifh Religion. He was thereby induced to difclaim the Regal 
 Supremacy, and to own and ackncv/ledge the Papal, by a fo- 
 lemn Embafiy at Rome. 
 
 lent
 
 lent in fpecifying how the Subject is to 
 ceed in extraordinary Exigencies ; They pre- 
 fume that the Commands cf the Sovereign 
 will be Legal, and in that View,- without 
 Limitation, recommend and enforce Obedi- 
 ence upon the Subject : But they cannot be 
 underftood to have been defigned to authorize 
 Oppreffion, and defeat the great End of all 
 Laws whatfoevcr. It is fufficient therefore if 
 the Conduct of our Anceftors in the Revolu- 
 tion was warranted by the general Reafon of 
 the Cafe : Nor is the Validity of the Settle- 
 ment itfelf at all affedted by that Want of Re- 
 gularity, which you now difcover in fome Cir- 
 cumftances attending it ; a Regularity which 
 it was impoffible to attain, and which it might 
 have been fatal to attempt. 
 
 Nay a little Acquaintance with the Hiftory 
 of our own, and of other Nations, will be 
 fufficient to inform you, that, as few Revolu- 
 tions in Government have been founded on a 
 more apparent Neceffity, fo few have been 
 conducted with equal Calmnefs, Order and 
 Propriety. 
 
 The Prince of Grange's Wife having a near 
 Intereft in the Crown, if not the falrefl Pre- 
 tenfion to it after K. James IPs Demife, upon 
 the Plea of Lineal Succeffion, he had a Right 
 to demand Security for fuch Succeffion due to 
 his Wife, againft the Male-practices at that 
 
 G Time
 
 Time generally believed to be fet on Foot to 
 defeat her Pretenfions, and alfo to prevent the 
 Inheritance from being injured by the flagrant 
 Mifconduct of the King in PofTeffion. He was 
 therefore juftified, as in making Remonftran- 
 ces, fo in endeavouring to fecond thofe Re- 
 monftrances, when found ineffectual, by armed 
 Force. And considering how much the In- 
 terefts and well-being of Nations, efpecially 
 fuch as are expofed to a powerful common 
 Enemy, ftand connected with each other, the 
 States-General adted upon the Principles of 
 found Reafon and Policy, in their ready Dif- 
 pofitions to fupport his Endeavours. Neither 
 muft I omit their Obligation in Point of Gra- 
 titude to aft as they did, and to fupport a 
 Neighbouring Nation in its extreme Diftrefs $ 
 to whofe timely Afliftance They themfelves in 
 a like Cafe formerly owed the Prefervation of 
 their Religion and Liberties. 
 
 Granting this Step to have been right, I fee 
 not with what Colour of Reafon you can except 
 againft the Juftice of any Part of the fubfe- 
 quent Eftablimment. During that Confufion 
 which K. yames II's Mifmanagement had in- 
 troduced, you muft imagine that the Thoughts 
 of wife and good Men were not idle, and 
 that many Expedients were devifed to recon- 
 cile the Rights of King James II. with the 
 Welfare of the Kingdom. And you think 
 perhaps, had you been concerned, that you 
 
 fhould
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 mould have voted for fome other Expedient : 
 But even then, had you been of the Minority, 
 you muft from the Nature of Civil Society, 
 have acquiefced in, if not joined in fupporting 
 a Refolution, which, when finally pafled, muft 
 be taken for the Refolution of the Whole. 
 
 But ycu think it hard for the Son and Grand- 
 fon to fuffer for the Mifconduct of the Fa- 
 ther ! But does not this often happen ? Muft 
 it not neceffarily fo happen in the Courfe of 
 human Affairs ? It is hard for a hopeful young 
 Man to come after a profligate, extravagant 
 Parent, who has mortgaged or fquandered a- 
 way his paternal Eftate ; or who has for- 
 feited the hereditary Honours and Wealth of 
 the Family by Treafon. Whatfoever acciden- 
 tal Inconvenience is fuppofed to attend the Per- 
 fon, no one thinks of, nor does the Cafe often- 
 times admit of a Reiteration to Blood and E- 
 ftate. And what infinitely greater Difficulties 
 muft there now be, how prodigious the Rifque 
 to unfettle the Government of three mighty 
 Kingdoms, to create Jealoufies and Diftruft 
 in all the States with whom we are naturally 
 allied, to alarm the Appreheniions and Fears 
 of all that have concurred in the Support of 
 the prefent Eftablifhment, to fubject not only 
 every Aft of the Legiilature, but even every 
 judicial Proceeding for above half a Century, 
 on which the private Property of Thou- 
 fands depends, to be called in Queftion, and, 
 C 2 moft
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 moft probably, to involve the Nation in the 
 
 dreadful Calamities of a Civil War j and 
 
 all this for what ? Why to do an imagined Act 
 of Juftice to a fingle Stranger, at the Expence 
 of Duty and Gratitude to a Sovereign whom 
 we have acknowledged, and of Juftice to our 
 Ppfterity $ to a Stranger, I fay, of doubt- 
 ful Birth, whofe fuppofed Parent abdicated 
 and gave up all Remains of that Right which 
 he had not forfeited ; who is as much a 
 Foreigner, and as much attached to Foreign 
 Jnterefts, whereby he hath been fupported, as 
 can well be conceived : to commit the Pro- 
 tection of a Proteftant Church to a Popifh. 
 frince-r- to reftore a Right of trampling upon 
 the Necks of Men who think they were born 
 free, and are determined to ftand fail in that 
 Liberty, which they loqk upon as their Birth- 
 right, the Liberty of being under no other 
 Controul but that of the Laws of God, and 
 the known Laws of the Land ; and who think 
 themfelves bound in Duty to tranfmit the fame 
 to their Pofterity. 
 
 For my own part, I am perfuaded that the 
 foregoing, however fhort and imperfect, is 
 a true Reprefentation of the Original Settle- 
 ment of the prefent Succeffion of the Crown. 
 Whether it be fo or no, YOU I am certain 
 have not yet examined. With regard to You 
 therefore, the Preemption lies in Favour of 
 that eftablifhed Government under which you 
 
 are
 
 f 21 ) 
 
 are born.* Should a Man endeavour to pcr- 
 fuade you that, if you examined into certain 
 Memoirs, or would credit the traditionary Re- 
 ports of fome People in your Neighbourhood, 
 it might be fhrewdly fufpedted that your Great 
 Grand-father did not fairly come into PofTef- 
 fion of that Eftate which your Father now 
 enjoys, would You in contradiction to all the 
 Evidences of Title-Deeds now in his Cufto- 
 dy, and confirmed by Verdidlis upon Record, 
 be difpofed to relinquim your Title to the In,. 
 heritance? Or even fubjed: your Title to the 
 critical Examination of a bufy Lawyer, in 
 order to difcover whether poffibly the Convey- 
 ances have not in them fome Flaw fufficient to 
 difturb your Father's PofTeffion, and thereby 
 enliven the dormant Claim of the lineal Heir 
 of fome former Pofleflbr ? 
 
 And furely the Dictates of natural Reafon 
 declare at leaft as fully, in favour of our Right 
 to Civil Liberty, as they do on the Side of 
 Juftice to other Men. If I find myfelf born 
 in a State of Liberty, as every Englijhman does, 
 a reafonable Confcience will never perfuade a 
 Man to relinquifh it, and become the Slave of 
 Arbitrary Power. To aflert the Privileges J 
 am born to, is doing Juftice to myfelf. The 
 fame Law of my Country, which enfures my 
 Title to my Eftate, enfures to me likewife the 
 Pofleflion of my Liberty, and regulates my 
 Behaviour in the Ufe of both, 
 
 But
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 But if after all, your Prejudices remain in 
 favour of an indefeafible Right of Dominion's 
 being founded in lineal Succeffion, let me afk 
 you, from what Date will you fix the Limits 
 of your Enquiry backward ? Why at the Re- 
 volution ? Why not go upwards thro' all the 
 preceding Reigns, and fee if there never was any 
 Flaw in the Succeffion no Ufurpations from 
 the Cohqueft, which cleared the Way for the 
 
 Stuart's Claim? Or in what Right did 
 
 William the Conqueror found his ? Or his 
 
 PredecefTors the Saxons ? (For the Danes you 
 will confider as meer Ufurpers ; tho' I think a 
 little longer Time would have made their 
 Right full as good as theirs on whom they 
 ufurped.) This, I think, in all Reafon mould 
 be the Courfe of that Man's Enquiry who is 
 perfuaded of the Sacrednefs indefeafibly inhe- 
 rent in Princes by lineal Defcent : And in or- 
 der to do the Bufinefs compleatly, we mould 
 fearch the antient Records of Wales and Corn- 
 wall, whofe Natives have the beft Title to be 
 confidered as the AvTo%&ove* and Original Pro- 
 prietors of this our Soil ; and upon whom 
 the Ufurpation was firft made ; and from a- 
 mongft whom confequently the Reftoration of 
 the true Royal Family fhould be expected. 
 
 Now as this Enquiry is beyond the Reach 
 of Your Abilities, I think You may fafely fuf- 
 pend it, till you are better qualified to make 
 
 it:
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 it : For no Man's Obligation can extend be- 
 yond his Abilities. -Or rather, the Enquiry 
 
 is to You no other than that of ftudious Curi- 
 ofity ; entertaining and amufing, and perhaps 
 inftruftive, but no more affecting Your Beha- 
 viour in Point of Confcience than if the Revo- 
 lution had happen'd 600 Years ago inftead of 
 60, or in any other Country. 
 
 Suppofing I indulge you in your Prejudice, 
 that artful, defigning Men, running counter 
 to their Obligations of Duty and Allegiance, 
 firft terrify'd K. James II. into a Retreat, and 
 then took Advantage to call it an Abdication, 
 What is that to you ? Whatever Force you, 
 fuppofe to be in the famous Text for Non-Re- 
 fiftance, that They that refift ftall receive to 
 
 themfehes Damnation however it may have 
 
 affected the Subjects of K. James II. it affects 
 not You. The Text, which belongs to Your 
 Cafe is clearly this, Let every Soul be fubjett to 
 the higher Powers ; the Powers that be are or- 
 dained of God. And who was in Power 
 
 when the Apoflle wrote, but Nero ? The 
 fifth in Succeffion from Auguftus Ccsfar, who, 
 if ever there was an Ufurper upon the Liber- 
 ties and Rights of his Countrymen, muft be 
 confidered as a principal one of that Clafs. 
 From the Death of Auguftus to the Death of 
 Nero there pafled about 53 Years. Suppofing 
 then, but not granting, the Settlement of the 
 Crown at the Revolution to be no other than 
 
 what
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 what you are pleafed to term it, an Ufurpation, 
 the prefent Government hath been at lead e- 
 qually fixed and effoblifhed with that of the 
 Roman Government when the Apoftles wrote $ 
 the Recognition of the King's Authority on 
 the Subjects Part much more free and folemn 
 than that made by the Roman Senate ; and the 
 Exercife of Power on the King's much more, 
 in Truth altogether conformable to the known 
 Laws of the Land. 
 
 Poffibly indeed You are taught to affert, if 
 not in Contradiction to Experience that for 
 near thefe fixty Years laft paft we have been 
 in a State of Anarchy, yet, that e^ery Act of 
 Authority hath been null and invalid iince the 
 Revolution, for want of a Conformity to the 
 Constitution of Government in this Nation, as 
 you fay it ought to ftand upon the Original Plan 3 
 But were You or the moft intelligent Jacobite 
 called upon to explain this Plan, I will venture 
 to pronounce that fcarce any two, if left to 
 themfelves would agree in the Plan itfelf; 
 much lefs would any of you be able, or would 
 it be poffible to juftify the Authenticity there- 
 of, and to {hew (which is a further Point ne- 
 ceflary) the Unlawful nefs of fubmitting to any 
 Departure from it. 
 
 When you ask me, what I think of thofe 
 who laboured for a Reftoration under the Go- 
 vernment of Oliver Cromwell, you vainly en- 
 deavour
 
 tleavour to take Advantage of a Prejudice of 
 mine in favour of K. Charles I. If You had 
 afked the fame Queftion of any Perfon whom 
 you know to be perfuaded of the Juftice of 
 their Proceeding, who took up Arms againft 
 him and profecuted their imagined Rights, 'till 
 they had destroyed both him and the Laws, 
 you know what Anfwer you might expect. 
 For my own part indeed, I am perfuaded that 
 he was a good Man and meant well to the 
 Happinefs of his Subjects -, and that the Cha- 
 racters of thofe about him are entitled to a more 
 favourable Opinion than would be due to the 
 fame Conduct, if purfu'd by Counfellors at 
 this Time -, becaufe the Limits of the King's 
 Prerogative on the one Hand, and the Rights 
 of the People on the other, were by no means 
 fo clearly afcertain'd in the Time of King 
 Charles I. as they have been iince. 
 
 But at the fame Time I mufl tell you, that 
 I think it is my Happinefs to have been born 
 at a Time when the Plan of our Civil Confti- 
 tution is much more clearly marked out than 
 
 it was then ; if I was to fay altered for the 
 
 better i \ do not fee what Abfurdity is contain- 
 ed in fuch an Affertion. For though Govern- 
 ment be the Ordinance of God, yet the parti- 
 cular Eftablimments of it are the Creatures of 
 human Fancy and Invention ; alike under the 
 Difpolition of God's Providence which fuper- 
 intendeth all Things ; and, as fuch, may be 
 D fuppofed
 
 (26) 
 
 fuppofed to have their Im perfections, and to 
 be liable to change, for the better or for the 
 worfe. Curs, on the Subject's Part, is alter'd 
 unqueftionably for the better ; and, I think, 
 not lefs fo on the King's : He hath as much 
 Power as a good Man can defire, and more 
 than That a bad Man ought not to be trufted 
 with. There is fufficient Authority left in the 
 Crown to do all the -Good for which Govern- 
 ment was instituted : And the Subject, by find- 
 ing it to be as much for the general Intereit to 
 obey the known Laws of the Land, as it is 
 for the Sovereign's to exact Obedience, is un- 
 der lefs Temptation to rebel. That fuch was 
 the State of the Subject under Oliver Cromwell, 
 I never yet have heard pretended. 
 
 The Argument therefore which you are 
 taught to draw from the Behaviour of the 
 Royalifts under that Ufurpation, as it is one of 
 the mort inconclufive Sort atbeft, an Argument 
 ad bominem, fo is it deficient in very material 
 Points, viz. That the Conduct of K. Charles I. 
 was at all parallel with that of K. "James, II. 
 which no Tory will grant ; and that the Ex- 
 ercife of Power by Oliver Cromwell was con- 
 fident with the Liberties of Englishmen j which 
 as no Whig will be perfuaded to allow, fo I 
 am almoft lure that no Jacobite would content- 
 edly fubrnit to fuch an Exercife of it, even in 
 the fuppofed lineal Heir of the Crown, Add 
 ,to this, that no Oaths were taken, no Affu- 
 
 rances
 
 ranees given by the active Royalifls, to fup- 
 port the Government of Oliver Cromwell^ nor 
 was his Authority confirmed by Length of 
 Time, nor recognized by any Affembly that 
 could carry the leafl: Appearance of an Englz/h 
 Parliament. 
 
 Upon the whole, whatfoever was the Cafe 
 of your Grandfather, or Great- Grand father, 
 whatever Allowance may have been due to 
 the Scruples of thofe, who immediately after 
 the Revolution thought themfelves precluded 
 by their former Oaths, from entering into new 
 Engagements, the Law both of Reafon and 
 Scripture feems indifputably to tye You down to 
 a peaceful and dutiful Behaviour to the Perfon 
 and Government of his prefent Majefty ; You, 
 who have been all along from Your Infancy 
 protected by this Government, and are under 
 no perfonal Tye whatever to any other. But 
 after all, if you diflike the Terms of Member- 
 ship required in the Civil Society here efla- 
 blimed in Britain, You may find Yourfelf at 
 Liberty to withdraw into fome other Country, 
 and there attach Yourfelf to Him, whom You 
 are taught to revere as the rightful Proprietor 
 of your Perfon : But you can have no Reafon 
 to complain, if all Attempts to bring others 
 under the fame Yoke of Bondage be refented 
 by them as an Invalion of their dearelt and 
 moft valuable Rights. 
 
 D 2 This
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 This is what I have to fay to your Difaffec- 
 tion, as founded in Principles properly Jaco- 
 bitlcal. Thofe which you incqnfiftently bor- 
 row from the Republican Syftem, I may take 
 another Opportunity to confider. 
 
 In the mean time reflect, that the Queftion 
 I have been fpeaking to, is a very ferious one ten 
 the Nation in general 5 and it is fo to yourfelf 
 in all Refpecls. Upon your Promotion to any 
 Degree, you will be called upon to take the 
 Oath of Allegiance ; and if advanced to any Pre- 
 ferment, in or out of the Univerfity, any Office 
 Military, Civil, or Ecclefiaftical, you muft ne- 
 cefiarily take the Oath of Abjuration. You 
 therefore have nothing lefs at Stake than Peace 
 of Mind on one Hand, and the being depriv'd 
 of the Reward of honeft Induftry on the Other. 
 The Queftion therefore is an edg'd Tool, not 
 to be trifled with ; nor will the Law fuffer any 
 Man to play the Fool in this Cafe with Impu- 
 nity ; as indeed that Appellation contains the 
 mildeft Cenfure one can pals upon fuch Mif- 
 conducl, even in young Perfons. But if there be 
 Any more advanced in Years, who, in Oppolition 
 to their folemn Affurances to the contrary and 
 the Trufl * repofed in them by the Government 
 
 * All Her.d?. Fellows r.nd Foundationers of Colleges or 
 all Readers or Tutors in the Univerfity are required to take the 
 Oath of Abjuration, under Penalty of forfeiting their Places and 
 Fire .hundred Pounds, if exercifmg any Office. 
 
 n,
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 m Confequence of fuch Aflurances, will act 
 fo treacherous a Part by you, as to furnifh 
 your yet unexperienced Mind with Prejudices a- 
 gainft the Government eftablifh'd in your Coun- 
 try j Whether they perfuade you that their 
 
 Objections are unanfwerable, becaufe ftudious 
 Men are more careful to mind their own pri- 
 vate Bufinefs, than difpofed to encounter their 
 Noife with Noife ; Or whether the fame Poi- 
 fon be more artfully convey'd by crafty Infi- 
 nuations againft the Government, heiitated 
 but not explained, by Difficulties ftarted about 
 the firft Settlement of it and heightened by 
 Complaints of Male-Adminiftration at pre- 
 fent ; if there be any fuch, you will I dare fay 
 be ihock'd to find them urging their Objections 
 to you in Point of Confcience, when you have 
 fenoufly perufed the Oath of Abjuration^ on 
 Suppofition that they have taken it : You will 
 fee but little Reafon to refpect them as Men of 
 that flritt Honour, Ingenuity, and Credit they 
 
 may, 'tis likely, pretend to. As to a third 
 
 Sort, I mall fay nothing ; becaufe you your- 
 felf tell me, in a civil Way of expreffing your 
 Contempt, that they are an honeft good-natur'd 
 fort of Fellows. 
 
 It is to be hoped, that the late Treafonable 
 Disturbance will at leaf! have this good Effect, 
 that it will excite thofe Perfons, whofe only Am- 
 bition it hath been hitherto to mind the proper 
 Bufinefs of their private Stations and be quiet, 
 
 to
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 to anfwer the loud Demands, and earned Ex- 
 pectations of the World ; and wipe off, from 
 themfelves at leaft, that Scandal of DifafFeclion 
 to his Majefty's Perfon and Government, which 
 at prefent indifcriminately affects the whole 
 Umverfity ; that they will be explicit and de- 
 clare themfelves openly againft all that mall 
 appear acting in this Refpect in Oppofition to 
 common Decency, and the Dignity and real 
 Intereft of the Place. In which Cafe, I doubt 
 not, but that the Number of fober, thinking 
 Perfons in it, who are really difaffected, will 
 be found to be contemptible. 
 
 And You, if you have ftill any real Perplex- 
 ities upon your Mind, whether derived from 
 fome Hereditary Prejudices of your Family, 
 or from the Converfation of thofe in whofe 
 Company you have embarked, will, I hope, 
 (as I may reafonably expect from the Relation 
 in which I ftand towards you) produce them 
 with a Spirit of Sobriety and Meeknefs, and 
 with the fame Spirit I will endeavour to remove 
 them, being with Sincerity, 
 
 Tour faithful Friend. 
 
 The
 
 The Oath of Allegiance. 
 
 I A. B. do fmcerely promife and fwear, that 
 I will be faithful, and bear true Allegiance 
 to his Majefly King George : 
 
 So heip me God. 
 
 The Oath of Abjuration. 
 
 I A. B. do truly and fmcerely acknowledge ', 
 prcjefs, teftify, and declare in my Con- 
 fcience, before God and all the World, That our 
 Sovereign Lord King George is lawful and 
 rightful King of this Realm, and all his Ma- 
 jefty's 'Dominions thereunto belonging. And I 
 do folemnly and fmcerely declare ', 'That I do be- 
 lieve in my Conference, that the Perfon pretend- 
 ed to be the Prince of Wales, during the Life 
 of the late King James, and f.;ice his Deceafe^ 
 pretending to be, and taking upon himfelf the 
 Stile and Title of King of England, by the 
 Name of James the 'Third) or of Scotland, by 
 the Name of James the Eighth, or the Stile 
 and Title of King of Great-Britain, hath not 
 any Right or Title wbatfoever to the Crown of 
 this Realm, or any other, the Dominions thereto 
 belonging : And I do renounce, rejufe, and ab- 
 jure any Allegiance or Obedience to him. And 
 I do fwear, that I will bear Faith and true 
 
 Allegiance
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 Allegiance to his Majefty King George, and 
 him will defend \ to the utmoft of my Power, a- 
 gainft all 'Traiterous Con/piracies and Attempts 
 wbdtfoever, which fhall be made againft his Per- 
 Jon, Crown or Dignity. And I will do my 
 utmoft Endeavour to difclofe and make known 
 to bis Majefty, and his SucceJJ'ors, all Treafons 
 and Traiterous Confpiracies which I flmll kn(nv 
 to be againft him, or any of them. And I do 
 faithfully promife, to the utmoft of my Power, 
 to fupport, maintain, and defend the SucceJ/ion 
 of the Crown againft him the faid James, and 
 all other Perfons whatfoever j which SucceJJion, 
 by an Act, entituled, An Aft for the further 
 Limitation of the Crown, and better fecuring 
 the Rights and Liberties of the Subjedt, is and 
 ftands limited to the Princefs Sophia, ElecJorefe 
 and Dutchefs Dowager of Hanover, and the 
 Heirs of her Body, being Proteftants. And all 
 thefe Things I do plainly and Jincerely acknow- 
 ledge and fwear, according to thefe exprefs Words 
 by me fpoken, and according to the plain and 
 common Senfe and "Understanding of the fame 
 Words, without any Equivocation, mental Eva- 
 fan, or fecret Rejervation what/oever. And I 
 do make this Recognition, Acknowledgment, Ab- 
 juration, Renunciation, and Promise, heartily, 
 willingly, and truly, upon the true Faith of a 
 Chriftian, 
 
 So help me God.
 
 A 
 
 L E T T E R 
 
 T O A 
 
 Fellow of a College. 
 
 BE/NG'THE 
 
 S E Q^ U E L 
 
 O F A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 . 
 
 T O A 
 
 Young Gentleman of Oxford. 
 
 By EDWARD BENTHAM, B.D. 
 yiv of ORIEL COLLEGE. 
 
 
 o, T/ a^ // )y fvi' 
 ' 
 
 J'of, TsTppH<rj*<r//.iti. K. T. A. 
 Demofth. Philipp. i. ^. 17. 
 
 I O JV /) O tf; 
 
 Printed for S. B i R T and MARY SEKSX; and 
 J. F L F. T c H E R, in Oxford. 
 
 ~M DCC XLIX.
 
 Reader of this Pamphlet is defired 
 previoujly to perufe the following Ex- 
 traEi front Mr. Hooker ; and to 
 allow the Writer Jo much Benefit of 
 the slpology therein contained as 
 feem reafonable. 
 
 cc 
 
 E that goeth about to per- 
 fvvade a Multitude, that they 
 are not fo well governed as 
 they ought to be, fhall never want at- 
 tentive and favourable Hearers; be- 
 eaufe they know the manifold Defects 
 whereunto every Kind of Regiment is 
 jTubjedi: ; but the Secret Lets and Diffi- 
 culties, which in publick Proceedings 
 are innumerable and inevitable, they 
 have not ordinarily the Judgment to 
 coniider. And becaufe fuch as open- 
 ly reprove fuppofed Diforders of State^ 
 are taken for principal Friends to the 
 common Benefit of all, and for Mea 
 
 A a that
 
 ( iv ) 
 
 that carry fingular Freedom of Mind : 
 Under this fair and plaufible Colour, 
 whatfoever they utter, paffeth for good 
 and current. That which wanteth in 
 the Weight of their Speech, is fupplied 
 by the Aptnefs of Men's Minds to ac- 
 cept and believe it. Whereas on the 
 other Side, if we maintain Things that 
 are eftablifhed, we have not only to 
 ftrive with a Number of heavy Pre- 
 judices deeply rooted in the Hearts of 
 Men, who think that herein we ferve 
 the Time, and fpeak in Favour of the 
 prefent State, becaufe thereby we either 
 hold or feek Preferment ; but alfo to 
 bear fuch Exceptions, as Minds fo a- 
 verted beforehand ufually take again ft 
 that which they are loth fhould be 
 poured into them ". 
 
 Mr. Hooker' j Ecdef. Polity, B. I. . i. 
 
 A LET-
 
 A 
 
 * ' / 
 
 L E T T E R 
 
 T O A 
 
 Fellow of a College. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 YO U s mufl have heard how liberally 
 the Charge of general Dilaffection 
 to his Majefty's Perfon and Go- 
 vernment hath of late been thrown 
 upon the Univerfity of Oxford. Fellows of 
 Colleges, who, by the Influence of their Ex- 
 ample and Advice, are fuppofed able to check 
 the Folly, and direct the Judgments of younger 
 People, are more efpecially affected by the 
 Cenfure ; and confequently are under fpecial 
 Obligations to difculpate themfelves, and give 
 all the Satisfaction they can to their Superiors, 
 concerning the Body, whereof they are Mem- 
 bers. You will not then wonder, either 
 
 fit
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 at my thus publickly declaring my own 
 Sentiments upon this Occafion, or at my ad- 
 dreffing them to one of my own Order. 
 
 In a former Letter^ I confidered a young 
 Gentleman's Difaffection, as founded on a wrong 
 political Principle ; viz. that Subjects are thb 
 abfolute Property of their Sovereign 5 and fur- 
 ther, that a Right of Dominion here in E;?g- 
 land is indefeafibly inherent in Princes by lr- 
 
 neal Defcent, Pofitions, which carry 
 
 with them a high Infult upon the natural 
 Rights of Mankind, and confequently upon 
 Common Senfe. 
 
 The Enemies of the prefent Eftablimment 
 are wife enough to fee how unpopular, and 
 indeed how utterly indefenfible, the Caufe of 
 the Pretender mult be, if fuffered to reft en- 
 tirely upon that Foundation. Refer v ing there- 
 fore to themfelves the Liberty of ftiil abufing 
 the Credulity of well-meaning Perfons by tak- 
 ing Advantage of their Simplicity, their Inex- 
 perience and Unacquaintednefs with ourHiftory, 
 to perplex their natural Notions of Juftice and 
 Equity with the old Syftem of the Party, con- 
 fifting of a Set of Proportions, fome of 
 them not true, and others, fo far as they 
 are true, nothing at all to the Purpofe ; they 
 are now become as loud as any of their Neigh- 
 bours in putting in their Claim to that Liberty, 
 which was etfablifhed by the Revolution, and 
 
 argue
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 argue thus ; " If the Revolution brought about 
 " by King William III. was juftifiable, Why 
 tc may not the People feek their Redrefs of 
 " Grievances on any other Occalion, by the 
 <c fame or limilar Methods ? " The prefent 
 they take for granted will be allowed on all 
 Hands to be a Seafon of intolerable Grievances, 
 the Redrefs whereof hath been long called for 
 in vain j Witnefs the Murmurs of Difcontent 
 that are often heard in private Converfation, 
 and the more publick Expoftulations from the 
 Prefs : The People therefore are exhorted to 
 do Juftice to themfelves, and to affert their 
 Right to diflblve a Government, that is no 
 longer exercifed in a Manner agreeable to their 
 Pefires, nor placed in fuch Hands as they can 
 confide in. 
 
 But inafmuch as any Body of Men without 
 a Head mufb foon be diilblved and moulder to 
 Pieces, Who {hall invigorate this Caufe of 
 Liberty, and cement this glorious League in its 
 Defence ? He, certainly, whofe Family- 
 Relation to the Crown may filence the Pre- 
 tenfions of other Competitors : The remem- 
 brance of his long Diflrefles will teach Him 
 Caution to avoid the Errors which occafioned 
 them ; and will infpire Him with Gratitude 
 to effectuate the noble Purpofes for which He 
 is called to fo honourable a Pofl 3 Behold the 
 Man, 
 
 * Evzrfo
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 * 
 
 * Everfo mijum fuccurrere faclo ! . 
 
 This is Ihe plaufible Appearance under 
 which the modern Jacobite hath of lute chofeii 
 to reprefent his" Caufe : He addrefies himfelf 
 to the Ifces of the Indigent, to the Jealoufy 
 of the Ei.vious, to the Wr,;ilrm f s of female 
 Compaffion, to the Reieuui.^. jf the Difap^ 
 pointed, to the Ambition of the Soldier, and 
 
 to the generous Warmth of the Patriot, 
 
 Paffions thefe, all of them very active in their 
 Nature, eafy to be raifed, and eager in the 
 Purfuit of their refpe&ive Objects. 
 
 And fo long as Men continue to fpeak the 
 Language of their Paffions, their Inventions 
 tan fcarce ever be at a Lofs to revile any Go- 
 vernment. If the word Adminiftration will 
 find fome Advocates, the beft will not be with- 
 out its Oppofers : If they, who thrive and 
 Souriih in the Sunfhine of Power, will be apt 
 to prajfe that Warmth and Light, which 
 ipreads Chearfulnefs and Glory all around 
 them; Others, whofe Lot is caft in a colder 
 Clime, will not fail to regard the Government 
 under which they live, with Indifference or 
 Disaffection. The Goodnefs of the Times we 
 naturally eftimate from the Good, which is fallen 
 to our own Share : And we have feldom the 
 Ingenuity to place our W T ant of the Means of 
 
 * The Motto placed under a well-known Print of the Pre- 
 tender's eldeil Son. 
 
 Hap.
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 Happinefs to the Account of our own Mif- 
 conduct. Some Relief there is in the very 
 uttering of a Complaint; fome Comfort it is to 
 rail at the PofTeflbrs of what we want ourfelves; 
 fome Right we may feem to have to exprefs 
 our Refentment, when we think ourfelves 
 overlooked in that Difpenfation of Wealth aad 
 Honour, which comes from the Hand of one, 
 whofe Character is that of a Common Father 
 to his People. We each of us fee, that our 
 own particular Wants might be relieved ; and 
 what it feems poffible for Governors to confer, 
 we think we have a Right to receive. Some- 
 thing, in (hort, we feel wanting to our Hap- 
 pinefs j upon this we fix our Eye 5 and, by 
 long indulging our Envy or Spleen, we come 
 to think the Adminiftration, and perhaps alfo 
 the whole Conftitution of the Government to 
 be entirel^ wrong ; grow conceited on the 
 imagined Difcovery ; as if every Detraction 
 from the Wifdom and Integrity of our Supe- 
 riors was an Addition to our own : And, 
 though perhaps we have notorioufly (hewn 
 ourfelves unable to conduct our Family Af- 
 fairs, or perfonal Concerns, with tolerable 
 Prudence and Oeconomy, we are ready enough 
 to undertake the Bufinefs of reforming the 
 Publick, and retrieving the finking Intereft 
 and Honour of our Country. We feem un- 
 mindful upon how very flight and precarious 
 Authority we implicitly receive Intelligence to 
 the Difadvantage of our Governors ; how Ha- 
 
 B ble
 
 ble we are fo miftake in forming our Judg- 
 ments of their political Conduct ; and how 
 rafhly we deal out our Cenfures. Nor do we 
 enough confider, how unable the wifeffc Coun- 
 fels of publick Authority are to reach every 
 particular Cafe, or to relieve all Neceflities j 
 how often the moft beneficial Defigns are 
 fruftrated by the Counter- action of other States 
 and Kingdoms, and alfo, by what are called 
 Accidents in the Courfe of human Affairs ; 
 and, laftly, what Abatement ought further to 
 be made by candid and equitable Judges in 
 Confideration of the Infirmities to which all 
 Men are liable. 
 
 The political Conduct of our Governors 
 certainly opens to us a very large Field of En- 
 quiry : For it comprehends A41 that from 
 Time to Time hath exercifed the Attention 
 of the Parliament, the Cabinet, and the Ex- 
 change ; every Thing that hath been thought 
 worth debating with Regard to Church or 
 State; the Circumftances of our military Pre- 
 parations and Operations by Sea and Landj 
 and the perfonal Merits or Demerits of thofe 
 who have occupied the publick Employments, 
 or been Candidates for them. 
 
 For my own Part, I readily confefs my 
 Abilities not to be commenfurate to this En- 
 quiry 5 nor do I think it becomes one of my
 
 f II ) 
 
 Jlank and Order to indulge his Curiofity, or at 
 leafl his Tongue with Regard to feveral Parts of 
 it. For I have no particular Tide to think myfelf 
 placed as a Guard and Watchman over the 
 Virtue or Prudence of my Governors. At 
 the fame time I flatter myfelf, that I adt a rea- 
 fonable Part in wiping well to the prefent 
 Eftablifhment, and that I am able to juflify 
 myfelf in doing fo. I fhould not chufe to 
 fleep amidft the political Tranfadtions of my 
 Country ~. neither yet would I dream waking ; 
 nor put myfelf fo much in the Power of any 
 Man, or Set of Men, as to be roufed up on 
 every Alarm, which perhaps the fanciful, the 
 defigning, or the difcontented, are pleaifed to 
 give ; as if the Voice .of Hiy Country implored 
 my Affiftance on every Mifcarriage of a good 
 Scheme in Politicks, or upon the Rejection of 
 a plaufible one, or the Rumour of a hurtful 
 one. And, although I fhould be fometimes 
 miftaken in thinking better of my Governors 
 than they really deferve, and although fuck 
 Miftake mould contribute to produce fome In- 
 convenience ; yet a moderate Degree of Cre- 
 dulity, in Perfons of inferior Stations, feems ra- 
 ther commendable than .criminal, and, in all 
 >R.anks, greatly preferable to the opposite Ex*- 
 treme. 
 
 We that are common Subjects appoint our 
 
 .Reprefentatives to provide for the publick 
 
 Welfare and Security ; and by them we are to 
 
 B 2
 
 judge and act. Suppofing our Knowledge of 
 the State and Interefts of the Nation to be ever 
 fo confiderable, yet they, whole Underftand- 
 ings have been really improved by a liberal 
 Education, muft fee the great Impropriety of 
 confounding the different Parts which Perfons 
 in their political Capacities have to act ; They 
 will be cautious, how they arrogate to them- 
 felves the Exercife cf thofe Functions, which 
 the Peace and Order of Government in gene- 
 ral, as well as the Nature of our particular 
 Conftitution, requires to have reflrained to a 
 Few. 
 
 A Member of either Houfe of Parliament 
 indeed is but a Subject : But when acting in 
 his Parliamentary Capacity is fomething more j 
 and hath Privileges, which it ill becomes any 
 Man of a private Station to ufurp. As a Law- 
 giver, He may dictate without Arrogance > as 
 a Counfellor to the King, He does well toad- 
 vife and exhort with honed Freedom and 
 Boldnefs ; and as a Guardian intrufted with 
 the moft valuable Interefts of his Countrymen, 
 it is no Impertinence in Him to be vigilant 
 and inquifitive, and to a certain Degree even 
 jealous in every Thing that may affect their 
 Welfare. Moreover, iince the Language of a 
 good Man, acting under a Senfe of Obligation 
 to exert himfelf in fo noble a Caufe, will na- 
 turally partake of the Warmth of his Zeal, 
 He may well be entitled to great Freedom of 
 
 Speech j
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 Speech ; and not only ftand exempted from 
 the Cognizance of ordinary Tribunals, but 
 juftify himfelf in his own Mind for uling a 
 Liberty that he is called to. And fo long as 
 the Conftitution of the Government, and the 
 Good of the Whole continues to be a common 
 Centre, wherein the Affections of our Nobles 
 and Senators are united, no great Mifchief or- 
 dinarily can arife from their expreffing ever fo 
 ftrongly, in the proper Place, provided it be 
 honeftly and decently, their Difference of Sen- 
 timents concerning the Means requifite to ad- 
 vance the publick Welfare. 
 
 To the Wifdom and Integrity of this Coun- 
 cil therefore the Nature of our Conftitution 
 refers the Briti/h Subject for the/Redrefs of 
 publick Grievances. Some intemperate Patrons 
 of Liberty indeed point out another Tribunal, 
 of all others the moft wild in its Proceedings, 
 mofl capricious in its Determinations, and vio- 
 lent in its Punifhments ; namely, the Judg- 
 ment of the People in the Grofs - y where every 
 Man thinks it meritorious to exert his Zeal, as 
 a Counfellor, a Judge, or Executioner. In 
 which Circumftances, no fooner is a Conteft 
 begun, but the Scene is opened for the Difplay 
 of all that Folly and Perverfenefs, all that Craft 
 and Violence and Revenge, which are the Re- 
 proach of human Nature, and which it is one 
 Defign of Religion to reform in Principle, as 
 it is of civil Government to fubdue in 
 
 Practice,
 
 ( 14) 
 
 Pra&ice. The beft Caufe can here fcarce tie 
 conducted unexceptionably ; It will be pecu- 
 liarly liable to fuffer by the honed Simplicity 
 of its Managers ; nor will any Remedy be 
 fought for almoft any Grievance, real or ima- 
 gined, but by fuch Methods as Fury and Im- 
 patience, perhaps excited and directed by cool 
 Villany, may fuggeft. 
 
 But a Friend to the -prefent Government 
 need not reft in thefe general Con fi derations ; 
 but may fafely enter into the particular Ob- 
 jections, which are frequently urged by difaf- 
 fected Perfons. Their Plea is the Complaint 
 of Grievances. I anfwer, that, Every Perfon is 
 not qualified to judge of thefe; If judge fair- 
 ly, they will appear much lefs than they are 
 imagined ; There would have been greater, 
 if the Revolution had not happened ; There 
 will moft probably be far greater, if the Pre- 
 tender be placed on the Throne. 
 
 Whether our Condition hath been 'bet- 
 ter'd by the Revolution, or Whether the 
 Grievances, then complained of, ftill remain, 
 every Man may be fatisfied, by comparing 
 what he fees and feels with the feveral Ar- 
 ticles contained in the * Bill of Rights. 
 
 Let it then be examined, whether any In- 
 flance can be produced of the King's atternpt- 
 
 * i Will, and Mar. SdT. 2. c. z.
 
 ( '5 ) 
 
 ing to fubvert and extirpate the Proteftant Re- 
 ligion, and the Laws and Liberties of this 
 Kingdom, 
 
 By ajjuming and exercifing a Power of dif- 
 penjing with or fufpending of Laws, and the 
 Execution of Laws without Confent of Parlia~ 
 ment ; 
 
 By er effing illegal Courts ; 
 
 By levying Money by Pretence of Prerogative, 
 without Grant of Parliament, or in other man- 
 ner than the fame hath been granted ; 
 
 By Denying the Right of the Subject to pe- 
 tition the King ; 
 
 By raiftng or keeping a (landing Army within 
 the Kingdom in Time of Peace, without Confent 
 of Parliament -, 
 
 By di farming Subjects being Proteftants, of 
 Arms for their Defence, fuitable to their Con* 
 dition and allowed by Law j 
 
 By violating the Freedom of Election of Mem- 
 bers to ferve in Parliament -, 
 
 By impeaching, or queftioning in any Court or 
 Place out of 'Parliament ) the Freedom of Speech 
 and Debates or Proceedings in Parliament j 
 
 By requiring excej/ive Bail, or impojing ex- 
 cejfive Fines, or inflicting cruel and unufual Pu- 
 ?iijhments ; 
 
 . By admitting "Jurors, not duly impannelle<t 
 and returned, or unqualified', 
 
 By making Grants and Promifes of Fines and 
 Forfeitures of Perjons before Conviction ; 
 
 By
 
 By refusing to hold Parliaments frequently 
 Jor the Redrefs of Grievances, and for the a- 
 mending, jlrcngthening and preferring of the 
 Laws. 
 
 In this Manner the Authority of our Legif- 
 lature hath fet forth a Defcription of thofe 
 political Evils, from which our Anceftors were 
 delivered by the Revolution. Very ample 
 Provifion hath been made for our Security 
 againft the wretched and uncomfortable Prof- 
 pecl of them for the future. And fuch Deli- 
 verance furely affords fufficient Reafon for eve- 
 ry true Lover of his Country to rejoice in 
 that fortunate Event as a very fignal Interpo- 
 fition of Providence in its behalf. For though 
 the People neither petitioned for, nor claimed 
 any new Rights by that Bill, which, as its 
 Title imports, is merely Declaratory j yet it is 
 no fmall Advantage to have our Rights de- 
 clared and recognized by the Crown in fo au- 
 thentick and clear a manner, as to cut off all 
 Pretence of calling them in Queftion for the 
 future. At the fame time, I do not wonder 
 that common Minds are lefs affected with a due 
 Senfe of this Bleffing : For while their Ex- 
 perience does not furnim them with any In- 
 fiance of Infringement of thofe Rights, they 
 have no Conviction of the Happinefs of ftand- 
 ing free from fuch Evils 5 no more, than the Ge- 
 nerality of Mankind have Senfe of Gratitude to 
 Almighty God for the daily Continuance of 
 
 their
 
 ( I?) 
 
 their Health, and the other common Bleffings 
 of Life, until their PofTeffion of them is dif- 
 turbed or endangered. 
 
 We know indeed that the Support of the 
 Revolution hath engaged the Nation in large 
 Expences. But whatever Expences were requi- 
 lite for its Support, were truly necerTary; and the 
 Burthen of them is owing not to its Friends, 
 but its Enemies. Befides, whether the Na- 
 tion would have had Credit enough to contract 
 its Debts, or Commerce enough to enable it 
 to pay its Taxes without the Revolution, may 
 well be questioned : Whereof, methinks, I 
 need no other Proofs than that Strength, un- 
 known and unfufpected before, which our 
 Country hath exerted ever fince, and that Una* 
 nimity with which the Trading Part of it hath 
 conftantly declared itfelf in Favour of the Re- 
 volution, and the Proteftant Succeflion efta- 
 blifhed in Confequence thereof. 
 
 Nor is it by any means certain, that thofe 
 or the like Expences would never have been 
 incurred, if the Succeflion of the Crown had 
 continued without Interruption in the Preten- 
 der's Branch of the Stuart Family. For can 
 you think, that France hath all along been 
 influenced to take Part in this Quarrel, out of 
 any perfonal Attachment ? Is it not chiefly 
 from a Principle of Ambition and a jealous Ap- 
 prehenfion of our Power and Wealth ? The 
 
 C Series
 
 Series of our Hiftory abundantly verifies the 
 Obfervation made above two Centuries ago 
 by Sir * Thomas More, that the grand political 
 Maxim of France with Refpect to this, now 
 happily united, Kingdom, was to play the 
 Forces of one Part of it againft the other -, and, 
 in order to intimidate the Englijb from oppo- 
 fmg its ambitious Defigns or to diffract their 
 Forces, the Scots were kept in Pay to invade 
 England, and the Caufe of fome Pretender to 
 its Crown conftantly efpoufed. 
 
 It is then, we fee, in perfect Conformity to 
 her antient Policy that France, at. much Ha- 
 . zard and Coft, hath continually fomented our 
 national Divifions, and encreafed our Expences. 
 Tf me hath done this with any fmcere Defire of 
 feeing the prefent Pretender in quiet Poflef- 
 fion of the Britifo Throne, it is probably in 
 View of firft weakening its Strength by a long 
 continued Series of civil War : Or perhaps 
 from the Profped of that evil Influence, 
 which the Eftablimment of a Popifh Govern- 
 ment in this Kingdom mufr. naturally have 
 upon our commercial Interefts, and confe- 
 quently upon our Power. Thefe Things be- 
 ing confidered, is it probable that France would 
 
 * Habendos paratos, velut in Statione, Scotos ad omnem inteutos 
 offa/tonem, fe quid fe commo'veant Angli, protinus immittendos. Ad 
 btec fwendum exulem nobilem aliquem occulte, namque id aperte tie 
 fiat prohibent foedera, qui id regnumfibi deberi contendat, ut ea 
 i-tlut anscitontineat fufpeftumjlbi princijiim. (Ufop L. i. p. 84.) 
 
 have
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 have neglected to efpoufe the Interefl of fome 
 other Pretender, efpecia41y upon fo fair a Plea 
 as that of the prefent Pretender's Suppolititiouf- 
 nefs ? There was a Time when Doubts con- 
 cerning that Matter generally prevailed through- 
 out the Nation j that they never have been 
 cleared up, is certain. Where then is the great 
 Improbability, that They, who at prefent hold 
 the Sacrednefs and Indefeafiblenefs of the Suc- 
 ceffion to the Crown by hereditary Right, 
 might have been taught to urge this very 
 Objection againft the Pretender, which they 
 now adopt in his Favour ? As occafions of po- 
 pular Discontents can never be wanting in any 
 State, the Pretence of this Objection, when 
 fupported by fo powerful an Advocate as the 
 Sword and Policy of France, might certainly 
 have gone a great Way towards diftrerTing the 
 Occupier of the Throne by fuch an ambigu- 
 ous Title, and brought heavy Burthens on 
 this Country in order to fupport him. 
 
 But however this might be, what great Ad- 
 vantages are there which the DifafTeded pro- 
 mife themfelves from a total Change of Go- 
 vernment ? A Relief no doubt from our exor- 
 bitant Debts, from Bribery and Corrup- 
 tion, from a Dependence on foreign Inte- 
 
 refts, and other Grievances arifing from Mif- 
 
 management of our national Affairs fince the 
 Revolution. 
 
 C 2 if
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 If it be here meant to compafs the Annihi- 
 lation of the Publick Debts by the means of 
 fuch Frugality and good Management as will 
 enable us to pay them off, and which under 
 the prefent Government, fome think, is not to 
 be expected ; it may well be asked, How are 
 thefe Gentlemen fure, that under another Go- 
 vernment there will be fo much better Ma- 
 nagement ?, Do they know, Who will be em- 
 ployed, or How they will behave? Are the 
 Pretender's Followers likely to come lefs hun- 
 gry and rapacious ? or his Minifters to be ho- 
 nefter Men than the prefent ? Is it not a very 
 round-about, and uncertain, and dangerous 
 Way of endeavouring to lighten the Burthen 
 by attempting to change the Government ? 
 For the Attempt, fuppofing it unfuccefsful, 
 cannot fail to enlarge the Publick Debt ; as 
 we find hath been the Confequence of every 
 Rebellion, or Confpiracy, or Invafion fines 
 the Revolution. 
 
 But, if the Relief intended is to arife from 
 an arbitrary Aft of the Legiilature, cancelling 
 at once all our Debts ; it fhould be remember- 
 ed, that the Proceedings made ufe of in con- 
 tracting them have been altogether regular and 
 agreeable to Law. Nor is it at all material to 
 our Obligation of paying them, whether or no 
 fome of the Perfons from time to time em- 
 ployed in the Administration of our national 
 
 Affairs
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 Affairs have, as many affect to talk, wanted 
 common Senfe or common Honefty. The 
 Creditors of the Publick for Debts already 
 contracted have the fame Right to their Mo- 
 ney, that any private Man hath to his Demand 
 upon a mortgag'd Eftate, or that the Proprie- 
 tor hath to the Remainder. It is indeed a 
 melancholy Affair for a young Gentleman to 
 fucceed to a fine Eftate deeply encumbered : 
 His immediate Anceftors were perhaps pitiable 
 for their unmerited Misfortunes, or blameable 
 for their Extravagance, or ridiculoufly weak in 
 fuffering themfelves to be cheated : Poffibly 
 alfo his Guardians were weak or wicked in the 
 Conduct of his Affairs j or it may be, they 
 were neceffarily engaged in expenfive Law- 
 fuits to fecure his Inheritance. Chufe which 
 you will : yet his Creditors, at leaft many 
 of them, may have been free from all Guilt 
 on the Occafion. Now what Opinion would 
 you have of that Perfon's Honefty, who, 
 upon fuch Conliderations, would even wifh to 
 fpunge off a Mortgage, could the cunning of 
 any Lawyer contrive how to do it with Impu- 
 nity ? The Rule of Juftice is invariably the 
 fame in both Cafes ; nor is there any Difference, 
 but with refpect to our having no fuch deter- 
 minate Knowledge of the Perfon to be defraud- 
 ed in the former Cafe, as we have in the lat- 
 ter. .But whoever induftrioufly fets himfelfto 
 corrupt his Principles about Right and Wrong 
 with regard to one Object, will icarce reftrain 
 
 the
 
 the Contagion from extending itfelf to others, 
 that he perhaps at firft never dreamt of} 
 and from dwelling with Pleafure upon the 
 Thought of finding his Account in defrauding 
 Strangers, will gradually wear off all Scruple 
 about injuring his Neighbour and Friend. 
 
 Thefe Creditors are indeed fometimes fpoken 
 of as fucking the Blood of the Nation, and 
 intitled to no Mercy. But furely nothing but 
 the Vehemence of Party-fpirit can render any 
 one infenfible, how monftroufly unjufl this 
 way of thinking is, and what DiftrefTes it 
 would occafion. By far the moft of them are 
 our Fellow-Subjects ; and what they receive, 
 they refund. Great Multitudes of them are 
 not only innocent, but helplefs Creatures; poffi- 
 bly alfo fome of them may be near Relations 
 or Friends of thefe very Gentlemen ; and a 
 confiderable Part of the Provision made for the 
 poorer Clergy by Queen Anne's Bounty, in Con- 
 junction with other Benefactions, is lodg'd in 
 the publick Funds. How mall we reconcile 
 this pretended Love of their Country, with fuch 
 an utter Abfence of all Good-nature and Hu- 
 manity towards the Individuals which compofe 
 it ? 'Tis indeed entirely of a Piece with that 
 Character made up of moral Contradictions, 
 which we have feen fometimes exhibited by 
 Men exceedingly zealous in the Difplay of Pub- 
 lick Spirit and the Commendation of Publick 
 Virtue, without feeming to pay a ferious Re- 
 gard to any one fingle moral Excellency in 
 their private Behaviour. I muft
 
 I muft add, that confidering the Number of 
 Perfons, Foreigners as well as Britons, that 
 muft be injured by an arbitrary Annihilation of 
 the Publick Debts, one may juftly appre- 
 hend, that no fuch Scheme of flagrant Injuftice 
 can ever be carried into Execution without 
 caufing a civil War, and the calling in of a fo- 
 reign Force ; which might fubjecl: the landed 
 Property of many, if not All, Gentlemen irt- 
 difcriminately to a Redivifion by the ftrongeft 
 Sword. It is fcarce credible, that the quiet 
 PoflefTors of landed Eftates will ever be over- 
 taken with fuch a general Infatuation, as to 
 rifque the Event of fuch a Conteft : and I 
 doubt not but they will always have too 
 much Senfe of National Faith and Honour 
 ever to give Occafion to it. 
 
 But after all, fuppofing the Pretender plac'd 
 on the Throne, this Debt may not be anni- 
 hilated, but a Compromife be made OQ 
 Condition of its being continued. Monied 
 Bodies have great Power, and will do their 
 utmoft to court a new Government, when they 
 fee they muft fubmit to it. Nor mould it be 
 forgot, that no Man can tell, but this Refto- 
 ration may involve us in two Debts inftead 
 of one j no Man can tell, what Debts the 
 Pretender may have contracted for Maintenance 
 and Affiftance ; what Artifices he may ufe to 
 pay them, even though his Followers mould 
 
 be
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 be difpofed to cheat both Sides ; nor what In- 
 conveniencies his refufing to fulfil fuch En- 
 gagements may bring on this Nation. 
 
 As to the Imputation of Bribery and Cor- 
 ruption, I wifh it was a Charge that did not 
 affect all Parties. But the plain Truth is, 
 every Side hath been faulty to fuch a Degree, 
 that it is hard to fay, in many, if not in moft, 
 Cafes, Which begun ; perhaps, Which hath 
 gone fartheft ; and therefore Which hath a 
 Right to complain. Neither I believe can the 
 Difaffected help thinking, but that Perfons, 
 who have been loud againft Bribery, have after- 
 wards been very guilty of it ; indeed have been 
 very loud againft it in order to have it in their 
 Power to be guilty of it. And what greater 
 Security is there of Their Friends, than of 
 other Men ? 
 
 It is lamentable to obferve that fo little Se- 
 rioufnefs is preferved in Elections ; particularly 
 in abftaining from Bribery, againft which the 
 Law hath provided by a moft folemn Act of 
 Religion ; that, however inadvertent we might 
 have been eMe, we mould not from thence be 
 led of Courfe to confider them in a moral View ; 
 that we feldom hear People talk of them in 
 that View, without betraying at the fame time, 
 that their real Motive is the fpiteful Pleafure of 
 railing at thofe who have been fhrewder Mana- 
 gers than themfelves ; that in a Matter profef- 
 fedly fubmitted to the Judgments of the Electors 
 
 as
 
 as free intelligent Beings, we mould be apt 
 to exercife fo little Candor and Forbearance to- 
 wards thofe who differ from us; that where 
 the Good of the Community is the pretended 
 Object of all their Aims, the feveral Indivi- 
 duals, who chance to differ, fliould be fo very 
 willing, nay glad to believe each other to be bad 
 Men ; that there mould be fo much of mu- 
 tual Exafperation, fo much Contrivance to 
 fhatne, confound, and prejudice each other. 
 Thefe are dreadful Evils of a Party-fpirit; And 
 Corruption, which that Spirit will always pro- 
 duce, hath many others attending it ; which, I 
 heartily wifh all Perfons would ask themfelves, 
 whether they are impartially and in earneft defi- 
 rous of redreffmg. Such as are, will foon fee that 
 the mod accurate Provifion of human Laws 
 will prove but vain Formalities, till the Dic- 
 tates of natural Confcience, kept Heady and 
 upright by Religious Confiderations, mall 
 give them their due Efficacy. Neither can it 
 ordinarily be expected that the lower Rank of 
 Mankind mould think and act with SeriouC- 
 nefs and a due Regard to Reafon and Equity 
 in thefe Matters, until their Betters can be in- 
 duced to fet them a good Example. 
 
 If the Efteem of a Gentleman's Probity and 
 Abilities, with a competent Eftate, be the true 
 Parliamentary Qualification ; Let it fairly have 
 its due Weight ; Let not Money fpent in the 
 Neighbourhood be fubftituted in its place > 
 
 D Let
 
 Let no Advantage be taken of the dependent 
 and neceffitous State of any Perfon ; no Perfua- 
 fion or Terror be made ufe of, either by the 
 Candidate himielf or by his Friend in his Be- 
 half: For whether or no You will allow that 
 fuch an Election is carried by Bribery, the In- 
 fluence under which die Voters act is as certainly 
 a corrupt one, though not an illegal one, as 
 where the Vote is more profefledly purcha- 
 fed. Our Law doth what it can : For 
 it refents the Crime no lefs than our natural 
 Senle of Honour abhors the Imputation of it : 
 And much ftronger Laws have been made 
 for its Punimment by the Authority, which 
 thefe Gentlemen want to overturn, than ever 
 were before. It is very true, they have not 
 the Effed: that might be wifhed. But then, 
 befides what hath been already obferved, we 
 mould reflect, that it is the Glory of our Law 
 to admit of no defamatory Allegations or com- 
 mon Rumours unfupported by proper Proof. 
 We know that all Parties claim the Benefit of 
 its Caution in this Refpect : The Protection. 
 that arifes from thence is not denied to Thofe, 
 whom ftrong circumftantial Proof, confirmed 
 by the Voice of common Fame, declares to be 
 Enemies to that Eftablifhment from whence 
 the Law derives its Vigour and Efficacy : It 
 often ftands them in great Stead : And there* 
 fore it is extremely ram in Them to call for 
 taking off thefe Reftraints, and letting its Ven- 
 geance loofe on Others. 
 
 But
 
 ( 27) 
 
 But if any one thinks the Laws are {till 
 defective, iiirely the Remedy is propofing 
 better Laws, not overturning the Conftitution. 
 Or, if the Complaint be founded not on the 
 Infufficiency of the Laws, but of the Execu- 
 tion of them ; firft, let it be mewn, When, 
 and Where, and by Whom Juftice hath been 
 denied, when a legal Procefs hath been form- 
 ed and duly fupported : And then, let fuch 
 Remedy, as the Conftitution allows, be fought 
 againft the Offenders. But how will the com- 
 ing in of the Pretender make the Voters in 
 Elections lefs venal ? What have Difputes be- 
 tween private Subjects and their Practices of 
 Knavery one upon another, and the Misbeha- 
 viour, fuppofing fuch, of a Magiftrate now an4 
 then, or a Determination of a Court of Law, 
 or a Houfe of Parliament, that we are not 
 fatisfied with, to do with the Queftion, Whe- 
 ther our Allegiance be due to the King ? How 
 ridiculous a Piece of Cafuiftry is it to think 
 that one Man's Perjury in taking a Bribe at an 
 Election, or another Man's Opinion- that it is 
 not proved againft him, can juftify my own 
 Perjury in becoming an Abettor of Sedition 
 and Treafon againft a Prince, who hath con- 
 ftantly made the Laws of the Land the Rule 
 and Meafure of his own Behaviour. If this 
 juft Praife be denied to his Majefly, let it be 
 {hewn to which of his Predeceflbrs it ever 
 jpore juftly belonged. But if it be urged, 
 > 2
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 that the King's Minifters are guilty in this 
 Refpect; I anfwer, The King doth not pro- 
 ted: them againft Law; They alone are punim- 
 able ; and the Way to attain Credit in attack- 
 ing them, is to give unfufpeded Proofs of 
 Loyalty to the King ; and never to attack 
 them, but when they are plainly in the 
 Wrong. 
 
 But if we confider the Bulinefs of Elec- 
 tions, as a Contefl or Tryal of Skill and 
 Strength between Rivals for Power (which 
 without doubt is frequently the Cafe); What 
 wonder is it, if, when Perfons out of publick 
 Employments fcruple not to act with a de- 
 termined, nay a declared, Refolution of di- 
 ftreffing the PofTefTors of them at all Events, 
 thefe latter mould take the Liberty to fecure 
 themfelves by Methods equally unjuftirlable 
 with thofe whereby they find themfelves at- 
 tacked ? .. If any Thing can be faid, and 
 fpmething may, to excufe the Violences and 
 Artifices ufed in War, it is the Prefumption 
 that our Adverfary is employing the fame 
 Methods to deftroy or moleft us. 
 
 As to the foreign Dependence, which his 
 Majefty's Hanover Dominions are fuppofed to 
 have brought us under, I confefs that my 
 Notions are imperfect how far that Con- 
 nexion may or may not be burthenfome to 
 this Kingdom. The mod ufual, and the 
 
 natural
 
 f 29 ) 
 
 natural Thing to expect is, that the Interefts 
 of the lefs considerable Country will be made 
 fubiervient to thofe of the more confiderable, 
 when they interfere : Which thofe of Britain 
 and Hanover can only do accidentally. And, if 
 there mould be for a time fome Degree of that 
 particular Affection to a native Country, which 
 every worthy Man feels and approves in himfelf, 
 and therefore mould excufe in others, it mufl 
 of Courfe leflen and be loll in a while. 
 
 Thus much I think is certain, that the 
 PofTefTors of thofe Dominions, before their 
 Connexion with Britain, were of no fmall 
 Confideration in the Germanick Body j and 
 that they were as able to maintain their In- 
 dependency and the Splendor and Dignity of 
 their Court as any neighbouring Princes. Nor 
 on the one hand do I fee, how the Circumftance of 
 the Sovereign's holding his Court almoft altoge- 
 ther in Britain, can have impaired his Hanove- 
 rian Finances, or rendered him in his Electoral 
 Capacity at all more neceffitous. Nor on the 
 other hand, is it either notorious, or piwsd, 
 however confidently it may have been averred, 
 that the Ambition of Hanover hath been gratified 
 by any Acquilitions made at the Expence, or 
 tending to the Difadvantage of Britain, or that 
 any thing of this Nature hath been attempted. 
 
 But if we confider Hanover merely as an 
 Ally, it is certain that leffer Princes of the Em- 
 pire
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 pire have been courted for their Alliance by 
 Powers, that well know their own Intereft ; as 
 iurely France will be allowed to do : Why 
 then mtift fuch an Alliance be difadvantageous 
 to Britain ? The Affiftance of the Hanoverian 
 Forces hath in fome critical Emergencies proved 
 extremely ferviceable to an acknowledged Britifh 
 Caufe; if oppofing the Ambition of our moil 
 formidable Neighbour be fuch. And if its 
 Defence, as an Ally, may ibmetimes have 
 proved expenflve, is not this the Cafe of all 
 other States with whom we are in Alliance ? 
 Should we think it of no Confequence, if his 
 Majefty, as Elector of Hanover, mould, in 
 order to advance his Intereft in that Capa- 
 city, contract Alliances with thofe Powers, 
 who are no natural Allies to Britain, but 
 juftly fufpected of having contrary Interefts ? 
 And is it not of great Confequence, that the 
 two Parts of his Dominions fhould be in 
 Friendship with each other ? And are we not 
 concerned to cultivate and fupport that Friend- 
 ihip ? 
 
 Different Dominions fubfiiting under One 
 Sovereign, like the Children of a common Pa- 
 rent, and even thofe which are connected by 
 mere Alliance, will always have their mutual 
 
 
 
 Jealoufies. Thus, not to fay that poffibly 
 many of the King's Hanoverian Subjects may 
 entertain as hard Sufpicions of Our Interefts 
 being unduly preferred, as fome here do of 
 
 Theirs,
 
 Theirs ; Ask many a warm Englijhmajt, what 
 he thinks of our Connexion with Scotland, 
 and he will tell you, that, 'twere well for 
 England \f Scotland were funk in the Ocean ; and 
 the North-Briton will be as ready to repay the 
 Compliment : Ireland by another will be fen- 
 tenced to the fame Fate, as a Nurfery of Pa- 
 pifts and Soldiers for our Enemies ; And fome 
 of her Sons will exclaim againft England as 
 an exhaufting OpprefTor : Another will be for 
 finking the Dutch. And perhaps a plain, fim- 
 ple minded Gentleman, having feen in fome 
 little Book of Geography an Account of the 
 Wealth and Power of Britain , the Produce of 
 its feveral Counties, and the perfonal Valour 
 of its Inhabitants, can not apprehend the 
 Neceflity we are under of having any Alli- 
 ances at all ; or what real Benefit we receive 
 from our Trade or our Colonies j and confe- 
 quently, why we mould be at the continual 
 
 Expence of fupporting either. Thus it 
 
 is alfo in Men's private Affairs, when they are 
 great Lovers of their dear Perfons ; and indulge 
 the pleafing Thought of Self-Importance : 
 The Trouble which the Connexion of their 
 Friendships puts them to, they are mightily 
 apt to grudge -, without having the Generofity 
 or Prudence to reflect on the Advantages they 
 already have received, or may occaflonally re- 
 ceive in Return. 
 
 1 QM I 
 
 But
 
 f 32 ) 
 
 But be this Connexion what it will, do 
 we think that the Pretender will ftand free 
 from all Dependencies upon foreign Courts, 
 from fuch Dependencies as will be infinitely 
 more prejudicial and dangerous to this King- 
 dom ? Can even common Gratitude releafe 
 Him and his Family from their continual Ob- 
 ligations to the See of Rome ? Can it be con- 
 ceived that France and Spain have ftipulated 
 no Returns of Gratitude for their AfMance, 
 no Sacrifice to be made of Things valuable to 
 Us, and therefore of great Advantage to Them? 
 And what of this Sort hath been fo much as 
 hinted determinately with Regard to his Ma- 
 jefty's German Dominions by the moil mali- 
 cious Afperfer of his Government ? 
 
 Perhaps I (hall be accufed of writing with 
 a manifeft Bias to the Caufe I efpoufe. And 
 thus much I freely confefs, that my Wifhes 
 are to find the Government eftablimed in my 
 Country to be properly adminifter'd ; from th 
 fame Principle that every candid Man hopes to 
 find his accufed Neighbour innocent. It is cer- 
 tainly wrong in any Subject to indulge him- 
 felf in evil Jealoufies againft his Governors; 
 or to be inftrumental in propagating fcandalous 
 Rumours and Infinuations againft them : I 
 do not think that Difcontentednefs is a Virtue ; 
 but that it is my Duty gladly to acquiefce in 
 fair Anfwers, as I truft the foregoing are, to 
 the Objections which are raifed againft the 
 
 Juftice
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 Juftice of their Adminiftration ; and patiently 
 to beau for a time even confiderable Inconve- 
 niencies, if they happen, rather than run the 
 Hazard of! making my own Condition, and 
 that of the whole Community, laftingly miie- 
 rable in Points of vaftly greater Moment. 
 
 > Istml { hn n 
 
 It is therefore without any great Emotion 
 that I hear loofe and general and undifbin- 
 guifhing Affections, that popular Schemes, di- 
 rectly calculated to remove the Grounds of 
 national Difcontent, have been defeated in va- 
 rious Inftances lince the Revolution ; and this, 
 by the fuppofed Influence of Perfons well-affect- 
 ed to the Proteftant Eftablimment, perhaps im- 
 mediately concerned in the Adminiftration. For 
 ought we not to reflect to what extravagant 
 Lengths our Countrymen have been fometimes 
 led to carry their Sufpicions, which, after all, 
 have proved entirely groundlefs ? And ought 
 not this to teach us fome Diffidence, both of 
 our own Imaginations, arid of our Informers 
 and Guides in political Matters ? May it not be 
 allowed, .that Projects may carry a plaufibie 
 Appearance, which Men of Experience never- 
 thelefs know to be impracticable ? May they 
 not, however beneficial in fome Refpe<5l$, 
 prove equally injurious in others ? May they 
 not, however good in themfdves, be urged 
 unfeafonably, and with a direct Aim, not fo 
 much to ferve the Publick, as to diih-efs fome 
 particular Perfons employed in its Service ? 
 There is furely the fame kind of Prudence ne- 
 E ceflary
 
 ( 34) 
 
 ceflkry in the conducting of national Affairs as 
 in Domeilick. He that will fuffer himfelf 
 to be allured out of a regular Plan of Conduct 
 and Oeconomy by the flattering Appearanee 
 of every riling Profpect of Advantage, will 
 foon experience the Punifhment of his own 
 Defultorinefs and Inconftancy. And how can 
 we expect it mould be otherwife in refpect 
 of Kingdoms ; whofe Connexions with other 
 States are numerous, and whofe internal Ad- 
 minifrration confifts of fo many Parts, and 
 thofe fo very complicated ? One need not 
 wonder then at the Backwardnefs of wife Men 
 to clofe with every fpecious Project for Innova- 
 tions and Changes. 
 
 But whatever Imperfections or Abufes we 
 now perceive in the Exercife of Government, 
 Do we really imagine, that no unneceffary Bur- 
 thens might have been brought upon the Peo- 
 ple, and thofe for very bad Purpofes, if the 
 Revolution had not been ? and that all po- 
 litical Evils muft necefTarily ceafe upon the 
 Introduction of another Royal Family ? What 
 mighty Charm is likely to operate on this 
 Occafion, tRat will fo certainly difpel at once 
 the Wickednefs and Follies of Men, and cor- 
 rect the common Accidents to which human 
 Affairs are liable by the very Condition of Na- 
 ture ? As well might we hope (and 
 .perhaps fome Poet will promife fo much,) 
 that the Golden Age will once more be re- 
 
 floredj
 
 (35 ) 
 
 ftored ; that the Seafons will all bloom ia 
 one perpetual Spring ; and that the very Ine- 
 qualities of our Climate will fettle into the 
 celebrated Mildnefs and Fruitfulnefs of the 
 
 Fortunate Iflands. Or, without a Figure, 
 
 Do you think that no Knaves, profligate or 
 hypocritical, would then be able to find an 
 Entrance into Pofts of Honour and Profit, 
 or that no weak Men would be introduced by 
 their Friends? Was this the Cafe in King 
 Charles II's, in King James II's, or even in 
 Queen Anne's Reign ? And why muft the 
 Nature of Men and Things be all at once 
 inverted and changed at this fuppofed happy 
 Period of the fecond Reftoration ? Why muft 
 it be taken for granted that this Pretender to 
 the Crown will learn more Prudence and 
 Caution from his DiftrelTes than King Charles 
 II.? Inftead of Gratitude to the Publick, may 
 we not rather expect from him Refentment, and 
 Refolution to deftroy that Spirit of Liberty, 
 whereby He hath fuffered fo long ? And what 
 Reafon hath any Man to hope, that He 
 will confent to and continue even fuch Re- 
 ftraints, as are at prefent on the Power of 
 the Crown ? His Family hath conftantly 
 laid in a Claim to abfolute regal Power. 
 This Claim hath never been renounced by 
 Him or his profefTed Advocates. And His 
 military Force, if ever He hath enough to 
 bring Him in, will be of fuch a Nature, as 
 mufl eafily and almoft necelTarily make him 
 arbitrary? E 2 Upon
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 Upon the Whole, All that can be pleaded in 
 Favour of a Reftoration of the Pretender is 
 this ; that there is a bare Poffibility, that Things 
 may be altered by it for the better. "'But, if 
 the Certainty be unqueflionable, that all the 
 Bleffings we now enjoy muft be expofed to 
 imminent Danger; and if the Probability be 
 flrong in the higheft Degree, that the Evils 
 we complain of will be doubled in their 
 Weight, what wife Man, even was he left at 
 Liberty in point of Confcience, would be for 
 trying the Experiment ?/- 
 
 As to thofe who labour for a Change of 
 Government with the fordid View of intro- 
 ducing themfelves into Ports of Honour and 
 Profit, it would, I fear, be in vain to ad- 
 drefs Them with moral Confiderations, drawn 
 from the Wickednefs of facrificing the Tran- 
 quillity and Happinefs of their Country to any 
 Scheme for perfonal Advancement. But there 
 are fome very important prudential Confidera- 
 tions, which it certainly concerns Them to 
 reflect on : What a Number of Perfons have 
 followed the Fortunes of the Pretender, and 
 herd about him as his immediate Atten- 
 dants 5 How many others are retained in 
 foreign Service to take Advantage of fome 
 Seafon of National Diftrefs, and ftrike a de- 
 cifive Blow in his Favour ; How many, 
 laftly, from time to time have acted as Emifla- 
 
 ries
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 ries to keep alive and invigorate the Spirit of 
 Difaffection in each of the three Kingdoms ; 
 Let them, I fay, confider thefe Perfons, all 
 united into one Body, and laying in their fe- 
 veral Claims, to, what They will call, a jufl 
 Reward of their long and faithful Services ; 
 ^.nd they will foon be convinced, how much 
 it concerns every prefent PofTeflbr of Land or 
 other Property to bethink hirnfelf, at whofe 
 Expence the Gratification muft be made. 
 
 That they, who have nothing to lofe, but 
 a Life already made uncomfortable by their 
 Folly or Difcontent, fhould be eafy about the 
 Introduction of a new Prince upon fuch 
 Terms, is not furprizing. But a Zeal for 
 it, or even Indifference about it, in fuch 
 as have valuable Interefls to rifque, is 
 perfect Infatuation j inafmuch as for every 
 Acceffion of Honour and Wealth, which any 
 fuch Perfon may chance to receive, his Friends 
 and Relations will be likely, fome, if not all 
 of them, to fuffer extremely. 
 
 But it may well be queflioned, Whether 
 one Adventurer among a hundred can receive 
 any perfonal Advantage from the Succefs of 
 treafooable Schemes againft the prefent Govern- 
 ment. This, I fay, is doubtful; not only 
 becaufe the Claimants among themfelves are fo 
 many, but becaufe, as Experience hath fhewn, 
 particularly at the Reftoration, it will be found 
 
 expedient
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 expedient to continue feveral of the other Side 
 in their refpeclive Pofts ; partly for their 
 Knowledge of Bufinefs, and partly to ftrengthen 
 the new Government. And Jacobites can not 
 doubt, but fuch profligate Creatures, as they 
 imagine their Adverfaries to be, will do their 
 utmoft to prefs in, when they fee it their In- 
 tereft. And what will the Reflexions of the 
 Old Zealots for the Pretender be, when they 
 fee Such advanced above them ? 
 
 Leaving therefore thefe unworthy Wretches, 
 let us briefly confider the Defign of fome, 
 who afTume the Character of the moft exalt- 
 ed Patriotifm. The Pretender, it feems, is 
 to Them no more than a fit Inftrument 
 to throw the prefent Government into Con- 
 fulion : This being done ; the Conftitution is 
 to be remodelled ; Monarchy extirpated ; and 
 the glorious Scheme of Univerfal Liberty com- 
 pleatly executed. 
 
 But ought not thefe Gentlemen, who pro- 
 fefs fo much Tendernefs for the Natural 
 Rights, fo much Concern for the publick 
 Happinefs, ought they not to reflect a lit- 
 tle upon thofe difmal Scenes of National 
 Diftrefs, which muft firfr, be adted, before ever 
 their hopeful Project can take Effect ? Re- 
 collect within Yourfelf what patted when the 
 late Rebels were on their March Southward ; 
 And ask any Man of Experience, or confult 
 
 your
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 your own Thoughts, what muft have been 
 the Confequences if that Calamity had made 
 further Advances upon us. Confider the Per- 
 plexities of Mind, under which the more 
 thinking Part of the Nation began to labour ^ 
 (I mean thofe Perfons, who were eafy in their 
 Fortunes and happy in their Families) What 
 a Stagnation was coming on in almofl every 
 Branch of Commerce ; The Merchant juftly 
 diffident of the Succefs of his Market, and with- 
 out Security for the Conveyance of his Goods ; 
 The Factor unauthorized to employ the 
 Manufacturers j and Thefe latter confequent- 
 ly without the Means of fubfifting themfelves 
 or their Families by honeft Induftry - 3 The 
 Farmer more immediately expofed to Acts of 
 Violence and Rapine ; while the Evil in every 
 Shape threatened to revert upon the Gentle- 
 man, and deprive him of his Eafe and Afflu- 
 ence ! And to conceive more fully what this 
 national Diftrefs might have rifen to, Read 
 the Accounts of Wars, or rather take them 
 from the Reports of thofe, who have been 
 Eye-witnefTes of the Operations of a Cam- 
 paign, even where both Sides have been efteem 
 ed decently regardful of the Law of Nations : 
 What Man, who hath been accuflomed to 
 the Bleffings of a civilized Life, can reflect 
 without Horror upon the Violences therein 
 ufually practifed? Confider in the next place 
 how vaftly every Evil muft be aggravated by 
 thofe ufual Attendants of Civil War, Partv- 
 
 bitternefs >
 
 f 40 ) 
 
 bitternefs, perfonal Hatred, and Revenge,- act- 
 ing, in Concert with Avarice and Ambition ; 
 And then reflect to what a Degree of Brutality 
 muft He be arrived, who can harden himfelf 
 againft thofe Sentiments of Tendernefs and 
 Concern, which are the very Foundation of 
 Social Happinefs, or can give Occafion to their 
 being exercifed by Others in fo dreadful a Man- 
 ner, without having the leaft Ground to hope, 
 that any good End will be ferved by it. For 
 indeed the Scheme itfelf will appear, when it 
 comes to be explained, no lefs abfurd, than the 
 Means, whereby thefe Perfons propofe to effect 
 it, are mocking. And of this, to do them 
 juftice, they appear fomewhat fenfible. For 
 the Whole, that they favour us with upon the 
 Subject, coniifts almofl entirely in high Pane- 
 gyricks on Liberty, and vehement Invectives 
 againft the Enemies of it j without condefcend- 
 ing to fet forth at all diftinctly, what their 
 Plan of Liberty is. They will not dare to fay, 
 that they will have no Government. The 
 Nature, the Circumflances, the Experience of 
 Mankind, flnce Man hath been, proclaim it 
 to be neceflary. Nor will they pretend, that 
 Government can fubfift without Subordina- 
 tion. And if not, there muft be Authority on 
 the one hand, and due Submiflion on the other. 
 Would they then have the Exercife of this 
 Authority controuled in every Step, by every 
 Set of Men throughout the Community, who 
 fhall pleafe to diflike it ? But what doth this 
 come fhort of univerfal Confufion and Anar- 
 chy?
 
 ( 41 ) 
 
 chy ? Or, would they appropriate the Pri* 
 vilege to Thernfclves and their Friends ? Let 
 them produce their Patent, and we will think 
 it both our Duty and our Intereft to put our- 
 felves under their Care. But in the mean 
 time, if we reflect a little on the ufual 
 Behaviour of the moft pompous of thefe 
 Talkers and Writers, in private Life, what 
 Profpedt have we of Their becoming fuch 
 generous Difpenfers of Happinefs ? Do thefe 
 Gentlemen ufually care, at prefent, to fufTer 
 their Favourite, Liberty, to defcend much 
 lower than Themfelves ? Are They found 
 to be more humane, generous and bene- 
 volent than Others ; lefs fenfible of Affronts 
 from their Fellow-Citizens ; lefs apt to be 
 provoked by Saucinefs and Contumely ; lefs 
 fretful and revengeful, when teized by Witti- 
 cifms or molefted by fhrewd Objections, or in 
 any wife obftructed in the Execution of what 
 they intend ? The Favourers of the levelling 
 Plan mould alfo be defired to try the Expe- 
 riment in their own Parifhes, or in their 
 Families 3 and thence judge of its natural Ef- 
 fect upon the Affairs of a great and mighty 
 
 Nation. They mould be reminded from 
 
 Hiftory, that few Governments, which are 
 called Republicks, have been at all regular or 
 equal ones, or allowed of near fa much Liber- 
 ty as Ours ; that in Proportion as they ad- 
 vanced towards the Popular Form, they were 
 tumultuous and liable to be fway'd by Dema- 
 F gogues
 
 C 42 ) 
 
 gogues -of little Experience or real Abilities 5 
 ~ that they have been remarkably divided in 
 their Couniels, unileady in their Adminiftra- 
 tions, and unfit to form lading Alliances j 
 that the flattering Profpects of Happinefs, fup- 
 pofed likely to arife from that Con-ftitution of 
 civil Polity, have been conftantly ruined by 
 Faction and Intrigue ; and, after unfpeakable 
 Mifchiefs and Confuiion, ended in the Erection of 
 unfupportable Tyrannies, the very Evil, which 
 the Popular Form feems intended to prevent. 
 Laftly, They mould confult the Authority 
 of fuch Statefmen of former Times, as are 
 allowed to have had the fulleft Knowledge and 
 Experience of the Genius of Our People ; and 
 fee, Whether the Republican Plan hath not 
 always been confidered by Them as chimerical 
 and impracticable in This Country ; and 
 Whether, in Fact, all Attempts to introduce 
 it have not proved abortive. And indeed, 
 the Rcafon is obvious ; Length of Time hath 
 familiarized our Nation to Monarchy, and all 
 our Laws and Ufages are fuited to it. 
 
 Upon the whole, Whatever Form of Go- 
 vernment might appear to be the Object of 
 Preference to a reaibnable Man, fuppofing it 
 left to his Option, 'tis happy for Mankind that 
 their Choice, about which they wo&ld be fo 
 likely to differ and make one another naife^ 
 rable, is generally precluded by the Circum- 
 ftances Q* their Birth. And particularly, every 
 
 fcrious
 
 f 43 ) 
 
 &dous Man among Us hath abundant Reafon. 
 to be thankful to Providence for being born' 
 under a Political Conftitution of all others the 
 moft convenient for the Eafe and Security of. 
 thofe, who are diipofed to act an honeft and 
 reaf enable, or even but a tolerable Part in 
 Life. We have the Advantage of living un- 
 der a Regal Government ; which by a 
 peculiar Felicity is moft apt to promote. U- 
 nion of Counfels and Steadinefs of Admini- 
 ftration; while at the fame Time our Laws 
 have guarded the Sovereign from many Temp- 
 tations to opprefs the Subject, and precluded 
 Him, as far as human Inftitutions can pre- 
 clude, from the Power of doing it, if hs 
 would. The Bitternefs and Mifchiefs of Parr- 
 ties are lefs fenfibly felt, in Confequence of 
 that Reverence which each Individual acknow- 
 ledges to be due to the Sovereign ; and 
 which, in Proportion as it becomes habitual, 
 reconciles Men to bear with. Patience thofe 
 Evils and Inconveniences, which no Forefight 
 of Man can provide againft, nor Power alto- 
 gether avert. I will venture to add, that 
 our prefent State, both as to the Rank which 
 we hold in Refpect of other Nations, our fu- 
 perior Advantages in Point of Commerce, .the 
 Privileges and Immunities which we enjoy, as 
 free Subjects ; and above all, the Purity of 
 our eftablifhed Religion, leave us no room to 
 envy the Condition of Citizens in any other 
 Country whatfoever. 
 
 F 2 It
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 It wotild be unpardonable in me to clofe 
 rny Reflexions upon the Unreafonablenefs of 
 Difaffectton to his Majefty's Government, and 
 the Proteftant Caufe, without infixing upon the 
 Danger threatened to the Proteftant Religion by 
 introducing the Pretender. Important as this 
 Consideration is, there appears a ftrange Inatten- 
 tion to its Importance in great Numbers, that 
 furely ought to be other wife affected. 
 
 Some Ferfons, it feems, having been much 
 habituated to Declamations, both in Print and 
 Gonverfation, upon the Rights and Liberties 
 of Men and EngBjbmeB, are fully fatisfied, 
 that every Body, almoft, hath the fame Zeal 
 for them in religious Matters, which they 
 imagine- themfelves to have : And Thefe ef- 
 teem Popery to be no more than an empty 
 Bug-bear ; They allure themfelves, that nei- 
 ther Force nor Policy can ever again fhackle 
 the Nation with its Chains ; They bid De- 
 fiance to it ; and even think the Eftablim- 
 ment of our Ecclefiaftical Conftitution to be 
 a Barrier againft it quite unneceilary, and fcarce 
 worth the preferving. 
 
 But let me ask thefe Gentlemen, fuch of 
 them at leafl as are concern'd in the prefent 
 Debate, and exprefs perpetual Fears of our 
 Civil Liberties being given up under the Go- 
 vernment of a Prince, whofe Throne is built 
 on Liberty, as its very Foundation ; Can 
 
 they
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 they be. in earned, when they thus profefs to 
 think our Religious Liberties would be fo fecure 
 under a Prince bound in Conference to overturn 
 them ? Perhaps they will plead, as fome of 
 them do, that their favourite young Prince is 
 a Perfon of no Confcience, or Senfe of Re- 
 ligion at all. But let them remember, that 
 this may be a mere Pretence, put on by him to 
 deceive the Incautious. Or, if it be a Reality, 
 can they trufl a Man of fuch profligate Princi- 
 ples ? Can they be fure, that he hath not pro- 
 mifed Others the contrary of what he may 
 have promifed Them ? Or, that to advance 
 his Authority, or gratify his Popifli Allies, he 
 may not attempt Here, what our increasing 
 Neglect of all Religion will give him fair Op- 
 portunities of accomplifhing ? For oppofite Ex- 
 tremes are always favourable to each other. 
 Or, let Him be ever fo indifferent about pro- 
 moting the Religion he profefles, can we ex- 
 peel that all his Defcendants will be fo ? 
 The Pains taken to introduce Popery is but 
 too fuccefsful in many Parts of the Kingdom at 
 prefent: And if it ever comes to be affifted, 
 were it only, by the Countenance and Favour 
 of the Prince > God grant, that they who de- 
 fpife and rail at the Church of England^ may 
 not experimentally feel the Lofs of its In- 
 fluence ! And God forbid, that the Nation 
 mould ever be deftitute of Scholars regularly 
 bred to the Defence of our Religion j or that 
 Perfons intruded with it in their feveral' Dif- 
 
 tridts
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 tridts fliould be obliged to cope, uninflru&ed 
 in the Ufe of their Arms, with the difciplined 
 Forces of the Romifh Church ! 'Tis more than 
 probable, they would be found, like raw and un- 
 experienced Soldiers, vociferous and boaftim;; 
 while the Evil is at a Diftanee, but arrant 
 Daftards upon a near Encounter, unable to 
 maintain it, or unwilling to rifque the Danger 
 of it. For they, who think no Preparation of 
 Learning, or Skill in Argument, needful to 
 repulfe the Attacks of Popim Miflionaries, 
 little know what plaufible, though falfe, Ap- 
 pearances of both they bring into the Field. 
 
 Others again with their Mother's Milk have 
 fucked in high Ideas of the Benefit of Autho- 
 rity, and the Duty of Submiffion to it ; They 
 have an utter Dread .and Abhorrence of Can - 
 fufion and Diforder. And hence are they led 
 to "reverence Popery on the very Account of; 
 what others juftly call, its exorbitant Claims 
 over the Confciences and Liberties- of -Mar-- 
 kind. They ctfnfider it in no 'other Light, 
 than as' extending the PowerVof the Hierarchy 
 to that Degree, which' they think neceiTary tr. 
 controul the Vices, reform the Error?, and 
 fubdoe the Herefies of the Age. 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 The Patrons' of Liberty therefore fiiould- br 
 very cautious of carrying their Schemes to 
 Extremities, which will be likely to - pro- 
 duce fuch dangerous Perfuafions -m''feri6us 
 
 Mifiids,
 
 (<47 ) 
 
 Minds. But then .thele latter, fliould ndt 
 fail to reflect, What Abfurdities and Impie- 
 ties-Popery fupports, and by what wicked and 
 cruel Means, What Relaxations it tolerates, 
 and even encourages, at the fame time, in Du- 
 ties of the higheft Moment ; How juft 
 Men's Title is to religious as well as civil 
 Freedom ; and how valuable the PofTeffion of 
 Both ; What abundant Caufe therefore there 
 is to be patient under the Inconveniences that 
 a rile from the Abufes of Liberty, and fo to 
 ftrive againft Them as not to endanger It. 
 
 Need I add, that the Eftablifhment of the 
 Pretender threatens peculiar Danger to die 
 Univerfities ? For arbitrary Power is dangerous 
 to the Privileges of all Bodies of Men : And 
 the Introduction of Popery will require, in or- 
 der to facilitate it, harm Treatment of all the 
 Non-complying There : Nor can we doubt, 
 but that Papifls will be obtruded upon it to 
 mare its Advantages. Such Treatment both 
 the Univerfities had In King James IPs Reign; 
 and fuch they muft always expect when a 
 
 Change of Religion is intended. 
 *i YJIIJ Tijiriw t vj, 
 
 T i_ j j qnoirr j)'-IucHlpo- 
 
 I have indeed all -along conudered the In- 
 troduction of the Pretender chiefly in a po- 
 litical View. .But it is certain, .that Lewis XIV. 
 was influenced by Religious, as well as other, 
 Considerations to labour for his Reftoration to 
 
 the Britijh Throne > in order to reflore the 
 
 <t f 
 Nation
 
 Nation likewife to the Religion of Rome. Nor 
 can we fuppofe that Cardinal Flcury, in counte- 
 nancing the late Attempt, when it was fir/I 
 projected, was regardlefs of the fame Motive. 
 And indeed, for what other Caufe think we 
 have fucceflive Popes and Popilh Princes har- 
 boured and maintained this abdicated Family, 
 but to be an I nfr.ru ment, at fome favourable 
 Juncture, of re-eftablilhing their Religion here? 
 And, if the Judgment of our Enemies upon 
 this Point vifibly coincides with the Reafonings 
 we muft naturally form about it Ourfelves, 
 we cannot too ferioufly confider the Matter in 
 this View. But I forbear to profecute thefe 
 Reflexions further ; both as they are obvious to 
 every unprejudiced and confiderate Mind, and 
 as We have been lately addreffed by a lea- 
 fonable * Difcourfe upon this Subject. 
 
 If then Difaffection to the eftablifhed Go- 
 vernment be indefenfible, it is inexcufable 
 in Fellows of Colleges to acquiefce under the 
 Imputation of it. In fo doing they become 
 guilty of Injuftice to Themfelves, to the Youth 
 under their Care, to the Univerfity, and to the 
 Publick. 
 
 The Imputation indeed is groundlefs with 
 Regard to the far greater Part of our Body, 
 and the far better in all Refpects. But then, what 
 
 * Mr. Dalian's Sermon before the Unlverfity of Oxford, 
 Kovcmler $, 1747. 
 
 Follv
 
 (49 ) 
 
 Foily is it, in thofe who abhor the Crime, to 
 take the Scandal of it to Themfelves ? For 
 not to difprove a Charge that is ferioufly urg- 
 ed againft us, is virtually to acknowledge it. 
 Pleaie ourfelves we may with the Notion of 
 its being more magnanimous to flight and 
 defpife unmerited Cenfure, than be at the 
 Pains to refute it and of our having our Re- 
 venge, by thinking and fpeaking as ill of our 
 Slanderers, as they do of Us. But there is 
 certainly more Stupidity and Sullennefs than 
 Chriftian Humility and Charity, or even com- 
 mon Prudence, in fuch a Thought. And he 
 that can think himfelf at Liberty to indulge it 
 for a Moment, knows neither the Value of a 
 good Character, nor how much his being ufe- 
 ful in the World depends upon his maintain- 
 ing it. 
 
 The EfFecT: of this Acquiefcerice upon 
 Minds of unexperienced young Perfons, fent 
 hither purpofely for the Improvement of their 
 Underftanding, is obvious. It would be unnatu* 
 ral for Them to think, that Men, whofe Profef- 
 fion is the Study of found Learning and the 
 Inflruclion of others in it, can entertain Opi- 
 nions deftitute of fome rational Principle to 
 fupport them : They cannot help regarding 
 their Example with Reverence: They will im- 
 plicitly adopt the Conclufions, which, not 
 being fufficiently difowned by Them, they 
 will apprehend to be Theirs 3 upon Pre- 
 fumpticn that They mall hereafter find a juft 
 
 G Co:i-
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 Connexion between them and the R^afons orf 
 which they are 'founded, Conclufions 
 in the prefent Cafe, more likely to be em- 
 braced by young Perfons, as they flatter them 
 in their petulant Difpofition of cenfuring their 
 Superiors, and imagining that they are not fo 
 well governed as they ought to be. Mijeri 
 difcunt btec, antequam fchmt vitia ej/e, They are 
 initiated into Faction, before they arrive at the 
 Ufe of their Reafon, or know that there is any 
 Fault in being factious. 
 
 And as to the Interefts of the Univerfity 
 in general, let it once prevail throughout the 
 Nation as a general Pcrfuafion, (and it doth 
 prevail already, in a Degree that many of Us- 
 are not aware of, and All of Us have great 
 Reafon to be ferry for,) that the Principles 
 therein inculcated, whether by Precept or 
 Example, directly tend to fabvert the efta- 
 blifhed Government of our Country, and 
 What Parent, that hath a true Concern for 
 the publick Welfare, or for the Succefs of his 
 Child, will care to hazard the firft Formation 
 of his Mind among fuch Companions, or 
 under fuch Governors ? Will the Fears be at 
 all unnatural, that He may poflibly be led into 
 immediate Danger of his Life and Fortunes 
 by Rebellion ; that His Attention, and 
 Study will be diverted from procuring fuch 
 Qualifications as may be ufeful to himfelf 
 and his Country j that His Temper will 
 be four'd againft his Superiors j that H<5 
 
 will
 
 ( 5' .) 
 
 will be influenced to a Way of thinking and 
 behaving, contrary to the publick Good 
 and that He will bring himfelf into a Situa- 
 tion, where he muft act to a great Difad- 
 vantage, if not entirely ftand precluded from pro- 
 curing his Subfiftence, or at leaft his Ad- 
 vancement, by the fair Arts of honeft Induftry 
 in his Profeffion ? And as far as this Opinion 
 ,of the Difloyalty of our Univerfity is the In- 
 ducement to any of our Nobility and Gentry 
 to fend their Youth Abroad immediately from 
 School, it is a great Difgrace to us, as well as 
 Inconvenience to them, and Damage to the 
 Nation ; and renders us in fome Meafure an- 
 -fwerable for their imbibing Notions difadvan- 
 tageous, not only to the Univerfity, but the 
 .Church of England in general. 
 
 The Seditious Infolence of fome of our 
 Members on repeated Occaiions hath been no- 
 torious, to fuch a degree, that every Inftance 
 of fuch Milbehaviour in other Places, by Perfons 
 formerly educated here, is now imputed to Us 
 for Difloyalty j it is fuppofed to be, and in'- 
 deed hath been impudently gloried in by them, 
 as conformable to the current Doctrines of this 
 Place : The Nation hath taken the Alarm : And 
 therefore the Seafon loudly calls upon us to ex- 
 amine, what hath been the real Ground of general 
 Obloquy againft us, in order to remove it for 
 the future. 
 
 G 2 With
 
 (52,) 
 
 With this View then let me fuppofe fome 
 old experienced Jacobite, practis'd in all the 
 Wiles of the Party j clamoroufly zealous in 
 the Caufe of Liberty, while he is endeavour- 
 ing to betray it ; challenging the Benefit of 
 the Law, while he is abufing the Lenity 
 of it j and bidding Defiance to that Authority 
 which is intruded with the Execution of it, 
 with fo much Cunning as to efcape the Con- 
 viction of legal Jurors, yet clearly to difplay 
 his Treafonable Intentions to the Obfervation 
 of every private By-ftander ; Suppofe him 
 to be at the Trouble and Expence of importing 
 Pictures of the Pretender and his Sons j and 
 from the Opinion, which he hath been pleas'd 
 to entertain of our Univerfity, contriving to 
 have them diftributed privately to our younger 
 Members ; Suppofe the Stupidity or Impu 
 dence of Tradefmen to have been fo far abus'd, 
 that they expofe them to Publick Sale. To 
 adorn a Chamber with any of thefe Pictures 
 is certainly no Treafon; The Law will not 
 animadvert upon him that does fo. But can 
 any Man doubt, under our prefent Circum- 
 ftances, in what View it will be confider'd by 
 every indifferent Vifitant or Stranger, that may 
 chance to fee it ? Or, will the Stranger be at 
 all uncharitable in furmifing, that the Inhabi- 
 tant of fuch a Chamber is by no means ill- 
 affected to the Pretender's Pcrfon or Caufe? 
 
 Or
 
 f 53 ) 
 
 Or, will it be wonderful, if, obferving feveral 
 Inftances of this kind, he extends his Inference 
 to the general Difadvantase of the Place ? 
 
 O w 
 
 Again, Let us fuppofe Another, wifely 
 fidering that good Ghear, efpecially good Li- 
 quor, is the very Life and Support otjaco&ififm 
 in this Kingdom, mould think it proper that 
 his Son fhould teftify his Loyalty to his 
 exiled Prince by all the Methods which the Law 
 will not punifh, and that He fhould endeavour 
 to raife in Other young Perfons the fame Re- 
 verence and Pity towards Him in his Diftrefs ; 
 Suppofe him to fend a handfome Token to be 
 fpent upon the Birth-day of fome of this pre- 
 tended Royal Family. -- Meetings on fuch 
 a Day, tho' not accidental but purpofely ap- 
 pointed, and even Anniverfary, are certainly 
 no legal Crime. And how far Drinking 
 Healths openly treafonable is actionable, 
 I am not certain: But Common-Senfe will 
 fcarce leave us at Liberty to doubt of the 
 treafonable Difpofition of the Man, who doth 
 fuch Things. And however unable a Jury 
 may be to find a Bill againft him for thefe or 
 any other like Inftances of Difloyalty, the 
 fame Perfons will not fail to condemn him in 
 their private Confcience. The like may be 
 faid of drinking Healths, involved in fome 
 ftupid Quibble, and purpofely contrived to 
 fignify a Treafon without expoling the Drinkr
 
 (54) 
 
 er to Punifhment : His very Deflgn is to give 
 thofe, who are prefent, a Proof of his Dif- 
 loyalty, and perhaps of his Rudenefs, yet ftill 
 maintain the Privilege to pretend a Senfe of 
 Injury done by him that takes Offence ; at the 
 time that he would defpife Him for not under- 
 ftanding his Intention. 
 
 Now though a mild Governor, or even a 
 wife one,, will not be affiduous to pry into, 
 or always forward to animadvert upon the ridi- 
 culous Practices or idle Prate of thofe, who 
 delight to be * Saying to every one, J am a 
 Fool-y yet, if the Sot muft have his treafonable 
 Health and Song, in order to have his Bumper, 
 jt may furely be infifted, that, He mail not 
 dare to proclaim his Difaffection, and involve 
 the Innocent in the Difgrace, and the Incon- 
 fiderate in the Guilt of it ; that He mall not 
 infult other Perfons for prefuming to honour 
 the King, and Thofe that are put in Autho- 
 rity under Him ; indeed, that He mall find 
 3. proper Place, if he can, for his difloyal 
 Frolicks : For the Univerfity is of all Places 
 the moft improper for Fools to make the 
 Scene of fuch Licentioufnefs j or for wife Men 
 to connive at their doing fo. 
 
 Follies like Thefe are of the Boyifh kind ; 
 how old foever Some may be before they 
 
 * Ecclef. X. 3. 
 
 grow
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 grow Men. But the Misfortune is, they have 
 been too long treated with that Indulgence and 
 Mildnefs, which are ufually, and with good 
 Reafon, {hewn to puerile Faults : The Matter 
 is become ferious ; for the Confequences are 
 fo. Strangers indeed to our Univerfity, on 
 feeing or hearing of any Inftance of Misbe- 
 haviour in this kind, are apt to carry their In^- 
 ferences too far. They have perhaps higher 
 Notions of the Authority of Academical Dif- 
 cipline, than the Licentioufnefs of the Age 
 will well permit to be exercifed ; and of the 
 Vigilance, which ought to be fhewn by our 
 Univerfity-Magiftrates, than the Nature of the 
 Cafes fubmitted to their Infpection often ad- 
 mits of. And would they judge with Impar- 
 tiality and Candor, they muft allow, that fuch 
 Difcipline and Vigilance cannot always be ex- 
 ercifed to effectual good Purpofe by a much 
 higher Authority, I mean, the Paternal. For 
 want of confidering this, they wonder, - - 
 how fuch Irregularities fhould ever be com- 
 mitted without Notice ; how they ever pafs 
 without exemplary Cenfurej and cannot 
 conceive, how it fliould come into the Heads 
 of young People to practife them, if they did 
 not hope to recommend themfelves thereby to 
 their Superiors in the Place. 
 
 Whoever is converfant in the World muft 
 know, that thefe Inferences are frequently and 
 flrcngly made to our Difadvantage by many, 
 
 that
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 that otherwife by no means wifli us ill. 
 as it ought to excite the utmoft Zeal of every 
 Perfon in a publick Station among Us to pre- 
 vent or punim fuch Offences, fo, it will fuf- 
 ficiently juftify any Man in expreffing fome 
 Warmth upon this Occafion, both by his 
 Words and Actions ; in order to mew that, 
 agreeably to Our publick Profeffions, We do 
 regard the training up of Perfons to be good 
 Subjects as a principal Object in the Bufmefs 
 of Education. 
 
 Nor let any Man employed in this Bufinefs 
 at the publick Expence (as all Fellows of our 
 Colleges are in one Shape or other,) think 
 to defend his fpreading or countenancing 
 DifafFection, tho' ever fo covertly, by the 
 Plea of private Perfuafion, that the Eftablifh- 
 ment, to which he is fworn, and for which 
 he publickly prays every Day, is not legal. 
 . If fuch Proceeding in any of our Or- 
 der, and more efpecially in a Tutor, can be 
 juftified ; by the fame Principles I will engage 
 to juftify thofe vile Inftances of Jefuitical 
 Perfidy, which have been the Reproach of 
 Popifli Politicks. Or if he could have a Right to 
 act thus, the King hath furely a Right alfo to ufe 
 the means, which Providence hath given him 
 for the Prefervation of his own Authority, 
 while Others are malicioufly contriving to 
 fubvert it : For both He, and the Body of his 
 Subjects, may no lefs be fuppofed well fatis- 
 
 fied
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 fied in Confcience, that He hath a good Ti- 
 tle to Sovereignty, than the Jacobite is perfuaded 
 of the contrary. He owes it therefore to Him- 
 felf and his People to provide effectually for 
 the publick Tranquillity. And he hath a 
 better Right to ad: with Vigour in his own 
 Caufe and Theirs ; Inafmuch as every difaffect- 
 edPerfon, who hath taken the Oaths to the Go- 
 vernment, and much more he who accepts a 
 Trufl Under it, thereby, not only renounces his 
 Claim to act offenlively againft it, but contracts 
 an Obligation to be active in its Defence. 
 So that what would have been a fair Tryal of 
 Power in him, had he been an open and inde- 
 pendent Enemy, and in fome Degree excufa- 
 ble in a Subject that never owned his Subjec- 
 tion, becomes now an unpardonable Piece of 
 Treachery. 
 
 Unwilling I am to fuppofe, that any Man, 
 of our Order at leaft, can be fo grofsly igno- 
 rant of the firft Principles of Social Union, aban- 
 doned and loft to all Senfe of Religion and. com- 
 mon Honefty, as to inculcate, or think, that 
 thofe Oaths are forcibly impofed, and therefore 
 no longer obligatory, an Aflertion, as falfe in, 
 Fact, as the Confequence drawn from it is 
 fubverfive of all good Faith and mutual Secu- 
 rity between Man and Man ! For where is the 
 Force ? What is there worthy of that Name, 
 that any Man fuffers by not taking thefe Oaths? 
 What indeed is he debarred from ? It is from 
 H being
 
 being intruded with Authority to teach and 
 inftruft others, whofe Principles there is the 
 ftrongeft Reafon to prefume he would endea- 
 vour to pervert j from having Share in a 
 
 Government, which he muft be inclined to be- 
 tray ; from being admitted to the Admini- 
 ftration of Juftice, the Foundation of which, 
 as laid in the Laws of the Land, he is for fapping. 
 But every Branch of Trade is ftill open to him; 
 the Practice of Phyfick, of Surgery, and even 
 of beneficial Parts of the Law ; Not to fay, 
 that the conducting of young Gentlemen in a 
 private Education is often intruded withPerfons 
 known to be difaffecled to the eftablimed 
 Government. Still it muft be owned, that 
 Non-jurors are under fome inconvenient Re- 
 ilraints. But if Convenience be the Rule of 
 moral Obligation, let us no longer blame the 
 Aflaffin, the Robber, the Forger ; but applaud 
 their Courage, in refolving neither to ftarve, 
 nor follow Employments difagreeable to them; 
 and their Dexterity, in contriving how to exe- 
 cute their Refolutions with Impunity. 
 
 But I hope, and am perfuaded, that the 
 Opinion cf the Difloyalty of our Univerfity 
 hath few Inftances of fuch fober Villany to 
 fupport it. It may in a great Meafure be ac- 
 counted for by the filly Behaviour of the Boyifli 
 Perfons before mentioned, and the ill-judged, 
 but not ill-meant Backwardnefs of fome 
 graver Members at mewing their Zeal for
 
 ( 59) 
 
 the Government, in fuch Degree, and in 
 fuch Ways as Others might expect. 
 
 Towards which of the contending Parties 
 in our National Difputes the general Bias of 
 this Place hath been fuppofed to lie, I need 
 not mention. But furely the honeft Men, 
 the much greater Part, rank'd as they were 
 under different Denominations, whether by ac- 
 cidental Connexions of private Friendships, or 
 by the bufy Impertinence of Meddlers in other 
 Men's Matters, might have been eafily agreed : 
 But they were diligently taught, and too 
 eagerly learnt the evil Leffon of mifinterpreting 
 and diftrufting each other's Principles and 
 Defigns. 
 
 
 Betides, a fludious and retired Life fometimes 
 gives Men a certain Loftinefs of Spirit which 
 makes them appear proud, when they are not re- 
 ally fo : But while they fcorn to be bafe, they are 
 apt to have too much Dread of the Imputation. 
 Hence every Buffoon, that can (hew his Drol- 
 lery in defcribing, and his Impudence in ap- 
 plying at random the Character of an abject 
 Man, hath it in his Power to drive aPerfon, fo in~ 
 judicioufly arfraid even of undeferved Reproach, 
 into the other Extreme of Difrefpectfulnefs to his 
 Superiors. Rather than be banter'd as acting 
 with mercenary Views, He will neglect to do 
 juftice to Himfelf, and to thofe, for whofe 
 Interefts He is concern'd j Nay He will fome- 
 times feem to join in a popular Cry, which he 
 H 2 really
 
 60 ) 
 
 really difapproves, in order to prevent its being 
 
 turned upon Himfelf. And He may reap 
 
 this Advantage from diflembling his Loyalty, 
 that no Man can fay He hath made a Pro- 
 feffion of it in Profped of a Reward; But how 
 far his Honefty and Dutifulnefs, or at leaft his 
 Courage, may be called in Queftion, He doth not 
 fufficiently confider. > Nay, perhaps after 
 all he flatters himfelf, and is flattered by his 
 Friends, with being much more dilinterefted, 
 than he really is : Inafmuch as the Character of 
 being Dilinterefted is juft as confiftent with ex- 
 erting one's Zeal for the Government in View of 
 a Court-Favour, as it is with being noify in the 
 Oppofition in order to pave the Way to fome 
 Preferment that happens to be in the Patro- 
 nage of difcontented Perfons Out of the Uni- 
 verfity, or a governing Party In it. 
 
 Others, of a more manly Turn of Mind, 
 being confcious of their own Integrity, with- 
 out doubt upon fome Occafions have thought 
 themfelves injurioufly treated by Imputations 
 of Jacobitifm, indifcriminately thrown out 
 upon them by violent Men. It may be, that 
 They were not forward and loud in the Praifes 
 of their Superiors : But perhaps it was, only be- 
 caufe they did not approve fome Meafures of Go- 
 vernment ; or thought that, by entering far into 
 fuch Matters, they fhould go out of their Aca- 
 demical Character. Or, They might be really 
 fo far perfuaded of the defperate State of the Jaco- 
 bite
 
 ( 61 
 
 bite Caufe, as at fome times to decline expreis- 
 ing the Zeal they truly had for the Govern- 
 ment, rather than appear unnecefTarily often- 
 tatious. And much lefs could they join in afper- 
 iing the Characters of other Men, merely be- 
 eaufe they did not like their political Principles ; 
 fo long as they faw no fufficient Grounds to ar- 
 raign them of undutiful Practices or Intentions. 
 And this charitable Tendernefs may have been, 
 reprefented as Difaffection by Thofe, whofe loyal 
 Zeal prompts them to be over-hafty in accufing 
 their Neighbours of wanting it. Allowing for 
 fuch as have on thefe Accounts, or others, been, 
 worfe thought of than they deferved, I am per- 
 fuaded that the Number of thofe among Us, on 
 whom the Imputation of being Enemies to 
 our happy Eftablimment will reft, is much 
 fmailer than Some have imagined : Who, 
 whatever they intend, furely do great Difler- 
 vice to the Government, as well as Injuftice 
 to the Univerfity, in reprefenting them to be 
 more than they are ; and take the Way to in- 
 creafe what they inveigh againft. For No- 
 thing more difcou rages Endeavours to defer ve 
 well, than an Unwillingnefs to believe and 
 accept them, and a Readinefs to give every 
 Thing the worft Turn. But then the more 
 We apprehend there is of this bad Spirit in the 
 World, the more careful We mould be to be- 
 have fo as to prevent its gaining Credit, and cut off' 
 Occafion from them that defire Occafion. 
 
 An
 
 One Opportunity lately offered itfelf for Our 
 difavowing that Imputation in the moft folemn 
 Manner. The Seafon required it. In Our 
 AddrefTes We did difavow it. And as They* 
 who joined in them, ought to think them- 
 felves bound by a frem Tye both of Con* 
 fcience and Honour j fo Others ought not to 
 fufpect their Sincerity without evident Reafon, 
 
 Other Places indeed gave other Proofs of 
 their Zeal. But perfonal Service, or a formal 
 Preparation for it againft Enemies in a diftant 
 Part of the Nation, might have been thought 
 unfuitable to Our Inftitution of Life. Nor 
 could it have been of great Moment for Per- 
 fons, moft of them poffeffed only of fuch an 
 Income, as, when managed by all the prudent 
 Arts of Care and Frugality, is barely fufficient 
 to furnifh a decent Subfiftence, to fet on Foot 
 Subfcriptions of Money, and offer to the Pub- 
 lick what they had not to give. Or, how- 
 ever laudable for Example Sake fuch a Step 
 might have been, though otherwife infigni-- 
 ficant, yet Men of Experience and Candor 
 muft be fenfible, that a Variety of Accidents 
 and Circumftances might innocently occalion 
 the Omiffion of what many would have been 
 glad of, and have heartily joined in - y nay in- 
 deed, might render the Omiffion prudent. But 
 though Perfons of good Intention might differ 
 in their Opinions about thefe extraordinary 
 Meafures, yet All muft allow, that Vigilance 
 
 to
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 to counteract the Attempts of difaffedted Per- 
 fbns upon the unwary, Diligence and Affiduity 
 to keep young Men true to the Interefts of 
 their Country, to obviate popular Prejudices 
 againft the Government, and, as far as Oppor- 
 tunity mould offer, to incite others to be active 
 in its Service in their feveral Ways, might with 
 the utmoft Reafon be expected. Nor were there 
 wanting reputed Tories, who very properly ex- 
 erted themfelves on that important Occafion, 
 in This as well as other Parts of the King- 
 dom. They, who could be fupinely indolent, 
 or affect an Indifference and Neutrality upon 
 fo preffing an Emergence, cannot with reafon 
 complain, if their Loyalty to the prefent Govern- 
 ment be called in Queftion. Some indeed have 
 not fcrupled to unmask themfelves thoroughly 
 fince ; and a little prepofteroufly methinks. For 
 there was Then a critical Juncture,when treafon- 
 able Declarations, whether by Words or Actions, 
 might have done good Service to their Caufe. 
 But I am really at a Lofs which moft to ad- 
 mire, the Cowardice, which muft have been 
 at the Bottom of their former Silence, or the 
 Folly, which hath of late occalioned their 
 moft ridiculous Noifinefs and Petulance. Infa~ 
 tuated Men ! who, becaufe their Infolence 
 hath been fuffered to run riot in various 
 Shapes with Impunity, can think This to be 
 a Seafon for extending their Quarters ; or that 
 they mail be able to dupe any confiderable 
 Number, even of thofe who have paffed for 
 
 Tories,
 
 Tories, into their pernicious Schemes ! For 
 furely a more abfurd Solecifm in Politicks was 
 never heard of, than for Men to value thtm- 
 felves as Tories, when the principal Topicks 
 of their Converfation are taken out of the very 
 Dregs of Republicanifm ; to retain their 
 Profeffions of Dutifulnefs to the Perfons of 
 Kings and Reverence towards their Prerogative, 
 and yet to pride themfelves in giving an ill 
 Turn to whatever is done by their Authority ; 
 to reproach Men as infamous for being dif- 
 tinguifhed by Marks of his Majefly's Favour, or 
 called by Him to the publick Service of their 
 Country; and to treat with Scurrility the 
 Characters of Perfons of higheft Rank, for 
 obeying that, Call, unlefs they can be perfuad- 
 ed, or menaced to diftrefs with one hand that 
 very Adminiftration of Government, which 
 they are conducting a Share of with the 
 other. 
 
 Whatever Inducements other Perfons may 
 have to aft fo unjuftifiable a Part, the Interests 
 of the Univerfity are intimately connected with 
 thofe of the Crown ; and the Shadow of 
 Difloyalty in fuch a Body is moft unnatural. 
 The Academical Inftitution is founded on the 
 Suppofition that Pofts of Honour and Employ- 
 ments are Objects of a very laudable Ambition. 
 'Tis our Profeffion to fit the Youth committed 
 to our Charge for feveral of the Offices which 
 concur to fupport the publick Welfare 3 ~ to 
 
 incite
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 incite them to become Candidates for them, by 
 giving publick Proofs of their Abilities in fuch 
 Particulars as fall within their proper Sphere and 
 Condition of Life -, at the fame time to teach 
 them the LelTon of Wifdom, in obferving a 
 due Medium between Impatience under the 
 Want of them, and that falfe Modefty which 
 declines them when offered upon honourable 
 Terms ; to inftil the Principles of Vir- 
 tue ; that fo they may deteft the Thought of 
 obtaining them, whether by Subferviency in 
 Things manifestly wrong and bafe Condefcen- 
 fions of Flattery on the one hand, or by Tur- 
 bulence and Faction on the other ; and 
 to infpirc them with this part of true Courage^ 
 amongft other Virtues, not to be difmay- 
 ed by the ufual AiTaults of Calumny, 
 and driven from Stations, which they are 
 qualified to maintain, with Reputation to 
 themfelves and Service to the Publick. 
 
 And here I would beg of the. Difaffecled to 
 review their Notions of this Matter a little 
 more diftinctly. They are loud in their Out^ 
 cries againft fuch as accept of Advantages un- 
 der the prefent Government j as if That alone 
 were abundant Evidence of a corrupt Heart. 
 But are They really of a Spirit, felf-denying to 
 fuch a Degree of Delicacy as this implies ? What 
 greater Proofs of it do They give in private Life 
 than other Men ? If the Government They wi(h 
 for were eftablifhed, would They refufe all Places 
 and Preferments, as fit only for mercenary 
 
 I Wretches ?
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 Wretches ? or, Would They not think theAdmi- 
 niftration of it very faulty, if They were over- 
 look'd ? Let Them reflect then, what Sort of 
 Behaviour it is to rail at Others, for merely 
 accepting thofe Emoluments, which They 
 feem but too much inclined to throw their Na- 
 tive Land into Confufion, in order to gain for 
 Themfelves. 
 
 But to return, if it muft be deem'd expedient in 
 Point of found Policy to ufe every Minifter 
 of State like a Knave, in order to prevent 
 his becoming one ; if it feem a proper Way of 
 Improving his Dexterity in the Management of 
 Bufinefs to create Difficulties and multiply 
 Obstructions without Necemty j if, laftly, the 
 Character of a Patriot can not be fully anfwer- 
 cd without being fo exceliively jealous, fo 
 nicely critical, as to fufpect and diflike every 
 Thing that can be propofed by Perfons in Power 
 for the Service of the Publick -, yet furely the 
 Task muft be difagreeable to every ferious and 
 good-natur'd Man : And We of This Place efpe- 
 cially may well be content to leave it to Thofe 
 whom it v/ill lefs misbecome. For Nothing can 
 be more ridiculous than forUs,as a learned Body,, 
 concerned in the Education of Youth, to be 
 throwing Ourfelves conftantly into the Scale of 
 Oppofition. So long as we continue to act agree- 
 ably to our proper Character, we mail preierve 
 full as much Importance and Significancy in the 
 
 World,
 
 f 67 ) 
 
 World, and meet with as much Regard as any 
 good Man can think necefiary. But whenever we 
 leave our proper Sphere, our Weight is infigniri- 
 cant and lighter than Vanity; We become the 
 Object of Laughter, and yet of redoubled Re- 
 fentment to our Enemies, and of Concern to 
 our real Friends; And what We call Steadi- 
 nefs and Zeal upon that Plan may in the End 
 be likely to overturn, not the Government, 
 but Ourfelves. If We expect that They to 
 whofe immediate Patronage we commit the 
 Management of our Academical Interefts, mould 
 in Questions not at all connected with or peculi- 
 arly relating to the Uni verfity, conduct themfel ves 
 by our local Prejudices, and be always ready to 
 join with the Djfcontented, and diftrefs the 
 Adminiftrators of the Government at all E- 
 vents ; with how little Credit can They be 
 fuppofed to makeReprefentations in our Favour, 
 when our Circumftances really require them ! 
 with how little Weight either exert Them- 
 felves, or follicit Others ! Can We be guilty of 
 greater Impropriety than to leave our proper 
 Province, which is large enough to engrofs 
 all our Cares, and ufurp another that belongs 
 not to us, and which a little Reflexion would 
 mew us we are poorly qualified for ? Ufurp 
 it in direct Contradiction to a Principle ex- 
 tremely ferviceable, and indeed neceflary to the 
 Defign of the Academical Inflitution, namely, 
 the keeping within the Bounds of that Subor- 
 dination in which the Laws have placed us, 
 
 I 2 Jludying
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
 fludjing to be quiet , and to do our own Bufi- 
 
 nejs. 
 
 True it is, and ought to be allowed as 
 fome Excufe, that bad Examples have been 
 fet us by Men of Rank and Fortune 
 and popular Abilities, taking upon them to 
 difpute the Juftice of that Title to Refpedt, 
 which is conferred on Perfons in particular 
 Ports by the Laws and prudent Cufloms of 
 the Realm; and fometimes giving themfelves 
 the Air of ridiculing thofe Forms, which 
 have been ufefully devifed for the Diftinc- 
 tion of the Members of Society into their 
 feveral Ranks and Stations. No wonder, if 
 from this unhappy Source Impatience for 
 Change hath both diffufed itfelf and grown 
 violent: No wonder, if injudicious, and ef- 
 pecially young People, here as well as in 
 other Places, have been led to confider Info- 
 Jence as the beft Argument of their being Free, 
 to refent feveral legal Eftablimments as an 
 Infult upon their Liberty, and efteem it 
 meritorious to contrive how they may e- 
 lude their Force with Impunity. But no 
 wonder alfo, if the Promoters of this Spirit 
 come at length themfelves to feel within their 
 own Neighbourhoods, and even in their Fa- 
 milies, the ill Effects of that Confufion, which 
 They to ferve fome particular Turn have en- 
 deavoured to raife in the Conftitution of their 
 Country, 
 
 Every
 
 69 
 
 Every Man knows how much the Comfort- 
 ablenefs of private Life depends upon the 
 Candor, due Submiffion, and Modefty of thofe 
 about him. National Regularity and good 
 Order would probably be the Refult of the 
 fame Temper with Regard to Political 
 Tranfactions. And this Clafs of Difpofitions is 
 the natural Fruit of a truly liberal Education : The 
 whole Plan of our Englifi Universities is directly 
 adapted to produce them in the Minds of 
 young Perfons j and hereby they have been 
 ufually diftinguimed from the Licentioufnefs 
 of other Inftitutions. In particular, Nothing 
 can be more wife and falutary than that Pro- 
 vifion which is made in our Univerfities 
 to fecure in young Perfons a due Reverence 
 towards their Superiors. You know well e- 
 nough in what View we are apt to confider 
 any contemptuous Infult upon the Authority 
 of our local Statutes, or the Perfons of our Aca- 
 demical Magistrates, But let the Concern about 
 this Matter be extended ever fo far,if we flop here, 
 it is doing but little towards the main Point, and 
 will come very mort of the good Purpofes in- 
 tended to be ferved by it. For We are neither 
 the only, nof by any Means the principal Per- 
 fons to whom Refpedt is due. Thefe Forms have 
 indeed their Ufe, as a kind of Outwork, to fe- 
 cure an orderly Behaviour within the Precincts 
 of the Place : But they are principally intended 
 to give young Perfons the Habit of refpef ng 
 their Superiors ever after. What ^ 
 
 r
 
 ( 7 o) 
 
 dity then is it to infift upon Punctilios to- 
 wards the Governors of the Univerfity, and 
 overlook Difrefpect to the Governors of the 
 Nation ? 
 
 And efpecially with Regard to the Su- 
 preme Head of our Conftitution in Church 
 and State, nothing feems more reafonable than 
 that fuch Members of the Univerfity, as 
 are more immediately intrufted for the Pub- 
 lick with the Education of Youth, mould 
 give the Publick Satisfaction concerning their 
 Faithfulnefs in This Part of the Execution of 
 their Truft ; They owe it to the Government 
 to declare themfelves fully in Relation to it, 
 and are bound to give its Friends the Satis- 
 faction, and its Enemies the Dlfcouragement of 
 manifesting undeniably on which Side they are. 
 
 The Oaths taken, and the daily Prayers 
 ufed by us ought indeed to be accepted, when 
 nothing appears to the contrary, as Evidences 
 iufficient. But if unhappily, whether by the 
 Fault of Perfons In or Out of the Univerfity, thefe 
 appear to Any a doubtful Evidence, Why mould 
 not all poffible Care be taken, which properly 
 can, to mew that our Hearts and our whole 
 Behaviour go along with thefe folemn Aflu- 
 rances ? Why mould we not quit a Referved- 
 nefs, that hath been fo dreadfully mifmterpret- 
 cd to our Difadvantage ? No irregular and 
 
 riotous
 
 riotous Zeal is here recommended ; No Sort 
 of Servility, or Affectation of changing one 
 Party-name for another more acceptable. Ra- 
 ther ought we to wifh that Party-denomina- 
 tions of all Sorts were entirely difcarded. For 
 they are probably the Contrivance, certainly 
 the Inftruments of knavifli Men to enflame 
 the Paffions, and thereby gain the Command 
 of the unthinking Part of their Fellow Sub- 
 jects ; and therefore are very unfuitable to 
 Thofe, whofe Profeffion it is to fet forth an 
 Example of Integrity, Difcernment and Cha- 
 nty. But the Point, which I maintain, is this j 
 that our prefent Situation loudly calls upon Us 
 to act, jointly and feparately, with Vigour in 
 difcouraging every Thing that is undutiful to the 
 Perfon, or difrefpectful towards the Government 
 of his Majeiry ; that We openly difavow and cen- 
 fure on all proper Occafions what may elfe be 
 efteemed the general and almoft unanimous 
 Doctrines of the Place. And this Difcourage- 
 ment mould be extended to every kind of 
 Undutifulnefs j whether exprefied openly or 
 covertly implied j without Doors or within : 
 For indeed the fecret Efforts of Difloyalty are the 
 more dangerous, and make. deeper Impreffions on 
 the Minds of young People. Befides, open Infults 
 may be left to the Cognizance of the Laws j 
 which ought to be fo executed, as to have their 
 due Efficacy : Nor can it misbecome any Man to 
 co-operate with them for that End. But Seditious 
 Difcourfe falls more immediately under Our 
 
 Pro-
 
 ( 72 ) 
 
 Province, to be oppofed by Argument, if there 
 be need ; or check'd by Difapprobation ; or li- 
 lenced by Authority. And this mould be done, 
 not as an artful Precaution to keep Difaffedtion 
 concealed, but fo as to appear an evident Proof of 
 our own good Affection and Loyalty. Private 
 as Our Station is, We have it in our Power 5 
 and therefore it is Our Duty to do thefe 
 Things : Nor need We, on any proper Occa- 
 fion, and furely fuch a one offers itfelf Now, 
 to be afhamed publickly to acknowledge our 
 having a ftrong Senfe of this Obligation. 
 At leail this is my deliberate Opinion. And if 
 any one afk, what Authority I have to give it 
 thus freely and publickly ; I beg leave to an- 
 fwer, that befides the common Privilege of an 
 EngHfiman, and my general Interefh in the 
 Good of my Country ; (Inducements, which 
 Some have pleaded to juflify much more quef- 
 tionable Freedoms, than any I have adventured 
 to take) no one hath a heartier Concern for the 
 Welfare of this Univerfity : And very few 
 have refided in it fo conftantly, and born the 
 Office of a Tutor there fo long, as 
 
 Tour Affettionate, 
 
 Oxford, Humble Servant, 
 
 oa. 24, 174?, 
 
 E. BENTHAM. 
 
 I N I S.
 
 AGE 14, 1. 15, for, If, rea^ If we. 
 
 Page 68, 1. 3, for, and ought, read, and there- 
 fore it ought. 
 
 Page 69, 1. 30, for, principally, read, chiefly. 
 Page 70, I. the laft, for, and, read, or. 
 
 Page 72, 1. 10, include from the Word and to Now 
 in a Paren thefts ; and 1. 24, for, there, read, here.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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