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LETT E R
/
TO THE
Right Hon; GEORGE GRENVILLE.
J^ •df*V6.^«^^«lg5.,4f'^^
[ Price one Shilling and Sixpence.]
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LETTER
TO THE
Right Hon. GEORGE GRENVILLE.
Qiiem maxume odifti, ei maxume obfequeris : aliud ftans, aliud fedens,
de rep. fentis : his maledicis, illos odifti, Jeviflume transfuga : neque in
hac, neque in ilia parte fidem habes. Sallust.
The THIRD EDITION;
With feveral Corredions and Additions.
i.
;!.
LONDON:
Printed for J. Williams, next the Mitre Tavern, Fleet-Street.
M.DCC.LXIII.
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(5)
LETTER
T O T H E
Right Hon. GEORGE GRENVILLE.
S I R.
HA D you not been on two accounts remarkably confpk
cuous already, you fhould not have been made more fo
by this letter. The one is, when the ftrength of the
oppofition, fupported by the voice of the people, forced the earl
of Bute to refign, a declaration was made by authority to all the
foreign minifters, fignifying, that his majefty had been pleafed
to place his government in the hands of the Right Hon.
George Grenville, and the earls of Egremont and Halifax j
who, in all matters of importance, were not to adt feparately,
but in a conjundion of the three. The other is, the bufy part
you are fuppofed to have adled in raifing and fomenting a
cry againfl Mr. Wilkes. I will not abfoluteiy tax you with being
the author of the many nonfenfical minifterial fquibs and letters
in all the papers, of the many hand-bills difperfed about the
ftreets, and of that laborious and contemptible minifterial papec
called the Plain Dealer, but I do really believe you know w&o
is\ and if he adlually has the honour of receiving his inftruc-
B tions
( 6)
tions from tlic fiiil lord of the treaCury, and his pay from Mr,
chancellor of the exchequer, I much wonder that one fo learned,
in the law, and confequcntly llcillcd in our conftitution, fliould
jiot have hecn able to defend the caufe much better. But the at-
tempt at doing what was intended to appear like fqmething, I pre«
fume was to make amends for the deficiency, in not having ac-
ted openly in conjundion with your coacljutcrs, the nalJe^wA ^tfp^f-
fionatf earls of Halifax and Egrcmont, in the apprehenfion and
commitment of Mr. Wilkes j which heing a matter of impor-
tance, the afliftance of the third peifon was abfblutcly neceiTary.
towards fulfilling the declaration. Notwithftanding this aid
(which I do nut doubt was to the bed of your abilities, if you
really had any hand in it) I have not as yet heard that Mr. Wilkes
has brought any adtion againft you, fo that 1 cannot help lament-
ing thofe labours are likely to efcape any reward.
However, it is not my intention to reproach j I leave that ta
thofe whom you have both deferied and deceived. But were
I to give tlie public but a v^y fliort fketch of your ccndu«5fc
from the time of your being a folicitor at the Old Bailey, to.
your holding (I hope for yourfclf, not another) the high office of
firil lord of the Englifhtreafury, I do not know whether your vera-
city, ability, or integrity, would moft be doubted. But this I
will not do : frme part of it may relate to private life, with-
which the public, fir, have no concern j. yet I mean it as a hint
to the venal tools of your caufe, who have daily in news-pa-
pers and pamphlets abufed the private charaders of feveral no-
blemen and gentlemen, which are not only as irreproachable as
your own, but, perhaps, much lefs fo than fome of thofe with whom
you are in league. The libels, however,, which the hir^d advo-
cates
{ 7)
catcs of your caufe (for I will do you the juftlce to believe you
have none but what are hired) have publilhed, are difrcgardcd
by the public ; and thofe very noblemen and gentlemen, whom
your fcriblers have attempted to flander, look down with con-
tempt un both the libels and the libellers j and confuler them, as
every hoiufl: man does, the pitiful and wretched fljifts to which
the minillry are reduced, in order to acquit e, what they never had,
foniw little credit with the people. Nay, fo odious and obnoxious Ir
your cnufe to the lioneil: and (enfible part of the nation, that if
a man in any public company, from the greateft to the meaneft,
were but to attempt to (peak in defence of the miniftry, he would
be Hiun'd by every man prefent, and looked upon as one of your ■.
tools or emifl'iries, fent about to d'ccive.
Since the North Biiton was feized, for averting the rights of
every free-born Englifhman, to canvas and fcrutinize with the
utinoft freedom, what is vulgarly called the king's fpeechj and'
fince th^ minirtry have attempted, and are ftill endeavouring to
confouiid, \\\c lacicd name of their foverelgn, with the adts yzr-
formed in his kingly office by their advice, and for which they
alone are refponfible, as if any canvas of them were an infult
upon majefty ; the people have taken the alarm : becaule fuch a
ftep fcems to lead to an invafion ot their liberties by an arbitrary
extention of the prerogative. I am forry there fliould be any oc-
cafion for mentioning the word prerogative ; my lord Bute's ad-
vocates * raifed fuch a cry' about the prerogative^ that many are
inclined
* It would be iuftice to his lordfhip to acquaint him, thro' your means, that he is
continually expoftd to the moft feveie cenfures and fufpicions, by the llupid defences
of a monthly underftrapper to a Scottifh printer and publilher. The piece thus
LTued forth is called the Critical Rcv^w, the defign of which now is, andoi late has
bce;i,
(8)
indineil to doubt, whether they did not contribute more eftlc-
tiially to his overthrow, than even the North Briton himlelf. But
now that we have, in all outward appearance, an Englirti mi-
Diflcr, who has himftlt been the retained council againft arbitrary
proceedings of this kind, and who> if ever in his life time he was
in carnell, has ofilrcd, what was the greateft facrifice to him, to
plead ^;w//i againd iheni j who could have expedted to fee, du-
ring bis adminiftration, any thing that fliould bear the lead re-
fcmhiance to a defign for extending ihQ prerogative? Yet what is
hcL'n, to inJifcriminatcly conJcnin all pieces which are wrote on the behalf of
the Lnpjlidi liberty, coiiilitution or iiitcrefl, and to applaud with rapture whatever
hp.s a tendency to the promotion and eftablifliment oF arbitrary power and iScottini
aniloeracy, or di.iciiJs lord Cute and abufes the Knglifli nation. From hence it
JKis been remarked by thole, who have had patience to read but a few page.^-,
that lord Bute his certainly taken the writer (I mean the doer) into his
pay } othcrwife, lay they, luiely fuch a barefaced and fcandalous partiality would
not be repeatedly nianifelted with rcl'pciSt to every book he pretends to criticife.
Unluckily, by fome means or other, a notion has got abroad, that the elcer of
the Critical Review is the fame pcrfon who did the B iton, a miniftcrial paper,
which every week abufed the peoplj of England, beiaufc ihcy would not benJ
their necks to the yoke of a Scottifh miriilter : the inference from which is, that
lord B — took every little mean and vile method to impofehimfcif upon the public,
even to the puffing of the moft wretched performances on the behalf of him'elf
and hiscaufc; but I will do his Jordfhip thcjurtice to believe, that \i\ this parti-
cular he is entirely innocent of what has been, and ftill is, fuCpciled of him } my
reafons for believinir foare, viz. That the Review is printed by a Scot, is publifticd
by a Scot, and Dr. Snollett, who is a Scot, was lately imprifoned and fined for
b-ing the author of a libel in it. I tlierefore think, that as fuch a Scottifii clan
belong to it, that alone is fufficientto caufc the partiality, which fo forcibly ftrikes
every man who reaii;; but a few lines in it. Although the natural propcnfity in
Scotfiiien to the being pirtial is no new remark, yet they (hould in juftice, in gra-
titude to the people, who has prevented them from crawling in filth, famine, and
mifery, at Icnll fpare their grofs abufe, and (top theirlicentious tongues. Although
tliey aie in their natu.es proud, tyrannical, overbearing and arrogant ; yet it is cow
high ti.ne tliey fhould take fhameto themfelvcs, and, if pofliblc, live in peace and
liknce. The years 1715 and 1745, it is hoped, have convinced them, they can-
not place an arbitrary btuart on the Englifli throne ^ and the year 1763 will bean
everlading monument of their defeated attempt to domineer over us by another
Stuart, in the charader of a Sc«ttiih i^iiiifler.
"'
■f
(9)
it but an exterfion o( the prerogative ^ no matter by what mode
it is enforced (though parti, ilarly ndmas if by any of the foul
dregs of the Star C.umbei , .hat ibibivis the people of England
to condemn, or even tanv. , the t: n.uaions of the miniilry,
becaufe, as they liav ■ i^ccivcd the royal ap[ lobation, fuch freedom
isaninfultupon theking? Thu . by thl parity of re^foning, wc
are not to Hay the peace is bad ; n r that ilie excife is an attack
on our conftitution ; becaufe they have receive 1 the royal appro-
bation, and therefore any bLme ot tlicm would L c ;ui infuit upon
majefty : upon the fame principle likevvik', no ad ot p:<rliamcnt
ought ever to be repealed. From an iniult it ;: to be conflrued and
termed ireafon j and then the ftcn tary of (late, without any in-
formation upon oath againft the ofknding perfop, may ilTie a war-
rant, without inferting his name or even defcribing his perfon, and
fend the king's meflengers to break open the man's houfe at mid-
night, feize his perfon and all his papers, break his locks and
plunder his houfe from top to bottom, and when he is carried
away by force, and his friends are endeavouring to procure him
that liberty which the laws of this country would give him, he is
toffed about, in a manner fomething Uke fmuggling, and at length
thrown into a jail where- nobody is admitted to fee him, and he is
confequently deprived of the benefit of the laws of his country.
The cafe here alluded to, you need not be informed, is that of
rJfry Englirtiman, in the perfon of Mr. Wilkes.
I would calmly and difpaflionately aflc you, fir, whether you
think the people of England will fubmit to this furt of treat-
ment ? and whether, if you remember any of your former plead-
ings on the behalf of Mr. Amherft, as author of the Craftfman,
you do not think fuch warrants, and fuch outrages, abfolute anddi-
C rca
I
{ 10 )
red attacks on tlie fi 'edom and coi.ilitution of this country ? — It
is true the Scots talks higli in their vindication j they are warmly
for an extenfion of the prerogative ; for making the king abso-
lute if it were pofTible j therefore they are not to be minded.
They are arbitrary and overbearing in their very natures j their
Lnirds ufcd to keep gaggs and rack-: in their houfes, to torture
their vaflals, and extort from them confefllons or impeachments :
they never were blefled with fuch a thing as Magna Charta j nor
had they ever any idea of the mildnefs of the Englilh government,
which abhors the very thoughts of torture j the horrid pradtlce of
which, the laws of Scotland admit in its full extent. But we are now,
thank heaven, no longer under Scottifli government ; we have
at leafl: the apprarancc of an Englifh one j and therefore expefted
to have feen the true fpirit of the linglifli conftitution afferted
and preferved. Inftead of that, there feems to be the ftrongeft
reafon to fufped, that, under colour of an Englijh adminiftra-
tion, it was refolved to attempt, what was too odious and too
unpopular, to be hazarded while the Scot was openly in power;
otherwife the North Briton might have been perfecuted long before
No. 45 appeared. But this is a point too tender to be infifted
upon. The natural pride of human nature is fuch, that none of us
chufe it Hiould htpublickly known that we Are JhdorSiates ; not-
withftandmgitmay have been)>r/'Utf/'f/y fettled amongfriends: there-
fore 1 will take my leave oi this point, with only fuppofing, you
are perfectly acquainted with both the truth and force of it. Yet
1 much qucftion, if the North Briton had been perfecuted while
the Scot was openly in power, the people wt)uld have been more
alarmed by an attack on their liberties, than they now are j nay, I
do believe, that weak and incapable as his enemies have pronouncod
him to hc^ he woulc have managed the affair much better.
Caa
{ ")
Can any thing be more odious to Engli(hmen, than an attempt
to exclude them from giving any opinion or judgment on mini-
fterlal tranAidlions? or more alarming to a man, who is ac-
quainted with our conftitution, than a defign to fct the king in fo
high and awful a light, that whatever he does, or fays, even m
his RKGAL cnpacity, though by and with the confentofhis coun-
cil, tor which his' advifcrs are refponfible, is neverthelefs not to
be quejUomiK by any pi-rfon, either as to the truth or wifdom of
it? was ir. ever underftood, or fuppofed, that a king of England
could give his imtXwn in fuch a manner to any thing, fo as to put it
ab^.ve the ju-lgment of his fuhjefts ; who are thereby to be excluded
from, or abridged oi, their antient,and, till, hitherto, undifputed
right, of giving their opinion, whether they think it good or bad ?
, Or, was it ever underftood. by the people or parliament, that any
. minifter, or let of minifters, could take refuge behind the royal
perfon, from the blame of any tranfaaions executed in the royal
• fundtions? Or was it ever underRood by any Engimiman, that
the minifters were not refponfible for every thing tranfafled in
. the royal functions j becaufe fuch tranfadions, of whatfoever
. nature they are, are not valid,, unlefs wiih the advice and con-
, fent of fome of them ? If, therefore, any of thofe tranfaaions
are found, upon examination, to hQ falfe, weak or prejudicial ;
• ought not every Engli(hman. by the right which he has of
fpeaking his fentiments, to lay the blame of them upon him who
advited them.
- Upon the fame reafoning; if a faJfehocd k furpnfcd upon his
majcfty, and he gives it, as he received it, to his parliament} and
- it is afterwards difcovered to be animpofition, who is to bear tlie
blame, th? impo(er, or the impofcd? or nuift no man o|xn his
lips
*:•
.'1
( ")
lips npoii the occafion? By the fpiritof our conftitution a king of
Kn-jlaiKi can do no wrong ; therefore the blame mud neceffarily
fall upon the impofer : and he who detedts the impofition, will in
that inftance have done a piece of real good fervice to his country:
the minillry, as may be cxpedled, will abhor him ; will take every
method, however low, pitiful and bafe, to calumniate, and, if
poftible, depreciate him in the eyes of the people j but every hon-
cll man will defpife them ; becaufe, if they are capable of impofing
a falfchood on their fovereign, they are unfit for his fervice, and
their words on no other occafion are proper to be taken.
I fpeak in this manner, becaufe the partizans of the prefent mi-
niftry, have repeatedly attempted to impofe on the public, through
the channel of the papers, that number 45, the lafl: number of the
nW iVorth Briton which has been ////7//^r^, is a libel upon the king's
fpeech, by telling the fovereign he had told a falfehood. 1 have care-
fully read that famous paper, and I own I can no where perceive, any
thing like a libel upon the king's fpeech, or that the lie isgiven to the fo-
vereign. There are indeed the words infamous fallacy; which
are fuppofed to be thofc which have given moft offence. But a
fallacy, fir, is not a falfehood ; there is a material difference.
The cry, which the foolifh abettors of your caufe have raifed on
this occafion, has been owing to their not underflandingEnglifh.
A fallacy is compofed of a number of words only tending to de-
ceive. Penfioner Johnfon explains the woid, " logical artifice;
deceitfult argument j" and quotes the great Sidney as authority.
Whereas a falfehood may be one word, and dircd in its implica-
tion. Penfioner Johnfon exphins falfehood thus, " want of truth j
want of veracity j a lie j a falfe affertion." But the moft extra-
ordinary thing yet, is, if that palTagc in the fpeech from the
throne*
f 13 )
throne, lo which the North Briton applied the words itifamom
fallacy^ be true, why is it omitted, together with thefe two ofFen-
five words, in the information againft the North Briton? are the
miniftry afraid to let the veracity be difputed in an open court,
where the truth muft be fifted out ? or do they find they cannot
fupport it ? — Whether they will not prefume, for the fake of
their own credit, to attack the veracity of the North Briton, can-
not yet be determined j but I think it pretty clearly follows by
the omiirion of thofe remarkable words, infamous fallacy, which
are fuppofed to have been principally offenfive, together with the
other parts of the paper which feem to a common eye moil acrimo-
nious, that they intend not to try him for giving the lie to his
fovereign, as their tools have falfely aflerted he did, but for af-
ferting the conilitutional rights of the people to oppofe any exten-
iion of the prerogative, and their claim to a full examination and
detection of all impolitions from minifters. This queftion will
therefore naturally follow. Why was the cry raifed of the North
Briton having given the lie to majefty, if it is either not intended
or cannot be proved? when the very information filed againft
Mr. George Kearily, the laie publiflier, does not objed to thofc
words. , 1-, ■■ :.'.:{'■'
As fome of the tools of your caufe, may, amongft their ufual
nonfenfe thrufl into the news papers, term this a fort of prejudg-
ing an affair, which is yet depending in a court of law; I beg
leave to obviate whatever may appear like a charge of that kind»
by aflerting my equal right, to the giving my opinion and fadls»
relative to this matter, with any of thofe who have been either
hired or inftrudted, on the behalf of the miniftry, to miflead and
deceive the public. Have they not chriftened the North Briton
D number
1
It
!
t
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w
( H)
number 45 a libel ? is it yet proved fo ? or has any jury given their
verdidl that it is fo? Have they not chriftened Mr. Wilkes
the author ; and has it ever been proved that he is ? or have
even the fecretaries of ftate, either, or both of them, any infor-
mation upon oath, that he is ? have not your advocates, before
any kind of proof is made, by every artful, and I will venture to
fay wicked means, endeavoured to biafs, and fet the public againft
Mr. Wilkes? Is this fair, in a country, where, by the laws,
every man is fuppofed to be innocent till convifted ? Have they
not prejudged him ? condemned him ? ard have not the Scots
hanged him, and burned him, in effigy ? — My arguments and
my reafonings are fair : they infult no man, in either his private
or public charadler. I do not fcrutinize, and reafon upon what ii
done J I only mention what u omitted.
The fpeech which his majefty pronounces to his parliament, is
never in the debates of either houfe called his majefty's, but the
minifter's, and is accordingly treated with the greateft freedom. I
could bring many inftances, but I hope the following will be fuf-
ficient: On the 17th of January, 1734, when the fpeech from
the throne was debated in the houfe of commons, Mr, William
Shippen faid " it has always been taken for granted, that the
" fpeeches from the throne are the compofitions of minifters of
•* ftate i and upon that fuppofition we have always thought our-
** felves at liberty to examine every propofition contained in them^
** Even without doors people are generally pretty free in their re-
•* marks upon them j and I believe no gentleman that hears me, is
** ignorant of the reception the fpeech from the throne, at the
" clofe of the lafi feffion of parliament, met with from the nation
•* in general^ • • .'.••'
To
((
(C
cc
( 15)
To the authority of Mr. Shippen I will add the example of that
truely able and impartial Scottifli hiftorian, Dr. Smollett ; which to
be fure muft have great weight, becaufe he has in the laMer part of
his hiftory (ns he calls it) bedaubed lord Bute with fuch grofi and
fulfome adulation as would turn the ftomach of an Englifhman j
and then the Critical Review has in the fame grofs and fulfome
manner /»«^i/ the hiftory. In the year 1727, after giving a very
partial fummary of the fpeeches which his late majefty made to
his fiift parliament. Dr. Smollett adds this remark of his oiufi:
" Thofe fpeeches, penned by the minifter, were compofed with a
view to foothe the minds of the people into an immediate con-
currence with the meafures of the government} butivithoiit any
INTENTION of perjormitig thofe promifes of ceconomy, reforma-
" tion and national advanifige." Thus, if we are to believe Dr.
Smollett, his late m.ijcfty knowingly and purpofely told a falfe-
hood to his parliament, with an intent to decieve them. Yet,
though this was publillied durii g the life time of his late majefty,
neither the writer nor publther were taken up by a fecrctary of
ilate's warrant. And now 1 make no doubt but Dr. Smollett, who
took this freecorn with h s late majefty, is, like the reft of the Scots,
agamftany fuch freedoms being taken with his prefent majefty's
fpcech. I too am againft fuch freedoms as to (ay, or infinuate, that
his majefty knowingly and / wpofely toUl a falfhood to his parliament,
with an intent to deceive them : but I will neve r alter my opi-
nion that his majefty, as well as many other good kings, may
have httn furprifed into a falfliood In fuch a cafe, the blame of
fu?'" furprize will naturally, and confticutionally, fall upon the
minifters. This is the cafe of a fovereign of Great Britain with
fcif eft to his fpeech to his parliament. That fpeech is previoufly
compofed
I
r
( i6 )
compofed by the minifters, and is read to a felcd number of the
members, wjio are fumraoned to the Cockpit to hear it. To
prove this fiidt, I defire leave to flate one remarkable inftance. Cir-
cular letters, dated from the Treafury, of which lord Bute was at
that time the head, were fent as ufual to mofl: of the members of
the houlc of commons, defiring their attendance at the Cockpit
on the evening before the meeting of laft feflion of parliament.
I\Tr. Fox took the chair, and produced to the company a paper,
which he only called a fpeech, and which he faid he would, as
ulual, read fo that aflembly. He afterwards produced anaddrefs,
which he likewife read, {mt bijhop Fleetivood's preface *) and then
faid, lord Carysfortand lord Charles Spencer had been fo kind to
undertake to move and fecond that addrefs. The fame ceremo-
ny is obferved with refpedl to the upper houfe of parliament :
every lord has a fummons, d.Tiring his attendance to hear the
fpeech, which is read by fome diftinguifhed peer, who is
fuppofed to condudt the bufinefs of the houfe of lords. The
fpeech read that evening by lord Bute's docr^ Mr. Fox, was verba-
tim the king's fpeech at the opening of the laft feflion of parlia-
ment; and the addrefs was verbatim the addrefs which was prefent-
•ed by the houfe of commons to his majefty, in return for that
fpeech from the thront:.
Give me leave, fir, to remark, that it is underftood, that
whoever at the Cockpit reads the fpeech, is fuppofed to tak-e
upon him the bufinefs of the houfe of commons: it is therefore
no iniuftice to Mr. Fox, to call him lord Bute's doer. I think
* If the reader fliould not be fo well verfeJ in the myfleries of ftate as to com-
prehend the meaning of thefe four words, he may probably have them explained
to his fatisfa6lion, upon application to either lord Carysfort, or Mr, Nicholf»ii
Calvert.
J fliould
f 17 )
I (hould further mention, that the table at the Cockpit is always
covered with paper, pens, and ink, for the ufe of the members
to make remarks.
I think this clearly and fufficiently proves, that the fpeech is
the minifter's only, not the king's > and therefore it can be no
INSULT upon majefty to make any remarks or obfervations upon
it. If it were ever underllood that any fuch remarks could be
conftrued an infult upon majelly, would not the ufe of pen, ink,
and paper, be forbid at the cockpit ?
As the pradtice of fummoning the members of the houfe
of commons to the cockpit by a minifterial writ, and
haranguing them there before his majefty opens the feflion
with a fpeech from the throne, may be unknown to a great
part of the public, I will give a (hort hiftory of it from a very
excellent pamphlet, publiilied in the year 1734, entitled, yl/i
humble Addrefs to the Commons of Great Britain. *'• I don't know
** exactly how long this cuftom may have prevailed, nor is it of
** much importance to the public ; but 1 may venture to affirm,
*' that it hath been carried farther^ within a very L'.v years, than
*' it ever was before j having not only been pundually obferved
" at the beginning of every feflion, but even proftituted to the
" fervice oi particular jobs. There is fomething very ridiculous
*' in theie minifiertal conventions. The firft aflcmbly is commonly
*• held at the minificri own- houfe, three or four days before the
" meeting oi parliament ^ and confifts only oi ^few triijly creatures^
" who are called together in order to perufe the kings fpeechy and
confider of proper perfons to move for and fecond the addrefs.
Thefe gentlemen^ who are generally propofed by, the minijia-
himfelf,
((
<c
((
{ '8 )
" hln^fclf, after a felf-tlertying fpecch, modeftly declining Co
" great an honour, and deliring it may be put into abler iiands,
'* are at lifl ovcrcoms and prevailed upon to undertake it. At the
" lame tine, thefe choice friends are let into the ftate of affairs,
" as far as is neceHary, and inftrudcd what to fay, in cafe of a
*' dibate upon fjveral particular points. The addnf' likewife is
*' drawn up and fettled, long before they met, as .ell ;.o the
" J[>eecb; for it is the pra^ice of imniften not only to put what-
'* ever thsy thi.ili lit into their miftsr's miath, (which is coni-
*' monly a panegyric on themfclves, or a juftification of their
" msafiires) but likewife to do the fame kind orfice for the
*^ parliament and mike them ech) back the fubftance of it by
*' way of addrefs. When thefe points are fettled in the minijierial
" cabin.Hy for (o I may call it, a general a/T^mbly of all the wjII-
*' aff^Sied is fummoned to meet, a day or two afterwards, at the
** cockpit ; where the fame farce is acted over again, in a more
" circumstantial and folemn manner. The miwjlcr produces a
** copy of the fpeecb; which being read and received with great
" appliufe, it is refolved, nemine contradicente^ to promote a loyal
** and dutiful addrefs to his majefty upon it, not only to return
*' him thanks for fo gracious a fpeech, but to applaud the wifdoin
•* of all his meafures. In this manner do they deviate from the antient
" pradtice of parliament, which confifted only in returning his
*' majefly thanks for the fpeech, in general. Though it may be
" underftood at home to be only a compliment of courfe, it ccr-
" tainly carries a different afpedt abroad, and looks as if the par-
*• liament had in a lump approved of all the meafures of the ad-
" miniftration. Then the perfons, agreed upon before to move
and
( '9 )
*' and fecond this Addrefs, are propofed by another^ Korthy gcnlh'^
** mariy who is likewife let into the fccret, and unanimoufly ap-
** proved. Here again they modcftly decline it, as if there had
" been no previous meeting, and again with great importunity are
" prevailed npjn to accept it. — Wh.it makes this fcene ftill
'-' more diverting is, that when the commons return to their own
V hottfe from the boufe of lords, after his majefty hath made his
*« fpeech, the fpeaker tells them in a formal manner, that be hath,
•* untb great difficulty, obtai}id a copy of it\\ when above half
•>' the members, perhaps, had feen, or heard it read, a day or
" two before." - ^
Gentle reader, or, " Gentle Shepherd" if you like that name bet-
ter, a.e not thou aftoniflied with thefe farfical fcenes about what
is vulgarly called the kivg% fpeech? which being known to every
one prefent (for all circumftances prove it) to be the minifter's, and
hot the king's, is canvaffed in every one of thefe aflemblies with the
greateft freedom j even in parliament it is underftood and treated in
the lame manner. Is it there fore a libel to write one inch out of thofe
doors what could have been none within? or is it intended that the
people (hall know nothing but juft what the miniftry pleafes ? I am
afraid the latter. — Yet if I were to afk what crime the North Briton
had committed, the trumpetersof the virtueandgoodnefsof your caufe
would tell me, he had libelled the king's fpeech. I am forry foi:
the general good of my fellow fubjeds, whofe intereft and welfare
the miniftry ought to confult and to promote, that fo little under-
ftanding appears among their advocates, and even in what fhould
§ The noble author is here miftaken ; it is always the fayne perfon.
t The noble author is here again miftaken ; for Mr. Speaker always fays,
•• he had, to prevent miftakes, obtained a copy."
fometimes
( 20)
fomeliniLs ftem to come immediately ffcjm themfclves, that llicy
cannot perceive it mull be an affront upon tlie underftanding of
almoll every man to tell Iiim, that it is an infult offered to liis ma-
jefly, to make any remarks upon, or refutations of the fpeech from
the throne J when it Is univcrfally known, and believed, that the
fpeech fo made is mt his mcijijlfs^ but his mhiijlcr's'^ and that the ad-
vifers and makers of it are 11:1:011)' refponfible for whatever it contains,
I am forry too, that, in a difputc which is properly and only
between the miniftry and the people, his majeily's name fliould
be introduced and made fo free with, as it every day is upon this
affair, by thofe who by this means think they defend the mini-
ftry, and who doubtlefs intend, in violation of the conftitution,
to make out the pretended crime an infult upon the king, not aa
attack on the minifter's meafures. Some candid men have thought,
that this unnatural freedom, taken with the king's name, is de-
parting from the principles of toryifm, which have ever been ftre-
nuoufly fupporting an exalted and extravagant idea of the high
and awful fupremacy of the royal perfon; and therefore the iiii-
niftry and their defenders are in this particular contradiding them-
felves. It does indeed at firft fight feem like a contradidion of
principles; but if we give ourfelves time to reflcd on what will
inevitably be the conlequences of the eflabliihment of an opinion
and precedent, that any reafonihg, fads, or arguments, tending to
fhew the wcaknefs, fallacy, or injury of minifterial meafures and
condud, which the king has been advifed to approve, is a grofs
and punilhable infult upon the fovereignj it will not appear fo
much like a contradidlion of tory principles, as a mod alarming
improvement upon them.
Let
( 21 )
Let us figure to ourfclves a Tory fitting in a private corner be-
hind the curtain, furrounded by a number of his creatures, plotting
the utter deftrudion of our liberties, in order to introduce arbi-
tary pnwcr: building his whole fyftem on this fundamental
principle, " allow but the reafonings and arguments onthefpeech
" from the throne to lie conftrued an infult upon the king," and
upon that precedent will be cftablifhed the dcdlrine. That every
future attack on the meafures of the miniftry, which have received
the royal approbation, is also an infult upon the king. Thus allow-
ing this one point, every other will readily be taken, till the people
of England are become as ablolute flaves, as the people of iMance.--
In a little time we are not to fay the peace is bad, becaufe it has
been ratified by the king, and would therefore be an infult upon
him. And with refpedl to every other minifterial meafure, the
cafe is to be the fame. 1 do not know by what appellation you,
or the hired flaves of your caufe, will chufe to diftinguifh this, but
I will not hefitate to call it an arbitrary extention of the prcroga-
t'ne\ a moll alarming invafion of the conflitutional liberties of the
people.
The liberty of the prefs confequently receives its wound at the
fame time, and that no. doubt is the great end intended to be ac-
compliflicd ; for it is not fo much the debarring us of the natural,
ufe of our tongue, that can tend to the fecurity of a temporary
and tottering adminiftration, as the effedually putting an entire
{lop to the communication of cur fcntiments in print j which,
in cafes of danger, has ever had the good eflc(5l of alarming the
people in general, with a fcnfs and knowledge of that danger,
arud thereby they have been enabled to put themfelvcs on theic
defence, and make head againfl: fuch attacks: but fliould thi«
F liberty/
( 22 )
liberty be ilcrtroycd, there will inftintly be nn end of every
other } for tiiis is the great bulwark which fupportr, all tli'v- reft. It
is too viliblc to be conceal'il, and it is too true to be denied, th.it
there have lately been fcvcral attempts made toaccomplifiiit. Thty
have hitherto luikd. But asthii. is a point whivh wc;dv .ind wicked
niinlfters hue inceflantly laboured at, the people mull continue
to be watchful over it, left a time (hould come when a miniftry,
afraid of their ' r/n condud, or any part of it, being argued or rea-
foned upon before the public, fliall have made fuch large fti ides
towards defpotic power, as to ftcaltliis incftimable jewel out of the
hands of the people. No honeft miniUcr will ever fhcw a dcHre
of wounding this great and only barrier of the liberties of tin:, free
country. We have only to fear fueh attacks Aoni minift^rs who
are afraid their adtions ihould fee the light, and who will there-
fore be eternally promoting, publiekly or privately, perfecutions
againft authors, printers, and publiftics, in order to pat a ftop
to this liberty and eftablifli the office of a liccnfer, whore every
thing is to be infpeded before it is printed. 1 he yoke of flavery
would then be moft effedually put round the necks ol the people j
for there is no doubt but every thing Scottifh, and in behaif of the
miniftry, would be inftantly licenfed, while every thing other-
wife would doubtlefs be refufed. We have lately had an inftance
of fomething fimilar. A tragedy called Elvira, written by a Scot,
and intended to compliment lord Bute, was licenfed and performed
«t Drury-Iane. Another tragedy, called Eledtra, written above
twenty years ago, but unluckily by an Engliftiman, was re-
fufed a licenfe : now what could there be in a play, written
above twenty years ago, which can be affirmed, with not a fingle
fentiment fince altered, that could with any propriety be deemed
applicable
( n )
applicable to the prcfcnt times, was aftonifliinc; to every one, who
had cither read the play or fccn it rchcarfed ; yet it ihould leom
that lomc lieads were fo fore as to take caps wliich no body ever
intended for them, and flicrcfore the liccnfc was not granted*. If
ever tills ihould be the cafe with refpcdt to the liberty of the prefs»
might not fifty dilFcrent arbitrary and giievons modes of excisf. be
palled
+ Since the tormer editions of thij pamphlet were printcil, undeniable proof h.u bfci\
retcivcci, that the Tragedy of Eleilni has in it no one ftntiment or circumllance that car-
lics in it thefmailell appearance of malevolence, either implicative or direct : that it con-
tains not a fin^Ij paffige r.llufuc lo the fitiiiition of affairs witli n.i, nor one glance at uny
po'itical or party matter whatibevcr. But, on the contrary, appears to be an inoffenfi'M
i'ubjed, as faiily and challtly handled as any that has ever been wrought into a Tragedy.
Nor was it indeed objct'ted to as a performance that manifclled aniH defigfi. 'I'he licence
was fimply denied to it, with a declaration that the oHice never alligned reafons for rejec-
tiorts, ai d the only one which fecmcd to be infinuuted, was an apprehenfion that the pub-
lic might mak.e mifapplications.
But on this it furcly remains to be confidercd, if any innocent man ought to be made
to fuffer in his iaterells and charafter on fuch a plea, or ravher on none at all ? A free-born
fabjedl of England oughlnot furely to be fo wantonly deprived of the fair fruits of his la-
bour, or flript of that birth-right which intitles him to the full benefits that he fliould ac-
quire from an honelt exercife of his talents. Nor ought he to be arbitrarily injured by any
power in this kingdom, from idle and ungrounded apprehenfions. The legiflature could
never mean to plate a power in the hands of any officers which they might at will exercife
in fo hateful, oppr^ilfive, and unconftitutional a manner. As the licenlers are poflefled of
a copy of that play, a regard for their own charafters lliould now induce them, when thus
arraigned, to latisfy the world in wliat the autlior of it has forfeited his rights ;ts a free fub-
jcct of this ftate : and they are hereby called upon to aflign their reafons for the refufal of
a licenfe. If they cannot do it, they have aded unjullly. If they will not do it, they adl
.^rbitrarily ; and thereby prove themfelves unworthy of a trull, by their daring to abule it.
The rights of the mcanelt fubjedt of thefe kingdoms ought to be as facredly fecured to him
as thofe of the greatell : and therefore, unlefs this point is cleared up to tiie fatisfadtion of
the public, which is highly interefted in this matter, both with regard to right and enter-
'lainment, let the inllanced injury for cverfilence and put tolliame thofe daring tliampions
of the admin iftration, who have fo frequently and boldly thrown out the gauntlet of
defiance againll every man for Itanding forth to accufe thcniof grols abufes of power.
In the odious reign of Charles the Second, wlicn this nation was in the moll imminent
danger of being enilaved, and v;hen that very woi 11 badge of llavery, an imprimatur on
the prefs, had become adually ellablilhed, we are told a reafon was afligned for Hopping
the run of Lee's Tragedy, called Lucius Junius Brutus, though io bad a one as that wa»
confidered to be an an'.i-monarv.nical piny j which certainly may be pronounced a bad one,
becaufe we have fince leen the fame llory made the fubjeft of a French Tragedy, which
was not only permitted to be ailed in that land of (lavcry, but alfo highly applauded, with-
out
( 2+ }
palTcd into law, and ninety- nine parts of the kingdom ignorant
of the invafion of both their liberties and properties ? — Every
one has obferved, how often the minifterial champions have en-
deavoured to diffufe the terror of the laws amongfl: the honefl
and fenfible part of the people, who will prefiime to judge for
thcmfelves, and confequently diflent from their falfe reafonings
and infatnous fallacies. If it could be fuppofed that thefe writers
out t;iving ftate-offcnce. So that we fee, notwithli .nding all our boafts of Liberty reco-
vered by the revolution, that the lUgc is become reduced to a worfe ftate of flavery here
ilian in France, or than it was here at a time whsn /irerogati've was feen ftretching apace in-
to every fpeties of tyraniiy.
liut it may now become very worthy of particular obfervation, how far the hurtful licen*
tiouli'.cfs of the llage is really checked by our licencing office, or rather how far it is madt
an inllruraent of opprelTion to the innocent, and of indulgence to the moll licentious,
Elettra has been retufed a licence for one of the royal theatres; but with what jullice has
been fet forth, and the licenccrs are defied to give proofs that the reprefentation io a falfe
one; and which, if they do not, mull convift them of oppreflion. For a proof of the
bad ufe of their power another way, m the toleration of licentioufnefs, I appeal to the
pieces which they licence for reprefent .ition at the little houfe in the Ilay-Market, where a
a buffoon is, under the exprefs fanftion of authority, making the moll innocent and even
the molt refpedable charaders of the nation the objcds of public ridicule in their pri\atc«,
theii official, minille/ia', and even Legiflative capacities. Are not thefe inftances of grois.
outrages both ways, that are alike highly fcandalous in their natures ' Are they not alike
reproachful to government, to law, and to every kind of jultice t An innocent and de-
fer; inir man, on one hand, is difhonourably deprived of the fair fruits of his labours. 0;i
the other, worth) men, and (ome of them of the higheft ranks and fortunes, have their cha-
raders kffaulted, in order to deprive them of refped ; and if it were poifible, render them
the objeds of contempt. Are not thefe fome ot the blefled fruits which were at firft fore-
ii;en and foretold uould become the effeds of ertablilhing this licencing office, which it
now made an engine of n.^nillerial oppreflion and licentioufnefs, for the ferving of partial
and \ lie purpofes i and therefore decency as well asjuliice mull now clamour for its aboli-
Some people have indeed ventured to fuppofe, that the principal objedions to the licenu
clng of liledra lay againil the author, and not the piece But thefe are iiippofitions of a
turpitude lOO groat to be conceived, becaufe if the charader and principles of the writer of
it weie really as bad as they are unknown to be good, it would be svickid to believe men
could be bafc enough to be guilty of futh injuflice as would, if it could be proved, make
them dclervir.g of the fevereftpunifhmeiits. But, however, from thefe ufes which we fee
qre now made of a licencing office tor the flage, learn, Englilhmen to tremble for and to re-
iill alUike attempts to eflablilli a licencing office for the prefb ; for v, hen once the full li-
berty of that is gone, or effentially leflbneJ, every other will foon follow, of thofe in whick
younovvfo very jullly place, your higheft glory,, fureUfafety, fairell boalls, and truefl hap-
wfs. • .
glV^.:
Ms )
give us the language and fentlments of .heir miftcrs, it will fol-
low, that the defign of attacking our liberties is not far difhnt ;
for they have repeatedly talked of fines, pillories, and goals, and
other tyrannic proceedings, fuch as were pradifed by the ever
odious and unconftitutional ftar-chamber; and, when they have
found themfelves over matched in point of abilities, they have
gone fo far as even to threaten fuch of their antagonifts with thefe
kinds of punidiment, hoping thereby to filence them. But this
fort of language has had no other effedt than convincing us of their
own arbitrary principles and fecret inclinations. They have like-
wife had recourfe to fcurility and abufe, and have made ufe of
every low and grofs epithet that could be didlated by milice and
difappointment, to infult and revile the whole body of the people
of En-rlanc!, and particularly the common-council of the city of
Londonj who refufed to prortitute the honour of the metropolis
with the mod fervilc and fulfomc adulation to an adminiflration
which no good Englifliman can rcflcdt on without horror. The
employers and the employed in this work are doubtlcfs totally
ignorant of the temper and genius of Englillimcn, other wife tlicy
would not take a method which borders (o much on tyranny to
ferve an unpopular caufe. Englidimen will not fileiitly and pa-
tiently fuffer a yoke to be put round their necks ; they value them-
felves on being free, and the right of communicating their opini-
ons. Their highfcnfe of this liberty they will never fufFer to be in-
fringed; and that adminiftration which attemps it muft hazard its
own fafety. The people are, and they will confider ihemfelvt-s
as the proper judges of all minifterial condudl. Government and
power came from tliem; and they therefore will enjoy the right of
freelv givin"- their opinions relative to all adls of that government
G and
( 26)
and that power. That nonfenfe of paflive obedience and non-
refiflance, vvhich, though noi in term^ has in reality been lately
revived, could ferve no other purpofe than to create an alarm j
for when once the right of the people to judge and to fpcak be-
gins to be difputed, they confider it inftantly as an attack on
their liberties. Minifterial advocates may be refolved, without
any regard to truth or the conftitution, to delude the people into
a different pcrfuafion j but they will in the end find their
miftake : for the more the people aie abufed, or treated with
infigniiicance in the manner they lately have been, or their liber-
ties are invaded, the more they will be exafperated. It there-
fore is not fafe to pufli a point fo apparently oppofite to their in-
tliiiations.
The wretched advocates of the miniftry have, in order to de-
ceive the people into a notion that the fpeech from the throne is
in reality the king's, compared it to a man's will, which, fay
they, is certainly the will of the figner, not of him who drew
it up. True, it is the will of ;Iie figner j and what makes it io
is, he diSiates it. But from only the fingle fad already dated,
relative to the bufmefs of the cockpit, it is clearly demonftrated,
that this is far from being the cafe with refpedt to the fpeech
from the throne : nay, it is quite the reverfe ; for that Speech is
compofed by the miniftry themfelves, and his majefty perhaps
does not even fo much as know of it till it is read to him. I would
therefore afk you, fir, whether this argument, fairly ftated,
turns out for or againft your caufe? and whether this one inftance
alone, though fome hundreds could be brought, does not plainly
evince the defign cf the minidry to make the regal charafter
iiibfervient to their fccurity ?— If they were not afliaired of their
conduvl,
( 27 )
condudt, or afraid of the juft judgmertt tliat muft and willbe put
upon it, would they thus endeavour to fcreen themfclves under
the protedion of the facred name of their fovereign ? — I could
pufli this nice point much further, but I chufe to forbear, be-
caufe I hope you already feel the force of it. Yet I cannot
help again exprefling my extreme concern at feeing, in the pro-
dudions of all thofe who attempt to defend the minifterial caufe,
the royal name fo frequently introduced, fo wantonly made
cheap and common j nay, fometimes hung out as if intended
by way of terrorem to the people ; tho' every good Englifhman
is convinced that nothing can be fo oppofite to the intentions of his
mofi: amiable fovereign. I am fo fcnfibly ftruck, and 1 believe fo
is every man that has not lent himfclf in one iliape or other to the
fupport of the minirtry, with this fort of fubterfuge, that I fuf-
ped: whether they are capable of adminiftering conftitutional
advice to the crown. — This whole affair favours fo much of a
defign to abridge the people of their right to judge of public
meafures and minifters, that it has all the appearance of a
moft alarming ftep towards the eftablifliment of arbitrary power;
I therefore cannot help concluding it with the words of one of
the minifterial advocates, " // is wijdom to fcrefce fuch danger j
*« it is courage to meet it in its approach ; it is our duty to die or
' " to repel it"
The violation of the privileges of parliament is another fubjed.
1 dsre fay you think yourfelf happy in not being openly con-
cerned in it } and I, as your friend, cannot help congratulating
you on this lucky efcape: indeed it was fortunate bt;yond exam-
ple. But whilft I am thus congratulating you, I forget that you
are a coadjutor j which is a fad 1 would by no means fuffcr to
flip
( 28)
Hip my memory, bccaufe of the refped to which it entitles you.
I would not likewife be underftood to be fo cruel and hard-
hearted, as not to feel for the misfortunes of others. I can trem-
ble for tile two fccretaries of ftate when the parliament meets, if
contrary to the expedations of every rational creature they fliould
be fccretaries till then, as much as any of my countrymen would
rejoice in feeing them fent to the Tower. I can feel for you, fir,
if you fliould face the houfe of commons, both as firft lord of
the treafury and chancellor of the exchequer — and fliould more-
over take upon you to do the bufinefs of that houfc. The excife
ad you cannot but be convinced mujl be repealed ; and nvbere
can you lay another tax ? I repeat it emphatically, Tc// me where
can you lay another tax f The people are utterly averfe to any
cxtenjlon or enlargenwit of the excife laws j and, I will venture to
prophecy, will be utterly averfe to any new burdens impofed by
a miniftry that has hitherto, in every ftep they have undertaken,
appeared both odious and contemptible : odious, becaufe they
fcem 10 he, in principle, enemies to the freedom and conftitution
of this country ; contemptible, becaufe in every ftep v/hich they
have taken, there has appeared the moft cident want of
ability. Does therefore any independent Englifliman, who is not
feeking to fell himftlf for fome pecuniary confideration, put any
confidence In them ?
To this embarraflment li-ithcut doors, I will add another which
may pofllbly happen ivifbin. I am credibly informed, that not-
withllanding all the boafts of aecommy, which every placeman
and pcniioner have echoed vo the miniftcrial flirine of Bute, the
civil 11(1 is conjidcrabiy above four hundred thousand pounds
/// arrcar ; and that there was an intention, even Infl: winter, of
applying
( 29)
applying to the houfe of commons for four hundred thou-
fand pounds to difcharge the tnen arrears of it: but Mr.
Fox had more wifdom than to appear in it ; and this I take
to be one of the moft undoubted proofs of his being a man
of JlriSi virtue, as well as good fenfe j notwithftanding he may
have been over-reached in fome things, and have confented,
merely for the fake of furthering his majefty's bufmefs, to do
fome little matters which were beneath his chara(aerj though
very compatible with his intereft. How this large debt came
to be accumulated I leave the public to judge. I can only take
upon me to fay, that when Mr. Pitt was driven from the ftate
the civil lift flood clear of all incumbrances. Every one was paid
up to his laft quarter j agreeable to that wife and regular plan of
quarterly payments, which Mr. Pelham eftabliflied a little be-
fore his death. Why the intended application was not made,
every man will readily conceive who confiders the late extraordi-
nary methods of creating influence and extending power, as
well as the ncceffity there was of procuring a ready fupport on
certain occafions, and how dangeroufly all thefe might have been
expofcd by a keen and penetrating oppofition, which fecmed de-
termined at all events to difpute, inch by inch, every facrifice of
the interefts, and every encroachment on the liberties, of the peo-
ple: therefore ioT prudential reafinst I fuppofc, the defign was
dropt. Such a key to the tranfadtions of the winter as this
muft unavoidably have been, being for the prefent withheld
from the public, we are left to form fuch conjedlures as may
cither fuit our fancies, fears, or fufpicions. I will, for my owa
part, amufe myfelf with the words of that faiaous member of
H the
((
(C
( 30 )
tl-c hcufe of commons, Mr. Sliippen, upon a former motion to
difcharge the debt of the civil Hfl;} which do fo forcibly llrike me,
that I cannct forbear quoting them here. ** I am informed there
" remains a debt in the civil government of above fix hundred
" thoufii'.d pounds. If fo, furcly there mufl: have been a mod:
" egregious neg'cdt of duty, to fay no worfe. There mufl have
" been a ftrangc fpirit of exiravcigance fomewhere, or fuch im-
" menfc fums could never have been so sooNj^Z* wfenfihly fqari'
•' dcrcd away. And it is amazing this extravagance fhould hap-
pen under the condudt of perfons pretending to furpafs all
their prcdecelibrs in the knowledge and care of the public
** revenue. But \vc are not to wonder that the world has been very
" free in its cenfures. None but thofe who are in the fccret can
" refute the refledtions that are made without doors, not only on
*' the mini fay, but even on both hoiifcs of parliamejit -, — I mud fay
" no more : — but I heartily wifli that Time (the great difcoverer
" of hidden truths and concealed iniquities) may produce a lift
" of all fuch (if any fuch there were) who have been
" perverted from their public duty by private penjiom^
*' who have been the hired Jlavcs and the corrupt injlru-
" iiients of a profuse and vain-glorious administra-
*' TioN. If there have been none fuch, then the 'whole weight,
" then the whole guilt, of the late mifmanagements, lies on the
" minifters themfelves." It will doubdefs aftohifli his majefty's
good fubjeds, how, in thefe halcyon days of wifdom and oecommy^
this money can have been expended. And it will be mort afto-
nilhing if we recolle(a: the cry that was railed at the time of the laft
eledions,
iniiEf^'^i!^
( 31 )
eledljons, " that not a niilling fliould go out of ihe trcafury to In-
fluence any man," becaufe we cannot that way account for any of
it. But that faft, fuppofing it to be one, though it may be doubt-
ed, was intended to wound the duke of Newcaftlc's intereft : to
prevent his oppofing *' the zealous, fond, believing, obfcquious,
*' confiding, fupporting, acquiefcing, bearing, and forbearing,
country gentlemen," How well thisy;rt' parliament, as it is cal-
led, has agreed with the fenfe of their conftituents, the inadequate
peace and odiom excije fufticiently declare. Yet we have feen in
thefe days of 'virtue, wifdom and cccommy, fuch a flrange alteration •
among men, fuch a fudden revival of obfolete places, fuch an
amazing tncreafe of dependents, fuch a munificent diftribution of
penfions, augmentation of falaries and other favours, that the in-
ference is natural 3 if the intereft of our country is fold, what fig-
nifies the difference, whether the eledlors or eleded are bought f
The Whigs, in the moft corrupt times of their adminiftration,
wheii' there was every thing to fear from the reftlcfs fpirits of
the Tories and ScottiQi Jacobites, never went fuch lengths as to
be able to produce fuch a lift of placemen and penfioners
HB the prefent miniftry can. When the vigorous and continued
efforts of the Tories and Scottifh Jacobites feemed to bid fair for
enflaving ibis country, there was then fome very good reafon
for dealing odt places and penfions to form a counterpoife to their
:power : but now, vvhen not the leaft fpark of difafitdion appears
in the land, not even among the Scots at prefent, when every
i^ubjedl almoft adores his fovereign, to increase thofe placemen
and penfioners beyond what they were ever known in former
limes, fhews, that the meafures were fuch, as there was reafon to
appre-
1
'I
li'
( 32 )
apprehend the people would not «/// 'w j and therefore they re-
quired more than ordinarv support. Thus is our country
bleeding to death between profligacy and ignorance.
I think I may be fairly and honeftly allowed to fuppofe, that
after the mod flagrant violation of the privileges of parliament,
the earls of Egremont and Halifax will not, in their minifterial
capacity, chufe to face that great affembly : nor that you, fir, will
undertake to ^o the bufinefs of the houfe of commons j propofe
new taxes for difcharging the interefts of this and next year's fup-
plies, and above all the arrears of the civil lift. It is not believed
that the prefent miniftry can be fo imprudent as to think they can
accomplifh thefe great ends. They cannot be ftrangers to the ge-
neral difgufts of the people : they cannot be ignorant that their
meafures are the caufe j therefore for the fake of that fovercign,
whom they pretend fo zealoufly and faithfully to ferve, it is not
doubted but they will refign. By this time they cannot but be
convinced that no other ftep will procure that harmony which is
fo much wanted : that this will be ferving him better than ever
they ferved him before, — it will be to a good purpofe. I will
not prefume to fay who fhouldor who ought to fucceedto power;
but I will venture to give my opinion upon the known goodnefs
of his m^jefty's heart, and the fincere love which he bears to all
his people, that he will condefcend to meet them half way in the
objects of their wi/hes and happinefs : and I fincerely hope that
when that time does come, (which cannot be far diftant) an uni-
on among parties, and divided families may take place : for it is
then, and not till then, that the national bufuiefs can be profe-
cuted
( 33 )
cutcd with glory and unanimity : then the fupplies may be ralfed,
ways and means found, and the debt of the civil lift difcharged,
without throwing the kingdom into a fjrmcnt : then we may
eftablirti our own internal happinefs at hc/me-y and, wirh wisdom
and SPIRIT incur councils, be refjiedted by thofc who will other-
wife foon be our enemies abroad.
Some where towards the beginning of this letter I happened to
drop an expreflion, or a hint, concerning both " a defertion and de-
" ception ot friends." Left both, or either of thefe fliould be mifre-
prefented, by fome of thofe who foolifhly vindicate the miniftc-
rial caufe, it will be neceflary to explain what may be called the
great outline, which I hope will be fufficient to prevent any im-
pofitions on the public, with refped: to an affair, that has more
than once agitated the moft eminent and refpedtable public com-
panies and private gentlemen.
When a certain gentleman, whom I dare fay you will eafily re-
colled, underftood that Mr. Onflow intended to refign the fpeak-
erfliip of the houfe of commons, he firfl went and offered him-
felf as fpeaker to the duke of Newcaftle, and then held lumfelf
out in the fame capacity to lord Bute, whofe intereft he folici-
ted towards obtaining the royal approbation. This latter ftep was
withouttheconfent,oreven knowledge of his great andnoble friends,
with whom it was then thought (though not quiteclear of fufijicion)
he hadin generaladed through life^^c'Lr-i5(j^r^;andafterwardsat lead
diffembled, ifnot denied the having done it. Hethen with the greateft
earneilnefs fupplicated their fupport on that occafion. A (horttime af-
ter this he acknowledged tofeveral friends the</e///W//c«of himfelfas
I fpeaker.
.., t ■ I
•3^^*
( 34)
fpeaker, and put it upon his
perfonil intreaties of him,
which he declared was attended with all the agreeable circumftanccs
of the cabinet, &c. The houfe of commons can never fufficiently re-
gret the not havinggot rid, in a gentleman-Hke manner, by thechair,of
the moft tedious lawyer that ever called them to repofe. If there real-
ly had been any intention of putting him into the chair, it would
have been on the fame principle that a meeting of country gentle-
men, on a commiflion of the turnpike, &c always make it a rule
to chufe the mod tedious and troublefome long winded prater for
their chairmen j for the derivation of speaker is known to be
analogous to that of lucus a tion lucendo. At laft finding an op-
portunity, by a fmall facrifice of honour, 8cc. that he could cater
much better for himfelf in another department, he abandoned his
former fcheme, which, had he not deferted his friends, would
have obliged them to abandon him j and had the prefumption to take
Mr. Pitt's feals. ,
■I (
When in his hands the feals he/oW,
Did they not make his brains go round ?
Did they not turn his head ?
I fancy, (but he hates a joke)
He felt, as Nell did, when (he woke
In lady Loverule's bed.
When great impending dangers fhook
Its ftatc, old Rome di(ftators took
Judicioufly from plough :
So
( 35 ) ■ ■
So wc (but at 2ipinch thou know'ft)
To make the higheft of the loweft,
TheTREAs'RY gave toYoJ.
Another gentleman of real found fenfe and good s, of ac-
knowledged probity and unfuUicd honour, I mean Mr. Prowfe,
refufed the fame chair : who fucceeded to it, I leave you, becaufc
I would not blujh to fay,
I am,
SIR,
With real friend flilp,
, and very much efteem»
your moft obliged,
and moft humble fervant.
n
An INDEPENDENT WHIG.
n -» y" '
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T/ji's Day is PubUp^ed^
(Price Two Shillings) y.:) ;w c3
pedicated to his Grace the Duke of D e v o n s ii i r f^
) :.'jf
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A.
..'<»
■ ':.'■■• V
Lord Bute's AdxMINIstration;,
•r
I ' ■ *■
" The Title of Favourite, let him be ever fo deferving, has alway.1'
" been odious in £n^/<i/7</. ,^i i U Guthrie^
Sol(l by J, W.I LL I A MS, in Flcct-ftrcet*
■
■''4 'if \
■i^'^wMiU*.'-^
'l • iif, >
■,«f'
'^ 1 .
■ .• • '■ , > ;
■ . ;.
:>■;.. ^'^epartng for the Prefs,
,; C A N D I D A N D C O N S T I T U T I O N AC
EXAMINATION
-1^:^^
<0 £ THE,
■<.« >f ;
i:t'.
■t. •^:•V
l^ivelaft Speeches made to Parliament.
,'fi ** The Nature of Man is fo frail, that wberefoever the Word of a
t *' fingle Perfon has had the Forte of Law, the innumerable Hxtra-
. ** vagances and Mifchiefs it has produced, have been fj notorious,
*' that all Nations, who are not ftupid and flavilh, ha^'« always
** abominated it; and made it their principal Care to find out Reme-
*' dies againft it, by fo dividing and balancing the Powers of their
** Government, that one or a few men might not be able to opprcfs
" and deftroy thofe they ought W||prefervc and protcft.'*
.Sidney.
t , '' '1; ■>-.--•
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'yi<mmms):km)3i^m^m!^S)smiSi^^<^<^^^^^^
MEMOIRE HISTORIQUE
S U R LA
NEGOCIATION
D E L A
FRANCE &derANGL£T ERR E.
M
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